Businesses of Cirencester raised a glass to their Australian friends to mark Australia Day.

On Monday, January 28, councillors, schools, colleges and various sponsors of the Cirencester and City of Bathurst Friendship Initiative met to discuss the years plans for the scheme.

One of which included sending another person over to the city in New South Wales, Australia.

The Crown Inn played host to the evening, that included a special video message from Alice Chandler, who went over to Bathurst in Australia as part of the friendship in October 2018.

She is still currently travelling and will be back later this year.

Alice, 18, and a former Cirencester College student was chosen to pilot the scheme and experience the life changing opportunity.

The scheme funds for a young Cirencester resident who would not usually have the opportunity.

Alice’s trip is a project actively supported by the Cirencester Community Development Trust Ltd in collaboration with Cirencester Town Council.

“We are hosting a series of events this year as part of the initiative to hopefully engage Cirencester and Bathurst and to raise awareness of how the friendship can and is proving to be a success,” explained Cllr Harris.

“We also want to send another young person over to explore Bathurst and to look at the joint opportunities that exist between here and there.

"It was good to catch up with so many of Cirencester’s business community and raise a stubby to our friends over there.”

To get in contact with the friendship with any information, email info@cirencesterbathurst.org