“WE must seize this moment” – that’s the rallying call from Redditch MP Rachel Maclean ahead of the inaugural meeting of the Redditch Town Deal Board.

Last year, Rachel secured a town deal worth up to £25 million for Redditch which will be used to give the town a much-needed boost.

Now, the Redditch Town Deal Board is coming together for the first time on Thursday (January 30) to put together the town’s ambitious bid for the investment secured through the town deal.

The board will produce a Town Investment Plan which will then be submitted to Government to access the money.

It’s hoped the cash will boost Redditch’s economy and productivity through urban regeneration, skills and enterprise structure and through connectivity.

Ahead of the meeting, Rachel said: “We must seize this moment and be ambitious for Redditch as we meet for the first time to put together a game-changing bid which will unlock the town’s full potential.

“£25 million is a lot of money and residents will quite rightly expect us to ensure it will be spent on projects and ideas which will improve their town for generations to come.

“We need Redditch to be a great place to live, work and play. The regeneration of the town centre is vital to this."

One of Rachel’s central missions is to ensure Redditch is at the heart of future technologies.

The MP added: “Redditch needs to be future proofed, and by that I mean we must ensure our town is ready for technologies and businesses of the future, that it has the skilled workforce businesses will need, as well as making Redditch a great place to live and play.

“There’s no reason why Redditch can’t be one of the UK’s leading tech hubs and this is something I’ll be pushing for as we forge ahead with the town’s ambitious bid for the up to £25 million investment.”