With £1.5bn in new government funding set to revitalise neighbourhoods, councils face a crucial choice: sell off community assets or harness investment to breathe life back into declining high streets. Emma Lloyd, partner in the property team at Anthony Collins, explores how local authorities can turn town centres into thriving hubs once again.
The Government's latest commitment to regeneration includes £1.5bn funding as part of the 'Plan for Neighbourhoods' initiative, where 75 areas across the UK will benefit from up to £20m over the next decade to breathe new life into towns through regeneration and community projects.
However, while encouraging for the development of new neighbourhoods, we must not forget about specific town centre regeneration and how local authorities can attract funding, especially at a critical moment when a number of local authorities are in a predicament of whether to sell major community assets, or capitalise on funding to attract private sector investment.
What can councils do to turn declining town centres into thriving community and commercial hubs?
Most town centres are a blend of old and new construction, with a majority of retail and civic property built in the 70s, 80s and 90s. In West Midlands towns such as Stafford, Cannock, and Walsall, a lot of older stock needs investment to modernise the building and therefore extend its life. As a result, many units are sat empty with little commercial interest in them. In addition to aging buildings, the high street isn’t as popular as it once was thanks to online shopping and out-of-town retail complexes that are generally more convenient for customers.
However, local authorities have started to tackle the challenge of the dwindling high street. For example, some authorities are acquiring vacant units and shopping centres to reshape their town centres into places people want to spend time in. Mixed-use models, which are commercial units at ground level with residential above, are becoming more common in town centres, and high footfall areas such as train stations are being upgraded to attract people into towns. Other councils have opted to sell large, historic civic buildings that have become too expensive to maintain. For those that haven’t already sold off assets, the funding for ‘Plan for Neighbourhoods’ has the potential to bring a much greater footfall to town centres as building improvements take place. Walsall is one example of this, with its extensive Town Centre Masterplan making the high street a more attractive place for both visitors and those working in the area and, in turn, attracting more people and businesses to the area.
With this in mind, one of the biggest opportunities for local authorities is how they manage their town centre estates following regeneration across the wider borough. The pandemic has left many civic buildings empty, redundant and expensive to run. Rather than hold on to these oversized assets, authorities can move into smaller hubs, or co-habit with public-sector partners like the NHS. Diversification, and finding new uses through partnerships, can breathe life back into central buildings while reducing the cost burden. The more creative local authorities are with their portfolios, the more attractive their town centres become for investment.
Councils still have significant barriers to navigate. Procurement and subsidy control rules can make regeneration projects slow, with councils facing lengthy processes just to procure a development partner. There is also the risk that wider local government reorganisation distracts attention and resources, pushing regeneration down the list of priorities. Unless councils can find ways to cut through these constraints, there is a danger that town centre decline could continue.
The starting point for any authority is an assessment of property portfolios. For example, what is genuinely needed to deliver public services, and what is surplus within the portfolio? From there, councils should explore the full range of options, from mixed-use developments that combine commercial, residential and civic uses, to partnerships with other public services. Crucially, any government funding for regeneration should be treated as a catalyst to attract the private investment required for long-term transformation. Collaboration across combined authorities can also help leverage scale. Above all, regeneration strategies should be rooted in the needs of the local community.
In the light of new funding opportunities for neighbourhoods, local authorities must consider capitalising on this and regenerating retail and civic buildings to revitalise town centres. Councils that move quickly, take bold decisions on their estates and forge the right partnerships can begin to kickstart the regeneration of town centres.
