I want you to use this fund in a way which will grow your community, not a one-off hit'

CASH AIMS TO INJECT FRESH HOPE INTO POVERTY-STRICKEN AREAS

- By NIGEL SLATER

THE East Midlands mayor has begun her spending mission to improve the lives of Derby's poorest - but has warned the cash will not solve all their problems.

Claire Ward visited Normanton and Arboretum wards to find out how a slice of £3 million of new regional funding can be spent to inject fresh hope to the city’s most poverty-stricken areas.

Her special visit came after it was announced “priority areas” in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire were to be boosted by the Mayor's Community Development Fund.

Normanton and Arboretum were among a list of 10 locations to benefit and will both gain more than £250,000 each. The areas are the most deprived in Derby and have been high on the UK’s deprivation list.

Recent data showed 18 per cent of neighbourhoods in Derby are “highly deprived”. This is above the national average of 10 per cent.