LONG-AWAITED improvements to a village shopping centre and main road network begin next month.

A £500,000 scheme is designed to enhance the main commercial area of Shiney Row, between Chester-le-Street and Sunderland.

But it will also improve traffic flow on the A183 Chester Road through the village, with the carriageway being narrowed and more parking bays added for limited waiting periods.

Signs will be mounted on the approaches to Shiney Row diverting through traffic away from the village centre, via the new Biddick Woods bypass.

Parking areas will also be improved and the surrounding areas will undergo landscaping.

Upgrading of street furniture and surrounds in the Westbourne Terrace area include repaving and the addition of new seating, and tree planting, while a graffiti-ravaged underpass will be blocked off to prevent access.

The scheme follows a public consultation exercise in Shiney Row last year, in which local people were asked to express their views following a display of proposals in the village library.

Although some local people have criticised the project as being merely a cosmetic exercise, unlikely to attract extra shoppers, it has also been welcomed by some traders and business people in the area.

Work is expected to start in late February, with a scheduled completion target of the end of May.