Late in 2008, I was delighted and honoured to be elected the President of the Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry - something of a figurehead role in which I can listen to the views of businesses in the town, and advocate the shared business views both within the town and further afield. Here, starting 2009, are a few words looking forward that I have penned for The Chamber's New Year Message. Other "Chamber related" material is indexed here

2009 will be a challenging year for businesses big and small; a rapidly changing economy will create both winners and losers, and all businesses will need to adapt and adopt to thrive.

In Wiltshire, we're seeing political changes too. The new Unitary Wiltshire Council takes over from the two tiers of District and County in the Spring, and already the officers of the new council are talking about the tightness of their budgets, and of working for "Salisbury, Trowbridge and Chippenham" - their words, which should act as an alert to the other towns in the new authority, such as Melksham, that they need to raise their voices to ensure their interests are fully considered.

In Melksham, a new supermarket has just opened, another is in planning and an existing store is planning expansion. And although we see the occasional empty shop front, the town is more vibrant than many others in the Wessex Chambers area. And these very developments can bring their own problems - with serious traffic congestion, parking demand in excess of supply in the central car park at times, and road works which also discourage business.

Melksham is also home to a wide range of industrial businesses, scattered around the edge of the town. It never ceases to amaze me to see a "Melksham" address crop up in the most unexpected of worldwide marketing literature - from railway components through tyres and furniture to disaster appeals and lighting supplies. Much of this business is traditional, and much of it is online too - Melksham's thriving virtual community. And all of this activity, which brings jobs and prosperity to the area, needs stores and housing and schools and medical and other services and transport fit to support the business activity.

A new school to open in 2010 - the Melksham Oak Community School - is under construction. The site of the George Ward, which it replaces, is earmarked for replacement by additional housing, and some 750 new homes have been approved for the east of the town. That's in addition to recently completed expansions in areas such as Bowerhill. Expansion is set to continue, with the Regional Spatial Strategy planning growth of around 50% by 2016. The big stores who are coming to the town and expanding here know of these plans, and are thinking forward. Recent new medical centres, and the school changes, also look to the future. But in some other areas, work remains to be done. All road routes are already congested to the point of discouraging traffic at peak times, and the current train service to Melksham station are totally inappropriate for the needs of people travelling to and from the town and its businesses.

Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry exists to support the current, and future, needs of all businesses which operate in the town and surrounding area. From immediate issues and concerns, through training and networking programs and marketing of the town to planning for the future for businesses and the people who work for, and are customers of, those businesses. Many of our activities are such that a wider perspective is useful, and we're proud to be members of the Wessex Association of Chambers of Commerce.

We look forward to supporting your through Chamber activities in 2009 - to seeing you at events ranging from our meetings to Party in the Park and to the Council's budget meeting, to helping you with training and networking, or perhaps just to keeping you informed through our regular mailings of matters relevant to Melksham Businesses.

Upcoming diary events (Chamber and some others!)

Thu 16th Feb •  Jane Scott, Leader, Wiltshire Council, speaks to Melksham Seniors Forum

Mon 20th Feb •  Wiltshire school term starts - [link]

Tue 21st Feb •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Sun 11th Mar •  Bath Half Marathon [link]

Thu 22nd Mar •  West Wilts Rail User Group - [link]

Tue 27th Mar •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Fri 30th Mar •  Wiltshire school term ends - [link]

Wed 4th Apr •  Seniors Forum joint meeting with Melksham Area Board

Fri 6th Apr •  Public Holiday - Good Friday

Mon 9th Apr •  Public Holiday - Easter Monday

Mon 16th Apr •  Wiltshire school term starts - [link]

Tue 24th Apr •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Thu 3rd May •  Opening of Badminton Horse Trials [link]

Mon 7th May •  Public Holiday - May Day

Mon 7th May •  Last day of Badminton Horse Trials [link]

Tue 22nd May •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Tue 22nd May •  Olympic Torch in Wiltshire - [link]

