The Future High Streets fund is a £675m central government fund that is open for applications from towns and cities throughout England.
The fund recognises the continuing importance of high streets as places where commerce and community meet, and aims to support high streets as they change to meet the needs and expectations of communities now and in the future.
Wiltshire Council will be submitting the bid, and they're working closely with Salisbury BID, Salisbury City Council and other city partners to help shape the proposal.
Although the bid will not include specific project proposals at this stage, the investment will be used to support the improvement of Salisbury’s city centre for businesses, residents and visitors.
Wiltshire Council invite businesses and residents to have their say on the challenges facing Salisbury high streets and ambitions for the future. Please complete this survey.
Pauline Church, cabinet member for economic development and South Wiltshire Recovery, said: “Salisbury city centre has been affected by the same issues faced by high streets throughout the country, particularly the rise of online shopping.
“Salisbury is focused on the future and moving forward, but trade in the city has also been badly affected in the past year, which is why we are confident that we will have a strong case.
“This is early days for the bid, but we would like as many residents as possible to complete the survey and give us their views on the future of Salisbury’s high streets. If our bid is successful, we will undertake a full consultation with a range of stakeholders in the city, including residents, businesses and partners.
“A successful bid will enable investment from the Future High Streets Fund to support our ongoing efforts to grow the economy, increase tourism and ensure the sustainability in Salisbury.
“Of course, Salisbury isn’t the only area in Wiltshire that could benefit from this kind of funding. Government criteria allows us to submit three different bids for Wiltshire, and we will be working with towns throughout the county on suitable bids for this funding.”
Photo: Simon Ward Photography
In partnership with VisitWiltshire, Salisbury BID co-fund the Visit Salisbury website to promote the city to visitors. The Visit Salisbury website has a full events calendar for Salisbury.
