Lancashire | Archive | 2002 | August | 7
From the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, first published Wednesday 7th Aug 2002.
EAST Lancashire traders will get a boost in the fight against thieves and vandals when they receive a share of £1m earmarked for the North West.
The government money will go towards improving run-down shopping areas by making them safer and more secure.
Shops will get CCTV, burglar alarms, security lighting, locks, toughened glass, signage, internal mirrors, shutters and landscaping of centres.
The £942,209 will be shared between Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside, Cumbria and Cheshire.
This is the second year of funding and comes from a £15m national pot set up by the Treasury's capital Modernisation Fund.
East Lancashire projects to receive money include Small Retailers Security Grants, Blackburn with Darwen, £33,713; Retail Therapy, Hyndburn, £19,485; Small Retailers in Deprived Areas, Pendle, £26,599; Rossendale, £10,000; Small Retailers Blight Reduction Scheme, Burnley, £16,785; Branch Road Scheme, Burnley, £2,700; CCTV Within Clayton Brook Village, Chorley, £10,000; Security for Small Businesses, Ribble Valley, £10,000; and two schemes under Leyland Small Retailers, South Ribble, £10,000.
The money was announced by Home Secretary David Blunkett in June last year and this year's cash will help over 4,500 shops.
Home Office Minister John Denham said: "Small local shops play a vital role in helping to sustain our local communities, but in some of our most impoverished areas they are closing because shopkeepers cannot afford proper security.
"This deprives local residents, especially those unable to travel, of access to a decent range of goods and services."
A spokesperson for Lancashire County Council said: "Any funding from government which is targeted to deprived area or those requiring regeneration is always welcome."
© Newsquest Media Group 2008