Council welcomes funding

Bewdley Town Council has pledged to make the most of the town's inclusion in the Market Towns Initiative, which will mean funding from development agency Advantage West Midlands and the Countryside Agency.

Councillor John Iles said the money could be used as a catalyst to generate more investment in the town, which has in recent months been blighted by the worst flooding for 50 years and the side effects of foot and mouth disease.

"This is a fantastic opportunity and the town council should grasp the initiative," he told colleagues at a meeting on Monday.

But he warned: "It's only going to be as good as the commitment of local people. There will be some difficult issues to grapple with."

Mr Iles said it would take a year to 18 months to develop an action plan outlining the issues facing the town over the next 10 years.

Neighbouring farming communities that look to the town for services also need to get involved and be consulted, he added.

He also suggested using the £2 million Environment Agency investment in flood defences for Severnside North and South, due to begin in September, could be used as match funding with the Market Towns Initiative for projects such as the bandstand already identified in the town centre plan.

Bewdley is one of 17 West Midlands towns included in the scheme. Environment Secretary John Prescott announced the last round of funding, which could mean up to £1 million for Bewdley, last month.

Mr Iles said it was vital the town council took a leading role with a steering committee set up to co-ordinate the management of the scheme.

He added work would need to be done to prepare for a "major community event" to establish the main issues and set up working groups.

Councillor Stephen Groome said: "This is the biggest opportunity we are going to get in years.

"We keep banging on about all the things we would like to see in Bewdley - this is our chance to get something started."