Tag: Pride in Place programme

UK Government announces Action Plan to build stronger communities

The government has launched a ‘rallying call for action, setting out the first steps towards a more connected, cohesive and resilient United Kingdom’

PROTECTING WHAT MATTERS

Millions of families, friends and neighbours will feel a stronger sense of community, unity and national pride thanks to renewed efforts to stamp out extremism, hate and division announced yesterday.

Today the government is launching a rallying call for action, setting out the first steps towards a more connected, cohesive and resilient United Kingdom – a place where neighbour continues to look out for neighbour and people come together with a shared sense of values, pride, and belonging.  

The action plan follows decades of rapid change – technological advancements, demographic change, local industries collapsing, the increasing cost of living and the decline of vital public services. This has caused a strain on social cohesion. Bad actors, including from abroad, have sought to stoke community tensions and promote toxic division and extremist ideology in our communities. 

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed told the House of Commons:  ”Today, through the publication of Protecting What Matters, we set out the first steps towards a more confident, cohesive, and resilient United Kingdom.

“This plan is what patriotism means to this government. We choose to celebrate our national successes and historic achievements, we choose to come together in the best of times and the worst of times, and we choose to take on those who try to divide us.”

This publication – Protecting What Matters – puts the emphasis on healing divided communities, setting out clear expectations around what it means to live together and integrate into society, tackling those trying to subvert our shared values and ultimately promoting pride, unity and tolerance.   

This comes as the latest statistics show that hate crime is rising, with Jewish people disproportionately more targeted by hate crime than any other group.  

To tackle antisemitism head on, the government is investing at record levels to scale up security at synagogues and schools, clamping down on antisemitic extremism, and rolling out training on antisemitism in the workplace.  

Religious hate crimes targeted at Muslims are also at record levels, with almost half of these crimes targeted towards the Muslim community and many living in fear that they will be targeted because of how they look or assumptions over where they come from.  This government has a duty to act but cannot tackle something that has not been defined.  

The UK government is taking the historic step of adopting a non-statutory definition of anti-Muslim hostility which makes it clear what is unacceptable prejudice, discrimination and hatred directed at Muslims or those perceived to be Muslim.   

Crucially, this definition protects the fundamental right to freedom of speech while protecting people from unacceptable abuse and violence. A special representative on anti-Muslim hostility will also be appointed to support action to strengthen understanding, reporting and response.   

This sits alongside a new suite of measures to bring communities across the country together:  

  • Tough action on extremism with stronger powers to shut down charities promoting extremism and transformed capability to disrupt extremists, including stopping hate preachers entering the UK, and an annual State of Extremism report.   
  • Clear expectations will be set around integration for people looking to settle in the UK, focused on shared language, local participation and respect for shared values. To support this, the Government will look at how English is taught, and if new technology can help more people can speak the language confidently.   
  • A £500,000 investment in community-led school linking projects will bring children from different backgrounds together, helping them forge friendships and understand what they have in common. And tougher oversight of home education – including the first-ever mandatory register of children not in school – will ensure no child misses out on the shared values and experiences that bind communities together. 

This all builds on the £5.8 billion committed to hundreds of areas through the Pride in Place programme, with power put in the hands of local people. 

Pride in Place: 40 neighbourhoods join transformational programme

Thousands more people handed the power to decide how millions are spent in their area as Pride in Place programme expands

Thousands more people in England will be given the power to transform their communities as the government expands its pledge to restore pride in their local neighbourhood.

Local people in 40 new areas will be able to decide where up to £20 million is invested in their neighbourhood – whether that’s breathing new life into high streets, saving much-loved community spaces, or bringing people together through local events and activities. 

The new package, worth up to £800 million, will build on the success of the £5 billion Pride in Place programme that has so far helped hundreds of neighbourhoods take control of their futures and bring real change to their communities. 

In Rawtenstall, students have been asked to imagine their ideal town. In Hastings, board members have been out talking to people at park runs, festivals and supermarkets to hear what matters most to them.  

The results are already visible. In Ramsgate, £500,000 secured the freehold of the town’s last remaining youth centre – saving it for generations to come.

In Elgin, Scotland, £1 million has been set aside to build a brand-new regional athletics hub, bringing sports clubs from across the northeast together under one roof. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “It is the same story in towns across the country. Youth clubs that have been abandoned, shops boarded up and high streets decimated.

“We must reverse the devastating decline in our communities and give power, agency and control to the very people who want to improve their community – those who have skin in the game.

