BUSINESS community stalwart Colin Daniels, long-standing Chief Executive of Warrington & Vale Royal Chamber of Commerce has sadly died after a short illness.
As well as the Chamber of Commerce, he was leader of Warrington Borough Council in the early 1980s and a long-standing Chair of Governors at Warrington & Vale Royal College.
Chamber President Nigel Schofield said: “It is with great sadness that I have to report that Colin Daniels, Chief Executive of Warrington Chamber of Commerce and Industry passed away this morning. He has been a stalwart of the business community for many years both within Warrington and the North West, and will be fondly remembered by many for his enthusiasm to support business. He also served as a Cheshire County and Warrington Borough Councillor and Chairman of the Board of Governors at Warrington College for many years. Our thoughts are with his family, who have been a source of great support to Colin in recent times as his health deteriorated.”
In 2016 he was honoured with the degree of Doctor of Business Administration, honoris causa by the University of Chester, .
He was Chairman of the Corporation of Warrington Collegiate since 1989, where he took a very proactive and strategic role, including the complete re-building of the college. He played a significant role in the successful transfer of the Collegiate’s Higher Education provision to the University of Chester in 2002.
Mr Daniels served continuously on the board of the Colleges National Association, now the AOC, and was chairman of the National Employment Committee and the National Joint Forum for Further Education until 2002. He was one of the joint architects of the introduction of the flexible employment contract for the Further Education Sector. He was a former member of both the Further Education Governors National Council and the National Self-Regulation Group for Further Education.
He was also a Senior Council Member of the University of Chester and a former member of the Court of the University of Salford. From 1978 until 2012 he was chairman of Governors of his Thelwall Primary School, which featured in the top 8 percent of schools in the UK. He served on Cheshire County Council’s education committee from 1994 to 1999.
A past President and Treasurer of the Warrington and District Association of the National Builders Federation, and a former member of the North West Regional Council of the National Federation of Building Trade Employers, he was a Life Member of the National Builders Federation.
He was also a former chairman of Warrington 2000+ Ltd, which owns and operates two office developments which act as start-up and incubator units. He was also deputy chairman of Warrington & Co (Regeneration) Ltd, which actively promotes the economic expansion and inward investment of Warrington.
Mr Daniels was also chairman of Cheshire Chambers Enterprise Ltd, which serves the sub-region of Cheshire and Warrington. A former director of Chambers of Commerce North West Ltd, he coordinated the work of the 16 Chambers of Commerce in the North West Region. He was also very involved in the establishment of the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Council and was directly involved in a number of important sub-groups including enterprise, international trade and skills development.
Mr Daniels was both a borough councillor and parish councillor from 1977 to 1986, leader of the Conservative Group and chairman of the parish council.
In 1992 he was a Parliamentary Candidate at the General Election and, for five years, chairman of the Warrington South Conservative Association.
He served with the Royal Artillery in BAOR (British Army of the Rhine). His charitable work has included Cancer Macmillan Nurses, Ryfields Retirement Village and as a trustee of the Warrington Charities Trust.
