The High Streets Task Force has announced that Cornwall Council is one of 68 further local authorities which will receive a package of expert advice and support, helping to deliver long-term transformation to towns and cities in England.
Each selected local authority will be invited to put forward a high street or centre which can benefit from help to address local challenges and to develop strategies for positive change. The Task Force, which was appointed by government in 2019, will provide these locations with expert consultancy and training, working directly with local government and facilitating engagement with communities and civic societies.
The support, which will start in each selected location from Summer this year, begins with a visit from High Streets Task Force experts who will consult and collaborate with the local authority, businesses, and community groups, with the aim of unlocking the potential of each place.
In order to target high streets with the greatest need for support, regional indicators of deprivation and inequality have been analysed to produce the list of 68 local authorities noted below. This analysis also takes into account the effect of COVID-19 on high streets.
This new help for places continues the work of the Task Force, which has already directly supported 84 local authorities across England and provided further online resources that are available to all towns and cities responding to the impact of COVID-19.
Welcoming the news was St Austell and Newquay’s Member of Parliament Steve Double, who said:
“It is excellent news that Cornwall is included in the list of places to get further support from the Government’s High Street Task Force.”
“It is right that we are providing this support for the high streets of our towns as we look to come through this difficult time and emerge from the pandemic and I will work with our excellent local Cornwall Councillors in St Austell and Newquay to make the case for these towns to benefit from this support.”