Partner Article

Members save Newcastle Business Forums

The members of the Newcastle Business Forums have unanimously voted to save the organization, which was facing closure due to council cuts.

Newcastle Business Forums provide local businesses with vital advice and support, which also giving them a platform to raise issues directly with the City Council.

However, cuts to Newcastle City Council budgets had placed the future of the Forums under threat.

Area chairmen fought to same the critical business resource, and at a meeting earlier this week, members voted unanimously to form a new unincorporated organization.

Sheila Walker, chairman of the Newcastle North West are committee said: “We couldn’t let 10 years of work and development, particularly in disadvantaged areas of the city, disappear without a determined effort to find a mutually beneficial arrangement with the City Council which has funded the project for so long.”

The Council will continue to support the work of the new voluntary organization, which will now continue to play a role in supporting the Newcastle economy.

Cllr Michael Johnson, deputy cabinet minister for Skills Business and Enterprise added: “It’s encouraging to see the city’s business community working together and contributing their services on a voluntary basis to maintain the Newcastle Business Forums.

“I am confident that they will continue to play a role in strengthening the local economy, which the Council has identified as a priority.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .