A MORE than £800,000 programme to improve the appearance of Colwyn Bay shops is drawing to a close.

The Townscape Heritage Initiative is part of a Wales wide plan whose aim is to help regenerate towns, which has a budget of £34 million for restoring historic buildings to help make them sustainable with Colwyn Bay being allocated £803,000. The Initiative is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Local ward councillor, Brian Cossey said: "It is an excellent initiative, refurbishing shops brings them up to standard ready to be reoccupied. At the very least it improves the external appearance of buildings.

"When the Council's new office in Colwyn Bay is occupied, it is anticipated new businesses will move into the town and these premises will be ready to accommodate them."

Another local councillor, Abdul Khan, said: "We have to maximise the effect the funding has. I think it is a good thing for the town and shop owners to have taken advantage of it while they can.

"Those who have accepted it find their shops stand out from the rest some of which look tired.We want all the shops to be improved. Hopefully the improvements will draw more shoppers in.

"There are still quite a lot of individual and niche shops in Colwyn Bay, ones run by local people and we want to encourage this.

"The funding applied to shops between Seaview Road and Haddon Road."

A spokesman for Colwyn Bay town council said: "We very much welcome the improvements made to some of our historic town centre buildings under the Townscape Heritage Initiative. This has helped to breathe new life into buildings such as The Station pub, Porters and the Matthews block of shops on Conway Road."

Dan McCann, owner of Get Floored, a floor coverings business in Penrhyn Road, Colwyn Bay said: "My shop

front was renovated just before Christmas and already it's attracted a greater flow of potential customers through the door. The renovation replaced a very tired looking front and is now really quite smart and attractive"

Mr Jeremy Matthews, proprietor of Matthews and Son ironmongers said: "I feel totally positive about the scheme, now my shop front has been renovated it has made the shop a lot lighter pleasant, and it is easier for people to see in and what we have to sell. I've had more customers come in since the work was completed, and the great majority of them have commented how much more pleasant the shop has become."