Starmer to unveil funding for neglected areas and high streets

Sir Keir Starmer is set to announce extra funding for more than 330 overlooked communities across the United Kingdom to bolster struggling high streets under Labour’s Pride in Place programme. Details of the investment, including the amount and the locations where money will be spent, will be unveiled later on Thursday. The plan aims to empower local people by directing resources to improvements that are community-backed, with projects that could range from tackling litter and graffiti to building new sports facilities. Officials say the initiative is designed to revive pride in local areas and support pubs and libraries at risk of closure, while also giving communities a greater say over how money is spent.

The package is to be delivered under the Pride in Place banner and would see funding directed to local schemes that councils and community groups themselves identify as priorities. Unlike previous funding rounds, these allocations would not be allocated through council bids. Instead, the government says the locations will be decided centrally, with local involvement in deciding how money is spent. The government also intends to offer councils powers to acquire “assets and eyesores” such as boarded-up shops and derelict sites, with a view to redeploying them for community use, start-ups, or public services. In tandem with the cash, officials say the plan would extend the government’s devolution framework by doubling the amount of time local groups have to raise funds to purchase assets, from six to 12 months, and would include sports grounds within the list of assets covered by the proposed community “right to buy.”

As part of the Pride in Place programme, ministers want councils to block certain kinds of businesses on high streets—specifically unwanted betting shops and vaping stores—as well as “fake” barbers. A government source told the BBC that the Tobacco and Vapes Bill already provides the framework to block vape shops, and officials are looking for a legislative vehicle to extend similar restrictions to betting shops and fake barbers as soon as possible. Steve Reed, housing, communities and local government secretary, said the plan would empower local people to decide how to restore pride in their neighbourhoods and to choose renewal over division.

"When people step out of their front doors, they know their communities are struggling. They see shuttered pubs, fading high streets and their local areas in decline. The government is putting power into their hands so local people decide how best to restore pride in their neighbourhoods, not us in Westminster. That's what real patriotism looks like: building up our communities and choosing renewal over division," Reed said.

The plan drew swift political reaction. Conservative shadow communities secretary Sir James Cleverly accused Labour of leveraging the announcement to distract from what he described as tax increases on businesses and households. "Labour have been forced into this announcement to try to distract from the immense damage they are doing to businesses and communities by hiking taxes," Cleverly said, adding that the investment would be "dwarfed by Rachel Reeves' £2.7bn in annual business rates hike, leaving communities worse off and prices higher." He suggested the plan would not compensate for higher costs borne by residents and businesses.

Industry voices weighed in as well. The Betting and Gaming Council spokesperson emphasized that betting shops are more than just venues for wagering: they are community hubs, economic drivers and a vital part of a high street’s future. Jamie Strachan, operations director at The Vaping Specialist, warned against grouping vape stores with other so-called unwanted businesses. "We are concerned by suggestions that specialist vape stores could be unfairly grouped alongside "unwanted" businesses. Vape stores like ours play a vital role in public health by helping millions of adults move away from smoking, the UK's leading cause of preventable death," Strachan said.

Analysts note the policy positions Labour as it seeks to blunt the appeal of Reform UK, whose rising popularity in some areas is attributed by critics to a perceived decline in local pride and economic vitality. The government’s asset-creation and town-centre revival measures are framed as a means to put power back into the hands of local residents, while the central government retains control over where resources go and how assets are redeployed. Supporters argue that giving communities more influence over reviving their own town centres could help stabilise local economies and stem leakage of footfall to competing towns and online shopping.

The broader context for the announcement is Labour’s bid to pre-empt a perception that local leadership is failing to meet the needs of everyday voters, particularly in the wake of economic pressures and the high street’s struggle with vacancies and changing consumer habits. Officials say the Pride in Place investments would be conditionally approved only if community groups, local organisations and social clubs are involved in deciding how the money is spent, with a clear emphasis on direct community engagement and accountability. The devolution-oriented measures — including extending the time frame for asset purchases and broadening the assets eligible for purchase — are presented as tools to diversify local economies and protect essential community services, such as pubs and libraries, from further decline.

The government has not released the total sum attached to the Pride in Place scheme, nor the exact list of eligible locales, but officials indicated the program targets more than 330 communities and intends to channel money to practical, locally driven projects. The aim is to demonstrate that local voices can influence renewal and to counter the appeal of national or fringe movements that position declining high streets as a political liability for incumbents. While the specifics are awaited, the plan signals a broader strategy to recalibrate how local renewal is financed and delivered, with a stronger emphasis on community ownership and the repurposing of underused urban space into productive assets.