This document discusses developing an economic growth plan for St Clears, Wales. It begins by acknowledging the challenges small towns face and outlines some positive aspects of St Clears, such as its history. It then examines how other towns, like Ludlow, England, have successfully promoted economic growth through festivals, marketing local food, and improving infrastructure. The document suggests St Clears could capitalize on its natural beauty, history, and location. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration and thinking creatively to develop a plan that plays to St Clears' uniqueness.

1. A Plan For Economic Growth In St Clears
©2009Alan Evans

2. The presentation will look at the potential for constructing a
plan for economic growth in St Clears.I don’t claim to be an
economic expert or a business expert. I would say that I am
good at observing and assessing problems. As we all know, it
is not enough to observe and assess. You have to come up
with some positive action plan for solutions to the problems.
It would be extremely bold of me to claim that I have the
solution. What I am offering is an opportunity for you all to
consolidate your wealth of experience and expertise in order
to formulate a plan for economic growth in St Clears.

3. St. Clears is a small town, a parish, and a sub-district in
the district and county of Carmarthen. The town stands
on the river Taf and on the South Wales railway, 8
miles WSW of Carmarthen. It has a post office and a
small coasting trade. St. Clears has a weekly market
with fairs on the 5th and 6th of June, Old May-day, and
the 10th of October. It was the head-quarters of the
Rebecca rioters in 1843. A Norman castle and a priory
stood here The site of the castle is now indicated by a
tumulus. The property is much sub-divided. The church
is good; and there are a number of charities.

4. Google St Clears and these are the results. As you can see.
Not a great deal of activity with only 8 visits to the website.
There are a number of websites with some material relating
to St Clears but nothing of quality which promotes the town.
The prospective visitor will be disappointed by what they
see and probably look at the next town along.

5. St Clears
Results 1 - 10 of about 541,000 for St Clears. (0.44 seconds)
#
St Clears Community - 8 visits - 25 May
For those who yearn for a rural lifestyle with coastal connections but
remain unable to step away from modern living then St Clears is the
answer. ...www.stclears.org.uk/ - Cached - Similar -
St Clears in Carmarthenshire, attractions in St Clears, where to stay in
St Clears, what to do and see.
www.Carmarthenshire-pages.co.uk/stclears/index.htm
#
BBC - South West Wales St Clears - stories, galleries and more!
All about St Clears - features, guides, galleries and more.
www.bbc.co.uk/wales/southwest/sites/stclears/

6. There is no doubt that we have some great selling points. We
have a lot of history in and around our town. Historic towns
usually do very well don’t they?

7. Even historic towns are feeling the pinch and they have
identified the problems of changing consumer activity as
well as contemporary problems such as increased traffic
and the .onslaught of the giant supermarkets. Ludlow was
struggling with the many restrictions placed on it by
design.

8. Case Study - Ludlow
• As a small market town, Ludlow is endeavoring to
balance the conflicting demands of the old and the new.
Its heritage buildings are a key attraction, while the
town's economy is being driven by its growing
reputation for good food. Its problems are common to
many. It has a historic street plan, and suffers from
traffic congestion and unsightly parking. It recently
faced strong pressure from Tesco which wished to open
a new store in the town.

9. How Do They Do That
• Ludlow has become famous as the gastronomic centre of
Shropshire and won its first Michelin star in 1995. The ruined
castle has become a venue for festivals, open-air theatrical
performances and other events throughout the year. Several
festivals are held a year, attracting visitors from across the
country, including the main Ludlow Festival, held in the last
week of June/first week of July.

10. What are we famous for?
How many festivals do we organize?
How successful are they?
Who are the organizers of the most successful events
in the town?

11. So Much To Offer
It has also led the slow food movement in this country
which has resulted in restaurateurs, artists and
craftspeople moving into the area and setting up new
businesses. Regular markets are operated throughout the
year on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays,
in addition to crafts, antique, garden and European
markets.
Questions: Why would anyone move to St. Clears?
What would attract professional people into the area?

