WHO WE ARE

We are a group of local business owners who volunteer to support businesses in Shaftesbury and the surrounding area. We are predominantly made up of retail shop owners, but also accountants, a surveyor, lawyers, event organisers, designers ….we have a variety of skills and backgrounds!

As Shaftesbury’s Chamber of Commerce, which is a formal way of saying Shaftesbury’s Business Community, we are associated with Dorset Chamber of Commerce with all their services and networking opportunities.

THE CHAMBER POT
And as we’re always looking to find new ways to support local business, we’ve started The Chamber Pot, which is a one-off fund of £250 every quarter to help a small business grow and innovate. Click here to find out more: https://www.shaftesburychamber.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Shaftesbury-Chamber-Pot-Applications.pdf

WHAT WE DO

We support local business by:

lobbying our county council and town council on matters that affect business in the town.
we do joint initiatives with the Town Council to support the local economy
we liaise with market organisers and act as a coordinator with High Street businesses
we organise a Christmas Late Night Shopping event and the Christmas Market
we give financial support to smaller, emerging ventures and new events
we advise and help people wanting to open a business in town
we liaise with landlords to keep up to date with their plans
we attend local business forums and support business awards
we respond to calls of help from the business community
we support each other!

WE MEET ON THE FIRST THURSDAY OF EACH MONTH AT THE GROSVENOR ARMS!

TOWN CALENDAR

Thursday 6th March – Monthly Members’ Chamber Meeting, 17:30 in The Library Room at the Grosvenor Arms

Thursday 3rd April – Monthly Members’ Chamber Meeting

Sunday 13th April – first monthly Sunday artisan market of the year. High Street and Park Walk. High Street closed from The Commons to Angel Square 7am – 4pm

GOOD FRIDAY IS APRIL 18th

Sunday 4th May – Shaftesbury Feastival. All things foodie, over 80 stalls, talks by cookery writers, demonstrations by Lesley Waters and The Cheese Race returns!! Hosted by the Chamber, fun for young and older, where intrepid participants run up our famous Gold Hill with truckles of cheese! Held on the High Street, Park Walk and Gold Hill. The High Street from The Commons to Angel Square, together with Gold Hill will be closed to traffic all day.

MEMBERS’ AREA

You will be asked for your members password to access the following pages.

Dorset Chamber info & Newsletters

Looking to start a business in Shaftesbury?

AGENTS:
Wooley & Wallis:
Myddelton & Major
Goadsby

Lawyers:
Farnfields
Rutters
Blanchards Bailey
Maclachlan
Trethowan

Accountants:
Hub Accountants
Ward Goodman
Andrews & Palmer

Town Information

First Sunday market: 13th April 2025, then 2nd Sunday of the month until October, no market in November (Remembrance Sunday)

Shaftesbury Feastival: 4th May

Shaftesbury Fringe: 25th – 27th July

Eat: Shaftesbury: 3rd August

Shaftesbury Carnival: 27th September

Christmas Lights Switch-on Event: 24th November

Christmas Late Night Shopping: 11th December

Christmas Market: 14th December

Expert Tips

How does your website fare in searches and how you can boost its chances of being seen?
1. Any words in your search query need to be on the front page for them to appear.
2. If your site hasn’t been updated in a while, think what you could refresh as Google favours sites that have recent updates.
3. Searching and scrolling through search results until you find your company and clicking on it regularly helps as Google favours sites that have been visited recently.
4. Go to more than one page on your site and don’t click on any competitors after your search or you will boost them instead.
5. Links from trusted sites to your company’s site are the best way to get to the top but obviously difficult to achieve.
6. So, taking a look at the wording on the front page is a quick win. Putting contact info on the front page also helps boost visibility.

Off The High Street

If you have a business on one of our estates or at a nearby commercial centre in one of our surrounding villages and have info you’d like to share with your business community, let us know – we’ll put it up here and start a local network noticeboard.

Business Reports and Surveys

February Cyber Crime newsletter from Dorset’s PCC

We are an Associated Town Chamber of Dorset Chamber, accredited by the British Chambers of Commerce.