AN HISTORIC shopping arcade in Bournemouth has been given a spruce up.

Westbourne Arcade has had a thorough clean ready for the start of the Christmas shopping season.

The Coastal BID bought a special piece of equipment which has unveiled attractive tiled flooring and made the area a more welcoming place for visitors.

The arcade, which runs between Poole Road and Seamoor Road, was completed in 1885.

Thousands of people pass through the Grade II Listed arcade every year, which houses a collection of 20 boutique stores and unique vendors.

Stefan Krause, Coastal BID Manager, said: “Constantly trodden underfoot by so many shoppers, it was hard to miss the thick layer of dirt that had built up on the floor of the Westbourne Arcade.

"Affecting the look and appeal of the historic building, we set out to deal with this problem area and brought in contractors to give it a thoroughly good cleaning."

He added: "We are extremely pleased to have revealed some of the arcade’s beautiful underlying features. Listening to the views of local businesses, our actions have made the area more appealing, we hope this will encourage more people to shop in Westbourne over Christmas."

The Bournemouth Coastal BID represents 660 eligible levy paying businesses within Bournemouth’s coastal areas.

It aims to enhance Bournemouth as a vibrant, attractive, eventful, connected, safe and successful environment in which to do business.

Working in collaboration with the Westbourne Business Association, the Coastal BID’s clean-up of the Westbourne Arcade was financed by the Westbourne business community.

The Coastal BID is now planning further cleaning projects across the nine trading districts, which include Westbourne, Boscombe, Southbourne, East Cliff, West Cliff, Pier Approach, Pokesdown, Tuckton and Hengistbury Head.