member

The Grand Norwich Duck Race has grown into one of the biggest events of the summer calendar for Break, as well as Norwich, raising £87k to date to #changeyounglives with a much-loved local charity. The event this coming year will be held on bank holiday Sunday, the 25 August, in conjunction with the Ribs of Beef, Broads Authority and Norfolk SUP Company.  Ducks are launched from St Georges Bridge and race to Fye Bridge (Ribs of Beef) – the winner of the corporate race gets the Crystal Duck Trophy! As a Norfolk Chambers of Commerce Member, we are offering you the EXCLUSIVE chance to own a duck for just £90 – a saving of 10% on the normal £100.  For this, you get a large 32cm duck along with acrylic paints and then you can create your own #ducktransformation – corporate logos on, or feathers and fur – it’s all up to you.  It represents a small part of your marketing budget for the year, plus a charity donation, all in all adding up to a great way to join in on a hugely fun event and support Break. You can see ideas on ducks and decoration by looking back at 2018 ducks here. Following the race the ducks get preened ready for the #GNDR19 Auction at the Maids Head on Thursday 5 September where there is an opportunity for you to re-enter the duck next year if you buy him/her back. “I gained more twitter followers and interaction with my duck than ever before as part of the Grand Norwich Duck Race” Keith, Select Planning.  We then ask you to join our quacking crew on twitter @norwichduckrace . . . gone are the days of tweeting into the abys – now you have a group of like minded local companies and individuals to tweet to and meet at our regular events and get togethers.  We already have a ‘Tweet-Up’ arranged for Thursday 15 August at the Ribs of Beef, a lovely social where we can put faces to twitter handles!   To book your duck today please click here.

Fakenham residents have clubbed together with a locally based wildlife charity to buy a significant wildlife site just a stone’s throw from the centre of the town, protecting it against the danger of development.

Protecting the land began 5 years ago with the purchase of neighbouring meadows, but this latest purchase completes the conservation jigsaw in the area. Star Meadow has been bought by a number of local residents in collaboration with Hawk and Owl Trust, a national wildlife conservation charity that has its headquarters based at nearby Sculthorpe.

The meadow is on the west side of town behind the Tesco superstore and is part of an area of meadows just off of Gogg’s Mill Road and, on 22 May, some of those who donated funds were able to explore the area they have helped to secure.

The whole area, once known as Back Common, is along the old course of the River Wensum before it was canalised and the river moved to its current course. With a rich history, but never having been ploughed, these meadows represent a rare link with natural habitats and will revert to wild flower meadows relatively quickly with the reintroduction of careful grazing and habitat management.

Fakenham resident Robin Parker (74) bought the neighbouring fields – known as Edmundson’s Acres – in 2014 and, with the help of Hawk and Owl Trust, is already turning these into a nature reserve with special emphasis on wildflowers and invertebrates.

Star Meadow will be added to the area being conserved which already consists of a Site of Scientific Interest and a Norfolk Wildlife Trust County Wildlife Site, and all lie within a Special Area of Conservation and will help provide a link between the Hawk and Owl Trust’s Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve and Norfolk Ornithologists’ Association’s Hempton Marsh to the west and Pensthorpe and Senowe Park to the east.

Star Meadow was previously owned by Tesco, who had hoped to develop the land but as access was difficult the meadow had been left. Robin saw the opportunity to buy the land and immediately set about investigating ways to raise the funding to ensure that the land was removed from the danger of further town development and save the orchids, Bog Bean and Ragged Robin (all scarce wild flowers) that could be found growing there. Barn Owls, Tawny Owls and Otters are frequently seen and the meadow is a site for the rare Desmoulin’s Whorled Snail.

Robin approached the Operational Director Adrian Blumfield at the Sculthorpe Moor Hawk and Owl Trust Nature Reserve who was keen to help.

As the Trust already work with Robin – who is also one of the volunteers at the Trust’s Sculthorpe reserve – on Edmundson’s Acres it was an obvious collaboration, but Robin also galvanised other Fakenham residents who were equally keen to preserve the area and prevent it being developed.

