SIX businesses will receive advice and support to help them grow in a pilot project kicking off in a historic Tyneside shopping street.

Coatsworth Road, one of the oldest shopping streets in Gateshead, has been chosen for a £1.9m makeover funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund’s Townscape Heritage Initiative programme.

The money will be used to improve the shopping centre in the Coatsworth Road Conservation Area, where the initial six shops to receive support will be located.

Retail experts have been meeting businesses this week. Those selected will receive a full assessment of their business plans, merchandising, product range, marketing plans and operations from retail development agency BSupplied, backed up with workshops and mentoring.

The team will look for new opportunities for the shops and create individual action plans for each.

If the approach proves successful, the project will be extended to other shops as part of a five-year Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) project.

The initiative has been organised by Gateshead Council, which is the only local authority in the region to secure this type of funding from the THI.

Council cabinet member for culture, Coun Linda Green, said: “It’s important to remember that Britain’s heritage is about much more than ruined medieval castles and grand stately homes. Real heritage is often literally just around the corner – even if we don’t always realise it’s there.

“The best way of preserving the heritage of an area like this is by maintaining it as a vibrant successful shopping destination.”