A MULTI-million-pound cash injection promised to Workington by the Government has been welcomed by a leading councillor.

Mark Jenkinson, deputy leader of Allerdale council, has welcomed the Government’s announcement that the town is to get up to £25million.

Conservative Coun Jenkinson said: “It’s a game-changing amount of money – we could use it for one or two infrastructure projects, for example, or for smaller projects.”

He added it was still unclear which parts of the town would qualify for any project put forward, whether it was the town as a whole or just the town centre.

The fund had already been launched earlier this year but Chancellor of the Exchequer Sajid Javid announced an extension to the scheme last week, which included Workington in the plans.

It is part of the £3.6billion Towns Fund pot.

Coun Jenkinson said the funding is subject to approval of a business case, which will be submitted by a number of partners, and more details would be revealed soon.

Other towns qualifying for the cash-boost in Cumbria are Cleator Moor and Millom.

However Allerdale councillor Tony Lywood, the would-be Labour MP for Copeland, has labelled the investment hope as blatant electioneering as talk of going to the polls intensifies with Parliament in Brexit turmoil.

Coun Lywood said: “It is not a coincidence that all these announcements about ‘new money’ are in an election period.

“Every year we are told that austerity is over but it still continues.”

And Coun Jenkinson admitted that if a general election was to be held and the majority taken away from the Conservatives, the plans could be scrapped by a new Government.

He added that while the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had shown commitment to the North West of England by allocating these funds to the area, he could not rule out that the towns had been selected because they represent marginal seats.

“Retaining a Conservative government at the next election would mean we would see more of this kind of funding,” he added.

Town Deals are designed to boost productivity and raise living standards.