Penzance Chamber of Commerce

Mayor talks about council's role

Penzance mayor Simon Reed addressed the September open meeting of Penzance Chamber of Commerce on the work and workings of Penzance Town Council . Mr Reed feels there is much confusion about the difference kinds of council - especially in Penzance where there are three authorities all with different and varying responsibilities. He explained that Penzance Town Council is what is called a 'MLA' or Minor Local Authority - and as such the town council has the same legal status as parish councils. The other two major local authorities in this area are Penwith District Council and Cornwall County Council - the latter being the strategic authority for Cornwall. Penzance Town Council was formed in 1980 to take over from the Charter Trustees of the town whose job it was to "safe­guard" the civic traditions of the town and appoint the Penzance Mayor.

Originally, when Penzance Borough Council ceased to exist, the government had decided that Penzance was too small to be a district council and too big to be a town council - a situation that left Penzance somewhat in the wilderness. The Charter Trustees were in fact members of Penwith Council who met regularly to decide on civic matters. Penzance Town Council currently has 20 members - a large council by national standards - all volunteers who do not receive any payment for their role. Like parish councils Penzance Town Council is elected every four years. Pleasurably, even though many members are elected with a political tag, there is no registration of political parties and therefore the long tradition of independent thought is largely upheld which, in recent years, has led to an unusually high degree of harmony among councillors. The current political make up is nine Liberal Democrats, nine Independents, one Labour and one Mebyon Kernow. Sadly the Anarchist councillor retired at the last election.

The town council role is, in fact, hugely varied and, uniquely, it is involved with most of the decisions that affect the town as a consultee. It has legally binding functions with regards to licensing, planning and highways - and is heavily involved with nearly every other issue that affects the town. In recent years in particular the environment, health and regeneration have featured heavily on the agen­das.

The main business is conducted by four standing committees - Planning is responsible for commenting on every application made in the parish; General Purposes has a huge role including street trading, liquor licensing, public entertain­ment licences, regeneration and health to name a few. The Penlee Park and House committee is the management group for Penlee Park and Penlee House Museum - and, lastly, the Finance committee is responsible for awarding community grants and has a watching brief on the other three committees. Every eight weeks the full council meets to scrutinise decisions made by the committees. One of the main roles has always been to protect the civic traditions of Penzance and, in particular, to look after the ancient office of Mayor.

In the past 10 years Penzance Town Council has become increasingly proactive - and many people are aware that it owns and operates Penlee House Museum and Art Gallery - a world class facility with an excellent collection. The current facilities are due to the hard work and vision of a number of councillors who, between 1992 and 1997, worked hard to secure lottery and other funding. The town council also operates a number of public spaces including the Heamoor Open Space - and, of course, the park itself. In 2003 the town council agreed to take over maintenance of the local footpath network from Cornwall County Council - a role which many members have found rewarding. The Princess May 'Rec' project, the Penzance Transport Interchange and the leisure centre all started life as campaigns led by Penzance Town Council .

Despite not having a lot of money – the current precept is £350,000 - the town council always tries to make contributions to any scheme beneficial to the town as seed funding. Seed funding is a concept that has helped many of our local initiatives succeed over the last few years and is basically small contributions from town and parish councils that are seen by funders as clear support for a project or idea and smooth the way to final delivery. One major ongoing cost is the support for Golowan. The original Mazey Day celebrations in 1991 were in fact a partnership between Alverton School , local art groups, Penzance Chamber of Commerce and Penzance Town Council . As the festival has increased in size the town council's commitment has also increased - and in 2001 it became a partner in the festival's strategic level agreement, which guaranteed core funding for the Golowan organisation. Allied to this is the provision of Christmas lights. From a position of providing nearly nothing 10 years ago, the town council is now working with Golowan to ensure a permanent ongoing commitment to the lights. It is the aim that, within three to five years, the town council should be contributing around £10,000 per year to the lights and associated events.

At the meeting Mr Reed also spoke of the joys and trials of being mayor. He feels the work load has increased greatly in the last 10 years and the Mayor is now a community champion and leader. He said the role involves endless committees and membership of such groups as the West Cornwall Hospital Mayor's Parlour Campaign Team, while being a de-facto member of all the council committees. But Mr Reed made it plain that he really loves the job and many people felt that is why he is so good at it.

The talk was lively, informative andvery interesting and the Chamber's vice-chairman, Simon Chapman, thanked Mr Reed for attending. The meeting then enjoyed a very delicious buffet from the Yacht Inn.

Trafalgar Week

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar, planning is already taking place for the Trafalgar Weekend, which will run from October 21 to 23, 2005 .

On Friday, October 21, groups are being en­couraged to arrange lunch or dinners, par­ties, beacons, etc, sim­ilar to the sort of events which took place to celebrate the Golden Jubilee. Detailed information on how to take part will be available from January 1, 2005 , when a participation pack and website will be launched.

If you would like a pack write to Trafalgar Weekend, PO Box 4320, Blandford Forum, Dorset, DT11 8YF or call 01725-516456 or 01425-654790 or fax 01725-516268 or 01425-652821 or e-mail info@trafalgarweekend.co.uk

Bungee jump

Tom Malone is aiming to raise £1000 for Cheshire Homes charity with a 180ft sponsored bungee jump at Marazion on November 6.

