Boris sets out his vision

Some of London's shabbiest streets and squares could be transformed under a "Great Spaces" scheme announced by the Mayor.

Boris Johnson is inviting councils to bid for grants worth thousands of pounds to create more places for Londoners to relax.

He wants to revamp some of the capital's flagship areas as well as lesser known streets, squares, parks and riverside walks.

Proposals will be submitted to the Mayor and a panel will decide which schemes should be given a grant. Funding in the first year will total £200,000.

Mr Johnson said: "I am determined to do all I can to lead London through this recession and ensure it emerges stronger.

"Key to that is improving our quality of life and environment and it is the capital's public spaces that make London such a wonderful, engaging city and help attract millions of visitors every year.

"But we need to take a closer look at some of the hidden treasures as well as the well known spaces that abound, and turn them into something great."

The Great Spaces plan already includes a move to pedestrianise Exhibition Road outside South Kensington Tube station, as part of a £13million Transport for London scheme to create a "museum district". Other areas in line for the cash include the streets surrounding Tottenham Court Road Tube and stretches of Oxford Streets where shop-fronts are rundown. Chinatown may be awarded funding to make it more "authentically" Chinese, while insiders suggest money is likely to go to a square planned at Great Queen Street between Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn, Covent Garden and Leicester Square.

In addition there are concerns Uxbridge Road has been made to look shabby by the nearby Westfield shopping centre.

Hammersmith and Fulham council has already offered grants to shops to improve their facades but the Great Spaces scheme could add to that.

Projects at any stage can be submitted by boroughs for assessment by Mr Johnson's design panel, led by deputy mayor for planning and policy Simon Milton.

Successful projects will be adopted and accredited as a Mayor's Great Space. They will be helped by the London Development Agency's Design for London, which advises the Mayor on all projects that are commissioned or funded by the GLA Group.

It comes after Mr Johnson dropped plans from his predecessor Ken Livingstone for 100 public spaces across the city, including the pedestrianisation of Parliament Square.

Instead Mr Johnson says he wants to focus on improving fewer areas but making sure the projects are of a high standard.

Full details of Great Spaces accreditation will be announced in the Spring.

The announcement comes as the London Assembly met to discuss congestion and consider plans for pedestrianising Oxford Street.