Major Whitehaven projects could be under threat if a cash bid is snubbed by business chiefs.

That’s the warning being issued by Copeland mayor Mike Starkie after it emerged that Cumbria is expected to receive only £14million of a £165million bid for Government Growth Deal funding.

Cumbria’s Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is expected to decide today which schemes to allocate its reduced amount to.

Mr Starkie – a LEP board member – is calling on colleagues to commit the bulk of the funding to Copeland’s part of the bid which includes cash towards a harbourside hotel/apartment/car park complex and a proposed Whitehaven Relief Road.

Mr Starkie said: “Our part of the bid was £11.235m, which would then secure more than £40m of private investment. This is in addition to more than 600 jobs created and 500 jobs supported.

“Copeland has never benefited from any of the previous Growth Deal settlements and it was agreed at the outset that this needed to be rebalanced.

"But that aside, Copeland’s part of the bid was independently ranked as the county’s number one priority.”

Mr Starkie was speaking out amid speculation ahead of tomorrow’s board meeting that none of the Cumbria cash will head Copeland’s way. He has written to all 12 Copeland-based Cumbria county councillors to ask for their backing.

“We have a difficult task in selecting the projects we wish to support with our reduced offer from central government, but I urge the LEP to have faith in the ranking criteria and support us. There is little point obtaining independent analysis and ranking the bids if the recommendations are to be ignored.”

Copeland MP Jamie Reed has also expressed disappointment that Cumbria LEP is due to receive less than 10 per cent of its request “despite being home to some of the most exciting and strategically important projects in the country”.

The lower-than-bid-for amount was indicated by Whitehall to Cumbria’s LEP prior to last week’s Autumn Statement.

Mr Reed added: “This is essentially a punishment beating for our county from this government.

“The childish, spiteful response of government demonstrated through this funding snub risks our ability to maximise upon these projects.”

Copeland’s £11.235m portion of the bid was earmarked to back Britain’s Energy Coast’s plans for a 144-room hotel on the former bus depot site and a 46-apartment block to replace the dilapidated bus station opposite.

Cash would also go towards the creation of an 800-space multi-storey car park, between the harbour and Tesco, for hotel guests and the public, plus another business development.

Also included is £800,000 for a feasibility study into the proposed Whitehaven Relief Road, which would leave the A595 at the Howgate roundabout and rejoin it close to the Westlakes Science Park.