A councillor has claimed that Redcar could miss out on remaining ‘Town Deal’ cash for various schemes being planned in the town.

Councillor Carl Quartermain, the former Labour group leader on Redcar and Cleveland Council, said he “wouldn’t put anything past this Government”.

He said the departure of Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland MP Simon Clarke from his job as Levelling Up Secretary after just seven weeks in the post following Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet reshuffle “doesn’t bode well for here”.

But a representative of Redcar Conservative MP Jacob Young dismissed Cllr Quartermain’s comments, while councillor Chris Gallacher, the cabinet member for economic development, said all the relevant business cases had been approved and funding committed.

Read more: Redcar and Cleveland 'benefiting' from levelling up funding

The town was awarded £25m last year from the Government’s Town Deal fund with council leader Mary Lanigan pledging to make “every penny count”.

Schemes drawn up by a Town Deal board comprising representatives from business and the private sector, as well as the local authority, include a new family activity centre with bowling, a climbing wall and laser tag, which is due to be located on the site of the former Marks & Spencer store in Redcar High Street.

The Northern Echo: The 18 hole adventure golf course is part of a scheme to regenerate the seafront area in CoathamThe 18 hole adventure golf course is part of a scheme to regenerate the seafront area in Coatham (Image: The Northern Echo)

The centre is to be accompanied by a new Redcar Library, the current one being moved from Kirkleatham Street to create a cultural and leisure hub.

Other aspects of the Town Deal plans include a proposed outdoor watersports centre at Coatham, a scheme to renovate dilapidated properties in Station Road and a clean energy education hub at Redcar and Cleveland College.

A masterplan for the town was drawn up in 2018 by the Town Deal board aimed at transforming central Redcar.

Cllr Quartermain said he feared the current economic climate and the Government’s desire to balance the books could lead to a “backing out or scaling back” of the plans.
He said he had written to Cllr Lanigan and council officers and been told they were waiting for confirmation of the next tranche of cash to be paid.

Cllr Gallacher said: “The Redcar Town Board has had all its business cases approved by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) for each project in the Town Deal scheme. 

“This means funding for each project, which totals £25m, has been committed to by the Government.”

He added: “DLUHC pay the money in stages and by financial year to Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council as the accountable body of the board. 

“We have received this year’s amount for the business plan approved earlier in the year, which included the Clean Energy Education Hub project at Redcar and Cleveland College. 

“We are due to be paid this year’s allocations on the recently approved business plans, which include the town centre transformation, Station Road and the culture and leisure anchor attraction, in November.

“We expect the next payment for the Town Deal projects will be paid in the new financial year from April 2023.”  

A spokesman for Redcar MP Mr Young said: “Once funds are committed and signed off by the Treasury – which they have been – the policy envelopes get sent to the various departments.

“That’s all done.”

Cllr Quartermain’s ward is Coatham, which covers the town centre and seafront and which stands to benefit from the Town Deal fund.

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