The Chamber is here to help
13 June 2023
Recent developments at Woking Borough Council - The Chamber is here to help
As you would have all seen over recent days Woking Borough Council has issued a Section 114 notice which effectively means only essential spending is allowed plus spending on services it must cover by law.
What does this mean for local businesses?
The Chamber Executive continue to meet with representatives of WBC and talk through the issues that are arising for local businesses. As an executive we are aiming to help our members through these difficult times and WBC will continue to work and support the Chamber Executive to enable/help Woking businesses to prosper and grow.
At our recent Executive meeting the council reported the following:
- The Commissioners understand the issues thoroughly and are focused on the long-term.
- Their report dismisses short-term solutions such as a 'fire sale' of assets that would make the situation worse.
- Though difficult decisions are inevitable commissioners and council leadership are also looking at transformation, invest-to-save and all options that might deliver cost savings whilst delivering comparable outcomes.
- Woking is the fourth safest town in the country, is consistently ranked as one of the best places to live and work, we have a new community of 600 students from Italia Conti and a new and actively engaged owner of the Peacocks in our Town Centre.
So what are the council doing for local businesses?
The council continue to operate Woking Works, although due to spending cuts this has already been scaled back and may have further cuts.
Currently there are 5 drop ins arranged in local villages throughout June and July. The Chamber is endeavouring to support each of these by attending and meeting the businesses.
What else are the Chamber doing?
As mentioned above we are working with WBC but in addition we are working as a team to provide resources and support to members and other local businesses.
To make this readily available we are making changes to our new website. This will include areas for News, Resources, Offers and Events. To make these useful and relevant though we need your help.
Only Chamber members will be able to post items to each of these areas.
Please also use the ‘Contact Us’ area if you have a request, question etc.
The website will also soon have copies of the minutes of our meetings available to be viewed. This will be for our Executive meetings and our subcommittees (Environment, Business Development and Planning Property & Retail). These will hopefully provide useful information for you.
Lastly, we are looking at arranging events in addition to our regular networking on the last Friday of the month. Keep an eye on emails and the Website for details.
If members have events that they want to open up to the Chamber add it to the calendar.
Together we can achieve more so please spend some time looking at my comments above, looking at our website and participating in our events.
Some of the benefits above are only available to members. If you are not a member and want more information, contact us and we will be happy to meet with you.
Going forward
The executive will be continuing to meet and speak with the council over the coming months. We will bring any changes or important matters to your attention so keep an eye open for our messages.
Dave Peet
President of Woking Chamber of Commerce
