Leeds Chamber President addresses 250 strong business audience
Leeds Chamber of Commerce welcomed over 250 business leaders and VIPs at their Annual Lunch today at the Queens Hotel.The audience was addressed by Leeds Chamber President, Gerald Jennings and guest speaker, Richard Sears, head of communications at Yorkshire Water.
In his first Annual Lunch presentation, Gerald provided a review of the Chamber’s achievements in the last 12 months and some of the Chamber’s policy and representation work in the region. Gerald took over the reigns as president earlier this year from Nigel Foster of Fore Consulting who held the post for four years.
Richard discussed how Yorkshire Water is ‘taking responsibility for the water environment for good’ and their wider CSR work.He also outlined their challenges as the water market opens up and competition increases and what this will mean for business.
Leeds Chamber is part of the West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.
Gerald Jennings, Leeds Chamber President said:
“Welcome to this my first annual lunch as your president. Before introducing Richard Sears I would like to take a moment to share news on what the Chamber has been doing on your behalf.
You may have seen some of the stats on the rolling presentation over lunch and contained within the achievements document but to restate the impact your Chamber has had on the local and national economy I thought I would mention some of the more startling facts.
Did you know that over the last year we have
- Facilitated exports worth £22.5 BILLION through our international trade team
- Business Enterprise Finance, the Chamber’s finance company, have lent £5.6 MILLION to businesses in our region
- Our advisers have helped to start 405 new businesses creating an additional 200 new jobs
- Delivered events attended by over 7,100 people
POLICY
We continue to represent your interests with policy makers and have played an active (if occasionally behind the scenes) role in the key discussions taking place, ensuring that the voice of the business community is heard loudly.
DEVOLUTION
In February we published the Chamber’s -Manifesto for Growth, setting out the ‘asks’ of business in the devolution debate. The document deliberately focused on ‘outcomes’ rather than ‘process’, - asking for greater control of funding for skills, infrastructure and business support and importantly the control over the levers of power which in turn will enable us to be the masters of our own destiny.
BID
In April we saw the creation of the Leeds Business Improvement District, a project which was nearly two years in the making and led by the Chamber with exceptional support from Leeds City Council and the wider business community. Following the successful ballot in February we now have a fund of £12.5 MILLION to spend over 5 years on investment into Leeds City Centre. This is new money to spend on priorities which will enhance the city centre and make it a better place to do business.
UTC
In response to skills challenges faced by our manufacturing members, the Chamber has been a key player in the development of the Leeds University Technical College. This new establishment on Hunslet Road will bring 600much needed additional school places to the region. Focusing on technical disciplines it will help support engineering and manufacturing companies. A side benefit has been new business opportunities picked up by members of the Chamber.
QES
The Chamber continues to monitor the health of the region’s economy and our Quarterly Economic Survey remains one of the most accurate barometers of activity. It was the first survey to predict the recession in 2008; it was also the first to predict recovery and continues to provide a regular finger on the pulse. If you don’t complete the survey then I would strongly encourage you to do so as the Chamber makes full use, both locally and nationally in order to influence policy makers and get things done.
HS2
My final comment is about the most significant project this city is likely to see in a hundred years. Even the shyest of hermits could not have failed to hear mention of HS2 and the Leeds Chamber has been a longstanding supporter.
HS2 will bring much needed additional capacity to the national rail network; just as importantly it will improve connectivity between the major cities of the north and midlands. Key to this will be integration between existing classic rail and the proposed high speed rail networks of HS2 (north-south) and HS3 (east-west) and this is why the location of the HS2 station in Leeds City Centre is so important.
The original plans for Leeds envisage a separate, terminating station to be located ¼ mile from the existing station, on the south side of the River Aire.
Working with members the Chamber has put together proposals to rethink these plans, making the case for an enhanced, improved and redeveloped station located on the site of the existing station.
We must show ambition and not pursue options because they are easy
With proposed high speed lines across the north and improvements to regional rail connectivity, seamless integration at Leeds will put the city at the heart of a £300BILLION economy stretching from Newcastle to Birmingham and from Liverpool to Hull.
This has to be a prize worth pursuing
The document has been widely circulated to key policy makers, local and national, and to date has been well received, (especially by Rail Monthly!).
A copy is available here today and I would urge you to read and get behind the proposals.
We will continue to bang the drum to ensure Leeds gets a station befitting one of the largest commercial centres in the country.
CLOSE
We could not have done all of the activity I have talked about without the help and active participation of members and I am grateful for your continued support through membership subscriptions, but do you simply want to be a passenger or would you prefer to be in the driving seat?
I would like to acknowledge the support of those members who have taken a leadership role and stepped up to share their knowledge, passion and influence for the greater good. But there is always room for more to get involved.
This is your Chamber and you set our policy agenda, if you feel there are issues we should be tackling then get in touch.
In making the case for the initiatives mentioned we help everyone in this room. Your businesses will benefit from the work of the Chamber.
Connecting - Supporting – Representing”
ENDS
For more information contact Kalpna Mistry on t: 0113 247 0000, e:
Notes to editors:
- West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce (WNYCC) is the group formed following the merger of Leeds, York & North Yorkshire Chamber and Bradford Chamber in February 2014.
- WYNYCC is the fifth largest Chamber in the country and our members employ close to a quarter of the working population of the Leeds City Region.
- There are Chamber offices in Leeds, Bradford and York.
- The merged Chambers have maintained their local identities i.e. Leeds Chamber of Commerce, Bradford Chamber of Commerce and York & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce supporting businesses within and across their areas.
- @LeedsChamber @BradfordChamber @YNYChamber @ChamberInt
- Gerald Jennings’ speech is subject to minor amendments.
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