Initial engagement event held to future proof Llanelli Market
6 days ago
On Tuesday evening, 22 July 2025, 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.
The Council is engaging with traders and key stakeholders of Llanelli Market and Town Centre to ensure we have a sustainable plan for Llanelli Market for the future. The current building is nearing its end of life, and we want to agree a joint way forward to create a new market for the town. We have been advised that the building is safe to use, however we need to plan for the building’s end of life.
Absolutely not. Carmarthenshire County Council is committed to ensuring that Llanelli continues to have a thriving market in the decades to come, and we are working with partners to regenerate Llanelli town centre.
To date, we have explored 4 options for consideration. They are as follows:
- Temporarily relocate to outdoor or other provision, before relocating to a new home on the Market’s current site
- Relocate the Market 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.
Yes, the current building has been and continues to be monitored by engineers to ensure the building is safe. The Authority considers people’s safety as its number one priority.
Engineers are conducting monthly inspections to monitor the building’s condition closely. All necessary repairs are documented in a maintenance schedule and addressed by an appointed contractor on a priority basis.
The multistorey car park in Llanelli was built in 1969 and is now 56 years old. The current car park can accommodate 527 cars. This number is broken down into long stay parking bays and short stay parking bays. The average daily use of the car park is 224 tickets. However, using data from usage surveys, the number of spaces in use at any one time is less than this.
Considering the parking numbers detailed above, we have reviewed all parking provision in the town and the displaced parking spaces from the multistorey will be accommodated through the other public car parks in the town. We will be reviewing current carpark usage and we will look to amend current short stay provision with long stay provision, to displace the long stay spaces lost from the multistorey car park.
The Council has considered various options and has identified 4 options to present to the Traders at Llanelli Market. Taking into consideration that the current building is nearing its end of life, one of the most deliverable options is to relocate the Market to the site of the former Woolworths building at 8 -12 Vaughan Street. That option will also bring the town focus back to Vaughan Street and Stepney Street.
The Council have been exploring options to redevelop the former Woolworths building in Vaughan Street since the building was acquired by the Authority in 2018. The Council have subsequently secured UK Government Levelling Up Funding to redevelop the building and, following initial attempts to redevelop the site as a Health Hwb, the opportunity has arisen to accommodate Llanelli Market on the site. This option has been explored in the knowledge that the current site of the Market, the Multistorey building, has a limited lifespan.
The Council has been developing this option, as we want to ensure that the current Market provision can be fully accommodated on the site and investigations suggest this is possible. We also want to ensure that the new provision can be delivered in line with the UK Government’s funding timescale and its use as can only be applied for and spent on economic regeneration projects. 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.
There are many examples of markets that have been redeveloped and are proving to be very successful. If we get the design and offer right in the future market building, then we believe the footfall will come. If this option is chosen it would be up to the County Council, Market traders and wider stakeholders, collectively, to ensure its success and the Council will work with the Market traders to develop the concept and design of the building. Architects have been approached to work with us all to create a building that is going to be fit for the future and help regenerate the town.
Next Steps
As the Council, we want to work with you to agree a way forward and deliver a market fit for the future, that the town can be proud of. We want to get everyone’s views on board and collectively agree a way forward.
Option 3 – Preapplication Submission
To keep all the options alive, and to meet the funders timetable requirements, we intend to submit a pre-planning application shortly for option 3 i.e. to create a new market at 18 - 12 Vaughan Street. A delay in this submission would mean that we are unable to deliver the market by Spring 2028. Although we are submitting the preapplication it does not mean this will be the option to be delivered.
