LLANELLI BUSINESSES VOTE FOR BID

Businesses in Llanelli have given a strong vote of confidence in their town.

They have backed a BID that will generate more than £100,000 per year to be used to improve Llanelli.

The successful outcome on the yes vote in a ballot to support the establishment of a Business Improvement District (BID) in Llanelli was revealed last night.

The businesses’ decision to back the initiative ensures Llanelli is one of a small number of towns in Wales to be awarded the status, which focuses on improvements to the town through a collective effort.

The county council has premises in and around the town centre, such as the library, Ffwrnes Theatre and the leisure centre, all of which voted positively in the ballot.

The initiative, Ymlaen Llanelli/Forward Llanelli, has 10 pledges for action above and beyond those currently provided by the local authorities. It will be guaranteed by a baseline agreement between Ymlaen Llanelli and Carmarthenshire County Council and Llanelli Town Council.

The pledges are:

1. Set out a long-term strategy to improve our town centre’s appearance.

2. Create a more accessible town centre with more affordable parking on and off-street.

3. Design and deliver a marketing strategy that attracts more people into town.

4. Promote a directory advertising our retail and professional services.

5. Incentivise people to shop locally with a town centre loyalty scheme.

6. Tackle anti-social behaviour and increase town centre safety.

7. Reduce business costs with collective purchasing.

8. Sustain existing businesses through training, networks and access to grants.

9. Encourage and support new businesses to open successfully.

10. Form a strong voice that lobbies and represents Llanelli’s businesses.

Council Leader Cllr Emlyn Dole has made regenerating Llanelli town centre one of his top priorities.

He has established a taskforce aimed at supporting traders, boosting business and increasing footfall and aims to develop a vision for the future for the town.

Initial membership of the taskforce includes senior representatives from the County Council; Llanelli Town Council; Llanelli Rural Council; Chamber of Trade; BID group; St Elli Centre; Llanelly House and Eastgate management.

They are tasked with agreeing and developing a vision for the town centre which will further stimulate growth and investment.

Cllr Dole today: “I’m delighted that the BID has won the support of the town’s business community. This initiative has been very successful in other areas and I’m confident that it will make a real difference to Llanelli.

“The money raised through this initiative will be in addition to any funding being provided by the county council or any other organisation and will go towards delivering the aspirations set out in the pledge agreement.”