news & networking

CHAMBER NEWS

July 2010
Do you have an idea of how we can make this year's Christmas event in the High Street even better than last year? Straight after our next monthly meeting on Monday 12 July at 6pm in the Arts Centre, the first meeting to start planning the Christmas event will take place, so please come along if you'd like to get involved and see your ideas turned into reality!

June 2010
Dunmow NCT are looking for more sponsorship from local business for their Family Fun Day at the Rec on Saturday 17 July, starting at 1pm. For more information on how you can get involved and raise the local profile of your business, contact Lou on 01371 821171.

May 2010
Following a campaign by the Chamber and a site meeting with Essex Country Council, the loading restrictions around the new junction opposite the Post Office will be removed and replaced with "no waiting at any time" restrictions, which will hopefully benefit all the businesses at that end of the High Street. More details are available from Terry, if required.

May 2010
Despite the recession, the Chamber is continuing to grow and recently welcomed its 100th member, solicitors GoodyBurrett, who were presented with a bottle of champagne by chairman Mike Perry and membership secretary Terry Laplain to mark the occasion: view Dunmow Broadcast report

April 2010
Forthcoming events in Dunmow: Continental Market on Saturday 8 May (in Market Square) and NCT Family Fun Day on Saturday 17 July (on the Recreation Ground). Check the Day Out in Dunmow Calendar for more details.

April 2010
If you haven't done so already, existing members should return your 2010 membership renewal forms to Terry as soon as possible, please.

April 2010
Chamber members enjoyed a very successful networking dinner in April, together with an excellent talk by Caroline Fuller, our Town Clerk, who told us more about the work that goes on behind the scenes at the Town Council and her vision for the future development of the town.

March 2010
The Chamber now has a Twitter account which will be used to keep members informed about our activities and also to forward useful information from members and other local organisations. Any additional suggestions for ways in which the new Twitter account could be used will also be welcome!

March 2010
The menu is now available for the Chamber's Networking Dinner on Monday 19 April - make sure you download your copy and send your selection back to Terry soon. We hope to see lots of you there, enjoying the food and chatting to other members!

March 2010
A letter has been sent by the Chamber to Highways about the recent changes to the parking restrictions in the High Street near the Post Office, which have led to problems for several Chamber members trying to run their businesses: read the full letter

March 2010
The first text messages have been sent by the local police to members of Dunmow's Shopwatch scheme, alerting them to possible suspicious behaviour in the town.

February 2010
For businesses who want to meet new contacts, the Chamber website now includes a list of local networking events on the News page.

January 2010
From January 2010 onwards, all our monthly meetings will take place in the Arts Centre, 1 Haslers Lane, Dunmow, CM6 1XS.

January 2010
A number of events are being planned for 2010, including a networking meal for members and a music event in the town in the summer. A meeting for all those interested in helping with the music event will take place on Monday 25 January 2010.

November 2009
A number of initiatives are planned to encourage Christmas shopping in the town in December: apart from the Late Night Shopping evening on Friday 18 December and parking vouchers to be printed in the local press, a number of shops are planning to open on Sundays in December (more details to follow).

November 2009
The regular meetings between the Chamber and Uttlesford District Council, where parking in the town has been highlighted constantly as an important issue, have resulted in the Council offering to publish vouchers in the local press which can be used for free parking in the town after 3pm. The first vouchers will be printed in the Dunmow Broadcast at the end of November. The Chamber realise this isn't a perfect solution to the parking issue, but it's a start and we hope our continuing discussions will lead to further initiatives next year.

November 2009
The idea of a "Dunmow Experience" which was mentioned at the Chamber AGM in October and featured by the Dunmow Broadcast has had an enthusiastic response from local businesses. The Chamber will be contacting coach companies in the New Year to discuss ways to offer such trips on a regular basis. The topic was also discussed on BBC Essex recently when Mike Perry, the Chamber chairman, was interviewed on the radio by Dave Monk.

November 2009
Chamber member Dalton Travel have won a prestigious award for selling more cruises in 1 year than any other UK travel agent: they won the inaugural Page & Moy Travel Agent of the Year award. Congratulations to Suda and all her team!

November 2009
Don't forget the town's Christmas Late Night Shopping evening will take place on Friday 18 December this year, starting at 6pm. If you have any ideas about how to make the event even more successful and would like to get involved or help in any way, just contact one of the committee members.

November 2009
Following recent discussions with Uttlesford District Council, can you please let Sarah our secretary know if you use the bottle banks in Dunmow for your empties? The District Council welcome your waste bottles, but they are looking at other ways they could be collected. There may not be a solution but they would like to look into it. If you do use this service, please contact Sarah and let her know how often and how much, as they would like to talk to us about it in more detail. An email with this request has been sent out to all members.

