Report on the Christmas lights questionnaire

About 20 people replied in some detail to my questions about the lights on the Christmas trees this year. They were all broadly in agreement, and the points made can be summarised as follows:

(1) Everyone likes the way individuals each do their bit, and create a finished effect that everyone finds very attractive. A kind of collective anarchy!

(2) This was felt to be more important and more valuable community-wise than a more polished and more coordinated display -- more 'Charlbury'.

(3) BUT it was generally felt that it would look BETTER if people avoided coloured and/or flashing lights, and used yellow/white lights of the traditional colour. There are problems with blue-tinted LED lights, but a number of people had bought the recommended John Lewis lights and were very pleased with the result.

(4) Several people commented adversely on the bright blue lights on the Corner House, which were felt to set a poor example.

Our intention for 2009 is to make it clearer in the initial leaflet what people feel about the lights, in particular with regard to their colour and being set to 'static', and draw people's attention to the John Lewis lights. (If anyone can locate similar lights from a local supplier, that would be preferable, but so far we have failed on this one.)

Jon Carpenter

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Planning proposals for Banbury Hill and Forest Road

The Town Council has drawn our attention to two recent planning applications.

They can be found at
planning.westoxon.gov.uk/MVM/Online/PL/ApplicationSearch.aspx

The applications are

08/1880/P/FP & 08/1881/P/FP for farm buildings at Banbury Hill (connected to New Barn Farm/Shop)

and

08/1873/P/FP for proposed developments at the 'Pill Factory' site on Forest Road.

If members feel that the CBC should take a position on either application, they should let us know at info@charlburybusiness.co.uk

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Tourism theme for next lunch

We are very pleased to have Chris Jackson of West Oxfordshire District Council at our next Charlbury Business Lunch on Thursday 27th November at The Bell, to talk about how the town and business can benefit from the developments being made in tourism.

Tourism is worth an estimated £221.4m to the economy of West Oxfordshire each year and supports direct and indirectly the equivalent of over 4,000 full time jobs.

At a time of change and uncertainty in the countryside, when many traditional rural industries are in decline or needing to adapt to stay in business, tourism represents an opportunity to stabilise and support businesses and services.

If carefully introduced and managed, and appropriate in scale and activity, tourism can help revitalise declining community facilities and services to the benefit of businesses, residents and the local economy.

The topic will be of great interest to all businesses and if the last lunch is anything to go by, there will be a stimulating and enjoyable conversation around the table both during the lunch and, for those who can stay, afterwards.

The details… Start at 12.30 with a drink at the bar, a 2 course lunch is served promptly to enable the speaker to talk to us during coffee and for us to finish formally at 2.00 promptly. Cost is £15 per head or £13 if you are a member of Charlbury Business Community. To book please contact Mike Leggett on 01608 811533 or click here to email him. There is a menu choice which will be sent to you.

We look forward to seeing you at The Bell on the 27th.

Lunches got off to a flying start...

... on October 16 over a scrummy lunch, thanks to Fergus and The Bell. Stimulating and enjoyable discussion followed an excellent presentation from Philip Wootton of Business Link, a government-sponsored business advice service.

The date for the next lunch is Thursday 27 November. Speaker/theme to be announced.

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New officers elected at AGM

At the AGM on September 23, the following officers were elected:

Jon Carpenter (Chairman)
Pete Smith (Vice-Chairman)
Megan Bell (Secretary)
Mike Leggett (Treasurer)
Brian Murray (Tourism officer)
Fergus McVey (Committee member)

The business meeting that followed was mostly devoted to tourism and networking issues. We intend to produce a completely new town leaflet devoted specifically to the attractions of Charlbury and its environment for visitors.

A major innovation is a series of networking lunches to begin in October. Members (and anyone else in business in Charlbury) will be welcome to a 2-course lunch at The Bell, with plenty of time to meet and chat to one another and listen to a short talk by an expert on a issue of relevance to most people working in the town. More details to follow shortly.

The CBC is also intending to come up with its own vision for the town centre.

At our next meeting on Tuesday October 21 (8pm at The Bell) we shall discuss, among other things, more detailed plans for the Christmas 'lights on' evening on Thursday December 4, when there will be entertainment, street stalls, carol singing, Santa in person and late-night shopping -- to name a few of the attractions! We shall also discuss the next stages of our tourism strategy. All members are welcome to attend.

