Lincoln City Council is teaming up with a number of other organisations to help breathe new life into the city centre.

A fund of £3.5 million will be made available to businesses in the city to help revamp shopfronts, fill in gaps on the high street where premises have been left vacant, convert the upper floors of buildings into flats and improve street paving and public squares.

Lincolnshire Live reported on the initiative, which will see the city council working alongside Historic England, Lincoln BIG, Lincolnshire Co-Op and the University of Lincoln to help make the city centre more appealing over the course of the next four years.

Together the organisations are creating a High Street Heritage Action Zone. This encompasses Waterside South, The Cornhill, Sincil Street, St Mary’s Street, the Lower High Street and part of Portland Street.

As well as working with businesses, the group of organisations will also introduce new street art and look for innovative ways to share the history of the city with visitors.

Councillor Neil Murray, who is responsible for economic regeneration, told the publication that the aim is to improve the quality and appearance of some of the city’s buildings. He noted that in some areas there is already money being ploughed into regeneration work, however, the council understands that some businesses are not in the position to “just do a refurbishment”.

“This is an opportunity for us to invite people to apply for a grant to improve the appearance of their shop, which would improve the appearance of the city centre as a whole,” Mr Murray explained.

He added that the council will speak to local shop owners about what is possible under the grants. The authority can grant up to £20,000 per business, with grants above this figure needing to be agreed by a board.

One businesswoman in the lower High Street told the news provider that “half of the shops in town are in a poor state of repair”. She revealed that the building she currently occupies needs a new roof and has damp, but that the landlord “won’t get it done”.

Many towns and cities across the UK would probably benefit from a similar initiative to make their high streets more appealing and attractive to visit.

However, there are signs of improvement for the country’s retailers, according to the latest data to be released by the CBI. The Guardian shared the figures which showed that more retailers felt business was on the up in July than felt it was in decline, compared to the same month in 2019.

CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith told the news provider that while it is encouraging to see sentiment among retailers improving, this doesn’t tell the whole picture, with many businesses still under immense financial pressure due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Ms Newton-Smith added: “The reopening of non-essential retail was a vital step towards recovery but isn’t a cure-all.”

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