£100k boost to target blight of empty shops in Walsall

The number of empty shops blighting a town centre in the Black Country will be tackled thanks to a £100,000 cash boost from the Government.

Money has been awarded to tackle the high rate of empty shops in Walsall. It comes after figures showed more than one in four shops are currently unoccupied in the town centre, making it the seventh worst in the country.

Plans are now being drawn up by officers on how to spend the cash.

Tim Johnson, Walsall Council executive director for regeneration, said: "This is tremendous news. The money has been awarded from the Government's £10 million High Street innovation fund.

"We are looking to finalise the way we use this money to invest in the future of the town centre.

"We've a good working relationship with the Walsall Town Centre Champions and we hope to be able to sit down and talk to them to hear what their views are so they can help shape the future of the town centre."

Meanwhile on Friday, the local authority made a separate bid for cash from a special fund to become a pilot town for retail guru Mary Portas.

Businesses in the town have helped in submitting the bid, with ideas including a loyalty card scheme to keep shoppers coming back.

Earlier this year, figures released by the Local Data Company showed 26.9 per cent of shops are standing empty. But Walsall Council disputed this and said its own research put the figure closer to 20 per cent.

Work is poised to start in the coming weeks on the multi-million pound revamp of the Old Square Shopping Centre, which will see the creation of new Primark and Co-op stores. This will create around 160 new jobs.

But there has been good news for the district centres, which are faring better than their town centre rival, with the vacancy rate standing at nine per cent.

Just 82 out of 896 units are standing empty in Aldridge, Bloxwich, Brownhills, Darlaston and Willenhall.