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24
Jul
Mayor of North Yorkshire announces £10m high streets fund
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire has announced a new £10 million High Street fund to help businesses in the region.
York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority approved funding for the scheme on Monday.
Called the Vibrant and Sustainable High Streets fund, the money will be spread over four years and is expected to be launched later this year.
Funding for the project has been allocated from the mayoral investment fund, which is worth £540 million over 30 years.
Labour mayor, David Skaith, said the fund will be designed to help high streets adapt. The launch of a high street fund was one of the manifesto promises in his election campaign earlier this year.
Mr Skaith, who held an event with local businesses in Thirsk yesterday to help shape the fund, said:
High streets are not dying. They’re changing and we need to adapt. There’s no denying that high streets have been through a challenging time. We need to understand how those that have survived have adapted so that we can support them to help build resilience more broadly.
I want to support healthy, safe, and thriving communities in York and North Yorkshire and high streets are a focal point for that. They’re a hub for communities, they generate local pride, they offer identity and help tackle rural isolation. To shape our fund, I’m listening to the people who know best, gathering local knowledge to provide insight and inform our policy.
I’m grateful to businesses across York and North Yorkshire who have offered their time to tell me more about their challenges, and opportunities, and I look forward to hearing from more around the region as this fund develops.
Having visited businesses in Thirsk town centre, Mr Skaith hosted a roundtable for more than 20 business, local authority and business support representatives from across York and North Yorkshire.
Following input from stakeholders, a fund prospectus will require approval from the Combined Authority membership before an expected launch in the autumn.
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