One of the overwhelming goals of any Labour government must surely be to begin the work on renewing areas that have some of the most need and start reducing social inequalities and the problems caused by them. I don’t think anyone would argue with that. After all it has been its historic purpose.
And many areas, due to well over a decade of austerity and sustained reductions in local government funding, are in need of further support.
That’s why I’m so pleased that the Government has recently announced £5bn in investment to lead the UK’s renewal.
169 areas are set to receive an extra £20m – £2m a year for ten years – to invest in their local areas, and Bewbush has been identified by the Government as one of those priority areas.
As one of the councillors for Bewbush, in my sixteenth year, I certainly welcome the news that the neighbourhood will receive this money. It has to be one of the best pieces of news I have heard in my entire time as a local ward councillor. And what is created won’t just benefit one neighbourhood but everyone who lives in and around it.
So it was a real pleasure to go to Dorsten Square with Crawley’s Mayor Sharmila Sivarajah, Cabinet members and our MP to discuss with some key Bewbush groups what they thought this could mean for the area.
This is a great initiative – and there is a clear call to action as well as welcoming the cash: we want local people to volunteer their ideas and even sit on the board that decides how the cash is spent.
The fund will not be in the control of the council alone, but relies on locals in Bewbush coming together to submit ideas for how to spend the £20million total, and as this is set up we will be calling on local people to send in their ideas or even volunteer to sit on the board that coordinates activity.
No one in Westminster knows Bewbush better than the families and businesses who call this home. That’s why this funding will make such a difference.
Not decisions taken in Whitehall, but action taken on the basis of what we really want.
This is really significant additional investment. We’re investing in the UK’s future, choosing renewal over decline and unity over division.
This announcement is part of the government’s Plan for Change, a decade-long mission to back the people who make their communities thrive. It sits alongside wider work to deliver cleaner, safer streets, create opportunities on every doorstep, and build the homes, roads and GP surgeries people need to thrive.
This announcement significantly scales up the work already underway in 75 areas, where they are already shaping their communities, every project is the result of local people’s ideas and priorities—chosen by the community, for the community. It’s the people who know best what their area needs, and their voices are shaping the future of their communities.
This investment is a vote of confidence in local people and our area from the Labour Government – and is part of a wider plan for change that is turning the country around. We understand that it will take time to turn Britain around after 14 disastrous years under the Tories and we are clear that no other party has a serious plan to deliver for working people in Crawley.
This council will work with the Neighbourhood Board and the Labour Government to ensure this additional funding helps drive our area forward.
Cllr Michael Jones
Leader, Crawley Borough Council