The last element in this list may focus on the cultural or historical basis of the location and will certainly call for an attractive, safe environment with amenities of the highest order. Fundamentally, it embraces the principles of mobilising limited resources from all quarters to provide realistic and workable local solutions to local problems for the benefit of all users of town centres. A genuine partnership must exist between all participants, this usually involves the public and private sectors working together. A clearly defined strategy needs to be created, with a critical pathway to achievement clearly outlined. A detailed and effective communications and liaison network established.
Some thought has to be given to funding mechanisms, in both the short and medium terms.
Your S.W.O.T. analysis will identify the key players, resources, targets and difficulties, as well as the opportunities open to you. The resultant strategy defines the goals and the mechanisms that you must put into action in order to achieve them. The critical pathway maps out these various solutions and the timescales over which they can be applied. The value of working partnerships, effective lines of communication and arranging finance are all subjects covered by other authors elsewhere in this issue of 'Caring for our Towns and Cities'. This will inevitably lead to consideration of allocating dedicated hours to be spent maintaining and building on the momentum and successes achieved through the initial activities of the management team.