Town centre bids

Mon 25th January 2010 12.52PM

BOLTON Council is giving away £52,000 to groups with ideas of how to transform empty shops. The council was awarded the cash boost in August to rejuvenate the town centre during the recession. Grants are available to local charities; community groups; musicians; artists and businesses that bring an additional service to the town centre. The cash could be used to help pay for revamping the premises, start-up costs, promoting the business and paying for service charges. Funding will be given to projects occupying a unit within Bolton town centre and applications will also be considered for the four district centres: Farnworth; Horwich; Westhoughton and Little Lever.

Activities that could operate from empty shop units include taster sessions, community enterprises selling their wares or a temporary art gallery and museum. Councillor John Byrne, Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Development and Regeneration, said: “We want to boost the town centre and bring as many empty shops back into use as possible. We’ve already invested £80,000 to support town centre businesses. This is a fantastic opportunity for someone to revitalise an empty unit into something useful and I’d urge people to get in touch to find out more.” The deadline for applications is Monday, January 18 at 5pm. For more information or to request an application form contact Paula Connor on 01204 336129 or email paula.connor@bolton.gov.uk