Town's Chamber of Trade folds due to lack of support

Dursley Chamber of Trade and Commerce closed this month after the remaining members decided they were not able to continue.

"I think it is a terrible shame that the Chamber of Trade has had to fold," said Peter Jones, president of the chamber for five years.

"It is a valuable forum for business to get their views heard and most towns have one. But unfortunately we didn't have much choice but to close it down."

Dursley has had a Chamber of Trade since 1952 and the forum not only talked about business, they also arranged the Christmas lights and trees each winter, held the annual Dursley pancake race and helped out during the Dursley Town Festival.

However it was being left to an increasingly small amount of people to arrange and organise the events and even fewer people were attending meetings.

"The chamber is a voluntary organisation so we cannot force people along but we would need more people to join up to keep it going," added Mr Jones owner of R.P Jones, in Long Street.

Paul Durcan, from Ducans in Parsonage Street, said: "I do think a town should have a Chamber of Trade to represent traders but not everyone has the time to give to organising events and getting involved."

Former president of Dursley Chamber of Trade, Alison Attfield, from Inches, in Dursley, added: "I just think it is a real shame that the town now doesn't have a chamber for the traders.

"I used to give up a lot of my time for the chamber and I can't always do it anymore, but there are no new people to step in and take it over."

However Mr Jones is still optimistic that the chamber can be resurrected if people start showing some support for it.

"We would be happy to start the Chamber of Trade again if we got more people interested," said Mr Jones.

"People would only have to turn up to a few meetings, they are monthly, but you don't have to make every single one. Then it is up to you how much you get involved."