Feb 4, 2019
After a spate of break in and theft since November Frome Chamber of Commerce convened a special meeting of the Retail Group in January, which was hosted by The River House.
We welcomed Sgt Rachel Clark and her team of Frome Neighbourhood Officers, officers from Mendip District Council’s Neighbourhood Services CCTV Team, Tim Fielding from Business Against Crime Partnership (Shopwatch), and Councillors from Frome and Mendip councils.
Neil Howlett from Frome Chamber said: “We’re grateful to the Police and the council for coming to talk with us. Traders have had a hard time in the last few months with damage and theft. It isn’t just the money stolen and the costs of damage done but being woken up in the middle of the night, the disruption to trade.
“There was good news about arrests and detentions of some of the people responsible, and a better understanding of what CCTV and the Police can do, and some of the things they can’t.
“I think we all came away thinking there are things we can do to work better together. We will be organising more meetings to put those into practice.
“Any businesses with premise in the town centre are welcome to contact Frome Chamber for more information. The more we all work together the easier it will be to prevent these problems, or stop them if they happen.”
On a positive note The River House has been running an appeal to replace the money lost by local charities when their three collections boxes were stolen in a burglary. Their customers contributed £480 – probably three times what was lost. So every cloud has a silver lining.
Feb 4, 2019
Entries have opened for the Mendip Business Awards and the Chamber would love to see even more Frome companies put themselves forward for an accolade. It’s the fifth anniversary of this local Business Awards scheme and each year more Frome businesses put themselves forward – and WIN!
This year there’s another new categories – Market Trader of the Year – so it’s likely there’s a category to suit what you do.
- Business of the Year – celebrating Mendip’s overall best Business of the Year – sponsored by NFU Mutual, Wells
- Small Business of the Year – celebrating our most successful Small Businesses – sponsored by Burton Sweet
- New Business of the Year – awarding tomorrow’s stars -sponsored by Killens
- International Business of the Year – celebrating the businesses successfully exporting our products and services – sponsored by Swan Hotel, Wells
- Family Business of the Year – recognising our family businesses that have stood the test of time – sponsored by Wainwright & Co. Ltd
- Taste of Mendip Award – celebrating the quality of our local food and drink produce – sponsored by Old Mill
- Customer Service Excellence Award – recognising the businesses whose consistently deliver exceptional levels of service standards – sponsored by 3 Solutions Ltd
- Apprentice of the Year – an award to recognise the young talent thank those businesses who look to the future and take time to invest in their teams – sponsored by Strode College
- Retail / Hospitality Business of the Year – awarding businesses that put Mendip on the map with their warm welcomes – sponsored by Kilver Court Designer Village
- Community Enterprise of the Year – recognising the fantastic work that our CICs, social and other not for profit enterprises deliver to the community – sponsored by Aster Group
- (New) Market Trader of the Year – celebrating the art of market trading in Mendip towns through 2018. – Sponsored by Mendip District Council
Pandora Jacobs of Limitless Ltd has won Small Business of Year in previous years and says just go for it!
“This was a wonderful boost to us, an endorsement that our company was growing as we wished and an exciting acknowledgement that our marketing message was clear – offering natural light products which are of value to our customers as well as the planet. The media coverage directly from the award as well as a couple of publications we used the news that we had won did indeed bring us a few customers. The whole experience was extremely worthwhile, professional and something I would highly recommend to any company considering whether to enter this year or not – Go for IT!”
Frome’s DNA Worldwide has also won Business of the Year so we asked the company’s Hannah Morden to share her tips for entering the award scheme.
“When I saw the awards advertised last year, I decided to just have a go and enter our company, not really knowing what to expect. The entry process was quite simple, and sure enough, we walked away with Business Of the Year! Winning the award actually helped the whole company to appreciate more deeply where we are as a business and what we bring. I guess we hadn’t really put it all down on paper before but now that we have – we’ve got a great marker for the business – and it can only keep expanding.”
The Chamber is also happy to give advice on entering the awards. Drop us an email here.
Here are Hannah’s tips for writing a winning award entry.
In the written statement you are asked to cover:
• A brief history and background to your business
• The reason why your entry should win
• How you are better than your competitors
• What plans you have for future growth
Be honest
Regardless of the size of your business, it is about what you are able to bring to the table that inspires people. We found it useful to bring it back to the purpose of our business and share from there. Sometimes its hard to appreciate your business when you are on the inside, but when you get this all down on paper, it’s a pretty cool exercise. It’s also important to present you as you: open and real. People relate to that.
Don’t hold back
When you are asked why your entry should win and why you are better than your competitors, share what values you bring, what makes your business different and what could be recognised. It might even be the quality of relationships your business has – which is certainly something to appreciate.
Have fun
We didn’t put our application together in the wish to compete, but rather to share who we are and what we bring. When we made this the focus, it was actually a lot of fun to do with out the stress of needing to get it right. If you have an interesting history, share it. If you have big plans and ambitions for the future – put them in. These stories can give others a sense of what type of business you are.
What you could enter
Here’s a round up of a number of award schemes that might suit your business, from local, regional and even European! After all, why not think big?
Mendip Business Awards
Somerset Business Awards
National business awards
British small business awards
Food manufacture excellence awards
Somerset Life food and drink awards
Bath Life awards
South West Fairtrade Business Awards
The European Business Awards
CIPR PRide Awards
First Women Awards
FSB & World Pay UK Business Awards
Dec 4, 2018
Frome Chamber of Commerce joined Somerset Chamber of Commerce to bring together some of the larger businesses in town with numerous representatives from Mendip District Council and Frome Town Council to continue a conversation we started last year.
The businesses and organisations were brought together for the MD lunch, an annual event is to give businesses a platform to discuss the issues that concern them. The topics ranged from problems experienced in the planning process, the ongoing debate about whether high speed broadband is being made available quickly enough, to the availability of sufficient grow on space for businesses in town.
We also discussed how the education system is doing in preparing school leavers for work, and this provided useful feedback for Rachel Burrell from the Education Business Partnership who is working on that relationship between schools and colleges, and the needs required of the Somerset employment market.
To bring these subjects to life, a walk around the 11 acre Saxonvale site was organised in the morning, followed by a meeting with Nash Partnership and Acorn Developments who are taking the project forwards. It was great to see the interaction between people in town who know how the retail and commercial sectors flow, and provide critical feedback at this early planning stage.
As Rajan Russell, a local developer, put it: “This is the largest infrastructure project in Frome since the industrial revolution. Getting it right is critical.”
There are key issues that so often get watered down in developments like social housing, commercial space (and therefore jobs), car parking, and transport as they are often in conflict with the profit maximisation goal of most shareholders. It will be challenging to resist the almost inevitable push for a greater residential element.