“Through the Pride in Place Programme, communities – backed by the state and fired up by pride – will join the fight for national renewal and a Britain built for all.”

 Communities Secretary Steve Reed said: “Pride in Place is about giving power to local people who know best what needs to change in their area.

“The ambitious plans we’re seeing take shape in communities across the country is proof that when you give local people the tools to do the job – things get better.”

More than just funding, the Pride in Place Programme represents a shift in power into the hands of local people who know their communities best. This builds on the rich tapestry across the country of community leaders, volunteers and grassroots organisations already working hard to support their communities and making them a better place to live for everyone. 

Neighbourhood Boards, who oversee the funding allocated to their communities and are made up of local residents, are now up and running, listening to their communities and deciding where the money will go.

Crucially, Pride in Place is about establishing long-term change, and creating a legacy of community-centred action, delivery and empowerment which will last far beyond the decade long programme.   

Today’s announcement will mean a total of around 380 areas will get funding, with the benefits rippling far beyond individual neighbourhoods, with thriving and more cohesive communities helping to build a stronger, more prosperous country for everyone.

High streets to receive £150 million to restore community pride

Multi-million-pound package to turn the tide on ailing high streets, targeted in places most in need of support

High streets with boarded up shop fronts and lacking essentials such as butchers, grocers and bakeries will be given a multi-million-pound boost.

The £150 million cash injection will be targeted in areas hit hardest in recent years, and most in need of being brought back together.

Part of the government’s path to renewal, it will help turn the tide on this decline and restore a sense of pride people feel in their high streets and local area – which serves as a vital meeting point for communities.

Communities will bring people back into their local high streets by supporting local, independent businesses, improve neglected shopfronts and open up empty units. This will be the first step in the government’s upcoming High Streets Strategy, announced earlier this week.

It will build action already taken to restore pride in our communities, empowering councils in England to say no to new betting shops and vapes stores, supporting more than a thousand local pubs that offer extra services for communities and rejuvenating over 330 of the most deprived communities through our Pride in Place programme.

This is renewal in action, led by the people who know their neighbourhoods best, and backed by the government which is choosing unity over division.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed said: “Our high streets are the beating heart of Britain — where communities come together and local businesses can grow.

“Town centres have suffered from high streets falling into decline, and that is why we’re taking action to turn the tide with this crucial investment and more to come.

“We have listened to what people are telling us and that’s why we’re giving them the power and control to breathe new life back into our high streets and restore the sense of pride communities feel, building on our transformational Pride in Place programme.”

More details on the High Streets Strategy, including how funding will be allocated to specific places, will be announced in the coming months. 

Other steps taken by the UK government to regenerate high streets include:

  • Introducing a new community right to buy through the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill, giving local people greater power to save valued community assets like sports clubs and pubs. 
  • Ending ‘pub deserts’ by banning the loss of the last community facility in an area.
  • Action to tackle the proliferation of betting shops on high streets.

Call on communities to get involved in Pride in Place

Local people are invited to join their neighbourhood boards to have a say in shaping their areas over the next decade as part of the Pride in Place programme

  • Communities to receive a jump start to the Pride in Place programme with an initial £150,000 to 169 communities to begin delivering the change they want to see.
  • Local people invited to join their new Neighbourhood Board and take control of up to £20m of funding and support to deliver a decade of change in their neighbourhoods.
  • This comes as Phase One areas get started on their ambitious regeneration plans to transform their neighbourhoods.

People across the country are being urged to sign up to new Neighbourhood Boards – set up as part of the Pride in Place programme – to decide how £20m of new funding is spent in their communities over the next decade.

Pride in Place will empower neighbourhoods to make the changes they need in their communities to restore local pride and reinvigorate their areas, based entirely on local voices and priorities.

From revitalising their high street to setting up a community sports league, or boosting healthy eating with community cooking classes, guidance published today sets out a range of potential project ideas and provides communities with the toolkit to choose the projects that are right for them and suit their local needs and ambitions.

Alongside this, each of the 169 areas in receipt of Phase Two Pride in Place funding will now receive £150,000 of their funding early in the new year to enable them to get the ball rolling sooner on rebuilding their local communities, setting up their Boards and engaging the community on plans for the next decade.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “Whether it’s breathing new life into a high street, setting up a local sports league, or saving the pub at the heart of your community – Pride in Place is about putting power back where it belongs: in the hands of local people.

“We’re backing the local residents who step forward, join their Neighbourhood Boards, and help shape a decade of transformation.