Wed 23rd May •  Olympic Torch in Wiltshire - [link]

Fri 1st Jun •  Wiltshire school term ends - [link]

Mon 4th Jun •  Public Holiday - Spring Bank Holiday

Tue 5th Jun •  Public Holiday - Diamond Jubilee

Mon 11th Jun •  Wiltshire school term starts - [link]

Tue 26th Jun •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Wed 11th Jul •  Olympic Torch in Wiltshire - [link]

Thu 12th Jul •  Olympic Torch in Wiltshire - [link]

Tue 17th Jul •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Mon 23rd Jul •  Wiltshire school term ends - [link]

Fri 27th Jul •  Olympic Games Open

Sun 12th Aug •  Olympic Games Close

Mon 27th Aug •  Public Holiday - Summer Bank Holiday

Wed 29th Aug •  Paralympic Games Open

Mon 3rd Sep •  Wiltshire school term starts - [link]

Fri 7th Sep •  Melksham Food and drink festival opens [link]

Sun 9th Sep •  Paralympic Games Close

Tue 11th Sep •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Sun 16th Sep •  Melksham Food and drink festival closes [link]

Tue 16th Oct •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Tue 6th Nov •  USA Presidential elections - [link]

Tue 27th Nov •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Tue 18th Dec •  Melksham Chamber of Commerce - [link]

Fri 21st Dec •  End of the world - Mesoamerican Long Count calendar [link]

Tue 25th Dec •  Public Holiday - Christmas Day

Wed 26th Dec •  Public Holiday - Boxing Day

Thu 2nd May 2013 •  Wiltshire Unitary Council elections - [link]

Thu 2nd May 2013 •  Town and Parish elections in Wiltshire - [link]

Mon 28th Jul 2014 •  Start of World War I - 100 years ago today

Tue 10th Mar 2015 •  Partial Eclipse (UK) [link]

Thu 7th May 2015 •  General Election (UK) [link]

Wed 1st Jul 2015 •  Construction of Melksham Spa Houses - 200 years ago

Sun 11th Nov 2018 •  End of World War I - 100 years ago today


(written 2009-01-05)

