Protecting the public realm without shutting it down
As Martyn's Law approaches, this free special report from LocalGov and Hill & Smith sets out how councils can protect public spaces without shutting them down.
Call for £1.5bn online sales tax to cut high street rates
08/10/2026 A think tank has proposed a online sales tax to fund business rates cuts aimed at supporting high street retailers, which could raise an estimated £1.5bn. |
£210m fund to revive derelict high streets
28/09/2026 Derelict shops, cinemas and shopping centres are to be transformed into cafes, shared workspaces and community hubs under a £210m Government package. |
New taskforce to drive high street regeneration announced
07/09/2026 A new community renewal taskforce is being launched, targeting the decline of high streets and pledging to rebuild ‘left behind’ communities. |
Councils told to review tax-avoidance ‘box-shifting’ schemes
04/09/2026 Councils are being told to take a fresh look at ‘box-shifting’ schemes and other tactics designed purely to dodge business rates after a court ruling. |
High street shell companies laundering over £1bn, study finds
25/08/2026 Thousands of suspected shell companies were operating through hairdressers, barbers, and beauty salons on high streets between 2016 and 2026, study finds. |
Government launches review of pub and hotel business rates review
24/08/2026 The Government has launched a review into how pubs and hotels are valued for business rates, aiming to make the system fairer for high street businesses. |
Councils set to gain powers to block new betting and vape shops
11/08/2026 Councils are to be given strengthened powers to prevent new betting and vape shops from opening, the Prime Minister has announced. |
Parish councils urged to submit evidence to high streets inquiry
03/08/2026 The Society of Local Council Clerks is encouraging town and parish councils to engage with a new Parliamentary inquiry into the future of high streets. |
Over £60m confirmed for local asset support fund
17/06/2026 A £61m package to save local assets has been announced by the Government. |
Burnham calls for council powers boost
10/06/2026 Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has called for more council enforcement powers to support England’s high streets. |
Government moves to cap profits of private children's care providers
21/05/2026 The Government has announced plans to crack down on profiteering by private companies providing services to councils. |
Local Elections: What voters really want from their councils
06/05/2026 With voters heading to the polls tomorrow, a recent YouGov survey reveals what local issues matter most — and the answers are not always what you might expect. |
High street heatmap reveals 'dodgy shop' hotspots
30/04/2026 Birmingham, Liverpool and London top a new national heatmap of high street hotspots for organised crime. |
Greens unveil three-point plan to save high streets
23/04/2026 The Green Party has announced a new policy platform aimed at reviving high streets, including using council powers to bring empty shops back into public use. |
Call for trading standards funding as high street branded ‘lawless’
31/03/2026 Local government reorganisation represents an opportunity to properly fund trading standards and stop ‘dangerous goods’ being sold on high streets, says CTSI. |
Pride in Place: £319m announced for high street regeneration
23/03/2026 The Government has announced a £319m package aimed at regenerating high streets and improving community spaces, as part of its Pride in Place strategy. |
Seven pubs lost for every new vape shop, report finds
16/03/2026 Britain has lost nearly 1,800 pubs and bars in the last decade while vape and tobacco shops have proliferated, according to new research. |
Wolverhampton opens £400k Vibrant High Streets scheme
09/03/2026 Applications have opened for a new £400,000 grant programme designed to support high street businesses across Wolverhampton. |
Call to support deprived local parades
09/02/2026 Local shopping parades in deprived areas are hindered from delivering their key functions, research has found. |
PM announces £800m Pride in Place expansion
05/02/2026 The Government has today announced that 40 additional areas will join the Pride in Place programme to help drive regeneration. |
Reed urges councils to use compulsory purchase powers
03/02/2026 The Government is urging local authorities to use compulsory purchase powers to bring long-term vacant shops back into use to revive high streets. |
Council considers feeding pigeons contraceptives
02/02/2026 Norwich City Council is considering feeding contraceptives to the local pigeons in an effort to reduce the number of birds in the city’s central market. |
Business rates surge puts hundreds of pubs at risk
13/01/2026 Up to six hospitality venues could close each day in 2026 if no intervention is introduced to address upcoming business rates increases, researchers reveal. |
Councillors urge PM to end rule blocking betting shop controls
06/01/2026 Hundreds of councillors have backed calls to scrap an ‘outdated’ rule that limits councils’ ability to prevent betting shops from opening on high streets. |
