Flying the flag for local business

Bath and North East Somerset spans a wide range of business interests and it is inevitable the big City will get most of the attention as it is the main economic driver. However, rural areas like the Chew Valley make an important contribution through the variety of firms who operate here.

The Chamber of Commerce regularly makes that point so that our members are not forgotten. That’s why we wasted no time inviting the new Cabinet member responsible for Economic Development to our next meeting. Councillor Paul Roper was appointed to his post after the election in May and is currently fact finding as he gets to grips with his very important new portfolio.

The session will be a great opportunity to hear about his ideas and the approach he will be taking to his new task, whilst for us, it will be a chance to help him fully understand how vibrant and successful our companies are despite the challenges they regularly face and what assistance they would most like to see from the Council.

Just look at the last few years when our members had to use all their imagination and stamina to work through the Pandemic and then more recently have had to cope with the impact that the cost of living crisis has caused. It is to be hoped that we may have reached close to the peak of interest rates and the energy cap is shortly to come down a little so that will help.

Of course, there are always issues for business to deal with and recently we seem to have experienced an unusual number of road closures as essential works are having to be done during the school holidays.

The problem for some members is that temporary diversions can be quite awkward for customers, especially if they don’t know their way around the Valley. We have heard that some businesses have been affected, particularly due to the lengthy closure of the road near the Chew Magna Cricket Club, but hopefully it will all be worth it when the winter rains come and there is no flooding. Whatever happens I am confident our businesses will keep their heads above water !

If you would like to find out more about our Chamber of Commerce please visit chewvalleychamber.co.uk