A major overhaul of Whitehaven town centre will transform its historic market area with new shops, homes and jobs.

An ambitious £1.4 million project is set to revitalise the heart of the town as part of Copeland council’s Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) programme.

The latest phase of the scheme will see two more disused buildings renovated under the regeneration project.

Copeland mayor Mike Starkie said three new homes will be created and more than 140 square metres of retail space will either be improved or created. He hopes the transformation will create three full-time and one part-time job.

In James Street, between the Jinx tattoo parlour and Taste cafe, one vacant shop will be renovated and a three-bedroom flat with a separate access will be created above.

The Little Hong Kong take-away in Market Place will become two shops with two flats above. The current Little Hong Kong tenants will move into one of the shops, and the other will be available to rent.

Work should begin before the end of May and be completed by the end of the year. High quality natural materials and traditional methods will be used to support the work in a historic area.

Mr Starkie said: “I am delighted about these two grants. It means the properties, which have either been vacant or underused for a long time, will be brought back into beneficial use. This is all good news for the town centre. Quality retail space makes the area an attractive investment and, of course, visible improvements immediately make the street a nicer place to be.”

Tracey Crellen, 36, from Whitehaven, said the town “desperately needs a makeover”.

She said: “It’s a lovely town, but it just needs a bit of a boost. It’s awful to see shops which are boarded up and empty.”

Whitehaven’s 82-year-old Josephine Murray thinks filling shop units is the key to bringing people back into the town centre. “I remember when this market was thriving and full of people, but that was a long, long time ago. We don’t have anything any more, so it’s a good idea to do something about it.”

But Harold Scott, a 53-year-old retired pub owner from Cleator Moor, thinks the money could be better spent.

“There are other, existing, businesses like local pubs around here that need the money – all the profits they make have to go back into the building and the business,” he said. “The council should have done something about this a long time ago by making compulsory purchase orders and doing the buildings up themselves.”

He said money could be spent on repairing the damaged cobbled streets and improving disabled access.

Paul Crewdson, 52, from Kells said the market place had been run down for as long as he could remember.

“It’s even more run down nowadays,” he said. “So, something needs to be done to tidy it up.”

The THI aims to bring historic buildings back into use and provide heritage training and skills projects. Property owners are offered grants for specific repairs, the restoration of original features and the removal of clutter and non-traditional features. The first property to be funded was the former YMCA building in Irish Street, which is becoming a foyer offering accommodation, training and support for young people.

There has also been a grant to the former Flowers and Foliage shop in Market Place, currently being renovated to become a shop with living accommodation above.