The government has announced a £210 million package to transform derelict high street buildings into shared workspaces, cafes and community hubs.
Through the new £125m Derelict Buildings Fund, the government will support local authorities to transform these buildings into what their communities need.
A further £65 million will be set aside to help communities rescue and revamp buildings and businesses at risk of closure, like pubs and sports clubs. This will build on existing schemes like the Pride in Place programme.
An additional £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.
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."