There was also a visit up to the Frome Business Park, a 23,000 sqft premium office development being developed by David and Hannah Nicholson of DNA Worldwide that is opening in the first half of next year.
At the end of the event Simon Williams, current President of Frome Chamber of Commerce noted: “This is our signature event of the year… a key part of the Chamber’s goal to make sure that the business community communicate openly and clearly with local government, and through that representation make sure that we keep building the Frome economy to support the local residents. Developments at Saxonvale and Market Place are critical to that future and the time is now for businesses to make their voices heard.”
Oct 9, 2018
Participate in SMG and access:
- a network for information, knowledge and opinion sharing
- peer to peer networking and support
- best practice and business improvement knowledge
- purposeful factory and site visits
- funding and support solutions
- better understanding of your own capacity and capabilities
- opportunities for collective buying and negotiating power
- direct representation to organisations such as the SW Peninsula Manufacturers’ Network, LEP, and others
Interested? Find out more here.
Oct 9, 2018
Frome Business Park, which is scheduled to be completed in early 2019, will provide space for up to 250 staff, and is set to offer new office opportunities for local and regional businesses keen to invest further in the town.
David Nicholson, a director at DNA Worldwide Group, a multi-award winning company and one of the Frome businesses that established the park, said: “Having run a Frome based business for nearly 15 years we struggled to find modern office space.
“Talking to other businesses it was clear we were not alone. Like many other companies we didn’t want to leave Frome as we grew, so we saw the opportunity to develop something different for businesses. Working together with each company to support growth.”
A number of companies have already signed up for space at the park at the former Tool & Gauge building on Marston Trading Estate.
With fully serviced space available ranging from smaller 2 person offices, up to units of 3,000 sq ft, with parking, interested businesses can find out more at www.fromebusinesspark.com
Sep 24, 2018
Frome Chamber of Commerce has sent in a submission on planning proposals for housing on a site at Braeside Works, on a site north of The Old Church School coming out onto Christchurch Street next to Pure Moves. Our main objection is that it is contrary to Mendip District Council’s policy in the Local Plan on the preservation of employment sites and the growth of jobs in Frome.
Read our full submission here.
Aug 31, 2018
The Chamber welcomes the news that Mendip District Council has purchased certain parts of the Saxonvale site in Frome and we look forward to hearing more about its plans for developing the site. We believe the Saxonvale planning brief remains an excellent document to follow and we look forward to playing our part in helping to make this happen.
Read the Saxonvale briefing plan here.
Aug 21, 2018
Each year the town council undertakes a town benchmarking survey to see how Frome measures up nationally.
Overall, the latest survey is good news for the town, concluding ‘Frome continues to be a successful and popular local service centre’.
Other findings show that Frome:
- has a considerably low shop vacancy rate
- the amount of independent shops has become a leading characteristic of the town
- has a high footfall and popular retail offer
- is attracting more visitors from further away and becoming a travel destination, bolstered by the exceptionally high rate of town centre users that would recommend a visit to Frome.
But the downsides include:
- parking which remains an issue for businesses in the town centre and is now regarded as a negative for town centre users who previously thought of positively about it. Calls for free parking from businesses and town centre users continue.
- The physical appearance and the cleanliness of the town was also highlighted. Although businesses regarded the physical appearance and cleanliness of the town centre as a positive aspect of the town, a much smaller per centage of town centre users felt the same way. This is reinforced by the fact that the responses from town centre users in 2016 which were highly in favour of the appearance of the town.
The report has called for this downturn, as well as parking issues, to be discussed with Mendip District Council to identify solutions.
Read the 2017 survey here.
You can find previous surveys on the Frome Town Council’s website here.
Aug 21, 2018
If you’re looking for new ways to make more money and find new customers the you might be interested in the Growth Support Programme. This is completely free to businesses in the Somerset area and the support on offer includes:
An initial 3 hour face to face meeting with one of the experienced delivery partner business advisers, resulting in a realistic growth plan for your business and areas identified where additional support will benefit you.
After this initial meeting, you will be offered the opportunity to commit to a further 9 hours of free advice, which includes 3 hours of digital support, which aims to increase growth and business efficiency through digital means.
Other advice also includes:
- Finance
- Human Resources
- Innovation
- Marketing
- Business Planning
As part of this support package, you will also be signposted to external agencies, such as local and specialist business support organisations, training providers and trading standards.
Who’s it for?
Eligible businesses based in Somerset. The funding is provided by the EU.
Find out more about what’s involved here and apply here.
Jun 12, 2018
We’d like to encourage local business people to put themselves forward to become Enterprise Advisors for our future workforce.
The Careers & Enterprise Company, the Heart of the South West LEP and CSW Group are working with schools across Somerset, linking businesses with schools and colleges to support young people in making choices about their future career.
The network works with around 20 schools and colleges in Somerset. Each school and college is supported by an Enterprise Coordinator and an Enterprise Adviser – a business volunteer – who works closely with a local school or college to develop and build a careers plan that gives students multiple opportunities to get to know the world of work.
A number of high profile companies already work with the network and it is now keen to encourage more companies to participate in the Enterprise Adviser Network because it is a hugely worthwhile programme for both schools, colleges, businesses and Enterprise Advisers.
Being an Enterprise Adviser can be incredibly rewarding. It’s a great opportunity to:
- Use your experience and network to inspire young people and directly influence the careers and enterprise support they receive.
- Become part of a national network that inspires and prepares young people for the world of work.
- Address skills gaps in the local and national job market.
- Deepen your connection to the local community.
- Promote your business in local schools and colleges.
- Develop your own interpersonal and strategy skills.
There is monthly commitment to the role, however this is very flexible and one which can be negotiated with the school.
For more information contact Ben Mitchell, Enterprise Coordinator at Careers & Enterprise Company or find out more here.
May 24, 2018
Car Parking Charges – report from Mendip District Counci’ls Cabinet meeting on 21 May 2018
The outcome is:-
1. Car parking charges will increase, and the Portfolio Holder has authority to increase them for the next three years.
2. Season ticket prices will increase phased over three years. There was a last minute concession almost certainly in response to an email which we sent pointing out that the effect of their changes would be an 8% pay cut for someone working three days a week on the National Living Wage.
3. Parking charges will be introduced on Sundays in Frome and in Shepton Mallet, but at a starting rate of £2 per day, and with exceptions for the days of the Frome Independent Market and the Shepton Market.
4. There will be a strategic review of car parking which will report in the New Year.
In the papers that went to Cabinet the Chamber’s factual corrections were cut, and Cabinet with presented with even more spurious figures about Trowbridge which they said they had got from Wiltshire Council. We couldn’t correct those as we only allowed 3 minutes.
