Buckinghamshire Council has been allocated European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) money under the Welcome Back Fund and needs your ideas!.
This is an extension of the ‘Reopening High Streets Safely’ money and aims to support measures that improve the vibrancy and vitality of our shopping areas and adjacent parks. It aims to improve the look and feel of our shopping areas, to encourage local people and visitors back – increasing footfall and dwell time to support our local businesses, retail, hospitality and visitor economy. Because the money is ERDF we have to ‘spend at risk’ first and then make a claim for reimbursement – rather than just being given the money to allocate and spend. The funding also comes with very specific criteria and procurement rules that have to be followed and evidenced in order for us to claim. It is a revenue fund and interventions that we put in need to be ‘temporary’ in nature. The money cannot be used to grant aid a specific business – but it can be used to support an area used by multiple businesses.
Potential Activities
The Welcome Back Fund can be used to support activities that fall under the categories of:
- Events and animations
- Cleaning and greening
- Trails and place promotion
- Seating, bins and lighting
The funding has to be spent by 31st March 2022. As with this type of activity there will be some activities that are specific to your level of place and can be delivered locally – and there will be others that are common to more than one area and in such cases it makes more sense to organise centrally to achieve economies of scale.
We need your ideas!
Over the past few weeks, we have been speaking to community boards and their economic recovery sub-groups, as well as to some town and parish councils, to capture ideas on the types of activities that can be supported. We are conscious that we haven’t had chance to speak to everyone yet and we also recognise that what is right for one town or village, may not necessary be appropriate for another. The reason for this email today therefore is to encourage those areas that we haven’t had a chance to speak to, and to remind those that we have, to consider the types of activity that are needed in your town or village centre and to let us know.
To help with this thinking, below are some questions for you to consider, alongside some suggestions of the type of activities that could potentially be explored under the Welcome Back Fund. I would just add that even if an activity is not eligible for Welcome Back funding, it is still worth identifying at this stage. As you know, economic recovery is a priority for the Community Boards so such ideas could potentially be eligible for Community Board funding. Larger scale/longer-term projects are worth identifying should other investment or funding opportunities emerge in the future.
Thinking about your town / village / high street / shopping area / adjacent green space (public owned):
Do you have any events or animations that are being planned for the autumn, Christmas or spring?
If yes, is there some additionality that we could look to provide to make these better i.e. street entertainment, additional gazebos to enable more people to take part, hire of lighting, or wider promotion support?
Do you have vacant shops where permission could be sought for temporary bespoke art work / chalk paint designs on the windows to bring vibrancy?
Do you have a wall space where permission could be sought to add a bespoke mural to bring vibrancy?
What about Welcome Back banners or other banners that celebrate the history or uniqueness of your high street and help place promotion?
Do you have a public green space close to your high street or shopping area? If yes, would the provision of picnic-bench style seating or some deck chairs, or a ‘parklet’ for example, encourage people to stay in the area longer and provide a new animation for the space?
Do you have any town grot spots in your area that could do with a special brush up? If yes, let us know where?
The Council are also looking to trial some different waste bin options. Have you got a problem with a specific type of litter in your area? i.e. single use cups or cigarette butts for example, that we could seek to address with a different disposal option? If yes, let us know the specific areas impacted and we will review and see if we can factor you into the trial.
Do you have any local trails that you have developed – paper-based on digital? If yes, please let us know as we would like to do some collective promotion on the offer across Buckinghamshire. If no, is this something that you would be keen to explore?
Do you run a market? If yes, is there scope to provide additionality to this i.e. street entertainment, additional gazebos to enable more people to take part, hire of lighting, or wider promotion support?
Next Steps
Because of the deadline for spending the funds and the time required to develop and procure the different activities/solutions, we would welcome your suggestions by Friday, September 10th. What we have found to be particularly helpful, is gathering a small group of local stakeholders (for example, the parish clerk, local councillor, local business, local community representative etc) to have a walk/talk around the town or village centre. This offers a great opportunity to look at some of the areas where improvements are needed and to consider some of the practicalities of ideas. For example, whilst new seating may sound like a great idea, consideration needs to be given to the best spot to place this and who will maintain it moving forward? If it’s removable seating, who will be responsible for storing it and taking it in/putting it out etc? If you do organise a walk/talk please do let us know. We cannot guarantee that we will be able to attend, but if we have capacity to do so, then we would welcome the opportunity to join you.
And please consider who at a local level will be best placed to lead on delivery – this could be the town or parish council or maybe there is a business representative organisation or other representatives from the community board who could do so? Unfortunately, we will not be in a position to offer full / direct assistance with the delivery of each individual, localised project.
Apologies for bombarding you with information, and I appreciate it’s a lot to take in, but the Welcome Back Fund offers us a fantastic opportunity to make improvements to our town and village centres. It could have a really positive impact on their look and atmosphere and could really help to encourage people back into our high streets after what has been a difficult period. If you have any questions or would like to discuss anything further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
We look forward to hearing your ideas! Many thanks,
Donna Wilkinson
Principal Economic Development Officer, Directorate for Planning, Growth and Sustainability, Buckinghamshire Council
01494 732 295 07395 605 246 donna.wilkinson@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
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