Chair of the Kingswood, Hazel Leys and Exeter Neighbourhood Board for £20million Pride in Place programme announced
27 May 2026
Lifelong Corby resident Alex Bonner has been chosen to head-up a multi-million pound investment to help a town neighbourhood thrive.
Alex will Chair the Kingswood, Hazel Leys and Exeter Neighbourhood Board, the body which will oversee the Government’s Pride in Place programme in Corby.
Born and raised in the town, Alex has lived on the Exeter estate for 24 years and has worked with young people for more than three decades. Seventeen of those years have been spent at Kingswood Secondary Academy, where she currently teaches English and sits on the school’s senior leadership team.
No decisions have yet been made on how the remainder of the board will be comprised, with the next step for the chair to select fellow members.
I’m immensely proud to have been chosen as chair of the board which will oversee such a big investment into the heart of these neighbourhoods and I look forward to working closely with everyone involved and seeing real progress.Alex Bonner, Chair of the Kingswood, Hazel Leys and Exeter Neighbourhood Board
Corby has some incredibly resilient people that are bursting with creativity and passion. Plans for Kingswood, Hazel Leys and Exeter must be shaped collaboratively, with local voices leading the way and I’m delighted to be able to play a part in this.
I believe that Kingswood Secondary Academy and the young people within the local area will be pivotal as the driving force of this brilliant project.
The national Pride in Place initiative will see these three neighbourhoods benefit from £20 million of investment over the next 10 years.
The Neighbourhood Board will shape a shared long-term vision and develop a regeneration plan for the area. This plan will identify local priorities and determine how the funding will be spent.
The chair will play a pivotal role in convening and overseeing the Board, working closely with the local MP, councillors, partners, community representatives, businesses and importantly local residents.
The position was open to individuals who live or work in North Northamptonshire and have strong connections to three Corby neighbourhoods which will be the focus of the Pride in Place programme.
I always made it clear that having secured this funding that it was crucial that we thought outside the box when appointing somebody to deliver the project.Lee Barron, MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire
People are understandably sceptical when politicians oversee spending and I wanted to end that cynicism by making sure that we appointed someone who is entrenched in the community.
The great thing about Alex is that she looks on this through the lens of this generation and future generations and understands the need to get the broadest involvement in this through the children, schools and community groups.
It was essential that we appointed someone with strong links to this Corby neighbourhood to lead the project and that’s why Alex is such a great fit as Chair of the Board.
The Pride in Place initiative is seeing the Government make record investment in the Kingswood, Hazel Leys and Exeter estates, and I’m looking forward to seeing real progress being made as the project moves forward.
This is a key role for Pride in Place in Corby and I’d like to congratulate Alex on her appointment – I’m confident that she’ll do a great job.Cllr Martin Griffiths, Leader of North Northamptonshire Council
Her personal experience of living within the Pride in Place area make her absolutely ideal to bring forward the priorities of the communities involved.
I look forward to seeing the board champion the community’s ambitions, bring people together, and help shape a strong and positive future for this part of Corby.
Responsibilities of the chair include championing community engagement, ensuring transparent governance, and helping to cocreate the 10-year Pride in Place vision and regeneration plan for the Kingswood, Hazel Leys and Exeter estates. It also includes ensuring that there is a strong legacy in place after the programme ends.
Similar Pride in Place schemes are running in Avondale Grange in Kettering and Queensway in Wellingborough. You can read more about the Pride in Place Programme on our web-pages.