“Welshpool will shine, I promise you”

A Welshpool town councillor and businesswoman has said that “Welshpool will shine, I promise you” if more community-led events were organised in the town.

Cllr Sally Fitzgerald urged fellow councillors to look at creating more events like the carnival, fireworks display, flicks in the sticks, and Winter Festival which are generally widely praised by all quarters of the town.

She was reacting to the Mayor, Cllr Phil Owen, declaring that he would like to host a Big Quiz at the Town Hall to kick start a Community Town Hall Fund, with the iconic building needing millions of pounds worth of work undertaking.

Cllr Fitzgerald responded: “Literally, people are crying out to be a part of the community again. Let’s do it all together. Honestly, Welshpool will shine, I promise you. Make it a community event, not just for businesses, or do a couple of events. More community events need to happen. People are so low and they need stuff (like this) to bring them up.”

The dire state of the Town Hall was highlighted by a specialist survey carried out earlier this year, identifying that work in excess of £5m was probably required.

Councillors agreed that events would only raise a fraction of the funds required, but Cllr Morag Bailey said that engaging with the community in the fundraising process would “really help towards the heritage bid because it is not just about doing the work, it is about how you involve the community”.

The Town Hall status was highlighted by committee Chair, Cllr Chris Davies, who said: “We sell thousands of post cards from Welshpool that have the castle or the Town Hall on. It is still a beautiful building, still an iconic building and people come just to see the Town Hall, I still believe that.”

A date will be decided on later in the year to host the Mayor’s Big Quiz.