Pride in Place

North Ayrshire Council · 20 May 2026
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NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL 
20 May 2026 
Council 
Title:    Pride in Place 
Purpose:  To seek approval for the appointments of the respective new
Chairs for the Irvine and the Three Towns Neighbourhood
Boards and delegated authority arrangements. 
Recommendation:  That Council: 
a) Notes the update on the Pride in Place Programmes for
Irvine and the Three Towns;
b) Approves the appointment of the Irvine Neighbourhood
Board Chair;
c) Approves the appointment of the Three Towns
Neighbourhood Board Chair; and
d) Provides delegated authority to the Executive Director
(Communities and Housing) to prepare the required
information for submission to UK Government in consultation
with both the Irvine and the Three Towns Neighbourhood
Boards. 
1. Executive Summary 
1.1 In September 2025, UK Government’s Pride in Place Programme (PiPP) was
published to update and replace the previous ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’ programme.
The new phase of PiPP includes the Three Towns, along with Irvine, which was
previously announced in September 2023. 
1.2 The Three Towns Neighbourhood Board requires to be formed by 17 July 2026, in line
with UK Government requirements. The Neighbourhood Board will be led by an
independent Chair, appointed by the local authority acting as accountable body, and
the local MP. UK Government guidance states the Chair should be selected through
public competition. 
1.3 The Irvine Neighbourhood Board Chair resigned in early 2026 for personal reasons. In
line with the approach taken above in the Three Towns, the new Chair is to be
appointed through a public competition. 
1.4 This report provides an update on the recruitment process for the role of Chair for both
Boards and seeks approval to appoint the preferred candidates.

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2. Background 
2.1 The UK Government’s Pride in Place Programme (PiPP) was published on 25
September 2025, building upon the previous ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’ programme
currently being delivered in Irvine and selected areas across the UK. PiPP is a UK-
wide programme providing a ten-year investment to disadvantaged neighbourhoods.
This new phase of PiPP builds on the existing programme which is providing 75 towns
across the UK with up to £20 million each, totalling £1.5 billion over ten years. The
programme aims to build strong, resilient and integrated communities, with this phase
providing additional 169 neighbourhoods across Great Britain with £20 million over ten
years. 
2.2 The funding requires to be managed by a partnership between the: 
• Neighbourhood Board, responsible for co-producing the Pride in Place Plan for
their place, which constitutes a ten-year vision and four-year investment plan and
delivering in the interests of local people to improve the physical and social
infrastructure of their community.
• Local Authority, who will support the Neighbourhood Board to develop and deliver
the plan, and act as the accountable body at the start of the programme.
• MP, who has a key role in supporting the Chair and the Neighbourhood Board
informing the work and in engaging the community it represents.
• Local community, to shape the place’s priorities. 
2.3 Each Neighbourhood Board will be led by an independent Chair, appointed and
approved by the local MP and local authority. The Chair will act as a champion for the
place and local people, organising engagement that reaches out into the community,
to ensure decision-making is community-led. The Chair will lead the process of
recruiting and convening the Board, with the support of the local authority and the
local MP. In line with UK Government requirements, the Three Towns Neighbourhood
Board membership requires to be confirmed by 17 July 2026. 
2.4 The recruitment of the Chairs was undertaken through a public competition, as
required by the UK Government Guidance. An expression of interest process was
undertaken for any prospective candidates to apply for the role. A shortleeting
exercise was conducted by Council Officers. Candidates were scored against the
requirements of the role and those who met the essential criteria were invited to
interview. 
2.5 Each panel consisted of the respective MP, Chair of the respective LPP and the Chief
Executive. Due to late diary changes/availability the MP and Chief Executive met with
the shortlisted candidates for the Three Towns. For Irvine the Chair of the LPP and the
Chief Executive met with the candidates, the Chief Executive subsequently confirmed
agreement of the preferred candidate with the MP. A verbal update of the preferred
candidate for each position will be provided to Council at the meeting. 
2.6 Following appointment of the Chair, Officers will work with the new Chair to form the
Three Towns Neighbourhood Board, ahead of the deadline for submission to the UK
Government in July 2026. This will be developed in line with the guidance outlined in
the PiPP Prospectus. The Prospectus outlines that Boards must have at least eight
members, with at least 51% living or working in the neighbourhood and membership
should reflect local diversity. Required representation includes the relevant MP and,