We still await the Freedom of Information response for the financial information that Sedgemoor publishes annually.
We made some progress. The original Cabinet paper proposed that this was the strategic review and included the right for the Portfolio Holder to sell off car parks.
We need to insist on being consulted about Portfolio Holders’ decisions under this decision so that there is a proper process for engagement unlike this one.
We will be proactive in setting the agenda and the process for the strategic review so it is comprehensive, fair and based on facts.
Read Frome Town Council’s coverage of the meeting which also includes some videos of speakers, including Neil Howlett of Harris and Harris Solicitors on behalf of the Chamber.
May 11, 2018
Frome & District Chamber of Commerce are disappointed that MDC are still proposing to impose above inflation increases in car parking charges, even larger increases in season ticket prices, and to impose Sunday charges in Frome, and then to have further above inflation increases in car parking charges and season tickets for the next three years.
Although MDC have indicated that they will have a review after they have put up the prices our position has always been that they need to have a proper review before they put up the prices. Off-street and on-street parking must be reviewed together. Prices are an element of the whole parking package which cannot be separated out. This is the position that we took in 2012 and in 2014.
We have also said repeatedly that before putting up charges again MDC need to implement the recommendations from the last external review they had in 2008, which they have still not implemented (e.g., better signs).
A decision will be made by Cabinet on 21st May, which will then go to statutory consultation, but that will be limited to the decision already made. MDC already make a very substantial surplus from their car parks. Frome & District Chamber of Commerce think a proper review will identify ways in which MDC can increase their revenue without the same negative impacts and support town centres in Frome and in the other towns in Mendip.
Frome Town Council has launched a petition about the Sunday parking charges. While our stance is that the issues are wider than just this element we would still encourage people to sign it. Find it here.
Find out more about our response to what Mendip has proposed here.
Apr 27, 2018
Mendip District Council (MDC) is considering a review of its car parking strategy for the whole of Mendip which presently includes plans to increase hourly fees by RPI rounded up to the nearest 10p, and then again annually, put up the price of season tickets by 60% and bring in Sunday charges in Frome. You can find out what it is planning here.
MDC has a practical monopoly on off-street parking in Frome. Since 2012 the Chamber has been encouraging the council to improve the management of car parks, and signage to them, for the mutual benefit of MDC and Frome. We have also been asking for a proper strategic review following best practice because it is 10 years since MDC last did one, and it has yet to implement that.
The Chamber is dismayed that MDC is not proposing to do that, and has once again had a very limited review which concentrates on where and how prices can be increased. The proposed review lacks almost all the figures provided before, such as how much does the council already make in charges? MDC has not considered the knock-on effect for on-street parking (the enforcement of which is the responsibility of Somerset County Council) and the impact on Sunday events. We are also concerned by vague plans to develop North Parade, one of Frome’s two long-term car parks, and part of the Cattle Market, and inadequate consideration of the likely development of Saxonvale. We think that parking capacity is reaching a critical point, and failing to plan for that, and other transport alternatives will damage the town when Frome is growing economically.
We have put together a detailed response to the Council’s review which you can read here. Our main points are:
- Any review or strategy should cover both on-street and off-street parking, be prepared jointly with SCC and with full consultation and in accordance with good practice.
- We oppose increasing car parking charges until we have seen evidence that MDC is balancing its obligation between MDC’s short term economic interests and the longer term viability of towns.
- No increases should be introduced until MDC has implemented the recommendation made 10 years ago.
- We oppose inflation busting automatic annual increases in car parking charges.
- Car parking charges for Sundays should only be introduced after the impact of that has been assessed, and events organisers consulted.
- MDC should only increase season ticket prices after full consultation. There must be a clear justification for a change in MDC policy on season tickets for workers, and no automatic inflation busting increases. (See further info here).
- We want a full consultation on any development of the Cattle Market and North Parade.
- We are concerned that the strategy leaves open further increases but does not propose any further consultation, for e.g., disabled users and evening parking after 6pm.
You can read our full response here.
Got concerns? Here’s what you can do
You can comment of the Chamber’s Facebook page or email Chamber committee member Neil Howlett.
We have been in discussion with Frome Town Council and you can read more about its response here.
Apr 3, 2018
Mendip District Council has done a review of its Car Parking Strategy. Although there is as yet no formal consultation on it we have a copy which includes the following:-
MDC propose to increase car parking charges by the increase in CPI rounded up to the nearest 10p in the summer. For the Cattle Market, Cork Street and Merchants Barton this would mean:-
1 hr £1.10 up 10p
2 hrs £1.50 up 10p
3 hrs £2.00 up 20p
4 hrs £3.60 up 20p
9 hrs £5.90 up 30p
MDC propose to increase car parking charges annually by CPI rounded up to the nearest 10p.
Car parking charges will be introduced in Frome for Sundays at the same rate as the rest of the week (and presumably also for Bank Holidays).
MDC proposes a 60% increase season tickets to £708 per year for the Cattle Market and Merchants Barton and a 67% increase to £372 per year for North Parade, South Parade and Rook Lane and Wine Street.
MDC is still considering Boxworks in the Cattle Market and selling all or part of North Parade for residential development.
The Chamber is considering a comprehensive and reasoned response to the Portfolio Holder. This will include a request for access to data and suggest that there needs to be a co-ordinated review of car parking in Frome including the relationship between off street and on street parking.
Please post any comments on our Facebook page or email Neil Howlett.
Jan 30, 2018
We had another great Discuss and Do event at Sam’s Kitchen in January, run by Frome Diary’s Dawn Denton. She looked at how Instagram can help build a community around your business. She covered everything from how to set up your business profile to using hashtags, the metrics to watch and ideas on when to post.
Dawn has also very kindly pulled together some notes for anyone who wasn’t able to make it on the day which you can find in our Events section under Discuss and Do here.
You’ll also see that presenters at some of our most popular past Discuss and Do sessions have written up useful notes for you to refer to on digital marketing, premises and communication.
Jan 3, 2018
Frome College is looking for local business people to work with its students to help them get ready for the world of work.
Each year the College offers its Year 10 students the chance to take part in mock interviews and they need plenty of people to help put the students through their paces.
The interviews will be held at the college on Wednesday 14 March and Thursday 15 March from 8.30am to 4pm.
The college needs around 100 people to help with interviews. You don’t need to be an experienced interviewer but you need to be able to talk to the students about what is expected in the workplace and offer constructive suggestions on the development of their CV and interview skills. Interviews are conducted with two interviewers and the college will try to mix experienced interviewers with less confident ones.
