Teamwork to help town trade
Newark has been named as a successful Town Team and given £10,000 from the Government, along with the promise of advice and support from leading retail experts.
A bid by Newark Business Club and Newark and Sherwood District Council to become a Portas Pilot area was unsuccessful, but they have been chosen by the Government’s local growth minister Mr Mark Prisk as a Town Team in a pilot project to improve the UK’s town centres.
The grant will be used for promotion and marketing and to hold or help with events that aim to attract people into the centre of Newark.
The chairman of Newark Business Club, Mr James Fountain, said they needed to create an experience in the town that went beyond retailing.
He said: “The Market Place and its environs should be a destination for socialising, culture, creativity and learning.
“It is the hope of the business club that the fund can by used by the Town Team to boost the retail economy and attract more shoppers into the heart of Newark.
“The establishment of Town Team Partners will help to maintain the momentum and energy that was generated by initial Portas Pilot bid submitted by the club.”
Details on the composition of the Town Team Partnership and its terms of reference are being finalised with the council who will hold and distribute the grant.
The council’s business manager for markets and carparking, Mr Ian Harrison, is working with the group and said they were committed to protecting and maximising what Newark had to offer, and getting people back into the town centre.
He said: “If the town centre is the heart of Newark then footfall is its blood.
“Newark town centre has for centuries been a key trading and visitor location in the region. We intend to ensure that it will continue to be that in the future.”
The council leader, Mr Roger Blaney, said that in the last financial year Newark Market had exceeded expectations in terms of income and there had been significant increases in market trader numbers.
He said: “We’ll continue to work hard with retailers to find ways of increasing footfall into the town centre, and in doing so help to put more money in people’s pockets.”