Making dates for Christmas

We are consulting on plans for the Lighting Up Charlbury event in December. Sticking to the first Thursday of the month, this would mean December 4 for Lights On, the Craft Fair, Santa, music and shopping.

There would be a second late-night shopping evening on Thursday December 18.

Please let us know if these dates clash with anything you have planned.

THESE DATES ARE CONFIRMED. IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN HAVING AN OUTDOOR STALL ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 4, PLEASE CONTACT FERGUS AT THE BELL.

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Charlbury needs higher a profile

Charlbury Business Community (CBC) should have a bigger say in the future of the town, it was agreed on March 12 at a meeting of representatives of CBC and the Town Council. The CBC will prepare its own submissions as part of the 'Local Development Framework', which replaces the Local Plan as the planning 'bible' for the area.

It is also seeking to work with the Cotswold Inter-Regional Partnership, a tourism and economy focused body which crosses local authority boundaries. There is potential for promoting Charlbury as a centre for appropriate tourism in West Oxfordshire and the Evenlode Valley. If a site could be agreed, there was agreement on the need for a new car park in the town,

(1) to relieve pressure on the Spendlove site,
(2) to provide parking for people working in the town (or visiting businesses here), and
(3) as the site of an interpretation centre indicating the walks in and from the town and providing information on local history and wildlife.

At present the visitor potential of the town is very underdeveloped. A County Council tourist map of the county doesn't even show Charlbury, and the list of museums fails to mention Charlbury Museum. With friends like that, who needs enemies?!

The CBC welcomes your feedback and comments.

Farmers Market dates for 2008

The Charlbury Farmers Market is held on the Playing Close (opposite the Co-op), four times a year...

Forthcoming markets are as follows:
14 June 2008
13 September 2008
13 December 2008

Always a great opportunity to catch up with local friends and buy local(ish) produce. And don't forget to pop down into the "old part of town" for items from the gift shop (Cotswold Frames), the Good Food Shop, the pharmacy, the post office, the newsagents, the bookshop and even a coffee from the Ramble On Cafe.

Stallholders are from the Thames Valley Farmers' Market Co-operative and Charlbury's market is organised locally by Geoff Burroughs, Nick Potter, and Roger Watts. For more info, contact Roger on 01608 811559

Prepare early for Christmas!

If there is one thing we've learnt from the Christmas markets and 'open shops' evenings last December, it's that we need to prepare even earlier.

We're looking into the question of lights: since most of the lights on sale nowadays are LED and decidedly blue, we have problems maintaining the white (or slightly yellow) appearance of Charlbury's lights that has become traditional. We can't afford to buy everyone an 'approved' set of lights, let alone make them put them up!

But we can try and get more people to put up brackets and take trees. Although about 80 people put up lit trees last Christmas, there were some notable gaps, especially in Church Street where the town's patriotism in this respect runs a bit thin. We'll be sending information round much earlier this year, and encouraging more people to take brackets. They're £25 apiece but are very well made and last for ever.

It would be good to have more townsfolk among the stallholders too. It would be logical for us to be working with members on this, but not a single craftsperson or artist is a member of the Business Community. Maybe it is time some of you joined and had your say. Most shops are members and can take part in the planning process.

What the Future Holds for us in West Oxfordshire

On January 24 this year I went to a significant meeting attended by more than 60 community groups and businesses from all over West Oxfordshire, plus Council officials. Although I went as a representative of Charlbury Business Community, my summary of the meeting might be of interest to anyone planning to stay in the area and wondering what the future holds.

The meeting was towards creating a Sustainable Community Strategy for West Oxon, which will feed into the Local Development Framework (LDF) for 2012 to 2026.

Out of that Framework comes the all the specific policies for the period, such as planning, transport, community services, business support etc.

So pretty significant if, like my family, you're planning to live and work in West Oxon for the foreseeable future.

I thought the consultation process was excellent. I'd give a 10/10 for the way it was set up, facilitated and for the concrete and useful suggestions we all came up with. The West Oxon officials come across as authentic and competent. (Sorry, born cynic about local government here!).

Much of the feedback from the meeting echoed consultation work the Council have already carried out. There are clear themes...

