The West, North divide

The West Northamptonshire area has received almost £70m more in government regeneration funding than the North.

By Sarah Ward

North Northamptonshire has received four times less government growth funding than its West counterpart.

While the West Northants local authority area has received £87.7m of growth funding since 2015, for projects such as the Catesby Innovation Centre and A45 Northampton to Daventry Link road, North Northamptonshire has received just £20.7m, towards projects which include the new Bedford College campus in Wellingborough.

The West area has received the equivalent of £216.48 for each resident living in the area compared to just £59.31 per resident in the North.

The stark contrast about where the enterprise cash has been flowing has been revealed in a recently published evaluation report of the Local Growth Fund, which was created in 2015 by the coalition government as part of a drive to invest in local areas and boost the economy.

The fund is managed by the South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) which covers the local authority areas of Central Beds, Bedford…