The Trust used its management expertise and through the lengthy negotiations persuaded Tesco to sell the land. It is down to the generosity of Robin and eight other concerned residents and the Hawk and Owl Trust that the necessary funds to buy the land were raised and donated to the Trust.

Conservation management has already begun and, in the short term whilst the very wet site is being carefully and gently turned back into havens for wildlife access to the area will be via guided walks, which will be advertised in the town and at Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve

Robin Parker, said “Star Meadow is a wonderful place, joining up with Edmonson’s Acres in the important and beautiful River Wensum valley, and securing this place will enable us to protect this site for wildlife and the community for ever.”

Adrian Blumfield, Chief Operations Director of Hawk and Owl, said “This is a fantastic place in the centre of Fakenham, which many residents didn’t even know was here.

It will now take several years of conservation work to restore the land and we plan to engage with the residents and schools when we are able to offer activities. It is through Robin’s skills and the generosity of all the donors that has made this possible!”

Contact information – available for interviews.

Adrian Blumfield (Chief Operations Director, Hawk and Owl Trust) Office: 01328 850598 (8am to 4pm) Email: [email protected]

Su Gough (Communications and PR Officer) Office: 01328 850 598 (direct dial) (8am to 4pm) Mobile: 07769 270994 (anytime) Email: [email protected]

Steeles Law is holding a Legal Clinic at its 2 Mount Street, Diss offices on Friday 30 May, with pre-bookable 15 minute consultations available between 3.00 and 6.00pm.

Whether you a private individual or business owner, you can book a complimentary appointment with a legal professional in connection with any of the services we offer.

Please call 01379 652141 to make a booking. Appointments are offered on a first come, first served basis and must be booked before the day.

Two Norfolk men have spent a night sleeping rough in a city centre doorway to highlight the plight of young homeless adults. Simon Linstead is Managing Director of Nurture Financial Planning and Chris Elliot, Marketing and Fundraising Manager of Norfolk Charity, The Benjamin Foundation decided to sleep out in Norwich for a night to help raise awareness and funds to assist with tackling homelessness in Norfolk.

Simon’s company Nurture is proud to be supporting The Benjamin Foundation in 2014. He commented: “We thought that by making this minor sacrifice of just one night on the streets, it might help in some small way with the fantastic work this Charity does to support people in Norfolk dealing with many challenges that life throws at them, including homelessness. The night was a real eye-opener.’

The popular Charity helps about 2000 people every year in the county by providing hope, opportunity and stability. One of the biggest issues is homeless young people.

Explaining why he was up for this night out on the streets, Chris said: “What we did doesn’t come anywhere near the real misery and reality of those sleeping rough, night after night. Simon and I were in a controlled environment and we went home early in the morning to a hot bath and a rejuvenating breakfast. Those living on the streets cant do this – they face this ordeal in far worse conditions than we experienced.’

Chris and Simon are on course to raise more than £1000 for their sleep-out, which will go towards helping many others finding themselves in a position of homelessness. But they urge more donations by going to www.mycharitypage.com/SimonNFP or www.benjaminfoundation.co.uk

Thank you

Marcin ‘Magic’ Pomierny (age 34), Head Chef at the Maids Head Hotel in Norwich and Chef of the Year in the EDP Norfolk Food and Drink Awards 2016, is a semi-finalist in the 2019 Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year competition. This is the second year running that Magic has reached the semi-final.

Forty chefs, split into four semi-final heats, will be competing on June 11 for a place in the final. The winner of each heat, plus the six best runners up, go through to the final, which is at The Restaurant Show on Tuesday, October 1.

Magic’s semi-final heat is at Sheffield College. The brief for the chefs is to produce a creative three-course summer lunch menu.

Magic, who was a finalist in the 2008 Craft Guild of Chefs Young Chef of the Year competition said: “I am very excited to have reached the semi-final of the National Chef of the Year competition for the second year running. I learned a lot at last year’s semi-final and will do my very best to secure a place in the final for the Maids Head and Norwich.”

