A BID to revive Bewdley with up to £2 million funding is well on track.

Opportunity Bewdley, launched a year ago, aims to secure cash from a range of sources to give the town and surrounding rural areas a facelift over the next decade.

The initiative has now seen a non-profit-making company set up to push the bid forward - and members are gunning for big money.

Opportunity Bewdley Ltd chairman John Iles said the group was "well on the way" to having an implementation plan accepted which would see the Market Towns Programme release £300,000 over the next three years.

A bid has also been submitted for £1.7 million through the Rural Regeneration Zone process.

A meeting was held at the start of the year to look at the findings of groups set up to examine key issues in Bewdley including transport and traffic, social, economic and environmental regeneration.

Townsfolk were urged to grasp a "once in a lifetime" chance to shape the future of the town, with a revamped town centre, theatre and arts centre all in the offing.

Opportunity Bewdley now aims to recruit a programme manager. The £30,000-a-year post is being funded by the town, district and county councils and the Countryside Agency.

Mr Iles told the town council: "In terms of an office base we have managed to secure premises initially in the museum at a fairly low rent.

"At this time of uncertainty regarding the future of the museum we feel it is important to demonstrate practically our support for this key element of the town centre."