Our towns are changing, but still perform vital roles as

• business and employment centres
• hubs for public services
• shopping centres for the surrounding area – including traditional markets
• a growing focus for new housing

Our small towns face many problems in the future, including

• loss of variety and closure of shops in town centres
• centralisation of health services causing problems for an ageing population
• inflated house prices driving young people out of the towns where they grew up
• decline of traditional industries
• lure of jobs in cities – towns become dormitories for their bigger neighbours

Small towns have many good points – they are great places to start businesses, popular places to live, and often bubbling with community spirit.

In a new burst of local energy, thousands of projects that tackle small town issues have sprung into being through local initiative and Community Led Planning, most often led by town partnerships of businesses, community organisations, local councils and individual volunteers.

• Find out more about Community Led Planning

Towns Alive

Drawing together all our work on small towns is the Towns Alive programme – a five-year Big Lottery funded programme to raise the game of our market towns in 4 ways:

• sharing experience and good practice through the Towns-4-Towns programme
• providing vital training through the Market Towns Academy
• analysing and developing policy through the Knowledge Hub
• providing a National Voice for market towns

These are questions we asked delegates attending the Regional Market Town Awards Showcase events in June and July 2010.  The ‘wordle’ above illustrates the strength of the responses grouped by categories.  Below is a little more detail about the type of points made for the top 5 of these categories.

1. limited-community-&-principal-authority-relations

• Variable
• Could always work better (they are patronising)
• Third sector organisations do not seem to work well with local authorities
• Limited local knowledge at district council
• Some principal authorities are over bureaucratic and unhelpful
• Difficulties experienced with some local authority departments even if others are supportive

In contrast, a significant number of comments defined the relationships as good.

2. new-governance-structures-&-mechanisms

• Rule book discarded – current confusion as to way forward
• Ability to let others take lead and/or back seat
• Partnership engagement and local governance structure
• Use local referendums to seek public opinion
• Possibility of a scoring/weighting system to improve employment, limit landscape damage

A separate and significant group of comments pointed to the introduction of new area-based forums as suitable structures for providing a focus for good working relations between community partnerships, town councils and principal local authorities.

3. better-integration-of-interests

• Less fragmented
• Local, strategic, district and county partnerships need to maintain links
• Need to investigate how well we can work together to achieve local aims
• Understand that community consists of community groups, business community and non-active part of community
• How to prevent single interest domination from either local or national groups
• Remembering the needs of sustainable developments

4. politics-&-personalities

• You have to play political game and in small towns personalities get in the way
• Need to try to stop being political
• Problem of “own” agendas – historic experience
• Same people take a lead
• Personalities can cause problems

5. improved-communications

• Different media suit different people
• Create different channels to access info:  exhibitions, website, telephone
• Use of technology, for example: Twitter
• Use of other situations to have discussions with the community, for example: stalls at events, rural cinemas

Analysis and conclusions

(Debbie McGrath, Towns Alive Programme Manager and Alison Eardley, Policy Manager)

Improving working relations
The answers prompted by this question are quite wide ranging/locally specific so it is more difficult to draw a conclusion, except that the underlying desire seems to be to improve working relations between the community and local authorities and there appears to be an acknowledgement of the benefits of this.

The quality of the relationship alters so much from place to place and seems to a large part to depends on the skills and personality of the individuals involved.  This brings us back to the importance of training – not just for communities but for the local authority involved.

It is also apparent that there are many of examples of good practice across the country in terms of both reference to structures such as local area forums and more broadly through good communications and shared expectations.

A new era of community empowerment
‘Big Society‘ has been heralded as one of the key solutions to the period of ‘overspending’ and ‘tendency to live beyond one’s means’ that the Conservatives accuse the former Labour Government of overseeing.  The Prime Minister has said groups should be able to influence and indeed run local services including post offices, libraries, transport services and housing projects. The concept is intended as a significant advance for people power.

It is clear that those communities who can get this right will be more likely to receive support.  Therefore, while the need for community and local authorities to work together has always been a topic that has received much attention, now is the time to make it work, and speed is of the essence.

Local democracy
A situation where a community has greater powers to initiate and develop projects from the bottom up raises questions about how democratic such an approach is.

• How do you ensure that a community group is truly representative of the community and able to act in a way that does not over or under-represent specific elements of that community?
• What should the role of the elected politician be and how can they be upskilled to ensure that they are in a position to democratically represent their community (even those who did not vote for them)?

The key is to ensure that a national policy that sounds and looks good – on the surface appearing to empower local people – does not have unintended consequences for the more disadvantaged or indeed the more advantaged members of the very community it seeks to assist.

Accountability
In turn this leads to the question of who is accountable if ‘community’ is to take on a greater role in shaping and delivering services.  Within a top-down local authority structure, it is the elected member, but what about in a bottom-up structure?

