Boris Johnson vows to save neglected West Midlands towns with new funding package
Boris Johnson has pledged to boost run down parts of the West Midlands with a funding package worth hundreds of millions of pounds.
The Prime Minister said towns and villages across the region had been "overlooked and left behind" as he vowed to re-energise high streets, lift the pub trade and restore disused rail links.
The measures include plans to extend the retail discount on business rates to 50 per cent next year, which for firms with a rateable value of less than £51,000 would mean a spike on the current retail discount of 33 per cent in 2020-21.
Under the changes hundreds of small music venues and cinemas across the region would now qualify, while Mr Johnson would also introduce a new £1,000 business rates relief for pubs – the equivalent of an £18m tax cut next year.
The PM also said a Tory government would introduce a £150m fund to help community groups who want to take over and run pubs and post offices threatened with closure.
Meanwhile a £500m 'Beeching Reversal fund' would aim to bring derelict rail lines and stations back into use to improve connectivity between towns and cities.
This would include Willenhall and Darlaston stations, and the Walsall to Wolverhampton line, which have all been put forward by West Midlands Mayor Andy Street.
Mr Johnson said the measures will build on the £3.6bn towns fund first announced in July, which will see Dudley, Walsall, Bloxwich, Rowley Regis, Smethwick, West Bromwich and parts of Wolverhampton all receive up to £25m for regeneration.
The PM said: "For too long, too many towns and villages across the West Midlands have been overlooked and left behind.
"When the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, many communities in this region felt their voices had been heard for the first time in decades and their lives would improve.
"We are going to invest in communities across the West Midlands and help people put the heart back into the fantastic towns and villages you call home.
"We are going to get Brexit done so that we can unleash the potential of this region.
"We will rejuvenate the high streets, save community assets and improve connectivity by restoring lines and stations that were lost to the Beeching Report in the 1960s, including Willenhall and Darlaston."
The measures also include plans to invest in cycling and walking.
Labour said the Tories had been responsible for destroying the UK's towns and cities by slashing council budgets over the last decade.
