Demand for probe into £30m job fund that "was supposed to help deprived areas"

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by Gareth Davies

A multi-million pound project to create jobs in the borough's poorest areas has "delivered very little" for New Addington.

Labour leader, Councillor Tony Newman, has written to the district auditor demanding an investigation into the borough's Local Economic Growth Initiative (LEGI).

The Government pledged to give the borough £77m in funding and this was originally supposed to be spent on deprived areas including the estate but the scope was widened to include the whole borough.

Cllr Newman says the £30 million spent so far has been wasted on more affluent areas while unemployment in New Addington has continued to rise.

He told the Advertiser: "The confirmation that £30m has been wasted on delivering very little is a damning indictment of the Tory council. Frankly it's a disgrace.

"Put simply, I believe there are people who are currently out of work who would not have been if the LEGI money had been focused on where it was originally intended."

He points to unemployment figures – which show the gap between New Addington and the rest of Croydon widening in the last four years – as proof of the scheme's ineffectiveness.

Currently, 6.5 per cent of people in Fieldway are on Jobseeker's Allowance and in New Addington, the figure is 5.7 per cent.

LEGI has been praised for creating 450 new businesses across the borough and helping to train 2,000 people for new jobs since the project began in 2006.

As a result of the cash, the estate was one of the first areas to benefit from a district centre manager.

The money also funded the Building Enterprise Centre, in Vulcan Way, which helps secure jobs and training in the construction trade.

One New Addington businessman who has benefited from LEGI funding is Mark Carruthers, who owns The Warehouse hardware store on Central Parade.

He told the Advertiser: "Without the assistance of LEGI, I am not sure I would still be trading.

"LEGI was vital to my success in surviving through very difficult times."

Experts from Croydon Enterprise advised Mr Carruthers on how to survive the recession, and funded a new shop front which will be finished this weekend.

LEGI grants also helped traders build security gates and doors in Central Parade to improve security.

Fieldway Councillor Simon Hall admitted that LEGI had helped people in the area but he felt much more could have been done.

He said: "The number of people who have benefited from it is a fraction of what it should have been.

"The whole point of LEGI was to narrow the differential between the poorest areas and the rest of Croydon – widening its scope means this was impossible.

"Yes there have been wonderful success stories, but just think how many people could be in employment if we had our fair share."

Steve O'Connell, Croydon Council's cabinet member for regeneration and economic development, dismissed the two Labour councillors' accusations as "misguided" and said LEGI funding had been used "appropriately".

He added: "They are being political. It's the season for it. The aim [of LEGI] was to develop areas with the greatest need.

"There has been investment (in New Addington). You only have to look at the Building Enterprise Centre and Croydon Adult Learning and Training in Central Parade to see that."

Cllr O'Connell said plans for an Enterprise Opportunity Centre – a support centre for businesses – fell through along with the £80m Tesco development, when a planning inspector declared the site a protected village green.

But he added: "The new scheme is on track and we will have some exciting announcements in the near future."