High streets set for boost as government unveils £210m fund
The government are set to give funding across the South West to re-vamp boarded up shops
Last updated 26th Sep 2026
Boarded-up shops and derelict buildings could be set for a new lease of life, after the government announced a £210 million fund to revive high streets across England.
People are proud of where they live, but many have watched their high streets hollowed out in recent years, with shops shuttered, buildings boarded up and once-busy hubs left empty.
The government says it's now putting that right, by revamping vacant shopping centres, disused cinemas and abandoned local eyesores.
High streets across the West of England region, stands to benefit from the funding, which includes £125 million for a new Derelict Buildings Fund, to help local authorities transform mothballed and dilapidated buildings into whatever their communities need — from health centres to civic spaces.
£65 million to help communities right across England rescue and revamp beloved buildings and businesses at risk of closure, such as pubs and sports clubs. This builds on the existing Pride in Place programme, which has already helped locals take over a youth centre in Ramsgate and redevelop the former Brunswick Shopping Centre in Scarborough.
£20 million split equally between High Street Rental Auctions, letting out properties that have sat empty for 12 months or more and a new Co-operative Development Programme, so local people can share in their high street's success.
The £10 million regional Co-operative Development Programme will specifically help mayors and strategic authorities set up more co-operative businesses, owned and run by the staff, customers and communities who use them.
West of England Mayor Helen Godwin welcomed the announcement, saying high streets are "the heart of our communities."
She said: "Our high streets are the heart of our communities, providing a focal point for local people to connect and a home for local businesses. This new funding will help people really shape the future of their areas, creating more vibrant and welcoming places for us to enjoy and spend time in."
She added: "A thriving Everyday Economy is also enormously important to our wider growth in the West of England, and I hope that a share of the new Co-operative Development Programme can help local people to see and feel the difference of investment in our part of the world."
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said people don't measure growth "by looking at a spreadsheet," but by looking at their local high street.
He said: "Are shops opening or are the shutters down? Does the place feel like it's moving forward or being left behind? The truth is that too many high streets have been left to hollow out, leaving town centres a shell of what they once were. That must change, and today's funding will help put power back into the hands of locals who know their area best."
"That's how we restore pride and bring hope back. Not by telling people things are getting better, but by giving them the power to see and feel the difference where they live."
Housing Secretary Angela Rayner said nobody knows a high street better than the community it belongs to.
She said: "That's why this money puts power directly into their hands. We'll see boarded-up buildings that have been left to rack and ruin turned into places people are proud to visit again, the pubs and clubs that mean so much to them thriving once more, and local businesses growing and creating jobs that put money back into their own community."
First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said places across the country have been "overlooked by Westminster" for too long, with high streets neglected and town centres left in decline.
She said: "This investment will help to regenerate and breathe new life into our communities — giving local people the resources and powers they need to make a real change. This is what devolution means in practice — empowering local leaders to fix things that are broken and protect the things that matter most to people."
The funding forms part of a broader programme coordinated through the Place Regeneration taskforce, led by the First Secretary of State alongside government departments and local leaders, aimed at delivering a roadmap to rebuild Britain.
A full high streets strategy for England is due to be published later this year. The government says the £210 million package announced today comes from funding already earmarked by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for high street support and regeneration.