Lakes Parish Chamber of Trade

A very warm welcome to the Lakes Parish Chamber of Trade MicroSite.

As a Chamber of Trade we are a non-political organisation, formed in September 2020 with the primary aim of securing, protecting and improving the trading and commercial interests of the business community within the Lakes Parish. Our supporting objectives can be found by clicking on  'Our Aims and Objectives' .

Membership to the Chamber provides a respected and impactful voice for business. Immediately after launch, it was reassuring to see our membership quickly grow to over 100 businesses across the parish, confirming the concern business owners had around the long-standing gap in not having a body that could robustly represent the interests of the business community in our parish.

We are of course situated right at the very heart of the Lake District National Park and the ecosystem that we live and work in is being squeezed by the ever-increasing pressures of change. These changes are driven through the LDNP’s various governing bodies, who are themselves continuously trying to balance the often-conflicting interests of the community, environment, visitors and the economy.

In the short time we have been established as a Chamber, we have been able to build credible, respected and mutually beneficial relationships with not only Parish, District and County Councils, the Lakes District National Park Authority & Partnership groups but also with local pressure groups.

We are also proud to have also started to make a real and tangible difference for businesses by successfully addressing a number of priority issues relating to key problem areas such as traffic flow, parking and visitor management. Our strength and influence is definitely found from within the Chambers membership and our results not only make for a stronger business community, but also ultimately a stronger Lakes Parish for residents and visitors alike.

We typically hold monthly Committee and quarterly General meetings, either virtually or face-to-face, involving guests and guest speakers where appropriate. As a committee we are all passionate about making a tangible and positive difference for businesses. As such we are proactive about consulting our members on their needs and priorities. We pragmatically plan how we can best address these and then aim to execute at pace, involving partner organisations where necessary to help us achieve our aims through the most efficient, timely and impactful ways possible.

If you like the sound of what we are about and the differences we are making and would like to consider membership, please click on the 'Membership' link. Print off the application/direct debit form and return it to our membership secretary as per the contact details on our “Contact Us” link.

Our website is designed to be an information portal for members and interested parties. Please feel free to browse the various pages via the self-explanatory links on the left to access greater detail on the who, what, where, why and when questions you may have about the Chamber and our involvement and activities.

Otherwise, if you can’t find answers to the questions important to you, then please feel free to either pick up the phone or email us via the “Contact Us” link.

We are here to help

Yours sincerely

Steve Crook

Chairman

Lakes Parish Chamber of Trade

Aims and Objectives

Aim: our statement of intent and what we hope to achieve:

To secure, protect and improve the trading and commercial interests of the business community within the Lakes Parish.

Objectives: the actions we will take in order to achieve this aim:

1. To develop the CoT so that it becomes and continues to be a respected body of expertise, opinion and influence.
2. To provide a representative body on behalf of the Lakes Parish business community which acts:
   1. Reactively - with County, District & Parish councils, along with the Lake District National Park & other 3^rd party organisations to facilitate formal consultation with the Lakes Parish business community on any relevant proposed changes that may directly or indirectly impact the economy of the parish.
   2. Proactively – participating in the formulation of any proposed / changes that may affect the Lakes Parish economy.
3. To monitor the proceedings of the local authorities in order that proper regard is paid to the consequences of proposals or decisions that may affect the Lakes Parish economy.
4. To reflect the views of the CoT membership about matters that are relevant to them.
5. To endeavour to secure adequate representation on the governing bodies of the area.
6. To improve awareness within the business community of appropriate matters by sharing information relevant to trade and commerce across the Lakes Parish business community.
7. To build links and work collaboratively with other like-minded groups and organisations to serve the objectives of the CoT
8. To create and foster a spirit of goodwill, friendship, unity and mutual benefit amongst the CoT membership.
9. To provide a point of contact for those wishing to set up business within the Lakes Parish and to facilitate introductions to appropriate support agencies and other members of the CoT

Achievements

Below is a summary of some of the improvements we have already made to key issues facing our members:

Contact Us

Committee Members:

Secretary: Lucy Benton @ Temple Heelis Solicitors
Email - lbenton@templeheelis.co.uk
Tel - 01539 723757

Membership Secretary:Heidi Schramli @ Detail Retail
Email – Hs@detailretail.net
Tel - 015394 33866

Treasurer: David Dunlop @ Saint & Co
Email – david.dunlop@saint.co.uk
Tel  - 015394 33430

Vice Chairman:Paul Gaynor @ Gaynor Sports
Email – paulg@gaynors.co.uk

Chairman: Steve Crook @ The Crux of Ambleside, Ambleside Post Office & Tourist Information Centre
Email: Rayriggsserviceslimited@outlook.com
Tel – 015394 34780

Membership

To apply for membership, please complete and return the below application form to:

Lakes Parish Chamber of Trade Membership Secretary

Heidi Schramli
Email - Hs@detailretail.net
Post - Detail, Market Place, Ambleside, Cumbria, LA22 9BU

Please access a copy of the membership application form via the below link:

LPCoT Membership Application Form

Meeting Minutes

Copies of Lakes Parish Chamber of Trade meeting minutes are available to view via the following link:

LPCoT Meeting Minutes

News

Copies of our weekly Lakes Parish Weekly News emails are available to view via the following link:

LPCoT Weekly News