Welsh county borough named among nine to receive £20m UK government funding

Elgan Hearn, Local Democracy Reporter 

A Welsh county borough has been chosen as one of nine communities by the UK Government to receive £20 million over 10 years.

The announcement was made last September and at a meeting of Blaenau Gwent County Borough Council’s Economic Development and Environmental Management scrutiny committee on Monday, January 5, councillors discussed where this funding would be used.

The money comes in the second round of the Pride in Place programme which is the UK Government’s: “Flagship communities programme which empowers local people to shape the future of their neighbourhood.”

The UK Government is providing £5 billion to fund this programme over 10 years and says that it: “represents a long-term strategy to fix the foundations in hundreds of communities across the country.”

The funding will be used in the most in-need neighbourhoods across the UK and the criteria for selecting these areas includes:

• Be a single area within the relevant local authority boundary.
• Contain generally between 5,000 and 15,000 residents.
• Be supported by a clear evidence base to identify the most in need neighbourhood, drawing on the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation as the primary data sources

Councillors have ranked three areas of Blaenau Gwent to use this funding ahead of a Government selection deadline of Friday, January 9.

Once the selection process is agreed a Neighbourhood Board will be set up to represent local residents.

This will be led by a Chairman/Chairwoman and supported by both the local authority and the constituency MP.

Pride in Place Plan

Once this is in place the board together with the community will need to come up with a “Pride in Place Plan.”

This plan sets out how up to £20 million will be spent over the course of a decade.

The board will need to show that their plan. is a “genuine reflection” of what residents want.

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steven Reed MP said:  “This isn’t about pet projects, it’s serious investment for the priorities of local people it’s a new way of delivering change.

“Beyond funding, the Pride in Place Strategy sets out a range of new powers and tools that communities can use to renew their neighbourhoods and high streets.

“Local boards should consider deploying community powers, like the right to buy local spaces, or push local authorities to use their powers, like clean-up notices, or shop-front design guides.

“These new powers mean that it’s local people who will decide how best to restore pride in their areas – not us in Westminster.”

After three years it is expected that the board would be “community led.”

This means that the board would be run by “an established local community organisation,” become a co-operative, community interest company, community benefit society or charity.