THE lack of a firm commitment from the government over funding for a new college for the Forest has been branded “a travesty”. 

It now seems that it will be at least the end of the month before there is any word from Whitehall about the funding for the new Gloucestershire College campus and wider Northern Quarter project at Cinderford. 

Despite the obligatory expressions of confidence that the project will go ahead, it is clear that there is frustration with the government over the next round of funding, Growth Deal Three. 

It has now hit the point where the Tory leader of the Forest Council, Cllr Patrick Molyneux, agreed with a Labour councillor that there could be political consequences if the funding does not materialise. 

The word from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills is that there is unlikely to be any announcement on the Growth Deal before the end of the month, Cllr Molyneux (Con, Woolaston and Hewelsfield) told the council’s strategic overview scrutiny committee. 

The funding package for the Gloucestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) was expected to have been announced in the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement on November 23 but Phillip Hammond was silent on the topic of Growth Deals. 

The college said in May of last year that the first students would attend lectures at Cinderford in September 2018. 

Cllr Molyneux said: “We are thoroughly disappointed that the government hasn’t been able to announce Growth Deal Three in the way we were all expecting. 

“I think it’s a travesty – when Theresa May came in and talked about regeneration and investment I thought if anything was going to nail this to the ground than that would have done it.” 

He said the council’s Cabinet member for finance, Cllr Richard Boyles (Con, Westbury and Newnham) was due to meet Forest MP Mark Harper last Friday and would be ‘pressing’ the matter. 

“We are trying to push all the levers we can but ultimately it is down to the government to decide when they want to release the money.   

“We are still confident, all the indications are very positive.   

“The Northern Quarter is very high up the list of priorities of the LEP and we are still very, very confident the project is still there, however, we all know delays and uncertainty do not help.   

“The college has made no negative indications yet and I’m hoping we are all still on a positive note.”

Cllr Bruce Hogan (Lab, Lydbrook and Ruardean) said: I hope Richard (Cllr Boyles) will make the point to our MP that a positive response is likely to reflect well on the government and the sitting MP and a negative response would be devastating to their political future.”

Cllr Molyneux added: “That is a sentiment that this committee might like to pass on to Mark Harper.”