City’s £1.55m funding to tackle derelict buildings

Preston has been selected as one of 60 local authorities in the UK to receive funding from a new £125m Derelict Buildings Fund.

Following the government’s launch of its Hope on the High Street strategy the city has been given £1.55m.

The city council has yet to decide where the money will be spent, but it has revealed it will be focused on three ‘core’ areas:

• Bringing long term vacant and/or derelict buildings back into productive community or commercial use.
• Creating examples of how high streets can diversify by hosting a greater mix of uses, including community assets and uses that increase footfall outside usual retail hours.
• Building local authority capacity and capability to delivery high street regeneration projects.

Valerie Wise, cabinet member for community wealth building and city regeneration at Preston City Council, said: “This is a huge vote of confidence in Preston and a welcome boost to tackle some of the issues with our empty heritage buildings that are in need of attention.

“The funding could provide a valuable opportunity to carry out some essential renovations to bring one or more of these properties back into use.

“Ongoing investment such as this will help us to create a more vibrant, attractive and resilient city centre, support our local businesses and high street retailers and attract further investment and business on to our high street.”

In December 2024, in response to increasing concerns about safety around empty and derelict buildings in the city centre, the council established a dedicated empty properties taskforce in collaboration with the police and fire service.

The council says regular inspections ‘play a vital role’ in the taskforce’s work, alongside collaboration with local activists from Preserving Preston's Heritage Group, which encourages the public to report any unusual, suspicious, or anti-social behaviour around empty buildings.

Coun Wise continued: “We were only informed of the funding last week and so we have not yet had a chance to consider fully where this funding will be best spent.

“However, we have a priority list of heritage properties that are in the most urgent need of attention and through public consultation, collaboration with stakeholders, property owners and landlords, we will make an informed decision on where the money is spent in terms of feasibility and deliverability in line with the timescales and guidelines of the funding criteria.”

The Hope on the High Streets Strategy is part of the government’s vision for ‘good growth’ in every postcode, addressing head on the practical challenges and the opportunity for a new sustainable economic model for UK high streets.

The 60 local authorities were chosen because they have high levels of employment deprivation, with the amounts they are allocated – between £1m and £3m – selected based on the size of their population.