£10m high street fund welcomed by Black Country Chamber
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Black Country Chamber of Commerce CEO Sarah Moorhouse today welcomed a £10m Government investment in the region’s high streets and urged the Prime Minister to back the businesses behind them.
A new £10m High Streets and Growth Incubator Fund was announced by West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker to help rejuvenate town centres as the Government also announced a crackdown on vape and betting shops.
Sarah Moorhouse said Prime Minister Andy Burnham has stayed true to his word in handing more money to regional mayors - but also asked for sustained backing of the region’s SMEs.
Mr Burnham, who has already pledged a host of cost of living and financial measures in the first few weeks in office, was in the Midlands as part of his tour of the UK while the government is in recess.
Following the latest announcement, the Chamber CEO, who recently penned an open letter to the new Prime Minister, said: “My message to him is that we’re investing, we’re growing and we want the government alongside us in that.
“If our businesses here in the Black Country are backed, they will deliver on the Prime Minister’s ambitions to have thriving local economies across the UK.
“If there is investment in the economy across the region, in both businesses and jobs, then thriving high streets will follow.
“The £10m announcement and the Prime Minister’s visit is a positive step, it shows the government is listening to businesses here. What matters now is that this investment is turned into sustained backing for the Black Country economy.
“Our high streets are already a real strength for this region – and what would help is for the Government to work with us in building on that through consistent investment.
“There have already been positive steps when it comes to bus fare caps, VAT cuts on electricity and business rate relief for hospitality.”
“There has been urgency with that from the Prime Minister in his first few weeks and we want that to continue.”
The news comes amid a number of investments being made locally to boost the Black Country economy.
Extensions to the Metro and Dudley interchange will open this year, adding 14 stops between Dudley and Sandwell, including direct links to the zoo, castle and Black Country Living Museum.
Elsewhere, a £300k support package is going into the town centre, alongside £150k grants for shops and businesses around the new interchange.
The West Midlands Combined Authority will now work alongside the West Midlands Growth Company and councils in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton, before a further funding announcement is made.
The investment comes as the Prime Minister announced further measures to revive the UK’s high streets.
New moves will require new vape shops to obtain planning permission, with councils handed more powers to block new betting shops.
The measures are designed to give councils more powers to control what businesses open in town centres.
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