Out west, plenty can form conurbations (5)
I believe the answer is:
towns
'form conurbations' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both locations as well as being plural nouns.
Maybe you can see a link between them that I don't see?
'out west plenty' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'west' could be 'w' (abbreviation) and 'w' is found within the answer.
'plenty' could be 'tons' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'tons' is found within the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
'can' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for towns that I've seen before include "Urban areas" , "Settlements" , "Places" , "Municipalities" .)