A Brief History
Background
Early in 2006, the magazine founder Mark Wall was looking for a new direction. With a back ground in Corporate Training focused on Leadership, Innovation and Change, Mark was seeking to work a little closer to home, reduce the number of days travelling and generally slow the pace of life. He was seeking to apply his skills to the local business community. Mark soon realised that the local small and medium enterprises were not able to provide the volume and depth of contracts needed.
Ideation
Serendipity acts in strange ways. Mark’s daughter, Erin, had attended Dartford Grammar School prior to heading off to Nottingham University. On a return visit to home, in March 2006, Erin asked Mark to drive her to a pub in Darford so she could catch up with old school chums.
Not having been to Dartford in many years Mark was shocked by what he saw, a town on the decline, closed and bordered up shops that more resembled a war torn city than the vibrant business district he remembered. The conclusion was that the Blue Water Shopping Centre had eroded the attraction of the area. Mark thought - the same could happen to my high street.
This thought along with the knowledge that Eltham had lost some of its local pride in the shadow of the media glare bought about by the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993 and the Macpherson Report into police action (or lack of it). In 2006, 13 years after the murder, Eltham - in general - was considered racists by many, while clearly for the majority of people living in Eltham this was not the truth. Like any part of London, Eltham had its unsavoury fringes and was no better or worse than most of London.
Mark began to form an idea that would both help small businesses survive in difficult times by encouraging people to use local businesses and help the people of Eltham to reclaim pride in their town, promote a message of understanding and tolerance while seeking out the good in the community.
In April 2006, Mark decided to publish a small newsletter, not as business but as a community exercise.
Meeting
The first idea was a small parish style newsletter promoting business and community. This evolved into an idea of a small A5 publication, Mark moved forward in this idea.
About the same time the Eltham Town Centre Partnership (ETCP) was finding its feet, as was the new Town Centre Manager (TCM). Mark approached the Town Centre Manager who, at that time, showed little interest in the idea. Mark discovered later that the TCM had resigned the position, hence the lack of interest. However from those early interactions Mark was invited to join the board of the ETCP.
Eltham Traders
In the preamble to the publication of the first magazine, Mark began to visit the small and medium businesses in the town, introducing himself and the idea. Most businesses were interested, but not enough to commit. However these meetings with businesses revealed that the Eltham Traders Association was inactive and had virtually closed for business some 2 years before. Mark believed that the businesses in Eltham needed to join and to have a common voice to promote the town centre. However the old ‘guard’ of the traders association saw no benefit in reviving it and were not interested and in addition declined to release the name. Determined to proceed, the Association for Commerce Eltham was established.
 Ready, Set, Go ....
By October 2006 much work had been done in establishing the operating guidelines, vision and mission for the magazine and in December 2006 issue number one, with 24 pages and a print run of 3000 copies was circulated. There were a number of business that were brave enough to put faith in the idea, most are still advertising today.
The Beginning
There were a few individuals that also helped the magazine get off the ground in the early months. Mark’s family stand out - wife and daughters - who not only supported the idea but pitched in and walked up and down the streets of Eltham to deliver the magazine each month until it grew to be able to afford to pay people to do this important task. John Webb was there, with Mark, from day one. His guidance and continuing assistance has been critical in the development of the quality of the articles that appear in the magazine. Local businessman Bryn McNeil was also at the forefront in suggesting ideas and promoting the magazine to businesses. Also a new Town Centre Manager, Alison Harris, had been appointed. Alison was very supportive of the efforts to develop a local magazine.
In November 2007, a man named Marek Kolodziel, a professional graphic designer contacted Mark and offered his assistance. His expertise lead to a changes in the the magazine and laid the foundationion to the current design and layout.
And there were volunteer writers who have selflessly given their time and expertise. There has been a steady core group and others that have come and gone over the years. A few stand out as worthy of special recognition. Jane Webb who has appeared in every issue. John Kennett who’s Historic Eltham stories have help provide the magazine with maturity and credibility. And the hundreds of people that have contributed stories and pictures over the years. -A list of the current team can be see with this link-
Growth
The magazine has continued to grow from those first shaky steps. It has increased it page count and circulation in steady steps without losing any of its appeal as a magazine dedicated to the community. It has continued to improve with each edition and now has a circulation of 11,000 copies of 40 pages (Jan 2011)
Future
The long term aim is to create a legacy that is a community owned asset, that not only serves the community but is owned by it.
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