Last month, Medway Council’s Cabinet agreed to move forward with three schemes to be funded by the government’s Pride in Place Impact Fund (PIPIF).
Announced last year, Medway received a total of £1.5million of capital funding through the PIPIF. The fund has three main priorities which include improvements to community spaces, public spaces, and both high streets and town centres.
Medway has agreed three schemes which will use the funding to directly support local businesses, work with key stakeholders to deliver public realm improvements, and partner with the private sector to rejuvenate an unused building.
Medway Shopfront Grant Scheme
The Medway Shopfront Grant Scheme will create a £300,000 pot open to local businesses across Medway to help improve the external appearance of retail and hospitality premises.
Through the scheme, grants of up to £2,500 will be available for cosmetic improvements such as repairs, repainting, signage and lighting. Up to £5,000 will be available for structural works, including accessibility enhancements.
The scheme is due to open from Monday, 9 February. Details of how to apply, and full eligibility criteria, are available on our website.
Public Realm Improvements Scheme
A town centre public realm improvement package of £800,000 has also been agreed for Gillingham and Chatham town centres. This scheme will help to support the programme of work which is coming forward from the community co-created Gillingham Vision & Action Plan. It will also support a forthcoming programme of public realm improvements for Chatham, with projects to be agreed in the coming weeks. The improvements for Chatham town centre will include support from Medway Development Company and aims to engage with University of Kent Architecture students. Both projects for Gillingham and Chatham will be co-created with local residents and key stakeholders.
Partners in Investment Scheme
The third scheme will see up to £400,000 being used to partner with private sector investment, leveraging significant funding to bring an empty property in a town centre location back into use. The £400,000 would be used to support the viability of the work, and will be used as a pilot to secure additional future funding. Work is already ongoing to identify a number of potential sites for this scheme.
Cllr Harinder Mahil, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Economic and Social Regeneration and Inward Investment, said: “We are moving at pace to get all three of these schemes up and running as quickly as possible, as we know this funding can help to make a real difference to residents and businesses across Medway.
“I am particularly excited to see the Medway Shopfront Grant Scheme come forward, which will directly support local businesses and help to revitalise and breath new life into our town centres across Medway.
“The key theme running through all three of these Pride in Place Impact Fund schemes is partnership, whether it is working with key local stakeholders, Medway businesses or the private sector. These schemes will enable us to work together to make sure this funding makes a difference here in Medway.”
To find out more about the Medway Shopfront Grant Scheme, visit: Medway.gov.uk/ShopfrontGrant.
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