About your Chamber

The South Hams Chamber exists to promote and support local businesses.

Our key motivations include enabling you to expand your local professional network, grow your company, and help amplify your brand.

The majority of our executive committee own or run their own businesses, meaning they understand what it takes for a small company to prosper.

With an ever-growing membership, our voice is becoming louder and more influential, ensuring we can make a real difference to any challenges posed to any of our members.

With opportunities to interact digitally or face-to-face, to engage in training and knowledge sharing, and to promote your brand to the membership and the wider business community, the South Hams Chamber is a compelling partner for your firm.

Our Committee

The voluntary executive committee is made up of local businessmen and women who give their time and expertise to create a Chamber that truly serves the needs of its members.

The committee organises Chamber events, including Business Clubs, provides opportunities for members to promote their businesses, and ensures genuine dialogue with the membership via the likes of annual surveys.

Our committee, which also includes local councillors, always welcomes new members, so please feel free to get in touch if you can help in any way.

Get in Touch
Image

Cllr Samantha Dennis

Chair

South Hams District Council

Sam was elected to SHDC as a Conservative in 2023.
Well known to the Chamber having previously been Chairman, Sam is delighted to join the committee once again.
Image

Scot Baston

Vice-Chair

Cornerstone Photography & Cornerstone Websites

Founded Cornerstone Photography in 2009 under the name of Zooming Feet Photography, and Cornerstone Websites design in 2012. Bringing these skills together to build a better online presence for Devon businesses. Joined the Chamber Committee in late 2021 to bring more of a small business perspective to the Chamber.
Kim Willis

Kim Willis

Marketing and Social Media

Devonly Social - Save Your Time

Kim heads up her own social media agency here in Kingsbridge and helps the Chamber with their marketing, social media and promoting events. Kim is working alongside James and Jenny to promote the current grant schemes.

Jane Tyler

Winking Prawn Group & Chair, Salcombe Information Centre

Jane is co-owner of The Winking Prawn Group, and Chair of Salcombe Information Centre.

Cllr Mark Goodey

Councillor, Salcombe Town Council

Mark is a restauranteur having spend the past 26 years running the Winking Prawn Group, with restaurants in Salcombe and Polzeath, and before that he worked in the restaurant trade in Poole.

Adam Taylor

Taylored Games

Adam co-founded Taylored Games in 2017 and opened the first venue in Kingsbridge in March 2018. Adam has had a varied career, joining the Royal Engineers at 16, training as an electrician and bomb disposal engineer. He has a Masters degree in Electronic & Communication Engineering and prior to opening his store, Adam worked in various engineering management roles with Babcock at Devonport Royal Dockyard.

Georgina Turner

Not So Typical Counselling

Image

Laura Campbell

Operational Excellence SW

Originally from North Devon, Laura has proudly called Dartmouth home for the past 10 years. Passionate about supporting local enterprise and tourism, she was the Co-Chair and Founder of the Dartmouth Chamber of Commerce and Explore Dartmouth. Laura also represents the South West as Regional Representative for the Tourism Management Institute and serves as the Tourism Representative for South Devon National Landscape.

Associate Members

Image

Cllr Jasper Evans

Councillor, Salcombe Town Council

Jasper is Mayor of Salcombe. He was a lawyer at Linklaters law firm from 1989 to 2022 and a partner from 1997, advising on financings for companies and financial institutions.
Image

Peter Richardson

Utility Warehouse

Peter has had a career in industrial and later consumer goods marketing and in 1997 he became an authorized distributor of Telecomplus a start up company at that time.
Image

Cllr Mark Long

South Hams District Council

Mark was elected to SHDC as an Independent in 2019.

Mark was already well known locally through his work as Salcombe Town Councillor, the Salcombe Information Centre, local harbour board and Cliff House Trust.
Image

Sarah Burnett

Kingsbridge Community College

I have lived in the South Hams for over 45 years, working mainly in the tourism/hospitality business. I set up and established the Salcombe TIC in 1984, having worked at the Marine Hotel, Thurlestone Hotel in P.R and in conference management in the Cotswolds.

Our History

Our Chamber has been championing local businesses for more than 75 years.

Starting out in 1949 as the Kingsbridge and District Chamber, the organisation defied the norm by ditching the brash tone of commercial promotions at the time in favour of, as its then committee put it, “frank and often humorous” articles in its official guide.

A landmark event in 1955 – the Trade Exhibition – was one of many organised to promote local businesses, and active member Jack Tanner, who ran Tanners Ladies and Gentlemen’s Outfitters on Fore Street, was vital in propelling the Chamber through to the 1980s.

At this point, the importance of tourism was recognised by the Chamber, which helped establish the Tourist Information Centre, and passed to that organisation the responsibility for producing the guide that has now become Hello Kingsbridge and South Devon.

Today, the Chamber represents the business communities of Kingsbridge, Salcombe and Modbury, as well as the wider South Hams, and has developed an established presence that allows it to speak with an increasingly authoritative voice for all its members.