Didcot Chamber of Commerce president David Hawkins and vice president Chris Notman have swapped places.

David Hawkins hands the chain of office to Chris Norman

Mr Notman, proprietor of Interpart Motor Accessories, lower Broadway, Didcot, was elected president at the annual meeting of the chamber, while Mr Hawkins will continue to play a busy role representing the town's businesses and shopkeepers as vice president.

Mr Notman, 33, of Stanford-in-the-Vale, said that at a time when Didcot was undergoing some of the most important changes in the history of the town, Mr Hawkins had been keen for someone else to share the responsibility for representing the chamber.

Mr Notman warned that the planned £35m Orchard Centre redevelopment, including shops, a cinema and arts centre, meant "some existing shops and businesses could be in for a bumpy ride, and some may even go out of business".

But Mr Notman said: "The redevelopment of Didcot town centre is necessary and long overdue."

He said he was optimistic about the future of the town and hoped that with major changes, including the new town centre and the redevelopment of part of the semi-industrial area Rich's Sidings, further environmental improvements would be carried out in Broadway.

Mr Notman, whose business is situated in lower Broadway, said: "When I see tree planting and newly paved areas closer to the town centre, businesses at the eastern end of the town also expect a face-lift."

The responsibility for improving the appearance of the town lay not only with the local authorities, but with owners of property fronting Broadway.

Mr Notman, who is single, enjoys clay pigeon shooting and motorcycling in his spare time.