High Street and Town Centre Revitalisation
As part of the recovery plans from the effects of the pandemic, the Communities Secretary announced in December 2020 that Penzance was one of 72 places successful in securing £10.4 million from the High Streets Fund.
The Future High Streets Fund ( FHSF) is part of the government’s wider Plan for the High Street to renew and reshape town centres and high streets in a way that drives growth, improves experience and ensures future sustainability.
The projects proposed need to deliver on the following themes:
– Urban regeneration
– Planning and land use
– Transport
The projects that have been put forward for Penzance will help to bring new life and purpose into unoccupied sites in the town centre and to attract new businesses, shops, entertainment and new accommodation. In addition, the funding will enable free WiFi to be installed on the high street as well as the development of digital technologies. The new digital technologies will be created to monitor and analyse footfall in the town centre.
The FHSF will be used to develop transformative projects across the town and deliver on the objectives listed above. The investment is targeted at improving:
- Coinagehall and St Anthony’s Gardens
- Market Place and Green Market
- Town centre housing
- Long term vacant units in the centre of town rejuvenated
- Large retail units redesigned to create more market led retail space
- Streetscape creating pedestrian priority
- WiFi Enabled High Street – led by Penzance Business Improvement District, this project will involve the installation of public WiFi on the high street and use digital capabilities to monitor footfall and help analyse the use of the high street.
