Blackpool bids for £25m high streets funding
Blackpool Council is looking to bid for up to £25m of government funding to regenerate its town centre.
The council has put forward 11 schemes across the town centre in its bid to get a slice of the government’s £1bn Future High Streets Fund.
The schemes include plans to build a new cinema, two restaurants, a relocation for Wilko in Houndshill, funds to acquire property on King Street to turn into a major office development, to repurpose the old Post Office into a new hotel, and to acquire three vacant shops in the town centre to be used as pop-ups and arts and culture hubs for small businesses.
Blackpool Council is looking to bid for up to £25m of government funding to regenerate its town centre.
The council has put forward 11 schemes across the town centre in its bid to get a slice of the government’s £1bn Future High Streets Fund.
The schemes include plans to build a new cinema, two restaurants, a relocation for Wilko in Houndshill, funds to acquire property on King Street to turn into a major office development, to repurpose the old Post Office into a new hotel, and to acquire three vacant shops in the town centre to be used as pop-ups and arts and culture hubs for small businesses.
The council would need £25m of government funding, £18.4m of public funding and £16.1m of private funding to deliver the schemes.
Blackpool will submit its bid for the funding this month, and a decision is anticipated in autumn.
Future High Streets Fund Board independent chair Peter Cole said: “The additional funding and help from government is desperately needed for our high street, now more than ever, as we start to recover from the current pandemic.
“If we are successful in securing funding then with the involvement of the community considerable more work is required to deliver these, but we are confident that the proposals will attract new business, boost local growth and create new jobs, and combined with the other major projects underway secure the long-term prosperity of the town.”
The Future High Streets Fund was launched in 2018 as part of the £6.5bn Towns Fund to support and fund the regeneration of local high streets and town centres. Blackpool is one of 100 towns shortlisted for the funding.
To send feedback, e-mail lucy.alderson@egi.co.uk or tweet @LucyAJourno or @estatesgazette
