Maria Miller MP met with founders of Friends of Top of Town Joanne Goodman and Mary Stevens. Joanne owns Wax Works and English Role salons and Mary owns the Willow Café.
The Basingstoke MP had invited Russell O’ Keefe CEO of Basingstoke and Deane Borough, Ian Boll and Ross Harvie also from BDBC ,to join the meeting. Other attendees were Mary Swan, Artistic Director of Proteus, Mitch Lloyd Owner of Petra Jewellery, Tim Colman from the Federation of Small Businesses(FSB) and Debbie Reavell and Cathy Williams from the Basingstoke Heritage society. The aim of the meeting was to see how the Council can support the businesses to increase footfall in the top of town and promote Basingstoke as a destination.
Maria Commented: “I was delighted to meet with Joanne a few weeks ago to discuss Basingstoke’s rich heritage and its potential as a key destination. It was good to expand the meeting today to include other small businesses and organisations such as Proteus and The Basingstoke Heritage Society who share Joanne and Mary’s passion for the town. I am delighted that Russell and Ian joined the meeting along with Ross to explore practical ways in which the Borough Council can support small Businesses. I am also grateful to Tim Colman from the FSB for all he does to support small businesses in Hampshire. Mary’s Wonderful Willow Café was a perfect venue for the meeting.