Council leader responds to MP criticism

Speaking over the weekend, Mrs Mortimer claimed Hartlepool Borough Council “cobbled together” an application and that she “wasn’t surprised” it was unsuccessful.

But Councillor Shane Moore says this criticism is unfair: “Our intention was always to submit a bid in the second round of applications in spring 2022 and this was the timescale we were working towards.

“However, when Mrs Mortimer was elected MP she requested we submit a bid in the initial phase, so we had to fast-track our bid development work.

“But to say our bid was ‘cobbled together’ or in the ‘too hard tray’ is unfair, disrespectful and untrue – particularly when we were responding to her request.

“As I said last week, I will now be writing to Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, to understand why Hartlepool – a Borough with high deprivation levels – was overlooked for Levelling Up funding in round one and we will come back with a revised bid in spring 2022.”

Councillor Shane Moore

Denise McGuckin, the Managing Director of Hartlepool Borough Council, added: “We are one of the smallest unitary authorities in the country and pulling together a bid of this size in such a short space of time can be incredibly demanding for my staff.

“However, I am proud that I have a team of dedicated and hardworking officers who are passionate about bringing positive change to Hartlepool, which is demonstrated by the success of our Town Deal vision that was submitted prior to the election.

“We look forward to receiving Government feedback and with the benefit of more preparation time, we hope our phase two bid will be met with more success.”

Denise McGuckin