Faringdon has become the first market town in the country to employ a full-time project manager to improve its fortunes.

Richard Grecian will be responsible for implementing an action plan following an in-depth 'health check' of the town.

He is appealing for residents to attend a special public meeting on November 29 to become involved in up to 54 schemes.

Wantage town councillors are considering a similar scheme, called a vitality check.

Mr Grecian previously worked as a national project manager for the Injury Minimisation Programme for Schools and taught business studies for 13 years.

He said: "This is a huge opportunity for the Faringdon community to make long-term improvements.

"A lot of work has already been done, but there is much more still to do and I urge everyone to get involved.

"There are lots of projects that can be brought to fruition with local help. For example, a lot of people are in arts groups so we can think about bringing them all together to see if we can do an arts event.

"It's similar with sports clubs -- they are all trying to attract kids and they could form some kind of strategic partnership."

The Faringdon Healthcheck was funded by the Countryside Agency with the help of the Vale of White Horse District Council and Faringdon Town Council to survey all aspects of life in the town, including transport, the environment and the economy.

Consultation over the past nine months found that the public wanted residents-only parking zones, security cameras in car parks, improvements in Market Place, regular events to attract visitors, a country park in The Folly area and facilities for young people.

The public meeting will be held in the Corn Exchange, at 7.30pm.