Tourism activity contributed £200million to the economy of the District in 2006 according to a recent report.
The report, commissioned by Sevenoaks District Council to look at tourism in the District in 2006, was carried out by Tourism South East and also revealed that:
• There were around a total of 927,578 over night stays from visitors to the District in the year, with £44.4million spent as a result of these over night stays.
• A further 3.4million tourism day trips were recorded, generating an additional £110.7million in tourist related expenditure in the District.
• Taking other related income into account, the total value of tourism activity in the District is estimated to have been around £199.7million for 2006.
• This income to the local economy is estimated to have supported around 2,944 full-time equivalent jobs and 4,027 actual jobs. Overall, it is estimated that tourism expenditure supported 6% of local employment in the year.
Public safety in New Ash Green is set for a boost when 13 CCTV cameras in the village centre are upgraded with the latest state of-the-art technology.
The new dome cameras tilt and pan in all directions working in full colour with a powerful zoom. This will dramatically improve coverage in the village centre.
The Stag Theatre Company’s choice of Into the Woods for their autumn production proved a good one. James Lapine’s clever plot interweaving various fairy tales always pleases and the talented cast were more than equal to the complex and varying rhythms of Stephen Sondheim’s music and lyrics which they successfully performed with humour and pathos.
The beginning goes to fairyland plan, the baker and his wife break the witch’s curse, Jack gets his beanstalk and Cinderella finds her prince. But the actions of the first act become the consequences of the second, conveying a strong moral message about adults’ responsibility for children.
Linda Hart’s costumes and Geoff Daniels’ and Malcolm Pugh’s set were first-rate. Alexandra Grist, a stunning witch, Jamie Thomas, Jo Phypers, Nichola Ross and Antony Eglinton gave stand-out performances, with Mary Whiting an engagingly sassy Red Riding Hood and Tony McEwen in great voice as the wolf /Cinderella’s prince. Nice touches included the portrayals of Anna Wood, Natalia Wigley and Jo Hay as Cinderella’s step-relations and Alistair Hart’s creation of the cow
One or two quibbles: occasionally the otherwise excellent musicians drowned out the weaker voices. And why the decision to use a variety of sometimes shaky accents? However, overall the production was entertaining and absorbing. Congratulations to Director, Keith Neville, Musical Director, Alistair Cameron and everyone involved in a truly “ensemble” show.
On a Saturday night in October, Riverhead Infants’ School and Amherst School parents forwent an evening in front of Strictly Come Dancing and stepped out into the spotlight themselves at the PTA’s second fashion show of the year. Twenty glamorous mothers and six perfectly poised children bravely strutted their stuff down the Amherst school catwalk, at one point assisted by male models (one of whom was the Headmaster of Amherst, Mr Wiltshire), modelling some 86 outfits for local business couple Judith and Leo Jørgensen of Tommelise by Danish Collection who sponsored the event.
Before the models even appeared, the audience was thrilled to discover a shiny goodie bag on each seat containing sweets from A Bag of Sweets in Riverhead, plus ten of them had a surprise free gift of a Pandora charm from the store. “The Band With No Name” provided the musical backdrop; wine, chocolates and fruit were freely consumed as guests browsed the racks of clothes before the show kicked off.
A Sevenoaks business is bucking the current economic gloom with turnover and profits at an all time high.
A record quarter for the three months to the end of July, topped off a year that saw Acorn Recruitment boost its turnover by 63%, taking it up to £715,000 from £430,000 in 2006/7.
Other highlights of the year included attracting the former chief executive of recruitment giant Adecco as a consultant to the board of the family-run business as well as taking on senior managers from other nationwide recruitment agencies including Office Angels, Brook Street and finance sector specialist ECHM.
“We always enjoyed good rates of growth but this year has been exceptional and there’s no sign of business letting up,” said Managing Director Geoff Newman. “On current performance, I am quietly confident that we are going to beat our target of increasing turnover to more than £1 million over the next 12 months.
“We are currently seeing very strong demand for good quality candidates right across our network of offices. Apart from the property sector, the local recruitment market remains buoyant – and is even benefiting from the current economic climate.
“Our legal and finance divisions, for example, are noticing a big increase in the number of lawyers and accountants who are no longer finding working in London such an attractive proposition.
“The credit crunch is encouraging some very talented people at all stages of their careers out of the City and into Sevenoaks and West Kent firms.”
Geoff continued: “We are also experiencing a lot of demand for temporary workers. Partly this is to cover holiday leave but mainly because employers are increasingly recognising the value of a flexible labour force.”
Acorn Recruitment has a dozen staff operating from its High Street, Sevenoaks premises and branch offices in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Kings Hill and Maidstone as well as Crawley in West Sussex.
The company supplies both temporary and permanent staff – part-time or full-time – and specialises in accountancy, legal and general commercial recruitment.
For further information about Acorn Recruitment, visit www.acornrecruitment.com
