Bridgnorth Twinning committee asked to map out it future plans

Bridgnorth Town Council is to look at what financial help it gives to the town's twinning committee in future.

nostalgia pic. Bridgnorth. This picture is copied direct from the Shropshire Star of Monday, October 2, 1978. The caption was: 'Mayor of the French town of Thiers, Mr Maurice Adevah-Peouf (left), and Bridgnorth Mayor Councillor Mike McCarthy, with the official scrolls that marked the twinning of the two towns yesterday in Bridgnorth's High Street.' So the event was on Sunday, October 1, 1978. It was a ceremony officially to twin Bridgnorth and Thiers. n.b. can't find this print in the Shropshire Star print archive, which is why it has been copied direct from the paper. Bridgnorth twinning. Bridgnorth twin town. Library code: Bridgnorth nostalgia 2018..

The town twinned with Schrobenhausen in Germany and Thiers in France 44 years ago with regular twinning visits between the three places over the four decades.

A twinning charter was signed by Bridgnorth Town Council and for this year's visit to the Shropshire town, the council gave a £1,500 grant.

However at a meeting on Tuesday councillors said that, moving ahead in the future, they wanted to know more about how any grant would be spend and how the committee saw twinning in the years ahead.

Councillor Julia Buckley said she was concerned that some of the money given to the committee was seemingly spent on a night out for Bridgnorth people as well as the overseas guests.

"I am in favour of twinning but not in using tax payers money without it being very clear how that money is spent," she said.

"We signed a charter to support the twinning but that charter does not say that we have to financially support it."

Councillor Luke Neal said he would be happy for the council to cover such costs as a civic dinner for the overseas guests and gifts for the mayors of the twinned towns and transport costs.

"Maybe the twinning committee could then sell tickets for the civic dinner to others who might like to go along."

The town council agreed to a suggestion from Councillor Rachel Seagrove that it should go back to the twinning committee to ask what its plans were for the future, and how it was going to raise its profile and raise funds.