The regeneration of Whitefriargate is benefiting from grant funding of up to £1.75m from Historic England.
Hull City Council has now entered into a formal agreement to deliver the scheme with Historic England after Whitefriargate was allocated the investment last year as part of a £95m nationwide funding pot.
The funding will be used to support the refurbishment of the historic street by providing grants aimed at encouraging private sector property owners to undertake building and conversion projects that bring unused upper floor space back into use through conversion into new residential units.
The investment will aim to make shop frontages more consistent.
The scheme, part of Hull’s High Street Heritage Action Zone, will also fund lighting and interpretation improvements, a community engagement and cultural programme and an evaluation exercise over the lifespan of the programme.
With additional match funding sought from the council and accounting for private investment, this means a total of £2.68m could be invested in Whitefriargate.
Councillor Daren Hale, portfolio holder for economic investment and regeneration at Hull City Council, said: “In recent weeks we have seen great confidence shown in the Whitefriargate regeneration project, with local developer Wykeland acquiring two major buildings on the historic street.
“The confidence and investment being made on Whitefriargate could not have happened without the council being successful in securing funding grants, like the £1.75m from Historic England.”
The project will aim to build upon the successes of the Humber High Street Challenge Fund to deliver a coordinated approach to improvement works, alongside larger scale investments, including the Government’s Future High Streets Fund.
The council has been successful in the first stage of bidding for capital investment from the Future High Streets Fund to diversify the traditional high street retail offer and create more vibrant town and city centres.
