High streets across the country are facing enormous challenges and, at local level, our high streets and rural and coastal retail areas once dominated by retail shops, are changing fast in response to changing shopping habits, new lifestyles and working patterns. The exit of large retail stores and anchor institutions is also having a significant impact on footfall. Underlying economic conditions, geographical remoteness and the seasonality of tourism all help to exacerbate the challenges in Cornwall and Isles of Scilly and this is leading to an increase in the number of empty shops and reduced foot fall in most of our towns, especially in those that are not in tourism “hot spots”.
Applications are invited from retail and non-retail businesses, property owners (public/private/third sector), developers and skills providers across our towns, rural, coastal and island settlements with a particular focus on projects that can regenerate existing retail centres and/or improve the productivity of business located on our high streets and other neighbourhood shopping areas.
This could include, shop refurbishment, pop up shops and mixed use, meanwhile uses, office/manufacturing space, leisure, creative and cultural activity as well as encouraging the use of upper floors in existing buildings including disused storage space and ancillary floorspace.
Businesses and property owners/developers located adjacent to our high streets and neighbourhood shopping areas can also apply if they can demonstrate that their project can help to generate increased footfall in the settlement where they are based.
For full details on the Town, Rural and Coastal High Street Development and Skills Programme, including a list of potential activity, Download the full initiation form
Next steps
Please fill out the details of your project via the initial enquiry form below. The Good Growth team will respond to you within five working days with the next steps.
The Good Growth team will then send you the relevant application form, where applicable, which will need to be returned to the Good Growth team via email in advance of the application deadline.
More information on what will be required in your application is available on the Application Support page.
If you are awaiting a response on your expression of interest in SPF funding and it has been more than 5 working days, please check your spam/junk folders first before contacting the team.