Glovertown Centre Plan

Economic Development, Marketing, and Supporting Business

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A Town Centre Development can be supported by the market that the community of Glovertown serves. Throughout its history, going back to the days of the railway, Glovertown has been a hub of activity for residents of the Terra Nova region. In the last few years, with improvements made to the Central Health Clinic, and changes in the commercial operations in other locales in the region, Glovertown has taken on a larger role in the delivery of services and products to consumers from Hare Bay to Charlottetown, and all places in between. The below figure, developed by economists at Miller Dickinson Blais, shows the annual retail spending levels of a region that is home to roughly 8500 people.

 Retailspendchart

In addition to the regional residents that support Glovertown's economy, visitors to Glovertown and area provide a major boost to the businesses that operate in our community. This includes people visiting the Glovertown for recreation reasons, whether at the Arena, Ballfield, or on the ATV trails; and the many individuals in Newfoundland who view the Terra Nova Region as the place to go for a vacation that is not too far away. Nostalgia for the Glovertown area, the Eastport Peninsula, and Terra Nova National park, brings tourists back to this area frequently. Glovertown can take advantage of these visitors by offering products and services that might not be easily found in these neighbouring areas. Furthermore, the high rate of visitors at Terra Nova National Park (see below) represent a market for Glovertown's commercial entities to tap into.

NatParkschart

Implementing the Town Centre Plan recommendations can attract conusmers in these markets to stay longer, spend more, and spread by word of mouth the positive experiences that they've had in Glovertown while shopping in local businesses, visiting cultural installations, or using the many existing and proposed recreation facilities and green spaces.

Marketing the Town Centre:

  • Work with the business community to further define the type of experience it would like to provide to residents, businesses, and visitors.
  • Build on and extend the success of events like Alexander Bay Days and the Winter Carnival.
  • Adopt a “go to them” approach to promote and sell local goods and services to Terra Nova Park users.
  • Develop one new Glovertown-based tour making use of community stories, arts and cultural assets.
  • Emphasize the importance of core customer service skills to all local businesses.
  • Work with the Marina operators to disseminate information regarding Glovertown services to boaters.
  • Work with local businesses to develop seasonal promotions and events.
  • Continue marketing the Town as a place for sporting events.

Supporting Business:

  • Improve coordination and cross promotion of the town’s existing business services.
  • Investigate small seed funding program from the Town to support new arts based initiatives.
  • Examine zoning by-laws enabling ‘live-work-sell’ space in the Town Centre to increase activity and make use of empty or dilapidated buildings.
  • Increase the visibility of the local business directory on the Town’s website
  • Prioritize the regular updating of the business directory and ensure all appropriate business websites are listed.
  • Establish partnerships with regional agencies and NGO’s to support and enhance program delivery.