Article from Mike Hawkins JP - Executive Secretary of Brentwood Chamber of Commerce ; for Vision for Business June 2007

Chamber of Commerce says the future is bright for Brentwood

Brentwood Chamber of Commerce’s annual members meeting in May, splendidly hosted by Brentwood School, was characterised by a general feeling of optimism for the future of Brentwood. The school celebrates its 450th anniversary this year and they are naturally proud of their historic traditions, but, at the same time, they are very focussed on the future and what they need to do to equip their pupils to meet the challenges of the modern world.

Chamber is also very clear about the excellent future prospects for our Borough. Of course we celebrate the traditions and history of Brentwood but we are determined that all who live and work here will continue to prosper in the 21st Century.

The huge investment currently underway and in prospect to modernise and revitalise Brentwood town centre - bringing in new shopping and housing units - will help to enhance the attraction of Brentwood as a place to live and do business in. At the same time it is important that the village atmosphere which is such a feature of Shenfield, Ingatestone and other parts of the Borough, remains intact. We all need to support our local high streets to make sure that this unique ambience stays with us. This is not being old fashioned or living in the past and refusing to accept progress – far from it; we simply want to see the quality of life here preserved whilst we all work hard to meet the competitive challenges of the modern world.

Much remains to be done. A good example is Brentwood station and the surrounding areas. It is a key gateway to our town and will greet many thousands of new visitors as well as the world’s media, in the years leading up to the 2012 Olympics. At present it is not a good advertisement for the town and Chamber has joined forces with the Council, Town Centre Partnership and others in lobbying the train companies to invest in improvements in order to make it an area of Brentwood which we can all be proud of.

Our keynote speaker at the annual meeting was the Chairman of Phoenix FM, the bold new local radio venture which has been broadcasting full time in Brentwood for around 3 months. They have been broadcasting for some years in short sporadic bursts but now they have embarked on a 24 hour per day operation and the faith they have in its future for Brentwood deserves success.

During the meeting Chamber announced a new initiative – Recognition Awards, acknowledging excellence in the local workforce. Any employer in the Borough who believes that a member of their staff has given exceptional service, adding significant value to the organisation, can nominate them for a Chamber Recognition Award. We are sure that many people working in Brentwood deserve this sort of recognition and hope that we will get many nominations. If you are an employer reading this and thinking ‘I know someone who really deserves to be recognised for their great contribution to our organisation’, get in touch with me and I’ll let you have a nomination form (see contact details below).

This month we have published our 2007 annual magazine ‘Business Focus’, sponsored for the second year running by local solicitors, Wortley Byers. With their help, it is a fine publication and we are very proud that it does a good job in representing the local business community. If you would like a copy and/or are interested in Joining Chamber of Commerce, give me a ring at 01277214814 or email me at info@brentwoodchambers.co.uk. We are optimistic about the future for Brentwood and hope you will join our Chamber to help make sure that this becomes a reality.