As part of our call for government policy to refocus on neighbourhoods, Local Trust has sought for the levelling up agenda to consider the importance of community-led regeneration at the neighbourhood level, starting with the most ‘left behind’.
Since 2018, Levelling Up has been the flagship policy of the government. We have worked hard to influence it’s design and implementation by:
- producing submissions to influence the content of the Levelling Up White Paper
- responding to the white paper when it was published
- seeking to influence the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to try to ensure that the most deprived or ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods benefitted.
When the Levelling Up White Paper was published, it referenced the importance of building social capital and social infrastructure in the most deprived or ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods and endorsed the proposal for a Community Wealth Fund supported from dormant assets.
The white paper also promised a review of community and neighbourhood governance, the development of a Community Spaces and Relationships Strategy and the piloting of Community Covenants (‘agreements between councils, public bodies and the communities they serve, seeking to harness the energy, know-how and assets of local communities’).
We have also supported the APPG for ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods, which we service, in its work to influence the government’s levelling up agenda. The APPG is finalising a report into its inquiry into levelling up and what policy interventions are needed to regenerate the most deprived and ‘left behind’ neighbourhoods. It has also been monitoring the UKSPF to assess whether the programme is benefitting these areas.
Starting a conversation
Local Trust is joining together with like-minded organisations across the funding, policy, and community sectors to kick off a national conversation on neighbourhood renewal and to develop policy proposals capable of having a significant impact.
For more information, please contact policy@localtrust.org.uk
