Context
The Tyisha Steering Group, as part of an anti-poverty and regeneration initiative, wished to engage with, hear the views of, and involve the community of the Tyisha Ward in developing regeneration plans and strategies that would improve the physical environment of the area (the place) and address the socio-economic issues some members of the community were facing (the people).

At the time this Project was delivered, Tyisha had the highest population density in Carmarthenshire, and over a quarter of its housing was social rented, in low demand and difficult to let. There was also a high proportion of maisonettes and flats which did not meet the needs of the community. The engagement process provided an opportunity for residents of the Ward to put forward their ideas for how two key housing areas could be regenerated – the 5 Ty’s and the Clos Sant Paul flats.
The Ward has a range of community facilities including three community halls; a Family Centre; and several large open spaces. The building of the new Penrhos Primary School resulted in the two existing schools, Lakefield and Copperworks, becoming vacant and the Council seeking the views of the community as to what use these buildings / sites could be put to. Llanelli Railway Station is on the southern edge of the Ward and Station Road, running north to south through the Ward, is a main thoroughfare and provides people visiting Llanelli with their first impression of the town and the Ward. Most businesses in the Tyisha Ward are located along Station Road. At the time of the project there were several regeneration schemes already underway.
Delivering the Project
One of the outcomes of this Project was that, at an early stage in the project timetable, a training day in the Planning for Real methodology would be delivered for Councillors, County Council Officers, local School representatives, the Police and Fire Services. The training enabled Councillors, Officers and Agency personnel to be actively involved in the delivery of the process.

Following the training, Officers of the Council’s Communities for Work Unit worked with the children of Bigyn and Penrhos Schools to make the large 3D model of the Ward. This 3D model would be used alongside a set of bi-lingual, pre-written colour coded and blank “Your Idea” flags covering the themes:
● Community Facilities ● Community Safety ● Environment ● Health & Wellbeing ● Housing ● Leisure & Recreation ● Transport & Movement ● Work & Training ● Education
Also available at several of the events, where space allowed for their use, were other consultation tools including a cloth “brick” wall and paper “bricks” which residents could use to tell us what they liked about Tyisha and, for those events which particularly targeted families, a cloth “rainbow”, together with paper suns, clouds, and footsteps, was used to help identify hopes and support needs. To record demographics and spread of participation Gender and Age pin boards and a “Show Us Where You Live” map were used at the consultation events.
With the support of Officers of the Council, a programme of 15 consultation events, both targeted (closed) and open public, were delivered. A variety of venues were used, and events held on different days of the week and at different times of the day. The targeted events included: the local schools and Family Centre (children and parents); a sheltered Housing Scheme; the business community; and the private rental sector (tenants and landlords).
As it was important to involve the business community, they were offered two ways on getting involved and providing their views: one through completing a Survey and another through attending a consultation event arranged just for the business community at the Town Hall.
The following word clouds provide a visual representation of the key issues being raised under the different themes:

Local residents and businesses were kept informed of progress through regular Community Newsletters.
Creating an Action Plan
Following on from the engagement events, a series of Prioritisation and Action Planning Workshops took place which were held in local community centres. Subsequently, an Action Plan review and confirmation Workshop was held for the Steering Group members. An early achievement that has come out of the Action Plan has seen the development of a new park which has been welcomed by families in the area.
Latest News about Transforming Tyisha (February 2025)
Llanelli’s Tyisha Ward has become the focus of a multi-million-pound regeneration project that is set to transform the area and the Transforming Tyisha Community Steering Group, which includes the Council and various partners including Dyfed-Powys Police and Llanelli Town Council, is driving forward the project.
Tyisha has been identified as one of the most deprived areas in the country, with both socio-economic and environmental challenges. The Transforming Tyisha project looks to address these, following consultation with residents and businesses within the ward.
After the completion of the community and business consultation and development of an Action Plan, Arcadis were appointed to produce an ambitious masterplan to transform the area which will look to build new housing and facilities which meet the needs of the community, improve the environment and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
Carmarthenshire County Council is now seeking a development partner to deliver the next phase of the Transforming Tyisha regeneration project which includes the development of mixed tenure housing for local people across 5 key sites. The developments will provide opportunities for first time buyers, families and those needing social housing as well as providing more green spaces and improving the environment.
Community Safety: A programme of partnership working between Carmarthenshire County Council, Dyfed Powys Police and Mid and West Wales Fire Service has been put in place to help reduce crime and anti-social behaviour throughout Tyisha. This includes walkabouts, coffee mornings and a Beat Surgery at Home Bargains, all of which give residents the opportunity to raise their concerns about crime and anti-social behaviour in the area. Tyisha is set to have 36 CCTV cameras installed throughout the ward in key areas including Ty Stafford, Clos Sant Paul and green areas at Clos Sant Paul and Ann Street park following a consultation with residents. The aim of the CCTV is to improve community safety and reporting of incidents at these key sites.