Chamber News

The Chamber’s Representation Council today heard from Chris Starkie, Managing Director of New Anglia LEP about the progress so far with Devolution and how it could affectthe Norfolk business community.

Chris outlined the background and context for Devolution. In October 2015 a joint bid from Norfolk and Suffolk was submitted to Government and representatives from our region met with Lord Heseltine to discuss the details of the bid at the beginning of November.

Devolution is important to business, as it has the potential to strengthen our local economy. It will give our region greater clarity on funding for skills, housing, roads, rail and other infrastructure, as well as business support and will put emphasis on productivity.

Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

“Norfolk Chamber and our Representation Council are, in principal, in favour of Devolution as a way to bring greater economic growth and prosperity to our LEP region. As the Norfolk business community is the key driver for economic growth, it is essential that we ensure that businesses are kept up to date and engaged with the Devolution process to influence the outcome. In conjunction with the LEP we have put together a briefing note and FAQ that we would encourage businesses to take note of. Any queries, please contact me by email on: [email protected]“

Norwich City Council have released their latest economic barometer. The report highlighted:

Nationally

• The Office of National Statistics advised that the GDP (gross domestic product) increased by 0.5% this quarter (July to September).
• The Consumer Price Index indicated that households have seen little change in the prices they pay for goods and services.
• UK retail sales volumes fell in October after a drop in trading at food stores. This was the largest drop since May 2014.
• Mortgage lending increased to £21bn in October – up nearly 20% from a year ago. The total was the highest seen since 2008.

East of England

• East of England has the third highest concentration of employees in the UK for firms in the technology sector. Many of these firms have plans to strongly increase employment over the next 12 months.
• Construction workloads in the East increased with private housing and the commercial sector expanding at the fastest rate. 46% of firms in East Anglian reports an increase in their workloads, according to the RICS.
• The number of new businesses starting up in the East of England rose by 7% to 243,000.

Norwich

• Services group Norse has driven nearly £130m into the Norfolk economy.
• WiSpire, a Norfolk based internet provider has officially opened its new head office in Rackheath Industrial Estate, Norwich.
• Jarrolds saw pre-tax profits growth 40% to £3m.

For full details of the latest economic barometer click here.

Representatives from Norfolk Chamber, Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) and Norfolk County Council sat down this week to talk about the proposed improvements to the city centre, in particular the inner ring road.

At an earlier November meeting of the Norwich Chamber Council, concerns had been raised about the noticeable increase in inner ring road traffic, with particular focus on the traffic impact roadworks planned for Golden Ball/Westlegate area. It was agreed that a joint meeting with the Chamber, the Norwich BID and the County Council would be useful to clarify the improvement plans.

The impact of the NDR; the inner ring road; and specific projects such as the works on Golden Ball/Westlegate were reviewed. It was noted that the inner ring road was nearly at capacity and at peaks times was at or over capacity. The County Council advised that once the improvements to Golden Ball/Westlegate had been completed, they planned to do more detailed modelling of the inner ring road, looking in particular at the junctions.

Chairing the meeting, Chamber President, Jonathan Cage said:

“The joint meeting has helped to provide clarity on the County Council’s plans for the city centre. The Chamber and the BID agreed that closer engagement with the business community at an earlier stage would not only provide a better understanding when construction/roads works were underway, but would help provide business support to the proposed plans.”

The meeting closed with an agreement for all parties to meet again in late January/early February 2016. In the meantime, the Chamber has released a quick transport survey to allow the business community to communicate their views on how Transport for Norwich affects their business. The survey is open until 21 December 2015.

Norfolk County Council have now confirmed the formal award of the contract for the construction of Norwich Northern Distributor Road to the international infrastructure groupBalfour Beatty.

Toby Coke, Chairman of the Environment, Development & Transport Committee, said: “I am very pleased that we have at last been able to confirm the award of the construction contract to Balfour Beatty Civils. Wednesday’s Government confirmation of funding ended the long, and at times frustrating, development and approval process, but now things will start to move quickly.

