The Alnwick Garden is set to receive £5m from the public purse for its play village plans - after controversial plans to grant it a council loan were axed.
The Lilidorei play village - set to feature 'the world's largest play structure' - will accept the grant as part of Government’s Borderlands Growth Deal, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced on Friday.
The first £11.4m phase of the elf and fairy-themed project is set to begin in early 2020. Garden bosses say 57 full-time jobs will be created, with 40 roles for local craftsmen in the build phase.
It's also claimed that Lilidorei, due to open in 2021, will boost the economy in Alnwick and the surrounding area by £68m over 10 years. Its proponents say it will create "a multi-day destination that will drive tourism, jobs and growth across the region", while one government minister called the grant "a historic step in building our Northern Powerhouse".
A proposed £8.5m council loan for the project was suspended in 2017, after opposition from councillors. At the time Richard Dodd, Conservative councillor for Ponteland North, said "people are unhappy with taxpayers' money" going into the project and that the garden should "stand on its own".
When the grant was announced on Friday, Peter Jackson, Conservative leader of Northumberland County Council, said: "While the overall funding announcement is fantastic news for the wider region, we were particularly pleased that Northumberland received the first funding announcement.
"Alnwick Garden is one of the county’s top tourist attractions and Lillidorei is set to bring a big boost to Northumberland’s economy as well as generating scores of jobs."
But there has been some criticism of the grant to the garden. The garden itself is run as a charitable trust, with any surplus going back into the project, but it is run by Jane, Duchess of Northumberland, whose husband the Duke of Northumberland is estimated to hold wealth of more than £300m.
Coun Scott Dickinson, chair of the Northumberland Labour Group, who were in power when the loan was offered, said he supported the "fabulous-looking" play village, but questioned why councillors who opposed a loan were now supporting a £5m "giveaway" of public money.
He said: "It seems hard to believe that, after criticising the previous Labour-led council for offering a loan to kick start the Lilidorei play village, they're happy to support a £5m give away.
"We could have had a repayment of £8.5m with interest and a boost to the council’s finances or we could just support giving the money away, ensuring we could do that by making further cuts in education, social care and housing locally and nationally.
"I welcome the jobs this is going to create but giving away tax payers’ money, when the council could have enjoyed a repayment with interest on a loan just beggars belief."
One councillor went further.
Writing on Facebook, Independent Rothbury Councillor Steven Bridgett, who opposed the previous loan plan, said: "It's still the public who are paying for this, whether it be the council or central government. It's just wrong.
I've got residents who live along the 'Borderlands' area in the Coquet Valley that don't even have mains electricity and 'the powers that be' have elected to give £5 million (in public money) to the Alnwick Garden."
Alnwick Garden representatives say the play structure is expected to bring an extra 280,000 visitors to Alnwick a year. They say the garden already has an economic impact of £282m in money spent with suppliers as well as the cash its visitors spend in the region.
Alnwick Garden director Mark Brassell said: "[The grant] is fantastic news for The Garden and the wider region. Lilidorei will draw visitors to Northumberland in the winter months, creating much needed economic activity and creating jobs. This will build on the social and economic impacts The Alnwick Garden has delivered over the last 18 years."
The Duchess of Northumberland, who originally designed the gardens as a tourist attraction, added: "Lilidorei, a magical village of goblins, elves, sprites and fairies has been many years in the making. It will encourage children to use their imagination and to play and interact with others outdoors as an alternative to being alone in front of a screen.
"Play is important for the mind and body - it isn’t something we just ‘do’. Using the best craftsmen and film set designers Lilidorei will transport the visitor into a fantastical world of play and I’m so happy that it is going to appear in Northumberland."
Minister for the Northern Powerhouse Jake Berry MP said: "This is an historic next step in building our Northern Powerhouse. Putting The Alnwick Garden at the heart of our Borderlands Growth Deal will drive significant growth is Northumberland and the North East. Alnwick already has a proven track record in driving the leisure economy for the entire region and we are happy to be partners building on this success."
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, which covers Cumbria and Scottish border counties as well as Northumberland, is set to be worth £345m, but it's not yet been confirmed exactly how much each area will receive or precisely what else the deal will fund.
