BOARDED-UP shops will be turned into art galleries, studios and community centres, under a £250,000 Christmas "makeover".
Five local authorities in the region have each been handed £52,632 to fight back against the visible scars of recession on the High Street.
The five – St Helens, Wirral, Warrington, West Lancashire and Cheshire West and Chester – are being urged to study pioneering work by other town halls. Liverpool, Knowsley, Sefton and Halton were among councils that received cash in August, filling empty shops with art displays, interactive workshops, studios and community activities.
Communities secretary John Denham said: “There is no need to let parts of our high streets go to waste.
"This money will mean councils can put their creative ideas to work and transform those boarded-up eyesores.”
