12th November 2017
Dear Members,
Thank you for your ongoing support this year. You will have seen, from the monthly newsletters, the activities we have been involved in and the events we have held, that the Chamber continues to add real value to the local business community.
I wanted to bring to your attention three key areas that your £50 a year has helped to deliver.
- We recently geared up our business rates campaign, with a two-page spread in the Daily Mail, the Welwyn and Hatfield Times and national coverage with BBC drive-time radio. The purpose was to address the completely unjust treatment of local businesses by the local council, both in terms of rents and consequently business rates. The upshot has been that across the country, those businesses who were unfairly affected by the small business rates regulations, many of whom were seeing increases from nil to £10,000, have had those increases capped at £50 a month. Our thanks to Grant Shapps who approached Phillip Hammond the Chancellor to get the law changed. This will have saved many established family businesses across the land. We could not have done it with you.
- Following our “Barriers to Growth Survey” which identified the areas that are holding back businesses, we have launched The Chamber Growth Club. With the help of Lloyds Bank, Longmores Solicitors and Michael Longshaw at Brocket Hall, we have appointed 10 trusted Ambassadors with the range of skills to help you and your staff have cost-effective access to real business people, who know how to help you with your current issues. Please go to the Chamber website under the Join the Chamber tab, or contact me on nick@welhatchamber.co.uk and I will send you a video link.
- On the subject of videos, we are also producing a range of video guides, aimed at helping you think through those areas that you go to sleep and wake up thinking about. From marketing to HR we are developing free video based help guides. Have a look at the Shop on the Chamber Website, in the video section. Again if you would like to make some similar videos for your business, we can show you how to do it.
As Christmas approaches, I wish you and your families a well-deserved rest, time together and all the very best for 2018. If you would like to celebrate with us, please come to our Waitrose Christmas event on 29th November.
Kind regards
Nick Brown – Chairman
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