Despite only one person volunteering to join the Dartmouth and District Chamber of Trade’s committee, the town has spoken out in support of the organisation.

At the chamber’s extraordinary general meeting last week, Paul Reach, a former chamber chairman, volunteered to become a committee member – but no one else did.

At the chamber’s first meeting in over a year, the proposal to cancel the chamber’s limited company status was rejected.

Outgoing chairman Dave Cawley, who put forward the proposal, had earlier told members at the meeting in the Guildhall that the chamber had been receiving tax bills and fines.

Mr Reach has since said: “ I will now try to talk directly with business owners in Dartmouth to find out if they have the appetite for resurrecting the chamber again.

“Over the next few weeks, I will try to pull together those people who believe in the importance of the chamber and are willing to give a little of their time to making it work again.

“Dartmouth is going through a difficult economic period.

“Businesses have limited representation on the town council, which seems to display little understanding of the challenges businesses face in Dartmouth, or of the impact the economic decline would have on the whole community, not just the businesses.”

Mr Reach said the recommendation to increase parking charges in Mayors Avenue was an “illustration of this”.

“We need to understand that a declining footfall makes it easier for the authorities to close down services, like our cottage hospital, and the banks to close their branches due to a lack of demand.

“We need a vibrant business community in this town, we need a strong chamber to represent their views in important decision making processes, we need to re-establish the Dartmouth Chamber of Trade now and give our businesses a strong voice in influencing Dartmouth’s future direction.”

Dartmouth Visitor Centre manager Karen Perrow said: “The presence of a business group in the town is essential to the future growth and prosperity of Dartmouth.

“With the ever-changing face of retail and communication, perhaps this role is even more important than it ever was.

“The visitor centre believes in working with all groups and organisations in Dartmouth and looks forward to building stronger links with the chamber of trade for the benefit of all who live and work here, as well as tourists.”

County and district councillor Jonathan Hawkins said an active chamber is “very important” to a small town and district like Dartmouth.

“I was unable to attend the EGM last week, but would do all I can to support one. It is essential to work with all other organisations, like the town council and the visitor centre.”

Harbour master Mark Cooper has to asked the chamber for improved communication, specifically around commercial feedback on its activities. A spokesman said: “It is important that Dart Harbour is able to access the effectiveness of its investment on local business.

“In order to assess and prioritise investment the harbour authority utilises informed feedback from organisation such as chambers of trade and its other stakeholder groups.

Dart Harbour is a trust port which is a non-profit statutory body led by an independent board which operates in a commercial way while being accountable to stakeholders. 

Dart Harbour stakeholders include leisure and commercial river users and the communities around the river. 

The ‘not for profit’ part means that the authority is able to generate sufficient income to meet the running costs of the river and then invest in other areas that benefit our stakeholders, this includes capital investment to keep facilities safe and activity to attract river users and tourists to the harbour. In addition to spending on facilities and equipment, Dart Harbour also uses resources to secure the long-term future of the river, this includes investment in the environment and activities that help the communities around the river to thrive. 

The town council was asked to comment but at the time of going to press had not responded.