A scheme to brighten up rundown shop fronts featuring the creator of Adrian Mole has won national praise.
Leicester has experienced the same problems as other cities around Britain in recent years, with shops forced out of business by the rise of internet shopping and changes to traditional shopping habits.
To try and bring shoppers back, Leicester City Council has carried out a number of campaigns to tidy up city centre streets, spending millions on pedestrianisation and repaving schemes, adding new town squares and creating new access to the city market.
More recently the council introduced a shopfront improvement scheme providing support for property owners to add a much needed lick of paint to their shop fronts or put vinyl prints on their shutters, reflecting the history of the area.
The policy has just been named Best Small Business Friendly Initiative at an awards ceremony held by the local Federation of Small Businesses.
The improvements included a celebration of Leicester writers Sue Townsend and Joe Orton on shopfronts in the Saffron Lane estate where both grew up.
Townsend, who wrote the Secret Diary of Adrian Mole, Aged 13¾, and Orton, who wrote plays Entertaining Mr Sloane, Loot and What the Butler Saw, have been made larger than life in the vinyl coverings.
Other images show the Saffron Lane estate under construction, an image of the number 24 bus that used to run in the area, and a picture of a steam train at the old Saffron Lane crossing.
A few miles away in Welford Road, shops were repainted in pastel colours, echoing a similar scheme in Belgrave Road, on the other side of the city.
FSB area leader and Leicestershire businesswoman Jenny Cross, of Cross Productions and Niche Magazine, said: “We were delighted to be able to highlight and share all of the good work being carried out by local authorities in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland and to present these awards to those activities which the FSB judges felt were the most ‘small business-friendly’.
“This event is all about sharing ideas and best practice, for the good of our local small business community.”
City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “Shopfront improvement grants have long been one of the ways in which we support local small businesses.
“The shutter vinyls are a new idea and have proved very popular.
“By investing in our neighbourhoods in this way, we can help to boost the confidence of local communities, smarten up streets and demonstrate our commitment to local enterprise.
“I’d like to thank the FSB for recognising our work with this award.”
The three-year regeneration programme aims to support the growth of local businesses and improve the environment in retail areas.
Other areas that have benefitted include Heyford Road, Wharf Street North, King Richard’s Road, Aylestone village, St Stephen’s Road, the Barley Croft centre, Church Gate and the area around Leicester market.
