Chief Executive of Bid4Bury Mark Cordell with the new smartphone app for Bury St Edmunds

ONE bustling market town may be historic, but it is not stuck in the past.

Bury St Edmunds is thought to be the first town in Britain to have its very own smartphone application or ‘app’ as they are known.

Launched by town centre business improvement organisation Bid4Bury in conjunction with the app’s creator Jabu Designs, it will allow people to download offers from businesses in the town, locate a specific retailer or type of business and find their way around.

Bid4Bury chief executive Mark Cordell said: “We believe this is the first app for a town anywhere in Britain – but Bury St Edmunds is used to leading the way on internet technology as ten years ago it was the first place in the UK to have an internet-enabled park bench, long before wireless technology and mobile phone internet access was widely available.”

The app has been created for Bid4Bury member businesses to enable the small independent retailers to compete on the same level locally as national brands.

Kelly Mapston, creative director at Jabu Designs in nearby Lawshall, said: “As a local business we are delighted to have created this app for Bid4Bury and, as a resident myself, I believe it will be of enormous benefit to the town.”

The app, which was launched yesterday, compliments Bid4Bury’s new website www.ourburystedmunds.com as well as new maps and retail guides developed by its marketing partner Cubiqdesign.

It is free to download and is available from the usual app sites for iphones and Android smartphones.