Northfield has been confirmed as one of the nine areas across the West Midlands to benefit from a share of an £8.5 million high street boosting fund.
The High Streets and Growth Incubator Fund is part of national government funding which is administered through the West Midlands Combined Authority, under the leadership of West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker.
In partnership with local authorities, West Midlands Combined Authority has designed nine schemes covering Dudley, Solihull, West Bromwich and Walsall town centres; Coventry and Wolverhampton city centres; and Erdington, Northfield and Soho Road high streets in Birmingham.
Birmingham Northfield MP Laurence Turner announced on his Facebook page: “I’m delighted to be able to report that local pressure has paid off.
“Northfield has been officially named as one of nine areas across the West Midlands that will get investment under the £8.5 million High Streets and Growth Incubator fund.
“This has happened because, four months ago, I found out that Birmingham City Council had not listed Northfield for this money, which is a Government fund administered through the Combined Authority.
“It has taken a lot of work, building relationships across party lines, and not taking ‘no’ for an answer, to get to this point.
“I’m so glad to have been able to deliver on the pledge that I made to fight for investment in Northfield. Coupled with the new Lidl development, it points to a different future for the high street.”
Mr Turner expressed his gratitude to West Midlands Mayor Richard Parker and Birmingham City Council Leader Roger Harmer (Lib Dem) for “listening and engaging constructively.”
He added: “There is a lot more work to do to understand the timetable and make sure that Northfield will get the best possible benefit from this funding, and I hope that it can be used to get more private investment into the high street.
“This won’t be on the same scale as the £10 million plus scheme that was bid for in the days of the Levelling Up Fund, under the previous government, but it is real money for Northfield.
Birmingham City Council has named three schemes – Erdington, Soho Road, and Northfield.”
The West Midlands’ handling of the funds as part of a regional strategy was exampled in the Government’s recently announced Hope on the High Street strategy. The document describes how the approach shows: “how a strategic authority can coordinate local delivery, build shared expertise and support a network of high streets across a polycentric region.” Read the full strategy
B31 Voices is run by volunteers and is committed to supporting communities across south west Birmingham and surrounding by keeping them informed and engaged. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Support us by donating at www.b31.org.uk/donate. Send us local story ideas to hello@b31.org.uk