Business Team
Team Objectives
Thriving local businesses are essential to the future of the village. The Village Action Plan Business Team has two very clear objectives:
- To work with the Shop and Post Office owner to ensure the community always has available and uses a comprehensive range of services of a high standard.
The best defence of this vital amenity is for the community to use it as much as possible - To encourage continued local support for all local businesses, and work to ensure local trades remain available and thrive in the local economy.
The Business Team brings together experience across many different sectors of the business world and includes the three largest businesses in the locality: the Shop/Post Office, the Racecourse and the College. People from the farming community, small local or sole traders, the local pubs, businesses in the immediately surrounding villages and those just starting up a new business are encouraged to get involved.
We want to help local suppliers work with larger local customers and showcase the quality and range of Plumpton products and services to a wider audience. We will also develop a directory of local businesses in conjunction with the other Village Action Plan teams and will tell the community more about these local businesses in the Parish Magazine.
Anyone wishing to discuss an issue relevant to the objectives set out above can contact Paul Nicholson, the Team Leader.
Team Updates
Broadband is fast becoming the 'new utility'. It is said to be crucial to the economy and prosperity – even to the extent that some people claim it is as important as steam was in the Industrial Revolution. ... » More
Plumpton Station Planters. For the last time, Garden Pride and Fragbarrow Nursery have kindly provided the winter interest plants at the station. Their generosity for the last two years has been much appreciated and has made a huge difference to the appearance of the station.
However, the actual planting was undertaken by students at the Horticultural section of Plumpton College – and they have agreed to take on the provision of plants and the planting from now on – great news – and thank you to everyone involved at Plumpton College!
Plumpton Festive Fair Saturday 26th November in Plumpton Village Hall. ... » More
ACRP Community Rail Awards. Mick Newman and two Partnership volunteers went to Sheffield in September for the National Association of Community Rail Partnership Awards. Plumpton had been nominated for the Station Adoption Scheme of the Year Award and was one of 14 entries in this category and had been short-listed down to the last five. Plumpton was a Runner-up! This was a fantastic achievement given that Plumpton’s volunteers have only been involved for 15 months – others for over 15 years!!
Plumpton Station Wins Stars and Tsars Award ... » More
Business Breakfast 6 October 2011 ... » More
Dr Alan Rae's Business Breakfast Presentation
Summer Planting. With huge thanks to Chris Clow and his Team from Garden Pride in Ditchling, the planters and hanging baskets have been replanted early in June for the Summer season... » More
Mick Newman Receives Reward Congratulations to Mick Newman. He has been awarded a Staff Excellence Award by Southern. This is awarded to him personally for the way that he runs the station and the way that he keeps the station looking.
We know that everyone that uses the station will agree that he thoroughly deserves this award; however, in a way that is typical of Mick he commented on being told of the award “it is down to everyone who helps out at the station so a BIG Thank you to you all!”
Plumpton Wins Grant from ACoRP. The Association of Community Rail Partnerships (“ACoRP”) has awarded a grant of £250 to the Plumpton Station Partnership Scheme for tools for habitat management, a bat detector device, sparrow nest boxes and information posters. The volunteer work will mainly be carried out by the Plumpton Wildlife & Habitat Group.
Southern Railway has awarded Plumpton Station 5 Star status! This follows an inspection by Southern staff across the whole network of over 90 stations. Being one of only three that have received the award, and scoring 97%, it is particularly encouraging. The station is being recognised in particular for its cleanliness and general appearance.
Graham Thrower, Station Group Manager, East Coastway, commented “It is an excellent achievement and not many stations in our area have this and is a pat on the back for everyone involved at Plumpton.”
Congratulations to Mick Newman, and everyone involved with the Plumpton Station Partnership Scheme – well done to you all!
