Town councillors finally to see new town brand

It's taken over two years, more than £24,000 to develop and has remained a closely guarded secret, but finally town councillors could soon be seeing the new town branding in April.

Town councillors on the Council's Economy & Environment Committee heard last night that the town branding, which has been in development since 2022 could finally be brought to committee in April - but that isn't set in stone.

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During the tourism update from officers and lead councillor, Cllr Richard Edwards, it was announced that the town branding might be brought to committee in April for members to explore.

The long running saga over a new branding for the town has seen many bumps in the road, with town councillors back in May 2022 voting to keep it secret in confidential session due to fears that if seen publically, then the branding launch could be in jeopardy.

The branding project has been in the pipeline since 2018 and gathered momentum when external consultants, Cardiff based, Heavenly, were appointed to develop a new brand for the town. After extensive stakeholder engagement and consultation, the findings were presented and an option was recommended by officers.

In June 2022, town councillors heard that 'good progress' was being made and development of a new marketing plan, brand identity and website for Newtown was expected to be launched in autumn.

In August 2022, the town council setup an advisory group for third parties to contribute to the branding exercise.

However, as we reported back in September 2022, the town council paid Heavenly, an additional £2,500 for an additional briefing paper after a freedom of information request.

The Town Council's Development Manager told committee that she hoped that an update on the branding would be on the agenda for April's meeting. Alongside this, it has been reported that a new temporary Tourism & Marketing Officer will start in their post on the 1st May 2024.