Christine Malcolm, General Manager, Maids Head Hotel said: “Magic has worked very hard over the last six years to raise the profile of the hotel as a fine dining destination. We achieved a second AA Rosette in 2016 and Magic’s ambition is to raise the bar further and achieve a third AA Rosette. We wish Magic all the best for the National Chef of the Year competition.”

Marcin ‘Magic’ Pomierny comes from near Krakow in Poland. He trained as a chef in Poland and studied catering for diabetics as an additional subject. Magic moved to Norwich in June 2005; his brother and sister were already in the city.

He spoke little English at the time and his family helped secure him a job as a kitchen porter at Tatlers, where he did washing up and food preparation for one year. Then Magic worked for Pulse and The Library for 18 months, followed by McIntoshes Kitchen for another 18 months.

His next job in 2009 was Sous Chef at Rare Steak House and he moved on to The Mad Moose where he was Sous Chef for two years and Head Chef for one year. Magic arrived at the Maids Head Hotel as Sous Chef in May 2013 and was promoted to Head Chef in September 2013.

MENTA has announced its free business start-up training will take place at locations across Norfolk. The series of three, four-hour business skills workshops cover subjects vital when setting up a business; planning, marketing and bookkeeping. The sessions have been well received and over the past three years more than 500 people have completed the training and more than 270 of them have made their dream a reality and set up a business in Norfolk or Suffolk. The start-up Start Right workshops are designed to help people who are thinking of setting up their own business or have taken the plunge during the last 12 months. MENTA’s mission is to help people achieve their dreams of becoming self-employed or running their own successful company. MENTA trainer, John Clarke said, “I meet people from all age groups and backgrounds who come along to gain expert support and business skills training. The sessions are informal and the feedback we receive is fantastic, people get a lot of practical advice which they appreciate.” The start-up training is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and isn’t affected by Brexit. MENTA’s long-term aim is to produce more employment opportunities and prosperity in Norfolk. The workshops are held in Gt Yarmouth, Kings Lynn, Norwich, North Walsham and Dereham. For more details visit the MENTA website www.menta.org.uk and go to the ‘start up’ page or call 01284 760206 for details. Booking is essential.

On May 10th, Lambda Films packed up their camera gear and jetted off to the Caribbean Island of St Vincent. The objective? To scale and film La Soufrière, an active Volcano nestled within an Island community.

The purpose of this epic adventure, which was commissioned by the University of East Anglia, was to produce informational video content about the Volcano, island life and how it is disrupted by the effects of an eruption.

The videos themselves are destined to be premiered at the London Volcano event, a collaboration between UEA, Oxford University, The Seismic Research Centre at the University of the West Indies and The Natural History Museum London.

The event, which is part of national Universities week, will include a 3-metre replica of La Soufrière which will demonstrate the effects of volcanic activity. The accompanying video content will help educate audiences and bring to life the pressures and dangers of living on St Vincent in the shadow of an active volcano.

Following the event, the video content will be used as part of the STREVA project, an initiative to help strengthen resilience in volcanic areas, specifically in Latin America and the Caribbean. They will return and be broadcast around St Vincent to help educate the community on our findings.

Lambda Films is a video production company in Norwich. We produce online video content and video marketing services, so please get in touch for more information.

One year on in her role as Franchise Development Manager for TaxAssist Accountants, Sam Skyring discusses how her experience in practice, and her knowledge of the network has helped franchisees in the day to day running of their practices.

Before taking on this role, Sam spent three years at TaxAssist gaining an in-depth knowledge of the network, delivering training, technical assistance and undertaking due diligence visits alongside her colleagues at the TaxAssist Support Centre in Norwich.

“This allowed me to build up a real understanding of areas that franchisees need to focus on to enable them to grow and develop their businesses effectively,” adds Sam, who is ACCA qualified and for whom leaving the comfort of her 9-5 desk job has been an enriching experience. “I love the challenge of going to work in a different office every day, whether it is Cardiff or Cambridge, Belfast or Edinburgh. Each franchisee is unique, each has strengths and weaknesses and it’s a great feeling when you can see you’ve made a real difference to someone and their business. “I focus on looking at the big picture for the franchisee. How are they and their staff spending their time? What systems are in place? What is the franchisee charging? When running a business, the focus must be on maximising efficiency and profitability. “I know that the biggest area for franchisees to work on is the actual operating of the franchise. There is a real tendency for franchisees to work in the business rather than on the business.

