Three new businesses have joined the scheme this month:

Dazzle & Bake, Stonehenge Walk, Amesbury
Blades Hairdressers, Durrington
Karin’s Flowers Ltd, Durrington

This means there are even more places to collect your stamps!

Monday, 16^th January at 5.30pm
Tuesday, 21^st February at 7.30am Avon Valley College, Durrington – details to follow
Wednesday, 21^st March at 5.30pm
Thursday, 19^th April at 7.30am
Monday, 21^st May at 5.30 pm
Tuesday, 19^th June at 7.30am

Students from Avon Valley Sports College in Durrington, Wiltshire, and its eight primary feeder schools are celebrating the arrival of a new state-of-the-art gym and dance facility supplied free under a revenue share agreement with Competition Line, owner of the gym and fitness brand Lifestyle.  The new facilities, valued at an estimated cost of £400,000, are set to play a key role in enhancing ‘active learning’ across all schools within the region.  “It is also hoped that these excellent new facilities will help boost the general health and well being of fee paying local residents living within a 10 mile radius of the school – an estimated  20,000 people  – when it opens its doors to the general public on Thursday  22nd December”, says Head Teacher Mark Avoth.

Featuring 33 machines from Technogym, a champion of world sport and sole supplier of gym equipment to the Athlete’s Village for the Olympics 2012, the new gym will include 6 treadmills, 6 cross trainers (3 different types), 5 bikes  and a selection of  free weight and functional cable resistance machines .  A new building is currently being redeveloped to house the dance studio.  This coupled with a new sports hall, Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) for netball and five-a-side football and a courtyard cafe for refreshments, is set to makeAvonValleyCollegeone of the best sporting facilities in the region.

Members of the general public keen to benefit from the new facilities can join the gym for just £19.99 per month for a 12 month period – a saving of approximately £15 per month on the fees charged by most gyms in the local area.  Members who pay upfront for the whole year will qualify for 15 months for the price of 12 by using promotion code AVDEC1. For more information telephone 01980 634872 http://www.lifestylefitness.co.uk/index.php/about-us/press-office/company-information

For further information on Technogym call 0800 3162496 or log onto the website at www.technogym.com or http://www.technogym.com/gb/solutions/schools/education/141

A special Christmas greeting from the Committee (click below to start, speakers needed)

Happy Christmas from the Chamber Committee

John Todd, Chairman of Stonehenge Chamber of Trade. Photo courtesy of Simon Ward Photography

 John Todd was re-elected as Chairman of the Stonehenge Chamber of  Trade at the AGM on 17 November.  John said that he was pleased to have been able to represent the Chamber as Chairman over the last 18 months. This had proved to be a tough time for all businesses and he was proud of the Chamber’s achievements during this time

John, proprietor of J P Todd Glass and Glazing Ltd based in Amesbury, took over the role from Helen White of Howden White Accountants in July 2009.

John Todd said………….

“I am extremely pleased to be re-elected to represent the member’s interests for the next twelve months. I want to ensure the Chamber is accessible to local businesses and look forward to working with my committee.  I want members to feel they are part of a proactive business organisation which has a powerful voice in the community, and with the help of our members and the Chamber Committee, we can together ensure growth and prosperity within the local area”.

Other committee roles filled at the AGM are as follows:

Vice chair – vacant

Secretary – Paul Leighfield

Membership – Jim Johnston

Treasurer – Helen White

Shop Local – Bruce Eyre

Council Liaison – David Potts

Carnival Liaison – Michele Way

Tourism – vacant

Social events co-ordinator – Shirley Hollis (plus one other, yet to be filled)

The winning tickets were drawn by Alison and Timmy from Amesbury Printing Company Ltd, along with Bruce Eyre from Utilities Warehouse.

The winners were invited to receive their prizes at the switching on of the Christmas lights in Amesbury town centre where they were presented their prizes by John Todd, Chairman of the Stonehenge Chamber of Trade.

The winner of the £100 cash prize was Ann Richards and the two Christmas hampers were won by Sian Hillman and Margaret Millard.

You could be the next shop local winner just by completing a shop local card and entering it into the draw before the 28^th of the month.

The lucky winner was Maureen of Amesbury who collected her £100 cash prize from Mr Michael Miles from Miles of Value.  Maureen likes to shop in Witts Fruit & Veg and Miles of Value to name a few.  

The next draw will take place on the 28th November. As this will be the last draw before Christmas there will be a couple of Christmas Hampers to be won as well as the usual £100 cash prize. 

The prizes will be presented on the night of the Christmas light switch on – even more reason to get your cards stamped and entered into the draw. Why not get some of your Christmas shopping done here in Amesbury – a special gift from One Brown Cow or your Christmas turkey from Kingmans the Butcher.

Held over two floors of Antrobus House, Amesbury, VIP Ross Powlesland, Operations Director at QinetiQ and Gemma McParland, Spire FM Presenter, opened the event alongside Chamber Chairman, John Todd. The opening speeches were followed with a ribbon cutting ceremony.

Event organiser, PA 4A Day, confirmed 40 exhibitors had booked space and indeed once again the event was over-subscribed with enquiries for 2012’s event!  Local businesses from three Chambers participated and interest in Chamber membership was brisk.

Mayor Andy Rhind-Tutt spoke briefly on Amesbury’s bid to have its’ own museum and then went on to make a presentation for Best Stand to RGV Engineering (Netheravon) to the delight of its owner (David Burke) who was so busy selling his wares he nearly missed the announcement!

Chamber Chairman, John Todd, also made a cheque presentation to Andy Derry of BLESMA of £1,500 following a Duck Race in the town held on August Bank Holiday weekend.

The atmosphere throughout the event was remarkably upbeat and positive with many of the businesses confirming sales and leads for them to follow-up.   A constant stream of visitors kept up the momentum throughout and the announcement of individual competition winners at the end brought proceedings to a close.

All of the businesses participating in the showcase believe in the power of networking and conducting business face-to-face with other business owners.  Amesbury can proudly say they have a thriving Chamber who does its’ utmost to facilitate business growth and to speak for its’ membership on matters that affect them.

Stonehenge Chamber of Trade welcomes all new members and if you wish to join please email stonehengechamber@hotmail.com.  If you are interested in exhibiting at next year’s showcase please email Michele Way at enquiries@pa-4aday.co.uk.

Photos of the day can be seen below, courtesy of Simon Ward Photography.  If you would like high res copies of the images for publicity purposes please contact Simon at http://www.simonwardphotography.com/contactform.html

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Amesbury Town Council has the opportunity to purchase the Melor Hall site (Church Street) to provide a Museum/Exhibition Centre and Historical Education Point for children.

To cover the cost of the purchase, a charge will need to be added to the Precept that equates to just over 2 pence per day (£7.78 a year) for the average band D property.

In addition, a recent investigation has identified that the precept for Amesbury is considerably lower than that of similar-sized neighbouring towns. It is important that as Amesbury grows in population we also need to adjust to suit its needs.

The Town Council therefore intend to propose a budget to the public that still maintains excellent value for money, but reflects both the small increase to cover a loan for the Melor Hall site, and one that enables us to bring the town’s facilities in line with that of other towns of similar size.  Read the article from the Salisbury Journal here.

Response sheets are available for completion at the Bowman Centre, the Community and Visitor Centre and Amesbury Library, for those who are unable to make our consultation day.  Alternatively you can download the form here.  Responses should be returned by Monday 31st October 2011.