PARTNERSHIP WORKING LIGHTS UP SHOPPING PRECINCTS

Stepney Precinct is all a-glow this Christmas thanks to partnership working with different groups and businesses in the town.
St Elli Shopping Centre, Llanelli Rural Council, the Chamber of Trade and Commerce and  Carmarthenshire County Council staff at the market have worked together to ensure there are festive lights in the precinct this year.
For the last 12 years Llanelli Rural Council has held a competition for schools in Llanelli to design Christmas lights.
The competition is judged by the Chamber of Trade & Commerce, Town Mayor, Chair of the Rural Council and Chair of the County Council in June each year.
There are two winners every year.
This year’s winners Ethan Rees, Ysgol Y Felin (infants category) and Ela Roberts, Halfway School (junior category) each received a £100 gift voucher for a bike which has been donated by the Chamber and St Elli Shopping Centre.
Last year some of the older Christmas lights in Stepney Precinct failed and were no longer able to be displayed.
But through partnership working, funding has been secured to repair the eight sets of lights along Stepney precinct.
The other lights are being displayed in Llanelli Market Hall and St Elli Shopping Centre.
The council’s executive board member responsible for the markets, Cllr David Jenkins, said: “It’s great to see the precinct lit up again and shows what great partnership working can achieve.”
Andrew Stephens, manager of the Elli Centre added: “Since 2005, the lights designed by the previous year’s winners have been installed in the atrium above Wilko and the Market Precinct.
Every year when the lights go up it’s great to see past winners coming in to see where their Christmas light is located.
There are a few more that will be repaired for next year and they will once again hang proudly for all to see.”
Mark Galbraith, Clerk to Llanelli Rural Council said: “It is hard to believe the school lights competition has been running for so long.
“We are now building up quite a collection and it is wonderful the lights are still being put to good use throughout the town centre.
“The annual competition is jointly funded between Carmarthenshire County Council, Llanelli Rural Council and Llanelli Town Council and I hope that displaying the lights in the way chosen will inspire local schools to continue supporting the event long into the future.”