Charity to front cash for shops’ revamps

The charity set up to protect the Old Town and New Town World Heritage sites is to offer “repayable grants” to any companies that are willing to carry out work to improve the appearance of their premises.

Edinburgh World Heritage has linked up with the city council to promote the scheme, designed to improve the appearance of the Capital’s main shopping streets and patch up those that are showing signs of decay.

The loans, which are repayable within ten years, are mainly aimed at small independent stores that would find it difficult to fund work like repainting, introducing traditional hanging signs or doors or improving stonework in the current economic climate.

It is also hoped that firms with unattractive signs can be persuaded to take a loan to install something that fits better with their surroundings.

It is estimated that the loans will range from £1000 up to tens of thousands of pounds.

Adam Wilkinson, director of Edinburgh World Heritage, said: “We hope that this scheme will encourage greater investment in shop fronts, and generally raise awareness of the importance of good design.

“Shop fronts play a very important role in defining the character of individual streets and the city as a whole – just think of Victoria Street or William Street, as opposed to Princes Street.

“Repairing and enhancing traditional details makes an area more distinctive, increasing footfall and making the whole shopping experience more attractive.

“We hope to develop a pilot project soon, to demonstrate how it can be beneficial to both businesses and the wider area.”

Previous improvements to shop fronts that are being held as examples of what should be considered include the recreation of a series of Georgian frontages on William Street and the improvements to the Pizza Hut restaurant on Cockburn Street as part of the conservation of Royal Mile Mansions.

The council is promoting the scheme as part of its ongoing initiatives to improve Edinburgh’s distinctive “town centres”. While the loans are provided by Edinburgh World Heritage, council planners and design teams will offer businesses advice on what sort of improvements they can make.

Councillor Tom Buchanan, the city’s economic development leader, said: “This is an initiative that aims to improve the streetscape and encourage people to do up their shop fronts.

“Edinburgh is one of the least cloned cities and we want to maintain that individuality. We are keen to support and maintain a thriving retail centre.

“The council is obligated to make Edinburgh as thriving as it can and give citizens and visitors encouragement to visit different areas. If that can be done by providing low-cost loans then that money can also be recycled, to bring about more improvements.

“This is the council trying to assist businesses in difficult times. If it is difficult for small businesses to get an overdraft to do work like this then this is something we want to help with.”

Greg Ward, head of economic development at the council, said: “This is a pro-active programme because we want to encourage the enhancement of shopping areas in line with the heritage of the city.”

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