BBPA: win share of £1m to boost towns

The Government has introduced Portas Pilots to offer struggling towns and cities a chance to revive ailing high streets.

Local Government minister Grant Shapps has offered the cash incentive to those towns that come up with the best high-street blueprints to fulfil the first and last recommendations of Mary Portas’ high-street review: to set up a management team for high streets and to make it easier for people to become market traders.

The review was commissioned by the Prime Minister and published before Christmas.

The 12 successful areas will create Town Teams, made up of key players, such as the local council, landlords, shopkeepers and MP.

Teams need to demonstrate how they can make a real difference to their town centres and make them in to community hubs. Shapps has asked applicants to post pitches in YouTube clips.

A BBPA spokesman said: “Local councils’ Town Teams should certainly listen to local pubs when putting together their Portas Pilot applications. Pubs are a key part of the high street and a vibrant pub sector is vital to town-centre success. Publicans have huge local expertise to offer, which could help with plans to attract grant funding.”

Shapps said: “I want to see how these Town Teams plan to try new things and ensure their high streets and parades become destinations for local people.

“These pilots are just the start. We want to learn their lessons and help communities breathe new life into their towns. Launching this competition signals our understanding that there’s no time to waste in driving forward these important measures.”

Shapps will give the full Government response to the Portas review by spring.