“LET’S talk up the town” was the clear message from Alton mayor Matthew Bayliss as he summarised an open business forum that revealed Alton to be a thriving and dynamic market town with so much more to offer.

Equally impressive were the people with the enthusiasm and energy to drive it forward through the rocky economic climate, there to pool ideas to pave the way for a positive future.

Sparked by concern over a perception that the town is failing, discussions during the forum, held at Alton Assembly Rooms last Wednesday, revealed quite a different picture.

With 215 town centre retail outlets and more than 1,700 businesses operating around the outskirts, it was clear Alton is a thriving economic hub, with a rich history and heritage, strong tourist attractions, and good transport links.

And there was reassurance from the owner of one national business outlet that, in his experience, Alton was a sought-after place, both to live and do business.

In addressing the 40-strong audience from the business community, residents and voluntary sector, Lateef Iqbal, a director of Specsavers optician, said he had undertaken a good amount of research prior to coming to Alton six years ago and the move had proven “a phenomenal success”, outstripping his Farnham store and growing to take 50 per cent of the market share.

He observed: “There are not many towns the size of Alton who can boast an M&S at one end and a Waitrose at the other” and that, in his opinion, “many small businesses in the area would like to come to Alton” which was a friendly town with a good community spirit.

The second in a series of forums, hosted by Alton Town Council to provide an opportunity for anyone with ideas on how to help improve the town to air their views, the event was opened by the mayor, who then handed over to town clerk Leah Coney, who in turn set out the town council’s plan for growth in line with the neighbourhood plan and explained the rationale behind the creation of a business development manager position for Alton.

The role, taken by Julie McLatch last August, is a joint partnership between East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) and Alton Town Council and is designed to support Alton but with a wider remit covering East Hampshire, providing greater resources which, she said, “can better help Alton to be what it can be”.

Based at Alton Town Hall, the job, said Ms McLatch, has seven pillars: business support – embracing connectivity, funding and training; commercial presence and street scene; transport and accessibility, including the town’s digital footprint; forward investment to encourage new business into the town and to support those already here; tourism and events in what is “an incredibly important year” in which to make the most of Alton’s Jane Austen heritage; employment – working with the education and business sectors to promote training and apprenticeships: and engagement.

“Alton has a lot of potential and if we work together we will get there faster,” she said.

Her project plan for the first half of 2017 is to increase the amount of planting and cleaning and improve signage in the town, and to secure a shop front improvement grant to be rolled out in the summer. There is funding available too to support digital training.

Digital visibility was a prime concern of key speaker Alan Donegan, owner of Basingstoke’s Pop-up Business School who, for the past seven years, has helped thousands of folk turn round and grow their businesses. He flagged up the importance of promotion and marketing to encourage people from further afield to come into Alton, of business working together to attract new customers to benefit the town as a whole, but it was important also, he said, for business owners to take responsibility for getting customers through their own doors. He also believed in rebranding as a way of injecting renewed energy into a business.

The evening was then given over to group workshops to identify where Alton was at the moment, what the town should aspire to be and how that might be achieved.

The response was mainly upbeat. Feedback revealed Alton as a family-friendly market town and a “hidden gem” that needed to build on its strengths by making more of its rich history and heritage, strong tourist attractions (including walking trails to connect with the South Downs National Park), good sport and education facilities, and transport links.

With the aim of becoming “a modern market town”, there was a need for continued collaboration between businesses and to raise Alton’s profile by increasing its digital footprint.

With this in mind, as a first step Alton Town Council has pledged to fund digital training for five businesses. If the input is successful, the town council will look at how this initiative could be rolled out across the town.

Any business interested in taking up the offer should contact Julie McLatch on 01420 83986 or e-mail [email protected] by Friday, April 7.