Pride in Place Funding: A Guide for Community Groups

Pride in Place is the UK government's flagship programme for neighbourhoods that have been left behind. It is a long-term programme, and it works very differently from a normal grant scheme. There is no national application form. Instead, money goes to selected places, and local people decide how to spend it. If your group works in one of those places, Pride in Place could fund your work, but only if you get involved locally. This guide explains how the programme works and what community organisations can do. All facts come from the government's own prospectus, delivery guidance and announcements, checked on the date shown on this page.

What Pride in Place is

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) describes Pride in Place as supported by up to £5.8 billion over 10 years. It builds on the previous Plan for Neighbourhoods programme. Each selected place can receive up to £20 million of funding and support over a decade.

At the time of checking, the programme covered 284 communities across the UK:

• 75 phase 1 places
• 169 phase 2 places
• a further 40 places in England announced on 20 March 2026

The government says the programme, including its Impact Fund, supports 379 areas across the UK. It publishes a full list of places on GOV.UK.

The prospectus describes the fund type as un-competed. Places were chosen by government. The prospectus says the expansion targets areas that are doubly disadvantaged by both the highest deprivation levels and the weakest social infrastructure, and the selection method is published. You cannot apply to be added, and organisations cannot apply to MHCLG for a Pride in Place grant.

How the money flows

Funding is paid by MHCLG to an accountable body for each place. At the start of the programme this is the local authority, unless another arrangement has been agreed. The accountable body is responsible for making sure public money is distributed fairly and managed properly.

For phase 1 places, the funding is split 75% capital and 25% revenue. For phase 2 places, it is 63% capital and 37% revenue. That matters for community groups: most of the money is for capital projects such as buildings, spaces and infrastructure, with a smaller share for running activities. Our capital grants guide explains what capital funding can and cannot cover.

The programme runs in three investment periods, from the 2026 to 2027 financial year through to 2035 to 2036. For phase 2 places, the guidance says funding after the 2028 to 2029 financial year will be reviewed at the next Spending Review.

Neighbourhood Boards

Each place has a Neighbourhood Board, led by an independent Chair. The Chair is appointed and approved by the local MP and the local authority, and leads recruitment of the Board.

The prospectus says Boards should be resident-led, with over half of members living or working in the neighbourhood, and more residents than elected representatives. The delivery guidance says every Board should include at least one ward councillor.

The guidance lists groups Chairs will want to consider for the Board. They include:

• community groups, faith groups and local charities
• neighbourhood forums, neighbourhood watch or tenancy groups
• youth groups and social clubs
• local councils for voluntary service in England, Third Sector Interfaces in Scotland, Wales Council for Voluntary Action, or the Third Sector Trustee Network in Northern Ireland
• local businesses and social enterprises

If your organisation is in a Pride in Place area, the Board is where decisions are made.

The Pride in Place Plan

Each Board must work with the wider community to write a Pride in Place Plan, setting out a vision for the area and the projects it wants to prioritise. The local MP and the council support it, and MHCLG assesses and approves it.

When we checked, the key dates in the prospectus were:

Date	Milestone
28 November 2025	75 phase 1 Boards submitted Plans, now all approved
From April 2026	Phase 1 delivery funding released; phase 2 areas start receiving delivery funding
30 November 2026	160 phase 2 Boards submit their Plans
26 February 2027	40 Boards in places named in March 2026, and phase 2 places in Wales, submit their Plans

If your area is in phase 2, the Plan is being written now. This is the time to make sure your community's priorities are in it.

How community groups can get involved

The government's guidance gives community organisations several roles. Some practical routes:

1. Help with engagement

The guidance says Boards should consider how local community organisations can help deliver engagement that reaches across the community. Among the examples of early delivery spending, it lists funding a trusted local community and voluntary sector group to help Boards reach out, including to support Board recruitment and engagement. It also says Boards should limit support bought from the private sector or from organisations without links to the neighbourhood, and strongly encourages building local capacity, for example through grants to community groups.

If you already run trusted activities in the area, contact the Board or your council to offer to help run engagement.

2. Put forward projects

The Plan sets the priorities, and funding then flows to projects. Use the engagement process to put forward ideas backed by evidence of local need. A short, clear statement of need and a theory of change help you make the case.

3. Apply for local funds

Some places run their own grant schemes using Pride in Place money. For example, Heart of England Community Foundation runs the Chelmsley Wood Pride in Place Get Talking Fund, which we list with its live deadline. Watch your council, your Board and your local community foundation for schemes like this.

4. Become a delivery partner or anchor

The prospectus expects each Board to move towards a community-led model of delivery by year three. It says this might mean an established local community organisation acting as an anchor, or the Board itself becoming a co-operative, community interest company or charity. The delivery guidance also asks Boards to consider whether an organisation other than the local authority, such as a local community group, could act as or support the accountable body over time.

That is a big role. It needs strong governance and financial systems. Our guides to host organisations and accountable bodies and CIOs explain what that involves.

What to expect if you receive Pride in Place money

Because Pride in Place is public money, expect public-sector rules. The delivery guidance says accountable bodies must comply with the Subsidy Control Act 2022 and procurement law, and should design project agreements so that funding can be recovered if subsidy rules are broken. It also says the programme has more flexible funding than past schemes, such as upfront start-of-year payments and budget rollovers between years.

Read the terms of any funding carefully. Our guide to grant agreements and terms and conditions explains what to look for, and our guide to grant monitoring and reporting covers the evidence you will need.

If your area is not included

Most neighbourhoods are not Pride in Place areas. If yours is not, look at other community funding. Our small grants for community groups, National Lottery funding and community group grants listings are good places to start, and our guide to the National Lottery Community Fund explains the largest community funder.