The UK government has unveiled a £210 million funding package designed to breathe new life into struggling high streets. This initiative focuses on repurposing boarded-up retail units, pubs, and clubs into functional community spaces, including shared workspaces, cafes, and health centers.
Andy Burnham, who announced the funding, emphasized that the goal is to “help put power back into the hands of locals who know their area best” as a way to “restore pride and bring hope back” to town centers. He argued that residents assess local growth not through spreadsheets, but by the vitality of their high streets, noting that the decline of these areas has left many communities feeling left behind. According to burnham, It was important to find ways of reviving high streets despite the challenges. 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. But by giving them the power to see and feel the difference where they live.”, not by telling people things are getting better.
The investment is structured across three primary streams. A £125 million derelict buildings fund will assist local councils in transforming abandoned infrastructure, such as disused shopping malls and old cinemas, into vital community assets. Additionally, £65 million has been earmarked to help local groups rescue businesses at risk of closure, specifically targeting pubs and clubs. Are shops opening or are the shutters down.
The remaining £20 million will be divided equally between supporting co-operative ownership models for community-focused businesses and funding council-led rental auctions to bring long-term vacant properties back into use. This plan complements the existing £5.8 billion pride-in-place programme, which currently supports 284 disadvantaged communities with up to £2 million annually.
High streets across the country have faced sustained pressure due to the transition toward online shopping and rising operational costs, including energy, labor, and taxes. Recent data from the University of Southampton indicates that residents perceive high street decline as the most significant negative change in their local environments over the last decade, exacerbated by the collapse of major chains and an increase in shoplifting. Despite multiple government attempts at regeneration, after a shift to online shopping and services such as banking and estate agents, as well as higher business costs including taxes, energy and labour, high streets continue to struggle. The cost of living crunch has also prompted people to rein in spending on non-essentials and driven a shift to dining and drinking at home instead of spending on eating out.
Rose Marley, chief executive of the industry body Co-operatives UK, described the creation of the specialist mutuals fund as “a game changer.” While the Labour government previously set a goal to double the number of UK co-operatives, growth remains modest, with figures rising only 0.4% last year to 8,005. Despite this, interest in co-operative hospitality is growing, with such pubs increasing by 48% over the past five years, though they currently represent just 377 businesses nationally.
Marley noted that the funding demonstrates a governmental understanding of how community agency drives positive change. The government plans to release a more comprehensive high streets strategy later this year aimed at supporting the long-term recovery of town centers throughout England.
