The government is making £3 million available to help areas hardest hit by the recession find creative ways to reduce the negative impact empty shops are having on the high street.
Coventry, Birmingham, Stoke-on-Trent, Dudley, Sandwell, Wolverhampton and Walsall councils are each being given a grant of £52, 632.
The councils will use the grants as they see fit to boost town centres and transform empty shops into a variety of places including learning centres, meeting places or a showroom for artists.
Filed under: Birmingham, Black Country, Coventry, Dudley, Economy & Labour Force, Population & Society, Sandwell, Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, Walsall, Wolverhampton | Tagged: empty shops, Erdington, grants, Newcastle-under-Lyme, recession, town centres | Leave a comment »