AS we embark on a new year that will bring with it a new set of challenges and, indeed, opportunities for business in the North-East, I believe that we need to start by confining the word recovery to 2010, and making 2011 a year in which we begin to talk about growth.

The latter part of last year was a period of relative economic stability, in which businesses overcame many of the difficulties they had faced for so many months, so that they are now ready to look forward to a new year of opportunities.

As a region, we have started to emerge from uncertainty as we learn how the coalition Government intends to change regional governance, which will see the demise of development agency One North East.

2011 will be a year of change. It will be a year in which businesses adjust to changing policy and a fast-moving trading environment.

The newly-formed Local Enterprise Partnerships and the North-East Economic Partnership should give the business community opportunities to grasp the initiative. I genuinely believe that our businesses have the power to make 2011 a year of sustainable growth that can set the tone for a prosperous new decade for the region.

The Government must ensure that businesses have the conditions and the tools to grow and decisions made by the coalition must enable this.

Our manifesto for 2011, Driving Sustainable Growth, sets out the changes that we believe will strengthen our region, and transform the business landscape here. We really do feel that this year represents a critical period for the North-East and the onus is on the Government to listen to the business community here and respond positively to it.

Our manifesto lays out how our members would like to see 2011 unfold. We believe that the key to achieving a year of growth is three-fold: one, in safeguarding assets which are critical to maintaining recovery; two, in reforming areas of policy to bolster the competitiveness of North-East businesses and UK plc; and three, in investing in priority areas where this will unlock economic growth.

Ours is a region that has a huge amount to be proud of, and we have the skills and talent to make 2011 a great year.

Developing our burgeoning export market, banging the drum about the innovative science and technology businesses we have here and fuelling growth in the low carbon industry that we have so successfully built through some of the toughest economic times in recent years, will be key this year.

At the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC), we will be doing everything we can to make sure that the North-East is given all the support it needs to make the new year a really exciting one for our businesses and drive sustainable growth.

■ James Ramsbotham is chief executive of the NECC.