The role of Community Led Planning
Recognising the potential of local knowledge, the importance of participation, youth involvement, consultation and engagement suggests the need for a broad and inclusive dialogue and a place for mechanisms that enable this through Community Led Planning (CLP).

This is an existing form of bottom-up, ‘community-led’ framework where local communities have a real involvement in the way their town is developed, and inform the statutory system. It is a structured process, involving local community groups, activists and volunteers in creating a vision for the community and an action plan to achieve it.

AMT supports CLP and believes that it is very much aligned to the Government’s thinking behind ‘Big Society’.  Town Action Planning has been developed as a methodology for those living in small and market towns and sits within the LEAD framework which has been jointly agreed with ACRE, the other leading partner in promoting CLP.

Support through Towns Alive
There is a lot of work being undertaken by a range of organisations on the topic of how communities and local authorities can better work together and the issues that are part of this.  Through Towns Alive there is the scope to tailor this to a small town setting, understanding how CLP can offer a solution and addressing the issues of democracy and accountability and how this relates to the Government’s Local Enterprise Partnership agenda.

A joint project with ACRE seeks to explore how local authorities can better engage in the Community Led Planning process.  Much guidance exists for communities on how they can best effect CLP but less exists for the local authority.  The project will address this and develop information for local authorities as part of the LEAD framework which underpins CLP.

In addition, work is to be undertaken to explore the how councils and community partnerships can combine forces effectively while ensuring that local democracy and accountability are not infringed.

• Find out more about Community Led Planning

• This event is now fully booked
  

Susan Briggs, a North Yorkshire based marketing specialist, will offer a practical and straightforward insight into low cost marketing activities that work, including:

• Deciding on a Unique Selling Point (USP) – some practical examples and options
• Which promotional tools work best, and when?
• Very quick, simple ways to market on the web – whether you have a website already or not
• How to write press releases to get no-cost publicity and attract more funders
• Working together – collaborative approaches and ideas that nearly always work
• Not just ‘yet another leaflet’… easy fast ways to massively improve print material – and do it without a big budget

Practical sessions will be interspersed throughout the day so the learning is interactive and fast moving.  You should go home feeling enthused, excited and not just clear about what you have to do next to improve your marketing – you’ll have already started it before the end of the day!

You will also be able to hear from one town which has done just this and, having identified their USP, have used it to promote their town with award winning results.

Download the programme for the day: How to market your town – seminar programme

Venue: The Courthouse, Westgate, Thirsk, YO7 1QS

Detailed directions, parking, transport and hotel information will be circulated to delegates nearer the time of the event.

If you have any questions about your booking, please contact Dawn Dowds, Action for Market Towns at dawn.dowds@towns.org.uk or call 01284 756567

We have set up a dedicated online forum to give you the opportunity to exchange ideas and queries with each other and with us before and after the event, to let others know you’re going, or to ask any questions you would like answered on the day. 

• Go to the How to market your town – Networking Forum

Attracting and Retaining Visitors to our Market Towns – Thursday 13 May 2010, Malton, North Yorkshire.

The next North Yorkshire Towns Alive Seminar is all about  identifying the events and attractions which are your town’s visitor magnets.

In an effort to help towns combat the ongoing effects of the recession, the seminar will focus on helping market towns realise their visitor offer and increase ‘footfall’ of both residents and visitors (from near and far). The event will cover how to identify which features and attractions can contribute to getting people not only to visit but to return, stay longer and hopefully spend.

For AMT members (anywhere in the country) this event costs just £10. For non-members, it is £25 for North Yorkshire residents or organisations or £35 if you are outside the county.

This is scheduled to be the first of two events, with the first focused on encouraging towns to see the benefit of looking at their offer and thinking laterally, about who their market is and what the features, events and festivals they have which currently attract or could attract people to the town.  Delegates will then be shown how to identify their unique selling points from this research, to identify products and themes to promote and then learn how to develop these themes and projects into an overall vision for the town.  (The second event, to follow at the end of the summer will then be on how to promote and market these projects).

Click here for a detailed programme and event information

The Venue:

Ryedale House, Old Malton Road, Malton, North Yorkshire. YO17 7HH

Directions, parking, transport and hotel information will be uploaded to this page and sent out to booked delegates at a later date.

To Book:

To secure your place, please click here to access and complete the online booking form as soon as possible. This will allow us to confirm numbers with the caterers and venue. Any questions give Dawn Dowds a ring on: 01284 756567

Why not let others know you’re going and ask any questions you would like answered on the day – click here to go to our AMT Forum

The delegates list will be downloaded to the forum at least a week prior to the event to give you a chance to identify who else is going to be there and to give you the opportunity to start networking even before the day itself!

