The Wye Business Association
working to keep the heart in the village

Wye - A Unique Village with its own Business Association

We know that towns and large resorts have their Chamber of Commerce, but we wonder is there any other village in this country with its own Business Association run on the same lines as we run ours?

The Wye Business Association all started in November 1996 when we woke up to the fact that times were changing. Motorways and the Big Supermarkets had crept up on us. People's lives had changed from day to day shopping. More women were going out to work and the whole social structure had altered dramatically.

Wye like many other villages had suffered from the new trend of one stop shopping at the big multiple stores. It was time to act! We first met at the local tea rooms (Now a very pleasant Chinese Restaurant). Over many months of discussion out of concern, the Shop Keepers and Businesses formed The Wye Business Association. We agreed on three aims. Firstly to promote the Shops and Businesses, secondly to increase Community Spirit and thirdly to Raise the Profile of our village. We obtained The Parish Council's support in achieving these aims.

For the last nine years we have held a Christmas Street Party pulling together the various clubs and associations of our village to provide a very enjoyable evening for all and at the same time raising money to purchase Christmas lights for our village. Any surplus funds are used for good causes within our village. We look forward to our tenth annual Street Party this December (date to be decided) in Church Street from 6pm until 8pm followed by a carol service in the Parish Church afterwards.

This summer we will be supporting our Village Hall Committee by having a stall at their fete on Saturday 8th July at 2pm. This will be held at our village hall and field to help raise funds for a new sports pavilion. 

Over the years we realised that there were people working from home that others may not know about. After a recruitment drive we now have a membership of over forty with not only shops but an extensive range of businesses. Recently (with the help of our local printer) we have produced our own newsletter about the shops and businesses. This is delivered quarterly to over 1,000 homes (with the help of our local recycling company WyeCycle.) It's all about pulling our resources together and fighting back!

Tourism is hot on our agenda as we have three bed and breakfasts, three pubs, and four restaurants. There is also accommodation at some of these. We have been working closely with Ashford Borough Council's Tourist Department and have connected our web site to theirs (with the help of one of our local website designers!) It's all about helping each other and linking up. We have recently formed a tourist information point at 141 Bridge Street, Wye (tel: 01233 812671). This is being well used.

A recently published visitors' guide to the Mid Kent Downs is now available from our Information Point.

We meet monthly on top of the beautiful Wye Downs at the Devil's Kneading Trough Restaurant and discuss all of our plans looking out at the panoramic view from one of the highest points in Kent.

In joining together, our actions remind our community what an important part of our village fabric we are. Although we cannot turn the clock back, we hope that by forming our Business Association and being active we have gained loyalty and support from our village.