Businesses were treated to a number of interesting speakers at a Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce event.

A breakfast meeting was held on Tuesday April 3 at Upwey Wishing Well Tea Rooms and Water Gardens.

During the meeting, Weymouth Town Centre Manager, Ed Warr, discussed the work he has been doing to rejuvenate the town centre.

He explained that he has been liaising with residents and businesses to find out if there are any problem areas which need to be addressed.

Mr Warr said he has been involved with cleaning-up The Clipper on St Thomas Street and added: “One of the projects we have been working on is The Clipper in town, which was being used for anti-social behaviour in the past. It has taken six months, but we have finally got it all cleaned-up.”

He also showed interest in using the new space for community projects such as a town market which could bring increased footfall into the town.

Mr Warr added that he has been working to fix the signs and bins around the town centre. As well as this, he has been pushing for the installation of hanging baskets and to obtain purple flag status for the town. This is an accreditation that means a town or city centre has excellent standards of managing its night-time economy.

He said: “It is about improving the retail experience and creating more footfall.”

Claudia Moore, Chief Operations Officer of Weymouth BID, also spoke at the event and explained its plans for the coming year.

Mrs Moore said that the BID2 steering group has been set up in the lead-up to renewal and has drawn-up a draft business plan with a focus on making Weymouth safer, cleaner, greener and more artistic while having more pride in the town.

Kate Wood, executive director of Activate, also gave a talk. Activate is a charity which supports, creates and develops outdoor arts, dance and theatre for the people of Dorset and the South West.

She said the charity has launched its crowdfunding campaign to raise money for its 2018 Inside Out festival. And that they’re hoping to raise a total of £10,000 to continue the majority of events, free of charge.

If you are interested in donating money to help run the festival visit www.crowdfunder.co.uk/inside-out-dorset