12. The Environment
• Ludlow Town Council has worked with county and
district councils to improve Ludlow town centre,
gaining funding through the Market Towns Innitative
and the Ludlow Marches Partnership. Ludlow's one
way system and narrow streets slow drivers and
encourage them to give way to pedestrians. Where
Questions: Where is the funding? Who is securing the
funding? How active are they? Can they realistically
be expected to do all the work alone?

13. Their Improvements
Improving access by public transport, cycling and walking
Making historic streets as attractive as possible
Improving pedestrian access between east and west of the town
Using a limited pallet of materials used to achieve a simple scheme
Paying attention to the geometric designs, curves and simple lines.
Narrowing gateways
Introducing 20mph speed limits and pedestrian dominance
Questions: What can we do to improve?
Possibly identify areas for improvement and involve the
community.

14. Design Ethos
• The guiding principle for the design ethos was simplicity
of form and layout, retention of the varied palette of
historic surface materials where they survived, and the
use of high quality natural materials on the pavements.
The transport plan for Ludlow dealt with the neglect of
the Market Square, which had suffered from informally
parked cars, and buses and coaches parked with engines
running. The buses and coaches were moved out, and a
residents parking scheme introduced. The council
managed to stick to its guns, despite public opposition to
the loss of parking.

15. Each town is unique, and what works for one town
will not necessarily work for another As a basis
for your town's marketing program, community
leaders must identify and capitalize upon the
town's special uniqueness.
Questions: What is unique about the St. Clears?
Can you find any positives?

16. Your town's competitive edge is a composite of
all the factors that make the town unique. Too
often, towns try to be successful by copying
marketing strategies that have worked for
others, only to find that the program they
borrowed doesn't work as well as they thought
it would.
Would Ludlow’s model work for St. Clears?

17. In St. Clears The Uniqueness May Be
• Natural Resource
• Strategic Location
• Scenic Beauty
• Historical Significance
• Famous Native
• Pleasing Architecture
• Market
• Leisure Facility

18. Think
Outside
Of
The Box!

19. Consolidate
Organizations

20. Make The Most Of Your Shop Or Café. Use Its Best
Feature If You Have One. It Is Advisable To Stage
This. Make Sure Everything Looks Good. Turn All
The Lights On. Shoot It At Night, Shoot It Full, Shoot
It With A Member Of Staff Outside Or Inside In Close
Up.

21. How do or how can these items contribute to economic
growth? History, Natural Beauty, River Trips, Fishing Trips,
Sports Venue.

22. Fishing Is Another Rapid Growing Tourism Industry. The
Town Trust Owns Parcels Of Land Along The River.
Platforms For Fishing, Selling Fishing Equipment In Local
Shops, Selling Licenses, etc all generate income.

23. Did you see this exhibition? It received 2 BBC broadcasts at
prime time placing St Clears on the map all for free.
Worldwide, National and Local Coverage 400 books sold
200 DVD’s sold. An example of two people in the
community working tirelessly with no support.

24. Did you see this exhibition? It attracted local artists at the
top of their game. We advertised local business. We
encouraged local schools to take part.

25. Did you have a presence at St. Clears show? The St
Clears show attracted record numbers of people this
year. It is a great platform for meeting your target
audience in an informal way. What did we offer
visitors?

26. Those who live and work in the community can lose
sight of their community's uniqueness or take it for
granted. To bring your town's uniqueness into focus,
solicit ideas from many different sources including
Residents
Newcomers
Visitors & Others

27. What Brings Shoppers To St Clears?
We have business which have attracted visitors from all
parts of West Wales. They are well established and can
offer a wealth of advice and support.

28. Family History
248,000,000
Results
That’s A result!
One of the fastest growing industries
in the U.K. is genealogy

29. The Specter of Tescos - Good or Bad?
Llanelli Town Centre Decimated, Derelict
Pontarddulais Town Centre Boarded, Vandalized, Crime & Drugs
Carmarthen Town Centre Rapidly Derelict, Crime & Drugs
Outlying Village Shops - Post Offices Closing
What Is The Alternative?

30. Where Do you Start?
• How does a market town partnership, consisting largely
of volunteers, who may have business experience but are
unlikely to be trained economists, undertake the analysis
needed to underpin an economic strategy?

