Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A very spooky Halloween event was held in Ammanford last Friday. The well attended event was organised by the “Support Your High Street” team from the Town Council and Ammanford Enterprise Partnership. Hundreds of parents with young children turned out for the free event which offered free goody bags, Toffee Apples and Hot Chocolate. There was a costume parade with prizes for best costume in several categories, as well as best decorated pumpkin, spooky music and images from the Bandstand and a Halloween trail with supernatural happenings and horrible characters. Carmarthenshire County Council physical regeneration project officer Andrew Shufflebotham said: “Some of the eateries benefited from families visiting the event. On the spooky night families were reminded of what Ammanford town centre has to offer in the run up to Christmas.

Leading councillors in Carmarthenshire are encouraging businesses in Ammanford town centre to take advantage of a £50,000 cash boost. The funding is coming from the Welsh Government as part of the Support Your High Street  campaign, which aims to encourage more people to shop in their local town centre. Recently, the successful Twrch Trwyth festival was held in Ammanford as part of the campaign. The funding has now been awarded to a number of towns across Wales, and will pay for things such as town centre events, branding, promotions, website, signage, footfall counters and digital media training for retailers. Carmarthenshire County Council Leader Cllr Kevin Madge said: “We would urge all shops and businesses in Ammanford town centre to take advantage of the opportunities this funding will provide. “Our executive board members and our officers have worked closely with the Welsh Government on initiatives such as this which support our town centres. “We very much welcome this fund...

Show your support to the high street and visit Carmarthen Market this Friday. Traders are celebrating the National Support Your High Street campaign. Not only will you be able to do your shopping but you will also be entertained by Radio Cymru broadcaster Marc Griffiths. There will also be cookery demonstrations using produce from the market by Lisa Fearn of the Pumpkin Patch Kitchen & Garden. Between 11am and 3pm Marc Griffiths will be finding out more about the goods available to buy in the market as well as finding out more about some of the traders.  Shoppers will be able to see some of the clothing and accessories close up and taste some of the flavours of the market with tasters. Come and see the county council stand at the former Computabuilda unit in the centre of the market hall. Carmarthenshire County Council’s executive board member responsible for markets, Cllr Jeff Edmunds, said: “It’s great to see the traders coming together and supporting this national camp...

Businesses in Carmarthen are being urged to join the new High Street campaign being launched later this month. Carmarthenshire County Council is supporting the Welsh Government initiative taking place between September 20 and 27. It is aimed at encouraging businesses and communities to support their local High Streets and rediscover the benefits of shopping locally. A number of events and activities are being planned in town centres across Wales during the week, and Carmarthen is now being urged to join in. Regeneration executive board member Cllr Meryl Gravell said: “We are supporting the campaign and are encouraging local shops and businesses to come forward with their ideas. “It could be a specific event or a number of different activities or promotions – the main thing is that people take this opportunity to raise awareness of the benefits of shopping locally. “Some town centres are running large carnival style events, whereas in others there are a number of smaller activiti...