Pound shops: Liverpool council to rent shops for £1

The 12 empty shops are on Smithdown Road and Earle Road in Picton, Liverpool

Liverpool City Council has launched a regeneration scheme offering shops to rent for £1 per week.

Twelve vacant units in "neglected" properties on Smithdown Road and Earle Road in Picton are being offered as an incentive to transform the run-down shops into viable businesses.

It extends the Homes For A Pound scheme set up in the area by the council.

Business owners have to pay for repairs and refurbishment but will be charged just £1 per week rent for three years.

'Passion and commitment'

The council said each proposal must be for a new commercial business that does not compete with an existing business in the area.

It is encouraging bids for community cafes and will allow healthy takeaways but will not permit gambling or pay day loan shops, tanning salons, off-licences or pubs.

The initiative extends a wider regeneration plan in which 150 vacant houses are being offered to people for £1 in return for bringing them "up to decent homes standard".

Picton ward councillors Tim Beaumont, Nathalie Nicholas and Abdul Qadir said it is "great news" and "will provide a boost" for the neighbourhood

The pilot scheme in April 2013 saw about 1,000 applicants for one of 20 properties offered around Granby Four Streets and Arnside Road.

Deputy mayor, councillor Ann O'Byrne, said the scheme gives "people with a passion and commitment to the area" an opportunity to be part of its regeneration.

She said as a result Picton was "on the cusp of a real upturn in its fortunes".

Where is Picton?

by Bronwyn Jones, BBC News

A number of shops have been abandoned along Smithdown Road and Earle Road

It is just under two miles outside Liverpool city centre, but Picton's derelict shops lining the top end of Smithdown Road contrast sharply with the giants of retail a short bus ride away.

Businesses come and go along this stretch just before Upper Parliament Street, leaving a patchwork of shop signs, peeling advertisements and graffiti alongside the working cafes and shops.

This area hasn't had the same investment as the other end of Smithdown Road near the famous Penny Lane, which is thriving with independent eateries and bars, attracting both students and locals.

But the compact terraced shop units that line this part of the road facing Toxteth Park Cemetery should be well-suited to a scheme that encourages a diversity of small-scale businesses.

Earle Road runs parallel and is home to a mixture of houses and shops, schools and churches.

The recent opening of Archbishop Blanch School and inclusion of several connecting roads in the Homes for a Pound Plus scheme has certainly helped boost this area.

The council hopes that improving what's on offer for people wanting to eat and shop locally will add a welcome dimension to Picton's regeneration.

The street where homes cost £1