More than 330 of the country’s “most overlooked communities” are to be handed new powers – and cash – to revitalise their high streets and public realm, the government has said.
The ‘Pride in Place’ programme was announced by prime minister Keir Starmer and housing secretary Steve Reed just ahead of the Labour Party annual conference this week.
Under the programme, communities will be handed “unprecedented” new powers to seize boarded shops, save derelict pubs and block gambling and vape shops on their high street.
People, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) has also said, “will be given the power to revitalise their neglected high streets, create new spaces for young people and take back control of derelict pubs, to breathe new life into neglected communities up and down the country”.
Under the initiative, there will be a ‘community right to buy’, handing local people the power to buy “beloved” local assets, for example derelict pubs or parks, and to “regenerate treasured spaces in the heart of their communities”.
There will be new compulsory purchase powers that will allow communities in England to acquire assets and eyesores, such as boarded-up shops and abandoned businesses, for example disused department stores or derelict office blocks.
Communities will be given powers to block unwanted developments and, the government has pledged, “we will only approve spending if community groups, local organisations and social clubs have been included in decisions on how the money should be spent”.
The MHCLG added: “We will only approve spending if Pride in Place Boards have genuinely engaged their communities, so that community groups, local organisations and social clubs have been included in decisions on how the money should be spent.”
Look out for the November/December edition of Lighting Journal next month, which will have a special focus on ‘future cities’, including a discussion around the vital role and impact of lighting – and in particular good lighting – in the development and regeneration of these new towns and new urban spaces.
Housing secretary Steve Reed said: “When people step out of their front doors, they know their communities are struggling. They see shuttered pubs, fading high streets and their local areas in decline.
“The government is putting power into their hands so local people decide how best to restore pride in their neighbourhoods, not us in Westminster.
“That’s what real patriotism looks like: building up our communities and choosing renewal over division,” he added.
Pride in Place funding will be delivered in England, Scotland and Wales, with corresponding funding provided to Northern Ireland, the government has said, including working with the various devolved administrations.
Image: an abandoned and derelict play-park in Manchester. Shutterstock
