Wednesbury is one of five West Midlands towns that will receive millions of pounds of government funding to aid economic recovery and restore its historic centre.

Wednesbury, Brierley Hill, Leominster, Oswestry and Stoke have been awarded a total of £8m to help historic high streets combat declining footfall and the effects of coronavirus safety measures. This will involve restoration of shops and shopfronts and help to convert unused upper floors into new homes. There will also be a focus on restoring local character, improving public spaces and boosting arts and culture.

The £1.8m awarded to Wednesbury will be matched by a combination of private donors and Sandwell Council, making a total amount of £3.6m, which will fund a development scheme based around Market Place in the town centre. The scheme will be delivered over the next four years and aims to make Wednesbury a more safe and vibrant place that people will choose to visit.

Plans include the restoration of building frontages, the creation of more town centre residential space by converting upper floors, improvements to the public space around the clock tower and repairs to roads and paving. Local arts organisation Multistory will also create a programme of cultural events to accompany the physical developments.

The funding, delivered by Historic England, is part of a £95m national pot from the High Streets Heritage Action Zone programme. This brings together £40m from the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport’s Heritage High Street Fund, £52m from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government’s Future High Street Fund and £3m from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. An additional £1.57bn from the Cultural Recovery Fund has been allocated to combat the effects of Covid-19 on arts organisations and heritage sites.

High Streets Minister Kelly Tolhurst said: “This new funding will help to transform and restore historic buildings, creating new homes, shops and community spaces, and reinvigorating local high streets up and down the country.”

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden added: “High streets sit at the heart of our communities and every part of the country deserves to have one they can be proud of. Now more than ever, they have a crucial role to play in helping our towns and cities to recover from the pandemic.”

Sandwell Council is continually seeking support to make sure all the towns in Sandwell get their fair share of national resources. Think Sandwell will be watching for updates on the Wednesbury project – follow @thinkSandwell on Twitter for our latest news.