Published: June 16, 2009
Council leader urges minister to reconsider regeneration funding

More pressure has this week been put on government minister Peter Mandelson to reconsider the controversial withdrawal of £750,000 of funding by the South West Regional Development Agency for Burnham-On-Sea's regeneration.

Burnham-On-Sea.com first reported last weekend how MP David Heathcoat-Amory had asked Lord Mandelson, the UK's First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (pictured), to review the decision by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) not to give funding to Burnham's regeneration plans.

And on Tuesday (June 16th), the leader of Sedgemoor District Council, Cllr Duncan McGinty, also wrote to Mr Mandelson calling for action.

In it, he expresses his "extreme frustration" about the decision not to give Burnham any funding and adds that "I cannot express the degree of massive disappointment that is felt locally."

"People are feeling totally let down and morale in the locality is at an all-time low, especially as we were so near to real work on the ground being started."

He concludes: "I urge you to take a hard look at ways to re-instate the long-promised RDA funding for this initiative."

Dear Lord Mandelson,

I am writing to you, as Leader of Sedgemoor District Council, to express our extreme frustration and disappointment in the recent announcements from the South West Regional Development Agency that long-promised funding for the Civic Pride initiative in Burnham on Sea and Highbridge has been withdrawn.

For over seven years, we have been working with the community on this project and have raised hopes and more importantly, expectations on the promise of funding to regenerate this coastal town. All sections of the community are aghast at the reneged promise of real money after it being promised over such a long period.

The previous long, drawn-out process was shaped by the requirements of SWRDA to meet funding criteria; extensive consultations have been carried out with all sections of the local community in Burnham on Sea and Highbridge. Significant resources have been spent since 2002 which is now being seen as a complete waste of public money, which in the current climate is doing absolutely no good to the reputation of government, either national or local. Schemes and projects have been worked up over seven years and are at a stage where they are ready to be implemented, making real change to this seaside town.

In the case of Burnham-on-Sea, one of the major delays to progress was due to SWRDA’s insistence that we carried out economic impact assessments on all the Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge proposals before they would commit to Civic Pride. Following the mess-up by EKOS – the SWRDA approved consultants – we managed to get their managing director and other members of their Manchester HQ staff working on the project. SWRDA accepted the economic case presented and I understand they also made Burnham their economic priority amongst the South West Sea Change bids, so I’m at a loss why they don’t see it as important now. Burnham’s case is worse due to the recession and won’t even benefit from the expected increase in tourism as it struggles to compete with nearest resorts – Minehead and Weston-super-Mare, where there has been major SWRDA investment in public realm.

Cavalier treatment of the community is against Government’s stance on community empowerment. As a community leader in Sedgemoor, I am struggling to explain SWRDA’s logic cutting, this long-promised funding to an initiative that was nearing fruition.

I cannot express the degree of massive disappointment that is felt locally. People are feeling totally let-down and morale in the locality is at an all-time low, especially as we were so near to real work on the ground being started.

I have raised this matter with David Heathcoat-Amory, MP and the Town Council and we intend to campaign hard to get these long-promised monies reinstated. I urge you to take a hard look at ways to re-instate the long-promised RDA funding for this Civic Pride initiative.

Kind regards,

Councillor Duncan McGinty
Leader of the Council