Brighton and Hove City Council has accused the Government of stalling over plans to redevelop the Brighton Centre conference venue.
The council and the South East England Regional Development Agency have together raised half the cost of a planned £100m redevelopment of the centre.
But chairman of the council’s major projects committee, Cllr Garry Peltzer-Dunn said the plans could be in doubt after the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) refused to plug the funding gap.
A redeveloped Brighton Centre, which has hosted all the main political parties’ annual conferences, could be worth up to £3bn for the local economy, according to council figures.
‘Given that rivals such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester have received government funding for new convention centres, we’re disappointed that ministers are still stalling,’ said Cllr Peltzer-Dunn.
A BERR spokesman said the application for the funding was still ongoing.
‘Naturally, it is important that we carefully examine all proposals involving large amounts of funding to make sure we’re getting value for taxpayers’ money,’ said the spokesman. ‘This process is still under way.’
Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
