Member News

A group of nineteen of Norfolk & Suffolk’s most-loved performance venues have come together to assess the devastating impact caused by the COVID-19 crisis and shutdown and collectively call on local, regional and national government to support a specific sector intervention for venues.

Every year these venues entertain and engage over 1 million people with a huge variety of gigs, concerts and performances as well as workshops and participatory activities for people of all ages. The region’s venues are also major economic players, collectively generating £43.5m in income in the 2018/19 financial year and directly sustaining over 500 full-time equivalent jobs.

The venues are: Dance East, Ipswich; Diss Cornhall; Eastern Angles Theatre Company, Ipswich; Fisher Theatre, Bungay; Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich; Marina Theatre, Lowestoft; National Centre for Writing, Norwich; New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich; Norwich Arts Centre; Norwich Puppet Theatre; Norwich Theatre; Quay Theatre, Sudbury; Seagull Theatre, Lowestoft; Sheringham Little Theatre; Snape Maltings; St George’s Theatre, Great Yarmouth; The Garage, Norwich; Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds and Wells Maltings, Wells-next-the-Sea.

Since the closure of these venues in mid-March, 1,605 performances have been caused to cancel and just 700 have been able to be re-scheduled. This has resulted in the venues projecting a total collective loss of income until the end of September 2020 in excess of £15million.

The impact survey and analysis was undertaken as part of the work of the New Anglia Culture Board and its chair, Helen Wilson, said: “The cultural sector is a vital part of both the social and economic fabric of our region and our performance venues are at the heart of that. The interventions so far have been very important, but are clearly not enough. A strong cultural sector coming out of this crisis is critical to our region’s recovery and regrowth as a key contributor to the visitor economy sector, the second largest employment sector in the region.”

The government’s Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been a lifeline for the venues with almost 700 people currently on furlough leave from the venues’ workforces and an anticipated drawdown from the scheme of c. £3.6milion across the venues by the end of September 2020. However, due to the nature of these buildings and organisations, the venues still collectively carry £2.5million of unavoidable staff costs over the same period associated with continuing to safely maintain buildings, process refunds and exchanges for customers and plan for the speedy re-opening of venues.

The venues have also been able to benefit from other government initiatives including £365,000 from the Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Business Grants scheme and £215,069 in support to the venues from Business Rates relief. The Emergency Funding Packages from Arts Council England have also seen £283,540 of additional support come into the region for the venues to date.

The incredible generosity and loyalty of theatre, concert and gig lovers from across the region and beyond has seen an incredible £420,000 of support reach the venues, particularly through donations in lieu of refunds as well as responses to direct appeals for support.

To date, the total value of government interventions to the region’s venues until the end of September and their own fundraising efforts is estimated at £4.8million leaving a huge gap of £10.5million in their collective finances over the period.

The lack of certainty around viability of re-opening and the ending of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme in October is likely to see venues’ losses further increase significantly and many will cease to be financially viable before the end of 2020.

The venues are now collectively calling on local, regional and national government to support a specific sector intervention for venues, which are likely to be the last business to be able to open at full scale operation.

The venues fear that it will take time for attendance levels to return to pre-shutdown levels and, if current social distancing restrictions remain in place until the end of 2020 and there is no sector-specific intervention, 85% will be forced to make major and potentially devastating organisational changes in order to still be financially viable at the end of October 2020 when the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme runs out.

If the venues are not able to stage their Christmas seasons, 15% will have no choice but to close permanently by January 1st and if there is a prolonged period of closure, 50% will close by 1st April 2021.

The safety of their staff, volunteers and visitors remains the primary consideration for all venues and many venues will need additional financial support in order to make them COVID-secure if they are able to re-open in the short term. 85% of venues remain unsure whether they will be able to re-open their bars, cafes and retail spaces in early July with many only able to re-open in a limited way and 15% unable to open any parts of their buildings at all whilst social distancing measures remain in place.

