Unlocking the UK Shared Prosperity Fund’s potential to transform town centres
A central pillar to the UK Government’s Levelling Up agenda for over three years, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) has already provided £2.6 billion of funding for local investment.
Primarily developed to build pride in place and increase life chances across the country, the UKSPF enables local authorities, public sector organisations, private companies, voluntary organisations and social enterprises to access funds to invest in communities and place, support local businesses, and provide opportunities to boost people and skills.
Creating places people can be proud of
The key objective of the fund is: ‘By 2030, pride in place, such as people’s satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community, will have risen in every area of the UK, with the gap between the top performing and other areas closing.’
One way the UKSPF will achieve this aim is through improving the social and physical fabric of local communities, making places more attractive to live, work and invest whilst retaining and enhancing their unique character. It will support initiatives aimed at building resilient and safe neighbourhoods through targeted improvements to the built environment and innovative approaches to crime prevention.
The UKSPF offers enormous potential to revitalise our town and city centres, both through major investment schemes as well as minor projects that can still have a positive impact on the lives of local people. To strengthen our social fabric and foster a sense of local pride and belonging, the scheme will enable investment in activities that enhance physical, cultural and social ties and improve access to amenities, especially community infrastructure and local green space, as well as support community-led projects.
The creation of resilient, healthy and safe neighbourhoods is another primary objective. This means investment in quality places in which people want to live, work, play and learn, including through targeted improvements to the built and natural environment and innovative approaches to crime prevention.
Golden opportunity to revitalise the UK’s town centres
The UKSPF was extended to the 2025-2026 financial year following an announcement in the UK government’s Autumn Budget, with a further £900 million of funding allocated for investment up to March 2026. However, there is no guarantee that the UKSPF will continue beyond that date. Hence why developing proposals for funding and applying to the lead local authority now should be a priority to avoid missing out.
A key dimension to the UKSPF is great flexibility. This enables local communities to develop plans and invest in ways that best suit their needs. That means proposals for pedestrianised streets, public parks and gardens, shopping centres and civic spaces can be carefully tailored to deliver the maximum benefit to specific locations, rather than being guided by a national model or specification.
The importance of selecting the right town centre regeneration partner
Proposed town centre improvement schemes under the UKSPF can include detailing of the products and facilities that are right for the location – shaped around what local people actually need. This opens up a world of possibilities considering the vast scope of street furniture, cycling facilities and outdoor equipment options available from Bailey Street Furniture Group (BSFG).
BSFG are highly experienced in providing solutions for town centres and other outdoor public spaces with a heritage spanning over 35 years. The company brings together products from world-leading designers including Metalco, Landscape Forms and HITSA with cycle parking and storage solutions, canopies, shelters, bespoke street furniture and much more to meet every design vision and budget.
As many of these street furniture products are held in stock in the UK, lead times are minimal. That means rapid delivery to site, helping to bring outdoor regeneration projects to fruition within the shortest timeframes.
In addition, BSFG offers a number of outdoor solutions which are non-invasive in terms of their installation. This enables streetscapes and other public spaces to be transformed without the need for extensive site preparation and foundation work, saving time and money as well as the complexities associated with excavations in historically and architecturally sensitive areas.
How BSFG’s products and services can transform spaces
Boosting biodiversity with planters
Planters are one of the easiest street furniture elements to install, making an instant impact by introducing plants, trees and wildlife to spaces that are often dominated by hard surfaces such as tarmac, concrete and paving. Many of the planters available from BSFG are based on a modular design, making them easy to assemble on site and they incorporate lifting channels for rapid and safe installation.
This is exemplified in a project completed by BSFG in 2024 in Stirling. Here, bespoke planters were commissioned as part of the Stirling Station Gateway Development to enhance the visual appeal and functionality of a large space. The oval planters supplied for this project feature integrated curved seating, combining functionality with elegance to provide visitors and railway users with a comfortable resting spot, while also enhancing the local environment.
A similar transformation was delivered at the Stockport Interchange/Merseyway Shopping Centre project. BSFG contributed to this project in a variety of ways, including through the provision of two large bespoke oval planters with integrated seating. Illustrating their modularity, each planter/seating system consists of five self-contained sections that are movable and easily assembled into place, requiring no groundwork.
