Government invests in ‘left-behind’ towns

The UK Government has announced a £1.1 billion investment in 55 towns across the UK, which it says is part of a long-term plan for towns that have been ‘overlooked and taken for granted’. 

The towns will be given the opportunity to develop a long-term plan supported by a Town Board. 

Although more than half of the population lives in towns, some suffer from half-empty high streets, run-down town centres and antisocial behaviour. 

According to the government, it will work with local councils and the devolved administrations to determine how towns in Scotland and Wales will benefit from the long-term plans. Once the Northern Ireland Executive is restored, the government said it will work with it to determine the approach to providing support there. 

Local people “will be put in charge” and be given the tools to change the long-term future of their towns. 

Under the plans, they will receive a 10-year, £20 million endowment-style fund which can be spent on local people’s priorities, which could be regenerating high streets, securing public safety and improving transport connections. 

Town Boards will have direct government support in addition to the funding and powers they receive through Long-Term Plan for Towns. 

They will also: 

• Set up a Town Board to bring together community leaders, employers, local authorities, and the local MP, to deliver the Long-Term Plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation.   
• Use a suite of regeneration powers to unlock more private sector investment by auctioning empty high street shops, reforming licensing rules on shops and restaurants, and supporting more housing in town centres.     

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, said: “Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work. But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities.   

“The result is the half-empty high streets, run-down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse.   

“Our Long-Term Plan for Towns puts funding in the hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long term. That is how we level up.” 

Levelling up secretary Michael Gove added: “We know that in our towns the values of hard work and solidarity, common sense and common purpose, endeavour and quiet patriotism have endured across generations. But for too long, too many of our great British towns have been overlooked and undervalued.   

“We are putting this right through our Long-Term Plan for Towns backed by over £1 billion of levelling up funding.   

“This will empower communities in every part of the UK to take back control of their future, taking long-term decisions in the interests of local people. It will mean more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future for our towns and the people who live and work in them.” 

Alongside this long-term plan, the government also announced a new Towns Taskforce, which will sit in the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). It will report directly to Sunak and Gove. 

The task force will help Town Boards to develop their plans and advise them on how best to take advantage of government policies, unlock private and philanthropic investment and work with communities. 

Responding to the announcement, Victoria Hills, chief executive at the RTPI, said it showed a “welcome focus on local communities having a direct say on the future of their areas”. 

“It amplifies the importance of place-making in providing economic, societal and community wellbeing. A subject in which our members are experts. 

“We would argue strongly that local planning authorities with their intimate knowledge of the towns they serve should be invited to join these boards to provide their professional knowledge and to ensure their success. 

“We also offer our support to the Towns and High Streets Taskforce to provide an expert voice from the planning profession. Our recently published ‘Planifesto 2024’ highlights the need to unleash the power of planning as it is one of the sharpest tools available to local government, local leaders and communities to positively shape their futures.”  

The towns that will receive funding are: 

England: Mansfield, Boston, Worksop, Skegness, Newark-on-Trent, Chesterfield, Clifton (Nottingham), Spalding, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Clacton-on-Sea, Great Yarmouth, Eston, Jarrow, Washington, Blyth (Northumberland), Hartlepool, Spennymoor, Darwen, Chadderton, Heywood, Ashton-under-Lyne, Accrington, Leigh (Wigan), Farnworth, Nelson, (Pendle), Kirkby, Burnley, Hastings, Bexhill-on-Sea, Ryde, Torquay, Smethwick, Darlaston, Bilston (Wolverhampton), Dudley, Grimsby, Castleford, Doncaster, Rotherham, Barnsley, Scunthorpe, Keighley, Dewsbury and Scarborough. 

Wales: Merthyr Tydfil, Cwmbrân, Wrexham and Barry (Vale of Glamorgan). 

Scotland: Greenock, Irvine, Kilmarnock, Coatbridge, Clydebank, Dumfries and Elgin.  

Update 

Speaking at the Conservative Party Conference today (3 September), levelling up secretary Michael Gove hailed the government’s investment in towns that he says have been “overlooked and undermined” by Labour. 

“Only we can deliver the long-term changes the country needs,” he maintains. 

The levelling up secretary also noted that his plan will “deliver the attractive, affordable new homes that we need”, while at the same time protecting the green belt. 

2 October 2023 
Laura Edgar, The Planner 

Our planning news is published in association with The Planner, the official magazine of the Royal Town Planning Institute.