Last September when the Labour government announced its ‘Pride in Place’ programme to help revitalise local communities, Margaret Mullane MP for Dagenham and Rainham contacted Ministers to make the case for funding to come to the constituency.
In the first tranche of funding £5 billion was made available nationwide and both Barking and Dagenham and Havering Councils received £1.5 million each. Community groups were encouraged to bid for this, and some amazing projects were supported including the refurbishment of the pavilion in St. Chad’s Park and plans to reintroduce beavers and white storks to our country parks among other things.
In Havering a £20 million package has been announced for Harold Hill over a 10-year period to improve local spaces, strengthen community life and restore pride in the neighbourhood. Now Margaret is seeking a similar investment in Dagenham as part of the next tranche of funding.
Margaret said: “It was great to see so many local projects supported. The Pride in Place programme has the potential to really breathe life back into our communities and support high street regeneration. However, whilst the first tranche of funding was welcome, it wasn’t nearly enough to deliver the transformation my constituents in Dagenham and Rainham deserve.
“My constituency has some of the highest levels of deprivation in London, and successive Tory governments hollowed out services for over a decade, leaving community infrastructure on its knees and our high streets a poor reflection of what they used to be.
“The next tranche of Pride in Place funding is currently going through the allocation process, and I have been busy speaking with Ministers and lobbying government departments to get a similar package as Harold Hill for an area in the Dagenham half of my constituency.”
Announcements regarding the next tranche of Pride in Place funding are expected in the coming months. You can find out more about the Pride in Place programme here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/pride-in-place