Shropshire and Welsh councils make Westminster bid to be 'capital of rural Britain'

An Anglo-Welsh border council alliance’s visit to Westminster to make its pitch to become “the capital of rural Britain” was “well received”, the deputy leader of Shropshire Council has said.

The Marches Forward Partnership (MFP) is an alliance made up of Shropshire, Herefordshire, Powys County, and Monmouthshire Councils.

In recent weeks, the partnership has visited the Senedd and Westminster to ask for an estimated £5 million - £2.5 million from each government - to help with environmental and economic projects across the authorities.

Amongst these projects, the MFP has the ambition of helping to put the infrastructure in place to implement the delivery of the strategy created by the Severn Valley Water Management Scheme (SVWMS).

This scheme aims to use innovative methods to manage flooding in the upper River Severn catchment area, including nature-based and traditional engineering techniques in both urban and rural locations

In the alliance's recent trip to Westminster for a high-profile reception, representatives from the Anglo-Welsh council partnership met with Jenny Riddell Carpenter, under secretary of state for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), and Anna McMorrin, under secretary of state for Wales.

Shropshire MPs such as Julia Buckley and Helen Morgan, alongside Lisa Quest, chief executive officer of Marsh Risk UK, a global leader in risk insurance, also attended the event.

Ms Quest made a speech where she championed the idea of the MFP, describing the partnership as “a national asset powerhouse”.

She said: “When we look at the Marches region, we see a national asset powerhouse and we see the capital of rural Britain.

“Growth is the Government’s first priority, devolution is a route to deliver it and climate resilience is the forcing function of rural economies and supply chains.

“Meeting these agendas, and addressing national security around land, water, energy and food, means moving away from fragmented public grants towards a disciplined ecosystem of institutional investment.”

Alex Wagner, the deputy leader of Shropshire Council, said he was pleased with how the reception went, and that following the event, the MFP will be liaising with those it met to continue the good progress.

He said: “We felt the MFP pitch to establish our region as the capital of rural Britain was very well received and the partnership will be following up with people and organisations to capture that enthusiasm as soon as possible.”

Speaking at the event, government minister, Ms Riddell Carpenter, said: “National government has a central role to play in setting a clear direction, providing the tools that places need, but lasting change must be locally led by the people who understand their areas best.

“Marches Forward Partnership is showing what that can look like in practice.”

Ms McMorrin said: “Encompassing Shropshire, Powys, Herefordshire and Monmouthshire, this region sits in a unique position. It has a chance to show what resilience, security and growth can look like when they are built from the ground up.

“And that's why this UK government wants to see more of this, a collaboration between governments.”

She went on to say: “More collaboration across borders and more collaboration at a local level between councils, businesses and communities.

“Growth, climate resilience and investment should not stop at an administrative line on a map and under this government, we don't intend it to.”