Chamber expansion and new membership model
West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce is set for expansion, taking on the whole of West Yorkshire to become one of the largest chambers in the country.
Currently serving Bradford, Leeds and York and North Yorkshire, the chamber will now be recruiting and supporting members from the Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale areas.
The expansion will mean that employers based in these areas will now be able to join the only officially accredited Chamber in West Yorkshire, with members able to access the benefits of being part of the British Chamber of Commerce network, something that gives them a national voice and the ability to influence national policy formation.
The move follows the decision by British Chamber of Commerce to update its regional accreditation, meaning West & North Yorkshire Chamber will now support businesses in the area previously served by the Mid Yorkshire Chamber, which has withdrawn from the accredited network.
New members from the Wakefield, Huddersfield and Halifax regions are able to join the Chamber’s community of more than 2,500 members and gain access the Chamber’s first-class international division to help with their import and export needs, as well as have the opportunity to participate in the Chamber’s hugely successful trade missions to the likes of Saudi Arabia and China.
They can also benefit from the Chamber’s well-regarded events and marketing services and expand their reach and influence via its policy and representation offering.
The news comes as the West & North Yorkshire Chamber also announces a shift in its membership model, giving businesses greater flexibility and choice regarding the many services that the chamber offers its members.
Having previously based its pricing around how many employees a member has, the Chamber will now only charge members for the services they wish to benefit from, whether that is around support with legal, human resources or tax issues, with promotion through our marketing and publishing services, around international trade with assistance on documentation and our import/export helpline or with political and media lobbying through its policy department. These services will now be packaged as ‘bundles’ which individual members can choose from.
Dubbed ‘Choice-Based Membership’ by the Chamber, the model is the only one of its kind in the UK’s Chamber network and has been very well-received by new members who have been triallists. The new system officially goes live on Friday August 1, Yorkshire Day.
James Mason, chief executive of West & North Yorkshire, said: “This summer is going to be a hugely exciting chapter in the Chamber’s history.
“The team is very much looking forward to supporting and representing businesses of all sizes across Wakefield, Kirklees and Calderdale.
“Our new membership model will also offer firms a dynamic and flexible series of packages to suit their needs.
“Times are very challenging for businesses and that is why the work we do to support employers, whether that be with import/export advice, legal counsel, HR assistance or lobbying regional and national government, we are here to help and support you and to champion our region.”