Neighbourhood Board submits 10-year regeneration plan
01/12/2025 The Hastings Neighbourhood Board (HNB) has formally submitted its long-term regeneration plan to the Government for approval. |
Autumn Budget: Rising business rates could cost 150,000 jobs
13/10/2025 Business rates could pose a threat to 60,000 small businesses and 150,000 jobs, data finds. |
Conservatives pledge to scrap business rates for high street shops
07/10/2025 The Conservatives have promised to abolish business rates for high street shops and pubs if they win the next general election. |
Town Centre Regeneration: Funding, Investment, and Strategy
29/09/2025 Emma Lloyd, partner in the property team at Anthony Collins, explores how local authorities can turn town centres into thriving hubs once again. |
‘Pride in Place’: Councils empowered to drive high street regeneration
25/09/2025 The Government has unveiled a new initiative aimed at giving communities more control over the regeneration of struggling high streets and neighbourhoods. |
Mayor of London announces £600k high street boost
14/07/2025 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced a £600,000 investment to revitalise local high streets in the capital. |
Call for £5bn investment to revamp high streets
10/07/2025 An investment of £5bn is needed to boost UK high streets and city centres, think tank says. |
Mayor urged to take over vacant shops to revitalise high streets
23/04/2025 The Mayor of London has been urged to provide more ‘financial and practical’ support to help drive high street regeneration across the capital. |
Heritage-led high streets regeneration brings in £245m
18/03/2025 Heritage-led regeneration can help revive struggling high streets and redefine how local authorities revitalise town centres, according to Historic England. |
Consultation launched on Oxford Street pedestrianisation
03/03/2025 Mayor Sadiq Khan has launched a public consultation on what is billed as the ‘biggest transformation of Oxford Street in history’. |
London’s high streets get £21m regeneration boost
28/02/2025 London’s high streets are to benefit from £21m additional funding this year aimed at regenerating the capital’s high streets. |
Parking charges driving people away from high street
25/02/2025 Almost two thirds of drivers are put off visiting their local high street due to parking charges, a new survey has revealed. |
Regeneration: Reviving our town centres
21/01/2025 Rowenna Davis, associate partner at Global Future Foundation, sets out 12 principles for reviving our town centres. |
High street businesses brace for business rates hike
21/01/2025 Thousands of high street businesses are set to see their rates bill more than double this year, financial experts warn. |
37 shops lost each day in 2024, data suggests
02/01/2025 Almost 13,500 retail stores in the UK closed for good last year, equivalent to about 37 shops a day, new data has found. |
M&S triumphant after three-year demolition bid
06/12/2024 Oxford Street’s M&S store can be demolished, the Government has ruled, more than three years after the retailer submitted plans to rebuild the flagship shop. |
Councils empowered to auction off leases
04/12/2024 The Government has handed councils new powers to tackle the empty shop scourge and revitalise high streets. |
New powers for councils to tackle empty shops
12/11/2024 Local authorities will get new powers next month to force landlords to rent out persistently empty high street properties. |
Councils raise £1bn in parking fees
25/10/2024 Local authorities across England collectively raised just over £1bn in parking fees and charges for the 2023/24 financial year, a new study has found. |
Reviving Poole's Heritage: Illuminating the High Street
20/05/2024 Acrospire worked with BCP Council to upgrade Poole High Street's Heritage Lighting to LED, resulting in a 74% reduction in energy consumption. |
Labour set out plan to ‘breathe new life’ into high streets
10/04/2024 Labour has announced a five-point plan that it argues could ‘breathe new life’ into high streets. |
Lib Dems pledge to scrap business rates
09/04/2024 The Liberal Democrats would deliver tax reforms to ‘revive struggling high streets’, leader Ed Davey will announce today. |
High Court overrules Gove on M&S demolition
04/03/2024 The Government’s decision to block Marks & Spencer’s plans to demolish and redevelop its flagship central London store was unlawful, the High Court has ruled. |
Community Ownership: defending the assets that matter most
16/01/2024 Co-operative Party General Secretary, Joe Fortune, explains how community ownership can help revive the struggling British high street. |
Fund to go to town centre 'champions'
19/12/2023 New guidance for the government’s £1.1bn ‘long term plan for towns’ has confirmed the boards in charge of spending the cash should be led by a local independent chair who will act as a ‘champion’ for the town. |
Air pollution in most high streets exceeds guidelines, study finds
12/12/2023 Most of Britain’s biggest high streets have air pollution levels above World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations, according to a new study. |
