SOMERSET Chamber of Commerce hosted more than 90 business people from across the county at Haynes Motor Museum, Sparkford, for a morning of transport and networking.

Attendees were able to make new contacts and strengthen existing relationships while enjoying a cooked breakfast, before hearing from event sponsor National Highways.

Nick Aldworth, regional delivery director and Sam Landrigan, stakeholder and communications lead, represented the agency and gave an update on the upgrade to the A303 Sparkford to Ilchester dualling scheme and wider project.

The new dualled section will start east of Podimore Roundabout, follow the alignment of the existing A303 to Downhead, and then move north of the existing A303 single carriageway, allowing the existing road to be kept for use as a local road.

They said the £155million scheme between Sparkford and Ilchester will not only promote economic growth, but it will also tackle a long-standing bottleneck, reduce journey times to the South West and improve traffic flows at peak times and peak seasons.

After breakfast a handful of guests were given a guided tour of Haynes Motor Museum by a team of volunteers.

Emma Rawlings, Somerset Chamber of Commerce chief executive, said she was grateful to National Highways and Haynes Motor Museum for their support and said the networking breakfast offered invaluable support to the local business community.

She added: “To have almost 100 business representatives in one room gave our members the opportunity to talk to other business professionals they may otherwise not have the chance to meet.

“It enabled them to both learn more about the economic landscape, raise the profile of their own companies and find out about the museum and the ongoing A303 upgrade.”

More information about Somerset Chamber of Commerce can be found on the website www.somerset-chamber.co.uk