In an attempt to make the town centre more attractive, shops in Great Yarmouth will soon be able to apply for grants to improve their frontages.

Under the Town Centre Shopfront Improvement Scheme, applicants who are eligible can ask for grants of up to £3,000 each to help fund shopfront renovation, decoration, new signage and/or replacement of historic features including lighting.

Businesses must cover 25pc of the total cost themselves.

The new scheme was agreed yesterday (November 22) by the economic development committee, and initially £60,000 is being made available through the project, part of the borough council's wider Town Centre Initiative, which aims to boost town centre footfall, trade and the local economy.

How to apply:

Applications open on December 1 and close on March 31, 2018, or sooner if funding is spent before this date. Completed applications will be assessed on their individual merits by a cross-party sub-group of the economic development committee.

If an application is approved, the business will have six months to complete the works and submit a claim form, with payments made only once works are complete. Before starting work, applicants must have obtained the relevant permissions, including any planning permission and landlord permission required.

All applicants, whether successful or not, will be offered free business guidance, and advice on marketing, branding and visual merchandising, via enterpriseGY, the borough council's business support service.

Application forms, and a map showing the area covered by the scheme are available by clicking here.