Festival fever to grip Chippenham town centre (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)
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Fun day promotes Cherish Chippenham enterprise
9:27am Wednesday 18th July 2012 in Local By Tom Mooney
Cherish Chippenham chairman Melody Thompson and marketing and events co-ordinator Ben Gregory
Cherish Chippenham, a radical initiative set up to transform the town centre, will highlight its aims to residents on Saturday.
The group is holding a family fun day, which will take the form of a town centre festival. There will be bands, live theatre, lots of food and drink and a showing of Bash Street, Chippenham’s very
own movie.
The Buttercross will form the centrepiece of the spectacle, as the historic monument becomes a stage for performances lasting until 9pm.
The owners of Meehan’s Cakery will host the Chippen-ham champion cake creator competition, and sitting alongside a host of business and community enterprise stalls will be a bouncy castle, a noodle
bar and a hog roast.
Ben Gregory, owner of Digiprint and marketing and events co-ordinator for Cherish Chippenham, said: “It should be a really good day and it is a good opportunity to launch the town team.
“We have managed to put this together in four weeks, so fingers crossed all goes to plan.”
Cherish Chippenham is a community interest company, set up by various businesses in the town centre.
It is a limited company, run by a board of volunteers, mostly business owners.
They invested their own money into the company, while they are also looking for outside funding such as, for example, from the Mary Portas pilot scheme.
The company will employ a town centre manager later in the year, who will take care of marketing and promoting the town centre.
Mr Gregory said: “It is a radical idea. What we are aiming to do is employ a town centre manager from our own private finance, which we have already managed to secure. They will be funded for two
years.
“We all know there are issues with Chippenham town centre and there has always been a lot of talk, but nothing ever gets done. That is what we want to change.”
Among the acts performing on Saturday will be Shadows of Santana, the Kandu Kollective and the Rag and Bone theatre group.
There is also a young people’s film festival in The Bear Hotel.
Bash Street will then be shown in The Bear at 10pm.
Comments(20)
max_lan
says...
3:06pm Wed 18 Jul 12
ChippenhamITA
says...
10:55pm Thu 19 Jul 12
And for the late comers to the buzz about town, you must have missed the 10 metre double sided banner on the high street for the last 2 weeks, maybe you should get into town more and help the local economy, then you might be better informed.
davesopinion
says...
6:49am Fri 20 Jul 12
ChippenhamITA wrote:So who is paying for the Town Centre Manager? There won't be many businesses left soon to support that post.
for all the tax moaners, please read the article again and note that local private business owners are standing up and doing something about the town, so your pothole funds are safe!!!
And for the late comers to the buzz about town, you must have missed the 10 metre double sided banner on the high street for the last 2 weeks, maybe you should get into town more and help the local economy, then you might be better informed.
Face it, town centres generally are finished. The prices are sky-high compared to superstores and the internet and to add insult to injury, we have to pay ridiulous amounts to park!
ChippenhamITA
says...
9:17am Fri 20 Jul 12
davesopinion
says...
9:35am Fri 20 Jul 12
Convenience? Have you seen the congestion on a Saturday morning?
And if the Town Council are involved in this silly game of yours, why are you having to petition them about the car park costs? Clearly you are not all in agreement...
ChippenhamITA
says...
10:56am Fri 20 Jul 12
davesopinion
says...
11:09am Fri 20 Jul 12
ChippenhamITA
says...
12:54pm Fri 20 Jul 12
davesopinion
says...
1:11pm Fri 20 Jul 12
Actually I wish you every success tomorrow, but just don't be surprised when it makes NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL...
I have lived in this area for over 30 years, having come from "Up North" as you put it, so don't lecture me sweetie. When I do go back to my home town, I find it successful and bustling and it has FREE parking.
So why am I still here? Because I love winding up the local morons on this website... No actually, I quite like it.
But that doesn't make any difference to this discussion - its sheer economics. No-one wants to shop in this clapped out town.
lamou1
says...
1:12pm Fri 20 Jul 12
lordbuckethead
says...
2:58pm Fri 20 Jul 12
davesopinion
says...
3:04pm Fri 20 Jul 12
wiltshire1574
says...
3:26pm Fri 20 Jul 12
they need to get some new shops in the town i mean how many coffee shops and phone shops do they need?
Daedalus
says...
6:38pm Fri 20 Jul 12
Bobbie00
says...
7:27pm Fri 20 Jul 12
ChippenhamITA
says...
10:13pm Fri 20 Jul 12
wiltshire1574 wrote:We agree, but who is they? We are not the council, we are the local business owners, community groups and volunteers. WE want nice events and activities in the town.
I think Dave is right they should sort all the roads and potholes out.
they need to get some new shops in the town i mean how many coffee shops and phone shops do they need?
ChippenhamITA
says...
11:54pm Sun 22 Jul 12
Phorever
says...
3:36am Mon 23 Jul 12
ChippenhamITA wrote:Wrong.
Again if you actually read the article, it is the business of the town who have funded a town centre manager for 2 years, and it is your attitude to the high street that is killing it, not everything is price driven, there is still such a thing as convenience and service. What about the greater community feeling in the town? The centre should be a social hub. Sounds like you have given up, we have not. Oh and if parking is an issue for you I suggest you come and sign our parking petition on the day!
Since they got rid of the 30 minutes free parking I have not been shopping in the town centre.
It is now more convenient for me to go to Morrisons for my shopping.
I even use the post office and schop at Icelands in Calne while I am on the school run because the parking is free.
I have no need to shop in Chippenham town centre, and I refuse to pay for parking when it was once free.
As for the 'greater community feeling' in the town, maybe the councillors should think of that when we ask for free town centre parking, ask for the roads to be repaired, and listen when we speak.
They ask us for respect, but give us none in return.
well oill beef hooked
says...
4:25pm Tue 24 Jul 12
davesopinion wrote:You must lead a very boring life you sad,sad man,
Is that your attitude to the residents of this town? That will go down well on your Facebook page...
Actually I wish you every success tomorrow, but just don't be surprised when it makes NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL...
I have lived in this area for over 30 years, having come from "Up North" as you put it, so don't lecture me sweetie. When I do go back to my home town, I find it successful and bustling and it has FREE parking.
So why am I still here? Because I love winding up the local morons on this website... No actually, I quite like it.
But that doesn't make any difference to this discussion - its sheer economics. No-one wants to shop in this clapped out town.
Hope all goes well for sat.
davesopinion says...
12:37pm Wed 18 Jul 12
Hell, I hope none of my council tax is going into this nonsense, when we have a town riddled with potholes and poorly maintained facilities.