You can read more about the achievements of the Plumpton Station Partnership Scheme in their spring newsletter:
Plumpton Station Partnership Scheme Newsletter - Spring 2011
Business Breakfast. On Thursday 7 April the VAP Business Team hosted a Business Breakfast at the Racecourse which was attended by over 40 local business people ... » More
Station Partnership Update. Read about the lates achievements for the Station Partnership ... » More
Plumpton Train Timetable Launch. Plumpton on track with enhanced train timetable ... » More
Plumpton Festive Fair. The second Plumpton Green Festive Fair was held on Saturday 27th November and brought together 32 locally based food producers, craftspeople and small businesses. Hundreds of shoppers, again, flocked to Plumpton... » More
Business Breakfast. Plumpton businesses are well aware of the marketing and trade opportunities to be gained from the additional tourism that the South Downs National Park will offer... » More
Drive-in Movie on Plumpton Racecourse. 5th May turned out also to be memorable as the first drive-in movie at the Race-course was staged that night.
Over 500 cars and their occupants came to pay homage to scenes of yester year as ‘Grease’ was shown on the silver screen.
It was easy to forget your troubles and immerse oneself in the innocence of 1950’s American High School and as some people came to do – to let one’s hair down.....
A night to remember! Will it be repeated? The hot money is on ‘Mamma Mia’ – but who knows!
Plumpton Fitness Centre. The last meeting of the season marks a significant change in the arrangements in the Weighing Room and Jockeys’ Changing Rooms. You may have noticed these already.
At the end of April, the Fitness Club at Plumpton changed hands and is now under the ownership and management of Chris Enser, an experience sports massage therapist and personal trainer from Lewes.
Chris has enthusiastically refurbished the facility and will operate a comprehensive fitness centre including various classes for the local and surrounding communities. This new venture is called The Plumpton Health & Fitness Centre.
The station partnership has got off to a flying (or flowering) start and favourable feedback has been received from commuters and villagers alike. Apart from the library facility, large planters and hanging baskets sponsored by Garden Pride and Southern, the next stage is to put up bat boxes on the buildings and to have a go at a more extensive coffee shop than the machine now on offer. We are working out the logistics of this. Posters have gone up in the shelter about the scheme, the wildlife group’s activities, and shortly, a little history of an engine named Plumpton.
We are looking for volunteers to help run the station partnership scheme. If you can spare some time please contact Paul Nicholson (email business@plumptonvap.co.uk or telephone 01273 891 725)
Read more about the Station Partnership launch in the July monthly update.
Read about the steam enginge called Plumpton.
Read about Sussex Community Rail Partnership
Village Fairs. With the first Plumpton Goes Green event in March 2009, both stand holders and visitors strongly indicated that “this is a good thing” and “let’s do it again”. That event included a small number of local craft and produce stands. The second event was the November 2009 Festive Fair, focussed on enabling visitors to buy their Christmas presents and buy or order food for Christmas. Over 400 visitors came to the 25+ stand fair which was judged a great success. Again, local crafts and, particularly, local produce was promoted. There will now be two such events each year – one in late Spring/early summer and one near Christmas. This year (2010) the bi-ennial Village Fair took place so the spring/summer Fair was not held. The next one is 27th November 2010.
Festive Boxes. An idea to promote local producers and use two local businesses as facilitators of the product. These were Sarah Stevens (caterer at the Racecourse and trading as PicnicAnywhere who brought the final package together) and the shop where most were sold. For VAP this was a one off but the model is being looked at by Bim for Christmas 2010 – but no certainty he’ll run with it. Quite successful with 60 boxes sold.
Post Office awareness. An early project which VAP Business focussed on producing a flyer and shop poster giving all the main services offered by the PO – and there are lots. We will revisit this early in 2011 and repromote.
The Shop Talk column was designed to highlight the new things (facilities, eg Deli and products, eg BBQ stuff etc). It has been run monthly but now probably just bi-monthly.
The local produce and deli counter at the shop focuses on good quality Sussex products. The Deli has been very successful and the range of cheeses is wide. The olives and meats have been popular. Refillable olive oil bottles are also attracting much interest. Here they also sell home made biscuits, Fal’s irresistible bread pudding and other sweet things. The local produce area has been good but will improve when the coffee shop opens later this year.
Team Documents
Plumpton Post Office & Village Store Flyer (Dec 2008)
Poster from the VAP stand at the Plumpton Village Fair 3 July 2010
Team Member Contacts:
- Paul Nicholson, Team Leader: 01273 891725 - business@plumptonvap.co.uk
- Kathy Baker
- Chris Burgon
- Des Lambert
- Darina Mulligan
- Bim Patel
- Claire Sheppard
- Karen Paxton
- Chris Enser