Nick Timothy MP has welcomed the announcement of funding for Lakenheath to help revitalise the local high street. This is especially important with more than a hundred homes being built nearby.
The Government says ‘up to £20 million’ will be allocated, but the final figure is being hidden, and there will be administrative hurdles to overcome before securing the money. Nick will be watching this very carefully.
And this does feel like another example of robbing Peter to pay Paul.
On top of all the tax rises, the decision by ministers to cut funding support for neighbourhood plans has harmed many communities across West Suffolk.
Nick wrote to the Department for Communities, Housing and Local Government to call on ministers to re-instate and enhance financial grant support for communities wishing to prepare neighbourhood plans.
The Government announced it was cutting this funding following its spending review earlier this year. You can read the announcement in full by visiting the Locality website.
With major housing construction planned in West Suffolk by 2041, the decision to cut funding is a huge blow to the neighbourhood planning initiative. .
The 2024 Labour Manifesto said: “Local areas will be able to gain new powers over transport, adult education and skills, housing and planning, and employment support. We will ensure those places have the strong governance arrangements, capacity, and capability to deliver, providing central support where needed
The removal of funding for neighbourhood plans explicitly goes against this aspiration.
It was also striking to see that, earlier this year, the Government announced funding for the Plan for Neighbourhoods in 75 areas across the country but no community in West Suffolk was included in the list of those receiving funding.
Commenting, Nick said: “Neighbourhood plans — introduced by the Localism Act 2011 and strengthened by the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 — are crucial for helping communities outline the kind of housing and infrastructure they need, and where it should be built.
“Far from cutting local voices out of the planning process, decision-makers should be listening to you more. Government funding for neighbourhood plans should continue. It was telling that, even in the midst of this decision, the ministry said neighbourhood planning was an ‘undeniable success’.”
You can read Nick’s letter to the Government below. You can also read the Government’s response below that.
Nick also wants parish councils to be given much more power and funding, including in the planning process, as part of local government reform.
Commenting, he said: “I want parish councils to be able to take more key decisions on issues like road safety and community assets. Residents who wish to make things better in their areas should not be dependent on appealing to distant bureaucrats.“
To read more click here.
To sign Nick’s e-petition on this, please click here.
