The NEN – North Edinburgh News

£20 MILLION PRIDE IN COMMUNITIES CASH FOR NIDDRIE, BINGHAM, MAGDALENE & THE CHRISTIANS

Local communities are at the heart of Scottish life – and the UK Government is today announcing the 14 neighbourhoods each receiving up to £20 million to restore pride in their area and open doors to new opportunities.

In September the UK Government confirmed that the Pride in Place Programme will see up to £280 million shared among 14 neighbourhoods in 12 Scottish local authorities over 10 years to precisely target areas which can benefit most from a wide range of regeneration projects. 

The local authorities selected have both the highest deprivation levels and weakest social infrastructure. The Scotland Office invited evidence submissions from these local authorities, eligible MPs and constituency MSPs, the Scottish Government and wider community organisations as to which neighbourhoods should be chosen. 

We have now worked at pace and on the basis of strong stakeholder evidence have selected the neighbourhoods to receive the funding (see list below). 

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said: “The UK Government is backing 14 of Scotland’s most in need communities with £280 million investment – part of a £2 billion package to uphold pride in communities and create opportunities the length and breadth of the nation. 

“Over decades of decline, people have watched as their neighbourhoods have lost services and support, so now we are putting the power into the hands of local people who can decide how the money is spent. We’re investing directly in Scottish communities to build stronger, thriving neighbourhoods.”

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed said: People across Scotland have been shut out from their own futures and felt powerless to make the changes they want to see in their communities. Pride in Place is fixing that and putting power back where it belongs – in the hands of the people who have the knowledge, ambition and vision to make a real difference.

“We’re backing 14 neighbourhoods across Scotland with up to £20 million each, to put local people back in the driving seat to revitalise their communities and shape their futures.”

Neighbourhood Boards, comprising representatives from the local community, will decide exactly what the investment will be spent on. These will now be established, with funding starting from April 2026.

Projects could include revitalising high streets and town centres, preserving local heritage, providing housing, creating jobs, boosting productivity and skills, improving health and well-being, creating new transport links, providing education and opportunity and improving safety and security. 

Neighbourhood allocations – maps: https://we.tl/t-kRQF2DPUrp

Pride in Place: Up to £20m each (£280m total)

• Aberdeen City –  North Locality Priority Neighbourhood / Cummings Park, Heathryfold and Middlefield, Northfield, Mastrick
• City of Edinburgh –  Bingham, Magdalene, The Christians and Niddrie
• Falkirk – The Forgotten Villages, Braes Villages and Hallglen
• Fife x2 – 1) West Fife Villages / Oakley Comrie and Blairhall, Valleyfield Culross and Torryburn, Kincardine, Saline and Gowkhall; and 2) Methil and Buckhaven
• Glasgow x2 – 1)  Springburn and Sighthill; and 2) Castlemilk
• Highland –  North, West and East Sutherland
• North Ayrshire – Three Towns (Ardrossan, Saltcoats, and Stevenston)
• North Lanarkshire –  Forgewood, North Motherwell and town centre
• South Ayrshire –  Northern Ayr and Town Centre Regeneration Corridor
• South Lanarkshire –  Hamilton Town Centre 
• Na h-Eileanan Siar – Stornoway and Lewis
• West Lothian –  Fauldhouse, Whitburn and Blackburn 

In total, the UK Government is investing more than £2 billion over 10 years in dozens of important local and regional projects the length and breadth of Scotland, bringing much-needed economic and community renewal.

These include:

• £280m Pride in Place Programme (Phase 2)
• £12m Pride in Place Impact Fund
• £200m support for ten Scottish towns (Pride in Place Phase 1)
• £320m for the Glasgow City Region and North East Scotland Investment Zones
• £52m for the Inverness and Cromarty Firth, and Forth Green Freeports
• £81m for Community Regeneration Partnerships in Dundee, Scottish Borders, Argyll & Bute, and Na h-Eileanan Siar
• £188m to complete Levelling Up Fund projects
• £76m in UK Shared Prosperity Fund transition funding for 2025/26
• £60m innovation funding for Glasgow City Region (across the Innovation Accelerator 2025/26 and new Local Innovation Partnerships Fund)
• £17.3m for Energy Transition Zone
• £5m for Community Ownership Fund projects
• £2.6m for the V&A in Dundee
• £752m to deliver Scotland’s 12 City Region and Growth Deals over 2025/26 – 2034/35. 

Council Leader Jane Meagher has welcomed up to £20m of UK Government funding for four communities in East Edinburgh. The Pride in Place Programme funding was announced yesterday. 

Council Leader Jane Meagher said: “The government’s £20m investment over the next 10 years in Niddrie, Bingham, Magdalene and The Christians is wonderful news.

“The long-term certainty this brings is incredibly helpful for communities and partners alike. This is a vibrant and active community with a clear passion for shaping their own future, and this sustained funding will not only boost their hard work, it will directly give them a voice in deciding how the money is invested over the next decade. It’s an approach we are keen to learn from.

“The announcement strongly aligns with the council’s commitment to put support at the heart of our communities where people need it most. Our city-wide poverty prevention programme, including our neighbourhood prevention partnership, is focused on tackling inequalities and improving access to help. 

“We look forward to working closely with the local community to establish a neighbourhood board, and to work with them over the coming years to ensure every pound is invested in line with the needs, priorities and ambitions of their community.”

New guidance outlines that Neighbourhood Boards will have to prove they have listened to and have the backing of residents and their local community to receive all their funding, ensuring that community voices sit at the heart of the decisions made about the future of their areas.

Any resident with big ideas and a desire to transform their community can get involved, with boards being chaired by an independent member of the community, chosen for their ambition and potential to lead their community.

Local authorities and MPs in Pride in Place neighbourhoods will now begin to work with their communities to pick the right chair to take the reins of their Neighbourhood Board, lead on engagement with the community, and drive forward the changes they want to see.

Alongside the long-term £280 million investment through Pride in Place Programme neighbourhood allocations, we have also made £12 million available through the Pride in Place Impact Fund (PIPIF).

This sees eight local authorities share £12 million to fund the types of changes people have said they want to see. These could include new green spaces, play areas and town centre revitalisation to sports and leisure facilities and the improvement and ownership of key community assets.

That money should be spent fast by local councils so that people see and feel tangible change in their communities at the start of 2026. The local authorities which have each been given £1.5 million allocations to spend over two years, starting 2025/26, are Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, North Ayrshire, Dundee, North Lanarkshire, Inverclyde, East Ayrshire and Falkirk. 

This is in addition to the £200 million that has been made available for ten Scottish towns (Arbroath, Elgin, Kirkwall, Peterhead, Dumfries, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Clydebank, Coatbridge and Greenock) as part of Pride in Place Phase One, which the UK Government announced earlier this year.

Local people in the existing 10 Scottish towns are already having their say over how to improve their community:

In Elgin more than 1,000 ideas have already been submitted, including tackling empty shops, revamping the town shopping centre.

In Peterhead people are ramping up CCTV in the town centre to tackle anti-social behaviour and investing in indoor sports and leisure facilities.