CHAMBERS CALL ON GOVERNMENT NOT TO ‘LEVEL DOWN OUR INFRASTRUCTURE’

The South Yorkshire Infrastructure Survey, powered by the Quarterly Economic Survey for Q4 2022, revealed damning results for the state of the region’s infrastructure. The survey found that respondents had most commonly experienced delays/ issues as a result of the road network (53%), followed by the rail network (33%), with the most commonlycited business impacts resulting from infrastructure issues being increased direct travel costs (42%), increased costs of products/services (31%) and loss of business opportunity/client dissatisfaction (25%).

On the publication of the survey, the CEOs of Barnsley & Rotherham, Doncaster and Sheffield Chambers of Commerce said in a joint statement: “This has been another challenging quarter for the UK economy. Our survey captures the reality of this in South Yorkshire. As in other regions, most of the indicators are not pointing in the direction we would like, and there seems to be no let-up in the post-pandemic, post-Brexit recruitment challenges facing our firms. Many of our businesses are finding it tough.

“As Chambers, we will continue to advocate for more support from government policy where it’s necessary – for instance in maintaining support on energy bills beyond the current package for those who need it most.

“We’ll also be working with Chambers across northern England to campaign for infrastructure funding that matches our economic potential."