“Work including some initial site clearance will be starting on site before Christmas, with the main site clearance, archaeology and utility service diversions will be underway in January followed by construction of the road itself beginning around the end of March (2016). Construction will then take place along the whole footprint of the scheme and people can look forward to the road opening by the end of 2017 or early 2018.

“Once it opens it will immediately take thousands of vehicles a day off unsuitable and congested roads in and around Norwich, bringing relief to communities that have for years endured rat-running, and vastly improving access for businesses and residents across the north-east of Norwich, Broadland and North Norfolk.”

Langley School is inspirational. We are a co-educational day and boarding school with clear values and aspirations. Our pupils are celebrated for who they are and encouraged to reach their full potential in all areas.

We are passionate about providing a wide and varied programme of sporting activities for all pupils. High standards are set for the numerous competitive teams, with an extensive programme of fixtures at all levels and for all ages as demonstrated through our Sporting Partnerships and Academies.

We pride ourselves on providing an exceptional all-round education to girls and boys from the age of 2 in our Prep School and Nursery to Sixth Form students from across the UK and overseas.

Our progressive academic curriculum and high quality teaching along with our wide raging activity programme, outstanding pastoral care and excellent facilities support every pupil’s learning journey throughout the school.

We are keen to play a part in the community and to keep close to our business colleagues at every level.

Changes to export credit policies have been agreed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Members of the Organisation, including the EU, have agreed to substantially limit export-related support for coal-fired power plants and to encourage the use of the most advanced technology in energy production.

Following two years of intense discussions, the deal is said to represent an important first step towards aligning export credits policies with the global push for cleaner energy generation.

Under the new rules, export credit agencies of the OECD countries concerned will only be able to support export of coal-fired plants where no other, less-polluting power generation technology, is available.

Where only coal-fired technology is available, then financial support would be available only for the most efficient systems.

The European Commission said that the agreement is shaped in such a way as to allow for future adaptations – taking account of the latest developments in climate science, further advances in energy-generation technology, and changes to domestic policy frameworks in both exporting and importing countries.

Welcoming the agreement – which must still be formally endorsed by the EU Member States – Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström said that it demonstrates that EU trade policy can make a significant contribution towards the production of cleaner energy and fighting climate change.

Mrs Malmström added that she hoped other countries would follow the OECD’s lead after the forthcoming COP21 climate conference in Paris.

OECD rules on export credits apply primarily to members of the Organisation. However, it has pointed out, several key non-member states, including Brazil, China, India and South Africa, regularly attend meetings of the OECD Export Credits Group as observers and may decide to join initiatives on a voluntary basis.

Open Letter to Norfolk Chamber of Commerce from Jonathan Denby, Head of Corporate Affairs, Abellio Greater Anglia

Dear All

I’m pleased to confirm that, as of today, we are now back to operating the full normal timetable on all the local lines radiating out of Ipswich and Norwich across Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire (plus the Marks Tey to Sudbury route), that had been affected by the diesel unit availability problems (caused by poor railhead conditions).

We did, as we committed in my email of last Friday, restore the normal timetable on the Marks Tey to Sudbury, Ipswich to Felixstowe and Norwich to Great Yarmouth lines from Monday (23 November). However, as had been outlined, the ongoing challenges of wheel damage on the trains meant that all Ipswich to Peterborough services were cancelled on Monday. From then on progress has been better than we had suggested, so that yesterday half of the Ipswich to Peterborough services ran and from today we have been able to restore the full timetable on that route, in addition to the other local lines. We now expect to provide the full timetable on all the routes in question from now on.

We are extremely sorry for the disruption and inconvenience caused to everyone affected by the extensive recent cancellations on a number of the local lines. We did all we could to minimise the impact by providing a full planned bus replacement service on some routes, rather than ending up with short notice, ad hoc cancellations which would have been even more disruptive for passengers. We have also worked hard to get trains repaired as quickly as possible, sending them to both Ilford and Derby, the two nearest locations with the appropriate equipment (wheel lathes) to repair the damaged wheels. In addition, further actions were taken by Network Rail to try and improve railhead conditions.