Tom, a picture framer with Chamber of Commerce members Moonshine Framing, has been very pleased to have received sponsorship not only from his friends and family but from customers at the shop too. More sponsorship is always welcome for this very worthwhile charity. Tom keeps a sponsorship form at work with him and anyone can add their donation at their Penzance shop.

Basketball web site

The website www.courtside.org.uk is worth a taking a look at if you are interested in basketball.

Ben Parkyn, aged 18, has been running tournaments at the Wherrytown courts in Penzance between studying at Penwith College , and keeps the web site updated regularly. He says: "The basketball scene has been steadily increasing since I first set foot on those courts seven years ago. "What we would really like to see down there, and I'm sure I speak for the entire player base, is a new surface, props markings, new back­boards/rims, and ideally some sort of lighting system for the winter months. I've seen some kind of pay as you go flood light system which would be ideal. The social environment is great down there and I have met many friends from play­ing the game - I would wish nothing less on the future generations of players."

If you are interested in basketball, and beginners are welcome, you can contact Ben via his site.

Moonshine is a winner in the frame game

Moonshine Framing at 1 High Street, Penzance, has had a shop in Penzance for more than ten years. It is a Fine Art Trade Guild member and offers a full range of framing services. Bespoke and custom framing, one hour framing, mounts, glass and mirrors machine cut to size are just a few of the services it can offer. Moonshine frames for many well known artists and organisations, ex­hibitions and galleries not just in Cornwall but around the country - and also handles restoration work which is done by local expert Warren Fisher.

Moonshine also repairs and re-glazes pictures and quotes for insurance work and trade orders. It also stocks a large range of retail pictures and prints, in frames or unframed, as well as an ever chang­ing range of ready made frames at "to clear" prices, made up from ends of batches and off-cuts, so there is always an interesting selection. In addition to regular framing, Moonshine also offers conservation framing and speciality glass; non reflective, anti-UV, plastic/acrylic safety or even museum glass if required. Current frame trends have seen Moonshine's range of natural tim­bers become very popular, with limed or white finishes still being in vogue this year, although there is a marked change away from 'art gallery white' frames to natural wood frames - typically in light coloured Ash. Metal frames are making a comeback, matt or polished aluminium are back, although traditional wood, coloured and gold frames are still popular with Moonshine's customers.

It is often hard to imagine the volumes of frames that busy framers like Moonshine can make in a week. With a very large customer base and a staff of four, the workshops are never quiet and order books are full enough to keep everyone on their toes, especially when "interesting jobs" turn up - like a Japanese wedding kimono, or another of the many rugby or football shirts which arrive needing presenting in a frame. Tapestries and fabrics can be safely stretched on a special machine if required, and all mounts and frames are made to measure using very accurate specialised machinery. Moonshine has been featured in American trade art magazines and has been mentioned in the British framing trade press, and homes and interiors magazines have sought out its expertise.

The bulk of its framing is for Penwith people and local artists. Of course, this is only possible in properly equipped workshops - and so Moonshine's High Street shop is equipped with the usual quality picture framers’ machinery, most of which is air driven so as not to disturb customers in the shop. Turnaround on most jobs is normally a week, although Moonshine also offers a one-hour service for stock boards/mouldings for a small surcharge. All major cards are accepted via electronic terminal. Large selections of frames and mount-board samples are available for you to try on your pictures before choosing your framing, and advice is always readily available. All retail work is to applicable Fine Art Trade Guild principles so that customers know exactly what they are getting, and it conforms to a national standard which also enable customers to compare like-for-like on price and quality. Moonshine has something for every taste and pocket; discounts are available even on small quantity orders. This year Moonshine has introduced several new ranges of frame mouldings and frame finishes. New frames and finishes are being introduced all the time as tastes and fashions change. Parking is easy, with three main car parks close-by and Moonshine is open 10am to 5pm Monday to Friday, and until 1pm on Saturdays.

It also has a very easy to remember web site address: www.frames.uk.com, or telephone 01736-330887.

Join the Chamber

The Chamber of Commerce represents the interests of local business with the County, District and Town Councils, Government agencies and public bodies. It actively campaigns on issues affecting the business community as well as issues affecting the community as a whole. This requires finances and direct involvement by committed people, and deserves the support of every business in the region.

Our Chairman is coordinator of the West Cornwall Group of Chambers and the Cornwall Business Partnership. He is a member of the Priority Management Group 3, which approves Objective One funding in the area of Learning and Skills development He is also a member of the Penzance Regeneration Steering Group that has worked on the submission of an Objective One bid to greatly enhance the prosperity of the town and its inhabitants. Other members represent the Chamber on such bodies as the Police Consultative Committee and Tourism Committee.

All businesses have problems from time to time, and it has been proved that representation from a Chamber Officer on behalf of the member concerned can greatly enhance the prospect of a satisfactory conclusion. With major issues, such as the Penzance Regeneration Project, West Cornwall Hospital, Objective One and so on needing input from the business community there has never been a better reason for all businesses to become Chamber members - the greater our membership, the bigger our voice. JOIN NOW!

We invite membership applications from individuals and businesses large or small. For further information, visit the Membership Enquiry or Membership Application pages on this site.

Forthcoming Meetings

The next monthly Chamber Meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 5th at 7.30pm at the Pirates Rugby Club, Alexandra Road, Penzance.

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