On behalf of the venues, Stephen Crocker, Chief Executive of Norwich Theatre said: “Our region’s venues are at the heart of life across Norfolk and Suffolk and make these counties the incredible places that they are but the risk to their future is stark. What we do goes way beyond the act of staging performances or delivering activities, it is about bringing people together to share in an experience. In a post-Coronavirus world when social distancing is a thing of the past, I cannot imagine something more important than this. It is clear we need further interventions and this comes at a cost, but the value of the role we have to play as we recover is inestimable.”

Norfolk County Council has produced a toolkit for supporting businesses when re-opening premises after the closure restrictions. 

This month, Method Marketing asked its audience to share its top marketing tools on social media. They shared the platforms they can’t live without, their secret weapons and their unsung heroes.

Scroll down to find out about their faves…

Tomas Hinz

One that I have found super useful over the past year is a Google Chrome extension called Keywords Everywhere. It has loads of features but I use it specifically for longtail keyword research. On a SERP, the tool lists lots of other related keywords that you can grab and use as you wish!

Kelly Cookson, From Spam to Wham!

I’d say ConvertKit. I use it for setting up all my email automations to nurture my list. It’s just not possible to do that stuff manually!

Once you get people subscribed, it’s crucial that you create a welcome series of emails to help them get to know you. ConvertKit has been great for doing that and sending out my weekly email broadcast.

Read more: Best Marketing Advice

Kate Smoothy, WebHive Digital

Pinterest! It isn’t social media, it’s a search engine. The average pin has a lifespan that is 1600 times longer than a Facebook or Instagram post. You can share your content on there and still receive traffic/sales months down the line! If you’re not on Pinterest – get on it now!

Rebecca Broad

Buffer, for sure. It’s simple to use, well-designed, and in my experience is the most reliable of all the scheduling tools. All of my social media clients use it.

Lucy Mowatt, Method Marketing

My favourite tool is IFTTT. I’ve been using it for years to automate various repetitive tasks. For instance, I use it to natively share social media posts across multiple platforms. It saves a lot of time!

What are your favourite marketing tools? What should be on the list? Tell Method Marketing on LinkedIn!

The May NatWest UK Small Business PMI pointed to an improvement in business activity since April, with the downturn in private sector output levelling out from the record pace reported at the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. 

However, small businesses continued to experience a severe shortfall of new work in May and reported widespread business closures across their supply chains, despite a boost as some parts of the UK economy began to reopen with social-distancing measures. While employment trends among small businesses appeared more resilient than in other areas of the economy, a reliance on the government’s furlough scheme was widely cited as helping limit redundancies.

“The data and economic findings in this report help build the picture of why it’s so important to stand behind our small businesses and help them through the difficulties,” said Andrew Harrison, head of Business Banking at NatWest. 

Stephen Blackman, NatWest’s principle economist, added: “The slight uptick in May’s Small Business PMI tells us that, at least, the worst should be behind us.

“The pandemic’s longer-term and wider impacts depend, in large part, on the scale of permanent job losses as businesses operations and models adapt to new rules, behaviours and options.”

The full report is available to read below

With summer 2020 shaping up like no other, BDH Tullford is helping its clients find innovative solutions to unique challenges.

The Norwich-based company was recently contacted by Kelly’s of Cornwall, part of the Froneri group, which was seeking a way to support small shops and confectioners post-lockdown. 

Due to social distancing measures, small outlets can only accommodate one or two people at a time, which is unfortunate if you want to buy treats for the whole family. Customers may be put off buying cones if they have to dash in and out of the store to deliver ice-creams before they melt.

Rising to the challenge, BDH Tullford developed a cone carrier, which allows customers to carry several ice-creams at once.

Designed to compliment our countertop ice-cream holders, which are distributed to companies across Europe, they’re lightweight and easy to use. 

The server simply places the carrier over the holder, before putting cones in the slots and stepping away, leaving the customer to lift the carrier by the handles and distribute the ice-creams outside. 

Not only is it ideal for social distancing, but it’s:

• Cost-effective

• Fully branded

• Recyclable

• Flatpack

• Light​

Needless to say, Kelly’s of Cornwall is delighted with the product!

Got a post-pandemic challenge? Give us a call to find out how we can help you!

