Pride in Place Medway: Apply by 11 Sept to Spend £20m

Residents of Twydall, Luton and Strood West have six days left to put themselves forward for the boards that will decide how £60 million is spent in their neighbourhoods. Applications close at midnight on Friday 11 September.

Medway Council opened the search on Friday for around eight to 10 people per area to sit on three new Pride in Place Neighbourhood Boards. Each board will control up to £20 million over ten years.

What the role actually involves

The council’s job advert is more specific than the press release. A board member:

• decides the priorities for the area, “from parks and shops to community buildings and safer streets”
• writes the ten-year plan for the area, which goes to government in February 2027
• chooses which projects get funded
• checks that the work actually gets done

The time commitment is set out as a meeting roughly every six weeks lasting two to three hours, plus about an hour beforehand to read the papers, plus talking to people locally. The council’s own estimate is about one day a month.

The role is voluntary and unpaid. Reasonable expenses are covered “if cost is a barrier to your participation”. Meetings are held in accessible venues at times the board agrees, and some may be virtual.

February is the deadline that matters

The ten-year plan for each neighbourhood has to reach government in February 2027. Boards recruited this month therefore have roughly five months to consult their area and write it.

That is the reason to apply now rather than wait. Once the plan is submitted, the big choices about ten years of money have already been made.

Who can apply

Three things are required, and no more. You must be 18 or over, live or work in the neighbourhood you are applying to, and be available to attend board meetings.

The council is explicit that professional experience is not needed: “You do not need qualifications, and you do not need to have been on a board before. We will give you training and support.” Boards are meant to reflect the age, gender, ethnicity, faith, disability and income mix of the neighbourhood, and the advert singles out “young people, older residents, disabled people, carers, private renters, small business owners”.

There is a separate expression of interest form for each area, all linked from the job advert. Anyone who would rather talk it through first can email prideinplace@medway.gov.uk.

Two things worth knowing before you look it up

The council’s own Pride in Place page has not caught up. At the time of writing, medway.gov.uk/info/200914/medway_pride_in_place still advertises the Board Leader roles, with closing dates of 15, 22 and 27 July that have long passed. It says nothing about board member recruitment. The live opportunity is on the jobs site, reference PIPNBM, posted 27 August.

The advert is one template used for all three areas. Its headline reads “Help decide how £20 million is spent in Twydall, Luton and Strood”, which could be read as £20 million shared between them. It is £20 million each. The council’s Pride in Place page confirms the split: £60 million secured in March 2026, “each area will get £20 million, which will be invested over the next 10 years”. The advert also still carries unfilled placeholders, asking for “around [10] people” to meet “in [area]”.

Where the money came from

The government named 40 more Pride in Place neighbourhoods on 20 March 2026, each getting up to £20 million over the decade (MHCLG). Three of them are in Medway: Twydall in Gillingham, Luton in Chatham, and the area the council calls Rede Common in Strood and the new advert calls Strood West.

The chairs, which the council calls Board Leaders, were recruited over the summer. The council has not published who was appointed to any of the three.

Each area’s MP sits on its board. Tris Osborne, MP for Chatham and Aylesford, said of Luton: “We’re now looking for a handful of people to help lead the next chapter.” Naushabah Khan, MP for Gillingham and Rainham, said the Twydall board “puts the power in the hands of those who are most passionate about seeing improvements in our area”. Lauren Edwards, MP for Rochester and Strood, said of Strood West: “This is the point where that starts to become real.”

What it means for you

• If you live or work in Twydall, Luton or Strood West, the deadline is midnight on Friday 11 September. There is no second round announced.
• Do not judge the commitment by the word “board”. It is about one day a month: a two to three hour meeting every six weeks, plus reading time.
• It pays nothing. Expenses are covered only where cost would stop you taking part, so ask before you assume.
• Go to the jobs site, not the Pride in Place page. The council’s regeneration page is still showing July’s closed vacancies.
• If you are not applying, the boards are still the route in. Board members are the people who will take residents’ ideas into the plan between now and February.

For everything else the council decides locally, see our guides to planning applications in Medway and council tax bands.

Sources

• Medway Council, Residents wanted to help decide how £60million is spent in three Medway neighbourhoods, 4 September 2026
• Medway Council jobs, Pride in Place Neighbourhood Board Member, reference PIPNBM, posted 27 August 2026, closing 11 September 2026
• Medway Council, Medway Pride in Place
• Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Local people take the lead in 40 more communities, 20 March 2026