TWO new managers to oversee a "healthcheck" of the Island's market towns have begun their work.

Lynda Smith and Cathy Mills are set to help people in Brading and Wootton Bridge identify the strengths and weaknesses of the two towns by completing an economic invoice which will assess the opportunities for changes and the basis for future action.

Both Lynda and Cathy have previously been working as parish clerks for their communities.

Similar posts are set to be created for Sandown, Shanklin and Ventnor.

Their work is supported by the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership. They will also be receiving help from the Isle of Wight Council, the Countryside Agency and the Isle of Wight Rural Community Council.

Countryside Agency regional director for the south east, Duncan Mackay, said: "The new project managers will be building on existing work throughout the Island. Once the market towns projects on the Island lead to action plans for the towns, we hope these will bring a new lease of life to the towns, with a view to ensuring they can provide convenient access to the services that the surrounding rural communities depend on.

"Our market towns toolkit, which incorporates the healthcheck, is freely available to all towns in the south east, but we have put extra emphasis and support into this project because of the benefits it might bring."

Liz Wood, director of the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership, said: "Now the task is to develop the action plans which will be crucial for the future of these towns.

"The hard work will be done in the community but we are looking forward to working with them and co-ordinating the process.

"This is a critical opportunity for these communities to voice their opinions on those issues that they feel are important and need to be addressed."