Dame Caroline Dinenage, Member of Parliament for Gosport, has received assurances from the Government that £20 million of funding should not be spent on existing Council projects like the Criterion Theatre.

 Pride in Place funding of up to £20 million was announced for the Rowner area last month, to be delivered by a Neighbourhood Board in conjunction with Caroline and the Local Authority (Gosport Borough Council). Government Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh declared on Wednesday that the project’s design would “make it very hard for particular long-standing projects to be funded”.

At a statement in the House of Commons on Wednesday Caroline asked: “My constituents in Rowner were delighted to hear that they had been chosen for pride in place funding, but they are now a little bit worried, and I hope that the Minister can help us. My constituents fear that rather than the money being spent on projects that will change lives in Rowner in a meaningful way, our Liberal Democrat council will attempt to siphon some of it off to bankroll one of its vanity projects, namely the Criterion, a dilapidated former bingo hall.

“I am pleased that this funding comes with some flexibility, but what protections will the Minister introduce to prevent the money from being frittered away on white elephants by unscrupulous councils?”

Gosport Borough Council, under the leadership of the Liberal Democrats, bought the Criterion Theatre for £600,000 in 2022. Despite spending a further £260,000 on consultants’ fees, plans for the building are no closer to being realised. The most recent plans involve spending £1.4 million on a new annex for a community café. Council reports suggest that even after redevelopment the Criterion would continue to lose money with losses underwritten by the taxpayer.

Responding to Caroline’s question, Labour Communities Minister Miatta Fahnbulleh said: “We are very clear about the fact that the local community should be in the driving seat. The funding is flowing through councils because they have accounting officer responsibility, but the decision needs to be made by the neighbourhood boards.

“The recruitment of the chair is key, and that is a joint endeavour between local authorities and MPs. The MPs must be consulted, and must have the final say in who the chair is. The chair can then ensure that the right voices are sitting round the table.

“Ultimately, the funding will go to back an investment and regeneration plan that the board will develop. That will make it very hard for particular long-standing projects to be funded: this must be part of a plan that is supported by the neighbourhood board, and the investment will flow into that.”

Speaking afterwards Caroline said: “This £20 million could be genuinely transformative to an area of Gosport with significant challenges. I am looking forward to playing my part in collaboration with Gosport Borough Council in distributing this funding to where it will make the most difference in Rowner.

“I’m glad that the Government has rejected any suggestion that long standing projects like the Criterion should receive any of the funds.”