GLASS
HALF FULL Tariq Hussain, Leeds Chapter Chair, on the lockdown growth of his chapter
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NETWORKS
It’s been a long year, but the first hints that lockdown will soon come to an end are appearing; invitations to events, weddings being re-booked, and hotels being organised. My inbox has started to receive tentative suggestions for meeting face to face soon, and I couldn’t be happier about it! BITA Leeds was founded in September last year, and although we managed a couple of meet ups with the help of Ascensor offices providing a safe environment, it’s been months since we had a face-to-face event. The few that we did manage to hold were very popular with our members, who were excited to meet at our monthly gatherings. Despite the difficulties, the membership in Leeds continues to grow. I think that people are recognising the impact of forming connections and building relationships, especially as this is an area that has
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unavoidably suffered in the last 12 months. Leeds as a business hub continues to thrive, and there are lots of exciting developments planned where I feel BITA could provide an excellent resource. We were very happy to hear in the recent budget that Leeds, along with Birmingham, will be the location for new offices for the Department for Transport. This will bring a welcome economic boost to the area and help bring civil service jobs to cities outside London; we are waiting to find out exactly where the offices will be. There is also exciting news about the Climate Innovation District due to the successful completion of a 248-pile design, supply, and installation project. The Climate Innovation District is the largest sustainable development currently underway in the UK that will see over 1,000 low carbon homes, as well as manufacturing, leisure, offices, and public facilities being built. Leeds businesses see the value of BITA and its ethos, even more because of the pandemic. This is thanks to the President and the whole BITA team continuing to engage personally with the members. I would like to thank my colleagues in Manchester who have been so willing to share contacts, and with whom we now run online networking events fortnightly on Remo. I am excited to say that we can now see the light at the end of the tunnel, and see businesses gearing up for life after lockdown. Our glasses are half full and we are stronger together.
