£20m boost for part of our city... and people power will decide how the cash is spent

ONE of Derby's 18 wards has been chosen to receive a £20million Government boost towards “reviving high streets, restoring parks and breathing new life into pubs, leisure centres and community halls”.

- By ZENA HAWLEY

Chaddesden West will receive £2million every year for the next 10 years as part of the Pride in Place programme, which the Government says will give “long-overlooked communities the certainty and control they need to plan for the future”.

The funding will allow communities to gain new powers to seize boarded-up shops, block nuisance businesses, and buy local assets before they close. This will include:

Community right to buy: giving local people first refusal to purchase and revive assets such as pubs, grassroots football clubs and tennis courts.

Compulsory purchase powers: enabling communities to take over boarded-up shops and long-abandoned businesses so new local startups can thrive. Larger sites—such as disused department stores or empty office blocks—could even be transformed into housing or health centres.

Power to block unwanted shops: allowing councils to prevent the spread of betting shops, vape outlets and other unwanted businesses that undermine vibrant high streets.

Guaranteed local say: funding decisions will only be approved if community groups and local organisations are fully involved, ensuring residents have a real voice in shaping their neighbourhoods.

The funding is part of the Government's Plan for Change labelled “a decade-long mission to back the people who make their communities thrive.

It sits alongside wider work to deliver cleaner, safer streets, create opportunities on every doorstep, and build the homes, roads and GP surgeries people need to thrive”.

As a result, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer says that people will be able to choose what happens to the money.