DORSET businesses want chancellor George Osborne to announce boosts today for roads, housing and business rates reform.

Ian Girling, chief executive of Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI), was among business leaders calling for action on economic growth to be announced in today’s Autumn Statement.

He said: “The Chancellor's Autumn Statement, the second of the two most important econ-omic statements that the chancellor gives every year, is a pivotal opportunity to introduce meaningful measures for the benefit of businesses in Dorset and nationwide.

“As the voice of business in Dorset, DCCI supports the British Chambers of Commerce’s (BCC) call for greater infra-structure investment, acceler-ated road repairs and incentives for communities to support housing developments.

“Business rates are also a critical issue, and we continue to call for a freeze until 2017’s full revaluation of premises and complete reform of the system by 2022.”

He added: “Dorset businesses have shown great resilience and enterprise in recent years but support of this kind is vital as they make headway from the worst recession in living memory.”

Dorset’s is the only county chamber accredited with the BCC, which is demanding a one-off investment of £7.2bn to bring the roads network in England and Wales back to a “reasonable condition”, financial incentives for communities to accelerate housing developments and the acceleration of infrastructure projects nationwide.

Mr Osborne has already trailed a spending package including billions for road improvements. The measures include widening the A31 at Ringwood to three lanes in each direction.

Some 14 leading manufact-urers, including Jaguar Land Rover’s owner Tata, General Motors and Siemens, recently wrote to Mr Osborne to warn business rates are “simply not fit for purpose”.

DCCI has more than 700 members.