BRIAN GALBRAITH

Dear Fellow Electors

I have lived in the Chipping Norton area since I98I and currently own and operate, with my wife Jan, Stones on the Market Place, a bar and restaurant, and the Bell Inn in West Street, a community pub. Our two eldest sons live and work in the area. I moved to Chipping Norton because it was attractive, a great place to bring a family up in and a vibrant working town. These same values still apply today and, if elected, I would strive to maintain them. In particular, I would wish to address five main issues

1. To maintain Chippy's unique character. It is not only a tourist town, although tourism is a very important revenue generator for the town, but primarily it is a town where real people live and work. We do not want to be overrun with antiques shops and more places selling bric-a-brac. We need a sustainable mixed economy where people in the town and the surrounding area can satisfy most of their day to day needs.

2. To assist in providing better facilities for our young adults. The loss of the facilities at the British Legion is highly regret- table and I would want to work with existing organisations and in other ways to find a suitable facility for the town's young people to "chill".

3. To ensure that the homes in the town are used for local families. We need to use every effort to ensure that people who were brought up in the town have priority for social housing in the town.

4. To provide an environment that will encourage businesses to start up in the area and for existing businesses to relocate here. SME's (Small  and Medium enterprises) are the life blood of a town like Chipping Norton. We need to ensure that all assistance and advice is easily available and that a supportive network exists for fledgling companies. I have already started a monthly Business Breakfast at Stones to encourage an informal contact between businesses in the town

5. To ensure that any development at the Parker Knoll site includes affordable housing and small business nursery units. We must ensure that a development which only encourages people to come to that facility, e.g. a supermarket, and not to contribute to the general economy, is avoided. The lessons of Stow on the Wold must be learned. Tesco maybe great for shoppers but has ruined the town itself. There were two butchers, now there are none. There was a good hardware shop. It is closed. At night, when the tourists go home the town centre is dead

If elected, I would work to the best of my ability to look after all the reasonable concerns that the electors of Chipping Norton have and to be available to talk to them whenever possible.