The chamber has announced the dates for its first monthly networking meetings of 2015, and a hustings event due to be held at 6pm on Wednesday 18 March, at Shrewsbury College’s Clayton Hall.
With an imminent general election in mind the hustings will ensure that local businesses, large and small, will get the unique opportunity to ask all four parliamentary candidates for Shrewsbury & Atcham how they propose to support the economy in both the constituency and the wider Shropshire area.
The Shrewsbury & Atcham parliamentary candidates already confirmed to take part are Dr Laura Davies (Labour), Suzanne Evans (Deputy Chairman of UKIP), Daniel Kawczynski (current MP, Conservative) and Christine Tinker (Liberal Democrat). Members of the Chamber will have a chance to put forward their questions just before the event.
“We’re very excited about this opportunity for local businesses to talk to all of the town’s parliamentary candidates before May’s general election,” said Kevin Lockwood, Deputy Chairman of Shrewsbury Business Chamber and Manager of Shrewsbury Shopping Centres. “Our networking evenings have attracted an ever-increasing number of attendees, with our membership boosted as a result.”
The Chamber’s first networking meeting of the year, meanwhile, will take place at Origins Restaurant, London Road, Shrewsbury at 6pm on 21 January, where the theme is the work of the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). Graham Wynn OBE will talk about the LEP, which works closely with Herefordshire Council, Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council, as well as Chambers of Commerce and other LEPs, to maximise opportunities for Marches’ businesses.
The theme for the next meeting, to be held on Wednesday 18 February, also at Origins, will be ‘The Strategy for Shrewsbury Transport’, featuring presentations from Shropshire Council’s Cllr Claire Wild and Chris Edwards.
Attendees at all events must complete registration, currently free, via the Chamber’s website www.shrewsburybusiness.com/events, or by contacting Val Povall on 01939 236001 or e-mailing valpovall@trebles.free-online.co.uk
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