More than half of shops fund left unused

Shopkeepers claimed £67,832 of the One NorthEast fund, which was set aside to improve shop fronts after Darlington's Pedestrian Heart scheme badly disrupted trade.

Over the three years of the scheme, 23 shops claimed money to replace, refurbish or repaint shop fronts.

As the fund draws to a close, Darlington's Conservative group criticised the council's handling of the fund and said it had been an opportunity missed.

Coun Heather Scott, leader of the Conservative group, said: "It's a tragedy to see the response when this money was available. Perhaps it might be different if it had been publicised better.

"Shops on the periphery of the town centre could also have been allowed to take part in the scheme.

"Somehow or other we could have investigated how best to use the money."

Under the terms of the scheme, applicants had to fully match any funding provided.

Labour councillor Stella Robson, who is a member of the council's economy and environment scrutiny committee, which will receive a report into the matter, said everything had been done to ensure the town's traders applied for the scheme.

She said the matched funding stipulation could have been prohibitive to some.

"It is a shame, but it was well publicised," Coun Robson said. "All the independent shops which would have qualified were contacted more than once.

"The scheme is a good one and I'm glad that those who have taken up the option have done so successfully, although it would have been nice to spend all the money."

A spokesman for Darlington Borough Council claimed the scheme had been a success.

"We had targets to achieve, we were required to improve 15 shop fronts and 400 square meters of floor space," he said. "In the event, we improved 23 shop fronts and 3,300 square metres so the targets we were given were more than exceeded, to the point where we satisfied all the demand."