Minister for Devolution, Faith and Communities (): We are nation of a
thousand neighbourhoods, where our identity and our sense of
belonging, all depend on what is around us. When the streets are
clean, and high streets thriving – times are good. But when shops
are empty and crime is rife – those are the moments, we
ask what's going wrong. As part of the government's commitment to
restoring Pride in Place, we are today announcing further
measures to echo the pride people have in their town and city
centres, ahead of the publication of the High Streets Strategy
this Summer.
First, we will deepen our commitment to tackling the blight of
boarded up shops that damages the vibrancy of high streets and
encourages anti-social behaviour. Since 2024, through a
partnership with twelve early adopter local authorities, we have
been successfully trialling high streets rental auctions. These
are new powers that enable councils to auction the lease of high
street premises that have been empty for over a year in a
two-year period, and compel the landlord to accept an offer. The
experience of these councils shows that the powers are an
effective lever to engage landlords, as over 60 high street shop
units have been reoccupied without a rental auction needing to be
held, and evidence of a tangible impact on vacancy rates. We now
want to see these powers being taken up across the country, and
to do this we will provide £10m over the next two years which
will be available to local authorities across England to apply
for to fund refurbishment grants and other associated costs. This
will open these spaces up to new tenants - not just taking out
eyesores, also providing businesses with access to tenancies at
below market rent.
Next, we want every Pride in Place area to use their £20m to
support the local economy, so today I can announce that we will
publish guidance to make sure Neighbourhood Boards have all the
tools they to need use local suppliers and invest in local
businesses. This programme amounts to £6bn for the most deprived
communities in Britain – if we can use that to support community
businesses, we can make this investment go so much further.
Finally, we are introducing changes to the Business Improvement
Districts by modernising the rule book. We will simplify voting
procedures, strengthen transparency and accountability, and
crucially, include property owners in the process. Across the
country , businesses and BIDs have shown what they can contribute
to revitalising high streets – this government will support them.
