People in Northern Ireland will have control of where government cash goes under funding plans for deprived neighbourhoods.
Local high streets are set to be revived, community hubs saved and public services transformed and strengthened through £40million funding.
The cash comes through the government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods to tackle deprivation and turbocharge growth, as every area joins the decade of national renewal committed to in the Plan for Change.
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Ministers say transformation will be holistic, long-term, and sustainable to deliver meaningful change in the day-to-day lives of local people.
A total of 75 areas, including Coleraine and Derry, will each receive up to £20million of 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 by investing in delivering improved vital community services from education, health and employment, to tackling local issues like crime.
New neighbourhood boards across the 75 selected communities will bring together residents and businesses to decide how to spend the money in their area.
Each board will decide how to spend the money – 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.
The UK Government says this is the latest step in its ambitious Plan for Change missions to grow the UK economy, deliver safer streets and create opportunities for everyone.
The scheme follows on from the long-term plan for towns under Rishi Sunak’s previous government, which had similarly pledged funding for the same areas across Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Deputy Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner 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.”
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn, added: “I am delighted that the UK Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods will deliver £20m worth of investment each for Coleraine and Derry-Londonderry, providing a hugely welcome boost for those communities.
"This Government is committed to supporting growth and public service transformation in Northern Ireland, and through the Budget we are delivering the largest real-terms funding settlement for Northern Ireland since devolution."
Money will be made available from April 2025, with projects expected to be able to get up and running in 2026.
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