CAUTIOUS optimism was the theme of the Annual General Meeting of West & North Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce.

Held at The Great Victoria Hotel in Bradford city centre, the event was attended by  businesses and organisations from throughout the region to reflect upon the challenges and successes of the past year.

Chaired by Amanda Beresford of Schofield Sweeney, the meeting delved into how the Chamber has performed over the past 12 months.

James Mason, chief executive of the WNY Chamber, produced the annual report which discussed Chamber achievements and progress made over the past year.

This report was unanimously adopted by Chamber members and Amanda further noted that, despite recent challenges arising from political upheaval, interest rates and inflation, “optimism levels remain higher in Yorkshire than the national average and businesses are showing little sign of looking to reduce head counts.”

In the meeting, 16 individuals nominated by local representative groups were appointed as non-executive directors of the West & North Yorkshire Chamber.

These individuals included Amanda and James, in addition to Laurence Beardmore, Chris Black, Mike Briffett, Aquila Choudhry, Mark Cowgill, Sarah Czarnecki, Rebecca Fitzgerald, Kerry Hope, Scott Jenkins, Nasreen Karim, Dan Murray, Craig Thomson, Victoria Wainwright and Suzanne Watson.

Following the AGM, a lunch was held in the dining room of the Great Victoria Hotel.