The shops at Morven Avenue, Kilmarnock and in Shortlees are due to receive a facelift after Cabinet this week approved funding of £240,000 for regeneration work in both areas.

The work will include repainting all external doors, windows and shutters; roof repairs; cleaning and repairing the brickwork and applying an anti-graffiti coating to shop fronts. It is hoped that the work will provide significant environmental benefits to both areas and that levels of crime, vandalism and anti-social behaviour will be reduced.

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Owners and occupiers of the shops will now be asked, as a matter of urgency, to give formal legal authorisation before the work goes ahead.

Councillor Douglas Reid, Leader of the East Ayrshire Council, said: "By upgrading both shopping areas, we hope to accomplish two goals. Firstly, to increase the amount of trade that the shops receive, and secondly, to decrease the levels of anti-social behaviour and vandalism that occur around shopping sites like these.

"We look forward to pressing ahead with both projects and to seeing the environmental and regeneration benefits that the work should bring."

(GK)