Southwark project backed by govt

The Walworth area of South London could see a setback in regeneration funds, but projects in the area have received strong backing from the top of government.

Deputy leader of the Labour party, Harriet Harman, has pledged support for plans to regeneration the Aylsebury Estate in Walworth, located in the borough of Southwark, as opposition council leaders bemoaned below inflation funding for the next three years.

Some £2 million was reportedly spent on consulting residents and getting regeneration projects underway in nearby Elephant & Castle, but despite funding strains for Walworth, backing was reiterated for the Southwark area.

Ms Harman said: "Southwark is an area of great need and the government has massively increased public investment in the borough, but of course we always need more.

"Instead of the Liberal Democrat and Conservative council leaders playing politics with the numbers they should be working with the government to get a better deal for tenants on the Aylesbury Estate who have been waiting for far too long."

The provisional resources allocated were claimed by local government officials to have factored in savings of three per cent a year – equivalent to £8 million – to be made by the local council.

Published 14th January, 2008