Twelve businesses approved with another eight to be accepted following receipt of paperwork

£70,000 of funding to be awarded

At the October meeting of the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee members agreed to award £70,000 of grant funding to local businesses to improve the appearance of their shopfronts.

This is funded through the council’s £140,000 Section 75 agreement with Drum Development, who developed the Waitrose site. 

The remaining £70,000 will be held over for a second phase of shopfront improvements, following completion of these works.

Twelve of the 21 stage two applications met the selection criteria, one had already undertaken improvement work and the other eight need to submit some additional paperwork before we can move forward with their awards. Some of these may be dependent on planning permission.

This scheme is a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to access funds to improve the appearance of their premises.

Argyll and Bute Council is committed to helping local businesses in Helensburgh to protect and enhance the historic character of their town centre, as well as addressing the needs of shopkeepers.

The council feels that it is important to develop a town centre’s individuality, to create a local identity and a sense of place, something that local people can be proud of.

This is the central aim of the overall Helensburgh CHORD project, which has already seen huge improvements to the esplanade and Colquhoun Square, with the remaining phases expected to be completed by the end of March 2015.

The shopfront enhancement initiative is a key component of the wider project. The benefits of shopfront enhancement has already been seen in some of Argyll and Bute’s other key towns, such as Campbeltown and Rothesay.

Successful applicants will need to have the work completed and the funds drawn down by March 2016.