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Total Cost: £288,000 - EU Grant: £84,000
RALLY (Ruthin and Llangollen, Yes) works in partnership with the Town Councils and Business / Enterprise Associations in Ruthin and Llangollen.
The project aims to arrest the economic decline in Ruthin and Llangollen, two communities that have in the past suffered from peripherality and under promotion of what they have to offer. It will highlight the advantages of supporting local businesses and encouraging local sourcing of products through markets, events and campaigns. The appointment of a business champion has been made in each community whose role it is to assist partnerships to undertake market research, implement promotional activities, provide equipment to produce quality supporting literature and work to remove obstacles to economic growth.
The RALLY project has directly assisted small local businesses to undertake intensive market research on their products and is encouraging those businesses to invest in further marketing activity than they would otherwise have done. With this specialist support they have gained confidence in their future promotion and targeted marketing.
Key events are supported where they bring real benefits to the market towns, either by increasing footfall or by increasing the promotion of what the towns have to offer in sectors which have perhaps been neglected in the past. In particular the RALLY officer for Llangollen is investigating the Family Friendly market opportunities for the town as a niche marketing tool.
The formation of the Ruthin Producers' Market which is held on the last Saturday of the month (April to October) has been well supported and is a flagship project for the promotion and sourcing of local produce. It is held in the courtyard of the Old Gaol Ruthin which is fully accessible and is a quality venue in the town.
For example, in September 2006 Ruthin hosted the Open Doors project which is a Townscape Heritage Project and highlighted the diversity and high quality of the built heritage in the town. This took place over a weekend in mid September which is traditionally a quiet time of year for small market towns and increases footfall whilst bringing in visitors who may not normally visit.
In 2006, Llangollen RALLY assisted the promotion of a number of Town events including the Easter Bunny Hop charity event, the Fringe Festival Dancing in the Streets event and the International Musical Eisteddfod town events, all of which took place in the town centre. In addition Llangollen RALLY has worked with major events organisers at the Royal International Pavilion to promote the Town through their events. These include the Astra Stages Rally, the Gardening Show and the Hot Air Balloon Festival, all of which attract tens of thousands of visitors from across the world, bringing benefits to accommodation providers, attractions and restaurants/bars. As added value all these events invest in promotion and advertising which benefits Llangollen far and beyond the life of the event.
Working closely with businesses, in particular in Ruthin , a new Business Watch scheme has been supported to increase awareness of personal safety, theft and vandalism within the peripheral business parks. Lon Parcwr is a successful business park which has developed a Business Watch brand and this is visible on business premises and lamp columns to raise awareness that businesses are working with each other and the local police to report suspicious behaviour or vandalism.
Future projects will look at raising environmental awareness amongst the local businesses, the community and visitors. Such initiatives may include waste recycling facilities at events, promotion of sustainable transport and other environmentally friendly business practices which will improve their economic bottom line.