Digmoor Pride in Place – Where Are We Up To?

As members of the Digmoor Pride in Place Board, we want to keep residents, businesses, schools, community groups and everyone with a connection to Digmoor up to date with where the project is, what we have been doing and, importantly, what happens next.
We also want to answer a question we know some people are asking:
“If Digmoor is getting £20 million, why can’t we see anything happening yet?”
It’s a fair question, so we want to explain where we are.

Why Digmoor?
The Government announced Digmoor as one of the Phase 2 Pride in Place areas, alongside more than 200 other places across the UK. This followed the original Phase 1 programme, which focused mainly on whole towns.
There is a strong argument that Skelmersdale could have benefited from being included as a whole town. However, there are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. Phase 1 areas receive investment across a much larger population and geographical area. Digmoor’s funding, on the other hand, is specifically focused on our neighbourhood. This gives us a real opportunity to make a significant difference within Digmoor itself. But we also have to recognise the challenges. Through the conversations and consultation we have already had with residents, schools, businesses, community organisations and statutory partners, one message has come through very clearly: Digmoor has lost a lot over the years. The area has lost its sports centre, squash club, youth clubs, playgrounds and other community assets and opportunities. Pride in Place gives us an opportunity to start changing that.
We want to help rebuild our community, create new opportunities, get more people involved and help Digmoor thrive again. But this will only work if it is done with the people of Digmoor, not to the people of Digmoor. The passion people have already shown for the area gives us huge confidence about what we can achieve together.

So, what have we actually been doing?
Since the appointment of our Chair in June, an enormous amount has been happening behind the scenes. It is worth remembering that Board members are volunteers. We do this alongside our jobs, families and other commitments. That doesn’t mean the project is moving slowly or that we are any less committed to it. Quite the opposite – there has been a huge amount of work involved in getting the foundations right. One of our first jobs was to establish the Pride in Place Board. We now have 15 Board members, with the majority being local residents.
There are also three mandatory positions on the Board: the Chair, our local MP Ashley Dalton and a local ward councillor, Julian Finch, who was nominated by the Council’s Communities and Environment Committee. The Board had to be established before 31 July to meet the requirements set by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), which oversees the programme. West Lancashire Borough Council has been appointed as the Accountable Body for the project. This means the Council has responsibilities around the governance and administration of the funding, and we therefore have to make sure the project operates within the policies and procedures of the accountable body. But the Pride in Place Board is absolutely focused on making sure this remains a community-led project.
Our priority is simple, the money needs to deliver the changes that the people of Digmoor want to see.

Making sure all of Digmoor benefits
One of the first important decisions we made concerned the boundary of the project.
The original boundary excluded part of Digmoor. We did not believe that was right.
As part of our submission to MHCLG on 31 July, we therefore changed the boundary so that the whole of Digmoor is included.
We have also worked hard to make sure different parts of Digmoor are represented on the Board, with residents from across the area involved.

Things are already moving
Although you may not yet be seeing building work or large amounts of money being spent, that does not mean nothing is happening.
The Board has already agreed to:

launch a community grants programme;
secure a shop on Digmoor Parade to become the Pride in Place office and a base for community engagement;
employ dedicated staff to help run and deliver the project
establish sub-groups that will focus in much greater detail on the priorities identified for Digmoor.
A £20 million, ten-year programme cannot be delivered by volunteers alone. We need dedicated staff who can turn the ideas and priorities of the community and Board into projects that actually happen.

We want more residents involved
At our fourth and most recent Board meeting, we established six sub-groups to look in more detail at some of the key areas emerging from our work and consultation.
These are:
Children and Young People
Stronger Communities and Engagement
Work, Training and Opportunities
Physical and Mental Wellbeing
Safer and Cohesive Neighbourhoods
Transport and Accessibility
Each group will be led by two Board members, but we don’t want them to consist only of Board members.

We want people from Digmoor to join them.
If you have ideas, enthusiasm or simply a strong interest in one of the sub-group areas, please consider getting involved. You don’t need to be an expert. Knowing Digmoor, caring about the area and wanting to make a difference are incredibly valuable.
We have also launched the Digmoor Pride in Place website, where you can find out more, complete our consultation and we would encourage you to follow our social media pages for regular updates and opportunities to get involved.

And finally… what about the £20 million?
This is probably the biggest thing we need to clarify.
Yes, £20 million will be invested in Digmoor by the UK Government over the ten-year programme.
You may have heard this described as £2 million a year. In reality, the funding isn’t divided equally like that.
This year, the allocation is just under £500,000.
From next April, the allocation will be around £1.3 million.
In subsequent years, the annual allocation rises to just over £2 million.
So if you are wondering why you haven’t yet seen millions of pounds being spent around Digmoor, don’t panic – the money hasn’t disappeared and it hasn’t already been spent!
We are currently doing the work that has to happen first.
We have been establishing the Board, putting proper governance in place, consulting with the community, setting up the structures needed to manage the project and developing the priorities that will form the basis of our ten-year plan.
That plan needs to be submitted to MHCLG by the end of November.
We could rush into spending money simply so that people can see something happening. But we don’t think that would be the right thing to do.
We would rather take the time to listen, plan properly and make sure the money is spent on things that will make a genuine and lasting difference to Digmoor.

This is your project 
As the project moves forward, we will keep informing you about the decisions being made, where funding is being allocated and, most importantly, the difference it is making.
But we need your help.
We can only make good decisions if we hear your views. We need to know what you value about Digmoor, what you think needs to change and what would make the biggest difference to you, your family and your community.
There will be lots of opportunities to get involved over the coming months – through our sub-groups, consultation events, community activities, the Pride in Place shop, our website and social media.
We hope this update helps explain why you may not yet be seeing lots of physical changes around Digmoor. There is a lot happening but much of it is simply happening behind the scenes at the moment.
As volunteers, we are working incredibly hard to get those foundations right. We have an amazing opportunity ahead of us, ten years of investment and the chance to make a real and lasting difference.
We want to make the most of it.
And, above everything else, we want to make sure that Digmoor Pride in Place is shaped by Digmoor, delivered with Digmoor and makes a difference for Digmoor.