Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps she is taking with Cabinet colleagues to help reduce the number of empty retail units on high streets in (a) Ludlow and Bridgnorth and (b) other rural areas.

This Government is fully committed to rejuvenating our high streets and supporting the businesses and communities that make our town centres successful.

Through the English Devolution Bill we will introduce a strong new ‘right to buy’ for valued community assets which will help this Government safeguard our high streets. This measure will empower local communities to reclaim and revitalise empty shops, pubs, and community spaces, helping to revamp our high streets and eliminate the blight of vacant premises.

Ludlow and Bridgnorth have access to a portion of Shropshire Council's Core UKSPF allocation totalling £10,845,217 and, under the UKSPF delegated delivery model, may choose to invest in rejuvenating high streets through a number of interventions under the ‘communities and place' investment priority. As such, £95,000 of this funding has been allocated to support a community facility to support local artisan makers and producers on Bridgnorth high street which had previously stood empty.