Mayor of Evesham's annual report

2:17pm Tuesday 20th May 2008

THE Mayor of Evesham gave his annual report at the annual town meeting on Monday in which he reviewed the past year, highlighting instances of achievement and areas of concern.

Cllr Booth bemoaned the fact that some residents were still not back in their homes almost a year on from the floods, yet congratulated all those who had worked tirelessly to re-establish their businesses in the town, some for the second time.

He also gave special mention to The Almonry Heritage Centre which, despite the set-backs caused by last summer's flooding, has continued to attract visitors to the town while gaining recognition from Visit Britain in the form of the new Quality Assured Visitor Attraction Mark.

He said: "Although it was not flooded, The Almonry suffered like many businesses in the town from the subsequent collapse of visitor numbers.

"Despite this, over 20,000 visitors came to the tourist information centre during the year and staff worked hard to convey the message that Evesham was still open and worth visiting."

Cllr Booth drew attention to the fact that the town council has continued to invest steadily in Evesham, pledging £27,500 towards the cost of improvements in the past year alone, and that businesses in the area were continuing to grow, highlighted by new construction to the West and the South of Evesham.

Wallace House, on Oat Street, was given special mention for its continued success which means the centre, the home of the Samuel Wallace Smedley Trust, was now in a sound financial position.

Cllr Booth said: "Grateful thanks are due to the centre manager, Mrs Huggan, and all her staff and to the able chairmanship of Cllr Robert Raphael for all their hard work."

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