Bolton
Bolton Council missed a £16m funding deadline because of an ’email that was too big’
Daisy Jackson -
15th December 2021 
Bolton Council missed a deadline for the £16m Levelling Up Fund bidding process because of an email that was too large.
It’s been reported by the BBC that Bolton Council missed the application deadline because its ‘submission had been too large to be received by the government’s server’.
The council had intended to apply for funding for Bolton’s Crompton Place scheme, which will create an ‘improved retail and dining experience’ near the Town Hall.
The deadline was June 18, but council bosses blamed ‘technical issues’ for missing it.
Labour has accused Bolton Council of ‘dropping the ball’.
In a meeting on Monday, Bolton’s director of place Gerry Brough said: “Two bids were being simultaneously submitted.
“Both bids involved collating many separate documents and third party letters of support and unfortunately we did not receive all necessary signed documents until that morning.
“At the point of submission, it became apparent that file size limitations on the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government server meant that both bids had to be broken down into four separate parts, so they could be attached to four separate emails.
“The medical college bid was submitted first and in full before the noon deadline [but] the Crompton Place bid could not be submitted in full before the deadline.”
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He said that no indication was given that the bid was unacceptable and that the missed deadline wasn’t highlighted as an issue until October.
Labour councillor Nick Peel said: “Had I not pursued this, the public of Bolton would have been kept completely in the dark.
“These are not the actions of an open and transparent council.
“The fact is that the council did drop the ball [and] it is quite frankly a very costly mess.”
Featured Image – BCEGI Construction