The seminar, on Thursday 25 February, was organised by the North Yorkshire Towns Alive Programme – a collaboration between North Yorkshire County Council and Action for Market Towns, supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

• Download a detailed programme and event information

ShopLocalNY

Cath Grimsey kicked off the day by explaining how and why she had developed ShopLocalNY, which started in Bedale in 2009 but rapidly spread to other towns in North Yorkshire.

The project model involves a website, membership and loyalty cards linked to discounts and special offers. There are currently 190 business members and nearly 10,000 cards have been distributed (sold).  Cardholders can claim promotions/discounts on goods and services from any member shop or business while the business directory on the website promotes ‘hidden gems’ on the local high street.

• Read Cath’s presentation on ShopLocalNY

Caterham ShopSmart

Chris Windridge then presented the experience of Caterham Shopsmart. Although Caterham’s loyalty scheme only began in August 2009, over 1800 people are now members and 50 shops and local businesses are part of the scheme, which continues to expand.

The scheme offers free cards to the public, who in return register basic details. The free aspect is aimed at reducing barriers to entry for shoppers.

• Read Chris’s presentation on Caterham ShopSmart

Pitfalls of loyalty cards

The third presentation of the morning was a frank and open portrayal of the potential pitfalls of loyalty cards by Mark Barnes, Town Centre Manager, Louth. Mark has been working with loyalty schemes for a few years, with various towns and organisations such as the Civic Trust.

• Read Mark’s presentation on the pitfalls of loyalty cards

After tucking into a delicious buffet of local produce, the delegates split into three groups to consider the issues involved in setting up or expanding a shop local scheme in their own towns, before returning to the plenary and the opportunity to question the panel of speakers.

amt-i research into loyalty cards

The day concluded with a presentation by Hannah Bowden of amt-i who presented the main findings of her recent research project into the role of loyalty cards in market towns.

The research looked at a variety of schemes and considered issues ranging from the reasons behind the different approaches and methodology, to costs and funding sources and the collection of customer data.

• Read Hannah’s presentation on loyalty card research

Your questions

If you have questions about starting a shop local scheme, why not check out our North Yorkshire Shop Local online forum where people experienced in developing and running loyalty card campaigns are waiting to answer your questions.

The idea was to look at both projects in detail and see what lessons there were for other market towns in devising similar projects for their communities.

The study tour, on Wednesday, November 11, was organised by the North Yorkshire Towns Alive Programme – a collaboration between North Yorkshire County Council and Action for Market Towns, supported by the Big Lottery Fund.

Riverside Improvement Project

Andrew Laycock, of Craven District Council, gave an informative presentation about the Settle Area Riverside Improvement Project. This project, which was completed in July 2009, has enhanced what was an underutilised asset, improved the link between the town centre and riverside, provided safe footpath and cycleway facilities, promoted the riverside as part of the Settle visitor offer and enhanced the natural environment through habitat management.

The project was developed and managed by a partnership of Craven District Council, Yorkshire Forward, North Yorkshire County Council, Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust and StART (the Settle Area Renaissance Team).

• Download the Settle Riverside Presentation
• Download an information sheet about the Riverside project

Settle Hydro Project

Steve Amphlett and Ann Harding are founding directors of the Settle Hydro Project.  Steve outlined the development, technical basis and funding of the scheme, while Ann provided a frank and open overview of the ‘good, bad and ugly’ aspects of managing the scheme as volunteers.

Settle Hydro was formed in July 2008 as an ‘Industrial and Provident Society for the Benefit of the Community’ with the specific purpose of developing and managing the Settle Weir Hydro Electric Scheme. The society will generate revenue by selling ‘green’ hydro-electricity, with any surplus revenue being used by the society to benefit the local community through its twin aims of regenerating the local economy and promoting the environmental sustainability of Settle District.

It is a very exciting time for the project, as the 50kW Archimedean screw is just in the process of being installed at Settle Weir. The scheme will generate approx 180,000 kWh (units) of electricity per year – enough for around 50 average houses, saving 80 tonnes of carbon per year or 3,160 tonnes of carbon over an expected lifetime of 40 years.

Participants were entertained by the Settle Community Choir during lunch and then set off on a refreshing walk through Settle to both project sites. This enabled them to witness the detail of the projects for themselves and benefit from the project representatives being on hand to answer any questions.

Back at Victoria Hall, the participants then spent some time working in small groups to consider the feasibility of transferring such projects to their towns or to discuss ideas for initiating similar community projects, before the day closed with a final question and answer session.

What next?

• Download presentations and information:

Settle Hydro presentation
Settle Hydro information sheet
Key points from Ann Harding’s talk
Settle Hydro Q&A session
Pictures from the Settle Hydro Study Tour (opens new window)
Full Settle Hydro case study (AMT members only)

• Join in discussions on generating renewable energy in the AMT Forum