Boss aims to improve town's troubled image

A town in the Black Country which was the scene of a fatal shooting last month has appointed a manager to boost its reputation.

Cheryl Welsh, of the Bilston Development Project, will take on the role of town centre manager as part of wide-ranging plans to attract more visitors and businesses over the next three years.

Signposts will be improved, council-owned buildings cleaned up and funding streams targeted during the campaign, which is focused on improving the areas around Church Street, Lichfield Street and Hall Street.

The appointment follows a number of incidents in the town over the past 18 months, including two separate shootings at the Tropical Harmony nightclub, a man who died after being punched in the Spread Eagle pub in November last year and another who was beaten to death outside the bus station in October 2008.

Mrs Welsh said today: "It's not been an easy year for Bilston with the recession, as well as one or two troubling incidents, but there's plenty for this place to shout about, and that's what we intend to do.

"We have one of the best markets in the country, free parking and great shops here, so with a little work and a little sprucing up, we can make Bilston a really attractive place for visitors and a good place for people to invest in."

The position, funded by Wolverhampton City Council and Heantun Housing, will run on a single three-month contract.

In that time Mrs Welsh will create a three-year strategy for improvements which she will then continue to oversee as part of her ongoing work with the Bilston Development Project.

The scheme precedes a £200million development which will see a new leisure centre, academy and 1,000 homes built as part of the Urban Village project. Bilston North councillor Phil Page said: "It's an exciting time and it makes sense to have someone co-ordinating the improvement work."