About 90 people attended the Armidale Business Chamber's Welcome to 2019 event at Saumarez Homestead on Friday afternoon. While welcoming in the New Year, it was also held to welcome new individuals or businesses to the Armidale region.
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Chamber president Anthony Fox said the chamber decided to hold the event at a completely different venue this year.
We were going to have a Christmas party but everyone in Armidale was having one.
- Anthony Fox
"We decided to cancel our Christmas party and have something in January. Then the weather turned up and that was just fantastic," he said.
"It's important to interface with the new people who have come to Armidale.
"They get to chat with everyone, they get to know what is going on. All that is really integral to people settling in and being comfortable in the region."
While Mr Fox said the chamber's event to begin this year was a little different, he thought it held in the distinct "chamber" style as the forerunner to a very full year.
"We're reinstating Women's Breakfasts that will probably happen every second month. Lucy McKenzie from U Goose will be the first person in line to talk," Mr Fox said.
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"We've got two elections to deal with, so we'll have Meet the Candidates functions and we've got another couple of significant people coming along to give speeches at breakfasts, dinner or lunches, whatever suits them.
"We've got the Awards and then after the awards, we've got the Governor of the Reserve Bank coming."
Armidale Regional Council was also well represented at the event by Mayor Simon Murray and CEO Susan Law.
Mrs Law said council supported the chamber because of the significant role it played in the economic growth and development of the community.
I certainly believe that council needs to create the environment in which businesses can thrive.
- Susan Law
"That means, in Armidale, developing an ecosystem where the conditions are good for retail and other businesses to locate here and grow.
"Some of that is about ensuring planning processes work smoothly and are welcoming of business, as opposed to being barriers to businesses being located here."
She said things like traffic and parking were also issues council could help with.
Mrs Law said while a town master plan was in the pipeline, considering the region as a whole remained very important.
"The master plan is about how we make the different parts of the city work so it becomes a genuine regional city," Mrs Law said.
"It's not just about the people who happen to live in Armidale.
"It has to work for the people in Guyra, for the people in Ebor, for the people in Wollomombi, for everyone."
