Solihull looks for new twin towns

SOLIHULL Council is looking at the possibility of forming an official link with a city in the American Midwest.

Councillors will next week consider the possibility of the borough being twinned with Mentor, Ohio.
The local authority is very keen to foster new relationships with similar communities in other parts of the world and is also exploring a similar arrangement with the Chinese city of Changzhou.
In the past, the main point of twinning has been educational, but now the council recognises the opportunity for laying the foundations for international trade and perhaps bolstering the local economy.
Perry Wardle, a council officer who has compiled a report which looks at the opportunities for greater co-operation, said: "Solihull is well placed to play an important role in developing international relationships and economic links."
Mentor is about half an hour's drive from Cleveland and, rather like Solihull, is seen as a key gateway to a prosperous business district.
A glance at the city's official website also suggests that, as with the borough, there are some residents who are not wholly happy with the rapid growth of the local community.
The About Us section begins: "While some longtime Mentorites may wish for the simpler days when Mentor was a quiet, rural town dotted with nurseries and two lane roads, most would agree that it’s still the best place to live in Northeast Ohio."
Solihull is already twinned with Cholet, in France, and the German town of Main-Taunus-Kreis.

Mentor:

• Has a population of around 47,000 according to the last census
• Formerly the home of 20th American President James Garfield (assassinated in 1881)
• The city's slogan is "It's better in Mentor"
• Previously ranked among the Top 100 best places to live in the United States.