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Webmaster for any suggestions/corrections: email Statement update 11/12/2009 "For those of you who were unable to attend last nights meeting I shall repeat the main points I made. For those of you who came I hope you found the speakers as informative as I did – I will be re-reading my Insurance policy tonight! I am very honoured to have been chosen to be the Chairman Of the Chamber of Trade especialy in these challenging times. I will give the role my very best efforts. I would,however, like to say at the outset that one year is a realistic term of office and I give notice that in January 2011 another person should come forward to take on the job. Sue Hannah served the traders of Cockermouth for 10 years, often without much support. It is thanks to her that the Chamber of Trade still exists and is able to step up a gear now. Our thanks to her for years of unselfish efforts on our behalf. I need to form a committee and to adopt a constitution and to this end I will be having a meeting at the Castle Bar 6.00pm Wednesday 16th December. I have already approached a number of people who are willing to serve on the committee but if I have not spoken to you and you have something to offer please come along – this is not a time for holding back out of false modesty, we need all the help we can get. I would like you all to consider what your Chamber of Trade's priorities should be and to let me know by email what your thoughts are on that subject. For my own part I think we should only try to do those things we can reasonably expect to achieve. We have no time for tilting at windmills. We need to concentrate on issues affecting the businesses of Cockermouth. If we spread ourselves to thinly we will cover nothing. We need to plan not just for now but for the long term, even the very long term. I believe The Chamber of Trade should be actively involved with plans for the re-generation of our Town and specifically its commercial heart. We have an opportunity to improve the Town’s pavemets, signage, architecture and street furniture and to bring a plan to what has been a mish-mash of conflicting design. Moves are already afoot to help businesses improve their shop fronts
but The Chambers role is to offer quiet encouragement and ease the way,
not to single out any one business. My own feeling is that shop fronts
should be sympathetic to the past but never slaves to it. A market town
can not stand still or it will become moribund. The Chamber of Trade should not be 'all work and no play' especially this winter. We need to be organising social events to keep our spirits high. If whilst enjoying ouselves we can raise money for a worthy cause – even better. Cockermouth Mountain Rescue Team need a Rescue Raft for flood and white water river rescues. They will shortly be evaluating a prototype which will then be made to their specification. The estimated cost is £2500 and I would like to think that the business community has the energiy and skills to raise this sum during my year as Chairman of the Chamber Of Trade. I thank you all for your confidence in me and for the support I know you will all give to our Chamber of Trade." Jonty Chippendale. chamberoftrade@btinternet.com ** The New site at Mitchells in the former Carr’s Feeds building is to be known as ‘MITCHELLS RETAIL MARKET’ A typical cost for six months is £1100 pa plus services and rates when assessed. contact is John Rockliffe 07921 409324
You do not have to have been up to your neck in water to qualify for the government grants. If your business has been adversely affected by the floods and their aftermath contact Business Link to register yourself and they will get someone to talk to you about how they can help with money and or expertise. Do not put it off the sooner you act the sooner your business will be on the recovery path. Dec 1 2009;
The Chamber is arranging for an 8’ x 15’ sign to be erected
ASAP to the left of the main Sainsbury’s doors onto the car park.
The central panel will be a street map with arrows showing which shops
are open at what location. The header will be ‘COCKERMOUTH OPEN FOR
BUSINESS’ and the list of shops is now being finalised (See below
for initial listings to go on the notice).
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Notice Board Full
minutes of March3 2010 meeting Scroll down for Previous News releases by the Chamber. 8/01/2010 At the Chamber meeting on January 6 2010 Progress was reported on the Marketing Plan for the town. The Chamber
is hoping to act as a catalyst for the creation of a Food Fair at the
start of September. Initial ideas are for a Food trail with samples of
local produce, beers food, etc available at all restaurants, food shops
and at stalls. Live music ranging from classical to 'popular beat combos'
at srategic points. Next Chamber meeting February 3 at Castle Bar upper rooms.
