More than a dozen areas in Scotland to share £280m to boost 'pride in communities'

Fourteen neighbourhoods in Scotland are to benefit from up to £280m of cash which the UK Government says will bolster “pride in communities”.

Scottish Secretary Douglas Alexander said the Pride in Place programme funding will help the “most in need communities”.

The 14 neighbourhoods, spread across 12 council areas, will now receive up to £20m each over the next ten years as part of the scheme.

The areas that will benefit were chosen after the Scotland Office invited local councils, MPs and constituency MSPs from across the country to submit bids setting out where the funding should go.

Neighbourhood boards will now be set up in those areas receiving the cash to decide what the funding should be spent on.

It comes as part of the UK Government’s plans to invest more than £2bn over the coming decade in local and regional projects across Scotland.

Mr Alexander said: “The UK Government is backing 14 of Scotland’s most in need communities with £280m investment – part of a £2bn package to uphold pride in communities and create opportunities the length and breadth of the nation.

“Over decades of decline, people have watched as their neighbourhoods have lost services and support, so now we are putting the power into the hands of local people who can decide how the money is spent. We’re investing directly in Scottish communities to build stronger, thriving neighbourhoods.”

UK Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Steve Reed said: “People across Scotland have been shut out from their own futures and felt powerless to make the changes they want to see in their communities.

“Pride in Place is fixing that and putting power back where it belongs – in the hands of the people who have the knowledge, ambition and vision to make a real difference.

“We’re backing 14 neighbourhoods across Scotland with up to £20m each, to put local people back in the driving seat to revitalise their communities and shape their futures.”

Two communities each in the Fife and Glasgow local authority areas will receive funding, as well as neighbourhoods in Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Falkirk, the Highlands, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire, South Lanarkshire, the Western Isles and West Lothian.