New future for MVMP
The company set up to regenerate former coalfield settlements in Mansfield and Bolsover has received government approval to extend its lifespan. Meden Valley Making Places (MVMP) will now offer its services to local authorities and communities to improve their areas.
The new company, Making Places, has been given a nine-month extension and will now last until the end of 2011.
The organisation has almost completed its objective to reverse the decline of eight settlements in Bolsover and Mansfield following the pit closures of the 1980s.
MVMP is working on a new business model to operate without direct central government grant. It will offer its services to local authorities and communities to help them improve their areas.
As it stands, MVMP is a public sector company jointly owned by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA), East Midlands Development Agency (Emda), Bolsover District Council and Mansfield District Council.
The HCA said it has been working closely with member authorities to continue to deliver MVMP projects, as well as enabling the process for the Making Places proposal to start.
Chief executive of MVMP Gary Kirk said: “We see Making Places offering a critical service to local authorities in and around Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and reflecting the government’s priorities for localism and decentralisation we would become directly engaged by and be accountable to our local partners.
“We have a strong track record in improving quality of life through housing and employment, and can deliver good value for money – something noted by Department for Communities and Local Government when reviewing our extension."
Graham Dobbs, head of area for HCA East Midlands, said: “MVMP has demonstrated that they have the capability to deliver transformational change while keeping communities at the heart of what they do. We will continue to work with local partners to support their aspirations in the light of MVMP’s changing role.”
