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Portas Pilots towns announced

By FashionUnited

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More than 370 towns applied to be the first Portas Pilot towns, unfortunately only 12 towns will be given a slice of the £1.2m as well as tailored support to help them implement their rejuvenation plans. The twelve winning towns are: Bedford,

Bedfordshire; Croydon, Greater London; Dartford, Kent; Bedminster, Bristol; Liskeard, Cornwall; Margate, Kent; Market Rasen, Lincolnshire; Nelson, Lancashire; Newbiggin by the Sea, Northumberland; Stockport, Greater Manchester; Stockton on Tees, Teesside and Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

Each
area won the money to enhance their local shopping centres and high streets, for instance Liskeard is planning to build on its vibrant art scene to inject fun back into its town centre, and Wolverhampton plans on bringing its city to life with modern day town criers and on-street performers and a ‘dragon’s den’ style competition to support local entrepreneurs.

The initiative follows a review into town centres by Portas, commissioned by the government, where she recommended a variety of initiatives including affordable town-centre parking, and ‘town teams’ made up of consumers, landlords, shops and councillors who would be in put in charge of improving the main shopping areas.

Local Government Minister Grant Shapps, who made the announcement, said there would be a second batch of 12 pilots announced by the end of July, and that the Greater London Authority were funding three more.

"The best local high streets offer more than simply shopping - they are the beating heart of their neighbourhoods: places to meet, work, relax and come together as a community," Mr Shapps said.

"It's why this competition to become a Portas pilot has captured the imagination of the nation, with communities across the country uniting to support their high streets."

Mary Portas added: "I've been deeply touched by both the quality and creativity of the bids and the momentum Britain's first town teams have generated in just a few short weeks.

"It is now clearer to me than ever that Britain wants its town centres revitalised and the energy and accountability for that needs to rest with the people who live and do business there."

With so many towns missing out on much needed funding, Helen Dickinson, Head of UK Retail at KPMG, discusses the outlook for those that did not make the cut. “The Portas Review is to be congratulated for galvanising so many local communities to create an improvement plan for their High Street.

“But what now for the other high streets across Britain, who face the same challenges, but without funding and without help?  While unsuccessful bidders will automatically be considered for the next 15 places released on the Portas Pilots scheme, communities must not pin their long term hopes for their high street on securing funding second time around.

“Instead the town teams who have worked so diligently on their bids must continue to work together.  Effective cooperation between town stakeholders is at the heart of a town’s success. Encouragingly some community groups have already pledged to carry out the improvements outlined in their bids, regardless of whether or not they receive funding from this central Government scheme.”
Mary Portas
Portas Pilot