A group set up to improve Sheerness high street has outlined its ideas for the future to retailers.

The Sheerness Town Team called for the support of business owners at a public meeting at the Hope Street Centre on Thursday.

One idea put forward is an experimental scheme to pedestrianise from the Clock Tower to Victory Street on Saturdays in order to hold activities.

Other proposals include buying three traditional market barrows for people to test out their own products in the town centre.

An empty shop could become a new community hub which would also function as an incubator for young people to start their own businesses.

Another project would be to create a community event caller Paint the Town where shop fronts are given a spruce-up within an agreed colour palette.

Traders and landlords would be encouraged to contribute towards the cost of the event and volunteers would be sought to do the work.

The secretary of the group, Heather Thomas-Pugh, spoke about how some of the £55,000 the group was awarded in November 2012 has already been spent.

A cheque for £1,430 was given to Sheppey charity Restoration Youth earlier this month.

In November last year about £2,000 was spent improving the Sheerness War Memorial and about £600 went towards last year’s Christmas lights.

Chairman Pete Giffen said high streets have changed for good and Sheerness needs to become a “retail and community shopping experience”.

The owner of O.So.U added: “I’m a retailer in the high street and I have seen lots of changes and I have only been on the Island for 13 years.

“I have never known business as hard as it is now. I know it’s not a local problem. I appreciate it’s a national problem.

“All I’ll say is that what we need to do is make our high street different. That is the only thing we can do.”

Retailers at the meeting raised the issue of parking in the town and asked that the market barrows do not sell anything in direct competition with any shops nearby.