The town has been a place of importance through the centuries with its Easter fair one of the busiest in England drawing crowds from all over Europe during the 1100s.  Indeed it was its markets and fairs that led to the founding of the town.  In the 17th Century it was the home of Oliver Cromwell.

Its shopping centre has a good mix of independent traders and multinationals.  The original character is retained with regular markets held every Monday and Friday with Bank Holiday markets being very popular.  On the first and third Saturdays of each month an excellent Farmer’s Market takes place.

In June 2009 the town centre partnership launched its award winning independent town loyalty card, which helps local businesses to increase their revenue and rewards customers for shopping locally. The scheme has proven a great success and is a previous winner of an Action for Market Towns Award.

A focal point is the splendid 15th Century Bridge and chapel over the river and is one of only three such surviving bridges in England.  The Norris Museum houses a collection of books, manuscripts and objects relating to the history of Huntingdonshire bequeathed to the town by Herbert Norris on his death in 1931.

So, where is it?

Do you recognise this town from the description above?

If you do, post your answer in a tweet to AMT (@townsalive) with the hashtag #amtotw

We’ll reveal the name of the town on Friday 10th February!

What next?

• More about Town of the Week
• Nominate your town by email to jamie.veitch@towns.org.uk

towns which are home to over one fifth of the population?”

Monday 6 February 2012

It is a pleasure to be here this afternoon to host this reception which will give us the opportunity to learn more about the charity Action for Market Towns and the work it undertakes to support those living and working in and around small towns.

This is of course a subject of great interest to all of us here as we each have small towns within our constituencies and therefore have a great deal of insight into the opportunities and challenges facing them. Indeed the importance of small towns cannot be ignored or underestimated. Over 1/5^th of the population live in small towns – roughly 11 million people – and they remain the most rapidly expanding settlements in England – expanding twice as fast as our larger towns and cities.

Over the last year we’ve engaged in much debate nationally on how we can devolve more power into the hands of towns and parishes and individuals themselves to have a greater say in the way their neighbourhoods develop as a step towards ‘Big Society’. This has culminated in the new Localism Act.

Many of our small towns would probably argue that they have actually been delivering Big Society for many years now where town partnerships have worked together, often using Community Led Planning, to understand their towns and put together innovative plans to secure prosperous futures. We are lucky enough to have representatives of towns here today that have done just this.

The Mayor of Mold, Councillor Ray Dodd and Town Centre Manager, David Hill have joined us today as Mold was named the overall Winner of the 2011 National Market Town Awards for their Mold Spring Clean project, which began from a local desire to make the town a pleasant environment to live, work and play in, and generate community pride for everyone. It is now one of the largest community initiatives of its type in Wales.

Fiona Bruce MP is also present along with three members of the team from Middlewich Town Council who helped to secure a Regional Award at the 2010 National Market Town Awards for their work on the Middlewich Vision – a shared vision of the town’s future shaped by local people.

Small towns will be able to build on successes such as these and seize new opportunities offered to them by the Localism Act.

Another policy of particular relevance to our small towns is the Mary Portas Town Centre Review. Mary Portas has highlighted how our towns have been hit hard by the recession. Shop vacancies are rising and empty shops are getting harder to let. Competition from out of town retailers and the internet as well as red tape and planning issues have all culminated in the difficulties now faced by our towns. I am glad to see the Government working hard to tackle their decline. The reforms to the planning system, the localisation of business rates to promote local growth and the increase in discretionary support for small businesses all show how this Government is handing power back to local people and communities so they can tackle this legacy of neglect.

Ministers have said that much of this decline in our small towns could have been averted if the signs had been spotted early enough and if local people – chambers of commerce, town centre businesses and local authorities – had joined together to take appropriate action. I can think of two examples in my constituency alone where this approach has delivered results:

St Ives launched its own local loyalty scheme, the SITI-card which won a Regional Award in 2010. Over 50 independent businesses have signed up to the scheme and more than 7,000 loyalty cards have been distributed. Evidence shows that footfall in the town has increased against a national backdrop of decreasing figures.

Huntingdon developed its “Make it your Market” programme which won a Business and Economy Award in 2011. This project combines free advice on how to set up your own market trader business with discounts on market stall pitches and the free loan of market stall equipment removing many barriers to start-up businesses.

My colleagues and I are committed to tackling the challenges facing our small towns head on. We have witnessed a long-term decline of the high street, a problem that has accelerated in recent years – in large part because of the squeeze on consumers resulting from the recession but Towns are fighting back and town partnerships and Town Councils are working hard to revitalise their town centres.

All that remains to say is please do take this opportunity to talk to those from Action for Market Towns in the room, as well as representatives from some of the towns themselves who have won awards for their work. I’d now like to hand over to Chris Wade, Chief Executive of Action for Market Towns.

Its shops cluster around the High St and Market Hill, offering a quirky diversity of wares including bridal gowns and bicycles. The local cafés/pubs offer a range of dining and refreshments for shoppers and visitors. Historic buildings including the Manor House, the fourteenth-century Olde Mint pub and the former Craven Arms coaching inn which stand out as gems much appreciated.  Free car parking enables visitors to enjoy a longer stay.

Heritage

Heritage is hugely important and valued in this town – the rejuvenated Holy Well, the grade-one listed St James Church  and the elegant Warwick House are all worthy of a visit. Dedicated residents preserve and promote the Cardall Collection – artefacts and documents which encapsulate the town’s history over the last five hundred years. This town was granted a market charter in 1227 and today there is a popular Tuesday market, plus a Farmers’ Market once a month. Crowd-drawing events include the Mop Fair and the Christmas themed markets, as well as regular screenings of the rural cinema and concerts at the Grange Hall.

