Regional development agency Advantage West Midlands is working alongside key regeneration partners across the region to start rolling out a tailored package of economic measures to support market towns worst affected during the recession.
The response was developed by the West Midlands Taskforce, which is co-ordinating the regional response to the economic crisis and comprises leaders from government, business, regional agencies, trade unions and local authorities.
Market towns targeted for support include Evesham and Droitwich in Worcestershire, Atherstone in Warwickshire, Uttoxeter and Leek in Staffordshire, Ellesmere, Ludlow, Market Drayton, Oswestry and Whitchurch in Shropshire and Leominster and Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire.
The towns will be able to access the following support:
Specific larger employers in the private sector will be contacted by Advantage West Midlands (AWM) and offered a package of business support to help retain jobs during the recession, build business resilience and plan for the future.
A £250,000 programme to support independent retailers will be introduced. The ‘Skillsmart Retail’ * programme will be developed alongside retailers and other partners with support from Business Link West Midlands.
£150,000 is being made available to the Citizens Advice Bureau and similar service advisors to increase their support services across the region’s worst affected market towns.
In terms of tourism, an extra £100,000 is being invested by AWM in the promotion and marketing of festivals and events, driving additional trade and visitors to the towns.
Events supported include the Evesham River Festival and Stratford-upon-Avon River Festival in July, the Pershore Plum Fayre and Shrewsbury Flower Festival in August, the Ludlow Food Festival in September, and the Stone Food & Drink Festival in October. For more information visit http://www.visittheheart.co.uk/celebration/
Peter Luff, MP for Mid Worcestershire, took part in consultations to develop the support for parts of Worcestershire.
Mr Luff said: “This is a welcome package of measures to help our market towns deal with a painful recession.
“It addresses the needs of major employers, small businesses and hard-pressed families and shows that the partnership between local authorities and AWM is delivering real benefits for local people at a difficult time."
Mark Pearce, Corporate Director for Economic Regeneration at Advantage West Midlands, said: “We know that times are hard in our rural areas as a result of the recession. Many market town communities are hugely reliant on a few local employers, their local high streets and tourism.
“This tailored economic response, as recommended by the West Midlands Taskforce, is above and beyond our current rural programme and is being rolled out to give market towns the right support and access to the right opportunities to thrive and not just survive this recession.
“We’re a region that has learnt from past economic shocks and recognise the value of collaboration and team work – and Taskforce partners in this particular team are committed to developing the prosperity of the region’s market towns.”
The West Midlands Taskforce, established in November 2008, is chaired by Ian Austin MP, Regional Minister for the West Midlands.
The Taskforce website, supportwm.co.uk has now had over 30,000 hits from people and businesses affected by the recession.