Kingsbridge & Salcombe Chamber of Commerce

Our next business club event takes place at one of the top 100 golf courses in the country, Thurlestone Golf Club.

Join us on Wednesday 25th April from 5.30pm for a 6.00pm start, meet new members, network with friends old and new and listen to our inspirational speakers including:

Simon Bawden – Manager, Thurlestone Golf Club. Welcome and introduction to the venue.

Patrick Kinsella – South West Outdoor Festival, this is the third year of the festival and this year it will be taking place at East Soar. It will potentially bring in thousands of new visitors to the area. Pat and the team are looking to work with local businesses to make the event a success – can you help? Come along to find out.

David Buckley – The Summit Path, David works with people to explore different ways of thinking and establish positive change for themselves, business, society and the environment. No matter how big or small your goal, if you are aspiring to get somewhere or change something in your professional or personal life then his services could be for you.

Janie Moor – Citizens Advice South Hams, opening up communication and working with local businesses.

More speakers and updates to follow…

The event will close at 7.00pm after which we’ll be staying for supper thanks to a special menu provided by the Thurlestone Golf Club catering team:

Main Courses:
Chicken leek and ham pie with chips, and vegetables
Goats cheese and roasted vegetable salad

Desserts:
Sticky Toffee Pudding
Apple crumble

TICKET PRICES
£15.50 per person – meeting and meal
No Charge – meeting only (you still need to register)

Please note, tickets will be sold until 24 hours prior to the event, after this please contact info@kingsbridge-salcombe-chamber.co.uk to register.

Free Taxi Driver Training for Safer Communities

South Hams District Council has almost reached all of the 150 licensed taxi drivers from the District, with its valuable Taxi Driver Safeguarding training programme. The training, which has been running since 2016, was held once again on 7 February at the Council’s offices in Totnes. In total 139 licensed taxi drivers have now been trained.

The aim of the free training course is to raise awareness about Child Sexual Exploitation and how to protect vulnerable people. It helps the drivers to spot the signs of Child Sexual Exploitation or vulnerable people at risk, how to report any concerns, and where to report them.

The course is run throughout the year under the Community Safety Partnership, which is a multi-agency partnership covering the Council areas of South Hams, West Devon and Teignbridge.

Community Safety Partnership Lead, Cllr Tom Holway said: “We decided to make the training of our taxi drivers mandatory because the safety of our communities is incredibly important. Equally important is the role that taxi drivers play because they come into contact with so many different people on a daily basis. They are the eyes and ears of our community.

“This training drives the message home, that if drivers see something, they should say something. It provides them with vital information and tools on how to do that.”

A taxi driver who attended the course said: “I had no idea how easy it could be for me to be complicit in things like drug-running or child sexual exploitation. I’m really glad that this training has been made available to us because I have surely learned a lot.”

Another driver added: “I’m so pleased about this training. I have also experienced some of the issues that were raised in the training and I didn’t always know how to respond as a driver. But now I have knowledge of what to do next time this happens on the job.”

This course is one of many that takes place around the country and has been identified as a valuable training opportunity in the South West. It is designed to show the drivers what Child Sexual Exploitation is, the tactics that perpetrators use, how safeguarding can involve the taxi trade unknowingly in trafficking and how to report a concern. The same training was also held at West Devon Borough Council.

The next course will be held on 5 June 2018. If you are a licensed taxi driver and you would like to get involved, please email Licensing@swdevon.gov.uk to reserve a place.