Labour to crackdown on anti-social behaviour
10/10/2023 Labour leader Keir Starmer will today promise local authorities stronger powers to tackle anti-social behaviour in town centres. |
High street facing ‘terminal decline’, union warns
09/10/2023 The high street may be facing a ‘terminal decline’ as more than 420,000 traditional retail jobs have been lost since 2010, the union GMB has warned. |
Council buys £14m shopping centre
04/10/2023 Fareham Borough Council has spent £14m acquiring the town’s high street shopping centre and adjoining properties. |
Fifty-five ‘left-behind’ towns to share £1bn
02/10/2023 Fifty-five towns across the UK are set to benefit from a £1.1bn levelling up investment, the Prime Minister has announced. |
Council signs deal for Oxford Street revamp
14/09/2023 Westminster City Council has signed a new agreement and approved the next stage of a £90m investment in Oxford Street this week. |
Street Manager limitations cost councils millions
08/09/2023 The Local Government Association has released a report it buried three years ago covering the financial impact of the Government's Street Manager software. |
Lords inflict defeats on levelling up Bill
05/09/2023 The Government faces a race against time to get its flagship levelling up Bill into law after peers inflicted a string of defeats. |
Councils need ‘cohesive plan’ after loss of 6,000 stores
28/07/2023 British Retail Consortium found that Britain lost 6,000 shops in five years and warned that councils must make a ‘cohesive plan’ to revive shopping areas. |
Gove blocks M&S plans to rebuild Marble Arch store
21/07/2023 Michael Gove has ruled that Marks & Spencer cannot demolish and redevelop its flagship central London store. |
Hull plans ‘innovative’ box park venue
18/07/2023 Hull CC will consider developing a ‘box park’ site on what is currently waste land, with the aim of attracting visitors to the city centre and creating jobs. |
Ipswich unveils plans to improve town
11/07/2023 Ipswich Borough Council has unveiled its new draft corporate strategy, which aims to create a ‘prosperous and sustainable future’ for the borough. |
Council unveils plans to make Carlisle ‘more vibrant’
01/06/2023 Cumberland Council has unveiled plans to make Carlisle city centre ‘more vibrant and welcoming’. |
Westminster council takes on tax avoiding candy stores
25/05/2023 Westminster City Council has declared war on US-style candy and souvenir stores that are failing to pay business rates or selling illegal or unsafe goods. |
North East has highest percentage of empty shops
10/05/2023 The North East has the highest percentage of empty high street shops in Britain, a new study has revealed. |
Labour pledges to revitalise high streets
12/04/2023 Labour will today promote its plan to revitalise ailing high streets through a £700m fund to help small businesses with soaring energy bills. |
Toolkit to level up high street published
27/09/2022 Local authorities will have to prove ‘adept’ in making use of the tools and resources at their disposal if high streets are going to survive, think tank says. |
New £350m fund could help communities revive high streets
10/08/2022 A new study has called for the creation of a fund that can help local communities takeover empty high street buildings as a record number of shops stand empty. |
New litter guidance published
09/08/2022 The Government has published new guidance clarifying the powers that local authorities have to crack down on littering. |
How art can rejuvenate the High Street by guiding footfall
07/07/2022 Chloe Brown outlines how East Staffordshire Borough Council is using art and cultural activities to bring more visitors to its town centres. |
Five high streets join pilot to boost local business
13/06/2022 Five high streets have been chosen to join a pilot scheme aimed at supporting local businesses and reviving town centres. |
Improve town centres and connectivity to ‘level up’, says think tank
07/06/2022 Levelling up should focus on improving town centres and connectivity, and ensuring there is a high quality of low skilled jobs available, think tank says. |
Councils green light over 16,000 street parties ahead of Queen’s Jubilee
30/05/2022 Local authorities have approved tens of thousands of Platinum Jubilee street parties across the country, the Local Government Association (LGA) says. |
Council chiefs call for locally led pavement licensing regime
09/05/2022 Local authority leaders have called on the Government to introduce a permanent but locally led pavement licensing regime for cafés and bars. |
Nearly 40% of electorate prioritising affordable housing in local elections
21/04/2022 Four in 10 Britons say affordable decent housing needs to be improved ahead of the local elections, a new poll reveals. |
Call to rescue 'cathedrals of commerce'
05/04/2022 A new report has warned that 18 of the UK’s most significant department store buildings could be permanently lost due to changes in shopping habits and the impact of the pandemic. |
Council confirms deal to purchase town centre building
