BYRNE SECURES £20MILLION GOVERNMENT INVESTMENT FOR GLEBE FARM REGENERATION

Liam Byrne MP has secured £20 million in new and extra funding for Glebe Farm, as part of the Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods fund. Glebe Farm has been selected to pioneer a bold new approach to local investment where residents themselves decide how to spend public money on local priorities, after Liam spent the summer lobbying ministers and collecting signatures for his petition to Parliament – laid last week.

This morning, Liam met with the Prime Minister in No 10 Downing Street to seal the deal on the funding of £2 million a year for the next ten years – after a final push for support at his neighbourhood gazebo meeting on Glebe Farm Road last Friday.

The £20 million fund can be used for everything from improving local parks and green spaces, to tackling fly-tipping, fixing up empty buildings, upgrading roads, or regenerating high streets. Crucially, it will be local people who shape the decisions.

Liam, MP for Hodge Hill and Solihull North, said:

“Our area has long been starved of the investment that we deserve. Now, thanks to the huge community backing for this campaign, we got the win we deserve.

“Glebe Farm is the place I began as a campaigner before I was elected to Parliament. When the area was returned to the constituency after last year’s election, I was determined to fight as hard as possible for new investment.

“I want to say a huge thank you to the countless residents and community groups who backed this campaign which we took to Parliament after the summer. Today we got the result we wanted.

“Local people know their area better than anyone else and this flexible fund puts decisions in the hands of the community. This is our chance to improve our neighbourhood on our own terms.

“An extra £2 million every year for ten years is a huge investment in Glebe Farm – and an exceptional opportunity for our community to spend the money on their priorities. Residents have told me that they’d like to sort out road safety and upgrade our parks, tackle fly-tipping and support projects for young people.

“This is our community’s chance to show what Glebe Farm can do when we’re given the power to decide for ourselves.”

A call is now going out for residents to come forward with ideas, and to volunteer for a new local board that will help coordinate the programme.

Priorities identified by Glebe Farm residents over the summer:

· Road Safety – tackling speeding and dangerous parking, especially outside Audley School

· Extra policing

· Clean Streets – tackling fly-tipping and littering, with CCTV and extra cleaning

· Community Spaces and Facilities – upgrading Glebe Farm Recreation Ground and Tile Cross Park, installing outdoor gyms, and supporting local groups such as Welcome Change who have recently re-located to Glebe Farm Library and The Pump's projects with young people

· Tidying up outside the shops on Glebe Farm Road, installing more CCTV and tackling illegal canopies

· Green Space Improvements – investing in Cole Hall Valley to improve biodiversity

· Local Infrastructure – resurfacing worn road surfaces on Flaxley and Audley Road, and installing speed-calming measures around The Oval School.

The Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods prospectus: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/plan-for-neighbourhoods-prospectus-and-tools/plan-for-neighbourhoods-prospectus