Cheltenham MP Meets Yorkshire Boss

Cheltenham MP Martin Horwood has met with Yorkshire Building Society boss Iain Cornish to discuss the future of Chelsea Building Society's two Cheltenham sites and 700 local jobs. He has already met with acting Chelsea chief executive Stuart Bernau to discuss the merger of the two building societies which is due to take place next year if approved by their members.

'Once again, I'd like to say how much I appreciate the very open approach of both Chelsea and the Yorkshire' said Martin. 'It is clear that redundancies are inevitable and that staff in Cheltenham are facing an uncertain future but this very early meeting with the Yorkshire's chief executive is a positive sign that they are not afraid to be open and consultative. My impression is that Iain is genuinely committed to discussing the future of Cheltenham jobs before any major decisions are taken. I felt it was important to make the immediate case for people in Cheltenham but obviously the real consultation must be first and foremost with the workforce in Cheltenham themselves. At the moment there is no staff representative body or trade union at Chelsea and I'm very pleased that one of the first steps that has been agreed with the Yorkshire is to elect staff representatives who can be involved in decisions and discussions. Yorkshire have an established independent staff association and I am hoping to meet with them as well as with staff representatives from Cheltenham as soon as possible.'

Martin's discussions with Iain Cornish focussed on the overlap between the two building societies and the future of jobs in the Chelsea's Thirlestaine Road and Charlton Kings sites.

'I was reassured that the senior management at the Yorkshire aren't simply planning to turn Chelsea into a cipher' said Martin. Although they have made clear that only one site will survive and that jobs will have to go, they also appreciate that there are distinctive and valuable features of Chelsea's business that would be lost if it was reduced to no more than a brand name. That makes me more hopeful that a substantial number of jobs really can be saved in Cheltenham. I will continue to press for this to happen and I hope to work closely with staff representatives in Cheltenham as soon as they emerge.'

'I put the case for Cheltenham as strongly as I could. I genuinely believe that Chelsea have an extraordinarily committed and talented workforce and that Cheltenham's unique pool of expertise in marketing, financial services and technology would all serve the new merged building society well in the future.'