We are providing special compensation arrangements for passengers on the Marks Tey to Sudbury, Ipswich to Felixstowe and Norwich to Great Yarmouth lines, who will be refunded for their daily rail travel cost for all the days that the rail services were suspended and substituted with a bus replacement service. They can claim via our website or pick up a form at stations or from on-train colleagues.

Clearly this has been a very unsatisfactory episode and we are acutely aware of the frustration and problems it has caused. We will be conducting a full review of the issues in partnership with Network Rail to improve the situation for future years. As outlined on Friday, the two core issues which need to be reviewed are as follows :

1. Network Rail’s railhead treatment programme, as the railhead conditions are what cause the wheel damage and self-evidently the conditions have been far worse than ever before and the preventative railhead treatment programme has not been effective enough
2. What additional preventative and contingency train fleet arrangements can be put in place to try and prevent such damage to trains, enable quicker repairs and have quicker access to additional trains in the event that major problems occurred again

We have also discussed the issues with the Department for Transport and emphasised the need to ensure that actions identified are delivered regardless of the timing and outcome of the franchise renewal process.

Finally, we apologise again for these problems. You can be assured we are doing all we can to prevent a repetition.

Yours sincerely

Jonathan

Jonathan Denby Head of Corporate Affairs Abellio Greater Angliawww.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk

Work on Norwich Northern Distributor Road will be underway before Christmas after the final seal ofapproval was received today (Weds) by Norfolk County Council.

Development Consent was granted in June (2015), but the plans also required Full Approval from the Government because of the amount of national funding going into the project. That was announced today as part of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, and the Council has now received a letter of confirmation, including the release of £77.49m over three years (See Notes for Editors).

Preliminary work will now start as soon as possible, including site clearance, archaeology and utility service diversions. Main construction will begin in the New Year (2016), probably around March. The main contractor is Balfour Beatty Civils (formerly Birse Civils)

The 20km dual carriageway, running from the A47 at Postwick, east of Norwich, to the A1067 north of Taverham, will take thousands of vehicles a day off congested and unsuitable roads, bringing relief to local communities and allowing a range of further ‘Transport for Norwich’ schemes in and around the city. It will open up access to much of Broadland and North Norfolk and to Norwich International Airport. As well as providing a high quality link around the north and east of Norwich, it will improve access to existing and planned business and housing developments and give a £1billion boost to the local economy.

Caroline Williams, CEO of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, said: “The building of the NDR is a clear signal that Norfolk is ready to embrace growth and development in order to create the jobs and houses we need. Norwich continues to punch above its weight as a dynamic business location and this piece of the jigsaw is very welcome to enable us to move forward even faster.”

Cllr George Nobbs, Leader of Norfolk County Council, said: “This is a memorable day for Norfolk and Norwich. This announcement from the Government is confirmation that over £100m* in national funding will be coming to Norfolk for Norwich Northern Distributor Road. The road is essential infrastructure for the future wellbeing of the city and county, supporting economic growth and new jobs, and making journeys quicker and easier for thousands of people every day.

“I am grateful for the support of other authorities in Norfolk, especially Norwich City, Broadland and South Norfolk, and for the way in which the Secretary of State and New Anglia LEP responded to our requests for additional support**.

“The funding package is now firmly in place. This means that we are on course for site clearance work to start in the next few weeks, with main construction beginning around the end of March next year. This work will include environmental and wildlife protection measures that set new standards nationally – I am looking forward to planting the first of the 30,000 trees that will be going in along the route.

“We know that Norfolk needs better infrastructure, and there is almost £106.5m* of national funding on the table to pay for this road. We should now be working together to make the most of the opportunities the NDR will give us, and to press for further national investment in our roads and railways – particularly the A47 and Great Yarmouth’s third river crossing, and the Norwich to London main rail line.”

Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia LEP said: “This road will deliver more than £1bn in economic benefit for Norwich and the wider economy. It is critical in delivering thousands of jobs, new homes and driving the economic growth we need across Norfolk and Suffolk. Today’s announcement brings us closer to those goals.”

