Cash bid to improve communities

Residents will have a say in how money is spent in two Warwickshire towns set for a range of improvements.

Warwickshire County Council's Building Sustainable Neighbourhoods initiative (BSN) project has been awarded £785,000 from Advantage West Midlands.

The money will be spent over the next 18 months in Nuneaton and Bedworth.

Some £200,000 will be used to improve Bedworth Heath, with a similar amount in Nuneaton's Whittleford Park. Eight shopping areas with share £300,000.

'Real difference'

Residents' views will help county council officials make decisions on which projects will go forward. A final plan for Bedworth Heath will be published in December.

Councillor June Tandy, chair of the BSN management board, said: "This is fantastic news for the communities of Nuneaton and Bedworth.

"Projects that make a real difference to peoples lives are being developed thanks to this money."

There will also be work to preserve and enhance The Nook - a beauty spot near the old Newdigate Colliery site - plus environmental improvements in Keresley, a new IT Training suite at the Sikh Mission in Marlborough Road, and a community transport scheme for both Camp Hill and Bedworth Heath.