Cumbrian business people have given a cautious welcome to the budget and expressed concern about a dip in confidence about the economy.

The business community gathered at two events last week to discuss the budget and the economic climate in the run-up to Brexit.

A business breakfast ran the rule over Philip Hammond’s budget.

Anthony Cox, tax partner at RSM, one of the event's organisers, said the budget had contained ‘limited tax changes, but could have done more to encourage investment’.

“Businesses are being cautious about whether to make investments so we would have like to have seen more incentives other than the research and development changes which were announced,” he said.

The meeting heard that the changes in stamp duty for first time buyers were unlikely to have an much of an impact in Cumbria where house prices were lower, but incentives for housebuilding could well help Carlisle in its growth ambitions.

David Allen, managing director of David Allen in Dalston, attended the event and welcomed help for ‘small businesses, who will see lower annual increases in their business rates’.

Business people also gathered at a lunchtime event in Carlisle to discuss the budget, Brexit and share observations about different sectors of the Cumbrian economy.

Observations made by guests included: a sharp decline in the number of company cars being purchased by Cumbrian SMEs; money held in business bank accounts are at high levels as people hold off from investment decisions; the Lake District gaining World Heritage status has triggered a number of hotels to upgrade their facilities.

All straws in the wind amid much uncertainty, but for organiser Peter Fleming, Cumbria’s business doctor, it showed that despite uncertainty around the economy there sectors and businesses prepared to capitalise on the situation.

“The sentiment I picked up was that there is a lot of uncertainty among SMEs, but they are still prepared to look at the opportunities that are out there,” he said.

Paul Gilligan, of Gilligan Vehicle Consulting, said he had been encouraged by the budget.

“We have seen a big reduction in the number of SMEs prepared to spend on company cars, but with vans it’s a different story which is I am pleased to see support for housebuilding which will lead to further demand for vans for tradespeople,” he said.

Damien Byrne, mortgage adviser with Wiseone, said the housing market was pretty hot already around Carlisle with around 1,000 new homes in the pipeline from Persimmon alone.

“The Help to Buy scheme means people can afford more expensive houses and with the number of new builds we have seen 2017 sales 25 per cent up on last year,” he said.