The recent retail property report that placed Llanelli town centre as second worst in the UK is very damaging indeed. It has reflected what the people of Llanelli have been saying for a long time: More needs to be done for the town centre. The blame game is in full swing and comparisons have inevitably been made with Carmarthen, which is fairing significantly better. A long simmering volcano is threatening to erupt! But instead of fighting each other, I think the politicians and public need to recognise that this report represents an opportunity. It is clear that there have been economic benefits from Llanellis out of town retail parks. But those benefits should always be measured against the cost to the town centre. Nobody should create or back policy that effectively renders large sections of the built heritage redundant, because there is no surer way to see it lost. Towns represent the cultural centres of our communities, and the built heritage reflects its character and uniqueness. This heritage is passed on from our forefathers, and the longer it is protected, the more valuable it becomes to both our culture and our future (tourism) economy. Out of town retail parks represent bland modernity. They are more convenient and efficient than town centres and that is what makes them popular with both customers and retailers. But with good planning, modern facilities can be complimentarily integrated into the historic fabric, enhancing not replacing. This has been the case with Carmarthen, so how has it gone so wrong in Llanelli? Lessons have to be learned. It is easy to criticise with hindsight, but I am incredulous that even after the cataclysmic effect of these mistakes has been clearly recognised, the retail parks outside the town are still being permitted to expand! There are also further significant plans for the development of office and leisure attractions, OUTSIDE THE TOWN. It is only by default that the new Cinema and Theatre ended up in the town centre because a larger bid to take them outside failed to secure the necessary funds! Even the major educational establishment of the region is a bus ride from the centre. Imagine how much more life it would have brought to have the students in the town each day and how much more appealing and accessible Coleg Sir Gar would be to students. Surely we should fill the town centre first and get it thriving before expanding around the periphery!? Whatever funds have been spent on regeneration in Llanelli lately have not achieved near enough to repair the economic damage that has been done. European structural funds offer a distinct opportunity to turn this around, but in this tough age of austerity, we will have to be resourceful and fight to get an amount that can make a real difference. This damning report is the latest wakeup call and I believe the Welsh Assembly needs to smell the coffee and give more prioritisation to the economic regeneration of Llanelli. This will have a far better chance of happening if the town and County Councils show UNITY and speak with one loud and clear voice. I am calling on all of the politicians to do their utmost to create a series of projects for the town centre under a cohesive masterplan. A masterplan that can achieve structural funding and build a route via which Llanelli can accelerate its regeneration creating jobs, opportunities and growth. This would go some way to tackling the anti-social problems that have been making the headlines in recent years. Structural funds would be a great assistance to cultural and tourism projects like ours, that are themselves micro economic generators. We are looking to create at least 50 permanent direct jobs in the town centre with dozens of ancillary supply jobs too. But even more important is the fact that we will be creating a unique attraction in one of Llanelli’s most important heritage buildings, and bringing money into the community from outside. Surely that is worth supporting? I think that Llanelli has massive potential, and on the positive side, being ranked as the second worst town in the UK means that things can’t get much worse. But if we put on hold the policy of developing outside the town, until the centre is thriving again, we can make things an awful lot better. William Ratti
Posted on: Sat, 11 Oct 2014 08:34:52 +0000
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