Slough Council’s health and wellbeing board will get the chance to discuss what the opportunities are for tackling health inequalities through the Government’s £40million Pride in Place funding for Slough.
Two neighbourhoods in Slough – Britwell and Langley Foxborough – are among the areas across the UK that will benefit from the Pride in Place scheme.
The programme is aimed at addressing ‘long-standing neighbourhood decline’ in places that ‘feel overlooked’.
Over the next 10 years, a combined £40million will be made available for the chosen wards in Slough.
For this financial year, £390,000 will be allocated for community projects, ramping up to £2.2million per year from 2028/29 onwards.
The money can go towards initiatives such as transport and housing improvements, education, safety and security and health and wellbeing.
It could be invested to revitalise high streets, redesign public services and ‘tackle root causes of social division’.
At its next meeting on Tuesday (June 16), Slough’s health and wellbeing board will be asked to add their input around how the programme can align with the borough’s health and wellbeing priorities.
The board is set to explore how the Pride in Place scheme can ‘add value’ to how health inequalities are already being tackled across Britwell and Langley Foxborough.
Members will also be able to discuss how wider aspects that impact health – such as housing and employment – can be improved, with a view of designing healthier environments.
Questions around how the Pride in Place scheme can accelerate the joint-up work of communities and health partners will be raised.
The board will further consider how the funding will make a difference on long term health outcomes within Slough.
But the programme is resident-led, meaning residents will be at the heart of deciding how the funding is spent.
A report set to go before the board recognises residents as ‘agents of change’ when it comes to how they improve health locally.
As part of the programme, neighbourhood boards will be put together for each area, led by an independent chair chosen by the Slough’s MP, Tan Dhesi, and the council.
The boards will be made up of local residents and people working in the borough, as well as include at least one ward councillor and the MP.
Boards are expected to be a ‘conduit for community voice’, engaging directly with residents through workshops, conversations and listening exercises, a report said.
If Slough fails to show that the Pride in Place plan was put together alongside the community, it could mean that funding available is withheld.