“At the end of my visit I would hope that my approach enables franchisees to take more of a bird’s eye view of their practice. At TaxAssist, we provide excellent training for our network, but it’s only when a franchisee is up and running, that they get to experience practical issues with staffing and technology – which is where I can help.” This is reflected in the praise from franchisees, with David Nayar, who operates from Bolton and Preston, saying: “Sam provides fantastic support for our franchise and her expertise has been invaluable in getting our office working efficiently and effectively. I cannot thank her enough for the help and support she provides.” Over in the east, fellow franchisee Simon Hunt, who operates from King’s Lynn, concurs: “Sam has been incredibly supportive and helpful to me and my business. She has supported to me throughout my journey with TaxAssist and I know that if I encounter any challenges, I have someone who I can speak to.”

If you are interested in finding out more about joining TaxAssist, please contact Nikki Haythorne by e-mailing [email protected] or by phoning 0800 0188297.

Due to great feedback and requests we are putting together a small group coaching event. A four-part series that cover each area of our Performance Acceleration program in an accelerated format.

The series is a first come first served basis and the group will complete the series together. due to the nature of our work, we ensure to protect the individuals in each group. 

*YOU MUST REGISTER YOUR INTERESTS FIRST*

Our Leadership Coaching sessions will draw upon Chris’ 15+ years of experience working with the ‘best of the best’ in business, sport, military and performing arts. It will ensure that your present and future self will have enhanced knowledge and tools to a gain a competitive edge through:

Greater physical and mental energy.

Focus and motivation to ensure day-in and day-out commitment.

Enhanced resilience to stress and setbacks.

The ability to perform consistently under pressure.

A greater capacity to perform at your best daily.

—Starts when the first group has 7 participants—

Performance Acceleration – “Introducing the Series +
Design Thinking” – Session 1 
1 hour session where Chris Wilson will go through the Performance Acceleration
model and will kick-start by introducing the frameworks around design thinking
and the physiology of focus. The session will close with an ‘ask me anything’
roundtable and actions to take away.

Performance Acceleration – “Your relationship with
Stress + Early Warning Signs” – Session 2 
1 hour session where Chris Wilson will go through the physiology and stress
response with insights into the brain and body interactions. Including Early
Warning Signs that you are physically and mentally being negatively
stressed. The session will close with an ‘ask me anything’ roundtable and
actions to take away.

Performance Acceleration – “Building out your
performance plan: 3+1s” – Session 3 
1 hour session where Chris Wilson will go through how building out your
performance plan can create a cadence of sustainable high performance.
Includes Macro, Meso and Micro cycles for optimisation. The session will close
with an ‘ask me anything’ roundtable and actions to take away.

Performance Acceleration – “Coaching self then
others to increase performance” – Session 4 
1 hour session where Chris Wilson will go through how using coaching
conversations can change your perspective on stress and your capacity.
Including the ‘big picture’ behind the impact of stress. The session will close
with an ‘ask me anything’ roundtable and actions to take away.

An innovative million-pound project designed to unlock the talents of graduates and Norfolk’s thriving small-medium enterprises will start this summer following a successful bid to the Office for Students (Ofs).

The Gateways to Growth – Unlocking Talent in Norfolk project will receive £300,000 of funding from the Office for Students and attract additional support from partners making the total project worth £1,000,000.

UEA led the successful bid to the Ofs Challenge Competition. It will run for 3 years and aims to boost engagement between graduates and Norfolk’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) through internships and enhanced skills training linked to Norfolk’s Enterprise hubs.

