A note from the Chair
We know your business days are busy enough without us cluttering up your inboxes,
but our quarterly newsletter is going to be your roundup of all things Rye that we
think will be useful to you; diary dates, topline news, and information that will be invaluable to your business. As ever, we’re open to suggestions about what you’d like included.
We’re launching our quarterly business survey today – read more below. The survey is short – just ten questions to get us started with a view to exploring issues in more depth in future.
We’ve our first meeting of the year on 15th March which, at your request, is also a relaxed networking event with a guest speaker and it’s a curry night too – so there’s every reason to come along and we’d love to see you there, you can purchase your tickets via the link in the diary dates section.
We really hope that this signals the start of a new era for Rye’s Chamber of Commerce and we look forward to shaping it into the valuable community you want and deserve.
If you don’t already follow us on the new Chamber Instagram page, please do, and likewise, we have a dedicated Facebook group you can join (links in the ‘Stay Connected’ section at the bottom of this email.). Our aim is to provide as many easy routes for you to talk to us and for us to keep you informed.
NEW! Quarterly Survey
Each quarter we will issue a brief online survey to members and non-members in the Rye area so we can benchmark how businesses are faring, and what issues are of most concern.
It’s anonymous and brief – just ten questions so it’ll only take a minute of your time, please click on the link below to complete it. We’ll feedback our findings at our March meeting. Many thanks!
Important note from The Vice Chair - Have YOUR Say about tourism funding in Rye!
You will by now have heard the news that Hastings is planning on withdrawing its financial support for the 1066 Marketing Partnership. This is deeply concerning and will no doubt have an impact on Rye not just for members of 1066 but for businesses in the area generally. Many of you are members of both 1066 and the Chamber and will therefore be aware of details, but for those of you who aren’t here’s a quick overview on the partnership and how this decision by Hastings will impact on Rye.
1066 is a destination marketing organisation. It is the longest standing tourism partnership in the UK. It has been in existence for 20 years and has done exceptional work to put the historic region of 1066 on the tourism map.
1066 is public/private financed. Historically the most significant contributors to the budget have been the three councils covered by the 1066 region: Hastings, Rother and Wealden. 1066 also has partnerships with Tourism South East, English Heritage and the National Trust. The rest of the marketing budget is funded privately through the subscriptions of members.
1066 is managed by a voluntary Executive Board which includes representatives from each area. I am the Rye Representative ensuring that our town has a voice in marketing plans and campaigns. 1066 has a dedicated team of 3 part-time staff who are seconded from Hastings Council and who do an incredible job in keeping the 1066 brand in the media across print, digital and broadcast campaigns. As someone with over 25 years professional experience of marketing and PR I feel that the team at 1066 really punches well above their weight in terms of service delivery. The brand recognition for ‘1066 Country’ is excellent.
The power of 1066 lies in its partnership. Together the region is stronger and has a greater share of voice in marketing campaigns. Tourists to the region don’t just visit Rye, they spend time in the region as a whole and spend money across the region. The region has a shared history. It makes sense to market the region as a whole, rather than double up on efforts and cost and operate in silos.
Rye would be hard pushed to match the reach and impact achieved by 1066 marketing campaigns. The partnership approach is a strong one, and one that Rother District Council continues to believe in. They support the continuation of 1066 and are dismayed at the decision by Hastings Borough Council to withdraw its support. If you look at the plans Hastings now has you will see that they are proposing little in the way of investment into tourism marketing. While we recognise that Hastings Council is under great financial pressure this approach is short sighted. The cost of supporting the brand that is 1066 is far less than the economic contribution from incoming tourists. Continued investment is essential, particularly as we recover from the pandemic and at a time when high energy prices and the wider costs of inflation pose a threat to businesses and jobs in our area – not just those in tourism and hospitality but in retail, transport, and other sectors that are reliant on our visitor economy.
The proposed budget cuts are currently open to consultation. We call on you to support 1066 Country and the local visitor economy by inputting to the consultation by noon on 3 February and by writing to your MP.
You can read the full budget consultation here:
The email for submitting your comments on the budget consultation is:
You can email our MP Sally Ann Hart on:
The Chamber has written to Sally-Ann Hart and submitted comments to the consultation but we urge you to do the same and add your voice on this important matter. Many thanks, Sarah. PLEASE NOTE: The opportunity to speak against this is now CLOSED and Hastings Borough Council have retracted their tourism funding from 1066 Marketing.
