Chamber News

Norfolk Chamber added its voice to that of our regional MPs in stating that a 5 year delay on the start to the A47 improvement works is way too long.

Caroline Williams, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chamber said: “It is the business community that will deliver jobs and economic prosperity in Norfolk and delays in delivering the vital infrastructure improvements will be to the detriment of Norfolk’s economic wellbeing.”

“Greater accessibility is key to ensuring that the Norfolk business community can compete on a national level and infrastructure improvements in Norfolk will open up opportunities for local businesses to deliver more economic growth, housing and jobs for our County.”

The A47 Alliance has been advised that construction on some of the upgrading work (announced in December 2014the Autumn Statement) may not commence for 60 months, with delays expected whilst land is acquired and plans are drawn up.

Peter Aldous (MP for Waveney) co-ordinated a letter signed by Conservative MPs along the A47 route, to the A47 Alliance expressing their concerns and stating that the work is needed to address congestion and accident black spots and should be completed “as soon as practically possible”. The MPs’ letter also warned that delays could prejudice a future funding bid for funding to see the whole route become a dual carriageway.

The A47 Alliance has a meeting scheduled with Highways England – the new body responsible for building roads and it is expected that they will be advising Highways England that the timeline is too long and faster action is needed.

The MPs’ letter also urged the A47 Alliance chairman Roger Foulger to speed up the process. Mr Foulger advised that the A47 Alliance would be pushing Highways bosses for more action on the route. He said “Clearly one of the items on the agenda is the timeline. Now we have had the funding for Norfolk and Cambridgeshire, we want to see an earlier start on it.”

“What we are looking at is an earlier start on is for example the Burlingham to Blofield stretch. The message we got in the Autumn Statement was here is the money, now get on with it. But basically it is the procedures which the Highways Agency say they have to go through, such a land acquisition and all the rest of it, takes a really lengthy period of time. What I, and other members of the alliance, want to see is this period of time come down and an earlier start made.”

A DfT spokesperson said: “The Department announced a package of A47 improvements worth over £300 million in December 2014. Highways England will be working with stakeholders including the council to deliver the schemes as quickly as possible.”

This week has seen the news of a £1m port investment which will put Great Yarmouth in a great position to win work in the decommissioning of North Sea oil and gas platforms.

Energy services firm Peterson is partnering with waste service specialist Veolia to develop a decommissioning facility on the site of the outer harbour.

The new site developed in co-operation with the port, and with support funding from New Anglia LEP will provide operators in the Southern North Sea (SNS) with access to a bespoke facility in the harbour’s western terminal. It will enable topside, jacket and subsea equipment to be offloaded for dismantling and recycling. Locating Veolia-Peterson’s expertise in Great Yarmouth will provide operators with a facility close to the SNS to minimise risk and costs associated with transporting infrastructure.

The facility is expected to become operational in July 2015 with the initial creation of seven jobs but increased employment is expected in line with project requriments and market demand.

James Johnson, decommissioning manager for Peterson said: “We have an opportunity working with our partners to establish Yarmouth as the centre for decommissioning for the SNS”

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said “This is very positive news for Yarmouth and the wider business community. The investment will create a major hub for decommissioning activity in the Southern and Central North Sea building on the positive news relating to offshore wind and the news that Sizewell C’s planning is moving forward”

• UK interest rates held at 0.5 percent
• Manufacturing growth slowed in the East of England
• Norfolk saw strong growth in employment and investment in last year
• West Norfolk agricultural seed company expands into NRP in Norwich
• Ikea to invest in an experimental store in Norwich

The latest economic report, has been published by Norwich City Council and highlighted that the Bank of England held interest rates at 0.5% and the UK’s inflation rate rose out of negative territory to 0.1% (from -0.1% in April).

Manufacturing growth in the East of England slowed in the second quarter according to a report by the industry body EEF. The results of the last British Chambers of Commerce, Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) published on 9 April, did show a slow down in manufacturing, which has been borne out in the latest EEF findings. The next QES report is due to be issued on 7 July 2015.

A recent study by Grant Thornton showed that in the last year Norfolk had seen strong growth in both employment and investment. The combined turnover of the top 100 Norfolk companies grew by 10.7%. Employment levels rose by 5.7% with the majority of news jobs being created in the services sector.

Chamber Gold Patrons, Germains Seed Technology has now opened a new laboratory in the Centrum building on the Norwich Research Park. Germains will use the lap for its global research and development programme to boost crop resilience.

June also saw an announcement from Ikea that they will be basing a new experimental store format at the Sweetbriar Retail Park in Norwich.

Details of the full Norwich Economic Barometer can be view here.

