Well, the holidays are here and with many now in enjoying the sun, (or perhaps still in the passport queue at Palma airport?), this summer edition of the newsletter will be suitably short.
The Chamber has held a couple of events during July. Firstly, a networking lunch at Voujon in South Bar, well attended by over 20 members; and after a curry lunch we repaired to the courtyard garden for more refreshment.
DCS, our newest biggest entrant to Banbury in recent years, held a grand opening earlier in July. The following week members of the Chamber were invited for a special tour of the DCS’s new premises. Denys Shortt OBE bowled us over with an extensive tour of the refurbished offices and operations of the company. I can only say that we would all do well to take a leaf from the DCS manual. Certainly Denys’ approach and ethos is impressive and it is easy to see how he and his team have grown the business from scratch to £250m in just 23 years. We welcome DCS to Banbury.
Last week, the BID held a 3rd Open meeting at the Town Hall. These events are increasingly well attended and there was a generally positive discussion of the benefits of the BID, with some searching questions, as usual, for the Council(s). A fourth Information Newsletter has been produced, for imminent distribution. The Business Plan will be ‘launched’ on 6th September to give businesses plenty of time to absorb it before their ballot papers arrive in October.
As many of you know, the Chamber fosters strong relations with both CDC and BTC, so I’d like to take this opportunity to welcome Yvonne Rees, the new CEO at CDC to the Banbury area. She comes from Mole Valley DC, where, by serendipity, I learn that she was involved in launching a successful BID for Dorking earlier this year!
The Chamber will be quiet during August, but we shall look forward to reconvening at the start of the Autumn term, with bulletin’s and events as usual.
Happy Holidays and, for those of you properly nose to the millstone, we wish you a prosperous August.
Kind regards
Nick Poole
Chairman – Banbury Chamber
