Dear All
Can we reflect on 2009? A difficult year overall, but Wandsworth businesses have managed to ride the recession well. Small businesses particularly have been able to react quicker to the changing times, becoming leaner and more efficient.
One area that we have all worked harder at is networking and communicating with each other. We have worked very closely with the Council on a series of credit crunch seminars over the last year, which have been very instrumental in getting businesses to work more closely together. This year we must continue to network and engage all our business energies together to share:
- business opportunities
- market information
- ideas
- future visions.
By doing all this we can help each other get through these difficult times.
I ask you all to each set a new year’s resolution, to get out and link up with other chamber members and help stimulate each others businesses. It is lonely out there as a small business and it does make sense to take advantage of business co-operation that the chamber of commerce offers.
It brings out the saying 'united we stand, divided we fall.'
There are some very positive things happening in the borough. There is the move of the American Embassy to East Battersea and also the proposed development of the Covent Garden Market site in that area. And there are the potential plans for a pedestrian bridge over the river Thames and the extension of the Northern line to Clapham Junction, that will connect the borough on a quick route to the city, St Pancras and beyond to Europe. This alone will make the borough a more desirable place to live and work.
These are the good things that will be happening, and even the Power Station site is slowly but surely going through for a planning permission on its modified designs and maybe we will have some good news on that in middle of this year!
East Battersea is going to be the "happening" part of the borough, and will possibly be seen as the sixth township in Wandsworth. The whole of the borough will benefit from this growth in terms of work and jobs.
This year we are looking to have some interesting event locations; lunch at Covent Garden Market in January, lunch at the Battersea Arts Centre in February and a Spring cruise on the River are being planned. See our web site for more details.
The chamber is here to help you grow. Please make sure that you get the best possible growth out of your chamber in 2010.
Chris Wyatt
Chairman