Travelling around the Chew Valley should be a pleasurable experience, whether you are in a car, walking or cycling.   However, that simple enjoyment is now being ruined by the curse of roadside litter, virtually everywhere you look. Sometimes it looks as though an individual food wrapper or can of drink has been thoughtlessly tossed out a car window, but in other areas there’s a lot more rubbish, which I suspect has come off something like an uncovered skip or an overloaded r

It was good to start the New Year with a members’ meeting at the Stoke Inn. We had a catch up and found that on the whole, members’ businesses were doing well, thanks to the quality of the personal services they offer. I am also pleased to say we continue to attract new members who bring fresh voices to our meetings and broaden the already wide range of businesses within our membership.   On a more sombre note, I had to formally report the sad passing of Roger Dando, a long-t

I would like to wish you a very Happy New Year and I really mean the “happy” part of that greeting.   There is so much bad news on a wide range of fronts that it is all too easy to fall into despondency, complaining that nothing works properly and suggesting it’s impossible to do anything about it. That’s the road to a spiral of depression which doesn’t help anyone.   Whilst we have to be realistic about the things that are going on around us, I really hope that in 2026 we ca

Businesses who need customers to visit them in person always do better if there is convenient and preferably free car parking nearby. Look at the impact that out of town shopping centres have had on high streets. Closer to home, rural business parks are popular with tenants because they usually have ample space for vehicles.   It's a very different story for businesses operating in Chew Magna. Our members there regularly raise the issue of parking, which becomes a bigger prob

Bath and North East Somerset Council is currently running a consultation about the Local Plan, which is all about options for development in the district over the coming years. The decisions about the number of houses and the availability of workspace will have a crucial bearing on the local economy of the Chew Valley, so we are encouraging members to make their opinions heard.   The target for the number of houses that Government wants to see has virtually doubled, so it wil

I have previously mentioned how being a part of the Chew Valley Chamber of commerce means you can enjoy socialising, whilst also learning...

Barely a day goes by without stories of how Artificial Intelligence is impacting our lives, theoretically for the better. But we all know...

IAN BELL (left) with Bristol Airport CEO, Dave Lees. It was interesting to attend the formal opening of the vast new transport...

Some members have been reporting an impact on their businesses, caused by the long-term road works which have closed Limeburn Hill and...

It is always great to gather members for a meeting because we never know what fresh topics will emerge. And our most recent get together...