To submit an expression of interest with a strategic approach by end of 22nd March 2019 for funding (typically between £5-10m per High Street, up to a maximum of £25m) to support a regeneration of a selected High Street area as part of a £675m Future High Street Fund. Shortlisted areas will be informed during the summer 2019.
Key Points
- Solving significant High Street Challenges
- Involving the community
- Supporting the move to more experiential High Streets
- More homes, jobs and choices in the town centre.
- Strengthening community assets (building restoration), utilisation of empty properties and empty spaces.
- Provide convenience and ease of access, a sense of community and to provide real experiences that cannot be achieved online.
Immediate Actions
- Select a High Street with real challenges
- Gain Local Stakeholder Support in the strategic vision.
- Check the project will comply with rules on State Aid under European Union law.
- Proof of engagement with and support from stakeholders such as LEP, other tiers of local government, BIDs, Private Sector, Community Groups, Mayoral & non-mayoral Combined Authorities.
- Get quantifiable evidence of challenges for the chosen High Street
- Complete application form
- Further scoring and weighting criteria will be issued in January 2019
Application Form Contents
To be sent to highstreetsfund@communities.gov.uk. This is based around three themes against which places will be selected:
- Defining the place
- The geography of the high street/town centre
- The centre’s catchment and link to wider economic areas
- Setting out the challenges
- Clear description of the issues and challenges facing this area
- Why central government funding is needed to meet these challenges
- Evidence to support this
- Strategic ambition
- Set out a high-level vision for improving their area and how this links with need expressed in Section 2
- Cover how investment from government will support the area and help overcome these challenges
- Demonstrate engagement with and support from local stakeholders including other tiers of local government, if applicable, and the private sector
- Demonstrate how this ambition will align with other funding streams (public or private)
- Show how this will link to wider strategic plans e.g. around housing and local growth
- Detail of capacity arrangements to ensure robust governance and delivery