DEVIZES should have its own town centre manager to spearhead efforts to rejuvenate retail activity by late August or early September.

The Devizes Development Partnership, representing town traders, voluntary groups and individual townspeople, agreed a timetable for recruiting a manager and raising funding for the post from grants and contributions from individual businesses.

The urgent appointment of a town centre manager was one of the main recommendations in a retail revival strategy report from a team from Bournemouth University last year. Team member Jane Scott is assisting members of the partnership in setting up the post and gaining support from the local business community.

The job description includes encouraging the growth and development of the retail, business and leisure sectors to improve the level of service on offer. The aim is to promote Devizes as an excellent place to shop, work, live, visit, invest in and enjoy.

It is also hoped the new manager will help to cut down the amount of litter, graffiti and vandalism in the town.

Developer Peter Lay, who took over as partnership chairman on Monday night from trader Alex Duffey, said: "It is imperative that a manager is appointed as soon as possible."

A figure of £30,000 is being sought to finance the post. Although a certain amount of match funding will be available through the South West Regional Development Agency, the business community will have to make a financial commitment.

The minimum contribution being sought is £50 a year for three years, though Mr Lay and his colleagues are hoping that bigger businesses, especially national chains, will pitch in with much larger sums.

The partnership will be working closely with the Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses, which are both represented on the partnership's management committee, to raise the money needed to fund the post.

Mr Lay told the partnership meeting on Monday that he was confident the right person would be found for the job as he had already received one application even before the post had been advertised.