1 We want a clear VISION in place for what we want our market towns and villages to be in the future. It was felt that up til now, policies didn't hang together well and don't recognise the challenges faced in rural communities since the existing LDF was brought in.

2 We're headed for an aging population, but with poor spread of facilities and transport links to look after us. We want more put in place for the ELDERLY (ie US in the future).

3 Poor public TRANSPORT links and the explosion in car use have created a transport nightmare that needs priorty attention. If the A40 isn't sorted out, we'll all scream.

4 Local flooding has heightened awareness of ENVIRONMENTAL issues. People want more done to protect our environment at all levels.

5 People feel threatened at the possibility of young people causing increasing SOCIAL NUISANCE, but at the same time fear the "DRAIN" of young people and young families away from rural communities.

6 There is great appreciation of and desire to make more of the beautiful LANDSCAPE and peaceful setting we have, especially with the low crime levels we enjoy.

7 People are generally satisfied with the levels of ECONOMIC prosperity we enjoy. We're mindful that more business might erode the quality of life we enjoy in West Oxon.

I was quite surprised at some of views overall - clearly every body else had given this all more thought than I had.

I went really with a mission to help grow businesses as part of our market town communities, particularly given the trend for Internet broadband to make running businesses from home or locally an increasingly appealing possibility.

One thing did worry me - it seemed that people see a clear choice between ECONOMIC GROWTH and QUALITY OF LIFE. That more business means more people, housing, cars and roads, and less peace and countryside.

I myself wonder if we might not just have our cake and eat it somehow. Because the Internet has opened up such new and profitable ways of doing business FROM our communites that few are aware of yet.

Another thing was clear too - a point underlined by West Oxon Chief Exec David Neudegg at the end of the meeting. You can do all the consulting, talking, frameworks, structures, planning, policies and action plans you like. But at the end of the day, if we don't each play our part in making our communities what we want them to be, well, we've only got ourselves to blame.

Which is why groups in and of the community, like Charlbury Business Community, are so important. By getting a little bit informed and involved in ANY group, rather than sitting on the sidelines just seeing what is wrong, we can all make a difference to our future.

Cally Robson
Committee Member, Charlbury Business Community
callyrobson@ideas-into-action.co.uk

Notes of a meeting held 28th November 2007 with Will Barton from West Oxfordshire District Council

Present: Will Barton, Brian Murray, Peter Smith, Jon Carpenter, Trish Gilbert, Tim Widdows, Cally Robinson, Fergus McVey, Graeme Widdows.

Apologies: Nick Potter, Lady Rotherwick, James Robertshaw, Sasha Robertshaw, Ruth Allingham

There was a welcome and introduction from Peter Smith (Chairman).

Will started out by mentioning that there were information packs available outlining the support that West Oxfordshire District Council could offer to businesses in their area. Those present received a pack, the secretary has further packs for anyone who may want one.

Will works alongside Diane Chung and they can help in the following ways:

by talking to individual businesses 

by contact with other businesses and organisations including Business Link

by helping where possible if a business had problems with other WODC departments including planning, although it should be noted that the planning department is constrained by the local framework.

The Economic Development department also talks to groups and maintains the commercial property register.

There are a lot of small businesses working from home who may need help with the first step to business premises.

As well as premises within Charlbury there is space available on Cornbury Park. 

Free business advice is also available from Oxfordshire Business Enterprise

Graeme spoke as one of the Trustees of The Charlbury and District Motor Fire Brigade Trust "The Old Fire Station". He also had some notes from the Chairman of the Trust which he distributed.

He spoke about the problems of letting the premises and said that the Trustees were legally liable to maximise the profits and as part of this had been obliged to apply for planning permission. 

He also asked about how to find prospective tenants and Will confirmed that the website of all commercial property available was published monthly.

Graeme asked if Will could meet the trustees to advise about letting. Will agreed to contact Graeme to put him in touch with the most appropriate person.

The meeting then went on to discuss tourism businesses and the information Brian had received on the Hidden Britain project. Trish agreed to circulate this to interested parties and then further information would be sought from Hayley Beare who has been involved in this project.

It was felt that there needed to be greater links with the Town Council and Will was informed that this was under way.

Thanks were then given to Will for coming and the meeting closed.