Chesterfield set to receive Government funding boost of up to £20 million - to help revitalise high streets and tackle crime in “left behind” areas

Chesterfield will benefit from a funding pot of up to £20 million through the government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods, which aims to tackle deprivation and turbocharge growth by reviving high streets, saving community hubs and strengthening public services.

The town is one of 10 areas across the East Midlands set to receive a portion of £200 million worth of funds, including Mansfield, Kirkby-in-Ashfield and Worksop.

A total of 75 areas across the country will each receive funding and support over the next decade through the plan, with ministers vowing it will help transform “left behind” areas by unleashing their full potential. It is hoped that the plan will help to deliver improved vital community services from education, health and employment, as well as tackling local issues like crime.

In each of these 75 communities, the government will support the establishment of a new ‘Neighbourhood Board’, bringing together residents, local businesses, and grassroots campaigners to draw up and implement a new vision for their neighbourhood.   

These boards will decide how to spend the money in their area. They can choose from options ranging from repairs to pavements and high streets, to setting up low-cost community grocers providing low-cost alternatives when shopping for essentials - as well as co-operatives or even neighbourhood watches. 

Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, welcomed the announcement - and said it would provide a real boost for the town centre and help attract new businesses to the area.

He said: “I’m delighted that Chesterfield is to receive £20 million from Plan for Neighbourhood’s funding. Together with the £20 million we are receiving from the levelling up fund, this will provide real opportunities for improving the town centre, attracting new businesses and growing the local economy.

“It will also provide opportunities for new youth clubs, cultural venues and other social improvements. We all know that our town centres and high streets have struggled with the rise of online shopping and the hangover from Tory austerity and the pandemic, but this funding will help turn things around. This is the difference you get with a Labour Government.

“Labour is focusing on three long-term aims – to build thriving places, strengthen communities and empower people to take back control instead of sticking plaster policies. The new ‘Neighbourhood Board’ will bring together residents, local business owners and grassroots campaigners to set a vision for the future of their community – ensuring local voices are deciding what we want the future of our town to be.”

Labour said that this announcement was in contrast to unfunded pledges from the previous government. They added that the Plan for Neighbourhoods doubles the scope of the types of projects that can benefit and is now fully aligned with the Government’s long-term Plan for Change missions - breaking down barriers to opportunity and kickstarting economic growth.

Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Angela Rayner MP, 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 MP, 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 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.” 

The Plan for Neighbourhoods delivers on the commitments made to these communities from the previous Government’s Long-Term Plan for Towns, with Labour confirming at the 2024 Autumn Budget that this would be retained and reformed.