The college also wants a wide variety of interviewers so is looking for people from solicitors, estate agents and retailers to electricians, plumbers and car mechanics. They’d also love to hear from hairdressers, waiters and chefs so that there is a good mix of work experience among the interview panel.
If you are interested please drop president@fromechamber.com an email with your email address, phone numbers and roles and we will pass them onto the College.
Dec 12, 2017
Frome Town Council is looking for local businesses to get involved in its bid to get Walkers are Welcome accreditation for Frome. Project Officer Emma Parker is inviting companies based in the town to get in touch to find out the benefits of being part of the scheme.
“As part of our accreditation journey we’ll be sharing information about Frome and encouraging people to visit. Some of the best Walkers are Welcome destinations have had a significant impact on the economy. Winchcombe in Gloucestershire say they have measured a 40% increase in footfall in the town,” she explained.
“Other Walkers are Welcome towns give supporting businesses a free listing and link on their website. Bradford on Avon Walkers are Welcome run a three day walking festival that now attracts around 250 people.
“Our main priority now is to raise awareness of the scheme, collect signatures to show support and invite interested people to join our steering group.”
With good support already from individuals and groups in the town, Emma is now keen to hear from more businesses. Anyone interested in finding out how their business can get involved please email Emma at Frome Town Council.
Dec 5, 2017
Frome Town Council is offering free confidential consultancy for local businesses. The visit takes an hour and highlights a range of opportunities to promote the good things you are doing, to improve performance and to play a role in the local community. We provide a confidential report and follow up support.
Benefits to your business include opportunities to: Reflect on your businesses strategic priorities and your ways of working; reduce your organisation’s environmental impact; explore creating stronger links with other organisations and contribute to the prosperity and well-being of the town.
To book a free appointment email Anna Francis on or call 01373 488579 to discuss.
The town council is also available to help local people looking to grow your business or community enterprise in Frome. Its team can provide advice and information on a wide variety of things including planning issues, generating renewable energy, sourcing project funding, finding premises and more.
Equally, if you wish to share your experience with others or are simply interested in giving back to the community the council has a good network of contacts and organises useful events so is in a good position to connect you with other people in the town. Email Peter Wheelhouse at the council or ring him on 01373 475573.
Nov 28, 2017
We’ve been told about two new programmes for 2018 for Somerset social enterprises which sound really interesting. Both are run by the School for Social Entrepreneurs based in Dartington but it is running special programmes for Somerset.
The Somerset Social Entrepreneurs Development programme 2018 is open for applications and aimed specifically at existing social enterprises and community organisations located or operating in Somerset who want to become more entrepreneurial and increase their trading revenue. The programme will run from February to May 2018, delivered in Somerset and all the information is on the SSE website found here. Deadline is 14th January 2018.
The second course is a 3-Day Intensive for Start Ups in the Devon & Somerset region. This is a three-day introduction to social enterprise is for anyone with a social enterprise idea or in early stages and will give an introduction to starting and setting up a social business. All the information can be found at here. The deadline is also 14th January 2018 and will run two days in January and one in March.
Nov 28, 2017
SS&L has a great offer for Somerset businesses. Through a unique funding partnership SS&L is offering a variety of training courses to help develop your staff and benefit your business – at no cost to your business.
You can choose for your staff to gain skills in leadership, communication, presentation, negotiation, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and many more options.
Training not only helps your employees to achieve their personal aims but benefits your business with a more able and confident workforce.
SS&L will come to your business to undertake a free Training Needs Analysis and suggest the best training options for your team.
SS&L training courses are suitable for all sectors and industries.
Find out more here.
Nov 14, 2017
Minutes of the Frome Retail Group at The Cornerhouse on Tuesday 7 November at 6pm
Peter Wheelhouse from Frome Town Council confirmed that the Market Place Redevelopment Phase I would be cleared before the end of the month. Dates for Phase II and Phase I Part 2 depend on SSE scheduling laying the power cable.
Friday 1st December is the ‘Christmas Light Switch On’. The road will be closed from the top of Bath Street to the bridge from 4.30pm. Lantern Parades will congregate in the Market Place followed by Frome Youth Band and Christmas Carols, with the lights on at 6.40pm and events to 7.30pm. The road will re-open at 9.00pm.The free programme will be out this week and circulated round the town centre.
Saturday 2nd December is Small Business Saturday – with free parking in the Cattle Market car park (thanks MDC). The Chamber has been putting up sins to advertise this, and will distribute posters to shops who have asked for them
FTC will advertise these on Discover Frome, and that (many) shops 2ill open during December on Sunday and late on Thursday evening.
Mark Brookes has already got a response from the Independent Market about putting stalls at the end of Cheap Street.
There was long discussion about the banner at the end of Cheap Street – Peter Wheelhouse will contact Cllr Al O’Kane to find out when the Venues Group meets next, and Cheap Street traders can then talk to the venues about this direct.
Events 2018.
Charlie Orr from the Town Council is planning an event like the Frome Shop Local event in 2015, with musicians and performers in various spots in the town. There was a consensus that the February half term would be a good week for that as it would give a reason for people to come into town during the week.
Charlie is also hoping to expand the Community Toilets Scheme – Charlie is looking for information about the costs for businesses to run this. He hopes to combine this with a free water and marketing scheme next year. More to follow – if you have views on this please contact Charlie.
Nov 14, 2017
Great news for Christmas. Mendip District Council has announced that there will be free parking in all its car parks in the week before Christmas.
The Chamber has been told that all MDC carparks – subject to each individual carpark’s time restrictions – will have free parking from and including Wednesday 20 December until Christmas Eve. There will also be free parking on New Year’s Day so anyone who has celebrated the New Year, can collect their vehicles later on New Years Day, which sounds like a good plan!
That’s effectively the last four shopping days before Christmas.
And of course there will be free parking on Small Business Saturday on Saturday 2 December.
Nov 7, 2017
This is an update from Frome Town Council on the progress of work at Boyle Cross.
Work is now proceeding apace to complete the first phase of work at Boyle Cross. The new paving and loading bay in the area below the Boyle Cross monument are virtually complete. High quality Welsh Blue Pennant sandstone is being used for the slabs and setts to match paving in Cheap Street. Our contractor, Dave Lucey Limited is currently working to form the shallow steps around the cross. The remainder of the work on the upper section will be completed by 30 November.
We are still on target to open up the whole area for public access on the first weekend in December. All the contractor’s hoarding and equipment will be removed from site to enable pre-Christmas festivities to take place. At the same time, Cheap Street will be fully accessible for the first time since the work started.
