Derelict high street buildings across England will be transformed into shared workspaces, cafes and community hubs, to bring people back into town centres as part of a £210m package announced today by the Labour Government.
- Mothballed and dilapidated buildings in communities in Portsmouth will be helped back into use through a £125m national fund to regenerate local communities and breathe life into our high streets.
- Further £85m will help communities like Portsmouth take over neglected pubs, clubs and shops, let out empty units through High Street Rental Auctions, and set up co-operative businesses to share in their high street’s success.
- Delivers on Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s promise to put power back in local hands and bring good growth to every postcode.
People in Portsmouth are rightly proud of where they live, but during 14 years of Conservative government our high streets were hollowed out, with shops shuttered, buildings boarded up and once-busy hubs left empty.
Now the Labour Government is putting that right, by investing to revamp vacant shopping centres, disused cinemas and abandoned local eyesores.
Through the new £125m Derelict Buildings Fund, Labour will support local authorities like Portsmouth City Council to transform these buildings into what their communities need, from health centres to civic spaces.
An additional £65m will be invested in helping communities right across England to rescue and revamp beloved buildings and businesses at risk of closure, like pubs and sports clubs in Portsmouth. This builds on existing schemes like the Pride in Place programme, which has already helping a team of locals in Paulsgrove bring pride back to their area.
And a further £20 million will be split equally between High Street Rental Auctions, letting out properties vacant for 12 months or more, and a new Co-operative Development Programme so local people share in their high street’s success.
This drives forward the Prime Minister’s mission to shift power back to communities, from letting mayors keep a share of income tax to reinvest in local priorities, to supporting the establishment of strategic authorities in every part of England.
Amanda Martin MP for Portsmouth North: “I’m delighted that the Labour Government is investing to help areas like Portsmouth bring our high streets back to life.
“The Conservatives shamefully allowed too many of our local communities to fall into disrepair during their 14 years in power. Now, with Andy Burnham as Prime Minister, Labour is acting to turn our town and city centres around by putting power and resources back into the hands of local people.
“I will work with Portsmouth City Council and community organisations to apply for this national funding so that it can help transform Portsmouth for the better, and I look forward to that process beginning in the coming weeks.”
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “People don’t measure growth by looking at a spreadsheet. They measure it by looking at their local high street. Are shops opening or are the shutters down? Does the place feel like it’s moving forward or being left behind?
“The truth is that too many high streets have been left to hollow out, leaving town centres a shell of what they once were. That must change, and today’s funding will help put power back into the hands of locals who know their area best.
“That’s how we restore pride and bring hope back. Not by telling people things are getting better, but by giving them the power to see and feel the difference where they live.”
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner, said: “Nobody knows a high street better than the community that it belongs to. That’s why this money puts power directly into their hands.
“We’ll see boarded-up buildings that have been left to rack and ruin turned into places people are proud to visit again, the pubs and clubs that mean so much to them thriving once more, and local businesses growing and creating jobs that put money back into their own community.
“That’s what this government is about. Backing the people who know their communities best, and giving them the tools to shape their own future and breathe new life into their high streets.”
First Secretary of State, Louise Haigh said: “For too long, places in every part of the country have been overlooked by Westminster. High streets neglected, town centres left in decline and local assets left to decay.
“This investment will help to regenerate and breathe new life into our communities – giving local people the resources and powers they need to make a real change.
“This is what devolution means in practice – empowering local leaders to fix things that are broken and protect the things that matter most to people.”
The £10 million regional Co-operative Development Programme will help mayors and strategic authorities set up more co-operative businesses, owned and run by the staff, customers and communities who use them, so local people share directly in their high street’s success.
Work forms part of a broader programme coordinated through the Place Regeneration taskforce, spearheaded by the First Secretary of State along with departments, ministers and local government to deliver a roadmap to rebuild Britain. This work will regenerate communities, breathe new life into our high streets and deliver maximum benefit to the
people who live there.
Later this year, the government will go further still, publishing a full high streets strategy to transform town centres across England and bring lasting pride back to Britain’s communities.
The £210m package confirmed today is from MHCLG funding already earmarked for high street support and regeneration.
