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   Eccles art shop 'is blueprint to revive high street', says Blears
The decline of high streets with "eyesores" like empty shops can be stopped by converting them into social enterprises, Salford MP Hazel Blears said at a seminar in Stockport yesterday.
"Innovative communities" in the North West would take advantage of empty shops by holding their own local art galleries, like the one on Boothway in Eccles, run by Karen Illingworth. Ms Blears chaired a seminar in Stockport with Culture Secretary Andy Burnham on tackling 'recession in the high street' with councils, business leaders, landlords and town centre managers. The Government is also announcing new measures and up to £3 million to help communities find creative ways to reduce the negative impact empty shops have on the high street - vital for town centre and business confidence. The new provisions, including special planning application waivers, standard interim-use leases and temporarily leasing shops to councils, will allow empty shops to get makeovers for use as cultural, community or learning services. A new practical guide, Looking after our Town Centres, identifies the best ways to keep town centres thriving, and the steps that communities can take. The Government will introduce new rules soon to give existing shops that serve the community, such as local post offices and pubs, extra protection. These steps are part of wider action to help business during the downturn. Hazel Blears said: "Town centres are the heartbeat of every community, and businesses are the foundation, so it is vital that they remain vibrant places for people to meet and shop throughout the downturn. "Empty shops can be eyesores or crime magnets. Our ideas for reviving town centres will give communities the know how to temporarily transform vacant premises into something innovative for the community - a social enterprise, a showroom for local artists or an information centre - and stop the high street being boarded up. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham said: "Nobody wants to see town centres fade and decay. By transforming otherwise empty town centre premises into hubs for culture and creativity, we can regenerate both the physical space itself and the hope and ambition of all those that have a stake in them." Image: Reuters
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