 Z402 - Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry
  [3598] Melksham Civic Awards - report and pictures - (2012-01-29)
  [3560] Melksham, Month by month through 2011 - (2011-12-23)
  [3527] Melksham - changing times, an opportunity for the future - (2011-11-23)
  [3496] Melksham - Business to Business Speed Networking - build ahead for 2012 - (2011-10-26)
  [3495] Looking forward - Chamber of Commerce has 2012 and beyond on the agenda - (2011-10-26)
  [3492] Upcoming events in and about Melksham - more dates for your diary - (2011-10-22)
  [3481] Some thoughts in answer to some Melksham Campus questions - (2011-10-14)
  [3475] Havant - Shop Frontages. - (2011-10-12)
  [3470] Currently pictured in Melksham - (2011-10-09)
  [3438] Melksham to become a part of Trowbridge? - (2011-09-13)
  [3427] What is on the Melksham Agenda? - (2011-09-09)
  [3423] 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 12? - (2011-09-07)
  [3420] Making best use of the new enthusiasm for Melksham - (2011-09-05)
  [3383] Are people who walk into Melksham being asked to subsidise parking? - (2011-08-09)
  [3380] Melksham Jelly - An Occasional Office for Home Workers - (2011-08-06)
  [3343] Summer Sunday Train Service Starts - Swindon Chippenham and Melksham to Weymouth - (2011-07-03)
  [3340] Summer Sunday Timetable - TransWilts Trains - (2011-06-30)
  [3334] A lesson from the sporran market? - (2011-06-25)
  [3325] The Olympic Torch, and Melksham House - (2011-06-14)
  [3307] Melksham Community Radio launches - (2011-05-28)
  [3299] Presidents Report to Melksham Chamber of Commerce, 24.5.2011 - (2011-05-24)
  [3279] Letter to The Editor - (2011-05-06)
  [3275] Melksham Chamber of Commerce - grows to appoint new Press Officer. Welcome. Sam - (2011-05-02)
  [3272] Melksham Car Parking - current charges and limits - (2011-05-01)
  [3249] Events - Spring and Early Summer 2011 in Melksham - (2011-04-17)
  [3246] Melksham - the way forward. 26th April, Well House Manor - (2011-04-13)
  [3217] Vandalism and riot from the minority - the effect - (2011-03-28)
  [3214] Melksham Campus - any last minute inputs from Melksham businesses? - (2011-03-26)
  [3193] Melksham Campus - what, why, questions, concerns and how you can input - (2011-03-04)
  [3188] What proportion of the British Workforce still works a Monday to Friday, 9 to 5, week? - (2011-03-01)
  [3173] What is the Melksham Chamber of Commerce? - (2011-02-18)
  [3172] On consultations, car parking, and Melksham town centre - (2011-02-17)
  [3162] Keep your business customer-friendly! - (2011-02-09)
  [3141] Wiltshire Rail services - a golden opportunity - (2011-01-21)
  [3117] Opportunities for Melksham - new businesses in the town - (2011-01-01)
  [3113] Trowbridge and Melksham to Chippenham - more roadworks, even slower journey over the winter - (2010-12-30)
  [3088] Melksham - two many councils? - (2010-12-16)
  [2995] A river in Melksham is not just for boaters. - (2010-10-11)
  [2982] Travel, Transport and Tourism - A vision for Melksham, 2026 - (2010-10-03)
  [2959] A Melksham news roundup - (2010-09-18)
  [2957] Welcome to Countrywides new Melksham store - (2010-09-15)
  [2932] Getting into and out of Wiltshire towns .. a.k.a. Car Parking? - (2010-08-23)
  [2891] Wiltshire Council ask how they can help businesses - (2010-07-27)
  [2883] Melksham Oak - photos of the new community school - (2010-07-22)
  [2872] Moved - Melksham Lorry Park - (2010-07-15)
  [2867] Cycling in Melksham, and looking forward - (2010-07-11)
  [2853] Transport in Wessex - today and into the future - (2010-07-04)
