Regenerating Darlington
Pride in Place
In March 2025, Darlington was awarded up to £20 million over ten years from the UK Government’s Pride in Place programme.
The programme aims to improve neighbourhoods by making them stronger, safer, and more connected. It focuses on what local people need and care about.
The programme is overseen by the Darlington Neighbourhood Board. This board includes local businesses, residents, and partner organisations. It is led by an independent chair. Council staff manage the funding and provide administrative support.
Darlington Neighbourhood Board
In 2025, the Town Deal Board was replaced by the new Neighbourhood Board. This boards leads the Pride in Place programme.
The board is made up of local people, businesses and partner organisations who all care about the town. They will have strong connections to the town and will work together to improve it.
The board's goal is to support growth by improving things like buildings and outdoor spaces, as well as community life. It aims to make a real difference to the everyday lives of people in Darlington.
The board is working with the voluntary and community groups to create a community engagement strategy. This will set out a shared vision for the future of Darlington.
The goals are set out in a ten-year Regeneration Plan [pdf document] . This is supported by a four-year investment plan.
The board meet every 4 to 6 weeks. Read about how the board is ran, upcoming meetings and minutes on our governance page
Further information:
Pride in Place Programme: prospectus [external link]
Pride in Place strategy [external link]
For any questions, contact Sarah Small, Partnerships Programme Manager [email protected]
Read our Pride in Place latest news
The Towns Fund
In 2021, Darlington received £23.3m from the Government’s Towns Fund. This funding supported a programme of regeneration projects to strengthen the local economy and improve key areas of the borough.
The funding was used to deliver nine projects. These focused on:
- supporting business growth
- improving economic and cultural assets
- redeveloping important sites
- increasing activity in the town centre.
Investment was focused in areas such as;
- North Road and Northgate
- the town centre (including Skinnergate and the Yards)
- Victoria Road and the Bank Top Station gateway
These helped improve heritage, public spaces and infrastructure. They also created opportunities for housing, skills, and active travel, such as walking and cycling.
The programme was overseen by the Darlington Town Deal Board. The board brought together the council, businesses and community partners to support long-term regeneration and economic growth.