A report by the Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning provided an update of work being undertaken from Government initiatives to support Town Centres.  Specifically, the recently announced: Our Town First: Future High Street X-Funding.  The Cabinet was informed that this £1million fund would support locations which could demonstrate existing innovative high street regeneration schemes that had effective transformation and the report detailed how these schemes could be built upon to strengthen their impact.

The Cabinet was requested to give delegated authority to the Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Planning Strategy, to approve the final applications, to draft a letter from the Council consenting to being the accountable body and to submit these to the relevant Government Department by the 6December deadline.

The Cabinet was also asked to note the progress of Town Team Partnerships which supported unsuccessful Portas Pilot areas with a package of support to help revitalise their high streets. Through their local MPs, Town Teams were asked to register their interest to be a Town Team Partnership to receive £10,000 from the Government to support elements of their original Portas Pilot bid.  It was proposed that the Council would act as the accountable body for this funding.

RESOLVED: That

(1)  the Cabinet agrees that the Council will be the accountable body for the Our Town First: Future High Street X-Fund, for each application submitted, if successful, and the money be allocated in line with the Council’s accounting principles; and

(2)  the Cabinet agrees, for any application submitted to the Council, prior to the Government’s 6 December 2012 deadline, that the Director of Regeneration, Housing and Planning, in consultation with the Regeneration and Planning Strategy Portfolio Holder be given delegated authority to agree applications to be submitted along with a letter agreeing that the Council will be the accountable body.