16/05/11…..Thame shopkeepers encouraged to front improvements

SHOPKEEPERS in and around Thame are being encouraged to help brighten up their surroundings by taking advantage of a shop front improvement scheme.

Funding is available to assist shops in Thame and the nearby Oxfordshire villages improve their shop fronts and help make a real difference to the local shopping area.

The scheme is open to all freehold owners, lease holders (with at least five years on their lease) and tenants of premises in Thame and its catchment area (including Chinnor and Wheatley) with commercial shop fronts. These include:

shops ? including hairdressers, beauty salons, funeral directors, laundrettes, dry cleaners etc
financial and professional services ? banks, building societies and estate agents
restaurants, pubs, cafes and takeaways.

Funding is available towards work ranging from entirely new shop fronts and large scale replacement and repair work, to painting, signage, displays or lighting.

Shop fronts are the most noticeable part of a building and make a big impact on a town centre. They contribute to people?s first impressions and can dramatically affect a town?s image. High quality shop fronts make a town feel more welcoming to local residents and visitors; they help to give a place a sense of identity; and, most importantly, they encourage more people to visit the shops.

Applications must be received by June 30, 2011, and work completed by September 30, 2011. Priority for applications will be given to premises in High Street, Cornmarket, Butter Market, Upper High Street and North Street in Thame.

The scheme is being administered by 21st Century Thame, a partnership of representatives from Thame Town Council, businesses and community groups, South Oxfordshire District Council and Oxfordshire County Council and is being funded by South Oxfordshire District Council and the South East England Development Agency?s Rural Towns Programme.

The scheme can provide up to 50 per cent of the total expenditure on the project, with each project required to match the funding by 50 per cent. A maximum of