Tory levelling up is 'dead', says Lisa Nandy, but Horden voters unconvinced Labour can do better

Labour's shadow Levelling Up Secretary has told North East voters the Tory leadership race is the "final nail in the coffin" for the government's levelling up policy.

Setting out her alternative levelling up plan during a keynote speech in Darlington, Lisa Nandy said: "Government promises made with a bang are fading with a whimper."

She added: "While the Tory's commitment to levelling up may be dead. Levelling up is not dead. Not for the millions of people across our country who voted for change and who need and deserve to see it delivered."

In response, the Government said it is "determined to press full steam ahead with levelling up" with the second round of its £4.8 billion levelling up fund, which opened on Friday (15 July).

Lisa Nandy vowed to return “power, ownership, and contribution” to communities, announcing a new Community Right to Buy, which will mean communities will have first refusal on valuable assets when they come up for sale, including the right to buy them without competition.

Lisa Nandy delivers speech in Darlington Credit: ITV News

Horden residents scepticalResidents living in the old County Durham mining village, Horden, told ITV News Tyne Tees they wanted levelling up in the area, but they were sceptical it would ever be delivered.

Pat Barnett, who has lived in the village for 27 years, said the only way levelling up can work is if the residents are listened to.

She said: "Why don't they ask the people living here? That would be a magnificent thing. Or even a questionnaire, a simple one page questionnaire, tick the box if you think you should have a toilet somewhere, they're not consulting with the people that matter most."

Lisa Nandy told ITV News Tyne Tees that she would adjust current legislation to deal with areas like Horden, which has been blighted by empty homes, absent landlords, antisocial behaviour and fly tipping.

She said: "We've set out how we'll close loopholes that allow private landlords to buy up housing stock and let communities go to rack and ruin and today we're setting out plans that will allow communities to force buildings in a state of significant state of disrepair or that have laid empty for some time back into use and back into community hands with assets in communities to allow them to buy them as well."

Horden's old mining housing stock Credit: ITV News

Chair of the Horden Residents' Association, June Clark, welcomed that Labour was planning its own levelling up policy, but was sceptical Lisa Nandy's plan could work in the village.

She said: "Well that sounds like a great idea, but we know, having done the sums, you're talking about you're talking about a million pounds plus to remove each one of these streets and we have 26 streets in this village.

"We doubt very much whether there'll be any new money around to afford us to be able to do that. So yes, I think that would work excellently in other places, but as a whole, using that idea for the removal of all these streets, it's just a non-starter for Horden."

Durham County Council has bid for £100 million for five areas as part of the next round of levelling up funding.

Cllr James Rowlandson said: "We very much hope that the Levelling Up agenda will continue. Securing the £20 million of Levelling Up funding for Horden will enable us to prepare new housing land for development as part of our Housing Regeneration Masterplan. We have committed £6 million of our own funds for the first phase of the subsequent masterplan, but require the Levelling Up funding first, in order to be in a position to progress with this."

The current plans for Horden include enabling the provision of land for social housing, delivering a nature reserve and new community building and enhancing local streets.

Nature reserved planned on this land in Horden if levelling up funding bid is successful Credit: ITV News

June Clark said these plans are all well and good, but the problem with current levelling up funding is that it can only be used on "new" assets, rather than dealing with the old housing stock.

The Tory leadership race has left resident, John Barnett, "disappointed" too. He said: "It was supposedly their (Conservatives') idea in the first place to introduce this levelling up process, and yet none of the proposed leaders are saying 'that's exactly what we're wanting to do'. Whether they think it's not a policy that the general public will hang onto or believe, that could well be the issue."

Asked if he thought levelling up was dead in the water, he replied: "Well it could well be, as a policy now I think there are bigger fish to fry. We've certainly got a lot of economic problems in the world."

A DLUHC spokesperson said: "The department is determined to press full steam ahead with levelling up communities across the United Kingdom, including in the North East.

"Over £900 million is being invested to level up the North East, including £20 million from the Levelling Up Fund to open a new visitor centre in County Durham, and £120,000 from the Community Ownership Fund which will transform the historic High House Chapel in Weardale and the Dorset Place Community centre in Bishop Auckland.

"Councils once again have the opportunity to bid for the Levelling Up Fund, with applications for the second round now open."