01603 620780 / [email protected]

Orange Heating Supplies has moved to a bigger unit, we haven’t gone far, we are now in a different unit on the same commercial park, this has allowed us the space to grow and show our customers in the plumbing and heating industry more of what we can offer.     It also has allowed us more social distancing for our customers and staff to keep everyone safe and we have hand sanitiser available at the entrance.   Orange Heating Supplies supply all plumbing, heating, renewable heating, underfloor heating parts to trade, see the map for their new location.  All customers welcome, pop along to see our new showroom for all plumbing and heating supplies.

We are so looking forward to fully opening our doors once again when it is safe to do so. A huge heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported us and the whole team during this time – whether through your kind messages checking in on us or your takeaway Afternoon Tea orders.

We remain hopeful that we can re-open across the Hotel, Restaurant, Treatment Rooms and Garden Room venue on the 4th July and are taking bookings now for that date and beyond.    In line with the latest government guidelines, we have started undertaking the required changes to our operations to ensure we reopen safely but with our usual luxury home from home experience still in full evidence so you will be able to book with confidence. We are fortunate in having so much space across our buildings and grounds to allow you to relax and enjoy some time away with us.     Our measures include:  – Reduced occupancy and dining numbers – In depth cleaning and protective equipment including gloves and masks where appropriate – Distance reminders – Distant and contactless service – Team member training and health monitoring – Flexible cancellations in line with our usual 72 hours notice policy if things change and mean you can no longer travel to us.    If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to contact us via [email protected], or you can book or enquire about hotel gift vouchers, beauty treatments, event venue viewings and hotel rooms on our Norfolk luxury hotel website.    Keep safe, and keep in touch and we hope to see you soon.     James, Anna and Team Mead x

A New Chapter in a City of Stories : Image Development

Stories. We all have them. They have the power to capture imaginations, impart wisdom, engage and excite. Ours began in 1989. Along with Taylor Swift, The Simpsons and the World Wide Web, Image Development was first born. Our offices on Norwich’s Cathedral Street housed our design and admin, whilst an unassuming garage belonging to the father in law of Managing Director Iain, housed our production facilities. From this first humble chapter, our story unfurled. We grew from our passion of helping clients share their very own stories. Getting them noticed with striking displays, immersive events and a knack for finding that interesting angle.

As we grew, we became even more specialised in events and exhibitions, incorporating as Image Display & Graphics Ltd. in 1996. From there, we gained a reputation as award winning exhibition stand design and build contractors, with this fast becoming over 80% of our business. In recent years however, our wider marketing expertise has taken a more central role in the events we deliver for our clients. Many have touted the ‘end of events’ as we know it at many points in our history. Of course we’ve seen events change. Yet far from ending, they have evolved, with more integration of digital and the wider marketing mix. Importantly we never lost sight of our roots, allowing us to evolve with this growing need for a cohesive understanding of marketing in all our work. It was natural as more clients came to us for their events needs, we had grown in a specific direction, but our multi-talented roots were never far away. So what does this have to do with a new marketing brand in 2020?

Inspired by the bustling community of creatives, independent businesses and entrepreneurs of our home city of Norwich, we knew it was time to grow. In order to do so we looked back to our roots, our story. From here we took the design, marketing and brand development services we were originally built on and injected them with the experience and event led work that has come to be our mainstay. The result? An experientially driven creative marketing service built around you, our wonderful clients, collaborators and colleagues.

So what is #NorfolkBiztory?

To mark our launch and share the power of stories in building brands, we want to hear yours! To share the network of incredible people and brands in our local business community, we’re asking you to use the hastag #NorfolkBiztory to get involved.

As we reopen and recover, making clients a part of your story will be more important than ever, so let’s start sharing them together…

Using #NorfolkBiztory, you could share:

• A unique insight into your origin story

• The problem you set out to solve for your clients & customers

• The reason you do what you do

• A value or values that underpin what you do

So use #NorfolkBiztory, tag us @ImageDevelop across your socials (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram…you can find us on Linkedin too), and spread the word and a little experience of you!

