The Government is to provide up to £830m in allocations from the Future High Streets Fund, which it says will support areas to recover from the pandemic.

The money will go to 72 areas across England, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick announced on 26 December 2020.

The funding will enable the delivery of regeneration plans created by the recipient 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.
  • £25million to help transform Sunderland city centre with a new state-of-the-art library, creative labs and local history centre.
Standing four storeys high, The Culture House project now funded for Sunderland is planned for the site of The Corner Flag on the south side of Keel Square and will house libraries for adults, children and young people, as well as spaces for creativity and innovation.

Jenrick 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. This £830m investment is one of many ways the government is working to help our town centres get through this and prosper into the future".

“We want to support change and make sure that high streets 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.”

The Future High Streets Fund was launched in December 2018 as part of the government’s plan to renew and reshape town centres.

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.

The government has also announced measures during 2020 to support high streets in specific ways related to the Covid-19 pandemic, including opening hours and permission to reuse and demolish buildings as homes.

Recent proposals include a new Parking Code of Practice introducing a tiered approach to private car parking fines and ensuring a fairer appeals process, and a review of the provision of public toilets to ensure that there are appropriate facilities for visitors to town centres.

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 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