15/03/2022 North Lanarkshire Council has confirmed that it has agreed a deal in principle to purchase The Centre Cumbernauld. |
City centres lose nearly a years’ worth of sales due to COVID-19
24/01/2022 Businesses in city and large town centres have lost more than a third (35%) of their potential takings due to COVID-19, think tank finds. |
Middlesbrough Council purchases £12m shopping centre
12/01/2022 Middlesbrough Council has acquired a multi-million-pound shopping centre as part of a drive to secure the town centre's long-term future. |
Survey reveals key strategies for town centre ‘renaissance’
06/01/2022 An independent retail offer, a programme of cultural events and family-friendly activities are the key strategies for successful town centres, research finds. |
Communities can stop high streets becoming ghosts of Christmas past
23/12/2021 Vidhya Alakeson, CEO, Power to Change and member of the Government’s High Streets Taskforce, loosk at how to save the high street. |
Council publishes £250m plan to revitalise Blackburn
17/12/2021 Blackburn with Darwen Council has published a £250m draft plan for developing Blackburn town centre over the next decade. |
Labour promises to scrap business rates
27/09/2021 Labour has announced that it plans to scrap business rates to make the taxation system fairer and to help revive the high street after the pandemic. |
Al fresco dining in Westminster set to continue post-lockdown
17/09/2021 Westminster City Council has decided to continue supporting a number of outdoor dining schemes after a positive response to al fresco dining from locals. |
Welsh councils must provide ‘ambitious leadership’ to revive high street
02/09/2021 Local authorities in Wales have been urged to use their existing powers and resources to make town centres sustainable. |
Business rates system 'discourages shift to net zero'
31/08/2021 Small firms have written to the Government warning that the business rates system is a disincentive to invest in net zero and employee wellbeing measures. |
Council’s deputy leader resigns over spiralling Marble Arch Mound costs
13/08/2021 Westminster City Council’s deputy leader has resigned as the cost of the Marble Arch Mound almost doubles. |
Retailers tell Government to fix ‘broken’ business rates system
10/08/2021 Retailers have urged the Government to reform the business rates system as part of the effort to help high streets recover from the pandemic. |
Planning reforms 80% of shops on high streets could be lost
02/08/2021 New research has warned 80% of shops and other commercial premises on high streets across England could be lost under the expansion of permitted development rights. |
Small businesses took on five times more debt during pandemic
16/07/2021 Independent businesses offer placemakers an opportunity to create a unique experience but need the support of central and local government, report says. |
Report outlines ‘innovative strategies’ for reviving town centres
16/07/2021 A new report has identified the ‘innovative strategies’ northern towns can draw on in order to revive struggling town centres. |
Al fresco dining to boost high street recover
16/07/2021 The Government has announced plans to make al fresco dining easier to help pubs, restaurants and cafes on the high street recover after the pandemic. |
High street regeneration to be key part of PM's levelling up agenda
12/07/2021 The Prime Minister will set out his 'levelling up' plans later this week, including unveiling a new High Streets Strategy. |
High streets: The heartbeats of our towns
28/06/2021 Tim Byles explores why a successful high street today may look a lot like the high street of the 1920s. |
Report calls for greater council powers to protect future of high street
26/05/2021 Councils and local communities should be given more power to decide the future of their high streets, a new report has argued today. |
A further 57 high streets chosen for £830m funding boost
19/05/2021 The Prime Minister has announced 57 high streets in England will share over £830m to help them reopen and recover from the pandemic. |
Scrap permitted development rights, council chiefs say
17/05/2021 Office blocks left empty following the pandemic risk being turned into substandard housing because of permitted development rights (PDRs), council chiefs say. |
Chelmsford sees largest increase in footfall since easing of lockdown
21/04/2021 Chelmsford has seen the largest increase in footfall since non-essential stores opened earlier this month, but Exeter is where people are going into shops. |
Controversial planning laws threaten to do ‘more harm than good’
31/03/2021 New planning laws coming into force today will allow commercial premises to be converted into homes without requiring a full planning application. |
'Welcome back' fund launched for high streets and coastal areas
22/03/2021 Councils will receive £56m to help high streets and seaside resorts open safely this summer. |
Budget 2021: Sunak freezes VAT rate to support hospitality and tourism
03/03/2021 Support for hospitality and tourism businesses was underpinned in the Budget by a freezing of the current 5% rate of VAT for another six months until the end of September. |
