£3.5m push to restore town shops

Zax hairdressers, the Little Coffee Shop and Hamby's, which has a landmark clock that was formerly on the old Daily Express building in London's Fleet Street, will be revamped over the coming months.

The restoration work is taking place as part of the 3.5m Townscape Heritage Initiative scheme, which is supported by funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, Rotherham Council and regional development agency Yorkshire Forward.

Businesses already to benefit from the funding include the former Supercigs shop, which now has a new frontage as well as new flats above.

The head of the Heritage Lottery Fund for the Yorkshire and Humber region, Fiona Spiers, said: "Historic buildings tell the story of a town.

"They make it special and unique and the best way to save and sustain these wonderful sites is to get them back into use.

"Rotherham town centre is an important place and deserves to be brought back to life. The Townscape Heritage Initiative scheme is a great way of using heritage as a springboard for regeneration and investment."

Funding totalling 700,000 is also being used to landscape Rotherham's Minster Yard. Shortly before Christmas, 150,000 was spent on lighting the Minster and now this additional funding will be spent on making the surrounding area more attractive.

A council spokesman said "extensivelandscaping improvements" would take place to create a "pleasantopen green space with high-qualityseating, planting and York stone paving".

The restoration scheme will also extend theentrance steps and alter theboundary wall on Church Street, to open out an "approachable piazza" and create a welcoming entrance to the Minster Yard.

Rotherham Council's cabinet member for economic development, planning and transportation, Gerald Smith, said: "The scheme gives eligible property owners a cash boost to dramatically restore their properties, so that they can be more easily re-let.

"It's great to see property owners acting on this opportunity and seeing the Townscape Heritage Initiative scheme really making progress to put more life back into our High Street."

He added: "The improvements will undoubtedly increase the number of people using the MinsterYard.

"They will create a more pleasant environment to relax in and form an attractive link to the surrounding boutiques opening in Imperial Buildings. This all combines to make the area a pleasant communal garden for the people living in, and visiting, the town centre."

This Townscape Heritage Initiative has tied in with the 25-year Rotherham Renaissance project, which aims to revamp the town centre at a cost of 2bn.

The first part of the Renaissance scheme, which is almost completed, is the 37m All Saints' Quarter, which involves a mix of residential, retail and leisure space and has been created by developer Iliad.

As part of that scheme luxury flats have been built at the Old Market and Keppel Wharf, and the Grade-Two listed Imperial Buildings have also been restored.

Independent traders have been given grants to encourage them to move into the Imperial Buildings, and artists have also launched a "mini arts hub" there.

This involves local artists offering a range of contemporary fine art and craft including textiles, jewellery, hand-made books, paintings and photography in and around the central kiosk of the former Edwardian market building.