The Prime Minister today announced an ambitious package, backed by hundreds of millions of pounds of investment, to support towns and communities across Britain.
Building on the Government’s Towns Fund, the measures are designed to help places which have not always benefited from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas.
The package includes measures to:
- Keep the high street open for business. We will cut business rates for shops, cinemas and pubs. The average corner shop will get a £1,400 cut in their business rates from the extension in the retail discount. Up to half a million businesses will benefit, with the discount extended to all cinemas and music venues.
- Save pubs and post offices. We will back community groups who want to buy their local pubs and post offices with a £150m fund and a 9 month ban on sale to other bidders.
- Invest in cycling and walking. We will make it easier for people to cycle and walk around their local areas, improving air quality and public health.
Boris Johnson, Prime Minister, said:
“For too long, too many towns and villages across Britain have been overlooked and left behind. When the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, many communities felt their voices had been heard for the first time in decades and their lives would improve.
“We will invest in these communities and help people put the heart back into the places they call home. We need to get Brexit done so that we can unleash the potential of all our towns, cities and villages. We will be able to save our high streets, keep pubs and post offices open and re-connect places to the rail network half a century after they were cut off.
“But that can only happen if we end the dither, delay and paralysis in Westminster. We need to get Brexit done so the country can move on. We need a Conservative majority government which will deliver for communities across Britain – not a Corbyn-Sturgeon alliance which would expend all its energy on two more chaotic referendums.”
Scott Mann, The Conservative Party candidate for North Cornwall said:
“I am a firm believer that our rural communities should be as well connected as possible, and during the last four and a half years as Member of Parliament for North Cornwall that is exactly what I have worked to achieve.
“While other parties will dither and delay, the next Conservative majority government will deal quickly with Brexit and move on to the vital domestic agenda. Rather than wasting time attempting to overturn the democratic result of the EU referendum, I will get back to work supporting North Cornwall’s high streets, pubs, post offices and villages.”
ENDS