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where applicable the MSP, at least one ward councillor, and a wider majority of non-
elected community representatives drawn from local groups, businesses, cultural
organisations and anchor institutions. The boundary of the Three Towns
Neighbourhood Board covers two Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies and two local
Council Wards (eight Elected Members). This will require further consideration in
forming the membership of the Board. Similarly to the Irvine Neighbourhood Board,
the Three Towns Neighbourhood Board will operate as a sub-group of the Locality
Planning Partnership. The proposed membership of the Board will therefore be
developed and considered at the forthcoming Three Towns Locality Planning
Partnership meeting and will be the subject of a future report to Council in June 2026.
A proposal will be submitted to the Locality Planning Partnership recommending the
Three Towns Board be established to include the MP, The Chair, two MSPs, three
Ward Members and six Community Representatives. 
2.7 The Regeneration Plan for Irvine was submitted to the UK Government on 28
November 2025 and approved by Cabinet on 2 December 2026. The Plan includes a
ten-year Vision document and a four-year investment plan developed through a
process of ongoing public consultation and engagement, including online surveys,
community outreach and public consultation events. Confirmation was received of the
UK Government’s strong endorsement of the Plan on 22 March 2026. Following
appointment, Officers will support the new Chair and the Board to progress delivery of
the approved Plan. 
2.8 Following the formation of the shared Economic Development Service between North
and East Ayrshire Councils, the Regeneration Team, who lead the delivery of the two
PiPP workstreams for North Ayrshire Council as the accountable body, will move to
the Communities and Housing Directorate from 1 June 2026. Delegated authority is
therefore requested for the Executive Director (Communities & Housing) to prepare
the required information for submission, by the July 2026 deadline, to UK Government
in consultation with the Three Towns Neighbourhood Board. 
3. Proposals 
3.1 That Council: 
a) Notes the update on the Pride in Place Programmes for Irvine and the Three
Towns;
b) Approves the appointment of the Irvine Neighbourhood Board Chair;
c) Approves the appointment of the Three Towns Neighbourhood Board Chair; and.
d) Provides delegated authority to the Executive Director (Communities and
Housing) to prepare the required information for submission to UK Government in
consultation with both the Irvine and the Three Towns Neighbourhood Boards. 
4. Implications/Socio-economic Duty 
Financial 
4.1 The total award per neighbourhood has been confirmed as £19.509m. The Financial
Assistance power under Section 50 of the UK Internal Market Act will be used to fund
the neighbourhoods directly.

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Human Resources
4.2 Additional staff resource, in line with the Irvine Plan for Neighbourhoods Regeneration
Officer, may be required to support the delivery of the Three Towns PIPP and the
development of a Regeneration Plan. The cost of this will require to be met by the
targeted capacity revenue funding provided under the Programme.
Legal
4.3 The legal implications of the Pride in Place Programme will be considered through its
development and Legal advice taken as necessary. Legal agreements will be
developed on a project-by-project basis as required with support from Legal Services.
Negotiation in relation to any land and building acquisitions will be undertaken as
necessary with support from the Council’s Legal Services and Property Management
and Investment Service.
Equality/Socio-economic
4.4 The Fund aims to support town centre regeneration and promote economic
development. The development and implementation of both Pride in Place Plans will
provide opportunities to:
• Reverse economic, social and physical decline and reduce socio-economic
disadvantage within neighbourhoods.
• Tackle long term vacant and derelict land and buildings thereby reducing their
levels and impact on the community; and
• Build community wealth and tackle local deprivation through the regeneration of
the neighbourhoods by maximising the potential of land and assets.
An initial screening will be undertaken to establish if an Equality and Children’s Rights
Impact Assessment is required for individual programme elements on a case-by-case
basis.
Climate Change and Carbon
4.5 The development and delivery of Regeneration Plans for both Irvine and the Three
Towns will enable the delivery of projects aimed at revitalising the areas. This could
include promoting and improving active travel, reducing vacant and derelict land and
carbon reduction measures. This aligns with the priorities of the Sustainable North
Ayrshire Strategy and the commitment to reduce carbon emissions.
Key Priorities
4.6 The development and implementation of the two programmes will support a number of
the Council Plan’s priorities and strategic aims of:
• Wellbeing: To transition to a wellbeing economy, delivering prosperity, wellbeing
and resilience for local people.
• Communities and Local Democracy: We will have active, inclusive and resilient
communities.
• Climate Change: To achieve net-zero by 2030.

