£1m to revive high streets

Empty shops in Sandwell's ailing high streets are set to be brought back to life in a £1 million bid to beat the credit crunch.

The scheme will look at lowering rental rates for shops and introducing short term leases to entice new traders into the borough.

Cash may also be spent on marketing the town centres to draw in more customers.

There are currently around 140 units up for lease in Sandwell. The closure of Woolworths has left vacant shops in Bearwood, West Bromwich, Wednesbury and Blackheath.

And the failure of big name brands such as Adams and Priceless Shoes resulted in more empty units in Bearwood High Street, Windmill Retail Park in Smethwick and the Sandwell Centre in West Bromwich.

Councillor Steve Eling, Sandwell Council's finance boss, said: "I have challenged the council's economic development department to come up with some new, hard edged ideas."

He added: "It may be that we help people for the first few months or the first year with introductory rental rates. We will also speak to landlords about maybe offering shorter contracts."

The project, worth £1,197,414, is paid for from Working Neighbourhoods Funding the council has left over from last year, and the authority's economics bosses have until July to submit their ideas.

Part of the cash will also be spent providing 30 new apprenticeship placements, a graduate placement scheme and £200,000 will be invested in the Black Country Reinvestment Society, a region wide scheme to help plug the gaps in financing local business left by the banks.