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Andy , Dan and Co there may be "Something about You" but we all want to be "Level"

So as I was having a shave and trimming the rather unsightly growths of facial ear and nasal hair that seem to have come to life the exact moment the clock ticked over to mark my 50th birthday I found myself singing a song from the 80s called "something about you" by Level 42. I used to really like Level 42 until a couple of years ago when for that 50th birthday ,my ever loving mother in law purchased tickets for Mrs Cllr Gwilliam and I to go to watch this terrific band in concert in Cardiff. At the time Id just had a heart operation and hadn't long had one on my back , so I was not only immobile I also need to stretch my legs out. Looking back and realising how for 25 years I had treated her only daughter like the princess she undoubtedly is, the Mother in Law purchased said tickets for the very front row in the middle, somewhere for me to leave my crutches even. Paid a small extra fortune for those tickets she did. Night of the concert all was going swimmingly, The Blow Monkeys were simply terrific and Dr Robert not at all the pretentious idiot Id presumed we both were back in the 80s, Then Mark King and Co came on, Lessons in Love to kick off. Great start oh Yes ! I can almost hear that famously high held bass hum as Mr King does his stuff. There's just a couple from the back rows who come down to the front of the stage where there's perhaps a 20ft aisle to the first row of seats.That Ok Im thinking , then Mr King said it ! Yeah lets have a party tonight, get down here and dance !!"


I listened to Level42 playing the rest of their set staring at a various backsides of different sexes, sizes,shapes and rhythmic ability as well as various types of dance moves and lager spilling. All with the occasional glimpse of the super group, over the shoulder of one lady who was involved in deep conversation with her large husband or boyfriend for just about the entire set.



I've digressed further than I wished to there but its an incident thats been annoying me inside ever since.


So actually singing ( of sorts) one of Mark Kings songs was unusual of late. Of course then it struck me. For weeks Id been banging on about the Levelling up fund bid we have been getting together. Levelling up + Level 42 see? Look in my head I can see the link!


As far as the bid is concerned I should say that it has been a whirlwind couple

of months, preparing what I hope everyone will agree is a truly inspirational and quality bid.

I would just like to pay tribute to the members of the project team and the project board,

for their sheer tenacity in getting this piece of work done and delivered on time, and in the manner, it is being presented. They have worked tirelessly to produce a

quality bid and have benefitted from advice and input from, among others The MP Mr Mark Harper,The Gloucestershire LEP. Gloucestershire County Council, Monmouthshire County Council and Hartpury College and University.

When we decided to put the work in to create a bid I used the term “ a generational opportunity”.

As the teams have developed the bid it has become clear to all of us just how true that statement has become.

All those well used cliches from “game changer” to “ a turning point” have been used in our

deliberations and they are absolutely correct.


Mr Harper, like us, was very keen that this bid, if we were to go for it , wasn’t about a quick fix . We want this bid and hopefully its funding to have a legacy. That while it might be concentrating on certain areas, all the districts could benefit, either immediately or subsequently. This funding and the developments that will happen because of it can be the catalyst for truly sustainable and viable growth and regeneration for the entire Forest. The quality of the expressions of interest tell us how much we can achieve and while we can only take three projects forward at this time we are keen to support and develop many of the other projects put forward.




This Bid is about opportunity and growth for our young people, for our young entrepreneurs and small businesses, its about giving hope to a generation that we risk losing to other areas. A Bid meaning that instead they may stay here, study and start businesses here in the Forest. It is a bid aimed at giving the Community hope and a way forward. Business, education, Sport and Leisure.Regenerating and reenergising old buildings .

It is a bid for opportunity and hope .


It also in my view be the best £20 m the Government will spend on the Levelling up fund.


But others either think differently or more likely are better at shouting their corner?


Leaders across the Northern regions, led by Sheffield City Region mayor Dan Jarvis and his Manchester counterpart Andy Burnham, are again pressing for a ‘New Deal for the North’ by launching a new policy prospectus intended to spread opportunity and help those areas that were already at a disadvantage before Covid struck. This is a substantive piece of work that builds on many of the themes of the Power Up The North campaign that both leaders spearheaded in 2019. It would seem they fear "Levelling Up" may well wither on the vine until the London Government creates a dedicated Ministry for the North , staffed by Ministers and civil servants steeped in the region, and gives it the necessary powers and resources required to develop and guide future policy.


Backed up by dedicated questions in Parliament, and a select committee overseeing its remit, its suggested that this is the only way to bring about the level of co-ordination that saw Mr Johnson name Jake Berry as Northern Powerhouse Minister, and promote him to the Cabinet, before sidelining the role and remit in February 2020.


And they say unless Mr Johnson stops the sloganising, and actually shifts the centre of power for devolution and the regions to the North, then ‘levelling up’ risks same fate as the ‘big society’’ ‘Northern Powerhouse’ and every other fatuous phrase of recent time.



Strong words but I have another theory for Dan and Andy. Perhaps the Government have done something you guys seem reticent to do. This is to acknowledge that deprivation, continued lack of investment and the real need for " Levelling Up"is not something that only occurs once you pass Birmingham. There are other area , such as the Forest of Dean , whose need is just as great, whose communities deserve equal footing, Gloucester deserves equal footing with Wigan or Sheffield. In fact all over the "South" and I dare say Wales and the South West, the Midlands and anywhere one may care to travel , you will find areas in desperate need of Levelling Up.


While I don't doubt for a second the need for investment and Regeneration in those areas It is not, boys, a Northern disease.


Good on you for making yourself heard, but don't try and claim hardship and need for yourselves.


You do however shout your corner very well and perhaps that's a lesson we need to learn in other areas. Perhaps we need through, the Western Gateway and our County Councils ,to shout from the rooftops about not only the huge opportunities this region has to offer but also expose the very real need for investment, for help and for regeneration. A good friend of the Forest of Dean , of Gloucestershire and the region , Mr Ian Mean is the type of bloke who doesn't say loads, hes not one for emailing everyday, but when he does , I listen or I read. Ian has been telling me for ages that The Forest needs to promote its self more. and he could not be more correct. Opportunity alongside a need.


That's Levelling Up , and I perhaps sense that the Government are getting that now , I certainly hope so .


We will hear in 3 or 4 months if we have been successful in our bid.

Im more confident in getting a successful outcome than I am in me ever going to watch Level 42 again.






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