Task forces being set up to end Oswestry drug abuse
Iain St John reports from Oswestry Town Council's meeting - Task forces will be set up to tackle drug abuse in Oswestry and to create job opportunities in the town.
Town councillors have been told two new governance boards will be established to look at how improved "joined up working" can look at the deep-seated problems.
They were told substance abuse will be one of the key topics to be investigated because of Oswestry's infamous links with the party drug GHB.
The town became known as the national hotspot for the drug two years ago, sparking a major police operation and several arrests.
How partnership working can prevent a similar rise in drug use in the town will be examined by the new governance board while Oswestry's retailing downturn will be examined by a second governance board, town councillors were told at a meeting on Wednesday night.
The boards are being established as part of Shropshire Council's move to a commissioning authority, the councillors were told.
Shropshire Council officer George Candler said Oswestry would be the next town to go through the commissioning process following a pilot scheme in Church Stretton.
He said commissioning would see the council along with various partners including the police and the health service look at how best to provide local services to local people.
Mr Candler said: "It is about doing things that are better, that are faster and that are cheaper.
"It is not about Shropshire Council, it is about working with partners to identify demand for services and meet that demand." He said the new way of working brought opportunities for local commissioning in which the council and its partners could look at particular problems.
Mr Candler said it had already proved successful in Church Stretton, where work was carried out with 34 unemployed people and within six weeks, one third of them had been helped back into work.
