THE BT community team dropped in to Alton and caught up with the then mayor Dean Phillips, who thanked them for their work in helping to smarten up the entrance to the town.

As instructed by the town team, Alton’s business development manager Julie McLatch had spoken to BT Openreach building services, about clearing up the area around the Edward VIII telephone exchange building on the junction of Anstey Road and Station Road, in a bid to improve the appearance of the entrance to the town and railway station.

It was suggested to BT that it would be nice to see the installation of planters, for the windowsills to be painted, and the area to be generally tied up as part of a wider project, being undertaken to improve the appearance of the town.

Formed as part of the Town and District Council’s Economic Development Programme, according to Julie McLatch, Alton’s Town team is business led and is designed “to bring all the main business and residential groups together.”

It includes members of Alton Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Alton Matters, The Alton Society, Alton & District Residents’ Association, Alton Town Council and East Hampshire District Council, town and district councils, along with representatives of local businesses.

Ms McLatch said: “The town team’s primary aims are to help promote the town to visitors and new businesses, to encourage a positive visitor experience, and to help provide an attractive environment.”

Projects undertaken by the town team include monitoring the street scene and suggesting improvements - which has resulted in Bakers Alley being cleared by the commercial landlord and the BT Exchange being tidied up; suggesting signage improvements through the town; considering ways to encourage tourists into Alton (including improvements to its online presence); assessing the impact of parking charges on local businesses; and formulating a business survey to find out why businesses choose to locate themselves in Alton and how that information can be used to encourage new businesses to move in.