Cash injection to revitalise Portrush shop fronts ahead of The Open

Shops in Portrush are to be given a £500,000 face-lift ahead of The Open championship next year.

Traders in the Co Antrim coastal resort can apply for a grant of up to £5,000 to improve properties as part of a revitalisation scheme funded by the Department for Communities (DfC).

The scheme is part of a £17 million regeneration programme which includes a new train station and public realm works already under way in the town.

DfC regional development office deputy director, William Cameron, said the scheme "represents a great opportunity for local businesses to improve the appearance of their premises".

Mr Cameron said: "It will help to ensure the town of Portrush is looking its very best in advance of The Open's return in 2019."

Royal Portrush Golf Club is staging the 148th Open which returns to Northern Ireland for the first time since 1951 next summer.

Joan Baird, Mayor of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, said she hoped it would create a "lasting legacy".