There was again a good turnout for the Members’ Meeting at the Old Hall Hotel today, where Inspector Martin Coey from the Police and Councillors Caitlin Biskell, John Faulkner and Tony Kemp were able to update members about current issues.

Police: Inspector Coey told us that crime was again down in the area, with two noticeable exceptions: motor vehicles and burglaries from small commercial premises. There had been a 50% increase in opportunistic thefts from motor vehicles, so he warned everyone to make sure cars were locked, and that valuables were removed. There were particular problems with Land Rover thefts, and the police have cooperated with a company which produces security products  to provide discounted clamps, he will let us have details. Owners of Land Rovers were advised that as this is a national problem, anyone observed driving a Land Rover after 10.00pm may well be stopped by the police to check that the car is theirs.

There had also been an increase in burglaries targeting small, non-alarmed safes in commercial premises ( six recently) where an entrance has been made through rear windows.

Otherwise, Buxton is a reasonably safe place to live, with a 50% decrease in thefts from domestic dwellings, and anti-social behaviour down by 20%.  The police are aware of problems with ‘boy’ (and ‘girl’) racers and will act in persistent cases. They have the authority to take away cars, and charge offenders £150 to retrieve them.

November renewals of your Vision Buxton membership are due!  Please make your remittance as soon as possible. Thanks.

Reasons why you should renew? Amongst other things,  are the opportunities to promote your business.. David Mulholland from the Peak Press  is working on the new edition of the Town Guide, our very successful publication: there were  44000 published and distributed of the 2011 edition. It goes hand in hand with the very busy Visit Buxton website.  Click on the link below to see the full story.

Vision Buxton held its AGM on 11th April this year.

Chairman's Report

At the end of another very tough year in terms of the economy, it's great to be able to say that Vision Buxton is still here and going strong.  Although we have said goodbye to some people since last year, we are still attracting new members at a steady rate and I'd like to give a warm welcome to all of you today.

I'd also like to welcome Lindsay Walker to Vision Buxton.  Lindsay started to work for us late last year, and has made a huge difference to the way we communicate with members, especially regarding the regular newsletters and updates to the website.  Make sure you let her know if you'd like to spread the word about anything.