A SERIES of workshops will begin this week to help further shape the future vision for Oswestry as part of the masterplanning process.

The online events will give people the chance to have their say on how they see the future of the town going forward.

The workshops will kick off on the theme of Better Place to Live on Thursday, looking at public spaces, streets and investment.

Meanwhile, students and parents at The Marches School in the town have also been having their say, reading all the masterplan documents and filling in comment cards at school and home.

Thursday’s workshop, which is being held via MS Teams, will start at 6.30pm and run until 8pm.

Steve Charmley, chairman of the Future Oswestry Group and deputy leader of Shropshire Council, said: “The purpose of this workshop is to provide an opportunity to discuss the masterplan vision, key goals and objectives, and how these may be developed to ensure Oswestry will be an even better place to live.

“The discussion will focus on collectively creating a vision for a better place to live and the goals to achieve this, which work for Oswestry.

"No new material will be presented at the workshop.

“We will also focus on key locations in and around the town and how this could be achieved in these areas.

"All comments will be captured, shared and fed into the masterplanning process.”

Councillor Mark Jones, mayor of Oswestry, said: “The Masterplan is an important document for the future development of the town and key to securing external investment.

"These workshops give an opportunity for a wide ranging discussion about Oswestry and I’d encourage local people to get involved.”

Adele Nightingale, Oswestry Business Improvement District (BID) Manager, added: “Oswestry BID encourages as many businesses and residents as possible to get involved in this process.

“The workshops are a great way to offer your thoughts, views and take part in discussions that will be then fed into the Masterplan.

“If you can’t make the workshops please review the details on the Shropshire Council website and email in your observations to the address below.

“Shaping the future of Oswestry is down to all of us and this is an opportunity to be part of that.”

The following workshops are focused on Better Place for Business on Thursday, June 24 and Healthy Town on Thursday, July 8.

To book your place on the workshops, please e-mail futureoswestry@shropshire.gov.uk and a meeting invitation will be sent out to you.