Planning matters

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) confirmed a £210 million capital funding injection on 25 September 2026 aimed at reversing the decline in vacancies across England's town centres. Communities Secretary Angela Rayner then referred to it in her speech at the Labour Party Conference announcing “…a new fund to breathe life back into our high streets. Our town centres should be thriving, the heart of a place where people enjoy a family day out or an evening with their mates – with cafes, shops and pubs open for business, and jobs for local people too”.

Reflective of the government’s commitment to backing communities, this latest announcement continues the policy shift toward devolution through funding support and local controls for bringing boarded-up and long-vacant high-street property back into productive use.

The capital funding package comprises the following targeted funding streams:
 

 

This funding announcement directly links with the broader agenda to empower regional strategic authorities and the mayors. By decentralising fiscal retention capabilities - such as allowing select mayoral authorities to retain localised proportions of income tax from 2028 - the government has identified high street regeneration as an opportunity for regional macro-economic growth.

 

Whilst a £210 million allocation sounds a lot and may inject some vital capital momentum, it is funding from an existing pot, so it is not new money. Nevertheless, many local areas know the assets that this funding could help, like in Swindon, where the derelict Mechanics' Institute and Oasis Leisure Centre could be regenerated with the Derelict Building Fund. Converting deeply compromised structural formats like mid-century cinemas or multi-story shopping centres into decentralised healthcare hubs or civic spaces comes with its challenges. These buildings usually have significant upfront capital requirements which this funding will not be sufficient in addressing and there may also be viability questions around any future alternative use. Local authorities will often need to secure institutional development partners to stretch this funding across various phases to deliver long term change. On this basis, it may be some time before we see much improvement in our high streets.

 

Any immediate results playing in to Andy Burnham’s agenda of delivering ‘growth in every postcode’ and rejuvenating high streets, may come from the formalising of HSRAs. If local authorities can identify landlords holding long-term vacant assets or portfolios of assets, the ‘threat’ of an auction to find them a tenant may trigger some proactive repositioning before the compulsory auction process commences. Broxtowe Borough Council is one such authority who has claimed to use the new powers successfully[1]. North Northamptonshire Council has also been consulting on designating part of Wellingborough town centre for the HSRA programme[2].

 

Whether this injection of funds and controls to tidy up our high streets makes a noticeable change remains to be seen. Some of these funding announcements have limited details on the application process, eligibility or conditions that might be attached to them.

 

It will take experienced local authorities to navigate the application processes and understand the pooling of funds that might be necessary to secure the money to deliver on their ideas, against a backdrop of stretched resourcing. Once the funding is received, it also requires local authorities and their partners to be skilled in using a mix of planning levers to deliver change before any spending conditions lapse.

 

Later this year, the government will go further still, publishing a full high streets strategy which should be a comprehensive guide on how it all fits together, eligibility and how the funding might be allocated, which is eagerly awaited.