Decision details

As part of the Future High Streets Fund (FHSF) Front Door Interventions Scheme (FDS) the ReNew project has been allocated £300K to administer grants to businesses looking to occupy and renovate vacant properties in the FHSF zone.

The decision being sought is to allocate the first round of funds, which have a value of £112,192.75 and enter into grant agreements with businesses that have gone through the application approval process to proceed with the occupation and renovation of vacant properties in the FHSF zone.

That the Executive Director, City Futures:

in consultation with the Director of Legal Services and the Chair of the Finance Sub-Committee, approves the allocation of £112,192.75 of THE FHSF FDS Renew Project funding to successful businesses as set out in the report, to enable them to occupy vacant properties and begin refurbishment and enter into grant agreements with the Council on that basis.

Renew project intended outputs for 2022/2024 –

• Repurpose and reuse of 6-10 vacant premises in Fargate, High Street and Chapel Walk areas FHSF zone
• Refurbished and repurposed vacant commercial floorspace of 4280-4660 square foot (this has already been met by the proposal above)
• 30-35 jobs created
• Lower vacancy rates
• Increased footfall
• Vibrant animated area
• Targeted impact
• Critical mass occupancy
• Collective marketing and collaboration
• Deter ASB through natural surveillance
• Business growth
• Business generation of start-ups
• Expanding of existing businesses
• Public realm improvements

·       Positive public perceptions

An alternative option was to not use a specific property as part of the grant application, but it was felt that this would become a long-drawn-out process. In order to save time and work for both applicants and council resources the application process has been around a specific property that the business would like to take on and which fits their business’s needs. Keeping the project in real-time of a very fluid economic landscape. This has enabled real time grants to be administered for businesses ready to proceed.