Traders celebrating £45K grant for town
An Island group is
literally planning to paint the town after it was awarded the
entire £45,000 share of a regeneration grant.
A total of £100,000 was made
available to the borough’s three town centres through the High
Street Innovation Fund, launched by Swale council on August
13.
Sheerness was allocated the
lion’s share of £45,000 and on Friday it was announced the whole
lot would go to the Sheerness Town Team, which is made up of
traders, community organisations and council
representatives.
Among the winning ideas is
the Paint the Town event, planned for next spring, to encourage
community to get together to brighten up shop fronts.
Another proposal is to use an
empty shop to create a hub for community and creative use, as well
as an incubator for start up businesses.
Alongside this it plans to
hold a series of events through out the year to attract
visitors.
The chairman of the Town
Team, Pete Giffen, said the money would create a lasting
improvement to the town.
The owner of O.So.U in the
High Street said: "This is just the start, it is going to be the
tip of the iceberg.
"The High Street is for the
community and at the end of the day this is a chance for Sheppey’s
retailers and community to get together and build a high street
that they want."
"We didn’t do the bid around
[Swale council’s criteria] but as it turned out everything we did
met what they were expecting.
"I think they are quite
excited about what we have planned."
Last month the Town Team was
awarded £10,000 by the Department for Communities and Local
Government.
Cllr John Wright, cabinet
member for regeneration, said: "All demonstrated some elements that
we felt would bring improvements to the vibrancy and sustainability
of our town centres, and there were some difficult decisions to
make.
"Most importantly we were
looking for bids that showed enthusiasm and commitment to make a
real difference."
A total of five local groups across Swale submitted bids
by the deadline of October 15.
16/11/12
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