The first event to return will be our ‘Christmas Light Switch On’ which takes place on Friday 1 December. The evening will start with lantern processions through Frome Town Centre, to the sound of Frome’s Samba Band. The Boyle Cross market area will feature festive food stalls and sip a cup of mulled wine or cider, as well as children’s games, stalls and crafts. The community will then sing carols to the accompaniment of Frome Town Youth Band to be housed on the lower part of the Boyle Cross around the Christmas Tree. The Lights will be switched on from The George Balcony as usual and the evening will be finished off with another rousing performance from The Frome Samba Band.
The work to replace paving at the lower end of Cheap Street and in front of the TSB bank is now being scheduled for the New Year on a date to be confirmed. The work will also involve the installation of cabling to power the new fountain and pop-up power points on the site. We will keep all local businesses and residents informed of the details including timetable. In the meantime, if there are any queries, please contact Frome Town Council on 01373 465757 or at info@frometowncouncil.gov.uk
Oct 16, 2017
Frome Retail Group met on Tuesday 3rd October at 6pm upstairs at The Cornerhouse. Neil Howlett from the Chamber chaired the meeting. Peter Wheelhouse from the Town Council attended. Thanks to those who came.
Boyle Cross
Peter Wheelhouse reported that he was meeting with the contractors doing the Boyle Cross Works on Thursday and the Town Council would issue a press release on progress after that, which they have now done. He explained that the concrete chamber couldn’t be ordered until the ground had been opened in case there were cables or archaeological features which could not be identified before that. He assured retailers that the site would be clear and available for use before the beginning of December. The announcement that has now been issued says that the Phase I Part 2 works outside TSB will be done next year, along with cabling which has been held up by SS&E.
Neil & Peter reported that SCC had now sorted out the signs for the delivery bay in King Street.
Car Parking
Those present asked the Chamber to take up Car Parking as a strategic issue, including deliveries, and capacity (for workers and visitors), the impact of North Parade, Jennings Fun Fair and potential impact of the Boxworks Scheme Mark II.
Neil reported that MDC would give free parking for Small Business Saturday and we would put up signs for this as before.
Neil asked for views about the effect of the MDC Christmas free parking in previous years. The consensus, which he pass to MDC was:-
That it was very welcome and helped us compete with local towns which already had substantial amounts of free parking (e.g., Trowbridge and Norton Radstock).
It was good for bricks and mortar businesses for whom the last week before Christmas was becoming very important – by then people didn’t trust online deliveries to deliver and/or were looking for something different, which is what Frome offers.
It has increased turnover although putting a figure on that was not possible, as there were so many other factors.
The late afternoon concession was probably better value for money for Mendip – it brought in people at a time when they might not otherwise come (so they would not be losing revenue from people who might come anyway), and for the town centre provided both sales of goods but also encouraged families to stay and eat.
For some traders it would help make up for significant drops in sales during the week when Jennings Fun Fair was here and there had been insufficient car parking capacity.
The sooner we knew what, if anything, MDC would offer the more benefit we could get from it by encouraging people to plan their Christmas shopping, advertising it to people who might otherwise go to the Bath Christmas Market during December, or to other towns.
Christmas Events
This would coincide with the free parking for Small Business Saturday. Neil will discuss with Peter joint marketing.
Peter said that the copy date for adverts for the programme was very soon and it would be out well in advance.
Peter reported that it was intended that street events such as the Lantern Parade would ensure people used the whole of the town centre, not trust the Market Place.
Peter did not have any news (and we forgot to remind him) about whether the Christmas Lights over the streets could be on in November before the lights on the tree.
Most shops would open late on Thursdays, and many would also open on Sundays in December.
Halloween would be low-key on Catherine Hill – sweets might be thrown to children, but most shops would not open, but would keep their lights on.
Pixie
Feedback on the Pixie presentation from traders who attended or had seen them was positive. They had 20 people signed up in Frome; at least one had already had a sale. As a payment system it was similar in cost to others. Those who signing up early would get the most out of it. There is real potential for this bringing trade to Frome though the Discovery function, which provided free marketing to a defined demographic.
Oct 6, 2017
Throughout the Brexit negotiations, the voice of Chamber business communities has never been more important. The business voice needs to be heard – both on the immediate challenge of Brexit negotiations, and on wider business issues.
This poll by the British Chambers of Commerce seeks to understand your business’s priorities on trading internationally and the future trading environment after the UK leaves the EU.
The results of this survey will directly help Somerset Chamber and our national body, the British Chambers of Commerce, to explain what businesses need to key opinion-formers – and advocate for policy changes that ensure businesses have the best possible trading environment.
Several minutes of your time gives your Chamber – and the British Chambers of Commerce team at Westminster – the real-world business input we need in order to stand up for your interests at this critical time.
Find the survey here.
Oct 3, 2017
Rural businesses and organisations in the Heart of the South West can still apply to the Rural Payments Agency (RPA) for grants through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Growth Programme.
£12.4 million of European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) funding is available to support projects that increase rural jobs, growth and productivity in the Heart of the South West
Funding is split across three specific strands:
- £2,784,740 for ‘Rural Business Development Grants’ – Farm businesses diversifying into non-agricultural activity and new or existing micro and small businesses (including social enterprises) in rural areas can apply for capital grants between £35,000 and £170,000 to support business start-up or expansion.
- £7,540,000 for ‘Food Processing Grants’ – New or existing food and drink processing businesses (including farm businesses diversifying into food and drink processing) can apply for capital grants from £35,000 to support business start-up or expansion.
- £2,088,555 for ‘Rural Tourism Infrastructure’ –Rural businesses, farmers, landowners, charities and public bodies can apply for capital grants from £35,000 for projects that improve the local rural tourism offer by delivering new or enhanced rural tourism assets and infrastructure.
There is a competitive and two-stage application process, comprising an expression of interest and a full application. Match-funding is also required. Further details of funding opportunities and how to apply are available here.
For projects with a funding agreement in place prior to the UK’s exit from the EU, funding will be guaranteed by Her Majesty’s Treasury even if projects continue beyond the UK’s departure from the EU. Visit here for more details.
For any queries relating to these funding opportunities through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) Growth Programme, please contact the Rural Payments Agency at GPEnquiries@rpa.gsi.gov.uk
Oct 3, 2017
Amongst other things we attended the ‘Three Tiers’ meeting of Councillors from the Town, District and County councils convened by the Town Council. They have agreed to work together to improve the signage in town so visitors can find their around better, both in cars and on foot. This is a long term project which the Chamber has pressing the councils to do, but is difficult when the signs affect our town, relate to facilities provide by Mendip but are owned and controlled by Somerset. We expect to see action now.
We also attended the Frome Town Council Town Matters meeting to support the continued support for the Information Centre at the Black Swan, which is used by both visitors and residents. The good news is that this is funded to June 2018. The very moderate costs are presently provide by Mendip Tourism. The Town Council hopes that will continue but has agreed to underwrite the costs to March 2020.
