Here we take a closer look at some of the Levelling Up Bill’s practical proposals for town and city centres.
The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill is a key component of the Government’s wider programme to level up the country, as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper published in February 2022. The Bill acts on several fronts with the aims of creating a robust framework for levelling-up. This includes themes containing the Levelling Up Bill’s practical proposals for town and city centres: empowering local leaders to regenerate towns and cities and restore local pride in places; and improving the planning process.
Below we highlight three of the Levelling Up Bill’s practical proposals for town and city centres:
Making changes to outdoor seating permanent
To support high street and town centre regeneration, the Bill will make permanent existing temporary measures on pavement licensing. These measures streamline and make cheaper the process of applying for a license to put furniture on the highway.
Fill vacant shops through high street rental auctions.
The Bill will also give local authorities an important new power to instigate high street rental auctions of selected vacant commercial properties in town centres and on high streets which have been vacant for more than one year. There will be a two-month notice period during which landlords can evidence a signed lease, and if none is presented, an authority will be able to serve a final rental auction notice, triggering a two-month auction period for bidders to come forward.
Preparing Neighbourhood Priorities Plans
As well as giving neighbourhood plans greater weight in planning decisions, the Bill will increase the accessibility of neighbourhood planning by allowing parish councils and neighbourhood forums to produce a simpler ‘neighbourhood priorities statement’ which the local authority will be obliged to take into account when preparing its local plan.
The full scope of interventions aimed regenerating towns and cities and improving planning is summarised in the explanatory notes that accompany the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill.
Regenerating towns and cities
Empowering local leaders to regenerate towns and cities and restore local pride in places: The Bill strengthens and adds to the tools that can be used to deliver regeneration and make good use of previously developed land. It will reinvigorate high streets by
- making changes to outdoor seating permanent
- allowing local authorities to fill vacant commercial property, such as shops, through high street rental auctions.
- enhancing compulsory purchase powers,
- making it easier to establish locally-led development corporations
- improving transparency about the ownership and control of land.
Improving the planning process to give communities control
Improving the planning process: The Bill seeks to give local communities control over what is built, where it is built, and what it looks like, and so create an incentive to welcome development provided it meets the standards which are set. The Bill includes powers to support this including:
- delivering high quality design and beautiful places, and protect our heritage
- enabling the right infrastructure to come forward where it is needed
- enhancing local democracy and engagement
- fostering better environmental outcomes
- allowing neighbourhoods to shape their surroundings, as this is where the impact of planning is most immediately felt
New funding for practical proposals for town and city centres
Find out more about the Shared Prosperity Fund and the opportunities it provides for sharing prosperity across our towns and cities, including how to get hold of our free guide on the Shared Prosperity Fund & its opportunities for communities, place & local business.
Local leaders guide to revitalising town centres
The People & Places Partnership are creators of the Local Government Association’s national guidance for local leaders on revitalising town centres toolkit. This toolkit includes practical guidance on approaches to post-COVID 19 recovery planning and levelling up, including case studies in a series on town centre recovery and revitalisation prepared for the LGA, including: Oxford’s alfresco hospitality; Leamington’s safe & welcoming reopening; reopening hospitality in Westminster;
