PRIDE IN PLACE OPEN LETTER: From listening to doing - Pride in Place is moving into delivery
The new chair of the Pride in Place committee, Heath Samples, has shared his hopes for the future in an open letter to the people of Scarborough.
Mr Samples, who chairs the Scarborough Neighbourhood Board, the body responsible for co-ordinating how about £20 million in funding from the Government will be spent in the town, has spoken about the programme in an open letter to Scarborough residents.
In the letter, reproduced in full below, Mr Samples said:
Over the past few months, people in Scarborough will have heard more and more about Pride in Place.
They may have heard about the up to £19.5 million being invested in Scarborough over the next ten years. They may have taken part in engagement, read about the first projects or heard about the Scarborough Neighbourhood Board.
But there is a perfectly reasonable question behind all of that:
When will we start to see something happening?
That is the point we are now beginning to reach.
Pride in Place was never intended to be a quick fix or a collection of projects decided behind closed doors.
It is a ten-year programme, and getting the foundations right has mattered.
That has meant listening to local people, understanding priorities, developing projects, working through how they can be delivered and making sure there is a structure in place to oversee a significant amount of public investment responsibly.
It isn't necessarily the most visible part of the programme, but it is an important one.
Now, however, our focus is increasingly moving from planning to delivery.
The first Pride in Place projects are beginning to move forward, covering different parts of life in Scarborough and reflecting local priorities identified through engagement and the development of the programme.
They range from improvements to places and spaces, to opportunities for young people, community support, culture and wellbeing.
They won't all happen at once and they won't all look the same.
Some can progress relatively quickly, while others will require further development before people see the finished result.
Being clear about that is important.
Pride in Place should not be about making big promises and then disappearing until something is finished.
People should be able to understand what is happening, what stage projects have reached and where there are opportunities to get involved.
That is also why the conversation with Scarborough doesn't stop now that the first projects have been identified.
Earlier this month, we held an open meeting at The Street where people could hear more about Pride in Place, the role of the Neighbourhood Board and the projects beginning to move into delivery.
It gave people the opportunity to ask questions, speak directly with those involved and find out more about what happens next.
But involvement in Pride in Place isn't limited to attending meetings.
People can continue to follow progress, find out more about the projects and share their views through the Pride in Place Scarborough Commonplace hub:
As projects move forward, that progress should become increasingly visible too.
Over the coming months, I want people to see much more of Pride in Place.
Not simply announcements about funding, but projects progressing, people getting involved and visible evidence of what the programme is supporting.
There will undoubtedly be questions along the way.
There may also be decisions people disagree with.
A programme of this scale cannot realistically deliver every idea or solve every challenge facing Scarborough.
But it can make a meaningful difference.
As Chair of the Neighbourhood Board, one of the things I want us to be judged on is whether people can see that difference for themselves.
We have spent time building the foundations.
Now we need to move from talking about Pride in Place to showing Pride in Place.