Published: Wednesday, 6th August 2025
Community groups and charities in King’s Lynn are being asked to host community conversations to help shape multi-million-pound funding coming into the town.
The call comes after it was announced that from 2026, the town will receive up to £20m over 10 years through the Government’s Plan for Neighbourhoods programme (formerly known as the Long Term Plan for Towns).
This can be invested across the eight themes of: Regeneration, High Streets, and Heritage; Housing; Work, Productivity and Skills; Cohesion; Health and Wellbeing; Transport; Safety and Security, and Education and Opportunity.
With local people at the very heart of shaping how this funding is spent, groups and charities are being offered the chance to hold community conversations and share feedback from residents on how this money could be prioritised.
To assist, a community conversations toolkit can be found here. Please get in touch with visionkl@west-norfolk.gov.uk if you would like to host a community conversation. To further support the community conversations, funding is available for resources such as engagement activities, incentives, refreshments or venue hire.
The opportunity for community groups and charities to get involved was announced at a Community Conference that took place on Tuesday 22 July at South Lynn Community Centre.
Around 45 representatives of various groups and organisations attended the event which provided an update on the programme, invited feedback on the priorities for King’s Lynn, and discussed ways to make sure that local people are engaged.
The Plan for Neighbourhoods focuses on three objectives – thriving communities, stronger places, and taking back control, and the funding can be invested across the eight themes.
The programme is being overseen in the town by the King’s Lynn Neighbourhood Board. Chair Vicky Etheridge said: “The Plan for Neighbourhoods represents a significant opportunity for us to deliver initiatives and projects that make a tangible difference within King’s Lynn’s neighbourhoods and in the town centre.
“Listening to local people, understanding their aspirations, is key to coming up with a plan for how this funding is invested which is why we are keen to work with groups and charities who already have existing relationships and connections in our town.
“We want to empower community conversations, and the form that these take is up to community groups and charities. But what we can do is offer our support in the form of funding to make it as easy as possible for people go get involved.
“Thank you to everyone who attended the community conference and who has already committed to holding a community conversation.”
The community conversations are just one aspect of the community engagement which began in summer 2024 with a comprehensive public consultation. Further consultation is planned this autumn on the vision and priorities which will form the regeneration plan that must be submitted to government by 28 November.
A second community conference will take place 5pm to 7pm on Tuesday 16 September at the Discovery Centre. Any community groups or charities wishing to reserve a free place can email visionkl@west-norfolk.gov.uk
For the lifetime of the ten-year programme, community engagement and capacity building will continue, ensuring that local people and groups are at the very forefront of leading and delivering King’s Lynn’s projects and initiatives.
Councillor Alistair Beales, Leader of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, said: “We want to work collaboratively with community groups, charities, and local people in the months and years to come so that together we can ensure this funding is invested where it is most needed.
“The consultation that has already taken place in 2024 shows us that there are some clear issues and ambitions for the town emerging.
“Now we want to build on what we know in these community conversations, and with the subsequent consultation and engagement that will continue for years to come and which is a hallmark of this programme.
“I would encourage everyone to get involved in any way they can and help us to identify how and where this multi-million-pound funding can make a difference for the town.”