GOVERNMENT chiefs have not said why Colchester missed out on almost £7 million of Town Deal funding.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in budget the We Are Colchester partnership would receive £18.2 from the Government’s Towns Fund.

However, the partnership, made up of councils, businesses and third-sector groups, bid for £25 million from the scheme.

Colchester Council’s business boss David King said the group had not yet heard why not all the funding was secured.

“We knew it was a tough and competitive process, but thanks to all the hard work of the We Are Colchester board and council officers, we are hugely pleased at our success, “ he said.

“We know from last week’s Budget that not all 101 towns invited to bid were as successful as we were and that several towns received less than their full Town Investment Plan bids.

“What is clear is that the Government supported the schemes we proposed.

"We are now working with the We are Colchester Board to look for opportunities to lever in additional investment and prioritising projects further alongside future project planning and engagement.”

The partnership had already secured £1 million accelerated funding from the fund and another £3.7 million from the South East Local Enterprise Partnership for one project.

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Mr King added: “Colchester’s award needs to be seen in the context of the earlier £1m accelerated Town deal award and other recent funding decisions by Government that will benefit the town, such as the £3.77m Local Growth Fund awarded by SELEP for the Queen Street grow-on scheme and more than £2m from the Emergency Access Travel Fund awarded by the Department of Transport via ECC.

"Together they amount to around £25m for the future recovery of Colchester.”

Neighbours Ipswich secured the full £25 million from the scheme and Colchester High Steward Sir Bob Russell said residents of Colchester deserved an explanation.

He said: “Residents were told ahead of the 2019 General Election the Government had allocated Colchester £25 million to regenerate the town centre, but this has turned out not to be true.

“£18 million is a significant sum, and a lot of good can flow from that if spent wisely. But before we get too carried away, Firstsite gallery cost a lot more than that.”

Cabinet members received a report on the next stages of the scheme.

It was agreed to sign up to Heads of Terms for the funding, which had already been agreed by the We Are Colchester board.

Projects set to benefit from cash include the revival of historic buildings like Jumbo and Holy Trinity Church, improvements to the town centre, youth facilities and a development of to transform part of Greenstead.

The partnership hopes to secure millions more funding from outside sources.

Council leader Mark Cory said: “This a fantastic opportunity which we are grabbing with both hands.”