Government to revive high streets with funding for community pubs and plans to tackle 'fake barber shops'
Councils will also be given the opportunity to breathe new life into derelict buildings and boarded-up shops, under Community Right to Buy and compulsory purchase powers
Communities will be given new powers to save local pubs and libraries under new government plans to revitalise neglected high streets.
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Unwanted betting and vapes shops, as well as "fake" barbers, could be blocked from opening as part of the government’s new Pride in Place programme.
Councils will also be given the opportunity to breathe new life into derelict buildings and boarded-up shops, under Community Right to Buy and compulsory purchase powers.
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Steve Reed said "so many people" up and down the country see a "story of decline" when they look at their own town centre, and they feel "powerless" to do anything about it.
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He told LBC's Nick Ferrari at Breakfast: "They see vape shops proliferating. They see what can only be described as fake barbers expanding.
"They see betting shops when they want something a bit more vibrant in their area. They see boarded up shops, they see those metal grills coming down, covered in graffiti.
"But they want their high street to be better. They want to feel pride in it again."
He suggested a disused building could be turned into somewhere for young people to meet such as a new youth centre, or a venue for older people who are suffering from loneliness.
Funding will be given to projects which have consulted community groups, local organisations and social clubs.
The programme will tackle deep-rooted deprivation and regional inequality, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said.
Gambling shops are among the services the government has signalled it wants to crack down on to improve high streets.
A spokesperson for the Betting and Gaming Council (BGC) said the shops “are far more than just places to have a flutter: they are community hubs, economic drivers, and a vital part of the high street’s future”.
As of March 2024, there were 5,931 betting shops in Britain, a decrease on previous years, according to the Gambling Commission.
