Salisbury has been awarded £9,355,731 as part of the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.

The Government had pledged a £1billion pot of money to revive town centres across the country.

Each town and city could apply for up to £25million each.

Wiltshire's bids

Wiltshire Council submitted bids on behalf of Salisbury and Trowbridge.

Although neither Wiltshire bid received the amount requested, both have been awarded substantial sums of money for local transformations, with Trowbridge receiving £16,347,056.

Swindon received the full amount it requested, of £25million.

What is the Future High Streets Fund?

Communities secretary Robert Jenrick said the money from the Future High Streets Fund would “help our much-loved town centres get through this and prosper into the future”.

The fund, initially announced by then-Chancellor Philip Hammond in the 2018 Budget, is intended to help local authorities modernise and revitalise their town centres and was thought up long before coronavirus wrought havoc to the economy.

Salisbury's bid

In Salisbury, the bid for money was to "make the city a more attractive destination for visitors and residents, by redeveloping the train station and its surroundings, and transforming Fisherton Street to help to connect the station to the city’s retail core”.

The Salisbury plan also intends to create more apartments in the city centre, to encourage younger residents to base themselves in town.

And it will also use the money to target some key retail units to boost footfall in the city.

Salisbury MP welcomes news

John Glen MP said the funding announcement was "brilliant" news for the city on Twitter on Boxing Day.

He wrote: "This is the culmination of two years of hard work which began back in 2018 as we started to explore with my ministerial colleagues how best to shape Salisbury's long-term future after the tragic events of that year.

"There is still some work to do for @wiltscouncil alongside @mhclg officials in finalising proposals but it's great that Salisbury has been successful in a very competitive process.

"I look forward to seeing the work begin on rolling out the vision of the funding bid which focusses on transforming Fisherton Street and revamping the area outside the train station."

What Wiltshire Council said

Cllr Philip Whitehead, Leader of Wiltshire Council and Cabinet Member for Economic Regeneration, said: “We put together two attractive and comprehensive business cases and are delighted Salisbury and Trowbridge will be benefitting from significant investment.

“This funding will help us unlock the potential and reinvigorate both centres and make them more attractive places to live, work, visit and shop.

“High streets have faced a really tough time in recent years, and the pandemic will unfortunately only add to that, but this funding from Government will really benefit the local area.

"Overall this investment will help ensure both the high streets of Trowbridge and Salisbury continue to be the focal point of both communities.”  

Scroll down for a full list of selected high streets:

15 places have been selected to receive all the money they asked for

1. Tamworth £21,652,555

2. Sunderland £25,000,000

3. Sutton £11,346,704

4. Bishop Auckland £19,856,853

5. Blyth £11,121,059

6. Kidderminster £20,510,598

7. Old Kent Road, Southwark £9,605,854

8. Swindon £25,000,000

9. Stockport £14,500,000

10. Winsford £9,980,000

11. Sheffield £15,817,001

12. Blackfriars, Worcester £17,939,000

13. Birkenhead £24,581,011

14. Brierley Hill £9,985,689

15. Stretford £17,605,674

A further 57 places will receive provisional funding offers

1. Leamington Spa £10,015,121

2. Nuneaton £13,362,736

3. Wolverhampton £15,760,196

4. Walsall £11,439,967

5. Newcastle-under-Lyme £11,048,260

6. Stafford £14,377,723

7. Tottenham £10,019,648

8. Woolwich £17,150,964

9. Wealdstone– £7,448,583

10. Putney– £1,058,706

11. Elland £6,310,812

12. Northallerton £6,085,013

13. Rotherham £12,660,708

14. Halifax £11,762,823

15. Barnsley £15,624,456

16. Scunthorpe £10,675,323

17. New Ferry, Wirral – £3,213,523

18. Wigan £16,633,691

19. Crewe £14,148,128

20. Rochdale £17,080,458

21. Farnworth, Bolton £13,306,817

22. Oldham £10,750,237

23. Kirkham, Fylde – £6,290,831

24. Maryport, Allerdale – £11,527,839

25. Carlisle £9,129,874

26. Plymouth £12,046,873

27. Barnstable £6,548,876

28. Newton Abbot £9,199,364

29. Paignton £13,363,248

30. Kingswood £12,555,464

31. Salisbury £9,355,731

32. Penzance £10,403, 112

33. Trowbridge £16,347,056

34. Yeovil £9,756,897

35. Taunton £13,962,981

36. Loftus £5,833,628

37. Middlesbrough £14,170,352

38. Stockton £16,543,812

39. South Shields £5,959,187

40. Derby, St Peters Cross £15,034,398

41. Sutton-in-Ashfield £6,279,872

42. Grantham £5,558,818

43. Grimsby £17,280,917

44. Nottingham, West End Point £12,523,981

45. Heanor £8,592,837

46. Northampton £8,442,730

47. Buxton £6,608,223

48. Dover £3,202,226

49. Newhaven £5,004,939

50. Chatham £9,497,720

51. Ramsgate £2,704,213

52. Commercial Road, Portsmouth £3,122,375

53. Fratton, Portsmouth £3,858,489

54. High Wycombe £11,886,876

55. St Neots £3,748,815

56. March, Fenland £6,447,129

57. Great Yarmouth £13,774,430