Asked by: Michelle Donelan (Conservative - Chippenham)
Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what funding the Government is providing to help regenerate town centres in Wiltshire; and what steps the Government is taking to incentivise private investment in town centres.
Answered by Lia Nici
The Government is investing £2.4 billion through the Towns Fund and £830 million through the Future High Streets Fund. This will help to renew and reshape town centres and high streets and incentivise further private investment. It includes £16.3 million for Trowbridge town centre and £9.3 million for Salisbury city centre through the Future High Street Fund which will leverage £456,000 of private sector investment.
The Government is also investing in local areas through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and has allocated £7.8 million to Wiltshire over the next three years. The Fund will seek to build pride in place and increase life chances across the UK. Proposed interventions include funding for improvements to town centres and high streets.
Investment in regeneration and town centres is also one of the three investment themes for the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund which is currently open for round two bids and the £1.5 billion Levelling Up Home Building Fund is designed to support investment in housebuilding including infrastructure, enabling and bringing properties back into use. The Fund is now open for applications and private and public sector local partners will be supported by Homes England, the Government's housing accelerator.
Other measures to support private investment in town centres include proposed new legislation in the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill which the Government announced on 11 May and will support bringing vacant units on the high street back into use by requiring landlords to rent out long-term vacant properties to prospective tenants such as local businesses.