31. The Starting Point
• The starting point for any town is the community plan.
Setting out the tow vision and strategic objectives,
based on evidence gathering and consultation

32. The Economic Plan
• Where a community plan has been produced it will
typically have sections for social, economic and
environmental issues and so a body of economic
evidence will already be available. This can form the
basis for an economic plan

33. Partnerships
• A partnership with the local authority can be
beneficial. They already have an economic or
regeneration department
• The Town Council
• The Chamber Of Trade
• The Tourism Department

34. Do You Know the Major Players?

35. Open For 8 Months They Receive
The Top Awards In The County
Cwmcerrig Farm Shop, Crosshands

36. Can We Compete?

37. Laugharne
Ruined Castle
River Walk
Art Galleries
Theatre
Town Hall
Cafes
Bars
Children’s Activities

38. Llandeilo
Ruined Castle
River Walk
Art Galleries
Theatre
Town Hall
Cafes
Bars
Children’s Activities

39. Newcastle Emlyn
Ruined Castle
River Walk
Art Galleries
Theatre
Town Hall
Cafes
Bars
Children’s Activities

40. Pendine
Speed Ramps
Cafes
Bars
Children’s Activities
Shops
Gallery

41. The Biggest Thing To Happen In This County This Century. It Is
Going To Grow And Grow. Accommodation, services, jobs. How
can it help me? What has St Clears got to do with Ffoslas? Double
page spread in the Cheltenham Magazine with my website prominent.
How do people find me? Most custom comes via the internet and
follow up phone calls. London, Bristol, Birmingham, Cardiff, major
cities outsource their work.

42. The Biggest Names Are Now
Heading For Carmarthenshire
They Need
Food
Accommodation
Transport
Fuel
Cosmetics
Clothes
Entertainment

43. Centre For Prosperity
• A market town centre is a guide to the prosperity of the town,
but the retail sector itself is only part of the picture. Towns
need income from other sources. This may be from the salaries
of people employed in local businesses and the trade generated
through these businesses operating, or it may be from
commuters, from their business or service sector employment
elsewhere, from pensioners income or from visitors (whether
leisure or business) accessing retail and other services. suitable
office space, available skilled individuals, and fast internet
speeds, but importantly also making the town a nice place to
host businesses. There is increasing evidence that the state of
the public realm (open access public space, including streets,
squares, parks, and paths) is important to business location and
particularly to small businesses.

44. Measures To Improve The Centre
• Identifying and supporting the development of
redundancy buildings for office or shop space is an
important part of the process.
• An Empty Building Attracts Rodents Not people

45. Business Clusters
• A business cluster is a group of industries and
organizations linked together in buying and selling
relationships or which share the same infrastructure,
technologies, customers or skills base and whose
linkage enhance competitive advantage.

46. New Business
• Market towns and rural areas have higher than average
business start up rates, and more women start
businesses in rural market towns than in urban areas,
although these businesses do not have such high
growth rates as their urban counterparts. They are still
very important to their economies because of the
numbers employed. Many of the smaller businesses
are not seen in statistics as they are not VAT
registered. What opportunities are there in your town
to encourage start-up businesses?

47. Supporting Business in Your Town
• What factors influence businesses in their decision to invest in a town? A
recent study of four UK market towns has identified the following as
important influences on business decisions to invest Strategy of the market
town
• Local authority understanding of growth sectors
• Strong local authority
• Transport links / car parking
• Environment
• Community facilities
• Housing Education and skills
• Technology, broadband and mobile phone connections
• Land / property
• Business support and networking
• Promotion and Branding

48. A Toolkit For Success
High Peak Borough Council Started The Shop
Local Scheme and created toolkits for
independent shop keepers, including ideas on
marketing, keeping up to date with change and
information on support and how to participate,
as well as a publicity campaign to raise
awareness among local people, encouraging
them to buy from their local shops.

49. You Can Now Advertise Your Business
FOR FREE
In All Of The Major Supermarkets
Someone Ask Me How!

50. Supermarkets have stopped issuing carrier bags. The punters are
taking reuseable bags. What better way to get your message across to
the public. Make it funky and bright and the public will see it and
remember it. There is also a growing student population in
Carmarthenshire. Try targeting them with freebies and offers and they
will come. They also have definite political views about environmental
issues.