What's it all about?  In late 2008 when I was chairman of both the Kennet Economic Partnership and this Chamber, it was my strongly held view that we really needed the Tidworth area to be successful.  To achieve this we needed to create new jobs, build more houses, provide greater retail choice within the town, and to build a stable, self sustaining economy – in short, develop the Tidworth area into a life style choice offering a great place to live, work and relax.  My view has not changed and I remain as committed to achieving these goals today as I was then.

But, with the best will in the world, to expect to achieve this single-handedly would have been naive.  Such a goal can only be realised with the help of a large number of people; ideally the whole community.  So, to get the ball rolling, I planned to create and launch ‘TEAM TIDWORTH’, a group of supporters with a common bond and responsible for representing the entire Tidworth Community Area including Ludgershall.  Members of the Team would, very simply, represent the community's best interests whenever they found themselves in a position to do so, whether that be talking to work colleagues, captains of industry, fellow MPs in the House, company directors looking to re-locate, parents enquiring about local schools or over a pint in the pub.  Their message would be clear - Tidworth has got, or will get shortly, everything required to establish and support a modern lifestyle in a prime location at an affordable price.  Be it housing, education, employment opportunity or access to the beautiful countryside around us, the Tidworth area will be able to offer it all.  We may not quite be there yet, but be in no doubt that things are beginning to move.  We should expect to see the first fruits of our planning before too long

The 'Credit Crunch' with its resulting fallout has hit us all very hard.  Companies have had to work hard just to survive, let alone grow.  Those operating out of our Castledown Business Park have all survived, and the first signs of growth and renewed confidence are beginning to appear.  This is good news, as is the talk of taking on more employees.  For the first tenants into this site in summer 2009 attention is beginning to focus on the expiry of the fast approaching 3 year lease.  It's hoped that plans to develop the remainder of the site can be accelerated in order to meet the requirements of existing tenants and new demand. It will certainly be my intention to seek help from Team Tidworth to drive this crucial development forward.

Due to the current climate, this initiative has not yet been formally launched.  I am looking for local ambassadors with status and authority to influence potential investors.  I need ‘Promotion Ambassadors’ and additional support team members to provide the more specialist local knowledge to make ‘Team Tidworth’ effective.  I have several suitable people who have volunteered their services, but I will need more.  Interested?  Give me a call on 01980 600300 as I'd love to hear from you.

A Promotion Ambassador will be alert to our need to find tenants and purchasers for our developing Castledown Business Park – whether it be a start up business with some redundancy money, or a large established company looking to reduce costs.  All we ask of these ambassadors is to signpost these prospects in our direction. Nothing onerous, nothing untoward, just establish contact with us.

The support team members will help to directly deliver the key messages.  When a genuine enquirer has been identified – be it a start-up business or multinational concern – we want to introduce them to the benefits of our area and why they would want to bring their business here.   Support teams will include a dedicated ‘Meet and Greet’ element consisting of key stakeholders whose job it would be to explain to all prospective investors the benefits of coming here .  Teams will be focused on:

• Further development of the Castledown Business Park
• Enterprise
• Employment                                                   
• Education 
• Housing
• Recreation and Leisure

  – in short, anything a potential investor would want to know.

These teams will be 'knowledge based'. For example, if the enquiry concerns leisure, staff at the Tidworth Leisure Centre will demonstrate the excellent local leisure facilities. Likewise, if interest was expressed in horse riding, polo, running, mountain and road cycling, shooting, fishing, etc we will ensure that an appropriate ‘Team Tidworth’ representative is available to cover each area of interest. If housing or education details are required, again we have the contacts.  Same again with business. With the Wellington Academy now a year old and achieving fantastic results, we have a lot to talk about and much to be proud of.  Again, nothing too onerous or untoward.

However, if we find that key investor looking for a site to erect a new megashed with an associated large local workforce to drive the business – a business possibly interested in working with the MOD on some R&D project – then I would expect our local contacts to use their influence to open doors to encourage this new investment enquiry. 

With the economy in general beginning to show some small signs of recovery, and with some sectors already beginning to accelerate more quickly, we are approaching the time when this initiative can be formally launched.  More preparation is required and I need to firm up lists of those both suitable and prepared to offer their help so, if you would like to be one of these ambassadors, just give me a ring to register your interest on 01980 600300.

E-mail and this website are our preferred methods of communication.  All ambassadors will be kept in touch with what is happening, as it happens.  Our modus operandi will be kept as simple as possible to ease the workload for everyone but must be responsive to allow us react quickly to each and every genuine enquiry.   So, with your help and support, let us all strive to play a small yet crucial role in helping the Tidworth Community Area to achieve its very considerable and exciting potential. 

David Wildman 

Chairman, Tidworth & District Chamber of Commerce

Tel: 01980 600300

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