TROWBRIDGE'S iconic Town Hall will be £50,000 better off - if it wins enough votes in the ITV People's Project 2019, unveiled today (Thursday).

The Hall is up against four other projects in its ITV region campaigning for public votes in a poll which opens on Monday (April 1).

A win for Trowbridge would see £50,000 spent on improving an aspect of the fabric of the building, home to culture, arts and community groups. That could mean improving the disabled access, installing soundproofing so users are not disturbed by other events, creating a larger performance space, making the foyer more welcoming

or whatever else the people of Trowbridge want to see done first.

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TROWBRIDGE Town Hall's bid to win £50,000 to be spent on the iconic building is the perfect opportunity for the people of Trowbridge to show how they are behind the movement which is bent on bringing it back to being the beating heart of the town centre, says new Director David Lockwood.

The entry for the ITV People's Project 2018, which is funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, has been in the pipeline for months, with management and staff sworn to secrecy as they put their case to an awards panel. The staff then starred in a promotional video explaining the Town Hall's work, which will be shown on ITV next Friday night in a bid to draw the public vote.

"We are one of five projects in the West Country East ITV region," David explained. "There are about 40 projects nationwide. Three get selected of those five through the public vote - if we are one of the three we get £50,000 and what we do with that money is up to the public.

"It could be improving the disabled access, installing soundproofing so users in the supper room and courtroom don't disturb each other, making the foyer more welcoming, making the courtroom a better performance space.

"What we want to do is to hear from people in terms of what their ideas are.

or whatever else the people of Trowbridge want to see done first - and we want them to vote for us."

The poll for votes opens on Monday (April 1) on www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk. It will be open for two weeks, during which time ITV will screen videos about all the local projects. Trowbridge Town Hall is due to feature on Friday, April 5 at 6.30pmI don't know if going last is the best thing or not - what really matters is that people start voting for us ahead of that, as soon as the poll opens," Mr Lockwood said. "We will win this by everyone who knows us voting for us. One vote really could be vital."

As part of the campaign, the Town Hall Trust which manages the building is holding a public meeting to hear local people's ideas for its future, something Mr Lockwood said he wanted to do when he was appointed earlier this year - he takes full control of the role on Monday.

That will be held on Wednesday, April 10 in the Hall at ???pm, and everyone, whether they already support the hall or not, already use it or have never stepped through the doors, is invited to come along and have their say.

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Full details of the People's Project vote and what it could mean for Trowbridge in this week's Wiltshire Times: more information at www.thepeoplesprojects.org.uk