THE NEW leader of Bridport Business Chamber wants to increase membership to give the group a 'bigger collective voice'.

Richard Smith of OS Telecom took over the reins last month, following former president Tim Hunt stepping aside. The new president outlined his priorities for the coming year to members at a networking event last week.

Mr Smith's focuses include launching a 'Better Together' campaign, along with improved marketing to increase membership, organising additional events and supporting new businesses through skills training and funding.

"When I joined, there was an interesting mix of businesses in the chamber" said Mr Smith. "But very little seemed to be happening.

"My main focus for this year is to launch the Better Together campaign. I have seen there has been quite a lot of division within Bridport town itself - but also in places like West Bay and some of the surrounding villages and towns.

"What I want to do this year is focus very much on starting to bring people back in together. I've been starting to meet with local businesses - and what I want us to do is to see the value of having a bigger collective voice."

"For us to be effective as a chamber, particularly in shaping local policy, for us to have the power and ability to really influence those changes, we need to have a bigger collective voice."

Mr Smith also believes that members need to have more confidence in the benefits of being part of Bridport Business Chamber - while he will look to work alongside other organisations, to ensure local firms do not miss out on opportunities to have their say.

Larger employers in the town will also be encouraged to get involved with the chamber.

"I also want to work more closely with other groups - whether it's the FSB (Federation of Small Businesses), whether it's other training providers or local authorities" added Mr Smith.

"We already have a decent relationship with the local town council and they have also agreed to create a market and business liaison committee.

"We have been invited to a South and West Dorset Business Forum - and we will be doing much more over the coming months to get opinions from our members and other local chambers to help shape policy at a higher level. The more opinions we get, the better we can shape those policies."

For more information or to become a member of Bridport Business Chamber, visit bridportbusiness.org.uk