Funding to support the high street

The £675 million Future High Street Fund launched in December 2018 and closed on the 22nd of March 2019.

The fund was designed to tackle the challenges facing the UK's towns, with larger aims to transform local high streets through the conversion of vacant retail properties into housing and improve transport and access to town centres.

Over 300 local authorities across the UK have bid for a share for the £675 million Future High Street Fund.

Communities Secretary James Brokenshire MP has also announced that towns across the UK can also benefit from the new scheme, the Open Doors project.

Landlords will convert empty shops into community hubs open to the public. This project aims to tackle the social problems that retailers face including crime and unemployment that are linked to the decline in high streets.