Cllr Andrew Proctor, Leader, Broadland District Council, said: “This is fantastic news and after many years work and consultation we now have the certainty we have been waiting for. The whole of the NDR route is in Broadland and it is extremely important in fulfilling our ambition for more jobs, more homes and more opportunities for everyone in the district.

“Alongside the major economic advantages to business growth, our support for the road has always been in the belief that it would bring direct benefits to people living in Broadland. There will be faster, more reliable journey times for residents , sites for new homes will become more viable, access will be improved to Broadland Business Park and, ultimately, it will facilitate better public transport that will relieve traffic congestion to the east and north of Norwich.”

Cllr Alan Waters, Leader of Norwich City Council, said: “Greater Norwich is going from strength to strength but good infrastructure is vital to support it through this growth. Delivery of the NDR will not only relieve stress on suburban roads but also bring forward the development of the homes and employment centres we need to support a growing population in the years to come.

“Additional benefits will be seen in the form of improved road links with an emphasis on public transport, helping to boost the city centre economy and making the area as a whole an enticing prospect for skilled workers. The final piece of funding for the NDR means we’re in the exciting position of being able to realise all these benefits for both the city and county.”

If you have any comments or questions about the NDR or accessibility to Norwich issues, we would like to hear from you. Please email: [email protected]

The Chancellor announced today (Wednesday 25th November) that New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and its local authority partners have secured one of the Government’s prestigious new Enterprise Zone sites for Norfolk and Suffolk, which will help to create 18,500 jobs in the 25 year lifetime of the zone, including 5,000 jobs by 2021.

And in a double success a bid to extend the existing Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (New Anglia) Enterprise Zone, has also been approved which will mean space for an additional 30 businesses and deliver a further 1,219 jobs.

Enterprise Zones deliver a wide range of benefits to companies including a business rate discount of up to £275,000 over five years, simplified planning and access to Superfast broadband. More than 60 bids were submitted to Government from across England with 26 new and expanded Enterprise Zones announced today.

The successful bids were announced as part of George Osborne’s Autumn Statement. The new zone will be developed across 10 locations in Suffolk and Norfolk, under the theme of “Space to Innovate.” Each site will focus on the counties key innovation sectors and supply chains where it has specialist expertise and knowledge. This includes world-leading agri-tech, food and health, offshore energy, ICT and digital and creative sectors and the development of the Green Economy.

The sites will act as a powerful magnet to attract new businesses, particularly overseas companies, looking to capitalise on the counties’ expertise in these sectors. The sites will also link with the region’s innovation centres, universities and the New Anglia Growth Hub to boost innovation, productivity and help to deliver high skilled jobs.

The sites, which will be ready for development in March 2016, are based in rural locations and smaller towns, as well as Ipswich and Norwich, to spread economic benefits across the two counties.

The ten locations are:

Norwich Research Park, Norfolk – a 25 hectare site next to the B1108, south of Norwich. Enterprise Zone status will help support spin-out businesses in the food, health and plant science sectors

Nar Ouse Business Park in King’s Lynn, Norfolk – a 12.4 hectare site on the southern edge of the town adjacent to the A47, that will link to the King’s Lynn Innovation Centre, currently under construction. This will stimulate new businesses and attract international businesses in the agri-tech, engineering and food production sectors.

North Norfolk

• Scottow Enterprise Park in Coltishall, – a rural site of 26 hectares to the south of Scottow and Lamas Roads, where part of the site will have Enterprise Zone status to focus on businesses in the creative digital and low carbon sectors.
• Egmere Business Zone – a 7.4 hectare rural site south of Wells-Next-The-Sea which will focus on the Offshore Energy sector. It is located close to the Sheringham Shoal windfarm and two further windfarms being developed off the coastline

Suffolk Business Park, Bury St Edmunds – a 14 hectare site on a new business park which will be developed to the east of Moreton Hall.

Greater Ipswich, Suffolk – a cluster of sites to support the delivery of the newly developed Ipswich Vision, the blueprint for the regeneration of the town.

