Twelve town centres across the country have been selected to be the first Portas Pilots, unfortunately Rugby is not one of them.
Local Government Minister Grant Shapps praised the exceptional quality of the winning bids, which will each receive a slice of £1.2 million and a tailored package of support from both the Minister and retail guru Mary Portas.
Successful pilots will be helped to implement their ideas to rejuvenate the town centre, as well as test out the measures in Mary Portas's High Street Review.
The competition to become a pilot received an overwhelming response, with over 370 applications from across the country.
The 12 towns selected are:
Bedford, Bedfordshire
Croydon, Greater London
Dartford, Kent
Bedminster, Bristol
Liskeard, Cornwall
Margate, Kent
Market Rasen, Lincolnshire
Nelson, Lancashire
Newbiggin by the Sea, Northumberland
Stockport, Greater Manchester
Stockton on Tees, Teeside
Wolverhampton, West Midlands
There is hope however, Mr Shapps said unsuccessful applicants should not despair - the quality of the bids has been so high that he was launching a second round of the competition, which will see 12 additional pilots announced by the end of July.
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