THE Government is quite rightly getting a shoeing over its mishandling of petrol and pasties but hopefully it is on the right lines with Mary Portas.

There was a surprise announcement yesterday that the Government has adopted most of the retail guru’s recommendations to try to regenerate failing high streets across the country.

It included a pot of money for those areas with the highest proportion of empty shops, with Cherwell and Vale districts picking up £100,000 each.

It came out of the blue for the councils – so yesterday they were still considering what they might spend the windfall on.

There are potentially a range of options, from business rate relief for new retailers through to further free parking initiatives.

The important thing is both councils take a sensible amount of time to consider what is best for each town, especially after consulting current retailers.

They are the ones at the coalface and will have a good handle on what is likely to attract more footfall.

The money is based on the proportion of empty shops – and nothing screams a dying town centre than darkened or painted over windows. Hopefully this will see more vibrant market towns.