One of Norfolk Chamber’s key campaigns is ‘Develop the Talent of Norfolk’s Young People’. As part of our undertaking for this campaign, Norfolk Chamber is delighted to be sponsoring the Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremonies in both King’s Lynn and Norwich.

Norfolk Chamber is working with our members, stakeholders and the British Chamber’s of Commerce (BCC) to bridge the gap between education and the world of work. We are also part of a BCC pilot project to develop the ‘Young Chamber’ offering to schools to enable them to better connect to their local business community. The Chamber is also part of Norwich4Jobs helping more of Norfolk’s young people to access employment.

Last year, Norfolk Chamber had four apprentices, which represented 25% of our workforce. We were delighted to employ two of those apprentices upon completion of their apprenticeships. Katie Downes is now an Event Assistant and Jack Edwards is now our Membership Administrator. The remaining two apprentices, Darcy and Sam are studying for a Level 2 apprenticeship in Business Administration and a Level 3 Business Administration apprenticeship respectively.

Nova Fairbank, Executive Assistant at Norfolk Chamber said:

“More and more employers are seeing the advantages and benefits of apprenticeships and Norfolk Chamber feels that it important to celebrate the apprentices’ success. The graduation ceremonies are an opportunity for employers, training providers, and the apprentices own families to acknowledge what a great achievement it is for those apprentices. They are not only gaining a qualification, through lots of hard work, but from an employer’s perspective, they are also totally work ready, which is why Norfolk Chamber has sponsored the National Apprenticeship Graduation Ceremonies in both Norwich and King’s Lynn.”

The graduation ceremony in King’s Lynn will be held on Thursday 9 July 2015 from 6.30pm – 8.30pm at the King’s Lynn Corn Exchange, Tuesday Marketplace, King’s Lynn. The Norwich ceremony will be held on Friday 17 July 2015 from 6.30pm – 8.30pm at St Andrew’s Hall, St Andrew Plain, Norwich.

For details of how to book to attend one of these events, visit: www.apprenticesnorfolk.co.uk.

Although a lot of work is happening behind the scenes, a consultation on the details of Sizewell C will not start until Norfolk Chamber Patron EDF knows how it is going to pay for its current new nuclear power station project in Somerset. However the company has not been sitting on its hands over the multi-million investment.

Tom McGarry EDF head of communications said:

“It is really important to note that we are making really solid progress in terms of coming to a final investment decision. We are making too progress with government and with potential investors at Hinkley Point.

“It is really important to stress that we will not come out and consult on the details of our second nuclear new build project until we know how we are paying for the first”

Mr McGarry advises that it would take 5,600 workers to build the stations and millions of tons of material will have to be exported and imported to the site. As a reference point the amount of material that would have to be moved from Hinkley Point would fill Wembley Stadium about three times.

Currently EDF are undertaking surveys and transport assessments and are working with the planning authorities and local communities on the planning process.

The plans are progressing for Sizewell C we will have to wait a bit longer before it’s construction will start to contribute to the Norfolk economy.

In conjunction with the Norfolk Show Ground, the Norfolk Chamber have a number of tickets for the event to give away to members of the Norfolk Chamber.

We have 2 sets of prizes to give away:

• 4 x Corporate Package – inc entry on either 1 or 2 July, car parking pass, entry to corporate hospitality on Thursday 2 July
• 5 x Entry – entry on either 1 or 2 July

The closing date for this is the 24th June

Winners will be announced on the 25th June

So for your chance to win simply fill in this onlineform

• Open to Members of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce only
• 1 entryper company

The term ‘apprenticeship’ will be protected in law, the government has just announced. It is hoped that this will strengthen their reputation and ensure apprenticeships are recognised as a career path equal to higher education.

With over 2.2 million apprenticeships created since 2010 the government will also enshrine in law its commitment to create 3 million apprenticeships by 2020.

With apprenticeships giving hope and opportunity to more young people, and helping all types and sizes of businesses grow in communities across Norfolk, the Skills Minister will legally protect the term ‘apprenticeship’ through the Enterprise Bill. This will give government the power to take action when the term is misused to promote low quality courses.

To ensure that more young people can benefit the minister has also announced that public bodies will now be set targets to take on more apprentices. Schools, hospitals, prisons and police forces will all be creating opportunities for young people to get on.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said: ‘Many businesses have come to recognise the value of apprentices and schools are starting to promote them as a real alternative to University. However, there remains a perception from many parents that apprenticeships are second best. In Norfolk there are some fantastic opportunities for young people with fast growing companies and it is a positive move that the government also recognise how important they are to the local economy’

Norfolk Chamber welcomed the latest unemployment figures for Great Yarmouth, which highlighted that the claimant count rate for the Borough stood at 2.8% in May 2015 – its lowest ever recorded rate.