  [2837] Lorry Parking in Melksham - (2010-06-29)
  [2827] Melksham - a gem in Wiltshire - (2010-06-26)
  [2782] Tell the Melksham Chamber or you only have yourself to blame - (2010-05-26)
  [2779] The history and future of Melksham Chamber of Commerce - (2010-05-25)
  [2770] Melksham Chamber of Commerce - Presidents report to AGM - (2010-05-19)
  [2725] How do our tactics help us meet the strategy, for the greater good? - (2010-04-16)
  [2683] Car Parking in Melksham - (2010-03-18)
  [2666] Random thoughts on Melksham Town Planning and development - (2010-03-08)
  [2640] How is your tax pound spent? - (2010-02-18)
  [2594] Melksham Area - your community view is sought - (2010-01-23)
  [2568] Forums for your Melksham and open source discussions - (2010-01-09)
  [2546] How well do you know Melksham - a quiz for Christmas - (2009-12-21)
  [2544] Vision for Wiltshire - (2009-12-20)
  [2540] Rock and hard place .. and the relaxing right one won - (2009-12-18)
  [2531] Melksham - new Tuesday Market - (2009-12-09)
  [2521] Melksham Market - Tuesdays, 09:00 to 14:00 - (2009-12-01)
  [2514] The road show has been - where now? - (2009-11-27)
  [2508] Community Area Partnership - inaugural AGM - (2009-11-20)
  [2495] Planning the future of Wiltshire - (2009-11-07)
  [2487] Melksham Forum - (2009-11-01)
  [2465] Melksham Town - asleep or awake? - (2009-10-21)
  [2459] New Web Site for Melksham Chamber of Commerce - (2009-10-18)
  [2437] Wiltshire Unitary News - Chamber of Commerce Intelligence - (2009-10-04)
  [2328] Melksham - no trains, no southbound buses through the town - (2009-08-08)
  [2289] pre-Inaugural briefing - Melksham Community Area Partnership - (2009-07-15)
  [2288] Wiltshire Community Area Partnerships - (2009-07-15)
  [2260] Important - the future of Melksham / Chamber of Commerce - (2009-06-28)
  [2220] Melksham Traders - where do we go? - (2009-06-05)
  [2194] Melksham Business Map - Chamber of Commerce, Tourist Information and Town Council - (2009-05-21)
  [2181] You cannot please all of the people all of the time - (2009-05-14)
  [2119] Make your business a DESTINATION business - (2009-04-05)
  [2111] Business Networking for Melksham - 23rd April - (2009-04-01)
  [2095] Blue Ridge and Melksham Chambers of Commerce - (2009-03-21)
  [2043] Confidence, Customer Service and Tourism in Melksham - (2009-02-15)
  [1987] One Cheer for Local Democracy - Asda in Melksham - (2009-01-11)
  [1934] Lidl opens in Melksham - (2008-12-11)
  [1904] Ruby, Perl, Linux, MySQL - some training notes - (2008-11-23)
  [1892] Melksham Chamber of Commerce and Industry - (2008-11-17)
  [1881] Wiltshire Council says - part 1 - (2008-11-13)
  [1880] Melksham Chamber of Commerce, or the FSB - (2008-11-12)
  [1792] All the pieces fall into place - hotel and courses - (2008-09-10)
  [1748] Hotel room prices - Melksham, Wiltshire - (2008-08-11)
  [1642] Summer! - (2008-05-15)
  [1633] Changing a screen saver from a web page (PHP, Perl, OSX) - (2008-05-06)
  [1507] Comments on proposed Asda Superstore for Melksham - (2008-01-14)
  [1504] Flooding by Asda-s proposed new supermarket - (2008-01-12)
  [1476] Shopping for Christmas and looking forward - (2007-12-17)
  [1432] Wiltshire County Council - Budget Consultation - (2007-11-15)
  [1429] Remembrance day - inside a church and inside the day - (2007-11-11)
  [1250] Business speed networking - a place tonight! - (2007-06-28)
  [1223] Asda opening large new store in Melksham - (2007-06-08)
  [717] A customer service company - (2006-05-11)

