A creative new High Street Challenge fund has been launched to inject imagination in to the way public property contributes to the vitality of town centres. The High Street Challenge Fund will offer a combination of cash and expertise to one town centre selected to act as a test-bed for fresh thinking.
Problem solving
The High Street Challenge Fund has been launched by the Local Government Association (LGA) working with the Office of Government Property and the British Property Federation (BPF). The High Street Challenge aims to put the property sector’s future leaders at the heart of solving one of the biggest problems facing our towns and cities: how to bring new life into urban centres. The invitation to participate in the High Street Challenge is open to designated One Public Estate (OPE) partnerships or any local authority participating in the OPE programme.
Fresh perspectives
The area must include publicly-owned property assets to support the OPE ethos of cross-public sector working. The cornerstone of the BPF Futures Challenge is taking fresh perspectives and developing novel solutions to problems, therefore you must be open to fresh and innovative ideas developed during the event to help overcome the challenges faced by the area.
One-day challenge
The initiative will be run as a one-day ‘Challenge’ on 25 September, during which teams of challengers -drawn from the public and private sectors- will focus on a real-life high street and will spend the day finding solutions to the challenges it is experiencing.
The selected area will receive £100,000 OPE funding to allow the winning idea at the challenge event be brought to life. There will also be to chance for the selected area to put forward young professionals, graduates and future leaders within their own local authority to take part in the challenge to aid their professional development and gain experience of working in a public and private partnership.
How to apply
Local authorities or OPE partnerships seeking to apply should put forward a short proposal outlining the high street or urban centre and the issues they wish to seek support for. The deadline for applications is July 5th, 2019. Full details of the application process including the prospectus, are available here.
Learn about and download the LGA Handbook on revitalising town centres
