Ludlow groups sharing £350,000 cash pot

Ludlow is to benefit from a funding boost of more than £350,000, it was revealed today.

Shropshire Council has awarded £120,000 for the town's conservation area, £100,000 to Ludlow Conference Centre, £70,000 to Ludlow Assembly Rooms and £60,000 to Ludlow College.

The money has come through a council cash pot designed to give a lift to the county's market towns.

Rosanna Taylor-Smith, chairman of Ludlow and Clee Local Joint Committee, said: "These schemes will give a much-needed boost to the local economy."

The £120,000 conservation project, co-ordinated by Ludlow Town Council, will see the renovation of The Buttercross.

The town council says further phases of this project will create 80 jobs as it looks to preserve the town's walls and enhance the Castle gardens.

Managers at the conference centre will use their £100,000 to extend accommodation to let trainee doctors from Keele University stay in Ludlow while on work placements at GPs' surgeries.

Theatre bosses want to refurbish the inside of the assembly rooms and college chiefs have pledged to spend the money on a new kitchen.

A further £50,000 will be given to community projects at a meeting in Ludlow Assembly Rooms at 7pm on June 23.