Report warns of 'community capacity gap' as Bristol projects take shape

The Business Desk reported that a report on neighbourhood regeneration warns that a £5.8bn programme is threatened by a “community capacity gap” [4]. It said devolution of funding must be matched by investment in local decision-making [4].

The same outlet reported that the West of England is marking a year of its growth strategy with a £17bn investment pipeline and that the region has secured new town status and devolution powers [8]. It also reported that council leaders saw construction progress at the Agratas battery plant [6], that a Bristol robotics team won $500,000 for a wildfire-fighting drone swarm [5], and that a Swindon firm is moving into Formula 1 component manufacturing [7].

Bristol24/7 reported that a former primary school will become a community hub [3] and that a Portishead co-founder has teamed up with a youth centre to record a track [1]. BCfm Radio said it had been nominated for three Community Radio Awards [2]. These reports place large-scale investment alongside smaller community projects, while the report on neighbourhood regeneration says funding devolved to local areas must be matched by investment in local decision-making [4][8][6][7][3][1][2].