£100,000 boost for Dawley wins backing
Members of Great Dawley Town Council have agreed in principle to pump more than £100,000 into the area over the next three years.
The council's executive committee accepted Councillor Shaun Davies' proposal of a Dawley Change Plan.
He said the plan aims to erase the short-sightedness of the changes made to Dawley and look towards the future for the town.
The plan, which he has devised with councillors Jane Pinter and Frances Bould, will plough an estimated £139,000 of council funds into various projects in the town over the next three years, with money coming from a combination of the yearly budget, reserves and grants.
It includes paying for 20 free stalls at the market, which is due to move back to the High Street later this year, until December 2015 at a cost of £20,000.
Councillor Davies, who is chairman of the council, said: "We need to put measures in place to help our community.
"For the first time in a long time, this plan puts together something that is going to make a real difference."
The plan also includes £26,000 to secure the future of Dawley Social Club, £3,000 for car park signs, £15,000 for street and park entertainment and £40,000 for a refurbishment of Dawley Town Hall. It also includes £10,000 for staff restructuring and £10,000 for advertising.
Councillor Bould said: "People want the market back in the High Street because it brings people back in to the street and back in to the shops."
Councillor Richard Choudhury said he was worried having the market at the bottom of the High Street, along with the Dawley Town Hall, would draw people out of the top of the town.
But Councillor Ian Campbell said the top of the town would still be busy.
Councillor Davies added: "We can be the historical contrast of Southwater. It's not about the past and the problems we have had it's about the future."
The Dawley Change Plan will now go in front of the full council on September 23.
