West Midlands Mayor announces 10 million pound high street funding boost

West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker has launched a 10 million pound programme with the goal of bringing more life back to the region’s high streets. Funding associated with the programme is set to help empty shops, local businesses and town and city centre spaces.

The High Streets and Growth Incubator will initially support several locations across the region, with the areas receiving funding to be announced in due course. The programme will target the West Midlands’ high shop vacancy rate and help businesses compete as consumers increasingly shop online.

Funding will be used to bring boarded-up units back into use, improve tired public spaces and attract more visitors through events, new market stalls and street food venues. The programme further intends to support the businesses that help give local high streets a stronger identity.

The funding comes alongside the announcement of government planning changes designed to give councils more control over the growth of vape and betting shops. The initiative will also complement wider regeneration projects already under way in Coventry, Wolverhampton and Solihull, as well as investment in transport, markets and the region’s night-time economy.

Parker said: “It’s been a bruising few years for our high streets and sadly, many have become tired and run down. Today’s announcement by the Prime Minister finally gives councils the power to say no to the vape shops and betting shops that have taken over too many town centres.

"That’s a step forward. But taking back control of the high street is only half the job. We also need the investment to fill it with something better. That’s what this 10 million pounds is for. It will bring boarded-up shops back into use, get new market stalls and street food venues onto our high streets, and back the businesses that give people a reason to visit, not just pass through.”

The West Midlands Combined Authority is working with the West Midlands Growth Company and councils across Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton to initiate the programme.

The 10 million pound forms part of the region’s first four-year Integrated Settlement, a wider 2.5 billion pound funding agreement intended to support job creation, housebuilding and improved public transport.