HE welcomes Budget’s £40M to work with LPAs on successful HAZ initiatives

street sceneHistoric England’s successful Heritage Action Zone (HAZ) initiative has welcomed a £40M boost in the budget, to help work with Local Planning Authorities (LPAs) in the regeneration of historic high streets that are struggling with economic and social pressures.

image by Fiona Newton

HE writes:

England’s struggling historic high streets are to be regenerated with £40m Government funding that will be delivered by extending Historic England’s successful Heritage Action Zone initiative. The substantial funding was announced in the Autumn Budget (29 October 2018).

Historic England will work with local authorities, Business Improvement Districts, Chambers of Commerce and others to deliver a four-year programme of physical improvements and cultural activities in historic high streets and town centres around the country. The Heritage Action Zones initiative will run alongside the Transforming Places through Heritage programme where Architectural Heritage Fund advisors will support community schemes to deliver new uses for historic buildings on high streets. The total fund for restoring historic high streets is £55 million.

Historic England has a track record of working with partners to change the fortunes of flagging historic urban centres. Successes range from Whitstable in the 1980s to more recent projects in Derby and Grantham.

Launched two years ago, Heritage Action Zones are already having an impact in places like Ramsgate and Sunderland. Based on similar completed Historic England regeneration schemes, such as one in Derby’s Cathedral Quarter, Historic England expects that the headline investment announced by Government will be matched by public and private partners, ensuring that it has a much greater impact and delivers long-term benefits…

… Cultural programmes and capital works will begin in 2020, with projects completing by the end of 2023. It is estimated that through the scheme, between 40 and 60 historic high streets will benefit.

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