Last updated at 14:07, Wednesday, 30 June 2010

A REGIONAL agency that has pumped millions of pounds of regeneration money into Barrow over the past decade is being scrapped.

Agencies in the town, which depend on the funds, have now had letters from the Northwest Regional Development Agency telling them the agency will cease to exist after April 1, 2012.

Local authorities such as Barrow Borough Council have had letters from the Government confirming the change and asking them to co-operate in forming new Local Enterprise Partnership groups instead.

Barrow Labour leader Councillor Dave Pidduck said: “In terms of this borough, the NWDA has been very, very supportive.

“When you look at the funding support we have had, for a town our size it is really quite amazing and the loss of that, in my opinion, would be devastating. We don’t know whether or not this government is going to replace it or what they will replace it with. That is something we will be campaigning for.”

There has been confusion over the future of the NWDA since the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government took over in May.

The Tories had vowed to scrap England’s nine regional development agencies but hope was raised among supporters of the NWDA that it would be saved after it had a favourable visit from new business secretary Vince Cable.

The government says it will listen to representations from areas that want to retain a regional structure of some kind.

Harry Knowles is chief executive of Furness Enterprise, a long-standing local enterprise partnership partly funded by Barrow Borough and South Lakeland District councils and by government grants.

It could conceivably gain from the changes, but it might also face funding cuts.

Mr Knowles said he was sorry about the fate of the NWDA. He said: “We know a lot of people in the NWDA and this must be a very worrying time for them. I have been through major redundancies myself and I know how difficult it is. The NWDA has done a great job for this area. I hope very much the new government will want to build on their success. It has put substantial funding into this area.

“We are not sure what will happen after 2012. Obviously we will be concerned if there is any reduction of resources coming into this deprived area.”

Bob Pointing, programme director for Barrow Regeneration, which employs 11 people at its Duke Street office and is driving the Waterfront Barrow regeneration scheme, says it has its operating money for this year, but the changes raised uncertainty about future funding.

The agency will need another £50m of government cash in the next few years to get the Waterfront project, including the Marina and Marina Village, completed.

The NWDA was founded in 1999 by Tony Blair’s Labour government. Its head office in Warrington employs 480 people and is continuing with business as usual for now.

First published at 13:08, Wednesday, 30 June 2010
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk