As part of its Plan for Neighbourhoods, the Government has announced £1.5 billion funding for 75 communities across the UK
The idea is to help fund community services like education, health, and employment, as well as to tackle crime. What’s more, the funding could provide a lifeline for the UK’s struggling high streets.
Each community will receive up to £20 million and will be able to decide how they spend it. To decide this, they will elect a board made up of residents, local businesses owners, and other community representatives.
This means that businesses – both large and small – could have access to the funding they need to set up shop – and stay – on the country’s high streets.
It is not just economic benefits that high streets provide. They are also places where communities are formed through client relationships in hair and beauty salons, local interest groups, and childcare facilities such as creches.
As such, the funding highlights the importance of local investment – in high streets as well as elsewhere – for the UK’s neighbourhoods, especially those which are most deprived.
According to the Local Data Company, hairdressing, health, and beauty was the fastest growing high street category between 2013 and 2023. Moreover, barbers, nail salons, and beauty salons all ranked in the top 10 fastest growing retail categories, with barbers taking the top spot overall.
Despite this, some high street fixtures such as hairdressing salons were found to be suffering.
With colleges and other vocational courses grappling with a lack of funding, these businesses may struggle to recruit from their local communities. This is despite rising levels of unemployment across the country.
Luckily, each neighbourhood board will be monitored by its local Mayor, a figure whose role it is to represent them at a Government level.
In theory, then, local communities will not only have better funding under the Plan for Change, but also a new, and welcome, level of influence in Government itself.
To find out which communities will receive funding, see the Plan for Neighbourhoods press release.
To apply to join a neighbourhood board, first check to see if your community is due to receive funding. If your community is due to receive funding, contact your local authority who can provide more detail on membership.
The Plan comes alongside other pushes for local investment, including the new London Growth Plan. The London Growth Plan aims to:
- Back businesses by providing more funding opportunities
- Bring more Londoners into work and encourage new talent
- Boost the London economy especially in high growth areas
- Reduce housing costs so more people can work in the capital
Following a similar model as the Plan for Neighbourhoods, the London Growth Plan will give more input to local authorities such as individual boroughs. More information on the Growth Plan can be found here.
