Porthcawl Chamber Of Trade ANNUAL REPORT AND AGM 2022/23 March 21st
The last AGM saw Elen Jones, of Jenipher’s Coffi and Gemma Christie, from Pantribox elected as new members of the executive committee of the Porthcawl Chamber of Trade, who along with stalwarts like treasurer Alun Edwards and our secretary, Bridget Hall, have together maintained and developed the activities of the Chamber this year.
New Chamber members included Jon Hurley, of Hurley designs, Sean and Debbie of Breaking Waves, and The Rusty Cauldon, Kitty from Kitty’s Imaginarium, catherine.a.price@hotmail.com and Martin Parkinson, the manager Atlantic Hotel.
To me Porthcawl’s newest and most exciting commodity is fairly-traded Jenipher’s Coffee, imported from Uganda by Porthcawl resident, Elen Jones. The coffee, available as beans or ground, is roasted in Wales by the oldest coffee roaster, Ferrari’s, Bridgend and is sold in SUSSED. https://jenipherscoffi.wales/
Importantly, the Chamber saw the completion of our new modern website and refreshed logo, thanks to Jonathan Hurley Designs. www.jonhurleydesign.com. It reemphasises the importance of shopping locally and allows the Chamber to widen promotion, alongside our facebook site.
Links to most of the towns’ shops run across the home page.
Illustrated on there under ‘Library of things‘ is a small list of equipment which members have agreed to share/loan with each other, saving people money as well as the environment. Additional items can be added.
The website also includes the dates of our meetings, socials, the Green Top events supported by Bridgend Borough Council and other town events.
Events and activities this year included:
The Chamber donated to the costs of the Hilsboro PLANTERS:
SUSSED volunteers, began improving the look of the access into Porthcawl Town Centre from Hillsboro Place Car Park, through to James Street.
The planters were fashioned by Saulat Abassi from old wooden pallets, lined, painted and then planting began, using of-course peat-free compost. Peat acts like rainforests, it stores CO2, it soaks up rainwater like a sponge, which can reduce the risk of flooding. (Peatlands have been severely depleted in the UK. The Welsh Government announced in December that they be banning the sale of peat-based compost products to the horticulture sector in Wales.)
Also, a number of plants were donated by local florist, AJ Guttridge.
Porthcawl residents have long awaited, and at times over the years, requested that this particular access into Porthcawl Town Centre is made to look more attractive and inviting.
It has been widely welcomed and we have received many compliments.
Queen’s Jubilee.
Supported by The Porthcawl Town Council the Chamber organised a Jubilee window competition.
1st prize Guttridge
2nd prize Bon Marche
3rd prize The Y-Centre
Community prize The Museum
A celebration cake was later delivered to SUSSED, and together we held an enjoyable Jubilee Tea and Cake Social. The cake was large so we also shared it with customers in SUSSED.
Then after 70 years on the throne, at 96, Queen Elizabeth died 8th September, to be succeeded by King Charles 111.
Bridgend Borough Council Support.
Throughout the year we have been supported by Andrew Highway, the Town Centre Manager for BCBC, with a couple of small grants, the Xmas trees above each shop and commissioning The Green Top Market – a series of street stalls. (Footfall statistics definitely show an increase compared to the previous year.)
To encourage footfall in springthe town was invaded by 6 artist-designed Giant Snoopy characters. Inside venues saw 12 mini-Snoopy sculptures all these designed by schools in the Borough. Children, grandparents and parents came to town to follow the Dog’s Trail, all in support of the Dog’s Trust.
Supporting each other.
On September 20, 2022, structural damage was caused to a house in Hilsboro Place by a lorry manoeuvring and turning from James Street back into that street. It crashed into the house TWICE.
The Chamber wrote to BCBC leader Huw David and senior staff in the planning dept expressing concern of the frequency of these accidents and suggesting that the ‘Regeneration’ area needs to place access and shop delivery services within its plan.
As usual we joined the Y Centres AGM in October, the Annual Remembrance Sunday service at ‘All Saints’ and contributed to the Porthcawl Museum’s very successful first ‘Victorian Day’ held in John Street in December.
Christmas.
Bridget, our secretary and Elen, our Vice President, organised the Chamber’s Xmas tree for the annual Rotary Club’s / All Saints’ tree extravaganza. The tree was a recycled one and clear reusable baubles were inserted with shop logos, prepared by Jon Hurley.
Christmas shop Window display
Councillor Mary Eminent Lewis helped judge. Porthcawl Town Council sponsored the prize money.
Winners were:
1st prize Fisherman’s Cat,
2nd prize The Green Olive,
3rd prize The Rusty Cauldron
Thanks go to Bridget for organising the splendid evening Xmas Dinner in Dockside Restaurant, attended also by former members and the Porthcawl Mayor and Consort.
Disaster Appeals.
A number of our Town Centre shops joined with the charity Sustainable Wales to place collection boxes on counters, to enable shoppers to join the Pakistan flooding disaster appeal, via DEC, the Disaster Emergency Committee.
We quickly raised £450. Later we did the same for the devastating Turkey/Syria Earthquake appeal – not yet collected.
Rescheduled meetings plan.
At the beginning of 2023 we saw the start of a revised meeting schedule. Monthly meetings will alternate between speakers, visits, socials etc and accounts + urgencies e.g. Regeneration of Porthcawl.
January began with a very informative coffee-tasting presentation from Elen on Jenipher’s coffee and Fairtrade, followed by a FT coffee and cake social.
We learned that 50% of the land in coffee growing areas across the world could well be lost to climate change effects.
St David Day.
Our reusable, locally made, cotton bunting reemerged – for the second time. Many shops and the bandstand donned the bunting to celebrate March 1st, illustrating a move away from plastic and advancing the benefit of shopping locally and reuse.
Finally.
At the beginning of the year, as we were all emerging from the pandemic, trying to get to grips with Brexit, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 threw everything out of balance again. Government boycotts on Russian gas and oil have sent energy prices soaring, fuelling a cost -of -living crisis – reminding us the way we spend our money can change the world.
We have a lot to consider, record breaking heatwaves, flooding, wildfires – as we are all responsible for future generations and need to review our own behaviour from time to time.
Shop Local, Act Local, Think Global.
My thanks to all involved.
Margaret Minhinnick.
President, Porthcawl Chamber of Trade.
