thamesmead — The government has unveiled a £319 million Pride in Place investment while residents in Matson and Robinswood, Gloucester, will control £2 million a year for 10 years to spend on neighbourhood improvements. A locally formed panel of residents, backed by the local MP and the local authority, will decide which projects receive funding to build stronger communities and revive high streets. The package includes a national commitment to high-street innovation plus targeted funding for children’s play spaces and new community powers.
Gloucester panel to steer £20m local programme
Matson and Robinswood locals will be invited to apply to sit on a decision-making panel that will allocate the £2 million yearly sum for community benefit over the next decade. The panel model is designed to hand power to residents to shape neighbourhood projects, from pavement and high-street improvements to investments in culture and green spaces. The local panel will be supported by the local MP and the local authority as it chooses the first projects to fund.
Volunteer gardener Roy Kellett, who runs the Matson Community Gardening Group, said: “It’s going to be fantastic. It’s just making sure the money is spent wisely. ” He outlined ambitions for a more inclusive Matson Rose Garden and an all-purpose building to replace lost drop-in space: “The loss of the Phoenix Centre has been a real sad thing. There’s not something now where someone could just drop in to have a cuppa and get to know people. Having the building in use again would be fantastic. “
Vanessa Worrall of the Redwell Centre expressed hope the community panel format will deliver residents what they need. Alex McIntyre, Labour MP for Gloucester, said the funding gives “residents the opportunity to shape the plans and make the big decisions. ” The scheme also grants communities new powers to take control of local assets and tackle vacant or derelict buildings.
Thamesmead: national Pride in Place package seeks to revive high streets and play
The wider Pride in Place strategy delivers a £319 million investment split across clear strands aimed at reversing community decline. A headline commitment of £301 million will fund High Streets Innovation Partnerships, intended to help local areas reimagine struggling high streets as mixed-use spaces that could include homes, health services, libraries, community hubs and green spaces. The programme also earmarks a summer of activity on high streets tied to major cultural and sporting events to boost footfall.
Separately, £18 million has been designated to create safe places for children to play, targeting 66 of the most deprived communities to buy or upgrade playgrounds where children face the poorest access to play. Areas with the highest income deprivation affecting children were selected to prioritise need.
What’s next: panels form, projects chosen and national roll-out monitored
Residents in Matson and Robinswood will soon be able to apply to join the local decision-making panel; once formed, that panel will choose the first community projects to fund from the £2 million annual allocation. Nationally, locations for High Streets Innovation Partnerships will be confirmed in due course as the Pride in Place programme moves from announcement to delivery. Community groups, local authorities and MPs will watch how panels operate and which interventions prove effective before further roll-out.
Community volunteers and local leaders say they will focus on making sure funds are used wisely and on returning lost community spaces to public use, goals that supporters hope will be echoed in places beyond Gloucester, including round-the-country neighbourhoods such as thamesmead as the programme is implemented.
