Cheap loans and council tax freeze to beat the crunch

The measures by Westminster council include an extra car-free day for the West End to boost income for retailers, loans for residents struggling with mortgages, and a recommendation that council tax be frozen in the next financial year.

Businesses and community groups will meet at an economic summit on 27 November to discuss the best way to put the programme into practice.

Council leader Colin Barrow said the world's new economic realities required a "fundamentally different approach" to previous recessions, during which local authorities simply cut jobs and services.

He added: "These measures are designed to help families, encourage enterprise, improve skills and demonstrate to our residents that their city will respond, lead and act in the face of unprecedented economic crisis.

"However, they are the start of a process of recovery, not the final word or even the best solutions. We are in new territory and this is a new approach from Westminster."

He said he had looked at how council's had dealt with previous downturns: "In the Seventies and early Eighties recessions, services were reduced, jobs were cut and charges increased.

"We have chosen a different path better business and improved services at lower costs." Other key measures by Westminster include:

●Paying invoices from smaller business within seven to 10 days, as opposed to the Government's 30-day target.

●Creating Britain's first council-run apprenticeship scheme to employ, train and hire out apprentices to local employers.

●Boosting retailers by renovating district shopping centres, with a focus on more deprived areas in the north of the borough.

●Establishing a pool of private rented properties for homeless people.

Westminister was itself hit by the credit crunch when Iceland's banking system collapsed it had £17 million in two of the country's banks.

Mr Barrow insisted that despite this, the borough, which has a £150 million-a-year capital programme, was well placed to help the local economy.

"Despite the setback of the Iceland bank crisis we have strong reserves, good management and the skill and determination to meet the challenges that lay ahead," he said.

"We will be convening an economic summit of community and business organisations to put this programme to them, seek their views and ensure we target help in the most effective way.

"And we will be putting this programme to central government to ask them to help us in terms of lessening regulation and releasing funding."

Mr Barrow announced the council's City Recovery Programme at a meeting of the full council yesterday evening.