The government has announced a £210 million investment package aimed at breathing new life into struggling town centres across England, with funding earmarked to transform derelict buildings, support community-owned assets, and revitalise local high streets.
The initiative is designed to tackle the growing number of vacant shops, abandoned cinemas, disused shopping centres and boarded-up buildings that have become a common sight in many towns and cities. Ministers say the funding will help local authorities and communities repurpose neglected properties into facilities that meet local needs, including shared workspaces, cafés, health centres and community hubs.
At the heart of the package is a new £125 million Derelict Buildings Fund, which will provide support to local authorities seeking to bring empty and neglected properties back into productive use.
The fund is expected to help transform former retail units, vacant shopping centres and other long-term empty buildings into community-focused spaces that can attract footfall, support economic growth and restore confidence in town centres.
Alongside the buildings fund, an additional £65 million will be made available to help communities rescue valued local assets that are at risk of closure, including pubs, sports clubs and other important community facilities.
The investment builds on existing programmes such as Pride in Place, which has already enabled local people to take ownership of assets including a youth centre in Ramsgate and the former Brunswick Shopping Centre in Scarborough.
A further £20 million has been allocated to support high street renewal through two initiatives:
- £10 million for High Street Rental Auctions, helping bring back into use commercial properties that have remained vacant for 12 months or longer.
- £10 million for a new regional Co-operative Development Programme, which will encourage the creation of more co-operative businesses owned and operated by employees, customers and local communities.
The government believes the approach will allow residents to benefit directly from the success of their local economies while creating more resilient high streets.
The funding forms part of a wider government agenda focused on increasing local decision-making powers and strengthening regional leadership.
The programme aligns with broader plans to devolve powers to mayors and strategic authorities across England, enabling local leaders to retain and reinvest more funding in community priorities.
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.”
The funding package will be delivered through the government's Place Regeneration Taskforce, bringing together ministers, departments and local government to coordinate efforts to regenerate communities and town centres.
Ministers have also confirmed that a comprehensive High Streets Strategy will be published later this year, setting out longer-term plans to revitalise town centres and support local economic growth.
For councils, combined authorities and public sector leaders, the announcement represents a significant opportunity to secure investment for regeneration projects that can deliver social, economic and community benefits while tackling the challenge of long-term vacant properties.
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