Mark Jenkinson MP has expressed hope that Maryport will not miss out on multi-million pound Government funding thanks to his eleventh hour intervention.
A question mark was hanging over elements of the £11.5 Future High Street Funds after Cumberland Council’s Executive voted to cancel a new planned swimming pool at the Wave, funded by the government.
The decision put the funding at risk entirely, with the council leadership seeking to use the money for projects outside the original boundaries of the scheme and on land not owned by the authority with only months to go to the spending deadline.
With the deadline fast approaching, Mark Jenkinson contacted Dehenna Davison MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, urging her accept the council’s ‘Plan B’ and retain the government investment in Maryport.
The revised plans include a promenade café, and upgraded recreation area including a BMX and skateboard track, outside the Future High Streets boundary.
Also proposed is a splash park is, similar to the popular attraction in Silloth, which is expected to prove a big hit with residents and visitors alike.
Mark said: “I have made no secret of my disappointment with Cumberland Council’s decision to shelve plans for a new pool in my constituency, the second time Labour have ripped a swimming pool from the heart of Maryport.
This fully-funded and aspirational project would have made a welcome improvement to the lives of the people of Maryport as well as those of surrounding towns and villages.
"However, we are where we are – and I did not want to see Maryport miss out on the benefits that this alternative scheme could bring, whilst recognising that the benefits would have been far greater if we had the swimming pool planned as part of the original submission.
"I therefore wrote to Dehenna Davison MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, urging her to accept Cumberland Council’s Project Adjustment Request. Despite the pettiness of a small minority of local politicians who would rather see residents suffer than deliver Conservative-led projects, I will always seek to do the right thing by my constituents.“