“This isn’t about short-term fixes – it’s about lasting change that restores pride, strengthens communities and creates opportunities for everyone.”

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed, said: This is about bringing lasting change to people’s communities after years of decline.

“So today we’re calling on people up and down the country to get involved in bringing back pride to their community and country.”

Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities, Miatta Fahnbulleh, said: “Putting local people at the centre of the Pride in Place Programme is what really puts the value behind this money.

“Change and investment means nothing unless local people have their voices heard and their priorities met, so we are putting the residents that know there area best in the driving seat.”

Crucially, the new guidance also 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.

Those interested in getting involved should contact their local MP or Local Authority.

Starmer backs “true patriots” to lead UK renewal with £5bn investment

New powers let residents reclaim beloved assets and drive patriotic renewal, ‘street by street’ – delivering on the Plan for Change

  • Millions to benefit as communities revive high streets, parks and public spaces
  • Up to £5 billion Pride in Place programme puts local people across 339 neighbourhoods in the driving seat of national renewal, as government chooses unity over division
  • New powers let residents reclaim beloved assets and drive patriotic renewal, street by street – delivering on the Plan for Change

Neighbours and families across the UK will lead the revival of their communities, as the Prime Minister launches a landmark £5 billion Pride in Place programme — backing the ‘true patriots who build their communities up, and choosing unity over division’. 

As part of the fund, 169 areas will receive £2 million every year for a decade, giving long-overlooked communities the certainty and control they need to plan for the future. A further 95 areas will receive an immediate £1.5 million to upgrade public spaces with new green spaces, play areas and sports and leisure facilities.  

From Bootle to Bridgwater, local people will decide how funding is spent — reviving high streets, restoring parks, and breathing new life into pubs, leisure centres and community halls. This is renewal in action, led by the people who know their neighbourhoods best. 

Communities will also gain new powers to seize boarded-up shops, block nuisance businesses, and buy beloved local assets before they close – restoring pride and unity to every corner of the country.  

Yesterday’s announcement is part of the government’s Plan for Change, a decade-long mission to back the people who make their communities thrive. It sits alongside wider work to deliver cleaner, safer streets, create opportunities on every doorstep, and build the homes, roads and GP surgeries people need to thrive. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “For too long, people have watched their towns and streets decline – powerless to stop boarded-up shops and neglected parks. That ends now.  

“We’re investing in the UK’s future, by backing the true patriots that build our communities up in neighbourhoods across every corner of the country. Because it’s people who bring pride, hope and life to our communities. 

“This is a huge investment, but what matters most is who decides how it’s spent: the neighbours, volunteers and parents who know their communities best – the people with real skin in the game. 

“We’re choosing renewal over decline, unity over division. This is our Plan for Change in action – giving power and pride back to the people who make Britain great.” 

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed said: “Building pride in place starts with people, not politics. Local people know what they want to see in their neighbourhoods – and they don’t need government to dictate it.  

“This plan will spark an historic grassroots movement that will restore local people’s power, boost national pride and help people get on in life across the UK as part of our Plan for Change.” 

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves said: “We’re giving local people the power to transform their hometowns. Giving them more control of how money is spent where they live so that together we can invest in Britain’s renewal and build an economy that rewards working people. 

“This £5 billion investment doesn’t just reverse decades of underinvestment in our public infrastructure – it cuts through the bureaucracy by giving local people the power to deliver the change they want to see.” 

This announcement significantly scales up the work already underway in 75 areas, helping communities regenerate and restore local pride. 

The up to £5 billion package includes an additional £3.5 billion to roll out the programme to 169 more areas, each receiving up to £20 million over ten years. 

Separately, 95 areas receive a share of £150 million capital funding to improve public spaces, parks and high streets. 

Local people in the existing 75 areas are already shaping their communities, every project is the result of local people’s ideas and priorities—chosen by the community, for the community. It’s the people who know best what their area needs, and their voices are shaping the future of their towns and cities. 

£292 million Pride in Place investment for Scottish neighbourhoods

Scottish Local Authorities backed by Scotland Office to revitalise communities as part of our Plan for Change, with spending decisions in the hands of local people

Local communities are at the heart of Scottish life – and the Scotland Office is backing them with millions of pounds to improve the opportunities and environment for people across the country, the Prime Minister announced yesterday.

The Pride in Place programme will see up to £280 million shared among 12 Scottish local authorities to precisely target areas which can benefit most from funding being made available for a wide range of regeneration projects. Across the UK 169 of the most-in-need communities will benefit.