Key Facts:

£1,000,000 project, including £300,000 Ofs grant

1,600+ Norfolk SME businesses and 750 graduates supported over three years

Focus on working with six Enterprise hubs linking SMEs with graduate interns

UEA Vice Chancellor Professor David Richardson said: “Bringing talented graduates and Norfolk’s innovative SME businesses together is vital for our region. UEA has a significant role to play in support Norfolk’s thriving local industries and this project will deliver real benefits both to our graduates and to small and medium enterprises in our county.

“UEA is proud to be leading this project which will help to stimulate and support local industry and entrepreneurs and graduates.”

The tailor-made project will address some of the problems faced by Norwich and Norfolk’s economy and UEA’s graduates, many of whom want to remain in Norfolk after completing their studies but struggle to secure graduate level employment. 

Julie Schofield, Joint Head of UEA Careers Service, said: “Our graduates love to stay in the city and county and yet there is a perception that there are too few graduate jobs for them.  Our local economy is 90%+ SME and from our research we know that graduates do not always think that employment in an SME is a viable career option and SMEs do not always appreciate what a graduate can do for their business.” 

Chris Starkie, Chief Executive of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “We have more than 60,000 businesses in Norfolk and Suffolk so there is a huge opportunity for graduates to find excellent roles on their doorstep and have a fulfilling career. There is also substantial investment in tech and energy taking place therefore these sectors will experience immense growth. Now more than ever this is the place where ideas become reality and you will want to be part of it.”

The winning bid has been developed by University of East Anglia (UEA), with support from New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP); Chamber of Commerce, Norfolk County Council, Norwich City Council, South Norfolk Council, UEA SU, Hethel Innovation Centre, Kings Lynn Innovation Centre, Cambridge Norwich Tech Corridor and the St Georges Works.

Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of the Office for Students said: “There is an outdated assumption that the typical student experience involves moving far away from home to study and work. This is not true for a large number of students and graduates, and we know that, whether by choice or circumstance, many stay in their home towns.”

“Graduates should not have to move to London to get good jobs. It is essential that those who stay in their home towns and cities can enter high-skilled work and are not locked out of the graduate labour market.”

“This funding will help universities and colleges find ways to remove barriers to local graduate employment, broaden the choice for those local graduates, and help ensure that students are getting the right skills to enter rewarding work. It’s good news for graduates, universities and local employers in search of highly-skilled, work-ready graduates.”

As it marks its sixth birthday, leading maintenance company RFT can celebrate carrying out a massive 60,000 responsive repairs each year.

The facilities, repairs and maintenance specialist, part of the Flagship Group, was set up in 2013 to take a new approach to looking after the Group’s homes.

Over the last six years, the company has done just that. It has grown significantly to offer responsive and planned repairs, grounds maintenance and cleaning, ensuring a joined-up service for the customers of its 28,000 properties.

This is complemented by the gas maintenance service provided by Gasway, which Flagship Group acquired in 2017.

With an area of operation the size of Wales, RFT has some 232 vans on the road and each year it brings 1,200 empty homes back into use. It also renews in excess of 1,500 bathrooms and kitchens. 

In the last year alone, RFT fitted more than 900 kitchens and 600 bathrooms.

Warren Gannaway, Operations Director with RFT Services said: “When RFT was set-up, the overriding goal was to provide a great service to the Flagship customers by bringing all these areas of expertise in-house. It was a huge challenge and opportunity to set up a new company completely from scratch and the RFT staff should be proud of what they have achieved in that time.”

The partnership with Victory Housing in January 2019 brought an additional 5,000 homes in North Norfolk into RFT’s remit. And, RFT – which offers a 24/7 service – now also works with other housing associations, local associations and businesses.

RFT’s growth has been supported by technology and the development of an in-house developed IT operating system which supports the team’s work across such a large geographical area.  Further improvements are planned as RFT looks to the future. Warren said:

“We are focused on continuous improvement and making our service even better for our customers. Innovation is at the heart of how we work and we have plans for further enhancements, such as electric vehicles.

“RFT has made a huge difference over the last six years and that is down to our great staff, both in the support roles and our customer facing operatives, who are empowered to make the right repair, first time to meet the customer’s needs.”