West Midlands mayor Richard Parker has launched a £10m fund to breathe new life into struggling high streets and tackle rising shop vacancies.

The High Streets and Growth Incubator will provide funding to a number of town and city centres, with the first locations set to be revealed at a later date.

The scheme will focus on bringing boarded-up retail units back into use and supporting hundreds of high street businesses facing growing competition from online shopping.

Funding will also be used to improve public spaces, stage events and introduce new market stalls and street food operators in a bid to attract more shoppers and visitors into town centres.

The West Midlands Combined Authority said the investment would target the region’s shop vacancy rate, which it described as among the highest in the country.

Parker said the region had endured a “bruising few years” for its high streets and argued that investment was needed alongside new government powers aimed at giving councils greater control over their retail mix.

The initiative comes as Prime Minister Andy Burnham unveiled a wider government crackdown on the proliferation of vape and betting shops across Britain’s high streets.

Under the proposals, councils will be handed greater powers to refuse new betting shops, while new vape shops and adult gaming centres will require planning permission. The government also plans to scrap the Gambling Act’s “Aim to Permit” rule, which currently restricts councils’ ability to reject gambling premises.

The £10m programme is being developed alongside the West Midlands Growth Company and councils in Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.

It is designed to complement wider regeneration projects across the region, including schemes delivering new homes, shops, restaurants and commercial space in Coventry, Wolverhampton and Solihull.

The fund will also sit alongside existing support for street markets, the night-time economy and street food entrepreneurs.

The High Streets and Growth Incubator is being financed through government funding allocated to Parker and the West Midlands Combined Authority under the region’s multi-year Integrated Settlement.

The wider £2.5bn, four-year funding package is intended to support the creation of 100,000 jobs and 120,000 homes, alongside investment in public transport across the West Midlands.

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