Member Article

Towns 'left out' of government money

An angry North East MP has called for the government to change its decision to exclude two towns from a scheme designed to challenge the recession.

Stockton North MP Frank Cook has branded the new £3m stimulus ‘illogical and unfair’ and would like Communities Secretary John Denham to involve Stockton and Billingham under the new stimulus plan to save high street shops.

Frank Cook said: “Anyone who looks at the number of empty shops on Stockton High Street or Billingham Town Centre can see for themselves the scale of the difficulties we have.

“That decision simply defies logic – this scheme is supposed to be specifically helping those areas with the biggest problems on the high street and we have problems galore.”

Many other towns in the North East, including Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough and Darlington, are benefiting under the grant and each will receive almost £53,000 to improve derelict town centre areas.

David Longstaff, North East Regional Officer for the Federation of Small Businesses has stated that the FSB will continue to lobby and press the government to provide support for all small businesses on the high street.

He said: “The retail sector has been one of the hardest hit by the recession and we would urge the government to look at a package where all the high streets in the region can be assisted rather than cherry picking just a lucky few.

“Small businesses are not merely part of the local community, they are the local community.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .