Theresa May has backed Maidenhead’s bid to become a ‘Portas pilot town’ which, if successful, could see up to £100,000 of government money invested in the town centre. The bid follows on from an independent review of the UK’s high streets by retail expert Mary Portas. Following her review, the Government has established a fund to support 12 pilots across the country, focused on areas where local partnerships can come together with innovative ideas about how to transform their local high street.
Maidenhead’s bid is being led by the Maidenhead Town Partnership, which brings together local businesses and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. Theresa is supporting the bid, which could result in money being invested in a number of local projects aimed at boosting Maidenhead town centre’s social, economic and cultural facilities.
Commenting, Theresa said: “I strongly support this bid and I believe that Maidenhead closely fits in with Mary Portas’s review, which focused on town centres that have a lot of potential for improvement but are currently not making the most of this. Maidenhead town centre has considerable potential to become a social, cultural and economic hub for the local community. Additional funding through the ‘Portas pilot’ scheme would be a big boost and would support the work that is already going on following the Area Action Plan.”