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Community Wealth Building
4.7 PiPP has the local community at the heart of its methodology. It aims to ensure
investment is targeted at local priorities and will empower local communities to
contribute to the regeneration of their areas. A Community Wealth Building approach
will be adopted to the development of the Regeneration Plans to ensure delivery
contributes across the pillars of:
• Land and Assets: by supporting equitable land development and the development
of underutilised assets for community use.
• Procurement: through the inclusion of appropriate community benefit of local
supplier clauses within projects; and by creating local supply chain opportunities
and supporting delivery by smaller scale and local contractors where appropriate.
• Fair Employment: by supporting the creation of employment opportunities
particularly within the construction sector. Where North Ayrshire is procuring
services, through our enhanced Community Benefits approach we will seek to
ensure the creation of local training and work experience opportunities.
Consideration will also be given to delivery through employability programmes
where appropriate.
• Financial Power: by investing in the town centre and leveraging additional external
investment.
Islands Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA)
4.8 None.
United Nations Rights of the Child (UNCRC)
4.9 None.
Consumer Duty
4.10 None.
5. Consultation
5.1 The PiPP aims to ensure that local people are at the heart of decisions, through direct
membership of the Neighbourhood Board and through a requirement to engage widely
on the regeneration plans. The Regeneration Plan for the Three Towns will therefore
follow the approach taken in Irvine and be developed through co-production with the
Neighbourhood Board and extensive engagement with stakeholders. This approach
has been informed by engagement with Connected Communities. It will build on work
to date, Locality Partnership’s priorities, the Regeneration Delivery Plan and previous
consultation exercises.
5.2 The Regeneration Plan for Irvine was co-produced with the Neighbourhood Board and
informed by extensive engagement with the public and stakeholders. It builds on work
to date, the Locality Partnership’s priorities, the Regeneration Delivery Plan and
previous consultation exercises. An online survey was used to further test the support
of the Irvine community for the plan and to ensure that it is representative of the

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priorities identified by the community. Consultation with Irvine Locality Partnership has
been formalised, with regular updates at both meetings, which will continue throughout
the delivery phase. 
5.3 Updates have been provided to the Three Towns Locality Partnership on the
Programme. Through this, agreement was obtained alongside approval for the interim
governance approach and the formation of the Board as a sub-group of the Locality
Partnership. Representation on the Neighbourhood Board will be informed by
engagement with the Locality Partnership and Connected Communities. Regular
updates will be provided at Locality Partnership meetings throughout the Programme. 
RUSSELL McCUTCHEON
Executive Director (Place) 
For further information please contact Claire Fitzsimmons, Senior Manager
Regeneration, on 01294 315305. 
Background Papers
Cabinet Report – Long-Term Plan for Towns, 5 December 2023
Council Report – Irvine Town Centre: Long-Term Plan for Towns, 18 September 2024
Council Report – Irvine: Plan for Neighbourhoods, 14 May 2025
Cabinet Report – Pride in Place Programme, 2 December 2025