Second wave of Portas Pilots announced

A further 15 town centres are to receive regeneration funding as Portas Pilots, housing minister Grant Shapps has announced.

Those towns selected will be entitled to a share of £1.5m in funding for town centre improvements, which includes a £300,000 investment from the Greater London Authority and the Department for Communities and Local Government for the three London Boroughs chosen for the programme.

The 15 new areas to be provided with financial and advisory support are:

Ashford, Berwick, Braintree, Brighton, Hatfield, Leamington, Liverpool, Waterloo in the London Borough of Lambeth, Forest Hill in the London Borough of Lewisham, Chrisp Street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, Loughborough, Lowestoft, Morecambe, Rotherham, and Tiverton.

In total some 370 applications were made following a report by Portas into the state of the country’s high streets. Those not selected will be able to bid for a share of a £5.5m pot for individual projects.

Mr Shapps said: “This is just the tip of the iceberg, and I’m determined that we don’t turn our backs on the other 392 Town Teams who put their plans forward to revive their high streets.”

Ms Portas said: “I am thrilled that communities up and down the country have looked beyond the money and have been mobilised to create “town teams” and demand more for their high streets. Whilst I shall continue to fight for the other 27 recommendations in my review am looking forward to seeing fifteen more British towns putting their plans into action.”

For further details from LocalGov.co.uk, click here.

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