Council executive to discuss £60m Government investment into ‘doubly disadvantaged’ Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough estates
A £60m Government investment into ‘doubly disadvantaged’ Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough estates is to be discussed by North Northants Council (NNC) executive members next week.
The Pride in Place investment will be £2m a year for a decade going out into Kingswood and Hazel Leys estates in Corby, Kettering’s Avondale Grange and the Queensway estate in Wellingborough.
Previously identified as ‘left behind’ communities, the three areas are deemed to be ‘doubly disadvantaged’ by having the ‘highest deprivation levels’ and ‘weakest social infrastructure’.
Each of these areas will have their own neighbourhood board, composed of residents, local businesses and community organisations and develop their own regeneration plan.
Martin Griffiths, leader of NNC, said: “The Pride in Place plans will outline a programme for delivery of a range of projects over the course of the ten-year period and beyond, considering opportunities to attract and combine new and existing private, public and other funding streams.
"The fund has three objectives; to build stronger communities, to create thriving places and to empower people to take back control. These are all objectives which myself and my peers are fundamentally aligned to and I look forward to getting on with this work."
An independent chairman will be appointed to lead each neighbourhood board. The chairman will act as a ‘champion’ for the place and provide leadership for the board, ensuring it is community-led and embedded within the local area.
Local MPs will also have an important role in the programme and will each have a seat on their respective neighbourhood board to decide how to spend the allocated £20m.
Residents will be brought together with local political leaders, other statutory partners, businesses and community organisations to produce a ‘clear vision’ for their area.
The neighbourhood boards will give local people the power to decide how funding is spent, putting communities in charge of the future of their neighbourhoods. Each board must work with the wider community to develop a Pride in Place Regeneration Plan, setting out a vision for their area and the projects that they would like to prioritise for delivery.
Locally, North Northants Council will be the accountable body for the programme in the area and funding, meaning it is responsible for financial management – administering and overseeing public funds, ensuring compliance, providing financial reporting and delivering transparent ‘open book’ accounting for all costs, including in-kind contributions and addressing any potential conflicts of interest.
The leader of the council will nominates a local ward councillor for each neighbourhood board.
The Pride in Place Programme will see a £5 billion, 10-year investment targeting up to 250 of the UK’s most deprived and socially disconnected neighbourhoods. The fund has three objectives; to build stronger communities, to create thriving places and to empower people to take back control.
Areas were selected using the Index of Multiple Deprivation and Community Needs Index, to identify areas with the poorest social and economic outcomes and create a single index of need.
NNC’s executive will meet on Tuesday, February 17 at 10am at Corby Cube and the papers are now available online. The meeting will be livestreamed on YouTube.
For more information go to https://www.northnorthants.gov.uk/communities/pride-place-programme.