Stokes Croft is a hotbed of contradictions which for decades has struggled to shake off its reputation as one of central Bristol's shabbiest thoroughfares.

While some say its crumbling buildings and graffiti give it a unique charm, other dismiss the area as an eyesore which will never be returned to its former glory as an attractive gateway to the city centre.

Bristol City Council plans to spend £100,000 improving Stokes Croft and has asked residents and businesses where the cash should go.

The money is available for facilities such as street lighting, better street cleaning and paving and street furniture, but the council says it is willing to listen to other suggestions.

People were invited to a meeting at the Full Moon pub last month to air their views.

Most realise the investment is not going to bring about wholesale change, but many believe it is a step in the right direction.

At the meeting, residents called for the council to buy out the advertising hoarding on the tiny plot of land known as Turbo Island, a haven for street drinkers and one of the most hotly disputed parts of Stokes Croft.

Campaigners from community group The People's Republic of Stokes Croft have called on the council to buy the area, which was sold by Avon County Council to an advertising firm in 1995, so it can be improved through art.

But Bristol City Council said: "The council has long recognised that the advertising hoarding is detrimental to the local environment, but as buying it would cost at least £250,000, it is just not feasible. We don't have the money."

Cafe owner Sam Farmar, 31, who runs Zazu's Kitchen, believes money should be spent on making Turbo Island a pleasant place for people to sit down and relax.

He pointed to Stokes Croft's only tree and said more should be planted to add greenery to the traffic-choked road.

"There are all sorts of ideas for Turbo Island. It needs to be flattened and it needs some trees. People could gather there and food could be delivered to them from the cafe," he said.

"It could be like an Italian-style garden which would benefit everyone.

"Stokes Croft isn't the nicest looking part of the city but it has great people, great ideas. If we can get unity and cohesion, it can be one of the hubs of the city."

He invested heavily in his cafe just over a year ago because he has belief in the area.

"I took a risk when I opened up in an area near derelict buildings, brothels and homeless shelters but the response so far has been good," he said.

A total of £340,000 will be spent improving Stokes Croft over the next four years.

The £100,000 made available as part of the Stokes Croft Gateway Enhancement Study needs to be spent before April 2009.

A further £210,000 will come from Linden Homes, the developer of the Dovercourt garage site on Cheltenham Road.

The cash has to be spent by 2013 and must go towards improvements to Cheltenham Road and two nearby corner sites.

A further £30,000 is available from the Townscape Heritage Initiative to spend on improving the area by using historic materials.

Visitors at the meeting were also shown plans for the junctions where Stokes Croft meets City Road and Jamaica Street.

"There was concern that Stokes Croft should not be gentrified, that it should remain a unique and independent shopping area and that any improvements should harness local creative talent," the council said of the pub meeting.

"Many more people attended than were anticipated and there was a lively, forthright debate. A further meeting is planned in the very near future."

Residents and shopkeepers say the biggest issues in Stokes Croft are graffiti, the high number of homeless shelters, a lack of parking and eyesore former office block Westmoreland House, which the council is considering making a compulsory purchase order to speed up its redevelopment.

People say they are worried about shops and nightclubs being turned into flats and the area losing its cultural identity.

Paul Williams, 52, has been working at Central Heating Supplies for 30 years.

He believes the place hasn't changed much in that time.

Mr Williams, who lives in Knowle, said: "There's a problem with drunks gathering on the green. When they've had too much it's frightening for people walking down the street.

"They could do with improving the lighting and perhaps a public toilet would stop people relieving themselves in the street."

Nurettin Sayin, 38, who has been running The Point Barber Shop in Stokes Croft for just over a year, said £100,000 will not change the area because it has so many different problems.

"It might make a small difference and it could be a beginning," he said.

"We could perhaps do with more security cameras to help people feel safe. We could spend the money on things like flowers, bushes and better lighting."

A resident of neighbouring Montpelier, who asked not to be named, said Westmoreland House is the biggest problem facing Stokes Croft.

"The money should be spent towards demolishing it. They should provide more living accommodation along here because it's not working as shops," he said.

"I've lived around here for 20 years and when I have friends around to stay I'm ashamed when I have to take them through Stokes Croft."

For the time being, the smart cafes will still sit uncomfortably next to derelict buildings while drunks share the pavement with suit-wearing office workers out on their lunch breaks, but local people certainly think this area of Bristol's city centre has potential to change.