Z100 - Daily life
  [3553] Changes to morning routines - (2011-12-16)
  [3463] Busy weekend of contrasts. - (2011-10-03)
  [3319] Moving on - a task for the hotel staff! - (2011-06-08)
  [3316] Twitter Phishing Trips ... and a great new alert service - (2011-06-04)
  [3125] The familiy is defunct. Long live the family. - (2011-01-09)
  [2868] A move towards the family - (2010-07-12)
  [2580] C course inspires new teaching examples - (2010-01-16)
  [2450] Family Gathering at 404, The Spa - (2009-10-11)
  [2401] Back Tomorrow - (2009-09-10)
  [2371] Quiet summer days? I think not! - (2009-08-22)
  [2264] Learning about others private lives - (2009-06-30)
  [2217] Enjoying the summer weather - (2009-06-04)
  [2164] Updating my public profile - Graham Ellis - (2009-05-09)
  [2159] A long day to guess where - (2009-05-06)
  [2141] Town Crier competiton - (2009-04-25)
  [2121] Out in the Vale of Pewsey - (2009-04-07)
  [2118] Spring Sprung - (2009-04-05)
  [2106] Learning to Twitter / what is Twitter? - (2009-03-28)
  [2105] Hire Car, from Atlanta Airport - (2009-03-27)
  [2090] Melksham to Georgia - (2009-03-19)
  [2068] Playing Catchup - (2009-03-06)
  [2064] East of Melksham Countryside - (2009-03-02)
  [2034] Through Snow and Flood to Linux and Tomcat - (2009-02-10)
  [2030] The final step to being British - (2009-02-07)
  [2027] Who sticks by you in the snow? - (2009-02-05)
  [2024] Carry on Training - in spite of the weather - (2009-02-03)
  [2008] The Month Ahead - What is happening in Melksham - (2009-01-25)
  [2000] 2000th article - Remember the background and basics - (2009-01-18)
  [1953] End of Training, 2008 - (2008-12-20)
  [1810] Middle aged subsidise young and old - (2008-09-26)
  [1643] A lack of technical content - (2008-05-16)
  [1303] Heading Upstate New York - (2007-08-14)
  [1272] Behind closed doors? - (2007-07-22)
  [1189] Meet, greet and welcome - (2007-05-16)
  [1178] Ducking stool for Melksham? - (2007-05-06)
  [1151] Gordon Dodge, R.I.P. - (2007-04-16)
  [1138] The Holiday - unlikely romantic comedy? - (2007-04-08)
  [1100] Wondering where I have been - (2007-03-06)
  [1061] Take vehicles off the road - put all the passengers into one - (2007-02-01)
  [1057] Selling by phone and Skype - our policy - (2007-01-30)
  [1056] Another frantic posting! - (2007-01-30)
  [992] Enthusiastic, but .... - (2006-12-16)
  [978] Wellhouse Manor, Hotel, Melksham - (2006-12-10)
  [921] French Exchange - (2006-11-11)
  [911] Letter Home - (2006-11-01)
  [908] And so to Inverness - (2006-10-29)
  [897] Too much for the National Trust - (2006-10-18)
  [882] Rocks, hard places, trains and funerals. - (2006-09-30)
  [843] To join an organisation? - (2006-08-23)
  [817] Working on Weekend in Wiltshire and others - (2006-07-29)
  [777] On Crosby sands - (2006-06-25)
  [752] Over zealous police activity? - (2006-06-09)
  [724] Helping mental health through diet, exercise and other lifestyle matters - (2006-05-18)
  [706] May day away - (2006-05-01)
  [698] Catch up weekend - (2006-04-24)
  [692] Healthier eating - (2006-04-20)
  [655] Can some food be TOO different? - (2006-03-23)
  [654] Making use of disabled facilities - (2006-03-22)
  [645] Lost Camel - (2006-03-14)
  [635] Odd one out. - (2006-03-06)
  [623] Behind every face is a person and a story - (2006-02-25)
  [613] Greetings from Dublin - (2006-02-20)
  [612] Coming or going? - (2006-02-18)
  [605] Design your day with a walk - (2006-02-13)
  [584] Loosing breath with Gerald - (2006-01-31)
  [580] What to do with milk - (2006-01-28)
  [516] Open source questions? Anyone can ask. - (2005-12-03)
  [474] Vintage Bus Day - (2005-10-23)
  [473] Looking different in town - (2005-10-22)
  [455] A Stengthening day - (2005-10-04)
  [446] Up early - (2005-09-16)
  [363] Greetings from Edinburgh - (2005-06-29)
  [330] An O level comes in handy - (2005-05-30)
  [307] Farming yesterday - (2005-05-10)
  [283] Natural or man-made? - (2005-04-18)
  [271] Different course every day - (2005-04-07)
  [238] Difficulties with a trolley - (2005-03-07)
  [232] Diverse activities - (2005-03-01)
  [228] Beard Justification - (2005-02-26)
  [206] Fox and Python - (2005-02-08)
  [149] Fish stocks - (2004-12-12)
  [110] Friday, busy week! - (2004-11-05)
  [26] Matching Cat - (2004-08-24)
  [20] Not two the same - (2004-08-20)
  [19] interesting products and subjects - (2004-08-19)

Back to From spam to mod_alias - finding resources

Previous and next or Horse's mouth home

Forward to Michelle

Keeping PHP code in database and running it
Cooking bodies and URLs
Bitter cold
Michelle
Looking forward, in Melksham, in 2009
From spam to mod_alias - finding resources
Going round the block
Where is this IP address, IPv4 and IPv6
Well House Manor Hotel - on plan for 2009 business guests
Moving a directory on your web site