Burgh urged to cash in on £60m regeneration fund

Fiona Howard 1564 - 1564 • Published 22 Feb 2009 09:30

A £60 million town centre regeneration fund is up for grabs and Helensburgh people are being encouraged to nominate their town for a share.

The £60 million pot was secured by the Conservatives in the Scottish Parliament as part of their budget deal and they have now set up a special website, www.helpourhighstreet.com, to encourage people to put their town forward for a share in the cash.

Jackson Carlaw MSP said: 'Local communities the length and breadth of Scotland are suffering at the hands of Labour"s economic recession. This comes after years of decline in many town centres during the boom years. The Town Centre Regeneration Fund, secured by the Conservatives, is designed to give town and village centres a new lease of life even as we enter Labour"s economic bust.

'There"s no doubt that towns and villages need a bustling high street to maintain their distinctive character. In addition to cutting or abolishing business rates for over 150,000 small businesses the £60 million Town Centre Regeneration Fund is another Conservative policy being put in place by the SNP Government to achieve that aim.

'I urge everyone who wants to see their local high street transformed to log on to www.helpourhighstreet.com and submit their ideas today.'

And Annabel Goldie MSP commented that the website is already attracting a lot of interest and nominations from all over Scotland and she said in a letter to First Minister Alex Salmond: 'This fund and the accelerated cuts or abolition of business rates for over 150,000 of Scotland"s smallest businesses provide an important boost to help Scotland weather the worst of Labour"s recession.

'Now that the principle and the funding is agreed, the Scottish Government needs to confirm the criteria for eligibility for bids and the method by which funds will be distributed. To that end, there should be an early meeting to discuss the way forward.'

A Scottish Government spokesman said ministers would be bringing forward proposals about how organisations can access the money later in the year.

He said: 'The government has always been clear that the funding for the Town Centre Regeneration Fund is from accelerated capital expenditure from 2010-11. Until such time as we secure borrowing powers for the Scottish Parliament and government, we are obliged to operate within the limits of a fixed budget from Westminster.'

The parliament has voted in favour of requesting borrowing powers from the Treasury.

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This article appeared in Barrhead News 19 Feb 09

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