Local people in Wales to see their high streets revived,
community hubs saved and public services transformed with £100
million funding through the government's Plan for Neighbourhoods
to tackle deprivation and turbocharge growth, as every area joins
the decade of national renewal committed to in our Plan for
Change.
A total of 75 areas will each receive up to £20 million of
funding and support over the next decade through the plan, with
ministers vowing it will help transform “left behind” areas by
unleashing their full potential by investing in delivering
improved vital community services from education, health and
employment, to tackling local issues like crime. Transformation
will be holistic, long-term, and sustainable to deliver
meaningful change in the day-to-day lives of local people.
In Wales areas due to receive funding through the plan
include:
- Barry
- Wrexham
- Rhyl
- Cwmbrân
- Merthyr Tydfil
Each board will decide how to spend up to £20 million of funding
and support – they can choose from options ranging from repairs
to pavements and high streets, to setting up low-cost community
grocers providing low-cost alternatives when shopping for
essentials, as well as co-operatives or even neighbourhood
watches.
This is the latest step in the government's ambitious Plan for
Change missions to grow the UK economy, deliver safer streets and
create opportunities for everyone.
UK Government will work with the Welsh Government to ensure the
Plan for Neighbourhoods compliments, supports, and aligns with
the Welsh Government's existing work and policies on regeneration
and local economic growth.
Today's announcement is in contrast to unfunded pledges from the
previous government. The Plan for Neighbourhoods doubles the
scope of the types of projects that can benefit and is now fully
aligned with the Government's long-term Plan for Change missions:
breaking down barriers to opportunity and kickstarting economic
growth.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing,
Communities and Local Government MP said:
For years, too many neighbourhoods have been starved of
investment, despite their potential to thrive and grow.
Communities across the UK have so much to offer – rich cultural
capital, unique heritage but most of all, an understanding of
their own neighbourhood.
We will do things differently, our fully funded Plan for
Neighbourhoods puts local people in the driving seat of their
potential, having control of where the Whitehall cash goes – what
issues they want to tackle, where they want to regenerate and
what growth they want turbocharge.”
Minister for Local Growth and Building Safety, MP, said:
When our local neighbourhoods thrive, the rest of the country
thrives too. That's why we are empowering communities to take
control of their futures and create the regeneration and growth
they want to see.
Our Plan for Neighbourhoods we will deliver long-term funding
that will bolster that inner community spirit in us all and
relight the fires in corners of the UK that have for too long
been left fighting for survival.
“This, along with our ambitious reforms to streamline the
planning system, devolve powers and strengthen workers' rights,
will help get places and people thriving once again.”
Secretary of State for Wales MP said:
The UK Government's Plan for Neighbourhoods is fantastic news for
Wales, providing £100 million to boost growth by investing in
high streets, parks, cultural venues, youth clubs and more. We
are working with the Welsh Government to help local people from
Rhyl to Merthyr Tydfil transform their communities.
Our Plan for Change sets out how we want to the grow the economy,
create jobs and put more money in people's pockets. Targeted
local funding is a vital part of our economic growth mission and
will support the fantastic work the Welsh Government are already
doing to regenerate communities across Wales.”
In each area, the government will support the establishment of a
new ‘Neighbourhood Board', bringing together residents, local
businesses, and grassroots campaigners to draw up and implement a
new vision for their neighbourhood.
Each board will decide how to spend up to £20 million of funding
and support. The government's Plan for
Neighbourhoods' ultimate aim is to create thriving places,
strengthen communities, and empower local people to take back
control in towns across the country.
By creating thriving places, strengthening communities, and
empowering people to take back control areas can drive forward
their priorities and the Government's long-term Plan for Change
missions: breaking down barriers to opportunity and kickstarting
economic growth.
We will work with the Welsh Government through the normal
intergovernmental structures to make boards' work stronger and
more effective by ensuring greater strategic alignment across the
priorities of both governments.
