The government has announced a £319 million investment package under its Pride in Place strategy, which it says is aimed at restoring pride and opportunity in neighbourhoods across the country. Oldham is among the areas named in one part of the scheme.

The money is split into four strands. The largest is a £301 million commitment to High Streets Innovation Partnerships, which will support local communities to revive struggling high streets. Under the plans, town centres could become mixed-use spaces with new homes, health services, libraries, community hubs and green spaces. Local businesses and other organisations will be encouraged to get involved, with locations to be confirmed in due course.

Funding will also pay for a summer of activity on high streets this year, with measures intended to boost footfall as some areas prepare to benefit from major culture and sporting events, including the World Cup.

A further £18 million will go towards play spaces, so that children in 66 of the most deprived communities have quality playgrounds, either new or upgraded, from Tyneside to Torquay. Oldham is on the list of 66 areas receiving playground funding, alongside neighbouring Salford, Tameside, Bolton, Rochdale, Manchester, Stockport, Wigan and Bury.

The government said areas were selected because they have the highest income deprivation affecting children and the poorest access to play, so that the money goes where it is needed most. Playground funding will go straight to local areas, with no requirement to bid or compete against other places. Councils receiving the cash will also be encouraged to consider buying British materials.

Plans are also moving forward for areas in the first phase of Pride in Place, which will give communities £20 million over 10 years to spend on local priorities. Separately, five projects will test a new approach in which councils, the NHS and schools pool their money and work together rather than separately. They cover support for children with special educational needs and disabilities in Liverpool, preventing youth offending in the North East, help for teenagers with mental health difficulties in the Black Country, support for adults facing multiple disadvantage in Doncaster, and getting young people into work in West Yorkshire. The government said that if the model works, it intends to roll it out nationwide.

Allocations for the £301 million High Streets Innovation Partnerships will be confirmed in due course.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed said people had watched their communities decline for too long with little say over how they are run. He said the government was giving communities "the tools, the funding and the power they need to rebuild", adding: "From new playgrounds to reimagined high streets, we're putting power back in people's hands."