Nottingham City Council is expected to accept up to £39.32 million of government funding for long-term regeneration work in St Ann’s East and Broxtowe/Cinderhill.
The proposal will be considered by the council’s Executive Board on Tuesday 21 July. Approval would allow the authority to receive the funding, act as the accountable body and establish the governance arrangements required by the Government.
The two neighbourhoods have been selected for phase two of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Pride in Place programme. Each area has been allocated up to £19.66 million over ten years, covering the period from 2025/26 to 2035/36.
The funding is intended to support improvements identified as priorities by local communities. Possible uses include community facilities, public spaces, infrastructure, local services, community projects and improvements to high streets or neighbourhood centres.
However, no individual projects have yet been selected or approved. Proposals will be developed through public consultation and included in separate Neighbourhood Regeneration Plans for St Ann’s East and Broxtowe/Cinderhill.
A Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board would be established for each area, with an independent chair appointed through a selection process overseen by the city council. The boards would include local residents, community organisations, other stakeholders and the relevant MP.
Each board would be responsible for consulting residents and recommending how the money should be spent within its neighbourhood. The resulting regeneration plans would then need to be submitted to the Government for approval.
Under the proposed arrangements, the council would remain legally and financially accountable for the funding. It would be responsible for ensuring that spending complies with grant conditions, financial regulations, procurement law, subsidy control rules and wider public-sector governance requirements.
The council report states that the programme will provide £24.94 million of capital funding and £14.38 million of revenue funding across the two neighbourhoods. Capital funding could be used for physical assets such as buildings, infrastructure and public spaces, while revenue funding could cover staffing, community programmes and project delivery.
Each area’s £19.66 million allocation would comprise £12.47 million of capital funding and £7.19 million of revenue funding.
Councillors are being asked to authorise spending of up to £300,000 from the 2025/26 allocation, divided equally between the two neighbourhoods. The money would be used to establish the boards, prepare the regeneration plans, manage the programme and obtain technical expertise for potential projects.
A further £540,000, or up to £270,000 for each area, could be used during 2026/27 for early revenue projects while the Government considers the full regeneration plans.
The report says the boundaries and membership of the neighbourhood boards must be finalised during summer 2026. Each board must then produce its regeneration plan by November, with the main delivery phase expected to begin from April 2027 if the plans are approved.
Funding will not be transferred as a single payment. It will be released through annual grant arrangements with the Government over the lifetime of the programme.
The council has also highlighted that payments after the 2028/29 financial year will be considered as part of a future government spending review. The report identifies a risk that a change in government or spending priorities could affect later payments during the ten-year programme.
To manage that risk, projects may need to be structured so that they can be adjusted to reflect the funding formally confirmed at each stage.
There is also a risk that money could be reclaimed by the Government if it is not spent, managed or reported correctly. The council said financial monitoring and reporting arrangements would be established, drawing on experience from the first phase of the Pride in Place programme in Clifton.
Clifton was selected under the earlier phase of the programme, while the proposed phase-two funding would extend the approach to St Ann’s East and Broxtowe/Cinderhill.
The new neighbourhood boards would be non-statutory bodies rather than separate legal organisations. Although they would lead consultation and recommend investment priorities, spending decisions are expected to require approval through the council’s governance arrangements while it remains the accountable body.
The Government’s guidance allows boards potentially to develop into organisations such as community interest companies, charities or community benefit societies at a later stage, although any change would require agreement and appropriate governance arrangements.
The council report says the regeneration plans must be based on extensive consultation with residents, community groups, councillors, MPs and other local stakeholders.
Potential investment could be directed towards employment and skills, public spaces, community infrastructure, transport connections, local businesses, voluntary organisations and measures intended to address crime, antisocial behaviour and health inequalities. The final priorities will depend on the consultation and government approval.
Executive Board members are being asked to accept the two allocations, authorise the council to enter annual grant agreements and delegate responsibility for establishing the boards and managing the initial programme to senior officers.
If councillors approve the recommendations, community engagement and work to establish the two boards will begin ahead of the November deadline. Acceptance of the funding would not, by itself, approve any of the eventual regeneration projects.
