Tewkesbury High Street has been awarded a £1.48million grant by Historic England after being designated a Heritage Action Zone.

The scheme, which has been been delayed since April due to the coronavirus pandemic, is designed to regenerate the town centre through investment into its historic fabric.

Tewkesbury Borough Council was awarded £3million of funding after a successful bid last year and the Historic England grant forms part of that funding.

Councillor Mel Gore, lead member for built environment, said: "Tewkesbury is a beautiful town with a wealth of culture and history along with many historic buildings.

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"It has a great future with fantastic, unrivalled opportunity.

"We are delighted the town is now a Heritage Action Zone and will now put the wheels in motion and work with our partners to deliver the strong and impactful programme of initiatives."

The council and Historic England have agreed a programme of initiatives with Historic England and partners through the Tewkesbury Town Regeneration Partnership which will be rolled out until March 2024.

These initiatives, which are to designed to make positive improvements and make Tewkesbury more attractive for business investment and tourists, include:

• A grant programme for building owners to restore or install traditional shop fronts and repair or redecorate building facades.
• A grant programme and promotion of vacant upper floor units for residential use.
• A programme of assessment and evaluation of the High Street's public realm and traffic movements, including a public consultation, followed by a schedule of improvements.
• A programme of initiatives to encourage investment and regeneration at the Healings Mill site.
• A series of educational events to promote the use of historic building craft skills and materials.

Elaine MacTiernan, who chairs Tewkesbury Town Regeneration Partnership, said: "This title and funding will allow us to help Tewkesbury fully realise its potential.

"We look forward to working with the council to drive forward the exciting projects that will make such a positive difference to the town."

Next year marks the 900th anniversary of the consecration of the town's Abbey and the 550th anniversary of the Battle of Tewkesbury.