In September, I was proud to announce a significant expansion to our Pride in Place Programme, handing up to £5bn directly to 244 of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK, with communities in the driving seat of spending plans.

Today, I can now confirm that 40 places will join the Pride in Place Programme. That means that nearly 300 communities will benefit from this transformational programme. This represents an additional £800m investment in places that have for too long been overlooked and left behind. The Government will confirm places that will be in receipt of this funding in due course.

The expansion is part of efforts to reverse the decline communities have faced. Pride in Place is about more than funding – it's about giving communities the power to take control of their own future.

Local people know best what change is needed in their area. That is why communities are in charge of plans for this investment. 75 Neighbourhood Boards are already up and running, bringing together local people to come up with a plan for the future of their area.

In Ramsgate, the community has decided to invest £500,000 to save the town’s last youth centre from closure, securing the building’s future and ensuring vital services for young people can continue. Residents of Elgin have chosen to spend £1 million to create a new regional athletics hub, bringing together and providing support for sports clubs across the area in northeast Scotland.

Neighbourhood Boards are beginning to take shape across the 169 places announced in September, and these local partnerships will also be established in this third tranche of forty places, laying strong foundations for community leadership.

The Pride in Place Programme represents a genuine shift in power into our communities. This isn’t just short-term funding for short-term projects - it’s a long-term investment in our communities and the people who live there. We’re not starting at square one. In every community, thousands of community leaders, volunteers and grassroots organisations are already working hard to make their neighbourhood a better place to live. The Pride in Place Programme gets behind these people, building strong leadership rooted in communities.

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