UNDERFIRE prime minister has Boris Johnson has claimed saving Gigg Lane could prove crucial to his “levelling up” agenda.
Mr Johnson made the claim about that the £1million packaged announced last December to revive the historic home of Bury FC while on a visit to the North West on Thursday that coincided with a series of blows to his leadership, including the resignations of several high profiles aides.
The visit, which included stops in Bolton, Blackpool and Middleton, came amid attempts to shore up support after recent weeks which have seen allegations of partying in Downing Street in contradiction of his own lockdown rules, the defection of Bury South MP Christian Wakeford and accusations of “institutional Islamophobia” from former minister Nusrat Ghani MP.
Speaking about Gigg Lane, he said: “I went round there, I met the fan club.
He added: “It’s something that goes to people’s spiritual wellbeing, a football club is something of immense sentimental and emotional importance and I was very pleased that we put some money into it.
“It was the community ownership fund, and that seems to have done the trick.
“I saw that the pitch still looked pretty full of weeds, a bit of a work in progress but I think that its going to be ready very soon.”
The bid to save Gigg Lane was lodged by Bury FC Supporters Society and on December 23 minister Michael Gove announced that the bid had been successful.
On his visit on Thursday Mr Johnson claimed that large scale projects like this could be part of a wider revival of the North West’s economy.
He said: “We’re putting money into the transport sector, into bus services – now a bus, the right bus in the right place can make all the difference to you and your family getting a high paid job or not.”
He added: “In the end what we’re trying to do is create the conditions in which people, business can say look this a fantastic place to live, it’s got fantastic connections, it’s safe. So you’ve got a group of people who start companies, they invest, they create jobs.”