City needs a louder voice to move forward

Stephen Wright, who is due to be inaugurated as the new president today, warned the city was in danger of losing its voice and added that regenerating the city centre would boost morale.

For years the empty building site of the Westfield shopping development has been an unsightly crater in the centre of Bradford and a visual reminder of the impact of the economic downturn. But earlier this month Westfield revealed that it is planning to kickstart the scheme again by submitting revised plans for the Broadway site.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Post, Mr Wright said a key focus of his new role was to make sure the chamber was at the forefront of promoting Bradford as a good place to do business. “We need to make sure Bradford gets its voice heard,” he said. “Particularly with the local enterprise partnership, there are opportunities for Bradford to be making itself heard an awful lot more.

“We will be talking to people in local government, people at the local enterprise partnership organisations and our local MPs. Bradfordians have got to help themselves and sometimes that doesn’t happen. There is negative talk within Bradford and we need to talk more positively amongst ourselves and use that to move forward.”

He added: “Sorting out the city centre would be a good start as it’s such a big talking point. In reality, for the majority of businesses, it is about making the overall city a better place to work. Sorting out the city centre will sort out a lot of the morale issues but we have to recognise that it is more than just the city centre. A lot of things have to come together to create the right structure for business and generate income.”

Mr Wright said he was impressed at Westfield’s revised plan for the shopping centre as well as other commercial developments, including City Park as well as a number of new hotels in the city. “Building hotels is a sign of confidence in Bradford and shows that there is a market for people coming to stay in the city for both business and leisure,” he said.

Mr Wright is managing director of Thorite – the Bradford-based compressed air products and processes company which has helped to produce spectacular explosions and special effects on soap operas and TV dramas.

Last week, the British Chambers of Commerce warned the UK economy is recovering too slowly and more support needs to be provided for private sector firms. The group’s survey for April to June was more positive than the previous three months, but the BCC said that the UK economy was “fragile”.

However, another survey by BDO suggested confidence among UK manufacturing firms had fallen to its lowest level in two years due to weak demand domestically and from overseas.

Mr Wright said he hadn’t seen evidence of falling confidence in Bradford’s manufacturing sector, including his own company. “Things are as good as they have been for the last three or four years,” he said. “Some people in the manufacturing sectors are doing well, others are lagging behind.

“People linked to construction still have issues. Food businesses and general manufacturing seem to be having a good time at the moment.”

He remained sceptical about the impact of the local enterprise partnerships (LEPs), which have been set up to replace regional development agencies. “The LEPs, whilst full of good intentions don’t have the resources to deliver. Their role will be a largely influencing one,” he said.

He added: “I think we are in a multi-speed economy at the moment. Manufacturing is moving quite quickly but the service sector is in the doldrums and who knows what construction is doing. It is still a slow recovery. There’s not going to be a sudden take-off. The chamber has got to be there to promote growth and to network.

“The chamber has created lots of different schemes to help businesses. It’s important that the chamber keeps on innovating.”

Thorite to launch online service

Thorite is developing a new website where customers can buy products and track their orders online.

The Bradford-based compressed air products and processes company, which has a £10.5m turnover, is developing the site, which will be launched later this year, as part of a £250,000 investment in its business systems.

Managing director Stephen Wright said: “I’m hoping it will help to cement relationships with customers and provide an additional service.”

Thorite can trace its roots back to 1850 when Mr Wright’s great-great-grandfather Thomas Wright set up a mill furnishing business, which supplied accessories to the textile trade.