MARLOW & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF TRADE & COMMERCE

MINUTES OF BUSINESS MEETING HELD AT

BURGERS OF MARLOW

MONDAY 20^TH SEPTEMBER 2010        

There were 27 members present.

1.         Welcome by Andy McCready – President of the Chamber followed by a brief presentation by David Maishman of NFU Mutual.

2.         Minutes of last meeting – signed as a true record.

3/4.      Portlands/Liston Court Car Park

Cllr. Alex Collingwood and Chamber Planning Executive Paul Deriaz outlined the revised plans for the Portland site with a link road through the existing car park and coming out at Malthouse Way.  The link road would mean a loss of car park spaces. The Portland site was scheduled for a development of 70 houses including affordable housing. This would increase the need for car parking and one suggestion was to include additional car parking provision into the housing development. Concern was also expressed about the contribution to additional traffic in West St. combined with the impact of the enlarged Sainsbury store.

After lengthy discussion Cllr. Collingwood and Mr. Deriaz took on board suggestions and asked for members to e-mail any further comments to Mr. Deriaz e-mail:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it   as soon as possible as a letter giving the Chamber’s views would be sent to WDC – the deadline being the end of September. Cllr. Collingwood urged the Chamber to give strong representation.

Cllr Collingwood and Mr Deriaz went on to give details of  a suggested two storey car park with residential development (to fund the project) in Liston Court car park.  Following lengthy discussion they again took on board suggestions and asked members to e-mail any further comments to Mr. Deriaz. The additional parking could ease Marlow’s increasing traffic problem.

Mr. Deriaz continued the discussion with reference to the proposed Wycombe Stadium. There would be a public exhibition held on 5^th October at Court Gardens. He urged everyone to attend this exhibition and feed back their comments to him about the type of stadium/sports facility preferred and its location.

Thanks were given to Cllr. Collingwood and Mr. Deriaz for their presentations.

5.         Martin’s Matters

Minimum Wage - Mr. Spittle informed the meeting that the national minimum wage would be raised on 1^st October 2010 to:

            Age 21 and over         -                       £5.93  per hour

            Age 18 – 20                -                       £4.92    “     “

            Age 16 – 17                -                       £3.64    “     “

Data Protection – Mr. Spittle reminded the meeting with regard to the rules for registering for Data Protection, ie changes in name and company status etc. For Tier 1 businesses the charge is £35 but for Tier 2 businesses (with more than 250 employees)  the fee is £500.

PAYE –  Mr. Spittle explained that complexities of the tax system meant the coding system would not be perfect and urged members who needed help to contact their taxation advisers.

Income Tax – Mr. Spittle emphasised the importance of notifying HM Revenue and Customs of any change of circumstances.

Driving Licence – Mr. Spittle reminded members of the need to review their driving licences, which should be renewed every 10 years together with an up to date photograph. If the licence was not valid then the car insurance would be also be invalid.

6.         A.O.B.           

Marlow FM – Mr. Paul Mansell of Marlow FM informed the meeting of the need for donations to ensure Marlow FM was kept running.  He emphasised the help that Marlow FM could give to businesses. For more information contact Mr. Mansell on This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit the Chamber web site member contribution section.

Transition Town Marlow - Dermot Fitzpatrick gave details of a concert being held by Transition Town Marlow at Sir William Borlase’s Grammar School on Saturday 9^th October. For more details visit www.transitionmarlow.org

Chamber AGM – Please note new date – Monday 25^th October – Crowne Plaza, Marlow 6pm. Full details to be distributed shortly.

Visit of MP Dominic Grieve – Thursday 25^th November – 7pm – Liston Hall

The meeting closed at 7.30pm with thanks to Bernard Burger for the hospitality of Burgers of Marlow.