News: Retained £20m Rotherham regeneration pot given wider remit
£20m earmarked for Rotherham by the previous Government has been confirmed and has been given a wider remit focusing on neighbourhood renewal and improving social capital.
Rotherham was selected in 2023 as one of 55 towns to be given £20m endowment-style funds to invest in local people’s priorities. The Long Term Plan for Towns has now been extended to 75 “left behind” areas and renamed the Plan for Neighbourhoods as part of efforts to end the "Whitehall knows best" approach by empowering local leaders to strengthen communities.
Undertaking meaningful engagement with the local community is a central pillar of the funding and "Neighbourhood Boards" will work up a Regeneration Plan – in partnership with the local authority - to deliver the strategic objectives of the programme.
Investment over a ten year period will take place 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.
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With £250,000 of capcity funding already awarded to the borough, Rotherham Town Board, a private-sector chaired board that oversees government spending, has already been working on plans for the £20m endowment.
Rothbiz reported last year that the long term plan would focus on the key themes of safety and security, high streets, heritage and regeneration, and transport and connectivity.
The new prospectus adds more potential interventions with activities listed ranging "from eye-catching new developments to the bread-and-butter issues raised by people on the doorstep."
The programme has three strategic objectives - thriving places, stronger communities and taking back control. Adding to safety, regeneration, high streets, heritage and transport interventions, money could be spent on addressing housing and homelessness issues, worklessness, business support, community cohesion, youth and community groups, sport and activity, education and skills and child poverty.
A further capacity payment of £200,000 will be made this financial year. Delivery funding will be released from the beginning of the 2026 to 2027 financial year.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner 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, Alex Norris added: “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.”
Neighbourhood Boards will need to confirm finalised membership and any proposals to alter their place boundaries by the end of April. The previous allocation came with a defined area around Rotherham town centre. From Spring 2025 to winter 2025 Neighbourhood Boards will submit their Regeneration Plan to government for assessment and approval.
Images: RMBC
Rotherham was selected in 2023 as one of 55 towns to be given £20m endowment-style funds to invest in local people’s priorities. The Long Term Plan for Towns has now been extended to 75 “left behind” areas and renamed the Plan for Neighbourhoods as part of efforts to end the "Whitehall knows best" approach by empowering local leaders to strengthen communities.
Undertaking meaningful engagement with the local community is a central pillar of the funding and "Neighbourhood Boards" will work up a Regeneration Plan – in partnership with the local authority - to deliver the strategic objectives of the programme.
Investment over a ten year period will take place 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.
Advertisement
With £250,000 of capcity funding already awarded to the borough, Rotherham Town Board, a private-sector chaired board that oversees government spending, has already been working on plans for the £20m endowment.
Rothbiz reported last year that the long term plan would focus on the key themes of safety and security, high streets, heritage and regeneration, and transport and connectivity.
The new prospectus adds more potential interventions with activities listed ranging "from eye-catching new developments to the bread-and-butter issues raised by people on the doorstep."
The programme has three strategic objectives - thriving places, stronger communities and taking back control. Adding to safety, regeneration, high streets, heritage and transport interventions, money could be spent on addressing housing and homelessness issues, worklessness, business support, community cohesion, youth and community groups, sport and activity, education and skills and child poverty.
A further capacity payment of £200,000 will be made this financial year. Delivery funding will be released from the beginning of the 2026 to 2027 financial year.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner 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, Alex Norris added: “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.”
Neighbourhood Boards will need to confirm finalised membership and any proposals to alter their place boundaries by the end of April. The previous allocation came with a defined area around Rotherham town centre. From Spring 2025 to winter 2025 Neighbourhood Boards will submit their Regeneration Plan to government for assessment and approval.
Images: RMBC
1 comments:
And how long do you think it will be before someone objects that this is a waste of local taxpayers money?
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