TARGETED action to improve Bournemouth’s most deprived area has seen the number of empty shops fall by a quarter.

Between December 2012 and July 2013, the number of empty shops in Boscombe and Pokesdown reduced from 60 to 45 – a drop of 25 per cent.

That means that the proportion of the area’s 411 shops that are empty has reduced from 14.6 per cent in December, to 10.9 per cent now – a drop of 3.7 per cent.

The improvement follows an audit of the empty shops in Boscombe High Street, Royal Arcade, Sovereign Centre and Pokesdown High Street. Owners of all the vacant shops were then contacted and some owners decided to put their unit on the rental market.

Other empty retail units, including the former Argos and Robert Dyas stores, have become temporary homes for students to showcase their creative projects to the public.

And a number of new start-up businesses have set up shop in empty premises thanks to the council’s ‘Talent’ scheme, which provides budding entrepreneurs with small grants.

Cllr Jane Kelly, cabinet member for partnerships and regeneration, said: “This is really fantastic news for Boscombe and Pokesdown. Over the last seven months we have worked hard to achieve this significant reduction in the number of empty shops and this is having a positive impact on the area.

“However, we know we still have more work to do and that is why we remain fully committed to encouraging businesses to the area.”

Cara Lloyd-Hopkins from Cotton Candy Designs said she and business partner Emily South would not have been able to open their Pokesdown shop without the help they received from the ‘Talent’ scheme.

She said: “The fact that we had to find a shop on Christchurch Road also meant that one of the many vacant shops would have a tenant and in our case we negotiated a very reasonable rent with a period of rent relief.”