| Welcome to The Rothbury and Coquetdale Business Club. The Club was formed a number of years ago with the intention of representing and speaking on behalf of the local business community. Our membership has increased steadily over the last 2 years after successfully applying for financial assistance through Barclays Bank. This substantial award enabled the Business Club to establish itself as the representative body in the area. It has given the business community a voice and an opportunity to build a representative group. Commerce has, over the past ten years changed dramatically, with a growing number of help and support groups in charge of administering an ever increasing number of grant schemes. Village appraisals, Market Town Initiatives and specialist funded schemes to support rural economies and communities arrive on our doorstep with unfailing regularity. The plethora of "grants" have to some extent caused confusion amongst the very people they were intended to help and support. It is here where The Business Club provides a common point of contact between those seeking help and support and those responsible for the adminstation of schemes. Coquetdale is an enviromentaly diverse and sensitive area and falls under the Northumberland National Park Authority. Unlike other areas this means somewhat different planning and consent rules and regulations apply, again The Business Club enjoys excellent relations with the Authority and is consulted on issues relevant to the area.
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Coquetdale attracts a huge number of visitors eager to share the rural idyll, so tourism plays a large part in the local economy as does farming, forestry and the local businesses who provide services to these industries. The MOD who control and manage the Otterburn Training Range support the local economy and provide vital support to Hill Farmers in Upper Coquetdale. The recent Foot and Mouth outbreak proved how interlinked we all are, with businesses and the community being affected in equal measures. When you pull all this together Coquetdale becomes this rather splendid "patchwork quilt", each piece being individually crafted, but inextricably linked to the next piece. The Rothbury and Coquetdale Business Club is determinded to take "part in the debate" and represent the views, concerns and aspirations of the business community. Your help would be greatly appreciated, we do not necessarily need you to be "full time" but it does need you to register your support by joining.
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