IT’S been a busy week for Dorset Chamber with some very positive developments taking place.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate DCCI Business Partner Bournemouth Airport on the fantastic news regarding the new Flybe routes from Bournemouth, announced this week.

With new routes to Glasgow, Manchester, Amsterdam, Dublin, Paris and two other French airports, this is a major step forward for the airport.

This offers holiday routes to Europe as well as creating invaluable travel links for business travellers and is a significant boost for the local economy.

Regional airports have had a very difficult time over the last couple of years; it is up to us to use and support Bournemouth Airport.

My congratulations to Paul Knight and his team on this major achievement.

On Wednesday we were honoured to receive a visit from Minister of State for Trade and Investment, Lord Livingston.

Hosted by DCCI, Dorset LEP and UKTI, Lord Livingstone had the opportunity to meet some major Dorset businesses operating on a global level as well as addressing an event looking at opportunities in South America.

He also had the opportunity to visit DCCI Business partners Field International.

Dorset has some incredible businesses at the forefront of technology, competing at an international level and we should be very proud of their achievements.

We also welcomed David Riches from the British Chambers of Commerce at a highly-successful DCCI Business Partners lunch.

Our business partners are leading, influential Dorset businesses that give fantastic support to DCCI.

The lunch offered the opportunity to discuss some major themes for the local economy including the importance of strong links between education and industry as well as the planned infrastructure developments for the Port of Poole and access to Bournemouth Airport.

Finally, as the year draws to a close I would like to reflect on the progress of DCCI over the last 12 months.

Firstly I would like to pay tribute to our outgoing president, Paul Collins of the Westover Group.

Paul has been a hugely committed and energetic president and is widely respected in the business community.

Paul has personally been a great friend and support to me in my first year as chief executive in what has been a major year for DCCI and I would personally like to thank Paul for his support, enthusiasm and energy.

We have significantly improved our retention of members, our events are sold out, we have improved our offer and are building a powerful Chamber network for Dorset through our affiliation programme.

This year’s Dorset Business Awards, the 20th anniversary, are the biggest ever with over 650 tickets sold and a record number of entries.

At our AGM on December 10 we launch our new five-year vision which will clearly outline our long-term aims and aspirations for the economy and businesses in Dorset.

We are totally committed to our members and driving economic growth in Dorset and look forward to working with you.