Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department is taking to support high street businesses in Ashford constituency.

The Government is fully committed to supporting our high-street businesses and communities. The department has announced over £15 million in targeted funding in Ashford constituency since 2021, including:

• £14.7 million from the Levelling Up Fund, for the Newtown Works development, which will transform the former railway works into a mixed-use site incorporating a creative hub, a hotel, restaurant, retail, commercial and residential space;

• £1 million from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to support Ashford Borough Council’s Town Centre Reset strategy, which awards grants to local businesses and runs until April 2024; and

• £0.5 million from the UK Community Ownership Fund to enable The Honest Miller Community Group and The George Community to restore and reopen two long-closed village pubs.