New Members Welcome!
Since Sarah and I took office back in October our ranks have grown, (at the time of writing we are 87 members strong!) we now have new members with businesses in retail, wellbeing, hospitality, entertainment, and photography. It’s really important to us that we have a diverse membership so that we can advocate for the business community as a whole in the work that we do. All of the businesses in Rye and the surrounding area shape the personality of our region and contribute to the local economy and need to have a voice in the community. We’re very pleased to extend a warm welcome to the following:
Rye Chocolates
KT Bruce
Viva Wellbeing
Flackley Ash Hotel
Little Gate Farm
The Outside Inn
Kino Rye
Rye & Beyond
Greyfriars
The Old Stout House
Rye Bay Ebikes
Rye Nutritional Health
W Tollett (General Builders)
The Grapevine
UK Getaways
Healthful Essentials
Ad Hoc South East
Hunter Jones
Webtec
Strand Quay Gallery
Mr Tods
We will be revamping our member directory on the website very soon, and each month we’ll be profiling a longstanding member and a new member on our blog and via a fun insta reel so that we can all get to know each other better and provide your business some valuable publicity!
In Focus: Waste & Recycling
You can’t have failed to notice the litter wardens in town and the problems that have arisen of late. Huge thanks to our Cardboard Coordinators Sara and David Nixon who met with Rother District Council and have helped several members successfully reverse some of the fines that were imposed on them. Accordingly, our advice is that if you feel you have been unfairly issued a fine is NOT TO PAY and appeal!
Updates on any new developments will be forthcoming but in the meantime, here’s the topline on your responsibilities as a business owner regarding waste and recycling:
Any waste generated from a commercial activity is business waste. If you use part of your home to run your business then any waste from that part is business waste.
As a business, you are responsible for disposing of your commercial waste appropriately. This means you cannot:
Put any of your commercial waste in public litter bins
Take any commercial waste home with you to dispose of in your domestic bins
Doing either of the above will result in a £400.
If you are using a waste carrier to transport your waste to be disposed of you need to check that they are registered to dispose of waste, and you need a waste transfer note for each load of waste that leaves your premises.
If you are disposing of your own waste, you must register as a waste carrier. You can do so via this link: wastecarriersregistration.service.gov.uk
Once you’ve registered your organisation's name will appear in the public register of waste carriers brokers and dealers. You will be issued a certificate of registration to display in your premises. Lower-tier registrations last indefinitely and do not need renewing. Upper tier registrations require renewal every 3 years. If your registration details change they must be updated within 28 days of the change.
REMINDER
Even if you are ONLY using the Chamber of Commerce’s free cardboard recycling scheme to dispose of your commercial cardboard waste you must STILL register as a carrier so that you can produce the necessary paperwork to cover your journeys to the cardboard recycling container. Step by Step instructions were emailed to you before Christmas. New members can find the instructions on the private members Facebook Group.
Finally, a personal note from our Cardboard Coordinators:
We heard this week that Smurfit Kappa are looking to introduce a charge for providing the cardboard unit but having spoken with them we may be able to avoid this, or at least reduce it, by upping the tonnage through packing the unit more tightly.
To help with this may I ask all members using the facility to please max fill the boxes they bring by compressing the contents as much as possible. It would also be a great help to our volunteer team manning the unit that when you drop off you help stack it as tightly as possible into the unit.
As you know this is an invaluable asset to the Chamber, particularly now with NES being active. It is the Chamber's intention that this facility remains free to all members, if possible.
Thanks for your support in packing to the max!
David & Sara Nixon.
Diary Dates:
Walkabout Wednesdays – February 15th and March 15th
Jane and Sarah will be out and about in town to chat and catch up with your news.
Quarterly Chamber Meetings with Networking – March 15th, June 14th, Sept 19th, Dec 13th. A relaxed chance to get together, share experience of the last quarter and chat about specific issues. March’s guest speaker is Jen Knoops and it’s a curry night too, get your tickets below!
Stay Connected!
If you haven’t already, please join the Chamber What’s App Group! Use this link:
https://chat.whatsapp.com/K1thg2T5wv00lOsGVYxLIM Join the Chamber Members Only Facebook Group:
Follow the Chamber on Instagram
Follow the Chamber on Facebook