MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN

A Very Merry Christmas to you all! We have had difficult times every Christmas now for a few years and this year looks no different, with issues of energy and cost of living in particular. It all makes it difficult for businesses at some level to do what we do best, to serve our customers while trying to make a living and in the process looking after the interests of our employees as best we can.

Our Christmas thanks to the King’s Arms, Watton, The Olde Windmill, Great Cressingham and Broom Hall, Saham Toney for hosting our various meetings and events this year. We have had a very productive and eventful year and we couldn’t have done it without our venue hosts and of course you, our members – and you have been amazing. Thank you all.

In January we look forward to posting details of our programme of events for the first 6 months of 2023 with important dates for your New Year diaries.

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We have been considering updating the Chamber logo for sometime. It is one of those things that is more difficult than it initially appears. It has been important for us to try to retain the basic theme, sense and colours of our current logo in order to provide some level of continuity and legacy.

To this end we tasked Paul Girling of Greystone Graphics to come up with a few options for the Committee to consider. The different formats of the logo below were selected by the Committee – we hope you appreciate this deliberately subtle new look. On behalf of the Committee and Members, thank you Paul for your time and expertise which were all provided free of charge. We will be updating our website and other publications and promotional materials with the new logo.

David Dent was delighted on behalf of the Chamber to attend the Wayland Academy’s Achievement Award event for the class of 22 on the evening of 28th November.

The Chamber is a supporter of our local academy, and seeks to promote entrepreneurship and employment opportunities for local students as they progress from school to work. The Academy students contributed to a survey that formed an important contribution to the application for Levelling-Up funds for the Business, Community and Leisure Centre on the Watton Wayland House site, incorporating a digital games arena, cinema, podcast studios and space for business in the digital sector.

The Chamber was delighted to sponsor the student awards and to see the school progress under the stewardship of its Principal Glen Allott, the Inspiration Trust and Academy Committee Chair Harry Buscall. Fantastic exam results in 2022 saw the Wayland Academy ranked fourth highest performing school in Norfolk. Incredible results well above the national average in English and Maths with half a grade better overall across academic subjects than similar students across England. Congratulations to all!

Having a thriving secondary school is one of the factors that people and businesses consider when relocating to a new area. We want to keep growing our business community here in Wayland, so make sure you let your business contacts know that the Wayland Academy is one of the best in Norfolk!

DeC0de Consulting Ltd who provides Computer Services and Sales have joined the Chamber. The company led by Andrew Hutchings joined us after attending the Business Talk event with Andy Mead. Look out for our new Business Talks Programme in the New Year.

Mayor of Attleborough Town Council Phil Leslie in discussion with George Freeman MP Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation at the Attleborough Business Forum meeting on Friday 2nd December. A businessman, Phil is Managing Director of his company Eastern Attachments Ltd. Phil talked about the report commissioned by the Attleborough Town Council on Health and Demand for Healthcare https://attleboroughtc.org.uk/2022/10/27/attcare-healthcare-report/

The meeting was hosted and chaired by Claudia Roberts CEO of ZSEA Banham Zoo and attracted 30 business people from the area. George Freeman talked about issues faced by local businesses given the current energy and cost of living challenges and discussed issues and answered questions on matters as diverse as new transport systems and innovation.

Caroline Bidewell Placemaking and Partnership Manager for Breckland Council was also introduced. Caroline is relatively new to her role and will form a key link between our activities in the Wayland Chamber and the Breckland Council, so a good introduction and chance to put a face to a name. 

Andy Mead Founder and Managing Director of Finishing Line, at our last guest speaker event of the 2022 delivered an inspirational talk about what it means to innovate and to be truly entrepreneurial in business. Andy speaking off the cuff for 30 mins talked to a rapt audience about how he had developed his company over 35 years and had remained open to new ideas and opportunities. He mentioned in passing how he had been invited by Government to advise on matters of logistics during the Covid epidemic and the new ways he is looking still to grow and move his business forward. A truly excellent event with discussions that went on long into the evening. Look for our for our new programme in the New Year!

The Watton Neighbourhood Plan was formally submitted to Breckland District Council on 8th November 2022. The Plan will now be independently examined which will be followed by a community referendum probably in the Spring before being ‘made’ by Breckland Council.

SEND IN YOUR LATEST NEWS

We want to keep the new website up to date with the very latest news and information that will be relevant to visitors and of use to the local community, so if you have a news story, or maybe want to share information about how your business has been coping in lockdown, then please send your information to us with any relevant images and we will add this to our website and promote through our social media.