The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced that a new government pilot will help to create new partnerships for long-term regeneration.
Ten areas – called High Street Accelerators – will be involved in the pilot, with local authorities and businesses bringing communities together to help address some of the biggest challenges that high streets are facing. Initially, £2.37 million will be shared between the ten Accelerators, however, they will then be able to apply for a share of a further £5 million to make improvements to high streets and green spaces.
Areas that will benefit from the programme are:
- Blackpool
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Hyndburn
- Scunthorpe
- Oldham
- Hull
- Darwen
- Grimsby
- Hyde
- Tendring
Jacob Young, Minister for Levelling Up, said:
“It has been a tough few years for our high streets following the pandemic and the changes we’ve seen in consumer behaviour.
“We know that local people know what’s best for their area, and we’re keen to understand the benefits that High Street Accelerators could bring working with local businesses and their communities.
“These Accelerators will complement other interventions like High Street Rental Auctions, empowering local people to tackle vacancy and other issues on their high streets.”
Alongside the High Street Accelerators initiative, local authorities will be given increased power to ensure that landlords are able to rent out their high street properties. This will be done through new High Street Rental Auctions, with councils selling rental rights to willing tenants so that empty properties can be filled with businesses and community groups.
Image credit: iStock
