Monday October 11, 2010

Dear colleague,

NABMA'S Annual Conference

Delegates voted NABMA’s Conference a huge success. Just over 94% of the delegates gave an overall rating of good/very good to the Conference. There were many highlights with a number of important initiatives announced and further details of some of these initiatives are set out in this newsletter. An important part of Conference is recognising the contribution made by individuals to the success of the markets industry. This year NABMA’s award for an “Outstanding Contribution to Markets” went to Alan Ottey, Town Centre Manager at Nuneaton & Bedworth. Alan has been inspirational in promoting the markets in Nuneaton & Bedworth. The markets have won two awards from NABMA in recent years and they are such a vital part of the local communities. Alan has also been very supportive of markets generally and he has played an important role in the work we have been doing with government. NABMA, and the markets industry, relies heavily on the goodwill of people like Alan to share good practice and also provide inspiration. Alan follows a list of distinguished people who have previously been given this award and NABMA records its hearty congratulations to Alan Ottey for all his achievements.

Report from NABMA'S AGM

Chris Poulter, Derby, was elected President of NABMA with Jeff Clarke, Nuneaton & Bedworth, and Geraldine Carter, Calderdale, filling the other elected presidency positions. David Farmer, Shrewsbury Town Council, becomes Past President of NABMA. The Chairs and the Vice Chairs of the Retail and Wholesale Forums remain the same with Angela Newton, South Holland, and Kevan Wainwright, Halton, taking up responsibility in the Retail Forum and David Smith, Corporation of London, and Ruth Simpson, Glasgow, maintaining their roles on the Wholesale Forum. Councillor Don Davies remains Livestock Champion. Given the decision taken at the 2009 AGM that the Management Board to remain in post for a period of three years, there were no elections to the Management Board at the 2010 AGM.

Working with Government

We had Andrew Stunell, CLG Minister with us at Conference, and Andrew launched the publications on Markets Management and Good Practice. All NABMA members have received information about how the publications can be downloaded from www.communities.gov.uk/ . If any NABMA member requires a hard copy of the publications please contact the NABMA office.

Benchmarking

Andy Ward, Sheffield, has been looking after benchmarking for a number of years and we had a presentation on this important subject at Conference. Andy is arranging a workshop for those interested in pursuing a benchmarking (club) on the 14th October 2010 at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre, Sheffield, starting at 10.30 am. It is important that all those interested in benchmarking attend this workshop as we hope that to use the findings of the workshop to discuss with government the possibility of introducing national performance indicators.

Please contact Andy Ward at andy.ward@sheffield.gov.uk or call 0114 273 5280 for further details of the event.
 

Rating of Market Halls

We had a lively session at Conference on rating of market halls and clearly a number of NABMA members are concerned about the implications. A further meeting with the Valuation Office is due to take place on the 4th October 2010 and it has been suggested that a number of regional meetings be held, following that meeting, to discuss further developments. A number of NABMA members have generously agreed to host these regional meetings and currently we are looking at the possibility of holding three meetings, one in the Midlands, possibly on the 2nd November 2010, a further one in the North West and also one in the South. Confirmation from the Valuation Office is still awaited but as soon as further details are available, information will be provided to members.

NMTF 400

The future success of the markets industry will rest on the ability to attract and retain traders. A major part of the work we have done with government has been geared towards achieving these objectives. NMTF are about to launch a major initiative to assist existing and new traders in improving their businesses. A presentation was undertaken at Conference and details of the programme contained in the NMTF 400 initiative has recently been provided to NABMA members. It is anticipated the formal launch will take place in October but NABMA members can obtain bulk supplies of the NMTF 400 programme by contacting NMTF at tracey.jones@nmtf.co.uk or call 01226 749021. Giving traders support to improve their business is vital in raising standards of the market industry and NABMA encourages all its members to look closely at this important project.