Welcome to Bourton Business Network! We are a not-for-profit collective, and our overarching aim is to provide a voice for the entire business community of Bourton-on-the-Water and to strengthen our ties with local people.
We have emerged from one of the working groups of Bourton Tourism Action Group, that was initiated by County Councillor Paul Hodgkinson in 2020.
We recognise that it is important for business to have a voice and for business people of all kinds to be able to meet others. Our aim is to represent the entire local ecosystem of commercial activity: plumbers, farmers, gardeners, trainers, self employed and employees, consultants working from home, industrial companies, service industries and the visitor facing sector too.
We envisage an alliance of collaborative minded individuals prepared to take action on the many challenges businesses face: of commerce, technology, environment, infrastructure, skills and well-being.
We aim to build a network to sustain a local community of interacting organisations within their commercial, physical and natural environment that will:
- Support strategies for post-COVID recovery
- Advocate for the development of, and generate ideas and suggestions for, a Bourton-on-the-Water “Neighbourhood Development Plan”
- Enable access to innovative thinking and discussion of ideas, concepts and practices that can help improve your business
- Provide advocacy on behalf of the business community with (amongst others) the Parish, District and County Councils
- Encourage a more holistic and/or joined-up perspective of the business community that can create synergies, help businesses become more resilient and address significant trends
- Be a force for good and mobilising effort, with the ability to react at pace, whether coping with addressing short-term problems or lobbying authorities where necessary, to make things happen that are beneficial for the whole local community.
- Help you to get some fresh perspectives on your challenges, meet new people, generate ideas for developing new opportunities.
We almost certainly will fail to please all of the people all of the time! But we will do our best to ensure that the interests of our community are fully represented and work hard to generate a rich diversity of activity to ensure that we at least please some of you some of the time!
WHO ARE WE?
The band of active participants in getting BBN off the ground include:
- Allan Hymers – Cotswold Ice Creams
- Jill Hymers (Treasurer)
- Andrew Lund-Yates – The Old New Inn
- Diana Ray – Living Green
- Jon Wareing
In addition, we’ve co-opted the support of the following enthusiastic residents, who bring a wealth of experience and connections, in organising Music, Art & Food on the Water!
- Carol Groom
- Lynda Hicks
- Helen & Martin Macklin
If you are in business locally, or are retired, and would like to get involved, or just offer suggestions of things you believe a business network in Bourton-on-the-Water should consider, please get in touch by email hello@bourtonbusiness.net or leave a comment below.