Communities Secretary Steve Reed visits Bilston to see how it will benefit from £20 million fund

Communities Secretary Steve Reed said Labour was giving people the power to ‘shape their future’ during a visit to the Black Country today.

Mr Reed was in Bilston as part of a tour of areas which have received funding through the Government’s Pride in Place programme.

He said he was visiting the town as part of a tour of areas which had previously been ignored by the Conservatives.

Bilston will receive £20 million over the next 10 years to fund a programme of regeneration.

The town is also bidding to be the first UK Town of Culture.

He was joined by fellow cabinet minister and Wolverhampton South East MP Pat McFadden and Wolverhampton Council leader Councillor Stephen Simkins.

The money was first announced in 2023 under the previous government’s ‘long-term plan for towns’, but the scheme was relaunched last year as Pride in Place, and will now be managed by a local town board.

The scheme will include the return of the Bilston Carnival, improvements to street-cleaning, lighting, benches and parks, as well as improvements to CCTV and community spaces.

Mr Reed said: “Our landmark Pride in Place programme unashamedly backs those communities which were neglected under the Tories.

“This Labour government knows that local people know what’s best for their area better than any politician in Westminster. That’s why we are handing back power and money so they can shape their own future.

“The Tories proved in government that they won’t invest in these places. Reform and the Greens are obsessed with the politics of grievance and division. Only Labour will restore pride in Britain - and we’re just getting started.”