"WHETHER you love or hate Brexit, Bridgwater is still a place open to the world, outward looking and internationalist."

This was Bridgwater Town Council leader Cllr Brian Smedley's reaction after a new Twinning Sign went up in the town centre this week pointing to Bridgwater's seven twin towns.

The work came as part of £310,000 worth of work being done to make Bridgwater High Street and Fore Street more attractive.

Along with the twinning feature a series of signs replaced the out of date street furniture pointing visitors in the direction of key amenities ranging from the Blake Museum to West Quay, the Eastover shops, Bridgwater Station, the Engine Room, the Arts Centre and the Town Hall.

In Fore Street and on Cornhill there are hanging baskets and new tubs filled with colourful flowers, replacement trees, new seating, cycle racks, lamp-posts, repaving and landscaping.

The new infrastructure has been funded with £116,070 from EDF's Community Impact Mitigation fund, £148,000 from Sedgemoor District Council, £35,000 from Sedgemoor District Council and £10,000 from the Bridgwater Town Team.

The new twinning sign points to Bridgwater's seven twin towns: Homberg in Germany, La Ciotat in France, Urheske Hradiste in the Czech Republic, Marsa in Malta, Priverno in Italy, Camacha in Portugal, and Seattle in the United States.

Town Council leader Cllr Brian Smedley said: “Bridgwater has a proud internationalist tradition and that has now been recognised in what will be a new feature in our town centre.

"It shows that Bridgwater people are not at all inward looking, but quite the opposite.

"Bridgwater has made its mark around the world throughout its history.

"It also pays tribute to the work of the dedicated band of twinning enthusiasts who have not only kept these links going but continue to develop new ones.

"Whether we have Brexit or whether we don’t there’s still a world out there to engage with.”

Josef Azzopardi, the assistant head of the St Ignatius College in Malta commented: “Wow, that’s so nice."