In addition we attended Fair Housing Frome’s latest meeting to explore better practice for residential landlords and tenants.
Sep 6, 2017
Pictured is Dawn Denton of Frome Diary talking about using Facebook for business
On Sept 5, 2017 the Frome Business Breakfast invited Dawn Denton of the Frome Diary to share some simple tips on how to make the most of Facebook. Held over a delicious breakfast and some truly fantastic coffee at The Rye Bakery in the newly renovated HUBnub on Whittox Lane, Dawn told attendees how Facebook can be used to promote organisations.
Dawn covered a wide variety of Facebook topics including the best times of day to post and schedule your content to hit the right audience at the best time and what to do if you’re new to social media marketing. “If you’re just starting out, try to focus on one thing”, explained Dawn. “When it comes to social media, it is important to use just one platform well rather than every platform poorly. Try to focus solely on Facebook or Twitter and learn how to use it effectively before branching out.”
If you’d like to find out more, Dawn is currently running a Facebook marketing course at The Salthouse. Please drop Dawn an email here for more information.
This was another great Frome Business Breakfast event and it seems social media topics continue to be incredibly popular with about 40 people in attendance. And we loved checking out a new venue for the Breakfast at the HUBnub. If you’re interested the next free Discuss & Do event on Tues 26 September will be looking at SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and having an in-depth discussion on improving digital marketing to help you get more hits! Contact Charlie Orr for further information.
Aug 15, 2017
Frome business owners are being invited to the Chamber of Commerce’s AGM being held on 12 September where they’ll hear what is planned to promote the town in the coming year.
The evening starts at 6pm with canapes at the Cheese and Grain and all businesses are welcome to come along, not just Chamber members.
During the evening, people will hear about the Chamber’s work with partners such as Frome Town Council and Mairi Connelly to put on the monthly Discuss and Do sessions and Business Breakfasts which offer people the chance to network and learn about different subjects to help them in their business.
There will also be an update on the monthly Retail Group, which brings together shops and businesses to discuss town centre matters, and the latest on the plans for Saxonvale and the Boyle Cross area.
During 2017, the Chamber has been offering free membership to organisations and has launched a new website with a special What’s On page to showcase business events happening across the town.
Any business owner coming to the AGM will also be able to take advantage of the free membership and join on the night.
The Chamber AGM starts at 6pm on Tuesday 12 September at the Cheese and Grain.
Book your place here.
Jul 25, 2017
Mendip District Council is currently consulting on its proposals to introduce a Public Space Protection Order within the area.
These are new powers introduced as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014 and will replace existing Designated Public Space Orders that relate to alcohol-related anti-social behaviour. Currently all of the five Mendip towns have these orders, dog control and gating orders.
The link below takes you to the Mendip District Council website which provides the background and full proposals of orders being considered for Mendip – and each town – which will be interest to local businesses and organisations.
Completed surveys will form part of a committee report for the council to consider implementing these orders.
Jul 4, 2017
On Tuesday evening, June 27th, three industry experts presented to an audience of local business owners and employees on the importance of branding, part of the monthly free Discuss & Do sessions organised by Frome Town Council, Frome Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise Mendip.
The event, held at Sam’s Kitchen, featured a talk given by Cathy Hackett (ex BP, PwC, TransferWise) whose focus has been on people, organisation and culture. She asked the audience to consider the importance of internal branding, and how true brand success starts from within.
Alan Morden comes from an external branding perspective, and has been creative director at large agencies all over the world, working on brands such as British Airways, Audi and Apple. Alan demonstrated to the audience that branding is not just a logo.
Hannah Morden then presented on the importance of having company values and purpose, giving an example of her current business, DNA Worldwide Group, and how having a purpose has meant that there is a long term internal and external brand.
The evening finished off with a healthy discussion among small groups, where the audience was asked what their brand meant to their customers and their employees.
Jun 20, 2017
Well done to lots of local businesses which have been winning awards lately. Entering awards is a great way to raise your profile so, while it can take a bit of time putting together a submission, it’s worth it when your name is called.
Mendip Business Awards
We had four local businesses win in the Mendip Business Awards as well as a number featuring in the finalists’ lists. A big round of applause goes to:
Small Business of the Year
Indulgence Beauty Training Academy (based in Trudoxhill)
New Business of the Year
Living DNA
International Business of the Year
Living DNA
Customer Service Excellence
Netitude
Community Enterprise of the Year
Edventure Frome
These are the Frome businesses that made it onto the finalist lists:
- J Cayford Family Butchers in Family Business of the Year
- Frometech for New Business of the Year
- Dennis Maps for International Business of the Year
Find the full list of winners here.
Muddy Stilettos Awards
Meanwhile Frome showed itself a town of real style in the Muddy Stilettos Somerset Awards. These awards celebrate and support the most ‘unique, interesting, brilliant lifestyle businesses’. So let’s sprinkle some glitter over:
Best Café
The River House
Best Destination Pub
The Artisan
Best Family Attraction
The Frome Independent
Best Farmshop/Deli
Whiterow Farm at Beckington
Best Jewellery Store
Annette Gabbedey
And again a very pleasing number of Frome businesses made it into the finals (with many taking second and third place). They included:
- Black Swan Arts for Best Art Gallery
- Melanie Giles for Best Beauty Salon and Best Hair Salon
- Hunting Raven for Best Bookshop
- The Talbot Mells for Best Destination Pub
- Jo Beale for Best Fitness Instructor
- Bramble and Wild for Best Florist
- Mary Kilvert for Best Gift Shop
- Assembly for Best Men’s Store
- Sam’s Kitchen for Best Restaurant
- Merlin Theatre for Best Theatre
- Deadly is the Female for Best Women’s Store
- Focus Pilates for Best Yoga/Pilates Studio
You can see all the awards and how well Frome businesses did in the votes here.
Inspired? Well Somerset Business Awards is now open and looking for submissions. And check out our blog on how to write award submissions here.
Jun 20, 2017
The draft of the Mendip Economic Development Strategy 2017-2020 is now available for consultation. The Chamber has been consulted about this and it has been presented to Frome Town Council.
Mendip District Council is listening and acting, particularly on the lack of employment land, and training. It is proposing town working groups, which could be good. It is also looking for examples of businesses to encourage inward investment.
The Chamber has told the Council it needs to engage more with neighbouring LEPs and authorities as we are more connected with and gain more benefit from Bristol, Bath and West Wiltshire, and their educational institutions, than we have (or will) from Somerset County Council or the HoSWLEP.
If you want to influence MDC’s policy now is your chance, either through the Chamber, to the Council direct or at the Scrutiny Board meeting on the evening of 26 June, which is a public meeting.