October 2009
The Chamber of Trade AGM will take place on TUESDAY 20 October 2009, starting at 6pm in The Maltings, Mill Lane, Dunmow. Light refreshments and wine will be served while people have a chance to chat with other members at the start of the meeting, before Stuart Keppie from Business Link gives a short presentation outlining the services and help available to local companies and then we will move on to the agenda for the AGM.

September 2009
Day Out in Dunmow now includes a Promotions page which Chamber members can use at no extra cost to advertise their promotions and special offers to a wider audience.

September 2009
Please note that Late Night Christmas Shopping in Dunmow will take place on Friday 18 December 2009, to avoid a clash with Saffron Walden like last year!

September 2009
The new Tourist Information Office has opened in Dunmow, in the premises of Banana Travel on Market Place. More information can be found on the Town Council website.

July 2009
We met with representatives from Uttlesford District Council again. A wide variety of topics were discussed, including parking in the town. The meeting was very positive and we have agreed to meet again in September.

June 2009
Photos from the Continental Market which was held in Market Place at the beginning of June have been added to the Day Out in Dunmow Gallery.

June 2009
Our Day Out in Dunmow website has had some work done: the design has been updated and member profiles can now be found by searching for a particular business category or part of a business name.

June 2009
Emails have been sent out to all members asking about their recent experiences of rent negotiations, whether good or bad. Hopefully, we can collect the views of our members and we can all benefit by sharing experiences and knowledge. If you would like to pass on your views, just reply to the message from Sarah, our secretary, in your inbox.

May 2009
Fabric shopping bags are now being distributed to all Chamber members. They're also available to buy on a non-profit basis: they cost £1 each and can be purchased in The Starr, Perkins Garage, Tangles, Stokes Butchers, Papillon and Lipsons.

May 2009
2old.co.uk is a not-for-profit organisation which aims to bring together local employers and mature job seekers. The website is free to use for both employers and job seekers and has no hidden charges.

April 09
We met with the CEO and the Head of Operations of UDC. What we learned from this meeting was that effective 1st April, parking becomes a joint operation between Colchester, Braintree and Uttlesford. Uttlesford remains in control of the machines, fees and charges for our district. We have asked Uttlesford to look into what can be done for Dunmow as a town to encourage more footfall into the town through incentivised parking. The charged card system is something that will be introduced as the machines have the capability however the implementation of this is a long way off. We as traders are keen to get actively involved in assisting with the distribution and marketing of this system in order to promote ease of parking. Uttlesford currently lies 4th in the UK rankings as a place to live with high quality of life, with this in mind it is difficult to argue concessions. We understand this but would request that any work that can be done to improve the commercial situation of our town can be looked at and discussed. A potential resource that could be tapped is the Council marketing department. We would like more done to promote our town as a tourist destination within Essex. We all agreed that our proximity to the airport needs to be capitalised on. People need to know that they are only 10 mins from their destination when at the Dunmow turning and we need to entice them into the town. This is a snapshot of our meeting. We are grateful to the time given by the people involved. We are very keen to work with UDC as a Chamber in making a difference to our town and the surrounding area and look forward to the positive outcomes that can be gained from our shared communication. Another meeting has been planned.

March 2009
Chamber member Kerry Sturgess from Blinding Blinds in the High Street is taking part in the Race for Life on Sunday 26 July 2009 in Colchester. She's going to donate 10% from all orders received in the shop to the Race for Life, as well as organising a collection in the shop, and she'd be very grateful for any support.

March 2009
The Town Council have been in touch regarding closer co-operation, here's an extract from their letter: "The Council would like to join with the Chamber in the discussions with the District Council about free parking, and also other ways of involving the District Council proactively in preserving and developing the economy of the town." Sarah will be following this up.

March 2009
There's now a link to the Day Out in Dunmow site from visitessex.com, a tourism website which has been set up by Essex County Council and which has a page about Dunmow: Great Dunmow on www.visitessex.com

March 2009
A date has been confirmed for the meeting between the Chamber and John Mitchell, Chief Executive of Uttlesford District Council: the meeting will take place on Tuesday 31 March.

February 2009
John Mitchell, Chief Executive of Uttlesford District Council, has agreed that the issue of free parking on Saturdays will be discussed at a meeting between council officers and Dunmow shopkeepers.

January 2009
Sarah, our secretary, sent a letter to the Dunmow Broadcast to thank all the customers who supported their local shops over the festive period. You can view the full letter in PDF format.

January 2009
We've started sending out reminder emails to all members about our monthly meetings, so please remember to check your inbox regularly.

^ Back to top