Learn more about Image Development & our services here.

Learn more about Image Display & Graphics here.

Since we last published a catalogue in October 2019 we have moved to a ‘digital first’ catalogue and also integrated many of the Packer products into the Southgate range. The beginning of 2020 saw something none of us expected, with a pandemic sweeping across the world and changing how we all communicate and do business. This gave rise to home working, virtual meetings and the opportunity to support businesses getting back to work with a range of welfare products. With packaging enquiries continuing and social distancing still in place we recognised the need to provide a digital catalogue available. In an unstable market with prices likely to fluctuate the catalogue is unpriced to reduce discrepancies. For current contractual prices, stock levels and the ability to place orders 24/7, contact us for your login details to the Southgate Shop. Within this catalogue you will now see references to Packer products. Where a Southgate product code is followed immediately by a Packer product code this indicates the Southgate Product code will take precedence. Where a Product appears displaying the Packer logo this denotes a Packer product has been added to the Southgate range but will continue with the original Packer product code. We are excited to present an extended range of knives and cutters, heat shrink chambers and glue guns. Our focus on sustainability continues as we introduce the new Carbon Neutral and PaperWave Pillow Film for use with the Pacplan AirWave, along with plain or bespoke printed Paper Mailing Bags, the eco-friendly alternative to plastic. These are strong, resilient, cost-effective and available in a range of sizes. Click here to subscribe to your free digital edition of the Southgate Catalogue

As for many businesses across the country, we have been working hard in line with the most up to date Government guidance, as we prepare to reopen our Norwich city centre offices to clients and staff from Monday 15 June. We have completed a robust risk assessment covering our client facing reception and meeting room areas, as well as our internal risks due to staff work areas, transport needs, office cleaning and maintenance requirements and, importantly, the impacts on staff communication and well being.

This has led to the implementation of the following reopening measures:

• Clients will be seen face to face by pre-appointment only. Appointments will also need to be made in advance for document signing including obtaining certified copies of documents for property transactions
• Only two client meetings to take place in the office at any one time, with calendar management allowing sufficient time between appointments for cleaning routines and to avoid crossover
• Distance signage reminders installed throughout the offices
• Perspex screen installed at the 4 Theatre Street reception
• Increased cleaning routines with hand sanitiser and bacterial wipes available
• Masks and gloves will be available for staff to use as required
• On site staff numbers will be reduced with some remaining working from home and a staff rotation system for those on office premises
• No member of staff will be required to return to the office to work if they do not feel comfortable to do so pending the further easing of restrictions and the provision of additional government guidance
• Staff have been briefed and will be required to maintain social distancing
• Staff workstations will be in individual office rooms where possible
• Client deliveries will not be accepted at Dencora House. Please direct any post to 4 Theatre Street
• Please do not attend the office if you are unwell. In line with the most up to date guidance, anyone with coronavirus symptoms must self-isolate for seven days from when their symptoms started. Anyone who does not have symptoms must self-isolate for 14 days from when the first person in their home started having symptoms. See: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/

We would like to reassure clients and contacts that we feel confident in maintaining our historically high level of client service within the new normal circumstances. Our staff remain accessible and ready to help you navigate your legal issues – whether you would prefer to continue to liaise via phone or email, or if you would feel comfortable to arrange a face to face meeting.

Please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions at all. Please call or email your usual Hatch Brenner contacts, or our Managing Partner Dawn Parkes is available to discuss any concerns via [email protected]

Employers could be forgiven for having forgotten about some of the Employment Law changes which came into force on 6 April 2020 amidst the COVID19 pandemic. However, this is unlikely to provide a defence to any claim which might arise as a result. Below we summarise the changes which employers must action, if they have not already done so.

Written statement of terms

A written statement of terms must now be given to employees on or before the first day of employment, rather than within two months of employment starting.

In addition to the information that was already required by Section 1 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, the written statement must now also include:

• the days of the week the worker is required to work, whether the working hours may be variable and how any variation will be determined;
• any paid leave to which the worker is entitled;
• details of all remuneration and benefits;
• any probationary period; and
• any training entitlement provided by the employer, including whether any training is mandatory and/or must be paid for by the worker.

