A FINAL proposal on how to develop a £1.5 million project to help families with young children in Redditch was completed yesterday, writes Becky Procter.

The Surestart initiative has been created by the Government to help areas identified as needy and Redditch has been only one of 65 towns in the country to be successful in its first-round bid.

And a partnership between a number of agencies, including Redditch Council, parents and Worcestershire Health Authority, has been set up to take the project forward.

The scheme aims to improve the health and wellbeing of parents with children under four years old in Redditch.

The move means the town could benefit from as much as £800,000 to build new centres and up to £700,000 over a three-year period to develop the project.

The partnership hopes to create centres in Batchley, Smallwood and Church Hill.

The completed proposal has to be submitted by July 3 and the money should begin to come through at the beginning of September.