This includes 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.

And a Pride in Place Impact Fund will see 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.

Across the UK a total of 95 areas will receive this capital funding.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said yesterday: “The UK Government is committed to delivering a decade of national renewal for Scotland. Through the Pride in Place programmes we’re announcing today, the UK Government will provide 14 places in Scotland with up to £20 million over 10 years and eight Scottish local authorities with £1.5 million over two years.

“We are providing almost £300 million new direct investment to local authority areas to revitalise local communities.

“The UK Government will be working with local partners to deliver economic growth and l see these improvements made to communities up and down Scotland making them even greater places to live, work and play.”

Communities ‘to seize control over high streets and restore pride’

Local communities will be handed new powers to revitalise their high streets and restore pride in their towns

  • Communities will be handed unprecedented new powers to seize boarded shops, save derelict pubs and block gambling and vape shops on their high street. 
  • Prime Minister to announce “Pride in Place” Programme with historic funding to invest in over 330 of our most overlooked communities. 
  • The measures form the largest transfer of power from Whitehall to communities in history through the Plan for Change.

People will be given the power to revitalise their neglected high streets, create new spaces for young people and take back control of derelict pubs, to breathe new life into neglected communities up and down the country. 

Communities will be handed new powers to seize boarded up shops, save their treasured local pubs or libraries and clean up the eyesores in their area.  

Local people will finally have the powers to put things right after years of decline – an inheritance the government is determined to fix through the Plan for Change.   

This is about choosing a future where communities are empowered to come together, rather than be divided, and where renewal is chosen over decline. 
Prime Minister Keir Starmer will unveil the Pride in Place programme – an unprecedented programme backed by record funding – that lets local people call the shots on where and how money is spent in their communities, restoring local pride and helping them reclaim their streets.  

For far too long, communities have been dictated to rather than in control of their own destiny. This week marks a new way of governing. By choosing renewal over decline, this government is delivering lasting change working people will feel.

Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Steve Reed said: “When people step out of their front doors, they know their communities are struggling. They see shuttered pubs, fading high streets and their local areas in decline.  

“Yes, communities have been stretched – but they haven’t given up. They’re working hard to make things better, and we’re backing them.  

“The Government is putting power into their hands so local people decide how best to restore pride in their neighbourhoods, not us in Westminster.  

“That’s what real patriotism looks like: building up our communities and choosing renewal over division.”

The nationwide Pride in Place programme – which will be unveiled by the Prime Minister today (Thursday, 25 September) – will deliver a record investment and support over 330 communities in total.

It will tackle deep-rooted deprivation and regional inequality through wide-ranging action, including:

  • Community Right to Buy: handing local people the power to buy beloved assets, helping them turn around derelict pubs, create new parks and regenerate treasured spaces in the heart of their communities.  
  • Compulsory Purchase powers: allowing communities in England to acquire assets and eyesores like boarded up shops and derelict abandoned businesses, allowing new local start-ups to thrive. For larger sites – like disused department stores or abandoned office blocks – it could even see new health centres opening up, or local housing to help reach our target of 1.5 million homes. 
  • Power to block unwanted shops: empowering councils in England to say no to new betting shops, vapes stores and fake barbers.  
  • Giving residents the power: we will only approve spending if community groups, local organisations and social clubs have been included in decisions on how the money should be spent – putting real power in local hands and giving them a proper say over their community.

The Westminster government is looking at new powers that would give communities more control over where betting shops can open, and how many there can be in one area.

This is about giving people a say over their high street, particularly where there are high numbers of these types of shop already, not blocking these shops altogether.  

They are also looking at accelerating ways communities can take ownership of empty shops – helping to give them a greater say over what’s on their high streets, so they don’t just end up with rows of vape shops, gambling shops and barbers. The government is already bringing in new laws to crack down on dodgy vape shops through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. 

The Labour government will only approve spending if Pride in Place Boards have genuinely engaged their communities, so that community groups, local organisations and social clubs have been included in decisions on how the money should be spent. 

We (the UK Government) are announcing a raft of new powers and programmes to empower communities across the UK. Please note that some powers and programmes will not apply in every nation of the UK.  

The Pride in Place funding will be delivered in England, Scotland and Wales, with corresponding funding provided to Northern Ireland.

The government will be working closely with the Scottish and Welsh Governments to design specific programmes which put the principles of the strategy of community engagement at the centre.

Further detail on Northern Ireland, including support for Belfast, will follow.