The potential for planters to enhance streetscapes and extend usable space for purposes other than vehicles is illustrated at Elizabeth Street, Belgravia, London. Here, BSFG’s self-contained free-standing planters were used to increase outdoor, sheltered seating space for restaurants and cafés along a popular street by replacing parking bays. In addition to helping local hospitality businesses, it also supported the broader objective to reduce car use and associated fuel emissions in a busy city location.
Unlimited potential for seating
Seating and benches are essential to encourage the use of outdoor public spaces of all kinds. Not only do they lead to people staying in a location for longer periods due to being able to sit and socialise, but they also make the outdoor space more inclusive for those with reduced mobility who may regard access to a seat as essential.
BSFG offers numerous options here, from traditional designs to a vast array of more contemporary seatings solutions, including MultipliCITY seats and benches. These are part of the BSFG fast track range, a collection of high quality street furniture products that can be delivered in as little as four weeks.
They were integral to the Redrock Leisure Scheme in Stockport. Continuing BSFG’s long association with schemes to regenerate Stockport town centre, which spans over a decade, the MultipliCITY seating was supplied here as part of a broader package including bespoke cycle shelters.
A very different style of seating was supplied by BSFG for the Quayside project in Newcastle. Here, a range of Loop Benches in a striking orange colour were integrated into the rejuvenation of the riverside location with ease as no groundworks were needed for their installation. The benches incorporate LED lighting too, providing functional seating as well as illuminated landmarks for appeal day and night.
Keeping areas tidy and litter-free
In addition to being an environment nuisance, litter can be a major factor in why public spaces are unpopular and underused. This is one of the reasons why litter bins are an essential part of the BSFG product range.
BSFG’s range extends from functional, entry-level designs to more sophisticated styles such as the Box Litter Bin which featured in a major urban redevelopment scheme in London at Elephant Park. The versatile and adaptable design of the Box enabled customisation by the developer for this high-profile location with a hardwood clad door and powder coated steel frame. Importantly, the Box Litter Bins installed here feature an anti-graffiti coating, bespoke designed designation plates and stubber plates on the general waste bins.
Encouraging cycle use for a healthier community
Another core area of BSFG’s work is in cycle parking, storage and all the equipment needed to support them. The company works with local authorities, site owners and developers to design the ideal solutions for their locality to provide high quality facilities for cyclists and encourage more people to switch to two wheels to reduce car use.
In order for this strategy to succeed, it is vital that cyclists can be confident of a good level of security provided by the cycle parking or storage facility, and for site managers to be assured of the long-term durability of products for a positive return on investment. These were two of the most important design considerations in a cycle parking project completed by BSFG in Milton Keynes Town Centre.
Here, diamond rated secure cycle parking was provided through the installation of Streetpods. Each pod is designed to hold two bikes in a ’high-low’ arrangement to avoid handlebar clashes, with a secure shell made from recyclable materials and a ring of reinforced solid steel to secure the rear wheel and frame, using the cyclist’s own D-lock.
A more comprehensive cycle parking facility was provided by BSFG to create the Taunton Town Centre Cycle Hub. This is a multifunctional facility featuring a host of features in addition to secure cycle parking, including a bike maintenance station, solar lighting and a green roof for added environmental benefit – all provided by BSFG.
Bespoke solutions for a truly unique result
The design and manufacturing capabilities within BSFG enables the creation of bespoke street furniture packages for clients, taking the best of standard range solutions and combining them with original designs. The results of a bespoke approach are ideally illustrated in the “Gorton Tank”, a unique creation within the regeneration of Gorton Market in Manchester.
This stand-out bespoke feature combines seating and integrated planting, designed in the shape of a train carriage to pay tribute to Gorton's industrial heritage and the nearby historic Gorton Locomotive Works. BSFG provided full design support to bring the client’s ideas to fruition in addition to handling the manufacturing and installation processes.
To find out more about the outdoor solutions available from BSFG to incorporate into UKSPF projects to regenerate town centre locations, visit our website – www.bsfg.co.uk