Local firms heading into summer in good spirits

Members recently met up for one of our regular in person meetings and as usual it was great to get together, to chat about how businesses are doing and to have a sociable evening out. Making friendships and getting to know people on a personal level is just as important as discussing serious issues of concern, such as the impact of bad debts on small businesses.

This time we touched on the subject of the forthcoming election, updating members on boundary changes which means that our constituency of North East Somerset has now been combined with Hanham, with some of the old area now coming within the Frome constituency. It remains to be seen what effect the change has on the outcome.

Our membership continues to remain strong and we were pleased to welcome a new member, a firm of solicitors actually based in Wiltshire, but which does a lot of their work in the Chew Valley.

Overall there continues to be an upbeat view of the current local economic climate across a range of sectors and it was clear that our area remains a magnet for people.

For example, there is high demand for both business space and houses, whilst customer confidence is growing with plenty of orders coming in.

We usually hear about something unexpected in our meetings and this one was no exception. One member who runs a bed and breakfast said they traditionally relied for much of their business from weekend tourists but were now finding a new market of mid-week occupants who were working in the area – an interesting new trend.

Members had previously agreed to spend some of the Chamber’s reserves on activity which would both promote individual member businesses but also draw attention to the wide range of economic activity within the Chew Valley.

So be sure to look out for our leaflet later in the year. It will include a map showing where members’ businesses are along with a short summary of their services, giving you every chance of buying local and supporting the Valley’s economy.

If you would like to find out more about Chew Valley Chamber of Commerce have a look at our website: www.chewvalleychamber.co.uk