Government funds festive facelifts for 50 high streets

Fifty high streets across England were today given Government grants totalling £2.6 million to spruce themselves up in time for Christmas.

The £52,000 grants will allow councils to find new uses for empty shops, such as a nativity scene or a showroom for local artists, said Communities Secretary John Denham.

The Government is also making it easier for local residents and organisations to find temporary uses for empty shops while they are vacant.

Today's announcement brings to £5.6 million the total paid out under the Real Help Now empty shop initiative to provide a boost to high streets battered by the recession.

In Nottingham, the council used the grant to turn one property into a giant advent calendar, with a piece of children's art displayed every day from December 1.

And in Harlow, Essex, the money paid for Christmas lights, street entertainment and a deep clean for the town centre.

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.

"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."

Sarah McAdam, chief executive of the Commission for Rural Communities said that 30% of the local authorities receiving grants today are from rural areas.

She added: "A few store closures in a small town can have a large impact on the appearance and vitality of its high street, which can have important knock-on effects for its sustainability as a place.

"We hope that this fund will help support more innovative schemes to help these rural towns recover from the recession and be thriving hubs for their rural populations."

The 50 local authority areas benefiting from today's announcement are: Allerdale, Basildon, Luton, Norwich, Southend-on-Sea, Tendring, Erewash, Lincoln, Newark and Sherwood, Northampton, Croydon, Greenwich, Lambeth, Lewisham, Wandsworth, Redcar and Cleveland, Stockton-on-Tees, Bury, Carlisle, Cheshire West & Chester, Lancaster, Oldham, St Helens, Stockport, Warrington, West Lancashire, Wirral, Eastbourne, Gosport, Gravesham, Havant, Medway, Portsmouth, Reading, Shepway, Southampton, Swale, Worthing, Bournemouth, Gloucester, Sedgemoor, Torbay, Herefordshire, Redditch, Tamworth, Worcester, Wyre Forest, Bradford, Calderdale and Wakefield.