Last September John Watson, my predecessor as president of the Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry, referred to Bradford as a surprisingly prosperous place.

Reference was made to Bradfordians only ever admitting to prosperity in retrospect.

This was evidenced by observations at the time of historically adjudged good times - such as 1860 or more recently 1989. At those times the textile magnates and local employers reported that "trading was difficult".

At the time John Watson was penning his 1997 article, my comments on the state of trade in Chamber meetings - voiced from the viewpoint of a textile manufacturer - indicated that "conditions were difficult".

Specifically, reference was made to the then strength of sterling against European currency. The deutschmark had fallen to more than three to the pound, having reduced in value by 30 per cent over the previous 12 months from 2.3 deutschmark to the pound.

This was putting serious pressure on forward contracts since it was not possible to absorb much of the effective 30 per cent increase in prices to European customers.

The main reason for the strength of sterling resulted from the laudable objective of curtailing inflation. However, the simplistic approach of effectively relying on interest rates to achieve this has had a damaging effect on manufacturing industry over the recent past. The effect is now beginning to emerge in the service sector.

This proves how wrong those economists were who claimed that since manufacturing accounts for less than 25 per cent of gross domestic product a slow down in this sector would have limited impact. To ignore the fact that much of the service sector requires UK manufacturing - and the people employed within it - in order to function has been cavalier to say the least.

So is there any good news? Yes. We may not be attracting new overseas investment into the Bradford district, but there are some encouraging signs.

Just a few weeks ago, Aurora Metals/Osborn Steel Extrusions opened their new descaling plant. A £1 million investment. The company can handle more material and is less likely to damage the environment because of improved processes and design.

Bradford's unemployment figure of 5.9 per cent in August remains higher that the UK of 5.4 per cent, but it has fallen over the last 12 months. New Deal and other initiatives are starting to have an impact.

The Chamber is working hard to support local businesses. Whether it is helping exporters to find new markets, identify suppliers, carry out credit checks, provide briefings on new legislation, offer an immense variety of training courses or provide a forum to share information and concerns, the Chamber is active on behalf of our members and Bradford.

Being the national voice of local business is absolutely vital at the moment. How else will the decision-makers know what it is really like here in Bradford?

We give them the facts and figures from local members which show that the London view may be flawed. The Chamber has lobbied the Chancellor, the Bank of England and MPs on interest rates and the exchange rate. That work continues.

But we are also talking to business leaders about changes they would like to see in the next budget. We need not only to highlight problems but also to suggest solutions that could make a difference to the business climate.

So what of the future? Hugely expensive economic strategies of attracting foreign investment to replace declining industries may not be the answer. I sympathise with the plight of the North East following the Siemens and Fujitsu announcements.

The emphasis should be on supporting business to remain competitive, and not just to survive but grow. It is time to concentrate on making technology work for all kinds of companies, not to see the high technology industries as the only way to develop.

Businesses may need support from external agencies to introduce new practices, develop staff, enter new markets, but they are also helping themselves.

The textile industry is mounting a regional sector initiative as part of the Regional Innovation Strategy.

Competitive co-operation at a regional level should bring benefits that Bradford companies could not achieve alone.

In Graham Hall of Yorkshire Electricity, the recently appointed chairman of the Regional Development Agency, we have an experienced and successful businessman to lead a regional strategy from next year.

There will be new opportunities and changes emerging from this regional development in 1999. The Chamber will ensure that local businesses know what is happening and, very importantly, listening to what they want.

By Dr Derek Wood, president of Bradford Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.