Our Rural Towns: Llandovery

As part of the Ten Towns programme delivered by Carmarthenshire County Council, the County’s rural market towns have received support to develop exciting new projects to add vibrancy and economic benefit to their town. This month, our focus turns to Llandovery, exploring how the town has benefited from funding through Carmarthenshire County Council and the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund [UKSPF].

Llandovery is located close to the Brecon Beacons National Park and sits on the River Tywi. Steeped in rich history, attractive for cyclists and walkers, and full of unique independent businesses, from shops to food and drink.

A wide range of interventions has been made available for the town of Llandovery as part of the Ten Towns programme.

Enhancing Llandovery’s town visitor economy was highlighted as a main priority with a number of projects aimed at developing the visitor economy having gained support;

• Enhancements to the Castle to allow for better vantage point access.
• Tourism interpretation boards, designed by local school children.
• Branded canopies and accessible street furniture for use in Market Square.
• Mural to capture the town’s rich heritage, culture and history, located in the town’s tourism information centre.

The final stage of this project will see the installation of a digital information screen at the main car park in the town, providing visitors with information on amenities, businesses and events.

Support from the Ten Towns programme has also supported the development of a new Farmers Market in the town, with a focus on local produce within a 25-mile radius of the town. The market has had huge success and has significantly boosted the town’s footfall.  Set within the picturesque Market Square, the Farmers Market is held on the first Saturday of each month, and over 15 businesses have secured trading space.

Llandovery’s Farmers Market has gained a significant following on social media, and not only provides an opportunity for local businesses to get involved but also frequently invites local musicians to attend, adding to the unique feel of the event.

Raoul Bhambral, Llandovery Farmers’ Market Manager said; 

“The Farmers’ Market has been a fantastic attraction for Llandovery and has been popular with locals and visitors from further afield. Customers, traders and other local businesses have noticed an increased footfall in town which is great. 

There’s been a lot of support for locally grown, reared and produced food. All of it has come from around 25 miles of Llandovery. The traders have been really happy. The success of the farmers market this year has been, I think, because people really want to buy local and here they can. We all hope it continues next year.” 

For more information about the Farmers Market, please visit their Facebook page. (Facebook).

Businesses in Llandovery have benefited from Carmarthenshire County Council’s Revitalising Rural Town Centres Fund, which helps to refresh, enhance and add vibrancy to shop frontages.

18 Llandovery businesses have secured funding to enhance their business premises. Work is underway by those who have gained support and once completed, the town will be refreshed and vibrant for its visitors.

Improvements to truck road signage on gateway entrances into Llandovery will also be made possible through the Tackling Town Centres Fund. Along with the signage improvements, other small-scale projects will take place to refresh the town. This project is ongoing and will be completed by early Spring next year.

Carmarthenshire County Council is dedicated to decreasing the number of vacant properties across Carmarthenshire. An initiative that has been developed as part of the Ten Towns programme will support the redevelopment of 3 premises in the town.

Andrew Davies, who has received support from the Ten Towns Capital Development Fund to redevelop 23 Stone Street, Llandovery noted;

We are so pleased to have been able to gain support from the Ten Towns Capital Development Fund. The support received will enable us to redevelop 23 Stone Street into a barber and hairdressing shop in the town. The premise previously a hair salon that has been vacant for a number of years is expected to open by the end of the year, creating new jobs in the area. Being able to support the development of Llandovery and allowing the creation of a new business is of great importance having lived in the area all my life”. 

Llandovery has long since established itself as a town of unique events and festivals. The Heart of Wales LGBTQ+ received funding from the Rural Innovation Fund to pilot a town-based event that will look to commission local and national writers to create performance art inspired by Llandovery past, present and future. The event called Heart of Wales Fringe Festival (Gŵyl Ymylol Calom Cymru), will take place in the town on 28 September 2024. Another organisation that benefitted was Ynni Sir Gâr. Their pilot Bwrlwm aims to conceptualise how Llandovery can become a vibrant, resilient and green town- where electricity is generated and used locally.

The town recently hosted its famous Sheep Festival this month. The event took place on the 14 and 15 September 2024 in the town centre and pulled in tourists from across the County. The event celebrates sheep farming and the wool industry but also showcases local handmade crafts, homemade produce and a wide range of performance artists for visitor entertainment. Llandovery businesses also get involved by dressing their shop windows for the festival.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Rural Customer Service team, Hwb Bach y Wlad, attended the Llandovery Sheep Festival this year. Specialist Hwb advisors assisted residents with their Council enquiries and provided waste and recycling bags and Period Poverty items. Along with this, advisors were able to signpost residents to relevant Council departments and organisations who will be able to assist further in their enquiries.

Hwb Bach y Wlad, have resumed their services in Llandovery Youth and Community Centre, sessions take place on the 3^rd Tuesday of the month, between 10am and 3pm. Hwb advisors are on hand to offer help, support and advice on a range of topics, including housing, education, and health and wellbeing services.

For more information about Hwb Bach y Wlad, including when they will be in your area, please visit their website.

Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Rural Affairs, Community Cohesion and Planning Policy, Cllr Carys Jones, commented:

The Llandovery Sheep Festival is one example of how successful events in the area bring the community together and help support local Carmarthenshire businesses and organisations. Unique events such as this are what make Carmarthenshire great, pulling in visitors from across Wales to experience all our County has to offer. If you haven’t already, please visit Llandovery and experience what the town has to offer”. 

In a joint application to the Council’s Sustainable Communities Fund, Llandovery Rugby Club and the Welsh Rugby Union received funding to improve the sports pitch, making it suitable for all weather with LED floodlighting and spectator viewing. To read more, please visit our Newsroom.

A young optometrist looking for support to develop a new service that could operate bilingually to support the local community also received support from Carmarthenshire County Council via the Arfor Programme. Arfor is a regional programme which aims to support communities that are strongholds of the Welsh language through economic interventions.

Golwg Gofal Ltd gained support from the fund to create a new business and support new jobs in the area;

Sarah Tidey from Golwg Gofal commented:

The support received from Carmarthenshire County Council has provided benefitted me greatly as I embarked on starting a new business in Llandovery. It has enabled me to open a new business that provides a bilingual service to the local community as well as creating jobs in the local area. Having been raised in Carmarthenshire and now raising my own family in the county, I was always keen to open a business in the area. I’m pleased to have gained support during the first steps of my new business venture”.

You can find Sara on Stone Street, Llandovery.

Actif Sport and Leisure have been working in Llandovery to deliver their 60+ project. Their Llandovery Support Coordinator Project or Hybu Llanymddyfri, is a 2 -year initiative funded by the National Lottery Community fund. The project is led by Llandovery Youth and Community Centre and aims to tackle modern-day issues such as the Cost-of-Living Crisis, accessibility to essential services and fostering resilience within Llandovery. The project has also collaborated with Llandovery Leisure Centre to run the ‘Tea and touch your toes’ group on a biweekly basis. The first half of the session features a guest speaker, and in the second half, participants are encouraged to participate in gentle exercises led by Actif Sport and Leisure staff.  The session took place on 21 June, and they have been running every 2 weeks since. These sessions are aimed at people aged 60 and over and are completely FREE.

The next Tourism and Business roadshow will be heading to Llandovery on Wednesday 6 November giving businesses and community groups the opportunity to meet with County Council officers. Advice will be on offer covering all aspects of the tourism and business sector; from licensing, planning, funding options, grants that are currently available to businesses as well as marketing support.

For more information about the 10 Towns project, please visit the website.

To keep up to date with events in Carmarthenshire, please visit Discover Carmarthenshire for more information.