PRIDE IN PLACE FUNDING FOR BINGHAM, MAGDALENE, THE CHRISTIANS AND NIDDRIE

The UK government’s Pride in Place Programme will see up to £5 billion given to nearly 250 areas across the UK, 14 of which are in Scotland. Each area will receive £20 million of funding and support over the next 10 years to make long-term improvements that residents want.

Pride in Place is a recognition from the UK Government that areas across the UK have often felt overlooked, or have seen community projects imposed on them, rather with them. Pride in Place is community empowerment project which gives the power to those who have a deep understanding of what their community needs.

Support will be provided from the UK Government, local authority, and my office, what this support looks like is decided by the neighbourhood board and local community.

The community is the driving force behind Pride in Place, and it is the neighbourhood board who will decide how this money is spent.

When Pride in Place was announced, the UK Government invited local MPs to bid for funding in their constituency.

Neighbourhoods were then selected using a robust methodology based on deprivation (Index of Multiple Deprivation) and community need (Community Needs Index), to identify areas often overlooked with social and economic challenges.

Following a submission of evidence submitted by the Council, and a bid from myself as the MP, Bingham, Magdalene, the Christians and Niddrie were selected in December 2025.

Neighbourhood Boards, made up of local people, will be the decision makers for funding decisions, supported by the respective local MP and local authority.

What the funding is to be spent on is decided by you, the local community. This is not what national governments think you need, or the local authority, this is about the community being empowered to make decisions that will make these areas an even better place to live.

The Neighbourhood Board, and local communities, will decide.

The funding is made up of 75% capital, and 25% revenue. Capital funding is used to build, acquire or pay for ‘stuff’, physical assets or projects. Revenue funding is used to cover day to day operational costs, such as staff wages of electricity bills.

The neighbourhood board will be made up of those who live and/or work in the area. Each member must have both a deep commitment and understanding of the communities. The Board must also represent all four corners and the diverse communities that call these areas home. The Board must also be dynamic, representing public services, housing, health, local businesses and community groups.

The most important function of the Board will be to engage with the local community in a deep and meaningful capacity.

The Board must be able to demonstrate that their decisions represent the community and have gone through a thorough community engagement programme.

The Board will meet regularly with communications shared with the local community. More details on how the Board will work with the local community will be shared once the Board are in place.

The next step is to recruit members of the neighbourhood board. This process is aimed to be completed by Summer. Once the board is in place, the first meeting will be announced.

The following step will be to formulate and submit an initial Pride in Place Plan to MHCLG in November 2026. MHCLG will be looking to ensure the community have been fully consulted with the plan.

Look out for further details shortly.

Details on how to apply for the neighbourhood board are now out, scroll below to find out more, or head to the Council’s website, here.

Engagement events and meetings will also be shared on this website, you can also sign up below to receive Pride in Place updates.