A meeting was held in September in order to replace committee members, but no one stood up to take their place. 

Secretary Ovie Taylor said a lack of vision had been a major factor. 

“It seems that most businesses are more interested in just surviving really, I think there is not a great deal of enthusiasm and passion in the business community area, everybody seems content to do their own thing,” he said.

“There is very little desire to interact between groups of people of association.” 

He said the chamber was set up 10 years ago following the historical Beaconsfield mine disaster in an attempt to unite the business community.  

Mr Taylor said the chamber was down to 20 members in the last financial year, but since that time participants had more than halved. 

“An association like this needs a dynamic leadership and we’ve had difficulty in getting a president who was dynamic, energetic and creative.”

He said about $5000 in accumulated funds would be distributed to organisations, with the Beacon Foundation and the Beaconsfield Child and Family Centre nominated.

Committee member and West Tamar Council deputy mayor Joy Allen said she believed businesses saw the chamber of commerce as unnecessary. 

“I think that with websites these days and you’ve got the business employment centre...I don’t think it will affect businesses in any way,” she said.

“It was more a mentoring program.”  

Vice-president and Tamar River Retreat owner Ian Stewart said two presidents and several committee members had resigned in the past year. 

In an appeal to hundreds of businesses in the area, Mr Taylor said in an email the chamber had helped the region by promoting tourism through economic workshops and discussion groups.

Mr Taylor said the Department of Justice would dissolve the chamber over the next 30 days.