Find out more here.
May 19, 2017
The Retail Group convened by the Chamber and Frome Town Council met on 2nd May at The Cornerhouse.
Waste
Retailers identified the main problems as cardboard and plastic waste. There are a plethora of suppliers and solutions, some of which are probably not legal. Storing waste until it can be collected is a problem for some people. There has not been any real progress since the Town Council initiative and the Business Breakfast meeting with JW Waste last year.
We agreed that the Chamber would survey businesses to ask who they used, how long their contract was for, their approximate volumes and the price they were currently paying.
The Town Council will audit the suppliers who we know are operating, including Greenacre, JW Waste, Viridor and Moores to come up with a short list of preferred operators.
We will look at this again in July, and in particular the practicality of traders getting together to use a single supplier, perhaps in each street, and negotiate better terms, and better collection arrangements.
Street Cleaning
Reports were variable, some such as Bath Street thought that they got good cleaning, others didn’t. There was general agreement that “everyone should get a brush”.
Charlie Orr will check what happened with the audit of bins what was being carried out, i.e. how many did we have, were they in the right place, what had happened to the ones which had been taken away, and where could any new bins best be placed.
NB Dog poo in bags can be disposed of in all MDC bins. The one at the bottom of Cheap Street has a sign which is supposed to indicate this, but it isn’t very clear.
We agreed that the Chamber and Town Council would do more to publicize the contract standard between MDC and I D Verde, so that people didn’t waste time complaining about things that weren’t in the contract, and could help MDC ensure that they got “VFM”. Problems can be reported via FixMyStreet or directly to Elizabeth Dawson, the contract manager at MDC (Elizabeth.dawson@mendip.gov.uk). Frome Town Council Councillors do meet regularly with MDC in Frome to review this. Neil Howlett has contacted Neil Taylor, the Portfolio holder and will meet him but probably not until after the next election.
Information Centre and Visitor Survey
The Town Council want this to be open and running by June. The Black Swan can’t facilitate that because of existing bookings.
Charlie Orr is arranging volunteers to do the visitor survey with Rotary, but probably not until after the General Election. Any volunteers please contact him.
Future events
The Frome Festival is not far away and the programme is now out.
Small Business Saturday will be on Saturday 2nd December. The Chamber will continue to press MDC as to whether there will be any free parking for this or Christmas so that it can be publicised. That will be a busy weekend.
Traders were keen to see the Christmas decorations up and running and on from the earliest time possible and from mid-November.
There was a consensus for opening on Sundays from at least the beginning of December and to open late on Thursdays. It would be good if everyone did this together; that way we can publicise it and get the best footfall.
And more
The Town Council confirmed that new fingerposts were coming, and the existing finger posts were being repainted.
The Independent Market can supply a pdf of the GWR poster for anyone who wants to put that up.
Traders on Catherine Hill were urged to sign up with the St Catherine’s website which got a good level of hits, and was cheap and ranked highly on Google.
We asked if some traders could get together with the Town Council to look at Discover Frome and improve that. We didn’t think that a new website was needed, but that the existing one could be adapted to be much more effective, e.g. there are lots of good photographs but they aren’t on the front page and difficult to find, and the events aren’t necessarily ones which are going to attract visitors.
The Town Council will report back on the BID.
The Chamber will look at setting up a simple mechanism for us to collect and share data with each other, perhaps Dropbox or something more sophisticated. If anyone has any suggestions please contact us.
The next meeting will be on Tuesday 6th June 2017 at 6pm at the Cornerhouse as usual.
We are considering having a special meeting in July and inviting the new County Councillors to discuss with them our priorities for Somerset County Council, once all this election stuff is out of the way.
May 19, 2017
Somerset’s first Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) Breakfast Briefing took place on Wednesday 3 May, highlighting the regional findings from Q1 2017 of the British Chambers’ national business barometer.
Business people from across the county attended the event at Tangier Central in Taunton, which was organised by Somerset Chamber of Commerce and chartered accountants PKF Francis Clark.
John Endacott, Partner and Head of Tax at PKF Francis Clark, summarised the QES findings from the South West. Overall he reported that business confidence was improving and that there is still plenty of appetite from regional businesses for maintaining or increasing their levels of capital expenditure. While the growth of UK sales is stronger than export sales in the South West, he remarked that it takes time for a fall in sterling to feed through into export led growth.
The survey findings showed concern from South West businesses over issues such as inflation, although Mr Endacott explained that this was to be expected after the fall in sterling that followed the referendum result. Other key areas of concern for the region’s businesses included taxation, interest rates and the impact of business rates.
Summing up, Mr Endacott said, “The QES shows that the South West business community is reasonably confident about the outlook for economic growth and UK sales growth is still strong. There are some concerns though, including increasing business regulation and tax burdens, skills shortages and rising inflation.”
Somerset Chamber Chief Executive, Dale Edwards, commented, “I’m delighted in the feedback we have received to the first in our new series of QES events, which have been developed so that we can share the intelligence from the Quarterly Economic Survey with local businesses. The QES not only gives businesses a great opportunity to voice their views on a wide range of issues, but it also provides valuable information and benchmarking data, delivering a useful snapshot of the current economic environment. We would encourage all businesses, whether they’re members of the Chamber or not, to have their say in order to help highlight the needs of our local economy and ensure that Somerset’s voice is heard by national policymakers.”
The QES has been the private sector’s leading indicator of the UK economy since 1989 and is closely monitored by policymakers including the government and the Bank of England when making decisions on interest rates and policy.
The fieldwork for the Q2 2017 survey will begin on 22 May and further details will be available at www.somerset-chamber.co.uk/qes
Run by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the QES is the UK’s largest and most representative independent business survey, published in advance of official figures and consistently mirroring trends in official data. Each quarter, over 7,500 businesses participate and are questioned on a wide range of issues, including home sales and orders, export sales and orders, employment prospects, investment, recruitment difficulties, cashflow, confidence and price pressures.
Apr 10, 2017
Two new faces have joined Harris + Harris Solicitors to build its specialist legal teams.
The firm now employs more than 50 people in its two offices in Frome and Wells after welcoming Christiana Olomolaiye and Victoria Panchal, who work from the Stony Street office.
Christiana, who has been practising as a solicitor since 1992, brings a wealth of experience to the firm’s Commercial Property department in the public, private and charity sectors. Her expertise is mainly in the sales, leases and disposals of commercial and charity properties, agricultural land, and in development and planning agreements, construction contracts, and urban regeneration schemes.
Christiana said: “Frome’s creativity and enterprise boosts its commercial property market. It is great that Harris and Harris is well positioned to offer its services in such a dynamic environment.”
