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Chamber of Commerce Newsletter
As we approach the end of March and prepare for the annual general meeting of the Chamber of Commerce, we naturally reflect on what we have, or have not, accomplished over the past eleven months. We set out with our first newsletter with an aim to produce one on a quarterly basis, in the style of the first. This has been our one failure, occasioned by the combination of an optimistic schedule and a lack of time.
The Retail sector is the part of the town’s economy that most determines the nature and character of the High Street. Much has been discussed regarding the future of the town: the overwhelming consensus is that Hungerford people want it to stay as it is. The town’s attraction to the visitor is its shops; establishments which, with the obvious exception of one or two, are independent traders who provide a personal service. The residents of Hungerford must come to appreciate that unless these shops are supported by the patronage of everyone in the area, they will not survive, and if they disappear, so too will the charm of Hungerford’s centre.
The Town Map The most visually apparent achievement has been the installation of the town map under the railway bridge, coupled with the chamber’s success in arranging for Network Rail to effectively exclude the pigeons from cover of the bridge, and all that their presence there left behind on a daily basis. The map, along with the upgrading of the Hungerford website, was our initial project to provide information about the town and its attractions to the wider world and to visitors to Hungerford.
The Victorian Extravaganza in December was again the enjoyable evening that has come to be the expectation of Hungerford over many years. Thanks go to Neil Marney and his small team who engineer the event, but our gratitude is unconditionally given to those businesses and individuals who sponsor the Extravaganza by providing the funds to allow it to happen. The cost of the event on this occasion was £11266 of which £9840 was donated by our sponsors in 2005: the ball has already been set rolling for the 15th Extravaganza on December 8th 2006!
Hungerford in Bloom The Christmas Lights have been applauded from John o’Groats to Lands End and we have all thanked Rod Desmeules for his time and energy in organising the spectacle. The chairman has been speaking with Rod in the last few days with reference to Hungerford in Bloom. In previous years the Chamber have provided hanging baskets either side of the canal bridge and this year the proposal is to increase the number of floral displays by asking businesses to sponsor a basket or planter in the same way that they generously funded the Christmas trees and lights. The estimated cost of a basket is £50 which might be shared by two or three businesses in the immediate vicinity of its location. Rod has agreed to organise everything and will speak about it at the AGM on 6th April.
Tourism project Progress is well advanced with the Tourism project, eighty percent of which is being funded by Defra. The four Town maps have been printed and will be installed in the first week of April: one will be located in each of the car parks, one on the west-bound railway platform, and one in Charnham Street: each has an historic comment pertinent to its location.
The purpose of the maps is to give the visitor information as to where to walk in the town: the second part of the Project is the design, printing and distribution of thirty thousand brochures aimed at attracting visitors to the town in the first place. Much time has been spent on preparing copy and pictures for this, drafts have been reviewed, and final layout and design is in progress. We hope to have brochures ready to send out before the summer season is too far advanced. Defra have awarded a grant of £20000 which constitutes 80% of the planned overall expenditure, the balance being contributed by the Chamber, much of it by the time contributed by a small number of people prepared to contribute their energies for the good of the town.
Communication has been an issue for some time: the easiest way to disseminate information as to what is going on is by email: this is the most immediate for those who have email facilities and who have made their email addresses known to the chamber. We have now installed a notice board alongside the map under the bridge where we will post all chamber information of general interest. However, it would be useful if those who are comfortable with receiving the occasional email from the chamber would send confirmation of their address to chamber.chairman@hungerford.co.uk: this will have the effect of giving an up to date email address for the record.
The Annual General Meeting is set for 6.30pm on 6th April 2006 in the Riverside Suite at the Bear. Please make the effort to come along – there will be a little formality to clear at the beginning, but plenty of interest and involvement to follow!
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