An opportunity…

In order to thrive and succeed as high streets across the country face increasing competition, the town has an invaluable opportunity to deliver real change to improve the appearance and viability of the town centre. This opportunity arises from the receipt of planning condition funds associated with the new Tesco store. This funding is solely dedicated to a range of town centre improvements including business support, shopfront enhancements, new events and community/visitor services. The main driver behind these changes is the town’s Town Centre Partnership. The partnership provides equal partnership opportunities between business owners, residents, community groups, local authorities and other local services who are responsible for the selection and delivery of robust projects which support the sustainability of the town by increasing footfall, length of stay and spend in the town centre.

What next?

• More about Town of the Week
• Nominate your town by email to jamie.veitch@towns.org.uk
• Visit the Southam Town Council and the Southam Online websites

The town centre is notable for its narrow streets, old buildings and a variety of friendly mainly independent shops (which are all full), pubs, eateries and three banks providing all the necessities for visitors and locals alike. You can also find the museum which chronicles the town’s history.

A distinctive feature

The narrow streets lead down to the waterside which consists of the busy town Hard and jetty which leads to the promenade which is lined with colourful beach huts, an open-air swimming pool, children’s playground, skateboard park and tidal filled paddling pool.

From the end of the promenade by the paddling pool you can join a nature walk along the site of the old railway track and around the creek which is all on SSSI land. This is just one of many pleasant walks around Brightlingsea and for the nature lover there are also other nature areas and gardens available to visit.

Over the years the town has been very active in the ‘In Bloom’ competition and has won several prizes, this is reflected in the displays to be found around the town and waterside.

What next?

• More about Town of the Week
• Nominate your town by email to jamie.veitch@towns.org.uk

Action for Market Towns confirms support of Independent Retailer Month UK

Independent Retailer Month UK – a global “shop local” campaign running throughout July – today secured the support of a strategic partner to help engage small and market towns in the campaign. Leading national charity Action for Market Towns (AMT) announced its support of Independent Retailer Month and will encourage its members to participate fully in Campaign activity.

AMT has a national network of members including town partnerships, parish councils, local authorities, and partner businesses. By giving their support to Independent Retailer Month AMT intend to encourage and engage retail communities in small and market towns in efforts to rejuvenate these struggling economies.

Clare Rayner, The Retail Champion, who is the official lead partner for Independent Retailer Month in the UK, said “We are delighted to welcome AMT as an official supporting partner of Independent Retailer Month 2012. By engaging their network of members in small and market towns throughout the UK, who work with retailers in their own towns, we’ll encourage their active participation in activities throughout July. With a whole month dedicated to the campaign we can begin to create new shopping habits, retaining consumer spending in our high streets for the benefit of our local communities.”

Chris Wade, Chief Executive of AMT said, “We believe that independent retailers should be at the heart of a vibrant town centre and are vital to maintaining the distinctiveness and variety of the nation’s market towns.  We are delighted to be part of Independent Retailer Month as a way of getting people to shop local.”

ABOUT INDEPENDENT RETAILER MONTH UK

Independent Retailer Month is a global “Shop Local” campaign that runs throughout July. The campaign highlights the important role smaller, local, independent retailers play in the communities they serve, the local economy they contribute to, and in the retail sector as a whole. Co-founded in the USA by Kerry Bannigan, CEO Nolcha Fashion Week, and Tom Shay, principal of Profits Plus, Independent Retailer Month UK is led by Clare Rayner, The Retail Champion.

Independent Retailer Month

www.independentretailermonth.co.uk

www.facebook.com/IndependentRetailerMonthUK

www.twitter.com/IndieRetailUK

Press enquiries: Jamie Veitch, 07904 272 200.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. Action for Market Towns (AMT) is a national charity committed to the vitality and viability of our small towns.
2. It has a national network of members and works with Town Councils, Community and town partnerships, emerging Local Enterprise Partnerships, Local Authorities, and independent  / selected partner businesses.
3. It offers training, consultancy, national advocacy and a range of other services to more than 400 members.
4. For press enquiries please contact Jamie Veitch on 07904 272 200 or email news@towns.org.uk

Military might

The town also has strong military links. The 1950s saw the building of the Government’s underground War Headquarters in the tunnels left from the quarrying (“Burlington” was declassified in 2004).

In 2008 building began to amalgamate three MOD sites into a new HQ of Defence Equipment and Support Information Systems and Services, which opened last year.

And, in 2010, the Town Council gave its first ever Freedom of the Town, to all the Armed Forces (uniquely Army, Navy and RAF) that serve here.

Arty & inspirational

Around 13,000 people live in this town and yet it has a rural feel. Its high street is lined with buildings that inspired the renowned architectural historian Nikolaus Pevsner to say that the town “has no match in Wiltshire for wealth of good houses”.

The town itself is thriving, with a wide range of independent and specialist shops selling everything from collectible comics to contemporary ceramics. In fact, the Arts are a big feature here, with a renowned Arts Centre, a university Postgraduate Centre for Arts and Teacher Education and a stately home with a celebrated collection of 16th and 17th Century Old Masters and picture gallery designed by Capability Brown.

Local character

This town is something of a well-kept secret compared to its famous neighbour, but is very much worth a visit. It also has some very colourful residents!

What next?

• More about Town of the Week
• Nominate your town by email to jamie.veitch@towns.org.uk