South Molton was historically famous for its wool trade, with agriculture and tourism playing a big part in its economy. The economy of the town was stagnating and it was hit badly by the Foot & Mouth outbreak from February 2001. In recognition of this, South Molton was selected as one of the 9 Devon towns to take part in the Market & Coastal Towns Initiative (MCTI), an opportunity given to us by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWERDA). The MCTI process began in July 2001 and built on work previously done by the community group, MA2K, as described below. It included South Molton and 25 surrounding parishes. The Steering Group held a series of Community Consultation events later in the year to identify the Vision, Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats and key issues for the area. It then established seven ‘issue’ action groups to develop the ideas expressed at the Community events. It wrote its Constitution and developed the local organisation Molton Area 2000 (MA2K) into a Company Limited by Guarantee in order to become its accountable body.

Our MCTI Strategic Action Plan is developed by bringing together previous work of Molton Area 2000, national, regional and local regeneration strategies and partnership working involving public, private and voluntary sectors and the community itself.

Through our health check we established base data to enable us to recognise our strengths and weaknesses, our location being one of our strongest points and lack of facilities for young people one of our weakest.

To encourage social and economic regeneration of the Market Town in such a way to exploit our uniqueness, environment and heritage and to improve the quality of life of those who live, work, play and visit for Today and Tomorrow

The Action Plan outlines a programme of development including, as a first priority, the relocation of the Livestock Market from the town centre to Pathfields Business Park, thus freeing up the central area for future development. This area is known as the Central Development Area. The Plan also seeks to offer outreach services to the hinterland of South Molton and will, in particular, support Community Groups by building capacity and support villages in the Vital Villages’ programme. Working with the Chamber of Trade, the company will establish a strategy for the economic development of the area.

2.2 Maps

The maps on the following pages show:

In order to achieve the vision, the following thematic objectives have been developed:

A series of projects have been identified to achieve these objectives. These have been prioritised and are at varying stages of development.

The Plan outlines the steps in the process to deliver the projects within the regeneration programme. The process of development and action planning is not a static one and ongoing consultation and discussion will take place to further refine and develop project ideas. This will include consultations with professionals associated with the specific projects regarding content and costings, local residents in parishes and, in particular, young people who will be involved in the development of youth provision.

The MCTI steering group has come under the umbrella of Molton Area 2000, a community association open to membership, and thus accountable to, anyone resident or working in the South Molton area.

A Project Co-ordinator will be required to ensure projects are delivered and a process for monitoring progress will be developed. Finally, in relation to the next steps, the Plan outlines arrangements for the Brokering Table. This is a crucial part of the process for the South Molton Market and Coastal Town Initiative as it brings together some of the key regional partners and funding providers that can support the development of the Action Plan.

Work carried out by the South Molton MCTI group has underpinned earlier work by Molton Area 2000, which has been in existence since 1997. In this time both MA2K and the MCTI group have come to a better understanding of the needs of the area, have developed the skills to interpret the needs into real projects and the ability to engage with key stakeholders so they understand the benefits of such projects. The group is now ready to move onto the next phase of development and implementation of its Action Plan and calls on the support of other people and organisations with an interest in South Molton and its hinterland – people who are living, working and volunteering along with potential funding providers for the regeneration of the area.