The Government has failed to inject money and support local communities in Shepton in yesterday's Levelling Up funding announcement. 

It comes despite Rishi Sunak's own constituency of Richmond in Yorkshire receiving £19m of levelling up funding. 

If the bid had been successful, it would have provided funding to deliver public realm and highway infrastructure improvements in Shepton, as well as a travel hub with enhanced cycle storage and better bus interchange and tourist information, new signage and pedestrian crossing improvements.

The bid was prepared following advice from Central Government who highlighted Mendip as a priority 1 area most in need of Levelling Up investment.

The MP for Shepton Mallet, James Heappey had called the bid - which also included funding for Cheddar and Highbridge - "unimaginative".

Speaking after news that the bid had failed, he said he was 'not surprised.'

"I'm not surprised that the lacklustre bid submitted has failed to find favour," he said. "I was warned by the minister before bids closed that the proposed series of minor public realm improvements in Highbridge, Cheddar and Shepton Mallet would compete poorly with the more strategic - and ambitious - proposals being made by other parts of the country.

"I passed these warnings on to council officials along with my frustration that I'd been saying the same in meetings with the councils over many months beforehand.

"The one silver lining in this sorry tale is that there is to be another round of Levelling Up Fund grants. I look forward to working with the new Somerset Council to make sure that, this time, we come up with something that will genuinely move the dial for our local economy, provides value for money for the taxpayer, and allows our towns to meaningfully regenerate."

Only one of Somerset's four bids was successful. Sedgemoor District Council and its partners received £19.7m for its proposals surrounding the former Bridgwater Community Hospital and a vacant facility in Minehead.

The project will built on the £23.2m received for regeneration in the Bridgwater town deal and £10m from the first round of the levelling-up fund

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove said: "We are firing the starting gun on more than 100 transformational projects in every corner of the UK that will revitalise communities that have historically been overlooked but are bursting with potential.

"This new funding will create jobs, drive economic growth, and help to restore local pride.

"We are delivering on the people's priorities, levelling up across the UK to ensure that no matter where you are from, you can go as far as your talents will take you."