Pride in Place Impact Fund

HOW CAN I GET INVOLVED?

The council is inviting residents, individuals, community groups, and local organisations to put forward nominations for projects that will make a real difference to their local area. Whether it is breathing new life into a much-loved community building, enhancing a park or playground, or revitalising a high street, the Pride in Place Impact Fund is your opportunity to help shape the future of your neighbourhood. Full details on how to nominate are available at the end of this document – but please don’t skip ahead as there are some rules you need to know.

WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS WILL RECEIVE MONEY?

Projects can be located anywhere in Stoke-on-Trent – which means the area covered by the city council. If in doubt you can check your postcode at www.gov.uk/find-local-council. The funding is intended to pay for physical improvements only – including new, renovated or repaired facilities. Successful schemes must fit one of three key objectives: creating better community spaces, creating better public spaces, and revitalising high streets and town centres. Find out more about each of these below.

CREATING BETTER COMMUNITY SPACES

Strong communities need welcoming, accessible places to meet, learn and grow. The fund will support projects that:

• Create, extend, improve or refurbish community facilities
• Enable community organisations to take control or ownership of underused but valued local assets
• Safeguard important local buildings for future generations

These projects should strengthen community connection, resilience and pride.

CREATING BETTER PUBLIC SPACES

High-quality public spaces help people feel safe, active, and connected to their surroundings. The fund will support projects that:

• Enhance parks, squares, playgrounds, and leisure spaces
• Improve accessibility, including disability access
• Introduce street furniture, public art, signage, lighting, wayfinding and other design features that make spaces welcoming and inclusive

These improvements should be clearly visible and benefit a wide range of users.

REVITALISING HIGH STREETS AND TOWN CENTRES

Thriving high streets and town centres are vital to local identity and economic confidence. The fund will support projects that:

• Improve the attractiveness and accessibility of high streets and town centres
• Support shopfront improvements for independent retailers
• Encourage the reuse of vacant or underused premises
• Deliver streetscape enhancements, public art, trails, walkways, and market infrastructure Projects should help bring footfall back into local centres and create places people are proud to visit.

EXAMPLES OF ELIGIBLE PROJECTS

If you are looking for ideas for projects to nominate, here is a short list of the kind of scheme we’re looking for. It’s by no means exhaustive – just something to get you thinking!

• Refurbishing or modernising a community hall or youth centre
• Creating new parks - or improving an existing one
• Installing benches, lighting or public art
• Improving shopfronts to help local independent retailers
• Converting a vacant building into a community hub

There are a number of rules and conditions that nominated schemes must meet. These are to make sure the fund delivers lasting impact. If you are thinking of nominating a project, please read these carefully first.

• Funding is for physical improvements only - including new, renovated, or repaired facilities.
• Routine repairs and maintenance, such as grass cutting or pothole repairs, are not eligible.
• The grant cannot be used for day-to-day running costs, including salaries or utilities.
• All nominated projects must be located within the Stoke-on-Trent City Council boundary.
• Funding is for capital expenditure only — that means one-off investments in physical assets with a useful life of more than one year.
• Eligible costs must be directly related to the acquisition, construction, or enhancement of a fixed asset.
• Costs incurred before submission of a nomination cannot be funded.

Where a project is located on council-owned land, or where the nominating individual or organisation does not have the capacity to manage delivery, the city council will retain and manage the allocated funding. In these cases, projects will be delivered by the council’s in-house teams to ensure statutory compliance, quality, and timely completion. The council will work closely with local groups throughout delivery and keep them informed of progress and timescales.

All nominations will be evaluated against clear and transparent criteria, including:

• Alignment with one or more of the key objectives
• Evidence of community support and engagement
• Deliverability within available funding and timescales
• Potential to deliver visible, long-term improvements
• Ability to attract or leverage additional investment
• Contribution to a fair geographical spread of investment across the city Funding decisions will be based on how strongly a project can demonstrate positive outcomes for people and place.

The fund is not intended to provide the same level of activity in every area, but to respond to opportunity, need, and impact.

The Pride in Place Impact Fund will operate until 31 March 2027.

Successful projects will be scheduled for delivery across 2025/26 and 2026/27, ensuring improvements are delivered efficiently and sustainably.

Project nomination form

All nominations must be received by midnight on Sunday 1 March 2026.

Once the shortlisting exercise has been completed, individuals/organisations will be informed whether or not their nominations have made the council’s shortlist.

If you have any questions about the Pride in Place Impact Fund please contact PIPIF@stoke.gov.uk