BUSINESSES in York and North Yorkshire can tap into specialist support after West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce cut its membership fee.

Firms with up to 50 employees can now benefit from the Chamber’s expertise after it was able to reduce the cost of annual membership by 75 per cent thanks to funds from the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

The funding was delivered by the West Yorkshire Combined Authority through the Leeds City Region Growth Deal, a £1billion package of Government investment to accelerate growth and create jobs across Leeds City Region.

West and North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is one of the biggest in the UK and combines York, North Yorkshire, Bradford and Leeds Chambers. It specialises in helping businesses with growth, advice and business management.

It’s 2,000 strong, cross-sector membership base includes business start-ups, sole traders and multi-million pound turnover manufacturers.

Sandy Needham, chief executive, said: “Chambers of Commerce in our region have been supporting businesses of all sizes for almost 200 years and the pressures and challenges of running any enterprise through a global pandemic is something new to us all and better managed as a collective than in isolation.

“Because mutual support and collaboration is crucial for many businesses to survive, we are absolutely delighted to have received funding which, at this critical moment in time, makes our Chamber’s expertise and resources even more accessible to the businesses who need it.

"This year has been tough for everyone, but funding such as this will help move our region forward by supporting those responsible for the health of our local economy.”

Andrew Wright, Chair of the LEP Business Innovation and Growth Panel, said: “It’s great to see our partnership with the West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce to provide additional support to local businesses across West and North Yorkshire.

“The WNYC can provide vital support to its members that will be greatly beneficial during these unprecedented times, and I’d encourage businesses to take advantage of the offer.”

For details on the criteria for qualifying visit www.wnychamber.co.uk/growth-deal/ where you can also join online using voucher code MOVINGFORWARD