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Nathan Briant,South of England and Emily Hudson,South of England political editor
BBC
Sbba Siddique said she was hopeful the funding will help community groups in Slough
Youth and community groups are among those set to benefit from funding aimed at turning around deprived areas.
The Pride in Place scheme sees grants allocated for "locally-led solutions" in 280 neighbourhoods in England.
As part of that, up to £20m over 10 years will be allocated to each of Britwell and Langley in Slough, West Howe, Boscombe West and Hamworthy West in Dorset and Cherrywood in Farnborough, Hampshire.
On a visit to Slough, communities secretary Steve Reed said the scheme was "doing politics in a very different way".
Under the scheme, funding will be distributed to boards, which are chaired by an independent member of the public, to decide where it should be spent.
"We've had enough of politicians standing up and telling people what needs to happen in their area," Reed said.
"It's time to listen to local people themselves. We're putting money behind local voices so they can choose for themselves how they put pride back in communities that felt ignored for so many years."
Steve Reed met community representatives at St Mary's Church in Slough
Rob Deeks, the chief executive of Slough-based youth charity Together As One, said the town currently does not serve its young population well.
"There's not a single dedicated youth centre for the town; there's not a space for young people," he said.
"I'm hopeful that with investment like this, we can try to make sure that there are those places where young people can go and help resolve any of the challenges they are facing."
Sbba Siddique runs the Knit Your Socks Off group in the town and said many groups were "just surviving".
"The funding is going to be fundamental to be able to give them the opportunity to support the community better," she added.
Millie Earl, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council's leader, said the announcement was "good news for our communities", which she said have been overlooked "for too long".
But she said cuts to some grant funding earlier this year mean it must "continue to call on government to provide sustainable funding for services and improvements," Earl added.
But Alex Baker, MP for Aldershot and Farnborough, said the money for Cherrywood will be "transformational".
"Through this funding we're bring investment to those who need it and putting power back in the hands of local people," she added.
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