• Futura Business Park – a 10 hectare site to the east of the town to help focus on higher value and more productive sectors and prevent displacement of retail from the town centre.
• Princes St – a 2.9 hectare office corridor which connects the railway station with the town centre and will focus on ICT, digital and professional services businesses.
• Sproughton Road – a 14 hectare site between the A14 and Sproughton Road, in the Babergh district area provides excellent access to the A14 and huge potential for businesses in the agri-tech, food and health sectors as well as their supply chains
• Waterfront Island – Two hectares of port land separating the Wet Dock from the tidal river with part of the Island given Enterprise Zone designation

Mill Lane Business & Enterprise Park in Stowmarket, Suffolk – a 17 hectare extension of the existing Food Enterprise Zone, located on the edge of the town, with strong links to existing local food manufacturers

The Enterprise Zone will also link with three new Food Enterprise Zones in Suffolk and Norfolk, which were announced in March 2015, and will create vital economic hubs for the industry. The Orwell and Gipping Valley Food Cluster in Suffolk and Greater Norwich Food Cluster in Norfolk, will increase collaboration between the food, drink and agricultural sectors, bring better connectivity to the supply chain and encourage greater links with skills and agri-tech research.

The extension to the existing Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft (New Anglia) Enterprise Zone, covers existing sites at Beacon Park and South Denes Energy Park in Great Yarmouth, and Mobbs Way and Riverside Road in Lowestoft.

This zone has been developed to help energy-related companies and their supply chain grow across six sites in Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth and has delivered more than 1800 jobs over 3 years.

The second round of Enterprise Zone bids was announced by the Chancellor, in the summer. The Norfolk and Suffolk bid was submitted by New Anglia LEP in September 2015, working in close partnership with local authorities and other delivery partners.

Caroline Williams, Chief Executive, Norfolk Chamber said: “Norfolk Chamber has been lobbying hard and supporting the business case for further enterprise zones in Norfolk. We are delighted that the Government has listened and created more opportunities for the business community to deliver economic growth and jobs within our region.”

Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia LEP said: “This is fantastic news for companies locally, nationally and internationally looking to capitalise on the expertise of the East – from world-class food and health research, our thriving all-energy sector and innovation in ICT and digital – this zone will be a magnet for inward investment, help create thousands of jobs and drive our productivity. A great boost for businesses and another great economic prize, deservedly won by Norfolk and Suffolk.”

Cllr Nick Daubney, Leader of the Borough Council of King’s Lynn & West Norfolk, said: This is excellent news for West Norfolk and I am delighted that our bid has been given the go ahead. Being designated as an Enterprise Zone will bring a range of benefits that will help to stimulate business growth and aid the removal of physical barriers to achieving that growth in the area – bringing more jobs and opportunities for the people of West Norfolk and beyond. King’s Lynn will be promoted regionally, nationally and internationally as a place to do business and that enhanced marketing will bring further investment which can only be a good thing. The new King’s Lynn Innovation Centre is on track for completion next year providing further support for business development. Exciting times for King’s Lynn.”

Cllr Graham Plant, the leader of Great Yarmouth Borough Council, said: “One of the borough council’s priorities is to work with partners to build on creating conditions for further private and public investment, ensuring the borough is best placed to capture growth and its benefits for local communities.

“The extension of the existing Enterprise Zone, which is targeted at the energy sector, is great news and will also be extending opportunities for businesses to relocate to and expand within the borough, which has prospects of sharing in £50bn of investment in energy in the East of England over the next 20 years, including in oil and gas exploration, gas platform decommissioning, nuclear, and offshore wind farms.

“This announcement reflects huge Government confidence in the regional and local economy. Beacon Park is already one of the most successful Enterprise Zone sites within the country, and we look forward to building on that success to date. The borough council would like to thank New Anglia LEP for their support.”

In a full response to the Autumn Statement and Spending Review, Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said:

On the apprenticeship levy:

“Although we finally have clarity over the threshold of the apprenticeship levy, it will hurt larger Norfolk businesses who will have to pay what is effectively a payroll tax. It is important that the delivery of the levy doesn’t undermine other types of vocational training, which could be better suited to some businesses. The priority must be delivering high quality apprenticeships, viewed positively by employers. Otherwise this is simply another cash cow from business that will not have the desired effect.”

