The mood was positive among the shop fronts of Bootle Strand after the news Sefton Council plans to invest £1.5 million into the shopping centre.
When The Strand opened in the 1960s it was the centrepiece of a modern and emerging town. But as the years have passed, the shopping centre has come to bear the weight of high street decline, and the rejection of the town's Levelling Up Fund bid was a "slap in the face" for the community.
However, hope is not lost for those fighting to show that the Strand and Bootle has more to offer with the promise of investment from the council labelled as a "step in the right direction" on the road to recovery.
