THE leader of Selby Chamber of Commerce has said businesses in the town are optimistic of a surge in profits in 2011.

Geoff Gordon, leader of the Chamber, said although business is hardly booming in the district, there were positive signs for the coming year.

He said: “If you look at Selby, there are some shoots coming through, and people investing in the area.

“I carried out a survey at the last meeting of the chamber, asking various questions about how members were finding the business environment.

“There were over 20 local members there, and from that survey I found 85 per cent of the people there said their businesses were either as good as, or better than they had been at the close of 2009.”

The survey was informal, but Mr Gordon also said he had experienced a greater level of optimism when speaking to companies and businesses around the district in recent months.

He said: “All the businesses in Selby we talk to are saying they are not pulling any trees up but we are doing all right. A year ago a lot of people were saying to me they didn’t know what they were going to do, whether their business would make it through 2010, even some big companies.

“Now, most companies that are talking to me are doing so with a smile on their face, whereas a year ago they all had the weight of the world on their shoulders.”

This optimism comes just weeks after it was announced the £300 million Olympia Park development, which could create 2,000 new jobs for the district, as well as 1,000 new homes, would go to public consultation in January, with planning submission expected in the autumn.

In November, it was also announced that levels of unemployment in Selby were at their lowest since January 2009.