Bill Grimsey, former chief executive at Wickes, Iceland and Focus DIY, has written in The MJ to criticise the Government’s deadline for councils to bid for money from the Future High Streets Fund.

The deadline was three months after the call for proposals, which Grimsey says left councils without the time to put together quality schemes. He said that the short turnaround meant that ‘many of these applications are cosmetic approaches rather than structural frameworks for the future’.

Grimsey continued: ‘This £675m fund is needed – but I am concerned that councils are not yet ready to put in applications for meaningful projects that represent a 20-year vision for town centres in line with my recommendations. They are going to put forward schemes that they already have on the shelf rather than plans we need for repopulated and re-fashioned town centres fit for the challenges of  21st century life.’

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The MJ - EXCLUSIVE: Grimsey criticises speed of high streets bidding process