ON TUESDAY (July 22) evening Carmarthenshire County Council hosted an initial engagement meeting with the Traders of Llanelli Market to discuss possible options to future proof this very popular and bustling Market for generations to come.
The current site of the Market, located beneath a multi–storey car park, is safe and is monitored regularly by engineers. The building, however, is nearing the end of its structural life and, in anticipation of this, the County Council is commencing discussions with Traders and stakeholders in advance to secure the long-term future of Llanelli Market.
Carmarthenshire County Council is committed to ensuring that Llanelli continues to have a thriving market in the decades to come, as it works with partners to regenerate Llanelli town centre. Therefore, the potential options discussed with the traders were:
- Temporarily relocate to outdoor or other provision, before relocating to a new home on the Market’s current site
- Relocate to Market Street South
- Relocate the Market to the former Woolworths Building, 8-12 Vaughan Street
- Hybrid option of relocate the Market to 8 – 12 Vaughan Street and some traders to empty retail sites within the town centre
Having acquired the former Woolworths building, 8-12 Vaughan Street, in 2018, Carmarthenshire County Council has secured funding from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Scheme that is conditional on bringing 3664m2 of commercial space back into use within Llanelli town centre by Spring 2028. Following initial attempts to redevelop the site, the opportunity has arisen to accommodate Llanelli Market on the site.
Funding from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Scheme can only be applied for and spent on economic regeneration projects.
With this in mind, Traders have been asked to consider whether the option to relocate to 8-12 Vaughan Street is the only viable options to allow use of funding and delivery within the proposed timescales.
Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Leisure, Culture and Tourism – Cllr Hazel Evans said: “We appreciate the Traders taking time to engage, and discuss and provide feedback to with us on the initial options to secure the future of Llanelli Market.
“We currently have funding available to us from the UK Government Levelling Up Fund to redevelop 8-12 Vaughan Street, making it a realistic and deliverable option.
“We are faced with tight timescales to secure the money for this project and ensure that this option remains on the table to deliver a new market in Llanelli town centre.
“We would need to submit a pre-planning application to create a new market at 8-12 Vaughan Street in the coming weeks.
“Due to the time constraints, it is better to submit the pre-planning application in this time scale, with the option to withdraw the application if this option is not viable.
“If the Council submitted the application at a later date, it would mean that we miss the deadlines set out in the conditions of funding by the UK Government.
“Last night’s initial discussion meeting is the beginning of a journey with our traders, as they’re input is integral to how we design a new home for Llanelli Market.”
It is anticipated that, following the relocation of Llanelli Market from the multi–storey carpark, the carpark will be demolished. The County Council is reviewing all parking provision in the town and the displaced long stay parking spaces from the multistorey will be accommodated through the other public car parks in the town, before a longer-term solution is found.