17/12/2009 Today we had the visit by the Princes trust for the Built Environment. Peter Quintanilla, their Director, was involved in preparing a design brief for New Orleans after the Mississippi and Hurricane Katrina had done so much damage there. He and his team were genuinely impressed by the qualities of our gem town. We hope that as well as offering design expertise they will be able to put us in the way of funding from other bodies. One of whom CABE will be visiting us in the New Year. The foundation was given a presentation by the Cockermouth Civic Society and the information from it will be displayed on Monday afternoon at Christchurch for all businesses to inspect. It really is worth getting down for a look if you can. Yesterday was the visit from Edwin Booth (of Booths). It was a quick information gathering trip which will have given him much food for thought. He spoke with representatives from James Walker, who stressed the need for urgency on flood defences; The Georgian Fair, who would like financial and administrative support to improve the fair and increase the numbers attending; Cumbria Flood Relief Fund, who spoke of the hardship being suffered by local homeowners; A local councillor, stressed the need for the rivers to be managed more for the benefit of people than salmon; and myself for the Chamber of Trade who asked for help getting out a positive message and also pointed out the need for the urgent appointment of a Town centre co-ordinator to manage the recovery. Edwin Booth will be taking action himself through the ‘Business in the Community’ organisation as well as reporting back to Clarence House with his findings. December 14...The gates to the former Capita site off Gallabarrow are now unlocked, the signs proclaiming closure at 4.00 pm each day have gone. I can confirm that because I took them down myself! Try to use it if you can, but remember its not a proper car-park and no liability is accepted by Gladman Developments. Next Monday (21/12/2009) Cockermouth's civic society will be mounting an exhibition at Christchurch of a design brief for Cockermouth. It will hope to show some of the ways we can put back better than before and I strongly recommend it as a worthwhile visit for each and every one of us. On Tuesday pm Edwin Booth (Chairman of Booths) is visiting the town on behalf of 'Business in the Community' with a brief to report back on how business can best help Cockermouth recover. Specifically he will be looking at issues to do with Environment, Infrastructure, Design, Marketing and Insurance. I am hopeful that his visit will result in additional resources for all of those areas. I will also be taking the opportunity to talk with the Georgian Fair committee. Cockermouth will need a re-launch party and the Fair would seem to be the ideal basis on which to build. The Chamber of Trade is sensitive to the fact that the Georgian Fair Committee do not want to be 'taken over' but if we can help to bring greater resources under their overall control the Fair could attract even more people than it has in previous years. On Wednesday I will be part of a meeting which hopes to lay down a business recovery plan for Cockermouth. I would like to think that we can define the threats we face, identify contingency plans and establish trigger criteria for activating the plans if needed. These should extend across all the areas which may affect business recovery. Your suggestions are urgently needed. Please email them to chamberoftrade@btinternet.com our new email address. Thursday sees a visit from The Prince's Foundation for the Built Environment. Like the visit from Edwin Booth the previous day this visit has been inspired by HRH Prince Charles who is keen to bring resources to bear on Cockermouth's recovery. The team from the Foundation will be meeting with members of the Civic society, planners, councillors, architects and somewhere in the background keeping quiet, me! Lastly I hope to get some definitive information with regards to the bridges, all sorts of rumours are swirling around and it would be nice to get a few facts into the public realm. Watch this space but don't hold your breath. Jonty. Dec 9 2009.. I have got the proof for the ‘big sign’ at Sainsburys.It is posted here for you to look at. Amendments by Friday morning please we need to crack on with putting it up. A reminder that we will have access to the former Capita site (off Gallabarrow) from Monday. Please try to park there if you can. The gates will not be locked although we may leave the signs up to deter overnighters. We have
received an offer of free web listings for Cockermouth businesses from
‘visitcumbria.com’ they have listed as many as they could find,
please check their web page and add amend by contacting ‘vanessa@visitcumbria.com’
direct. The Christmas
cards organized by Firns and Meglans have been a huge success. 5000 have
been sold and another 2000 are being made available for the weekend. All
profits to the Flood Relief Fund. Well done to them, that’s the sort
of initiative that gets you on to the Chamber of Trade committee! I will
be talking to them soon, they can run but they can’t hide." Dec 6 2009:
Chamber Update by Jonty Chippendale:
The Chamber of Trade has been contacted by Morpeth Chamber of Trade. They are sending a small group to see us, all of whom had a direct role in the recovery of their town after the Morpeth floods. I have arranged for them to meet their counterparts here and if they have time they will be calling on local traders to offer the benefit of their own flood experiences.
Units are still available at modest rents for a six monthly term at ‘MORE MAIN STREET AT MITCHELLS’ in the old Carrs warehouse on Lorton Rd. Contact John Rockliffe at Mitchells 07921 409324 if you are interested.
If you have not already been in contact with a Business Link or West Cumbria development agency advisor do so NOW. They can help with grants, advice and contacts and should be a priority. Contact can be made via their web sites.
Chairman
Jonty Chippendale adds: "Whilst I am honoured to be Chairman of the
Chamber of Trade I will need LOTS OF HELP and am confident that you will
all respond positively when I come asking! You have been warned." *Diary
planner of flood meetings set up by Bob Pritchard from Kirkgate. |
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