Liberal Democrat deputy prime minister Nick Clegg has invited proposals that would bring abandoned vacant buildings in the North into community use.
Clegg wants to bring together entrepreneurs and community groups with local authorities and land owners to tackle the problem of blight in Northern cities.
He is forming a working group to investigate the use of vacant buildings in the North, to report in January.
Building on the Betahaus project in Berlin, Clegg is calling for proposals relating to 14 sites in Manchester and Liverpool.
The sites:
• The ABC Cinema
• The Lyceum Post Office
• The Oratory
• England and Martins Bank
• Seamans Orphanage
• Toxteth Reservoir
• Rope Walks ‘Back’ streets
• King Street
• Cross Street
• Deansgate
• Piccadilly Place/Moseley Street
• Sheffield
• Castlegate
• New retail quarter, city centre
Clegg wants these sites to become hubs for local businesses and startups, shops or events.
He said: “Leaving useful land in the North to languish is not only bad for business, it can hamper the success of an area in so many ways. This is why I want to see empty buildings brought back to life and back in business.
“We need to understand what stands in the way of some of the most incredible space in the country being used, and make things more flexible so that we can fill these buildings with artists, start-ups and other entrepreneurs to restore the buildings’ purpose and appeal.”
