This blog has been written by Ben Glover – Head of Policy Analysis, Independent Commission on Neighbourhoods.
After months of build-up, the Chancellor yesterday finally delivered her Spending Review.
As the first multi-year spending exercise since 2021, this was always going to be a momentous occasion.
But it was a particularly momentous occasion for neighbourhoods, with the Chancellor’s statement marking the return of neighbourhood policy to the heart of government.
This is to be welcomed: the challenges facing disadvantaged communities are the challenge of our times. Decades of de-industrialisation, and a decade of austerity, have hollowed out ‘mission critical’ neighbourhoods.
Levelling Up recognised these issues but failed to deliver. Re-claiming this mantle is exactly where the government should be. The Spending Review is a significant step towards achieving that.
What did the Chancellor announce?
- A new national commitment to improving 350 deprived communities.
For the public to think the country is heading in the right direction again, they must see that their neighbourhood is also back on track.
That’s why national renewal demands neighbourhood renewal: tangible changes to the streets and estates we call home.
Yesterday, the Chancellor set out a similar ambition, announcing a commitment to supporting “…350 deprived communities across the UK, to fund interventions including community cohesion, regeneration and improving the public realm”.
Delivering this would turn the tide on the drift and decline felt by too many across the country.
- £500 million investment in ‘trailblazer neighbourhoods’ pilots.
For neighbourhood regeneration to be effective, the evidence suggests it must happen at the right scale, it must invest social infrastructure, and it must be genuinely community-led.
That’s why the announcement of £500 million for ‘trailblazer neighbourhoods’ is good news. MHCLG state that:
“This investment will support communities to drive forward the changes they want to see in their neighbourhoods. It will support improvements people can see on their doorstep, champion local leadership, foster community engagement and strengthen social cohesion.”
While we await the full details, the geographical scale of these pilots – full list here – looks set to be much more appropriate, not the whole towns or cities of the recent Plan for Neighbourhoods.
Crucially, these pilots are also well-targeted, with 17 out of the 20 pilots happening in places with ‘mission critical’ neighbourhoods.
- £240 million investment in a Growth Mission Fund.
Finally, the Chancellor announced a £240 million Growth Mission Fund. This will:
“… invest £240 million of capital from 2026‑27 to 2029‑30 in projects that enable local job creation and the economic regeneration of local communities.”
While we await further details, the Chancellor’s statement was encouraging, referencing specifically social infrastructure investments, such as the rebuilding of Southport Pier, as part of the fund.
A new chapter for neighbourhoods
Much is still to be defined.
Neighbourhood investment must be genuinely community-led, avoiding the pitfalls of local bureaucracy and officialdom.
If we are to avoid the ‘white elephants’ of Levelling Up, then investments must deliver a sufficient level of revenue funding.
And we must keep targeting investment where the money is most needed and will go furthest, particularly ‘mission critical’ neighbourhoods.
But these details should not detract from the significance of this week’s announcements and the potential they hold to transform our most disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
I am immensely grateful to the ICON Commissioners for their support, time and effort, particularly our chair Baroness Armstrong; colleagues at the ICON Secretariat for all their hard work; our supporters across Parliament; all the community groups that are working to deliver neighbourhood renewal and we have learnt so much from in our visits across the country; and the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Minister and Chancellor for making yesterday’s announcements possible.
I look forward to working with you all to write the next chapter for neighbourhoods.