High streets will be revived and playgrounds will appear across the nation, the Government has promised as £319million in funding is announced to fight urban decay. The Express Save Our High Street campaign has forced politicians of different tribes to grasp the challenge of halting the hollowing out of our town centres.

A major new initiative to revive “struggling high streets” and “drive footfall” will benefit from £301million of the funding. Sixty-six communities suffering from high levels of poverty will get new playgrounds or see old ones revived thanks to an £18million investment.

The new projects are part of a “Pride in Place” strategy to transform neighbourhoods. Local businesses and groups will be encouraged to drive renewal through “high street innovation partnerships” Town centres could become “mixed-use” spaces with new homes, health services, libraries, community hubs and green spaces. A “summer of activity” on high streets is promised to ensure more people visit these once-bustling areas.

This comes alongside the pledge for new and upgraded playgrounds “from Tyneside to Torquay”. Locations have been identified with the “highest income deprivation affecting children and the poorest access to play”.

Under the wider Pride in Place scheme, communities will gain £20million over 10 years to “spend on what matters most to them” with the hope this will trigger a “wave of regeneration”. The aim is to put “power back in the hands of people with skin in the game”.

The Government boasts it is “tearing up the rulebook on public spending” and five projects will test a new initiative to get local agencies including councils, the NHS and schools to “pool their cash and work together instead of operating in silos”.

These will help children with special education needs in Liverpool, “prevent youth offending in the North East, support teenagers struggling with their mental health in the Black Country, help adults facing multiple disadvantage in Doncaster, and get young people into work in West Yorkshire”. If the schemes are a success the plan is to roll-out this model nationwide.

Communities Secretary Steve Reed said: “People have watched their communities decline for too long, with little say over how they’re run. This government is determined to change that – giving communities the tools, the funding and the power they need to rebuild. From new playgrounds to reimagined high streets, we’re putting power back in people’s hands. People across the country will see and feel the difference this investment makes, restoring pride in local areas.”

Councils receiving funding for playgrounds will be encouraged to use British materials.