TOWN centre retailers are demanding to know why £18m of government funding to tackle deprivation is not being used to help fill vacant shops in the town centre.

Some local authorities have used their slice of the government's £1.5bn Working Neighbourhoods Fund, which is intended to help people off benefits and back into training and work in the country's most deprived towns and cities, to reduce the number of vacant shop units and keep shoppers from going to other towns.

But while Rochdale Council has used some of the money to fund business support schemes and a project which helps business start-ups, to date this has not helped attract any new retailers into the town centre.

Now the town's independent retailers are calling for the money to be spent to improve the town centre and fill the growing number of empty shops.

Last year it was revealed that almost a third of shop units in Rochdale town centre were vacant.

The chairman of the Voice of Rochdale Independents group and Shop Local campaign ambassador Paul Turner-Mitchell says the council could follow the lead of other authorities when it comes to spending the money.

He said: "We need to transform empty premises into social enterprises or other small start-up businesses.  Look at Camden Council who work with local graduates to launch pop-up shop initiatives, which provide space for artists and fashion designers to showcase their work. I would like to see the council launch a grants scheme to contribute to retailers' rents and shop fitting costs in a bid to attract new independent shops into the town centre. They will add value to our high street, improve the retail offer and give Rochdale that sense of unique selling point. Rotherham Council, for example, is offering contributions towards rent over a two-year period, providing up to 50 per cent in the first year and 25 per cent in the second year. This is the type of innovation we need here in Rochdale town centre to improve the retail offer and funds must be made available for that."

In the West Midlands, Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council has allocated £500,000 of their £1.2m pot to help fill empty shops, as well as increasing footfall by seeking to limit the number of people shopping out of town.

In September Rochdale Council appointed a business liaison manager to work with retailers.

A spokesman for the council said: "We have used some of this money to fund a number of business support projects including enterprise coaching, business start-up support initiatives and green business projects to help businesses reduce their CO2 emissions. The council is doing a great deal to support businesses across all sectors. We have recently launched our Retail Therapy programme in partnership with Business Link North West, which offers free tailored support and training for retailers across the borough".

"From February onwards we are also offering free NVQ training courses for retailers and hosting a series of workshops aimed at new businesses, covering vital topics such as sales, marketing, procurement, exporting, law and people management. In addition, we've appointed a full-time business liaison manager who will be working closely with our retailers and businesses in other sectors to make sure we understand what they need and the support we can give them. We are also supporting the Rochdale Observer's Shop Local campaign to encourage people to shop in our town centres and there is still free parking after 3pm in council town centre car parks."

Meanwhile, a different grant of £50,000 which was awarded to the council last August to tackle vacant shops by transforming them into arts venues has yet to be spent.

Councillor Greg Couzens – who runs a town centre hair salon and is Rochdale Borough Council's portfolio holder for financial affairs - revealed that the funding would not be enough to cover the cost of transforming even one vacant shop, and that match funding was being sought from Link4Life before it can be spent.