Meet Our President

During my time at the Chamber there have been a number of major events such as the financial crash of the 2008 , Brexit, Covid in 2019 and more recently the war in Ukraine amongst many others, the fall-out from all of which, at the time, caused economic uncertainty and presented major challenges to businesses globally, nationally and of course locally here in South Cheshire.

At the moment all eyes are on the United States and the extensive Tariffs that have been unleashed by President Trump in an attempt to stabilise and grow the American economy.

Let us hope that by the time this article is published, there has been some moderation in the tariff situation and that a favourable Trade Deal has been agreed between the UK and the USA which, at the very least would go some way towards easing some of the pressures that businesses are feeling, particularly those involved in exporting.

In the meantime, Businesses in the UK are beginning to come to terms with the reality of the various measures introduced in last years budget which have recently come into effect.

The headlines, of course are the increase in Employers National Insurance and the increase in the minimum wage and it will be interesting to see the knock-on effect of these two measures on jobs and investment.

However it is not just these two cost increases that businesses are facing and there are a number of other areas which have been much less publicised and for some may have gone under the radar. For example, there has been a significant increase in water rates and also for those in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors there is a large increase in business rates.

I am aware of this from my association with Nantwich Town Football Club where our business rates have nearly doubled because the business rate relief for this year has been reduced from 75% to 40% for this sector.

These are just a few examples of the challenges that the Chamber understands that our  members are facing and we are gearing up our services to give help and support wherever we can.

I have repeatedly said that one of the great characteristics of the South Cheshire business community is its resilience and ability to adapt and overcome the various challenges that it is confronted with. I would not expect it to be any different this time and I am sure that we will once again see the evidence of this at our Annual Business Awards later in the year.

Meanwhile on the local political front Cheshire and Warrington have been confirmed as part of the Governments devolution priority programme.

This means that the regions outline plans to set up a Combined Authority and hold Mayoral elections in May 2026 have been accepted in principle by Government.

In readiness to respond to these new arrangements, discussions have already started, under the auspices of our recently formed company, the South and North Cheshire Chamber of Commerce about how we can enhance and improve the role of our Business Council by combining the strength the South Cheshire and Macclesfield business communities as a strong voice and advocate for our local economy.

It is important that there is proper opportunity for the business voice to be heard at the highest possible level and therefore these  discussions will continue over the coming months and we will keep you informed of progress.

- Extract from South Cheshire Chamber Business magazine Q1 2025. Read it here.