Council grant to aid the delivery of Yeovil town centre events

Released On 5th Nov 2018

South Somerset District Council Area South Committee has awarded the Love Yeovil Marketing Group (LYMG) a grant of £7,500 which will assist in the delivery of events in the town centre.

LYMG was founded with the aims of positively promoting Yeovil, organising seasonal & thematic events and attractions, creating an enjoyable, varied and exciting shopping experience and monitoring consumer experience, whilst evolving a programme in response to this feedback.

The funding from Area South Committee means that the LYMG are now over half way towards being able to fund someone on a part time basis to continue to support town centre events. The role will focus on engagement with the retail, evening and night time sector and also work in partnership with key stakeholders, whilst developing an online presence and creating a one stop shop for retailer and visitors alike.

The businesses in the town centre will benefit by seeing more activity on the ground and by having a dedicated person who co-ordinates town centre activities.

The group is run by volunteers and was founded with the aims of positively promoting Yeovil, organising seasonal & thematic events and attractions and creating an enjoyable and varied shopping experience.

With online shopping becoming popular the only way to keep large numbers of shoppers coming to the town is to offer something in addition to retail such as leisure opportunities, Markets and events. Shopping habits are changing and many of the recent studies, including the Yeovil Refresh, have shown that in order to survive, High Streets need to offer an 'experience' to shoppers.

Councillor Peter Gubbins, Area South Committee Chairman and Portfolio Holder for Yeovil Refresh, said: "The Committee Members unanimously backed this grant because by providing a dedicated person to provide marketing activities in Yeovil can only be a positive thing. Some businesses have reported that they have seen an increase of 30% in footfall on event days, so the fact that the Area South Committee was able to support this group to continue their work is great news for the town.

"With the Yeovil Refresh project also taking place, we are excited for the future and keen to create a town centre that will be a vibrant place to live, work, shop, learn and visit."

The Love Yeovil Marketing Group will match fund the community grant from their own funds that are generated through contributions from local businesses.

Community grants are available from the District Council to voluntary and charitable organisations, not-for-profit groups, Parish or Town Councils and other organisations that benefit the wider community. For more information visit www.southsomerset.gov.uk/community-grants.