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The government has announced a landmark initiative to help local communities take back control of their high streets, save struggling pubs and restore pride in towns across the country.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has unveiled the Pride in Place programme, a nationwide plan backed by record investment to support more than 330 overlooked communities. The programme will give local people new powers to revitalise their high streets, tackle derelict buildings and protect cherished assets such as pubs, libraries and parks.

Under the government’s Plan for Change, the measures represent the largest transfer of power from Whitehall to communities in history. They include:

• Community Right to Buy: enabling local groups to purchase and revive treasured assets, including closed or at-risk pubs, creating new opportunities for hospitality businesses and social spaces.

• Compulsory Purchase Powers: allowing communities to acquire boarded-up shops and abandoned properties to bring them back into use for new businesses, health centres or housing.

• Power to Block Unwanted Shops: giving councils the ability to reject proposals for betting shops, vape stores and other outlets where numbers are already high, helping protect the character of local high streets.

• Local Decision-Making: funding decisions will only be approved if community groups and local organisations have been fully involved in setting priorities.

The programme is designed to breathe new life into neglected neighbourhoods, with pubs and hospitality venues at the heart of the plan. Communities will be able to take ownership of derelict pubs, transform them into thriving businesses or social hubs, and ensure they remain central to local life.

Steve Reed, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, said: “When people step out of their front doors, they know their communities are struggling. They see shuttered pubs, fading high streets and their local areas in decline.

“The government is putting power into their hands so local people decide how best to restore pride in their neighbourhoods, not us in Westminster. That’s what real patriotism looks like: building up our communities and choosing renewal over division.”

The Pride in Place programme will be delivered across England, Scotland and Wales, with corresponding funding for Northern Ireland. It will support local initiatives to reopen pubs, attract new hospitality businesses and create vibrant, community-led high streets.

For pubs and hospitality operators, the programme offers a major opportunity to work with local groups, secure funding for regeneration projects and play a leading role in the future of Britain’s town centres.