A NEW group has been set up to bring some “zest” back into Fordingbridge.

Fordingbridge Events Group, which has only been up and running for about two weeks, will be looking at the summer festival and Christmas events.

It has set up a management committee and separate working groups which will focus on specific events.

The group’s chairman, Nicky Jenkins, said: “There’s quite a lot of people passionate about Fordingbridge.

“The fact there has been businesses and banks closing I’m very keen as a resident and as someone who runs a business in the town, to put Fordingbridge back on the map,” she added.

“The idea behind the group is to put a new zest into the town.”

A website is currently being developed which will have a calendar of events.

It is hoped it will become a central resource for the community as well as visitors to the area bringing together local groups, voluntary organisation, churches and others in the area.

“We have got a great team of people already,” she said.

“We don’t want Fordingbridge to just become a sleepy, quiet little place - it is a fantastic town.”

The group is still discussing the summer festival, which had been previously run by the Rotary Club of Fordingbridge for nine years who were not able to continue with the event, which raised thousands of pounds for local causes.

“We are just in the process of sorting out the two main events (Fordingbridge Summer Festival and the Christmas events),” said Nicky.

“There’s an awful lot of passion and interest to not lose it [Fordingbridge Summer Festival].

“We are looking to see if we can do something similar or whether to adapt it slightly. These discussions are all ongoing.”

“We are interested in getting more people involved with the group,” said Nicky.

Anyone interested in becoming a member or finding out more about Fordingbridge Events Group can get in touch by emailing fordingbridgeevents@gmail.com