It was announced in the 2018 Budget that the government will establish a Future High Streets fund that will dedicate £675 million to help local communities respond with long term strategies to the challenges facing their high streets. The objectives of the fund and eligibility for funding will be announced later this year, but it is known that a High Streets Taskforce will be established to offer expertise and support to communities.
The future of historic high streets is a key concern of Heritage 2020’s Constructive Conservation and Sustainable Management (CCSM) working group, and they have been working over the past year to compile a review of examples of research, toolkits and projects that promote a heritage led response to the changing face of the high street. They are continuing to crowdsource further information to add to the review here, as part of work to address barriers to achieving good growth in historic centres and inform continuing discussions on how to best rejuvenate high streets and local towns.
You can share your knowledge about heritage and the high streets with our CCSM working group here.
Further information about the Future High Streets fund can be found here.