Derelict shopping centres, abandoned cinemas and boarded-up buildings across England are set to be transformed into cafes, workspaces and community hubs under a new £210 million government regeneration package.

The funding, announced on September 25, is aimed at bringing long-term empty properties back into use and giving councils and local communities greater control over the future of their high streets.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said the programme was intended to tackle town centres which have been “hollowed out” and put more decision-making power into the hands of local people.

£125m fund to tackle derelict buildings

The largest part of the package is a new £125 million Derelict Buildings Fund.

Councils will be able to use the money to tackle some of the most severely neglected properties in their areas, including empty shopping centres, disused cinemas and other buildings which have fallen into disrepair.

Properties could be converted into cafes, shared workspaces, health centres, community facilities, offices and civic spaces.

A further £65 million will be used to help communities protect local buildings and businesses at risk of disappearing, including pubs, clubs and sports facilities.

The government says the programme builds on its wider Pride in Place strategy, which is intended to give communities greater influence over regeneration projects.

Councils given help to fill empty shops

Another £10 million will support High Street Rental Auctions, which allow councils to intervene when commercial properties have remained vacant for prolonged periods.

Properties can become eligible for the process when they have been empty for at least 366 days during a 24-month period.

The mechanism can ultimately allow a council to secure a new tenant for a persistently vacant commercial property.

Funding can also be used to help make properties suitable for occupation, including repairs and other work required before a new tenant moves in.

£10m to support co-operative businesses

The remaining £10 million will establish a regional Co-operative Development Programme.

It will support mayors and strategic authorities seeking to establish more businesses owned and run by workers, customers and local communities.

Ministers say the approach is designed to allow residents to share more directly in the economic benefits generated by their town centres.

The announcement forms part of a broader government drive to move regeneration decisions away from Westminster and towards local authorities, mayors and communities.

Burnham: ‘Too many high streets have been left to hollow out’

Prime Minister Andy Burnham said people often judged economic progress by what was happening in their own town centres rather than national statistics.

He said too many high streets had been allowed to decline and that the new funding would give local communities greater control over their regeneration.

The government has also announced separate measures intended to give councils and communities more influence over their high streets, including action involving vape shops, betting shops and other businesses ministers say can contribute to the decline of town centres.

Housing, Communities and Local Government Secretary Angela Rayner said local communities were best placed to understand what their high streets needed.

She said the investment would help bring boarded-up buildings back into use, protect valued pubs and clubs and support local businesses and jobs.

First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said the programme formed part of the government’s wider push to transfer resources and decision-making away from Westminster and into local communities.

Wider high street strategy to follow

The £210 million investment sits alongside the government’s wider Pride in Place programme, which supports regeneration projects in communities across the country.

Ministers say the latest package will focus particularly on visibly neglected buildings and community assets which could otherwise remain empty or be lost.

The government is also expected to set out further measures for England’s town centres through a wider High Streets Strategy.

For communities affected by empty shopping centres, abandoned cinemas and boarded-up properties, the central aim of the latest funding is to return those buildings to active use rather than allowing them to remain derelict.