£830m funding for 72 high streets

Future High Streets Fund helps towns hit by the pandemic

Swindon Borough Council will use £25m from Future High Street fund to turn a dual carriageway road between the rail station and town centre into a ‘bus boulevard’

Swindon Borough Council will use £25m from Future High Street fund to turn a dual carriageway road between the rail station and town centre into a ‘bus boulevard’

The UK Government will provide up to £830m from the Future High Streets Fund to support areas to recover from the pandemic.

The money will be invested in 72 areas across England, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced on 26 December 2020.

The funding will enable the delivery of regeneration plans, drawn up by places, and fund new local projects such as improvements to transport infrastructure, new homes and the transformation of underused spaces.

Confirmed plans include:

• £24.6m to support the delivery of 186 new homes, road safety improvements and a permanent new space for the historic market in Birkenhead.
• £17.9m to boost Worcester town centre by renovating the Scala Theatre and Corn Exchange, transforming underused space to create new homes for first time buyers and improving connectivity.
• £25m for Swindon’s plans to modernise its town centre, including a new public transport hub and improved cycle and pedestrian routes.

Robert Jenrick MP said: “The year ahead will be a big one for the high street as it seeks to recover, adapt and evolve as a result of the pandemic. Today’s £830m investment from the Future High Streets Fund is one of many ways the government is working to help our much-loved town centres get through this and prosper into the future.

“The role of high street has always evolved. We want to support that change and make sure that they are the beating heart of their local community, with high quality housing and leisure in addition to shops and restaurants. This investment will help us build back better and make town centres a more attractive place to live, work and visit.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak said: “We are supporting our high streets to get through this pandemic through business grants, paying people’s wages and tax deferrals. The Future High Streets Fund will help areas bounce back through regeneration projects that level up opportunities and create jobs right across the country.”

The Future High Streets Fund was launched in December 2018 as part of the government’s plan to renew and reshape town centres, making them more attractive places to live, work and visit.

Some £107m of the Future High Streets Fund has been allocated to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support the regeneration of heritage high streets.

Jenrick said: “The Future High Streets Fund is just one of the ways the government is supporting the retail and hospitality sector. During the pandemic, we made it easier for areas to adapt to the challenges they faced. This included making it easier to demolish and rebuild unused buildings to create homes with our High Street Homes Permitted Development Rights; providing restaurants, pubs and cafes with the freedom to offer takeaway services; and making it easier for businesses and communities to host markets and stalls so customers can be served safely.

“In May we launched a fund to help councils reopen high streets safely and we recently announced that retailers will be able to extend their opening hours over the festive period to help keep shoppers and staff safe. This month we extended protections from the threat of eviction for businesses unable to pay their rent until March 2021, taking the duration of these measures to one year.

“Our recent proposals for the new Parking Code of Practice will support shoppers visiting their local high street by introducing a tiered approach to private car parking fines and ensuring a fair appeals process.We are also reviewing the provision of public toilets to ensure that there are appropriate facilities for visitors to town centres.”

The funding allocations

Fifteen areas across England have been awarded a confirmed £255m from the Future High Streets Fund. A further 57 areas have received a provisional funding offers totalling up to £576m.

The 15 places receiving full funding are:

• Tamworth Town Centre – Tamworth, £21,652,555
• Sunderland City Centre – Sunderland, £25,000,000
• Sutton – Sutton, £11,346,704
• Bishop Auckland – Durham, £19,856,853
• Blyth Town Centre – Northumberland, £11,121,059
• Kidderminster – Wyre Forest, £20,510,598
• Old Kent Road – Southwark, £9,605,854
• Swindon – Swindon, £25,000,000
• Stockport – Stockport, £14,500,000
• Winsford – Cheshire West and Chester, £9,980,000
• Sheffield High Street – Sheffield, £15,817,001
• Blackfriars, Northern City Centre – Worcester, £17,939,000
• Birkenhead – Wirral, £24,581,011
• Brierley Hill High Town Centre – Dudley, £9,985,689
• Stretford – Trafford, £17,605,674

The 57 places receiving provisional funding offers are:

• Leamington Town Spa, Warwick (Warwickshire) – £10,015,121
• Nuneaton Town Centre, Nuneaton and Bedworth (Warwickshire) – £13,362,736
• Wolverhampton City Centre – £15,760,196
• Walsall – £11,439,967
• Newcastle-Under-Lyme – £11,048,260
• Stafford – £14,377,723
• Tottenham, Haringey – £10,019,648
• Woolwich Town Centre, Greenwich – £17,150,964
• Wealdstone, Harrow – £7,448,583
• Putney Town Centre, Wandsworth – £1,058,706
• Elland Town Centre, Calderdale (West Yorkshire) – £6,310,812
• Northallerton, Hambleton (North Yorkshire) – £6,085,013
• Rotherham – £12,660,708
• Halifax – £11,762,823
• Barnsley Towns Centre – £15,624,456
• Scunthorpe – £10,675,323
• New Ferry, Wirral – £3,213,523
• Wigan – £16,633,691
• Crewe – £14,148,128
• Rochdale (Greater Manchester) – £17,080,458
• Farnworth, Bolton (Greater Manchester) – £13,306,817
• Oldham – £10,750,237
• Kirkham Town Centre, Fylde – £6,290,831
• Maryport Town Centre, Allerdale – £11,527,839
• Carlisle City Centre – £9,129,874
• Plymouth City Centre – £12,046,873
• Barnstaple, North Devon – £6,548,876
• Newton Abbot, Teignbridge – £9,199,364
• Paignton, Torbay – £13,363,248
• Kingswood, South Gloucestershire – £12,555,464
• Salisbury City Centre – £9,355,731
• Penzance, Cornwall – £10,403, 112
• Trowbridge, Wiltshire – £16,347,056
• Yeovil – £9,756,897
• Taunton, Somerset – £13,962,981
• Loftus, Redcar and Cleveland – £5,833,628
• Middlesbrough Centre – £14,170,352
• Stockton – £16,543,812
• South Shields – £5,959,187
• Derby City Centre, St Peters Cross – £15,034,398
• Sutton-in-Ashfield (Nottinghamshire) – £6,279,872
• Grantham, South Kesteven (Lincolnshire) – £5,558,818
• Grimsby (North East Lincolnshire) – £17,280,917
• Nottingham City Centre, West End Point – £12,523,981
• Heanor, Amber Valley – £8,592,837
• Northampton – £8,442,730
• Buxton, High Peak – £6,608,223
• Dover Town Centre and Waterfront – £3,202,226
• Newhaven, Lewes – £5,004,939
• Chatham Town Centre, Medway – £9,497,720
• Ramsgate, Thanet – £2,704,213
• Commercial Road, Portsmouth (Hampshire) – £3,122,375
• Fratton, Portsmouth – £3,858,489
• High Wycombe – £11,886,876
• St Neots, Huntingdonshire – £3,748,815
• March High Street, Fenland – £6,447,129
• Great Yarmouth – £13,774,430

The outputs listed are locally reported and will undergo further quality assurance before being finalised and confirmed in grant offer letters.