Carnegie UK Trust is seeking young people with business ideas to help transform Perth and Kirkintilloch for its Test Town competition.

A new competition launched by a charitable trust to revitalise Britain’s high streets has selected two Scottish areas to take part.

The Carnegie UK Trust is asking 16-30 year olds from across the country to come up with ideas for new shops to fill some of the 50,000 vacant retail premises.

The best proposals will be selected to take part in regional heats where entrants will be given shop space in either Perth, Kirkintilloch, Manchester, Middlesbrough, Rhyl, Bury St Edmunds or Coleraine.

Imaginative, youthful thinking can help our flagging high streets

After the trial period each area will select its favourite to become a national finalist, and the seven best will be tested against each other during a week-long pop up festival hosted in a prominent British town centre.

Each regional winner will be given £500 start-up funding and the overall winner will claim a £10,000 cash investment for their business and ongoing support from Carnegie UK Trust and its partners.

Jim Metcalfe, Test Town programme leader at the Carnegie UK Trust, said: “Test Town will demonstrate that imaginative, youthful thinking can help our flagging high streets.

“It will show young people that they can realise their potential and create great new businesses. There is chronic youth unemployment in the UK and the sight of vacant shops in our town centres is something this initiative aims to change.”

Those wishing to enter the competition do not have to be from one of the seven areas as the trust wants entrants to pick the area they think is best suited to their business.

The competition is open for applications until 16 April.