Market leader

Newark is set to head a bid from a group of European market towns for a share of a multi-million pound EU hand- out.

The town council is hoping to secure £1m for itself which it would spend over five years to help establish Newark as a regional tourism centre.

The plan is to build on the town’s reputation as a place of historical interest, invest in and expand on existing events and attractions such as the jazz festival, Christmas lights switch-on and Newark Carnival, and add new ones.

One of the main aims is to provide more events in Newark Market Place, especially on Sundays.

The money — only available to market towns — could also be spent on involving Newark’s twin towns of Emmendingen in Germany, St Cyr sur Loire in France and Sandmeirz in Poland in town events.

The clerk to Newark Town Council, Mr Jim Hanrahan, said: “What we are after is getting some of the money back for Newark that the country has paid into Europe in taxes.

“Why shouldn’t it be here? There is true potential. We can make people want to come to Newark, boosting our local economy and bringing jobs.

“The more people that visit, the more the economy is boosted. It would be good news for everybody.

“I want people to say on a Sunday: ‘There’ll be something going on in Newark today. I don’t know what, but let’s go there’.

“The cafés could be open and Marks and Spencer could be tempted to open seven days a week again.”

The town council is bidding for a share of a £94m pot available to what the EU defines as the North Sea region of countries.

The region covers the east of England, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the German coast.

The EU says the money should be spent on events that raise the tourism profile of the communities that receive it.

The town council would be heading a bid for a total of £3m.

It wants £1m for itself, and the rest would be shared by the market towns of Vlaanderem and Oostvlaanderen in Belgium, Endem and a suburb of Hamburg in Germany and Hedmark in Norway.

Mr Hanrahan attended a conference in Denmark where the idea was first discussed.

Newark Town Council would control the full £3m.

It has to find a partner town in the East Midlands and will then submit a bid in September.

The outcome should be known eight weeks later.

Town councillors on Wednesday agreed to make the bid but said members should have full control over the money and how it was spent.