AT a time when many shops and businesses are fighting for their lives in Ludlow, one of the town’s best-loved centres of entertainment is plotting a course for others to follow.

Ludlow shopkeepers are in many cases looking for salvation from the run-up to Christmas, which for some may be a make or break time.

But Ludlow Assembly Rooms is showing how businesses in the area could be working to help each other.

An independent survey carried out in 2005 by Sheffield University reported that the Assembly Rooms brought an estimated £3 million a year into the local economy.

The venue opened in 1993 and, since that time, has become an important part of the town, known primarily for its staging of films and other entertainment.

But the contribution that the Assembly Rooms makes to local prosperity is less well understood.

The venue has a deliberate policy, wherever possible, of buying from local businesses.

“We always purchase locally if we can and we certainly buy plenty of things from local shops,” said Tracey Fielding, Assembly Rooms finance officer.

Food and drink for the café is procured locally and local suppliers are also used for design work and printing, as well as for stationery.

Local tradesmen are also employed where possible to carry out work on the building and also for maintenance tasks such as window cleaning.

“Like a jigsaw piece, the Assembly Rooms fits snugly into the town’s economy and supports all that interconnects with it,” said Tracey.

It also acts as a draw, bringing people into the town especially to see high-profile performers such as comedian Eddie Izzard and the radio star Johnnie Walker.

People coming for a show at the Assembly Rooms are also likely to shop in the town, have a drink or buy a meal.

If they enjoy the experience, the chance is that they may return in the future for a day out or a longer stay, in which case bed and breakfast establishments in the area and hotels will benefit.

The Assembly Rooms also has a part to play as a significant employer. More than 30 people work in the building, albeit many of them part-time, and they all live locally.

Because of this, a large proportion of the staff wages is put back into the economy as people shop and purchase other goods and services locally.

In a global economy, it is neither possible nor desirable to be too parochial but the Assembly Rooms’ ethos of supporting the local economy as much as possible can mean the difference between survival and failure for hard-pressed businesses.

This has never been more true than at this time.