Gateshead Council’s Cabinet will decide on 14 July whether to accept a £20 million grant from the government’s Pride in Place Programme and take on the role of accountable body for the decade-long investment. The decision, detailed on the council’s forward plan, could unlock substantial funding to shape regeneration across the borough, with the Beacon Lough and Wrekenton area at the heart of the plans.
The programme, led by the council’s Service Director for Economic Development and Regeneration, Lindsay Murray, was added to the forward plan on 20 May and formally published as a Cabinet item in June. If approved, the council will establish a Neighbourhood Board made up of residents and local representatives to co-create a 10-year Pride in Place Plan, setting out exactly how the money is spent on improvements that local people want.
Beacon Lough and Wrekenton was chosen as one of 146 neighbourhoods in England announced in September 2025 as part of the programme’s second phase. Selection was based on levels of deprivation and the weakness of social infrastructure. The scheme itself is a national initiative, with up to £5.8 billion now allocated across 284 communities for long-term regeneration delivered over the next decade.
Gateshead has already received £1.5 million from a separate Pride in Place Impact Fund for immediate improvements. That money supported 19 community projects through grants totalling £440,000, including nearly £30,000 to St Chad’s Community Project in Bensham for a Kitchen and Skills Hub.
The council’s decision on 14 July will be the first formal step in putting a full Neighbourhood Board in place and drawing up a decade-long delivery plan, with support from the local MP and central government.
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