The East Midlands is set to benefit from a major government investment, with communities across Derby, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire receiving a share of the landmark £5 billion Pride in Place programme announced nationally today by the Prime Minister.
The programme will put local people at the heart of community renewal, giving residents new powers and long-term funding to restore pride in their neighbourhoods.
There are areas in the region who will get up to £20 million over ten years to revitalise high streets, improve public spaces, and support community-led projects. Further areas will receive an immediate £1.5 million boost to enhance green spaces, leisure facilities and community hubs.
Areas set to receive up to £20 million each over 10 years
Areas set to receive £1.5 million in immediate funding
This investment, which will see 339 neighbourhoods across the country get a share of up to £5 billion, forms part of the Governments decade-long national mission to give communities the tools, powers and funding to shape their own futures. Residents will be able to reclaim boarded-up shops, protect cherished local assets, and invest in new parks, play areas and cultural spaces.
Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward said: “This new national investment is a welcome boost for our region. People here know what their towns and cities need, and this programme should help them make those changes a reality. In the East Midlands, we are already backing communities through the Mayor’s Community Development Fund, and it is encouraging to see national government now investing in similar principles of local control.”
Although the new Pride in Place programme will be run nationally, the East Midlands is already showing what locally-led decision making can achieve. Through the Mayor’s Community Development Fund, almost £3 million is being directed to ten areas across the region, with communities themselves deciding how the money is spent. This fund is helping to strengthen local pride and support projects that matter most to residents, and it shows the value of putting power directly in the hands of people who know their areas best.
Today’s announcement follows on from the Government £1.5 billion funding for 75 selected communities through the Plan for Neighbourhoods. Two areas in the East Midlands are already benefitting:
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.”
The full Pride in Place strategy can be found at: [gov.uk link]
Today’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.
Published on: 25 September 2025
Categories: News