Victoria, who grew up in Bristol, joins the firm’s Residential Property department after spending several years in London. Victoria deals with freehold and leasehold sales and purchases as well as re-mortgages and transfers of equity.
The two new appointments build on previous recruitment to the Wills and Probate department led by Caroline Fletcher in Frome, who has developed the Private Client Department since joining the firm in August 2013.
Partner Neil Howlett welcomed the new recruits to the Frome team: “We, and our clients, are fortunate that we have been able to recruit so many experienced and talented Solicitors to work in Frome. They will continue Harris & Harris’s ethos of being professionals with a human face.”
Pictured (l to r) is Christiana Olomolaiye, Victoria Panchal, Neil Howlett (Partner), Caroline Fletcher, Alison Macaulay (Partner).
Apr 10, 2017
Bluebird Care is delighted to announce that in its first inspection CQC gave the highest possible rating of ‘Outstanding’ for its service being well-led.
The CQC are an independent regulator of health and social care services in England who monitor, inspect and regulate services to make sure they are meeting fundamental standards of quality and safety.
Bluebird Care Mendip received an overall rating of Good, following the inspection which took place on November 16 and 17 2016. The services delivered were rated ‘Good’ in the four areas of being safe, effective, caring and responsive.
Customers and staff were interviewed by the inspector for their comments on what it is like to receive a service from us, and what it is like to work for us. Here is just some of the feedback received from our customers:
“I look forward to them coming in. It doesn’t seem to matter what may be happening in their lives they always make you feel good.”
“I have really taken to the girls who come to me. We are well matched and so I am very satisfied with everything about the service.”
“They send a schedule out every week. If anything changes they ring you.”
“It’s a very professional organisation starting from the top all the way down.”
Director of Bluebird Care Mendip, Masen Naidoo, commented: “We’re thrilled with our latest CQC report and are extremely proud of the high standards of care our team provides to our customers every day. We would like to thank everyone for their passion and commitment to delivering the very best homecare and support.”
Visit the Care Quality Commission website to find out more information about how they regulate health and social care in England.
You can see the full CQC report.
Mar 27, 2017
Economic survey for Mendip businesses
Mendip District Council has asked us to share this information with you and we’d also like to ask you to take the time to fill in the survey.
“I’ll start with an apology – as a business in the UK you probably get survey requests all the time. This one is important though, because we’re asking for information and your views as part of our local business community here in Mendip. What you tell us helps to directly inform business support, activities and policies in your local area.
So if your business is in Mendip please spare us a few minutes if you can to tell us a bit about your business and your views – we would really appreciate it.”
Fill in the survey here http://www.mendip.gov.uk/business2017 before 4 April.
Economic Development Team
Mendip District Council
Feb 8, 2017
Mendip District Council is launching a final stage of consultation on an important new planning document which sets out the council’s requirements when planning permission is sought for the change of use of a community facility or employment site.
The first stage of consultation took place in November and December last year and now the council is asking for views on the amended document.
Council policy states that applicants must demonstrate that sites in these types of use are no longer needed before planning permission for a change of use can be granted.
The new Supplementary Planning Document has been drafted to set out the minimum requirements for marketing and also sets out the evidence that will be needed to show that adequate marketing has been carried out.
Frome Chamber responded to the first draft with general approval as this required the kind of evidence we had objected had not been produced by applicants seeking to build houses on employment sites.
Find the consultation here.
Feb 7, 2017
Retail Group 31st January 2017
These are some notes of the Retail Group Meeting.
There were not quite as many people as usual but they made up for that in both volume and quality.
Review of December
Trade had been seriously disrupted by the roadworks on Bath St. These were an emergency. The Town Council had put pressure on the contractors.
We will work with the Town Council to develop a strategy for incidents like this, including making sure diversions, signs and media reports don’t say the town centre is closed when it isn’t. There are things we can do better and more quickly than Somerset Highways.
The Town Council is informed of planned work and has been asked if they can monitor this and contact us if there anything they notice which is likely to be disruptive so we can put these plans into operation. There is also a very good public access website https://roadworks.org/.
After that trade was good or very good, with lots of visitors from outside Frome, attracted by independent shops and some avoiding Bath. Some retailers were limited by capacity not customers.
Small Business Saturday had no effect. The Chamber had put up signs advertising this in the Cattle Market car park, but there had been no other publicity and MDC’s enforcement officer was confused because nobody had told him about it. This was a failure of communications within MDC.
Car parks were full for the week before Christmas. The Free Parking certainly encouraged that though they might have been full anyway. The Chamber had put up posters and MDC had advertised this with a Press Release.
If we knew about this earlier in the year we could do more to advertise it and attract people to Frome.
There were very positive views about the Christmas Event from traders and they had received good feedback from people who had attended. We liked the family focus, and emphasis on children and entertainment.
The Christmas Lights were appreciated but there was a consensus that they should start earlier (mid November) and come on earlier (if not all day). The Town Council are reviewing these and that will be reported.
The Boyle Cross and crossing the Market Place
The Town Council reported that although they now had planning consent they were still in negotiations with MDC who own the land. They will consult with the Retail Group and market traders about the timing of any works but they are not imminent.
The consensus of the Retail Group was that although 20 minutes free parking was nice it was more important to improve the town centre and enable people to cross the road. Some thought the parking was badly managed, created a poor impression of the town and was a hazard.
Independent Market
Will start again monthly from March. There are now special trains run by GWR.
The consensus was that this was good for Frome, gave us credibility and encouraged visitors, even from those who felt their trade was affected negatively around the dates of the Markets. The Market organisers know things can be improved, so do let them, but remember that every change has a knock on effect.
The Market is doing a survey – you can respond through that.
Visitor Survey
The Chamber and Town Council will be doing surveys of visitors. We want their experience of Frome, good and bad, to let us know what we can improve. Research shows that visitors can be strongly influenced by “touch points” where their experience of better or worse than they expect.
This in a trial stage. Please help if you are asked. The results will be reported later this year.
Frome Voucher
Terry Pinto of PAAD Architects proposed we have a voucher redeemable in independent shops in Frome, both as a gift people can give to show loyalty to Frome, but also a marketing opportunity. We agreed to look at other places where schemes had been successful, and where they had not, and will report back in April.
Farewell
Charles Wood announced that this was his last meeting as he was stepping back from his many roles in civic life in Frome. Charles was instrumental in the running of Vision 4 Frome which identified and provides the evidence of many of the policies now adopted by the Town Council, and in the Somerset Towns Forum which was very helpful in allowing towns to share experience and skills.
Next meeting
6pm Tuesday 7th March 2017 – probably at the Cornerhouse upstairs.
