Burnham announces £210m for derelict buildings and community assets on England’s high streets

Prime Minister Andy Burnham has announced a £210m package to bring derelict buildings back into use and help communities protect assets on England’s high streets. Announced on 25 September, the package draws on money already earmarked by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for high-street support and regeneration. For councils and community groups, the announcement identifies several potential funding routes, although it does not yet set out how to apply for the main allocations.

The largest share, £125m, will go to a new Derelict Buildings Fund. The government says it will support local authorities in converting vacant shopping centres, disused cinemas and other neglected buildings into spaces their communities need. Health centres and civic spaces are among the examples it gives. These are proposed uses for the funding; the announcement does not identify completed conversions or specify how many buildings the fund could reach.

How the £210m is divided

A separate £65m allocation is intended to help communities rescue and revamp buildings and businesses at risk of closure. The government names pubs and sports clubs as examples. That purpose differs from the £125m fund’s focus on derelict sites: the £65m is described as support for valued assets that could otherwise be lost. The announcement gives no detailed eligibility test or delivery mechanism for this part of the package.

The remaining £20m has two equal parts. According to the government, £10m will support High Street Rental Auctions, which can be used for properties vacant for at least 12 months. Another £10m will fund a regional Co-operative Development Programme. The government says that programme will help mayors and strategic authorities establish businesses owned and run by the staff, customers and communities who use them. The full £20m should therefore not be understood as a co-operative fund.

What the government and sector say

Burnham said the funding would help put power into the hands of local people who know their areas best. He argued that residents judge growth partly by what they see on their high streets: whether shops are opening and whether premises remain shuttered. His comments explain the government’s rationale for the package. They do not establish that the funding has already reversed vacancies or secured any particular business.

Housing and Communities Secretary Angela Rayner said the money could turn boarded-up buildings into places people would visit again and help local businesses grow. First Secretary of State Louise Haigh described the investment as giving local people resources and powers to make changes in their communities. Both were setting out expected benefits of the plans. The government has not attached a published target for the number of buildings, businesses, jobs or communities that will benefit.

Rose Marley, chief executive of Co-operatives UK, called the specialist co-operative fund a ‘game changer’, according to The Guardian. The newspaper reported that UK co-operatives numbered 8,005 after a 0.4% increase in the previous year. It also reported a 48% rise over five years in co-operative pubs and other hospitality businesses, to 377. Those figures provide context for the new £10m programme; they are not outcomes produced by it.

Existing funding and unanswered questions

The Guardian reported that the £210m directs existing high-street regeneration money towards community-led schemes. It also placed the announcement alongside the existing £5.8bn Pride in Place programme, under which 284 communities can receive up to £2m a year for 10 years. The £210m announcement is therefore a decision about how already earmarked money will be used, rather than evidence that the same sum has been added to the department’s budget.

The government has described the package as supporting communities across England. Its announcement does not establish access for places in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. It also leaves open practical questions for English councils and local groups: when applications will open, how proposals for the major funds will be assessed, when awards will be made and how many sites the money is expected to support. Those answers matter to anyone considering whether a vacant building or threatened venue fits the scheme.

A fuller high-streets strategy for town centres across England is due later in 2026, according to the government. The current announcement sets out the amounts and broad purposes of the four funding routes, but no timetable for publishing detailed rules for the £125m and £65m allocations. Until those arrangements appear, the package remains a funding commitment with intended uses, rather than a list of approved projects or a demonstrated improvement in high-street conditions.