IT was a great honour to be elected as President of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce last year. I am deeply passionate about this city, its businesses and, above all, its people.

When we gathered for our annual Chamber dinner last year, I said how glad we all felt to be back to normal after the isolation and chaos of the pandemic. That night we were all hoping for a calm 2022.

Well things didn’t quite go to plan did they! With ‘permacrisis’ now in the dictionary, we can’t ignore the challenges we face. This year has brought us war in Europe, the passing of Her Late Majesty the Queen and three prime ministers, as well as unprecedented rises in the cost of doing business.

Things haven’t been easy. But if we allow ourselves to succumb to ‘crisis fatigue’, we will talk ourselves into further decline. Bradford is a proud, resilient city. Its people and its business leaders will ensure that we come out of this period of uncertainty better and stronger than ever. Bradford Chamber will do all it can to support businesses during these difficult times.

Despite the turmoil, we have so much to look forward to. This year we learned that Bradford will be UK City of Culture for 2025. We took on and defeated a shortlist of four other regions and, thanks to the outstanding work of those behind the bid, and the work of businesses, we now have an outstanding opportunity to show off our fantastic city on a national and international stage. We, as a Chamber, supported the bid from its inception as a partner, and stand ready to help in any way we can to make sure City of Culture provides the springboard to take Bradford to the next level. Bradford is blessed with a passionate, diverse and young population. City of Culture will celebrate this on a grand scale and gives us the opportunity to demonstrate what we have to offer.

Bradford Telegraph and Argus: Joyful scenes when it was announced that Bradford was UK City of Culture 2025Joyful scenes when it was announced that Bradford was UK City of Culture 2025 (Image: Mike Simmonds, Newsquest)

We are not without challenges in Bradford.Transport remains a challenge. We had been promised something of a silver bullet in the shape of Northern Powerhouse Rail. This transformational scheme can do away with our two rather tired stations and replace them with a state-of-the-art facility bringing high speed trains from Manchester and Leeds to Bradford. This would do away with our connectivity issues, create tens of thousands of jobs and add billions to our region’s economy. Government support has proved lacking, despite it being a scheme promised to us by Whitehall. Just last week we were told by the Chancellor that the same watered-down version of NPR we were offered last year is still all we’re getting. And HS2 is still not coming to Yorkshire. As a Chamber, we continue to make the case fiercely for our city to have what other parts of the country benefit from and will continue to bang the drum, as we did during our trip in June to Westminster meet with then Chancellor, Rishi Sunak, to ensure that Bradford and Yorkshire more widely, are treated with the same respect as London. If this Government wishes to finally be seen as being serious on levelling up, this is the best manner in which it could demonstrate this.

Bradford is a city built on manufacturing and continues to be a major player when it comes to producing quality goods.

We have just finished Bradford Manufacturing Weeks, a Chamber programme connecting business to young people.

Over the past five years, this initiative has reached over 17,000 students and achieved very tangible outcomes. With Bradford Tech Week, led by Bradford Chamber vice president Mark Cowgill, we were able to look at bringing more young people into this exciting programme and help futureproof further industry sectors.

In September we announced that we as a Chamber will lead the development and delivery of two Local Skills Improvement Plans for the sub-region. With skills shortages frequently at the top of the list of issues cited by local businesses, LSIPs will be a crucial means of putting the voice of local employers at the centre of the learning and skills system to build a stronger partnership between employers and further education providers.

Bradford has seen its fair share of regeneration in recent years. News that the Kirkgate Centre is to be demolished and replaced with green spaces, housing and commercial space, along with the plan to replace the old NCP car park on Hall Ings will mean new life is breathed into the city centre, continuing this regeneration journey.

Similarly, the exciting plan to transform Odsal Stadium into a state-of-the-art sports and entertainment venue would create one of the largest arenas in the country with a permanent roof and could see world-class performers and sport stars in Bradford. We at the Chamber welcome all of these developments with open arms and look forward to further putting Bradford on the map as a major UK city.

Our Raising the Bar initiative has championed the outstanding work business does for communities and the environment, our awards for this take place tomorrow. And earlier this month it was fantastic King Charles III chose Bradford as one of his first official engagements. The welcome he received showed how much the Monarchy means to this city. That the King paid an official visit to Bradford so early in his reign has given the city further confidence and pride.