Home > News > Articles & speeches > Alarm at further development at Trostre

I read with alarm in last week’s Llanelli Star about Carmarthenshire County Council considering further retail development at Trostre. Cllr David Jenkins, Executive Board member for resources, says that they are looking to see what interest there is in 16 acres of site for retail, housing, leisure or employment. This seems to me to be putting the cart before the horses. Carmarthenshire should be analysing what we need and want first, and then going out to look for developers. It is obvious to everyone, except presumably Cllr Jenkins,  that additional retail space at Trostre and Pemberton will have a detrimental knock-on effect on Llanelli town centre, where traders are working hard to make a living and bring more life back into the town centre – that message is coming loudly and clearly from Llanelli traders and residents alike. Furthermore, it is just not the way things are going: with the inexorable rise in online shopping, everyone from the biggest supermarkets down, is looking seriously at cutting down on shop floor space and increasing their online offer. Additional retail space could even affect the viability of existing businesses in Trostre and Pemberton.
As for housing, I am not against new housing, but it should be in the place and of the type that is needed, so let’s have proper assessment of need first. At the moment we have a number of housing developments in Llanelli and the surrounding areas, hardly started or partly built, which are dependent on the market situation for their completion. On the other hand, bringing genuine employment opportunities or leisure facilities which do not detract from the town centre would be welcome.  I very much hope that Cllr Jenkins and his fellow councillors on the executive board of Carmarthenshire County Council will listen to the people of Llanelli before making any decisions.