Support
The High Streets Task Force is an alliance of place making experts working to redefine the high street. The Task Force provide guidance, tools and skills to help communities, partnerships and local government transform their high streets.
The High Streets Task Force provides support to local leaders in town centres and high streets in England. The website hosts a wide range of training, learning, and data insights, including the COVID-19 Recovery Framework to help places identify what they need to do now, as well as how to plan and build capacity for recovery.
The Task Force has also developed a Routemap to Transformation. As town centres reopen, it is clear that COVID-19 has accelerated change in the high street. Multiple retailers will no longer be the dominant attraction in most town centres and so we have to redefine the high street. The Routemap identifies the steps that have to be taken to make transformation happen. A series of webinars introduces the concept, provides cutting-edge insight from those with experience, and demonstrates what success looks like. These are supported with learning materials and access to resources to enable action.
A list of further guidance document can be found at the end of this report.
Funding sources
Funding can be achieved through a variety of different sources, some available more permanently and others that will run temporarily. Most funds follow societal trends and challenges and have themes attached to them, which stipulate broadly what the money should be used for. It is therefore important to understand a proposed scheme or idea before applying for funding, as this may influence the type of funding you are able to apply for. It is also worth remembering that in most places large parts of town centres will be privately owned and that finding solutions will involve working with the private sector and encouraging investment.
Below is a list of funding sources that are permanent, long-term or currently active. Some funds are new at the time of this publication and it is possible that new funds will emerge. Captured here are funds currently in circulation, although this is not a limited list and there may be other sources.
Active funds (at time of publication)
Architectural Heritage Fund
2019 – various deadlines for each grant, beginning with October 2020 through to September 2021.
This programme supports projects that will contribute to the transformation of high streets and town centres in England helping them become thriving places, strengthening local communities and encouraging local economies to prosper. The fund is for individual heritage buildings in, or transferring to, community ownership. They will support charities and social enterprises to develop projects with the potential to bring new life to high streets by creating alternative uses for redundant or underused historic buildings in town centres.
Small Business Grant Fund
Running during the financial year 2020 – 2021.
The Government will, in line with the eligibility criteria set out in guidance documents, reimburse councils that pay grants to eligible businesses. These grants are for any small businesses struggling in the context of COVID-19, and are more a preventative measure to stop vacancy occurring.
Levelling-Up Fund
The Government has set out plans to further the levelling up agenda by launching a new £4 billion Levelling Up Fund that will invest in local infrastructure that has a visible impact on people and their communities and will support economic recovery. The announcement was made on the 25 November 2020 as part of the Spending Review. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is receiving nearly £10 billion of funding in the next financial year and will manage its distribution.
The National Lottery Community Fund
The fund consists of various types of grant, either under or over £10,000, for projects that are responding to the immediate COVID-19 crisis, supporting recovery activity or helping the community to become more resilient in order to respond to new and future challenges. All application deadlines are listed as ‘ongoing’.
Long-term opportunities
Long-term and permanent funding sources are listed below. It should be noted that there may be localised funds available within the local area that are not UK wide, and it would be beneficial to research local opportunities.
As some of the case studies in the framework below highlight, it is possible for the council to directly invest in the scheme with allocated funds (see Telford & Wrekin, see Bath & North East Somerset).
S106 & Community Infrastructure Levy - S106 agreements are private agreements made between councils and developers and can be attached to a planning permission to make acceptable development which would otherwise be unacceptable. These can be in the form of requirements that specified operations or activities to be carried out, requirements that land is used in a specified way, or require a sum or sums to be paid to the authority. A Community Infrastructure Levy is a charge which can be levied by councils on new development in their area. It is an important tool for councils to use to help them deliver the infrastructure needed to support development in their area. Both can be used to fund projects to tackle vacancy in high streets and town centres.
Business improvement districts - A business improvement district (BID) is a geographical area in which the local businesses have voted to invest together to improve their environment. BIDs provide additional or improved services, identified by the local businesses. This could include extra safety, cleaning or environmental measures. BIDs are funded by a mandatory levy on all eligible businesses after a successful ballot. This money is then ring-fenced for use only in the BID area but can be used for regeneration and to increase footfall, which tackling the challenge of vacancy can contribute to.
Community ward funding - Ward budgets are a dedicated and flexible resource within council budgets that councillors can use to support specific local issues and priorities financially. Allocation and use of the funds vary between wards and local priorities. Broadly, councillors can spend this budget flexibly as long as it benefits residents and is supportive of council policy.
Local enterprise partnerships - The LEPs have accountability boards which approve all major funding decisions and monitor and manage the LEPs capital programme for greatest impact, informed by local area management information. LEPs are able to bid for funding from the central government, which can then be awarded to councils through the LEP funding system. Recent examples of a past fund are the local and regional growth deals and Local Growth Fund which was awarded to LEPs and then distributed to projects that benefitted the local area and economy.
Co-op Local Community Fund - The Cooperative choose new causes for communities every 12 months. Applications will open again in Spring 2021.To be accepted the applicant must have a project in mind that will benefit the local community by bringing people together, supporting health and wellbeing or support people to develop skills and build resilient communities.
The National Lottery Heritage Fund - The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest dedicated funder of heritage in the UK. Grants from £3,000 to £5million and over are distributed to projects that sustain and transform the UK's heritage. The Fund also provides leadership and support across the heritage sector, and advocates for the value of heritage. The strategic funding framework covers a five year period from 2019 – 2024. This is a rolling programme so there are no deadlines. Applicants can apply when ready, and assessments will be made within eight weeks.
Past funds
In order to properly highlight different types of temporary funding sources, past notable funding sources, that are now closed to new applicants, are listed below. It is worth checking the web pages of the organisations offering the funds, in case new funds are offered:
Future High Streets Fund - This fund was an £830 million package launched in December 2018, with recipients announced on the 26th December 2020. Funding from the Future High Streets Fund will help 72 areas in England to recover from the pandemic and deliver ambitious regeneration plans. The funding will help these areas transform their high streets into vibrant hubs for future generations and to protect and create thousands of jobs.
Stronger Towns Fund - On 6 September 2019 the Government invited 100 places to develop proposals for a town deal, as part of the £3.6 billion Towns Fund. The places were chosen based on a number of factors including declining population often found in residential towns.
Cultural Development Fund - This fund aimed to allow cities and towns to invest in creative, cultural and heritage initiatives that led to culture-led economic growth and productivity. This fund was from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) that had a budget of £20 million.
High Streets Heritage Action Zone – Sixty eight high streets have been offered funding to give them a new lease of life. The lead partners in each place (mostly councils) are working with Historic England to develop and deliver schemes that will transform and restore disused and dilapidated buildings into new homes, shops, work places and community spaces, restoring local historic character and improving public realm. The High Streets Heritage Action Zone initiative is funded with £40 million from the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS)’s Heritage High Street Fund and £52 million from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG)’s Future High Street Fund. A further £3 million has been provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to support a cultural programme.
Arts Council England - Arts Council England awards funds from the National lottery, such as the Thriving Communities Fund, which closed on 8 January 2021. This fund was made possible by National Academy for Social Prescribing (providing £1.15 million) and the Arts Council (providing £250,000), the initiative also includes NHS England, Sport England, Natural England, the Office for Civil Society, the Money & Pensions Service and NHS Charities Together as strategic partners. The fund was for activity that enhances collaboration and networking between local organisations, strengthens the range of social prescribing activities offered locally and enables social prescribing link workers to connect people to more creative community activities and services.