Market towns programme extended to enable projects to be completed

Shropshire Council’s Market Towns Revitalisation Programme (MTRP) which was due to finish at the end of March 2014 has now been extended to allow several exceptional projects to be completed.

All of the projects below were asked to re-submit their proposals and after careful evaluation these have all now been approved by the MTRP Board.

The Buttercross in Ludlow had continued funding for a further six months approved to enable the completion of an exciting project to open up the space to new uses . The remaining £73,460 of the original £120,000 allocation will be used to complete the project.

Oswestry had £24,000 remaining from their original MTRP allocation of £650,000, and has been granted another six months to use the funding to complete important town centre projects.

Five Market Drayton town centre retail grant projects totalling £41,000 have been granted another six months to complete.

In Bridgnorth the Town Steps and Riverside regeneration schemes have been granted a further six months to complete £74,417 of revitalisation spending.

Additionally, in Bridgnorth a total of £100,000 has been approved for the Shop Front Scheme and the Way Finding scheme; both of which had not yet started when the MTRP was due to complete. These two projects have been granted a 12 month extension to ensure Bridgnprth receives the full benefit of the MTRP funding.

A further three projects – in Church Stretton, Minsterley and Pontesbury, and Cleobury Mortimer – have been awarded continuation funding. These are, respectively, a shop grant in Church Stretton; cycling and walking improvements in Pontesbury and Minsterley; and the opening up of new employment land in Cleobury Mortimer.

Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for the MTRP, said:

“I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to extend the Market Towns Revitalisation Programme to enable these important projects to be completed, as each of these schemes will help to provide a real boost to the economy of their respective town.”

The Market Towns Revitalisation Programme was launched in 2010 and made £3.5m available to help boost job growth and footfall in Shropshire’s market towns and rural communities.

More than 70 projects have been awarded MTRP funding over the last four years.