ATTEMPTS are being made to inject life into Wantage town centre by sprucing up empty shopfronts.

Images of the Vale’s iconic White Horse will be plastered across the shop windows in a bid to improve the town’s appearance. The idea has been welcomed by business leaders who are trying to contact landlords to gain access to the empty stores.

Six shops around Market Place have been left to mothball in the last few months, with the town losing a number of shops, including Woolworths.

The chamber is using a slice of money donated by former Wantage businessman John Arbery to get the vinyl images produced.

Mr Arbery, who ran Arbery Store, in Market Place, before he died in June 2006, gave £10,000 to the chamber to be spent on sprucing up the town.

Chamber chairman Jim Hetherington said: “We are trying to brighten up the Market Place so that empty premises like Woolworths do not continue to look decrepit and unoccupied. There is nothing worse than iconic name like Woolworths looking dead.

“John left the chamber money and this is what he would have wanted us to spend it on. I will be dedicating these window displays to him.”

Mr Hetherington explained the first display would be launched within the next fortnight.

He said: “At the moment Wantage’s Market Place is looking more and more rundown and it does not give the right impression for people visiting the town.

“We want to improve the appearance to encourage more people to move into the town and take over the empty shops. This will be done, I will make sure of it.”

The mock-up, pictured above being held by Mr Hetherington, has been created by Alphabet signmakers in Oxford. The cost of each image is £740.

Town mayor Patrick O’Leary said: “The mock-up looks very impressive.

“It is hoped that once we have a window display in Woolworths up and running, the five other empty premises will be decorated too.”

Mr Hetherington continued: “The chamber is trying to contact the landlords of the other empty shops.

“I already have an idea for Allen and Harris estate agents and it will follow a similar format of the Woolworths store but with a different angle of the White Horse and in a portrait format instead of landscape.”

Town councillor Bryan Armitage said the idea in principle was good, but felt the pictures should be created by school children.

Mr Armitage, chairman of the council’s policy and management finance committee, said: “The idea is good but I am not very happy about the pictures. It’s a very large window and it’s entirely a green background.

“It would be better to have smaller pictures to occupy various sections of the window, created by children from local schools.”

The town council has put aside another £10,000 to smarten up Market Place ahead of its planned redevelopment, due to start within the next three years. It should be finished by the end of 2012.