TVP Secures £15,000 for Village

Local residents can expect to see a great deal of activity in the centre of Twyford over the next few months. Twyford Village Partnership (TVP) have been successful in obtaining grant-funding of over £15,000 which together with matched funding from Twyford Parish Council, local traders, volunteers and other organisations means there is a massive £30,500 to spend in the village!

Sue Goddard, who has been instrumental in co-ordinating the village’s bid for this money says “All our hard work has finally paid off and we now have a wonderful opportunity to implement more of the projects outlined in the Parish Plan and make Twyford an even more attractive place in which to live, shop and work”.

TVP’s bid covers an exciting range of economic regeneration and environmental enhancement projects.  For the village centre shops, there is a chance to benefit from specialist advice from a Sussex-based consultancy on how to improve their business performance and there are plans to have at least 10 small lit Christmas trees brightening up the shop frontages during December. TVP is also planning to return the main Christmas tree to Bell Corner, so the whole centre is certainly going to sparkle during the festive season.

TVP is working with the Parish Council and local traders to give Bell Corner a complete facelift. The paving will be cleaned, a splendid new village sign to commemorate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will be erected next year, and there will be new signage and a circular planter to brighten up the area. Bell Corner will also have a new display board showing a specially commissioned pictorial map of the village and describing the historical importance of Bell Corner especially in the stagecoach era.

Two more illustrative boards are also planned, one in Jubilee Corner to explain to our children in particular how the new planting regime in the gardens encourages bees and butterflies. The other will be at the other end of the village in Weavers Way and will explain the fascinating history of the various mills in Twyford and the roles played by the River Loddon and the Broadwater Stream.

Better signage will enable more people to enjoy the footpaths leading to the Loddon Nature Reserve that lies behind the Old Silk Mill and Waggon & Horses public house. Finally a series of free walk leaflets for easy strolls in the local area are going to be produced to accompany the very successful free walking map that was published last year.