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About Me
- Mike
- Born in Plymouth, served in Royal Air Force, then in the Devon & Cornwall Constabulary, have been a town councillor for 10 years and lived in Cullompton for 25 years.
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As you know Mike, in civic circles discussions (I don't think this is confidential) are going on about asking for rents and rates to be reduced, and about possibly applying for civic funds for (a) a subsidised tourist attraction such as a model village, (b) a subsidised Cullompton jigsaw puzzle and/or (c) engaging a professional Marketing consultant bearing in mind that Cullompton is getting scant publicity from the Exeter and Essential Devon Tourist Board. Understandably any such spending proposals in order to get funding have to be suitably detailed and to undergo rigorous scrutiny.
ReplyDeleteIf there are volunteers out there, it may theoretically be possible for the current "Together Town" initiative to engage them to help eg research and prepare correspondence to particular firms (eg shoeshops) encouraging them to set up a branch in Cullompton, although if previous shops were unprofitable such firms may well not fancy it.
Someone once persuaded me to email Smiths but I got short shrift from the company. Similarly it would be good to hear from volunteers who may be interested in constructing a model of the Town Centre.
I believe that the leatside walk is an underpublicised potential visitor attraction, and I hope that discussions about Tesco signposting the walk to the town centre via the leatside walk and lanes will bear fruit.
As mentioned in another discussion string herein, more parking (and toilets) is desirable for the benefit of shop customers.
I do feel it would be helpful if more of Cullompton's independent non-charity shops and cafes followed the example of Deep Blue Logic, Very Nice and Nanna's and reliably stayed open all afternoon including on Thursdays and Saturdays, but even when the Chamber of Commerce was active it was not possible to prevail on them to do so.
Of course places like Bideford and Ilfracombe are being regenerated - Bideford even has a Regeneration committee- but this involves the spending of hundreds of thousands of pounds of public monies from the South West Regional Development Authority etc. Unfortunately despite the no doubt best efforts of our Councils in lobbying via Angela Browning MP etc, it has been decreed that Cullompton (and Mid Devon) with its apparently low unemployment rate does not meet the criteria for such investment.
ReplyDeleteYet of course, trade in Cullompton could still be attracted if entrepreneurs could be persuaded that Cullompton's main street, despite its recent record of shop closures, has an increasingly loyal customer base such that new shops could be expected to be profitable, unlike some of their predecessors. My poster campaigns such as "Shop Lo-Cully", "Try Cully First", Enjoy the Charms of Cullompton", (Big Issue Seller) "Dave has Faith in Cullompton" etc have tried to encourage this, as does your "Together Town" campaign, but shop takings for many shops remain disappointing amid the recession and amid some Cullomptonians' preference for shopping elsewhere. It is possible that a truly great slogan is still awaited, perhaps via engaging a professional marketing consultant or via one of the press campaigns, to more susccessfully engender such loyalty.
When I with Janet, Gareth and Maki decided to move to Cullompton in 2006, from (originally) Barnstaple via my years in Bucks, Norfolk and Sussex, I was attracted by its striking me as a very pretty town with a lively attractive church and very friendly, charming and welcoming people. It still does (despite a certain fragility). Somehow this needs to be bottled and marketed to shoppers and entrepreneurs.
Brian,
ReplyDeleteThanks for comments, lets hope we can get others to put their thoughts forward, there are many people that make comments face to face, lets see some on the blog and open discussion up further.
Criteria for money, that governed by a Government directive and we ain't getting much at all !
Thanks Mike. I gather there are people who are aware of the discussion but don't find it convenient to spend much time at the computer (it's awkward for non-broadband users, someone told me rather assertively, and also for library users seeing our posters there).
ReplyDeleteI am very happy to accept written comments or questions handed in at Nanna's Toy Chest (no doubt Judy at the Town Hall is too) for me (or you) to submit on anyone's behalf.
Incidentally I've passed on face-to-face compliments to those who contributed to today's rather good Gazette page 3 article on the "Buy Local" theme, and various shops have obtained or accepted associated Gazette posters.
Finally for now, do look at my profile under "View all Followers", everyone, people tell me it's quite witty. Unfortunately we're not sure we have the technology to put my photo shown there next to my occasional(!) posts. Also, in case of computer gremlins, I would advise people to copy and paste into Word any draft comment they're about to preview, as I did lose my first attempt at one post through not doing so earlier.
Brian
One of my posts above mentioned trying to drum up trade through eyecatching posters with the slogan "Dave still has Faith in Cullompton". This has today been featured on a national website. At the time of writing (Dave the Big Issue seller next visits tomorrow, Weds) I haven't yet heard whether this week's Big Issue mentions the campaign, next week's may be likelier.
ReplyDeleteGoogle "Village Counter Talk Cullompton Big Issue".
I submitted a comment thereto mentioning this blog.
There must be some ideas we can learn from Totnes, going by a 16/2/09 article with website address http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk then search within for “Town beat recession”
ReplyDeleteDo you have any comments Mike?
