MP says levelling up funds will bring life back to town

The Rother Valley MP, who is often quick to criticise RMBC on issues such as overflowing dog poo bins and council rebate delivery, praised efforts made in the bid by RMBC.

Dinnington was not helped by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak’s budget last year but the Chancellor visited Dinnington with Mr Stafford earlier this month.

Mr Stafford wrote to chief executive Sharon Kemp at RMBC speaking of his “excitement” at the bid, with the deadline for submissions falling this week.

He said: “I welcomed the opportunity to discuss the status of the bid with you (RMBC), and am grateful to your officers for their hard work in pulling it together.

“I know that there have been some robust discussions with local leaders over the last few months and I welcome that the bid put forward reflects accurately the needs of the local community in Dinnington.

“Reinvigorating our high streets remains a core priority, and with the Levelling Up Fund, we have a real chance to breathe life back into Laughton road and design our current aspects of the market that encourage antisocial behaviour.

“Residents and I are hopeful that this will provide a further boost to business in Dinnington and drive footfall back to our town centre, as has happened in Rotherham.”

He added: “I am confident that the bid put forward, after much hard work and collaboration, would provide a solid foundation on which to drive further improvement and redevelopment in the coming years and meet some of the objectives of the local plan, and I am therefore pleased to formally endorse this bid.

“Hopefully, we can look forward to a moment of celebration in Dinnington later this year when the projects are assessed by civil servants within the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Community.”