Mansfield MP Ben Bradley has revealed that the town has secured £150,000 of initial development funding in the first round of bidding for the Future High Streets Fund, after a long campaign in Parliament.

Mansfield made it to the top 50 out of 300 applications and will now be able to use the funding to put together a formal detailed proposal.

The progression to the next phase means that the town will receive £150,000 to allow the district council to properly plan and bid for up to £25m of funding for major changes to the town centre.

The MP said town centre regeneration is one of his local priorities, and he was instrumental in the creation of the Future High Streets Fund when it appeared in November’s Budget.

Ben regularly pushed ministers to create such a fund, and then has written and spoken in the Commons in support of the council’s bid to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Mansfield District Council’s regeneration team applied for funds in March, requesting financial support to prepare detailed master plans for strategic infrastructure, signage and the appearance of the town centre.

Mayor Andy Abrahams said: “The funding will help us map out what the future looks like for Mansfield town centre.

“Projects to revitalise Mansfield are already under way at the Old Town Hall, Walkden Street car park and Leeming Street. This additional funding will enable us to look at other important projects to improve the visitor experience in Mansfield and make the town a nicer place to live, work and visit.”

The £675m of co-funding for the Future High Streets Fund is to support councils to draw up plans for the transformation of their High Streets, allowing councils to invest in the improvements that they need and to facilitate the redevelopment of under-used retail and commercial areas into residential properties.

Ben added: “I stuck my neck out to get Government to create this pot of funding, and I’ve been campaigning to secure some of it for Mansfield for over a year.”

“Barely a week has gone by without me reminding ministers about Mansfield’s needs.

“When I became an MP I promised to shout about Mansfield and I’m glad that it is paying off — Mansfield is most certainly on the Government’s radar.

“Since the funding announcement, I have been determined to support MDC and help take their plans forward.

“It’s brilliant to see us make genuine progress, especially when the first round of the process was highly competitive.”