The findings were published in the latest Great Yarmouth unemployment briefing. All local authorities in Norfolk recorded falls in their claimant count rates with King’s Lynn and West Norfolk recording the largest fall of -7.3%. Great Yarmouth rate fell by 3.7% representing 62 fewer claimants than the previous month. Overall Norfolk as a county sits at 13th place out of 30 in the East and South East County ratings, with a total of 7.237 claimants.

Commenting ahead of the Eurogroup meeting in Luxembourg tomorrow (18 June), John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:

“With a messy Grexit looking increasingly likely, many UK businesses may behit by the resulting market upheaval, changes in trade flows, and payment issues. Central banks and governments must work to limit the disruption to business through all means possible.

“As with every crisis, we need to be hard-headed enough to see if there is an opportunity in the agony. It is possible that Grexit may produce a silver lining for the UK as it seeks to redefine its position in Europe. In the aftermath of Grexit, the Eurozone would have to hold an honest debate about further integration and its future operation to prevent something similar ever happening again. Within those discussions there would be an opportunity for the UK to secure meaningful changes and opt-outs that ensure a reformed EU aids our competitiveness.”

Sunday saw the Norfolk Chamber teaming up with Steeles Law toplay in the Norwich Rebels Touch Summer League 2015.

The 10 men and women from Steeles Law team was bolstered by Jason Williams from the Norfolk Chamber as they braved the wet conditions at Eaton Park for their first match, and despite some slipping and sliding on the wet grass (mostly from Jason) a lot of potential was shown for future games.

Overall a great time was had by all and we look forward to more of the same for next Sunday’s match against Norwich Rebels 2.

Urgent changes are being made to local access arrangements at the Postwick junction road works to reduce the risk posed by traffic queuing back on to the westboundA47.

From Monday evening (15 June) after the evening peak, access to Postwick village and Brundallwill no longer be possible via the existing bridge over the A47 (although access to Postwick Park & Ride will be retained). This is because traffic management changes for a new phase of work on the new Oaks Lane roundabout, to the south of the A47, have resulted in traffic queuing back down the slip on to the dual carriageway.

Adjustment to the temporary traffic light timings did not solve the problem, so the access to Postwick village via the existing bridge and Church Road has had to be closed to ensure a free flow of traffic leaving the A47, maintaining safety on the westbound carriageway. Traffic heading for Postwick village and Brundall is being diverted via the A47 to the Cucumber Lane roundabout. This is likely to be necessary until construction of the Oaks Lane roundabout is complete, in about four to six weeks.

Norfolk County Council apologises for the inconvenience this will cause to local residents.

West Norfolk Chamber Council held their latest meeting at the community pub, the King’s Arms at Shouldham and received an update on RAF Marham’s future plans from Wing Commander Ady Portlock.

RAF Marham is the second largest unit in the Royal Air Force. The base is home to 2,500 service personnel, 200 civil servants and approximately 5,000 dependents, plus 1,000 contractors.

Only a few years ago, RAF Marham’s future was in doubt, as the Tornado jets, based at Marham, were being phased out in favour of a new jet. However, the decision to base the new Joint Strikeforce Fighter (JSF) – Lightening II, at Marham has secured the base’s future in Norfolk until at least 2050.

In February 2015, the Prime Minister, announced that £300 million would be invested in RAF Marham to equip the base to accommodate the new JSF.

The Tornado will be phased out over the next couple of years, with the Lightening II coming into full operation in 2019. RAF Marham will also have a training centre for the JSF, which will encourage the European nations to use Marham. In addition, the US Air Force has also announced that Lakenheath in Suffolk will be their JSF base. This will effectively make our region a key hub for the Joint Strikeforce Fighter.

Work on the base’s upgrades will commence towards the end of 2015, with the peak of the work coming in 2017. It is expected that there will be over 1,500 additional contractors on the base carrying out these works. This should provide some opportunities for local contractors and will definitely increase the local economic spend in the West Norfolk area.

With key contractors such as Circo, BAE, Rolls Royce and ISS all having or developing apprenticeship programmes, there will also be future opportunities for young people in West Norfolk.

Heather Garrod, President of West Norfolk Chamber said:

“It is fantastic to know that RAF Marham’s future is secure until 2050 and so exciting to see so many future opportunities for our local economy and businesses, as a result of the JSF being based at Marham.

With so much is being invested in West Norfolk, is vitally important that West Norfolk’s young people understand what future opportunities are available to them, right here West Norfolk.”

Following their discussion on RAF Marham, the West Norfolk Chamber Council also identified their goals for 2015/16. They agreed to:

• Recruit a further 3 West Norfolk Chamber Council members by the end of 2015

• Increase West Norfolk Chamber membership by 10%

• Create 8 x new apprenticeships with businesses that have not previously had an apprentice in the last 5 years