The Levelling up and Regeneration Bill, expected to be unveiled
in the Queen’s speech next week, will provide local leaders with
the powers they need to revitalise town centres.
Currently shops can stand empty for years, blighting the high
street and wasting opportunities for new jobs. New legislation
will enable local leaders to force landlords to rent out
commercial properties, revitalising highstreets, rejuvenating
town centres, and restoring community pride in their home towns.
Councils will be given greater powers to take control of
buildings for the benefit of their communities, transforming
boarded up shops or derelict buildings into thriving businesses,
shared community spaces or housing.
Prime Minister, said:
“High streets up and down the country have long been blighted by
derelict shopfronts, because they’ve been neglected, stripping
opportunity from local areas.
“We are putting that right by placing power back in the hands of
local leaders and the community so our towns can be rejuvenated,
levelling up opportunity and restoring neighbourhood pride.”
The number of empty shopfronts has soared to 1 in 7 according to
the British Retail Consortium, rising to 1 in 5 in the north
east, with boarded up and derelict shops blighting highstreets
and sapping the life from once bustling town centres. New
Compulsory Rental Auctions will ensure that landlords auction
shops that have been vacant for over a year to prospective
tenants, putting buildings to good use.
The move will create opportunities for new businesses and
community groups, paving the way for new jobs to boost
employment, strengthening local economies and restoring local
pride.
Levelling Up Secretary said:
“By empowering local communities to rent out shops which have
been sat empty for a year or longer, we will end the scourge of
boarded up shops that have blighted some of our great towns
across the country for far too long.
“These measures will breathe new life into high streets,
transforming once-bustling communities into vibrant places to
live and work once again and restoring local pride as we level up
across the country.”
Councils will also be given greater powers to drive regeneration
through Compulsory Purchase Orders, making it quicker and easier
for councils to use powers to deliver much needed local housing
and infrastructure.
Compulsory Purchase Orders allow acquiring authorities, including
local public bodies, to acquire buildings without needed the
consent of the owner for public benefit. This may
include acquiring land to build social housing or other
regeneration projects.
Banstead and Reigate council has used this power to regenerate an
old car park to create a new cinema, shops, leisure facilities
and housing at the heart of Redhill’s town centre in Surrey.
To support vibrant high streets and communities thrive, pavement
licensing red-tape will be permanently scrapped, freeing up
businesses to serve food al fresco and attract diners all year
round.
During the pandemic, restaurants, pubs and bars were granted
temporary powers to serve guests on pavements, helping to
mitigate lost floorspace for tables due to social distancing
requirements.
Through new legislation, these powers will be made permanent to
expand capacity for businesses to boost local economies and
inject life into local communities.
The Levelling up and Regeneration Bill follows publication of the
government’s flagship Levelling Up White Paper which set out
plans to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and prosperity
to all parts of it.
The UK Government is also providing £1.7bn of temporary business
rates relief in 2022-23 for up to 400,000 retail, hospitality and
leisure properties to support the high street.
The High Streets Task Force will continue to support communities
to regenerate their high streets to reflect evolving local needs.
It is already supporting 84 local authorities with access to
expert support in areas such as placemaking, planning and design.
