FOUR Wyre Forest councillors are driving forward the economic development and regeneration priorities for the district alongside cabinet member, Tracey Onslow.

Wyre Forest District councillor Helen Dyke has been driving forward initiatives for town centres and councillor Fran Oborski has been championing skills development across the district for the last two years.

They have now been joined by newly elected councillor Rebecca Vale who has been appointed as member champion for connectivity and councillor Juliet Smith who is member champion for business and enterprise.

Cllr Tracey Onslow, cabinet member for planning and regeneration, said: "Our focus continues to be on ReWyre projects which are all about delivering significant, visible and sustainable improvements for the area.

"We are proactively taking forward our ReWyre programme which is into its sixth year with a new ReWyre board chairman, Neil Morris from OGL Computer.

"There are numerous initiatives underway including investment in Kidderminster town centre, skills and employment growth plans, and inward investment schemes in partnership with the two local enterprise partnerships - Worcestershire and Greater Birmingham and Solihull.

"We are also involved with the county council and private partners to develop our road and transport infrastructure.

"Being able to connect to regional and national road networks is vital for our future prosperity which is why we have worked hard to bring forward the Hoo Brook Link Road.

"We are working alongside transport colleagues from Worcestershire County Council with funding from the LEPs to create a new transport interchange at Kidderminster Railway station."

Cllr Rebecca Vale said: “We have been working hard to develop and improve infrastructure within the Wyre Forest, which is vital if we are to support and sustain a vibrant local economy.

"In my role, I want to celebrate the diverse nature of our area; our industry and retail outlets, our wonderful tourist attractions and our areas of outstanding natural beauty.

"I would like to draw these different elements together in order to improve the experience of living and working within the Wyre Forest and also to help provide a springboard for further growth.”

Cllr Juliet Smith said:“We already have some fantastic initiatives in place to encourage business growth in the area and I will be monitoring closely the projects already underway.

"As someone who understands what it is like to be self-employed and having to work hard every day to maintain a business, I am going to concentrate on how local businesses can be supported and engaged with.

"I am keen to investigate training opportunities, business mentoring and ensuring that local businesses can access the information they need exactly when they need it."

Commenting on the town centres work, cllr Helen Dyke said: “We recognise that the public realm work in Kidderminster has been a long road and we would like to thank local businesses and residents for their patience whilst the work is being completed.

"We are confident that the end result will be a brighter more attractive town centre for visitors and businesses.”

As skills lead, cllr Fran Oborski MBE has particularly welcomed the GCSE and A-level results achieved this year by Wyre Forest students.

“Several of our schools have achieved their best ever results with those from Bewdley High and King Charles 1 being particularly outstanding," she said.

"This means that our local students are leaving school better prepared than ever for apprenticeships and further and higher education. Coupled with the success of Kidderminster College in attracting and supporting apprenticeships this makes Wyre Forest an exciting place to attract new employers and support existing employers to expand."

For more information about the council's economic and regeneration work, visit nwedr.org.uk or wyreforestdc.gov.uk.