The Council has secured £1.26 million via The Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme for 2021/22. This fund aims to support community-led regeneration, town centres and 20 minute neighbourhood ambitions.
It is another strand of the ambitious Community Wealth Building Strategy and Regeneration Delivery Plan – where the Council work more closely than ever with community groups to make the most of local assets – and long-term plans to regenerate the area.
The main objections of the Place Based Investment Programme are to:
- link and align place-based initiatives and establish a coherent local framework to implement the place principle
- support place policy ambitions such as town centre revitalisation, community led regeneration, 20 minute neighbourhoods and Community Wealth Building
- ensure that all place-based investments are shaped by the needs and aspirations of local communities
- accelerate ambitions for net zero, wellbeing and inclusive economic development, tackling inequality and disadvantage, community involvement and ownership
The approach to allocating the funds was agreed by Cabinet on 15 June 2021. The programme for 2021/22 will help deliver:
- Town Centre Living pilots at 36 Bank Street, Irvine and Howgate, Kilwinning
- place frameworks for Kilwinning, Largs and Saltcoats which will identify physical improvements and Community Wealth Building opportunities for supporting recovery and development within the towns
- community-led projects via a small grant scheme
- West Kilbride Shopfront Improvement Scheme Phase 2
- project development for future rounds of Place Based Investment Programme funding
Communities’ Project Fund
The Council has allocated £75,000 to the Communities’ Project Fund as part of its ongoing attempts to revitalise and rejuvenate local areas.
The fund will be available to local constituted groups and organisations and each bid will be assessed on its own merit. Each organisation can bid for anything between £5,000 and £25,000.
Successful projects will either need to be delivered or financially committed by 30th March 2022.