'Game-changer': Council welcomes government cash

The funding could be used to revive high streets and to fix up empty buildings

Three areas in Lincolnshire will each be given £20m over the next decade to revive high streets, parks and green spaces.

The funding for Gainsborough South West, Mablethorpe and Birchwood West in Lincoln is from the government's new Pride in Place Programme, designed to revive struggling neighbourhoods.

Boston will also receive £1.5m from the Pride in Place Impact fund.

Bill Cullen, interim chief executive of West Lindsey District Council, which covers Gainsborough, described it as a "game-changer" for the town.

Gainsborough's new cinema was built on the site of a former department store

He said the town, close to the border with Nottinghamshire, had recently benefitted from a "significant" regeneration of the Market Place, including a new cinema complex.

However, he said: "There is still more to do and this provides the opportunity to continue that work."

He said the Gainsborough South West Ward was statistically one of most deprived areas in the country in terms of the key metrics used for measuring depravation and local need, adding the programme was aimed at targeting neighbourhoods that had suffered decline over the years.

"In our view this will be transformational - the ability to be able to invest this sum of money to make a real difference to lives and also their aspirations... will be game-changing," he added.

The funding could be used for a variety of projects, ranging from park improvements to fixing up empty buildings, or cultural and employment programmes.

Local people will also be able to submit ideas on how the money should be spent.

Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed said: "Building pride in place starts with people, not politics. Local people know what they want to see in their neighbourhoods – and they don't need government to dictate it.

Meanwhile, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: "We're giving local people the power to transform their hometowns - giving them more control of how money is spent where they live."

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