08/08/11….Partnership plans to support South Oxfordshire’s Market towns

PARTNERSHIP working is the key theme behind South Oxfordshire District Council?s plans to boost its three market towns of Thame, Henley and Wallingford into 2012 and beyond.

The South Oxfordshire market towns action plan has been updated for 2011/12, bringing new ideas together with ongoing projects, as the council continues to work with 21st Century Thame, Henley Partnership, and the Wallingford Partnership, as well as the three respective town councils and various local groups, to help strengthen the local economy and bring more people to the towns.

The action plan is designed to support the council?s objectives of supporting economic growth, creating vibrant market towns, and promoting business growth and job creation. It endorses the vision for the three towns outlined in the 2009 distinctiveness reports.

Actions in the plan are divided between generic projects that will benefit all three market towns and those tailored for individual towns, and are seperated in terms of the contribution they will make to the area through retail and tourism, culture and events, infrastructure, or marketing.

Among the actions identified to boost all towns in the district are: organising events to encourage business involvement and joint tourism work in the towns, producing information sheets to encourage inward investment, and supporting locally-led initiatives to help promote towns in the run up to the 2012 Olympics.

In Thame the town centre will see a number of shops improve their appearance thanks to the introduction of the shop front grant scheme, while the town?s annual food festival is set to become a commercial venture. Thame?s partnership, 21st Century Thame, will also continue to improve the town?s online offering as well as working to bring more facilities and equipment to the town to support events and promotion.

21st Century Thame’s completed projects, supported by SODC and SEEDA funding, include the town’s recently launched Loyalty card scheme, a Welcome Pack for prospective new residents and businesses, Cycling and Walking maps, Blue Plaques scheme, Historic Town Trails, planters at the town’s entry points, expansion of the town’s Christmas lights and support for the recently launched business partnership, Thame4Business.

Future Thame projects include the use of more plastic cows around the town, strategically placed to advertise events in and promotions of the town, and consolidation of the town’s web presence.

In Henley local groups will work together to help promote the George Orwell Centre and support next year?s Olympic and jubilee celebrations. A project to update signage in the town and produce travel itineries to help encourage visitors to stay longer in Henley, will also take place.

Wallingford has already seen the introduction of new signage, cycling routes and banners in the town, and the council will continue to work with the award-winning Wallingford Partnership and Wallingford Town Council to ensure this good work carries on. A programme to recruit new members to join Wallingford in Business will take place to assist the group in organising regular events in the town, and businesses will also be encouraged to use official town branding and continue to work together on events such as Wallingford Weddings.

To see the complete list of actions for South Oxfordshire?s market towns go to: http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/services-and-advice/business/economic-development/towns

Cllr Judith Nimmo-Smith, cabinet member for Economic Development in South Oxfordshire, said: ?We pride ourselves on our vibrant market towns and have enjoyed some fantastic success in recent years to help bring more people in and boost the local economy. We will continue to work with the partnerships and groups in Thame, Henley, and Wallingford to ensure they continue to be places that people want to visit and live in.”