A £20 million scheme to drive transformation in some of Barrow’s most deprived wards has appointed a new chair to lead it.
Alison Tooby will take on the independent, voluntary and unpaid role to oversee how the Government cash should be spent to benefit communities.
She will lead a neighbourhood board, made up of residents, businesses and community representatives, to develop proposals for how best to spend the funding, which has been secured through the Government’s Pride in Place programme.
Pride in Place is a 10-year regeneration fund for neighbourhoods in some of the most deprived areas of the Old Barrow and Hindpool areas in central Barrow.
£2 million a year is available every year for the next decade.
Alison is a social worker and play therapist and has worked within the statutory, charity and voluntary sector for over 33 years.
As a co-founder and chief executive of Love Barrow Families, she has championed community-led, co-produced initiatives that strengthen wellbeing, connection and opportunity.
Westmorland and Furness Council is acting as the accountable body for the funding.
The next steps will be to recruit board members and for Alison and the neighbourhood board to develop a 10-year Pride in Place Vision, with a spending plan for the first four years.
The programme will offer a range of flexible funding options, allowing the neighbourhood board to invest in what matters most locally.
This could include improving high streets and public spaces, creating and enhancing green areas, supporting local businesses and cultural activities, and investing in community facilities.
Funding can also be used to improve housing, boost skills and employment opportunities, support health and wellbeing services, enhance transport and connectivity, and strengthen community safety.
Alison said: “I am really looking forward to the opportunity to chair the Pride in Place neighbourhood board and work alongside local residents, partners and communities to make a real and sustained difference.
“This funding is a significant opportunity to invest in our neighbourhoods, strengthen community voice and deliver visible, lasting change that improves everyday life for families, young people and local residents”.
A recent Pride in Place engagement exercise to visit more than 5,000 properties in Old Barrow and Hindpool involved Westmorland and Furness Council community teams, Barrow and Furness MP Michelle Scrogham, Cumbria police, Cumbria Fire and Rescue and volunteers from The Well.
People were given information about the programme and were invited to take part in a survey asking them about their aspirations for projects in the area, as well as what makes them feel proud to be part of the Old Barrow and Hindpool community.
Feedback will be used by the Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board to shape the programme vision, priorities and initial spending plans.
