£50,000 facelift for high streets

A £50,000 Christmas present will be handed to council bosses to help them revitalise the borough’s high streets and attract more visitors.

The money must be used to help find new uses for empty shops in town centres.

The £52,000 grant is part of a £2.6 million award announced by Communities secretary John Denham to spruce up high streets.

It will be up to Oldham Council how to spend the money, but other councils have opened up shops to local artists, supported local theatre groups and created advice centres.

Mr Denham said: “We know that the downturn has really hurt some English high streets especially where there was already high deprivation. But the real help we are giving now is making a difference in keeping town centres vibrant.

“There is no need to let parts of our high streets go to waste, especially when we know that it doesn’t take a lot to turn them into something useful for the community.

“This money will mean councils can put their creative ideas to work and transform those boarded up eyesores into attractions that bring the shoppers back to the high street.”

Government said temporary shops that use the empty premises could flourish into more permanent fixtures. Across the country HMV has opened 10 temporary shops, Harvey Nichols has a food and wine “pop up” shop in Manchester’s Trafford Centre and a temporary Regent Street store is selling Marmite products.

Oldham cabinet member with responsibility for regeneration, Councillor Mohib Uddin, said: “In terms of empty shops, we are do not have as many in Oldham town centre as other authorities across Greater Manchester, so from that point we are doing better.

“Helping shop owners and customers and attracting people to the town centre is very important to us and any money from Government that can help us do that is welcome.”

Cheaper on-street parking in Yorkshire Street was one example, of attracting shoppers he added.