Teyrngarwch

This may sound like I'm having a moan when in fact I just want to offer some help. If you live in Rhuthun/Ruthin, you'll no doubt have received a Cerdyn Bro Rhuthun Loyalty Card on your doormat. The concept's straightforward and original: it aims to encourage local people to support shops on their doorstep by offering incentives. It's a brave move and one we wish to commend. But its take up is currently poor. Some traders haven't seen anyone using them. Why? Perhaps:

• People are away on holiday, over the summer.
• There isn't yet enough information available as to what town traders offer.
• The offers simply aren't good enough to entice local people.
• It may not have had time to start.

Perhaps all four of these possibilities are holding the scheme back. Those shops and businesses offering something seem either to be giving away little or adding too many conditions. Far simpler to go for a unified, clear scheme. Wouldn't it be nice for participating shops to offer a five or a 10 per cent discount across the board, upon production of the card, no other strings attached. You see, currently, it appears there's little incentive for the customer. Even if independent shopkeepers feel 10 per cent isn't sustainable, could this not be for a limited period, to kick-start the scheme?

Information's currently difficult to get as to who's taking part and what they offer. Some of the new shops in town have yet to find their way onto the online directory at VisitRuthin. You need to register to get monthly emails but how do you know it's worth doing that?

These sorts of initiatives need to find their way into the public domain regularly, so that they are in our faces as much as possible. An autumn relaunch come September would be good, when everyone's back at work. And one in November, for Christmas, too. You need to keep plugging away at these things.