New Money for Wakefield City Centre

Wakefield MP Mary Creagh this week welcomed a new £52,000 boost from the government for Wakefield city centre. The money has been given to Wakefield Council to combat the recession and transform empty shops into something beneficial for the community.   

The Government is determined to make sure town centres remain vibrant places and earlier this year put in place a fund to help many of the hardest hit areas reopen and re-use empty shops.  

Communities Secretary John Denham said "The recession is affecting town centres in various ways.  The sight of boarded-up shops, in particular, can damage people's confidence in their local high street, perhaps prompting them to go elsewhere for shopping and entertainment.  This can be a more of an issue in deprived areas where shop closures often compound issues like poor local environment, crime and anti-social behaviour, and worklessness. I hope that this support will prove especially useful for Wakefield in the run-up to Christmas, when high streets need to look their best to attract visitors." 

Mary Creagh, MP for Wakefield said: "We know that the downturn has really hurt high streets. No-one wants to see unused shops on our high streets going to waste, especially when we know that it doesn't take a lot to turn a vacant shop into something that benefits our community."

"These grants will help to transform and re-open empty shops as part of our real help to keep town centres vibrant and combat the recession.  I am pleased that Wakefield has been awarded the money and I would encourage the public to contact the council with their ideas for how empty shops in the area can be used."