A RUN DOWN stretch of Whitechapel is getting a �1.4 million face lift in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games. A section of Whitechapel Road including the popular market will be spruced up thanks to cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund before the eyes of

A RUN DOWN stretch of Whitechapel is getting a �1.4 million face lift in the run up to the 2012 Olympic Games.

A section of Whitechapel Road including the popular market will be spruced up thanks to cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund before the eyes of the world are upon it as it is part of the 2012 marathon route.

Shops fronts will be restored in the run up to the games as part of the High Street 2012 project and the cash will also be used to try and get under-occupied buildings back into use and making them look their best.

The cash will be used to improve a terrace of 60 buildings, including eight which are grade II listed and work will start in December. There's a strict timetable as it is hoped to be finished well before the Olympic and Paralympic athletes pass by during their marathon events in the summer of 2012.

It's part of a wider 'High Street 2012', programme, extending for over three miles in Tower Hamlets, along Whitechapel High Street, Whitechapel Road, Mile End Road and Bow Road, which are key parts of the Olympic and Paralympic marathon routes.