On business rates:

“Extending the small business rate relief scheme will support businesses across the country while the broader shape of a reformed business rates system is determined. We will continue to work with the government to ensure that business concerns over our broken rates system are met.

“The Chancellor recognises that support of the business community is crucial in implementing a supplementary levy for infrastructure – this should be expressed through a ratepayers vote.”

On investment in infrastructure:

“Norfolk’s transport and digital infrastructure has been in dire need of repair for many years. Fixing our broken roads and railways and ensuring a world-class digital broadband network is a no brainer if the Government wants to support growth and boost productivity. The 50% increase in capital expenditure for transport is good news, but we sorely need the government to crack on and get building.

“There isn’t enough detail to show how the UK will develop a sustainable energy supply for the future.

On housing:

“A lack of affordable housing supply is a big issue for business, impacting on their ability to recruit and retain talent. It’s therefore reassuring that the Chancellor is prioritising housebuilding on a national scale, even if we’ve heard much of this before. It is imperative that the Government sets out further details on how these schemes will be implemented.”

On research and development:

“Increasing investment in science and technology is a boon to our dynamic businesses, especially in our thriving tech sector, so that they have room to grow. However, it is important that the move to replace grants with loans from Innovate UK does not reduce our dynamism in the global economy. Norfolk businesses must continue to feel empowered to evolve and expand, otherwise we risk being also-rans in the global race.

“We are pleased with the investment in health and energy research, as well as the protection of the science and research budget. This just one of the drivers necessary to maintain UK productivity – but it is equally vital that the UK does not lose its competitive advantage, and supports innovation by retaining our intellectual property.”

On supporting exporters:

“We await more details on the government’s future plans for investing in export support. Businesses need in-market support to enable them to break into new markets. Chambers of Commerce both in the UK and overseas are increasingly well placed to provide the help needed for those companies, especially SMEs who wish to trade the world with confidence.”

On Further Education:

“We are encouraged that the Chancellor has listened to the BCC call to protect adult skills funding for FE Colleges. A strong further education sector, which meets business needs, is crucial to boost productivity and make sure firms get access to the skilled staff they need.”

Responding to the Chancellor’s Spending Review and Autumn Statement, Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said:

“Once again the Chancellor has used the tools at his disposal to create a Statement that the majority of Norfolk businesses will support. The OBR forecasts gave the Chancellor more room to move than was predicted, so this wasn’t the doom and gloom Spending Review that most people anticipated.

“We are delighted that the Chancellor has used this opportunity to listen to business on infrastructure, particularly on repairing our broken road network. This will help move people and goods more efficiently across the county, which will help Norfolk businesses to grow.

“Increasing investment in science and technology is important to our dynamic businesses, especially in our thriving tech sectors, so that they have room to grow. However it is important that the move to replace grants with loans from Innovate UK does not reduce our dynamism in the global economy. Businesses must continue to feel empowered to evolve and expand, otherwise we risk being also-rans in the global race.

“This Spending Review and Autumn Statement was about reducing our budget deficit and reshaping the state. It is right that the Chancellor continues to provide the nation with the headroom it needs to be able to weather the uncertain future without delay. Reshaping the state will in general be beneficial for the economy.

“However there are some things that only government can and should do, markets are imperfect and markets can fail. In those circumstances it is right that government intervenes in the best interests of the economy as a whole.”

China Britain Trade Expo 2016 is being held at the prestigious Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre, London on 28 January 2016.

Focusing on high vallue trade opportunities between China and Britain, supply chain opportunities and best practice, this event will deliver an unparelleled environment to discuss the business opportunities.

China Britain Trade Expo 1016 incorprates a high profile conference schedule comprising of ministerial representation, business leaders from Britain and China, and trade experts specialising in this key market. Running alongside the main conference will be an interactive exhibition area and ‘Ask the Experts’ round table sessions – with the opportunity to pre book key meetins on a range of specialist subject areas.

BCC Members Registration Link

For any further information on the event please click here.