Government launches 1m Mary Portas pilot scheme to revive town centres
The Government is looking for 12 areas to share 1million in a bid to regenerate town centres and high streets as part of last year’s review by Mary Portas.
A dedicated team and Ms Portas herself will offer support to the 12 towns selected through the competition.
The pilot scheme aims to ‘breathe new life’ into local shopping centres, creating town teams, made up of the key players in their local community – such as the council, landlords, shopkeepers and the local MP.
Experiment: Mary Portas said she wanted the first 12 town teams to challenge the old ways of working
Local government minister Grant
Shapps said: ‘Our high streets have faced stiff competition from
internet shopping, and out-of-town shopping centres, leaving them
unused, unloved and under-valued.
‘The internet is not going to go away, and so for our high streets to survive they need to offer something new and exciting.
‘So today I’m offering a golden ticket to 12 town centres across the
country to become Portas Pilots – areas with the vision and enthusiasm
to breathe new life into what should be the beating heart of their
communities, and they will get Mary’s and my support as they try out the
ideas in her recent review.’
Mary Portas said: ‘I am thrilled that
now there is an opportunity to turn my recommendations into reality by
giving communities across the country the opportunity to come forward
with their vision for breathing new life into their locality.
She added she wanted the first 12
town teams to challenge the old ways of working, experiment, take risks
and reaffirm their place at the heart of a community.
Boarded up: Many town centre shops in England have shut down faced with competition
But Peter Box, of the Local
Government Association, said that, despite councils appreciated any
additional pot of funding which could help towards improving local high
streets, they felt that this Government pilot simply tinkered around the edges.
He said: ‘There have been two
remarkably similar initiatives recently – the high street recession fund
and the high street riot fund, both of which also failed to give local
partners the tools they need to make a real impact on the challenges
high streets face.
‘We urge the Government to now step up and give councils some real power.
‘Councils don’t want to see short-term schemes – instead they want to
see some firm action and a commitment from all Government departments
and agencies.’
A spokesman at the Department for
Communities and Local Government said: ‘We know that councils have
already shown a real appetite to get involved in this process.
‘Far from tinkering around the edges, these pilots will have every
opportunity to bring real and lasting change to the role of our high
streets to turn them into places local people want to be.
‘We’ve been clear that we want to see
ambitious and innovative schemes that test the potential of the
recommendations Mary Portas put forward in her review.
‘The whole point of the twelve pilots is to learn the lessons in order
that other towns can adopt and implement the ideas across the country.’
Related posts:
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- Mary Portas High Sreet Review: Why don"t you visit your local town centre anymore?
- Majestic"s Wrigley: UK High Streets are now "irrelevant" and Portas plan is pointless
- High Street in rising peril as Big Four supermarkets expand faster than ever
- Councillors in dash for gold-plated town hall pensions