Bid to pump life back into High Street
Winners will get a cash injection to form a Town Team to compete with rival out-of-town shopping centres.
Government guru Mary Portas – dubbed the Queen of Shops – said: "I want the first 12 Town Teams to challenge the old ways of working and reaffirm the high street's place at the heart of the community."
Margate councillor Iris Johnston said: "Miss Portas is very keen on Town Teams, and so am I.
"We already have some very committed people who helped me with street cleans and events. We have the basis of an excellent team. I just need to get the fine detail of how we can get the most for Margate out of the funds.
"I have asked Ramsgate and Broadstairs for details of their empty shops too."
She will meet the council's new head of regeneration Rob Hetherington to discuss ways of boosting Thanet's shops.
The £1million scheme was launched this week by the Government's Communities Secretary Grant Shapps.
He warned: "Our high streets face stiff competition from internet shopping and out-of-town shopping centres. They have become underused, unloved and under-valued.
"For them to survive they need to offer something new and exciting."
When Miss Portas visited Margate in September she was shown The Centre arcade off the High Street which was hoping to buck the trend. It has been taken over by management firm Edinburgh House.
But since then, one of its main tenants, Peacocks, has gone into administration and is up for sale, along with its two other shops in the area.
Bonmarche, which has been sold by administrators to a US private equity firm, is planning to close its Margate store but keep its Ramsgate branch open.
A report by the Empty Shops Network says empty premises could be used for "pop up" temporary shops.
Meanwhile, Margate's Old Town is leading the way with the launch of new businesses including the Pie Factory in Broad Street and Rough Trade Margate in Fort Hill.
Rough Trade hires out space for new traders to sell goods week by week.
Turner Contemporary has also shown how to use empty buildings by turning the former Marks & Spencer store into a temporary exhibition.
Moonbow Jakes has turned a disused Cliftonville cafe into an experimental business hub.
SOURCE: thisiskent.co.uk
