The Wisbech Plan For Neighbourhoods Investment

The Wisbech Place Board and accountable body, Fenland District Council, will be in receipt of £20,000,000 of endowment style funding to fund projects and initiatives over the next ten years.

The Wisbech Town Board, which features representatives from a wide range of partner organisations, is now looking to create a ten-year plan for this funding comprised of large and small scale projects which meet the needs of the community of Wisbech.

The Plan for Neighbourhoods funding gives the Board, Fenland District Council and partners an opportunity to fundamentally transform the future for people living and working in Wisbech.

It provides the opportunity to deliver projects to improve safety and security of the community, to invest in regeneration, high streets and heritage and to deliver larger projects which could enhance transport and connectivity of the town for the benefit of its residents and visitors.

Fund objectives

The Plan for Neighbourhoods has at its core a partnership between the Neighbourhood Town Board and local government, supported by the UK Government.

This partnership will drive growth by improving the physical and social infrastructure of their community and deliver tangible improvements to the everyday lives of these communities. To deliver the greatest impact, the Government encourages boards to focus the funding and interventions into those neighbourhoods and communities within their boundaries that have the greatest need.

The Board, working with the local authority, is responsible for producing a ten-year Regeneration Plan for their area, setting out the activity that will be pursued to achieve the three strategic objectives of this programme:

• thriving places
• stronger communities
• taking back control

By making progress on each of these objectives, local areas will drive forward the Government's long-term missions.

Thriving places

People take immense pride in their local areas but too many of our high streets and estates have become neglected and left behind. Town centres and neighbourhoods must evolve and regenerate to better reflect the needs and habits of their community, and residents should have a greater say in how they're designed.

Places should be able to design public services that are accessible, responsive, and tailored to local need. Investing in our young people's futures and in preventative measures now will ease pressure on services over the longer-term.

Stronger communities

Resilience in some of the most disadvantaged communities has been eroded over time. Recently, polling has found that 76% of Britons believe 'the UK feels divided' and fewer than half of Britons think of themselves as a member of a community, or part of a local group. The board will bring forward projects to tackle the root causes, rebuild relationships, and restore a collective sense of belonging to their community, bringing people together so they can feel proud of their area and safe in their neighbourhood.

Tackling this division will have a direct, positive impact on growth. Improving social capital is a virtuous circle across many areas of public life. For example, where parents know each other, children skipping school is noticed and addressed more often, improving education outcomes and future earning potential.

Taking back control

Talent is spread equally but opportunity is not. People want to be empowered and in control of their lives, to have a say over the future of their community.

We want to make sure children have the best start in life and that adults can live the life they want to. Whether that's accessing the skills required for emerging job markets or supporting the thousands of would-be entrepreneurs through their first steps into self-employment.

The board will empower people to enter the workplace, workers to progress, and businesses to grow. This will in turn help kickstart local economic growth.

Empowered people will also have more of a say in how their local area is shaped, a central component of this programme and this government's vision for communities.