THE OUTGOING president of York and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce said businesses were growing accustomed to a “new normal” economy.

Speaking at his last Chamber of Commerce annual dinner before his two-year tenure ends in September, Richard Flanagan said: “You may measure your success as simply remaining in business, surviving in difficult times, and if you do then you should not be ashamed.”

He said he had heard a range of stories from businesses which said performance over the last year had been okay, the same as, or slightly better than the previous year, as well as businesses reporting a record year.

He said: “We remain, however, in challenging trading conditions, in what could be described as the ‘new normal’ – something we are all getting used to and something that has shaped the way we now do business.

“Whilst growth in employment has risen by two per cent last year, it is evident that the economy remains relatively flat and we will have to wait another month until quarter one figures tell us whether we have entered into a triple-dip recession for the first time in our history.”

He said the Government needed to take rapid and radical steps, spending in areas that could deliver growth quickly.

About 500 people attended the dinner at York Racecourse, at which Bill Turnbull, presenter on BBC Breakfast, was guest speaker.