A NEW president has been elected for the Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce at its annual general meeting.

Previous senior vice-president, Andrew Knowles, has now stepped into his new shoes as chamber president for 2017.

Discussing the accounts for the year ended December 31 2016, treasurer of the chamber Mike House said that 2016 was a "challenging year" for a number of reasons, finances being one of them.

He also said it had been unfortunate that membership numbers dropped from 140 in 2015 to 90 in 2016 and the monthly business breakfasts also saw a drop in numbers.

The accounts presented at the meeting revealed the chamber received an income of £17,308 in 2016, compared with £26,654 in 2015.

And the total expenditure of the chamber in 2016 was £16,246 compared with £22,831 in 2015.

The highest expenditure of the chamber for 2016 was for the business coordinator at £5,066 followed by an expenditure of £3,635 on breakfast meetings.

Speaking at the meeting Andrew said: "There would be no chamber if local people weren’t motivated to give their time and skill to help support local businesses and the local community."

He gave a special thanks to those who would be leaving the chamber including David Morphew, Nigel Reed, Shenis Cant and Steve Davies.

He added: "I also want to thank Michelle Hind for her service to the chamber. In 2015 Michelle took on the role of president when no one else would. She embarked on a second year in the post when again, no one else stepped forward to do so.

"None of us on the committee doubted her commitment to the businesses and community of Weymouth and Portland. She invested hours of her time organising events and encouraging others to get involved, all because of her genuine desire to see the chamber better serve both its members, and the wider community of which we are a part.

"This same spirit of service has been a hallmark of all the chamber presidents that I have observed since joining the chamber in 2011, and it’s in that spirit that I seek to continue."

The AGM also saw new vice-president Cherise Luke-Bennett of Nantes Solicitors and Gateway Family Mediation step into her new role.

The president also selected Butterflies, that provides specialist equipment and toys for children with disabilities, as the chamber's 2017 chosen charity.

An immediate donation of £100 was handed to the charity.

Andrew added: "My aim is not to focus on recruiting new members to the chamber. I want the chamber to improve the value it offers to its existing members, and by doing so, I want to make membership increasingly attractive to other businesses."