We welcome the news that we are to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) on a £10m programme of investment for Leamington Spa town centre.
The opportunity follows a bid made by the Council in partnership with key stakeholders including Leamington Chamber of Trade, Leamington Town Council, Complex Development Projects and BID Leamington to the government’s Future High Streets Fund.
Leamington is one of 57 UK towns and cities to receive this offer, having been shortlisted by the government last year and asked to present a detailed business case for a vision for the future of Leamington town centre.
Support from MHCLG will enable the Council to work with partners to transform locations north and south of the river and reconnect key locations to the town centre. In doing so it will help deliver the Town Centre Vision and Strategy and the vision for a Creative Quarter.
Councillors Andrew Day, Leader of Warwick District Council and Richard Hales, Portfolio Holder for Business & Finance were delighted at the news.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Leamington Spa to respond to challenges faced in the town centre. It will help build a resilient, sustainable future linking investment to key infrastructure and ensuring that it becomes a creative beacon for the region.”
The Council is looking forward to learning the details of this opportunity and working with local stakeholders to deliver a bold programme of investment.
Extracts from the Leamington Town Centre bid
Leamington Spa’s town centre is at a critical turning point. It urgently requires bold infrastructure investment to address significant economic, social and environmental challenges and market failure.
The trend shows retail in steady decline and a need to diversify with other types of uses to maintain vibrancy and drive growth in a sustainable way in line with the ‘Town Centre Vision and Strategy’ (2018).
Support from the Future High Streets Fund will drive growth, improve the town centre experience and ensure future sustainability. It will provide the infrastructure to ensure the delivery of a sustainable, connected and creative town centre that supports one of the UK’s most important digital industries and a major local hub for economic activity.
Leamington has a unique creative heritage to draw from but needs to continue to adapt and change to embrace its bold new creative future.
Support from the Future High Streets Fund will enable the Council to work with private and public sector partners to transform structurally significant, under-utilised locations along the high street north and south of the river.
They need re-connecting to drive the diversification of Leamington’s future high street and increase footfall from primarily retail-led to a more mixed-use economy utilising the Spa town’s unique creative industries as the key driver for future success and growth.
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