Erewash Sound member appointed to Pride in Place board

An Erewash Sound presenter has been assigned to group of appointees who are passionate about Cotmanhay, to oversee how £20million of Government regeneration funding is spent in the area over the next ten years.

The Cotmanhay Neighbourhood Board members, who will serve for up to four years, will ultimately decide how the Pride in Place funding is spent, following extensive engagement with residents and organisations within Cotmanhay.

Each person was selected for their extensive background in specific fields including community support, social enterprise and the arts. The seven board members join chair, Jenni Wright, who was appointed in February, and MP, Adam Thompson.

Erewash Sound volunteer presenter and producer Richard Dawson will represent cultural, arts, heritage and sporting organisations for the CNB.

The radio station has been based in Cotmanhay, at the former Bennerley School site, since its FM launch in 2010.

Speaking about his appointment on social media, Richard (pictured) said: “I have been given the privilege to serve on the Pride in Place board in Cotmanhay and am really excited to be able to serve the community and help it find its voice.”

He will be joined by:

• James Bromley, representing community leaders, organisers and activists
  James is the CEO of Erewash Voluntary Action, and works closely with residents, grassroots organisations, and strategic partners to improve community wellbeing across Erewash.
• Councillor Linda Burns, local councillor representative
  A councillor for Cotmanhay since 2023, a long-term Cotmanhay resident, and Councillor Burns shared her desire to represent the disabled community within Cotmanhay.
• Sean Platt, representing public agencies and anchor institutions
  Sean is the Chair of Governors at Cotmanhay Junior School and currently works within the railway. Sean has supported the Erewash Square project in Larklands.
• Lizzie Reeve, as a local resident representative
  Lizzie, who lives in Cotmanhay, provided a compelling application and interview for the board, having previously attended workshops for the Mayor’s Funding Award.
• Michelle Roberts, representing community leaders, organisers and activists
  Michelle works for Parkside High, a CIC that supports young people within Cotmanhay. She is also working to deliver the projects for the Mayor’s Funding Award in Cotmanhay, which will provide a helpful link between the two funds.
• Steven Wright, representing local businesses and social enterprises
  Steven owns two local businesses in the Ilkeston area. Steven Wright has previously raised money for Bennerley Fields School.

Jenni, chair of the board and head at Bennerley Fields School, said: “Our priority is delivering the £20m funding for the community, and these appointments bring the necessary expertise to make this happen.

“This new team brings together diverse individuals with deep, long-standing connections to the area to ensure the project is community-led.

“We will hold our first board meeting in June and engagement with the community will follow that in the summer. We can’t wait to get started and make a real difference to Cotmanhay.”

Open applications were requested from local people with a connection to Cotmanhay to join the Neighbourhood Board. It has followed a strict governance framework for all appointments to ensure impartiality in line with government guidance.

The Pride in Place Programme is a new government funding programme, aimed at putting power into the hands of local people in some of the most in-need neighbourhoods across the UK, so that they can decide how to regenerate their local area.

It gives local people control of up to £2m every year for the next ten years, to be spent on projects that will make a real difference to the neighbourhoods they live in.