For more than half a century, Britain has tried to fix its poorest neighbourhoods. Billions have been spent. Programmes have been launched, rebranded, abandoned, and revived. High streets and town centres have been rebuilt and refurbished. Yet decade after decade, the same places remain stubbornly resistant to renewal.
The government's, Pride in Place, is the latest in a long line of place-based initiatives. With a recent expansion, the £5 billion programme aims to revive ‘around' 380 neighbourhoods that have fallen into decline. But many of these areas selected for funding have already been "helped" before — through the New Deal for Communities, Neighbourhood Renewal, the Single Regeneration Budget, Levelling Up, and a host of other interventions.