They describe themselves as a "vibrant town" and say they have over 100 Chamber of Commerce members, which is rather more than I or my ex-Chamber colleagues can rustle up.
Their festival sounds very lively, see www.totnesfestival.com . We don’t seem to muster that kind of energy (or as much as Barnstaple where my relatives live), but we do suffer here in various ways from the current lack of a public indoor concert stage, even though concerts tend to be out of shopping hours.
I don't know if anyone has ever tried asking the schools to make their stages available. Local folk/blues musician Ben Goddard who often plays at Exeter Cavern would be keen to perform here at a suitable venue. I don't know if the organisers of the outdoor Cullaboration concert, whom I have several times nudged to read this blog, could look into this.
Thanks Brian, Quick link re Totnes is
ReplyDeletehttp://tinyurl.com/ajoh6w .
Totnes has a lot going for it, I know area well. I think to use same approach as them we HAVE to get Chamber of Commerce to work together AND then work with the town as a partnership, & it has to be a full partnership to discuss ways forward.
Sorry I missed a bit out,I know Ben & his family, again Leah may help re the music side, as for the stage, we would love an all purpose community building, daft as it may sound the town has been looking at this for a long time.
ReplyDeleteAsking the schools can give varied answers - needs approaching carefully.
Again Leah & Ed best bet.
Hi Mike, this is a comment on behalf of my dear and busy wife Janet Johns, who was much complimented in the press and civic circles last summer for arranging for a period that some of the then fewer vacant Cullompton shops display attractive window posters advertising Cullompton clubs. This was at the time experimental, and estate agents did not allow a prolonged display (more than a month or two) for fear of detracting from their adverts to relet the premises.
ReplyDeleteJanet tells me that the Radio 2 Jeremy Vine show on Weds 18th Feb, which will presumably be playable back on iplayer, is at this very moment I'm writing (I'm listening to some of it) saying that towns like Worthing (our old Sussex haunt) are arranging for artists to display in empty shops for up to a year. In fairness I recall Cullompton Councillor Ray Weinstein proposing this some months ago.
Perhaps in writing to landlords and estate agents such as Thorne and Carter asking for rent reductions as is currently being proposed, Town Council should add a paragraph asking for such exhibits to be allowed (rent-free, see below).
Janet has phoned the show. At the time of writing a Tiverton shopkeeper is speaking on the radio alleging that attempts to do all this in Tiverton led to their council/landlords trying to charge rent (!), but I now have to report to the shop in case the show call us back while Janet now has a part-time care work appointment...
Brian, we are all very grateful for your efforts, BUT I and I hope the town council will agree, what we need is a strong Chamber of Trade to act jointly on some of the points you raised, i.e. help getting posters in empty and perhaps occupied shops, the traders HAVE to work together (The Together Town) then they can work TOGETHER with various organisations, the more working together gives a stronger universal purpose and a louder voice.
ReplyDeleteAs for writing to the Landlords/Agents I really feel that it is the collective voice of Chamber of Trade best qualified to it, I would also like to find funding to assist, but thats not readily available... We still need more input from others with ideas, perhaps a list of 5 suggestions one liners to open debate further !
Thanks Mike, Radio 2 didn't call us back, we're upstaged by Tiverton as usual! I agree a strong active Chamber, like that in Totnes, is highly desirable.
ReplyDeleteAs you know we were starting with Council's help to build one in Cullompton but, among other setbacks, our previously active and fairly charismatic Chairman regrettably became one of the "18 vacant shops", and instead took a fulltime job in Exeter and seems to be too busy to reply to communications. He has not formally resigned despite apparently telling the press he had,and as he still co-owns an Exeter Hill Cully shop, he would still be eligible to be involved. You could do worse than formally writing to him as Mayor c/o that shop expressing your disappointment.
Our erstwhile/current secretary has also become inactive in apparent sympathy with him and has described Cully as a "dying town" in the press.
To explain to readers and reiterate to you Mike, I myself do not have the same leadership qualities as that Chairman. Although as Treasurer I competently keep an eye on the dormant Chamber's money, I cannot spend it without his (or a successor's )cooperation. I am increasingly conscious that, partly for medical reasons also partly due to my timeconsuming (enjoyable) part-time work to supplement disappointing shop takings, I need to confine myself to roles in which I feel comfortable, as does wife Janet.
Fellow traders and townsfolk: I feel bound to say that, compared to the Totnes and Barnstaple scenes, the apathy of many Cullompton people re engaging with the likes of Mike and me and Council as we try to accomplish things for the town is all too apparent, and is epitomised by the fact that noone else (except Steve from Sussex) has yet put a comment on this blog!
just a quick point on the fact that there have been no posts yet - I only just found out about this site today (from the article in the Gazette). It would be good if there were some flyers and posters in the library and elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteHi Nick, Thanks for your comments, I have to admit I have been rather busy since I put Blog pages on-line that is one thing I missed, I just hope I do not fill shop windows with too much to block out light of workers in shops !. Thanks.
ReplyDelete