'Communities will make the best decisions for themselves' - £20 million Sheffield investments are launched
“If you let communities and places make their own decisions, they will make the best decisions for themselves and their communities”
Residents are being urged to put their ideas forward as a new programme is set to see £20 million invested into ‘underfunded’ communities.
Sheffield’s Pride in Place programme has kicked off, seeing the Government fund millions into Batemoor, Jordanthorpe and Lowedges, as well as Parson Cross and Fox Hill over the next 10 years.
In an exclusive interview with The Star, one of the leading figures behind the local project explained how the funding will be entirely community-led, allowing residents to put forward their ideas for what their communities need.
“At the end of 10 years you want people in the area to be saying ‘it really feels like a different place. We’re so proud of our place and our community and it feels like there’s lots of opportunity here’,” independent chair for Batemoor, Jordanthorpe and Lowedges, Kris Mackay, told The Star.
The national Pride in Place scheme will see a total of £5 billion invested into 250 areas across the UK to support long-term improvements.
Unlike other funding schemes, the money will not be ring-fenced, meaning it is not restricted to specific areas like highways or the environment.
Kris continued: “It’s a really, seriously exciting programme, because you’ve got a large amount of long-term investment going into a place that’s had a lot of underinvestment over a number of decades.
“It really does feel like a once in a generation opportunity - that you have that amount of money committed over such a long time. A lot of these projects tend to be like two or three year projects, so they’re getting going when they close down.
“Whereas this kind of longer term timeline allows you to think about doing something really strategic and really shaped by local people.
“This whole programme is designed to be community-led, so it’s not a council programme being done to a community - the whole way the program is set up to be structured is so that it can be community-owned and community-led.”
Over the summer, Kris’ team and their counterparts in Parson Cross and Foxhill will be building up a board of volunteers from the local communities, who will help guide the two programmes.
They will then work towards developing a list of priorities for how the money can be spent by the end of the year.
“Some elements of it will be really spatial, practical things,” Kris added.
“People might say ‘I’d like some public art on this wall’, or ‘we need a better mechanism for cutting grass to make sure it looks neat and tidy’.
“With the amount of investment here and the intention of the programme, I think there’s things you can do to the place to make it look and feel better, but also to actually fundamentally change outcomes at a place. Things the programme will want to do is look at how we fund local jobs and opportunities. How can we back new businesses in the area?
“I’m imagining in those neighbourhoods things like improving housing and housing retrofit will be really important. Can we use the investment to support local people to become trained to deliver that? So you can then end up bringing more money into the community and more opportunities.”
She said that the community will put forward their priorities, with the investment then split into ‘capital projects’ - which will see physical changes to the community - and wider investment opportunities focusing on things like education or delivering job outcomes.
“It’s really for the community to determine what will improve their place the most,” she continued.
“That’s what underpins the programme - if you let communities and places make their own decisions, they will make the best decisions for themselves and their communities.”
Anyone interested in getting involved is being urged to check the website here, or join a drop-in event at Unit 3 of the Jordanthorpe Centre this Thursday (June 18) between 1.30pm and 4.30pm.
A session is also set to be hosted in Parson Cross and Fox Hill.
Louise Haigh MP for Sheffield Heeley said: "I’m delighted to welcome Kris Mackay as the new Independent Chair for Batemoor, Jordanthorpe and Lowedges' Pride in Place programme. Kris brings with her a wealth of experience in helping to deliver community led projects.
"This £20 million investment is a huge opportunity to deliver the improvements local people want to see in their neighbourhoods and ensure our communities receive the long-term support they deserve.
"The success of this programme will depend on local people being at its heart. I would encourage anyone who feels they can make a real difference to their community and the future of Batemoor, Jordanthorpe and Lowedges to consider applying to join the neighbourhood board and help shape how this funding is invested over the coming decade.
“If resident are unable to be part of the Board then we will be speaking to all residents over the summer to find out what their priorities are for their community, so look out for more details on my website.”