Meet the woman aiming to improve Moray's town centres: Angharad Rogers appointed to new role at Moray Chamber

HELPING improve the region's town centres is the name of the game for Moray Chamber's newest recruit Angharad Rogers.

Anna has run Angharad Bridal in Elgin for five years after buying and renovating an empty property on the town's South Street.

Now, she is set to use the experience she has gained – along with a recent Masters in Business Administration – in her new role as Moray Chamber's town centres development manager.

Anna has been given a 12-month contract with Moray Chamber – financed by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund – and will work on helping improve seven of Moray's town centres.

These are Elgin, Forres, Buckie, Keith, Lossiemouth, Aberlour and Dufftown. The aim is to entice new businesses to the area, fill vacant units and help currently-operating businesses prosper.

Anna, who grew up in Wales and has lived in Dufftown since 2001, started her new role on November 20.

She said: "I'm really excited. We are very lucky in Moray to have such beautiful buildings and live in such a beautiful area.

"I have been impressed with the amount of volunteers who are passionate about keeping their town centres alive. Local knowledge is the best knowledge.

"Each town has different needs and it's important for me to understand them. There are some town centres that have more vacant properties than others.

"Lossiemouth, for example, hasn't got any vacant properties, but we need to support the existing properties to stay there and there are other priorities, such as lighting in the area.

"A successful year for me would be getting vacant properties back open and, if we can't fill some of the larger units, then splitting them into smaller units and filling them that way. That would definitely make me smile.

"We want to give people more reason to shop here. It's always good to have competition and more similar shops. Choice makes people travel further."

After moving to Dufftown, Anna worked with Grampian Fire and Rescue Service for 14 years. She started Angharad Bridal, her dream business, as it fitted better around her daughter.

She is stepping back from the business for now to focus on her new role – with the staff she has trained up ably taking her place.

"I saw the job advert and thought it was interesting," she said. "As part of my Masters in Business Administration I did a research project on the regeneration of Elgin High Street. I was interested in how we could get some of the empty properties back open.

"From my findings and research, I believe that if we can get people to work and live in the centre of Elgin it helps the economy. People will put money back in.

"I believe we can do this. We will never go away from online buying but we should put money into our local area first and help businesses survive and keep properties in good condition."

Anna's number one priority to begin with is raising awareness of the Town Centre Capital Grant, which she hopes businesses new and old will apply for.

"It's vital that as many people as possibly apply for this," she added. "It's fantastic that Moray Council have launched this scheme, which allows businesses and landlords to apply for money to convert the upstairs of a property to a residential flat.

"That would encourage people to live here and spend money socially in the area. The grant can also be used for business start-ups and expansion. It's an amazing opportunity.

"They haven't forgot about existing business. The grant can be used for lighting, signage, painting... it's very inclusive."

Moray Chamber's CEO Sarah Medcraf has been delighted with the quick start Anna has made to the role.

She added: "She's hit the ground running. It's a real positive step forward that we have been able to secure funding for this role in order to make change. To gain traction we needed resource on the ground.

"With Anna's experience and knowledge I'm sure that this will be a positive step in the regeneration of Moray's towns."