The government has unveiled plans to invest up to £5bn for over 300 high streets across the UK, as part of its new ‘Pride in Place’ programme.
The programme was unveiled by the prime minister yesterday, and is aimed at boosting high streets, parks and public places.
It will also give communities help to save pubs and libraries from closure and encourage councils to block ‘fake barbers’ as well as betting and vape shops.
It will give community the right to buy “beloved assets”, and compulsory purchase powers to “acquire assets and eyesores like boarded up shops and derelict abandoned businesses” to allow “new local start-ups to thrive”.
It will also give “residents the power”, with the government set to only approve spending “if community groups, local organisations and social clubs have been included in decisions on how the money should be spent”.
Sir Keir Starmer said yesterday the new funding programme represented a “huge investment”, and that those who “know their communities best” would decide how the money would be spent.
The government said its ‘Pride in Place’ programme would “put [things] right after years of decline” and would make sure that “communities are empowered to come together, rather than be divided”.
“For far too long, communities have been dictated to rather than in control of their own destiny. This week marks a new way of governing,” the government said in a statement. “By choosing renewal over decline, this government is delivering lasting change working people will feel.”
The announcement is seen by many as part of the Labour government’s attempt to tackle the growing popularity and electoral threat posed by Reform UK.
Secretary of state for housing, communities and local government, Steve Reed said: “When people step out of their front doors, they know their communities are struggling. They see shuttered pubs, fading high streets and their local areas in decline.
“Yes, communities have been stretched – but they haven’t given up. They’re working hard to make things better, and we’re backing them.
“The government is putting power into their hands, so local people decide how best to restore pride in their neighbourhoods, not us in Westminster.
“That’s what real patriotism looks like: building up our communities and choosing renewal over division.”
No comments yet