WATCHET is to receive a £20,000 cash boost and expert guidance to help it design a long-term community blueprint for its future. The town is one of 13 in the South West to have been accepted into the Market and Coastal Towns Initiative (MCTI), a programme which aims to address the needs of towns affected by changes to their traditional role, including the decline in agriculture and fishing, the lack of affordable housing and the changing nature of tourism. However, neighbouring Williton - one of Somerset's most deprived areas - has had its bid for MCTI status rejected. It has been told that a parish plan, completed and published last year, had direct parallels to the MCTI proposal. But the village could benefit from a new service, due to be launched later this year, aimed at helping plot the steps towards gaining full MCTI accreditation. Watchet's success was welcomed yesterday (Thursday) by Sally de-Renzy Martin, vice-chairman of the town's regeneration partnership. "We're delighted to be welcomed in as one of the initiative's new towns," she said. "The harbour, which is the focal point of Watchet, will be enhanced through the regeneration of the East Wharf, the Esplanade and the West Somerset Mineral Line proposals for the West Quay. "This gives the community an opportunity to look at other areas of the town for enhancement in terms of landscape and employment opportunities." Watchet was one of more than 30 towns which applied to join the initiative and had to undergo a comprehensive two-stage selection process which took place between July and September last year. The assessment for suitability included wide consultation with local authorities and regional agencies by MCTI leaders in order to ensure their resources were allocated to the best effect. West Somerset Council's market towns regeneration officer Pete Vallance, who worked with the local community to put the bid together, said Watchet had been given an immense opportunity to build on the regeneration already underway in the town. "The creation of a community action plan will enable decision makers to hear and assist in tackling issues for the residents of Watchet and its surrounding area," said Mr Vallance. The MCTI, funded by the South West of England Regional Development Agency, was set up in 2001 and Minehead was one of the first towns to be selected and to benefit from its input. A total of 55 towns across the region have now completed and published their community strategic plans after gaining MCTI status. James Hassett, chief executive of the Market and Coastal Towns Association which delivers the initiative, said: "I very much believe that this programme offers a unique opportunity for a community to come together around a shared purpose and vision and for a town to develop in a way that its community would wish to see, rather than having change imposed upon it."
