THERE are often things at the start of a new year that seem designed to make me feel old, writes Ross Smith, NECC director of policy.

Counting off the eighth annual NECC Manifesto I have been involved in launching yesterday was one of them.

This year’s launch was a little bit different though. We did it as part of a ceremonial NECC Council meeting at Newcastle’s Guildhall – where 200 years earlier to the very day, the Chamber of Commerce movement was launched in the North-East.

As you might expect, there has been a lot of time spent researching our archives in preparation for such an anniversary.

One of the highlights that emerged was the record of that very first meeting back in 1815.

It was humbling to read the document – partly because it made us aware of the long history we are now part of, but also because it involved a slight sense of embarrassment.

Every year when we put our Manifesto together, we try to come up with the best form of words to describe what it represents.

The issues contained within it are what the 4,000 firms we represent have set as the most important things to influence policy over during the next year. Having spent more than four months consulting extensively on what they should be, we are confident it is a special document on behalf of North East businesses.

And in the 1815 minutes, there in black and white – or rather a sort of sepia-tinged pink – was the description I’ve been looking for throughout those eight years.

The original Chamber members, it spelled out, came together for “the attainment of objects the exertions of individuals may be less adequate to accomplish”.

The words may be a bit dated, but the ethos they embody remains the same – NECC members believe they can achieve come things collectively that they can’t do individually – and influencing the conditions for business in the North-East is one of those.

So when our members set goals this year of championing the North-East as a major asset for UK plc; education and training to meet our future skills needs; business support that adds value and drives growth; world class connectivity and energy infrastructure; and tackling the cost of doing business; they do so with a 200-year track record of making that happen behind them.

Perhaps being made to feel old isn’t so bad after all.