AN ACTION group could be set up to stop the rot following the closure of several shops in the same small neighbourhood.

Community leaders would like to see Garden Lane thrive in the same way as Faulkner Street in Hoole, with a variety of stores, cafes, restaurants and pubs.

But the area looks rundown, with several boarded up shops after the closure of the post office, a pharmacy and a convenience store. Other shops are in need of a face-lift.

There is also a persistent shoplifting problem and there have been robberies at the Booze Buster off licence leading to installation of perspex shields.

There are now plans to set up a traders' and residents' group, which could attract regeneration funds in the way Brook Street has.

City councillor Sandra Rudd (Lab, College) said: 'We are setting up a traders/residents association - a mixed group - that will form the core. Until we have an association with everybody working towards the same goal we can't get anything done.

'We will have to see whether we can get funding. It's different to Brook Street because it's not a conservation area. Brook Street counts as a main shopping street whereas Garden Lane is classed as a neighbourhood.

'It deserves better than what it's got at the moment,' said Cllr Rudd.

She hopes the expansion of University College Chester, which is due to gain university status, and the Tower Wharf scheme will pump more money into the neighbourhood.

'It would benefit the area if the shop frontages were brought more up to date,' she added.

Cllr Rudd said the area was unique to Chester in terms of the mix of residents including students, family homes and single people.

She feels Garden Lane, in common with other suburbs, has suffered from the displacement of city centre crime because of the extensive CCTV network in Chester which has pushed shoplifters out of the centre, although Garden Lane has its own camera these days.

Cllr Rudd, who successfully campaigned to reduce the number of public phone boxes in Garden Lane to deter vandals, added: 'The police are doing some really good work. And if the place looks good and looks tidy you will get more people using it.'

Another issue is the lack of green areas, apart from the canal which runs through the area and which can be frequented by tramps who some people find intimidating.

Cllr Rudd said a community tree group was doing some 'excellent work' in protecting trees in the canal basin as well as making improvements.

The area has benefited from a 20mph zone, which aims to reclaim the streets for pedestrians.

Work was recently completed on a £45,000 traffic calming and road resurfacing scheme in Chichester Street. The six week project included speed cushions, new footways, road resurfacing, kerbs and road markings.