The group that looks after the Tunbridge Wells Business Improvement District (BID) has appointed a local employment solicitor and company director as its new chair.
Pam Loch of Loch Associates in Mount Ephraim was elected unanimously at the Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Business Improvement District’s (RTW Together BID) AGM on July 25.
She was already a member of the board, having been appointed in October 2021, according to a Companies House filing
The previous chair was Nicky Blanchard, centre manager of Royal Victoria Place, who led the group for over six years, having joined the board in January 2016 but who has now stepped down.
‘We are very lucky to have her onboard in a new capacity as Chair, and I’m also particularly pleased that the post has been passed from one prominent local businesswoman to another.’
The BID began in 2019 following a vote of all the businesses in the town centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
All businesses located within the BID area are subject to an annual levy collected by the borough council that is based on the rateable value of the premises.
Ms Loch said: “As a local resident as well as being the owner of a business employing local people, I am interested in the wellbeing of our town and its people.
“I appreciate the work that those on the BID have done to create such a wonderful place to live and work and I look forward to continuing this tradition with a greater involvement from the professional services sectors.”
Community
BID Director Sarah-Jane Adams welcomed the appointment, saying: “Pam is a highly respected and knowledgeable expert within her own field, and is well known and extremely connected among the Tunbridge Wells business community.
“We are very lucky to have her onboard in a new capacity as Chair, and I’m also particularly pleased that the post has been passed from one prominent local businesswoman to another.”
Acting chair Alex Greig, of Fuggles Beer Café in Grosvenor Road and Fuggles Bottle Shop in Camden Road, was elected vice chair.
Board directors are all voluntary, and representative of different business sectors across the BID, from retail and hospitality to corporate services and leisure.
A representative of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC), Cllr Justine Rutland, who holds the portfolio for Tunbridge Wells Town and Local Areas, also sits on the board after being appointed in May 25.
