Mayor's Cash Injection For Yorkshire Coast Town Centres

A new funding program, the Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets Fund, has been launched by the Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith.

It's aiming to revitalise high streets across the region. The fund is one of four schemes under the £27 million Mayoral Challenge Fund, which also includes programs to strengthen business sectors, reduce emissions and boost skills.

Mayor Skaith, a former high street business owner, emphasised the importance of town centres as the "heart of our communities" and feels it's important to look ahead:

He acknowledges the challenges they face due to the impact of the pandemic, the rise of online shopping and large retail parks. The fund seeks to boost the resilience of high streets by creating vibrant, mixed-use town centres, which will increase footfall, encourage people to stay longer and boost community spirit.

The High Streets Fund will provide grants to partnerships that demonstrate fresh ideas to create new community spaces and events. Grants between £5,000 and £40,000 are available for local partnerships which must include business representation from the High Street. Eligible lead applicants can be representatives of business clusters, town councils, community interest companies, or individual businesses, acting on behalf of a local partnership. The projects must be delivered between May 2025 and December 2025.

David Skaith hopes to enable the regions town’s to move away from a purely retail focus, and is looking to "future proof" high streets to ensure they are places where people can live, work and spend time. He believes that this mixed-use approach with services, residential space and offices will create a more sustainable environment. He has stated that the fund is "not about attracting huge change into our high streets. This is about supporting what we have there":

He wants to support local businesses who "pay better, they have a much higher retention of staff, they invest, they spend their money much more locally". The hope is that this will create a "circular economy" where money spent locally stays within the community:

The scheme has been developed in consultation with various stakeholders, including businesses and councils, to "really get that local feel,":

The Mayor has stated, “I have listened, understood the concerns, and now it is time to deliver.” He believes that "if we support our homegrown businesses that drive investment into our local regions, that's how you're going to have a much stronger and and stable high street". He highlighted the uniqueness of businesses in places like Whitby and stated that this is what the fund hopes to support, as this is what makes towns and communities special and unique:

The fund aims to create spaces for communities, support businesses and create a greater sense of place. It also intends to increase the number of businesses that increase their turnover or introduce new products, and increase the number of workshops and training sessions, and the number of events that attract visitors and locals alike. Another desired outcome is a reduction in the number of vacant units.

The Mayor said he is keen to showcase the importance of high streets as places for business, work and community. The fund is designed to encourage innovative solutions and create a greater sense of place in towns. Applications for Phase One of the fund are open from 31st January until 21st March 2025. A second phase of funding is expected to launch by the summer of 2025, offering larger grants of around £4 million.