Furthermore, the right to a written statement of terms now extends to all workers, rather than just employees.

Holiday pay reference period

The reference period for determining an average week’s pay (for the purposes of calculating holiday pay) has been increased from 12 weeks to 52 weeks, or the number of complete weeks for which the worker has been employed.

Parental bereavement leave and pay

A statutory right for employees to take one or two weeks off work following the death of a child under 18 or a stillbirth now applies (‘Parental Bereavement Leave’). A new statutory payment may be payable during parental bereavement leave, depending on the individual’s length of service and earnings (‘Parental Bereavement Pay’).

Repeal of the ‘Swedish Derogation’

The Agency Workers Regulations 2010 have been amended to remove the ‘Swedish Derogation’. By no later than 30 April 2020, temporary work agencies must provide agency workers whose existing contracts contain a Swedish Derogation provision (which, in some circumstances, allows employers to pay contracted workers less than direct employees) with a written statement advising that, with effect from 6 April 2020, those provisions no longer apply.

Key information documents for agency work-seekers

Employment businesses must provide agency work-seekers with a key information document, before agreeing the terms by which the work-seeker will undertake work. The document must include information such as the type of contract under which the work-seeker will be engaged, the minimum rate of pay, any deductions that will be made to their pay, how they will be paid and by whom, and annual leave entitlement.

The Hatch Brenner team of Employment Solicitors in Norwich has experience in advising employers and employees across a range of Employment Law matters. Call 01603 660 811 to speak to one of our specialists.

Colin Cook, Hatch Brenner Partner and Head of Dispute Resolution commented: “As many Claimant practitioners will be painfully aware, Defendant legal teams, instructed by insurers, regularly seek to depart from costs budgets on detailed assessment to effectively use the budgeting process to gain a double assessment of the Claimant’s costs. This can open up opportunity to obtain additional reductions on costs bills where work has been genuinely and properly undertaken in accordance with the approved costs budgets.   “In many instances this undermines the purpose to budgeting.   “One of the latest tactics has been to use the fact that there has been an underspend on the budget as a reason to invite the assessing costs judge as a reason to depart from the budget.   “It is a quite incredulous argument.   “Imagine if you were provided with an estimate for building works and the final bill came in under the original estimate. Would you then challenge the costs because is was too low?   “This is the point some Defendants have been making on costs assessments.”   In the case of Utting v Norwich City College in which Hatch Brenner Solicitors was instructed in the High Court, Master Brown ruled against the Defendant legal team (DWF LLP) seeking to raise this point in his written judgment:   “… if an underspend were to be a good reason for departing from a budget it would be liable to substantially undermine the effectiveness of cost budgeting. As the Judge effectively observed, solicitors who had acted efficiently and kept costs within budget would find their costs subject to detailed assessment, whereas less efficient solicitors who exceeded the budget would, absent any other “good reason”, receive the budgeted sum and avoid detailed assessment. There is however nothing per se unjust if a receiving party were to receive a sum by way of costs which is less than the budgeted sum. This is, of course, to be contrasted with the situation where a phase is not substantially completed, where it would, to my mind, be unjust for a receiving party to receive the full amount of a budgeted sum in circumstances where only a modest amount of the expected work had been done. ”   “… one of the perceived benefits of cost budgeting is that the need for, and scope of, detailed assessments would be reduced … – an aim which is liable to be thwarted if ‘underspend’ could of itself be a “good reason” for departing from a budget.”   “Even if ‘underspend’ were a “good reason” for the purpose of CPR 3.18, it does not follow that there should be a deduction from the sums claimed. Plainly, the fact that a party has spent less than its budget for a phase does not mean there is therefore in fact a good or appropriate reason for any further reduction and I was not satisfied that there was any additional “good reason” for any such reduction.”   Colin Cook is a Personal Injury Solicitor with specialist experience in Brain Injury legal cases. Email [email protected] or call 01603 660 811.