Businesses throughout Bishopbriggs Town Centre have been invited by East Dunbartonshire Council to apply to a brand new Shop Front Improvement Grant Programme.

The cash grant is part of the Council's commitment to work with local traders to regenerate town centres, keeping them vibrant and viable.

Councillor Billy Hendry, Convener of the Council's Development & Environment Committee launched the scheme. He said: "The Council values its town centres and each of them faces its own unique challenges to be places where people will want to live, work and shop.

"This Grant Programme is deigned to offer traders some financial help to improve the look of their premises to make their business more attractive to passing trade and to generally raise the look and feel of the town centre."

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Successful businesses who apply to the Programme can receive up to 70% of the costs of improvement work to their shop fronts paid for by the Council, up to a maximum of £5000.

Councillor Hendry hopes interest will be high. He added: "There has already been some interest but I'd like to encourage other businesses to get in touch and apply. We are facing hard economic times and I know that businesses are feeling the pinch so this grant fund may just be the catalyst that traders need to go ahead and do some work to shop fronts which may have been getting put off."

The Grant Programme is one of a number of initiatives the Council is hoping to introduce through the Bishopbriggs Trader & Councillor Forum.

The Forum is an opportunity for businesses in Bishopbriggs Town Centre to meet with Councillors and Council officials to work together across a range of areas in the town centre. All local businesses in the town centre are invited to attend.

For more information about the Forum and the Shop Front Improvement Grant Programme please call the Economic Development Team on 0141 578 8621.

(GK/JM)