Marcus Jones, the MP for Nuneaton and Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Town Centres, has given wholehearted support to the latest government plans for helping Town Teams which have sprung up throughout the country as a result of the Mary Portas high street review.

MPs in constituencies where teams applied for Portas Pilot funding have been asked by Government to pledge their backing for the teams, who will then receive part of a package of support worth up to £5.5 million.

The local MP was disappointed that Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council opted to submit a joint town centre bid for the original Portas Pilot funding, against advice from Government and local MPs, which led to Nuneaton missing out on vital funding. Unlike the Portas Pilot scheme, the support for Town Team’s will enable the local MP to apply for funding.

Whilst the Council’s bid was unsuccessful, the town’s MP is now going to speak directly to town centre business groups with a view to applying to Government for funding to help create a Town Team for Nuneaton.

Commenting, Marcus said: “As Chairman of the Town Centres Group I am keen to support this initiative which will help as many as 392 towns and localities who didn't get selected as Portas Pilots to take forward many imaginative and worthy projects.

“As the MP for Nuneaton, I believe we now have a real opportunity to try and secure some investment, to make a start on involving local businesses and helping them to drive improvements within our town centre. Business does not operate on party political lines and I hope that local politicians will respect that and get involved to bring growth and jobs to our town centre.”

The Association of Town Centre Management, which supplies the secretariat for the Group, has been asked by the government to take the lead in supporting all the town teams. The effort will be launched on Wednesday, 5 September, at the London School of Economics. Details are available at www.atcm.org.