Residents and businesses affected by the New Ferry explosion have been denied help by the Government.
Wirral councillors wrote to Whitehall in efforts to secure urgent funding to help rebuild the local area following the impact of March’s devastating blast.
The local authority has spent £300,000 in the aftermath of the explosion that left 34 people injured and a number of buildings earmarked for demolition.
But Jake Berry, the Minister for the Northern Powerhouse and Local Growth, has rejected the plea for financial support to help on grounds of government policy.
In a letter, he said: “…the Government rarely intervenes during the recovery phase of an emergency; and has only done so to-date when the scale and impact of the emergency is so great that it becomes a national incident.”
Mr Berry recommended that the need for funding was met through ‘existing local resources’, but the ruling has angered numerous local politicians.
Council leader Phil Davies described the response as ‘disappointing and heartless’ and claimed the Government ‘has turned its back on the people of New Ferry’.
He added: “When you consider the scale of the incident, the many residents who have lost their homes and the businesses which have lost their livelihoods, I find that statement quite incredible and I am sure Wirral residents will too.
Liverpool’s metro mayor Steve Rotheram, who pledged £20,000 to support those affected in New Ferry, has also condemned the government’s response.
He said: “This is a deeply disappointing and unconvincing response from Government.
“It can only reinforce a sense amongst people and businesses in New Ferry that somehow their loss and distress is less important than that suffered by people in other recent disasters.
“I have said before that we cannot allow this to become the forgotten disaster, so we will need to redouble our efforts to help those affected and persuade the government to rethink this regrettable and inconsistent decision.”