Chamber News

On a beautiful sunny Thursday morning over 140 of the Norfolk business community joined us for a breakfast all about getting the most out of apprenticeships and the benefits they have to businesses, young people and the community.

Delegates started off with some networking and an exhibition full of training providers and knowledgeable businesses to provide them with the advice they need to get apprentices into their business.

It was then onto the speakers, Richard Nutt from National Apprenticeship Services started us off with a very informative speech on all the different aspects available around apprenticeships and the funding available. He also gave the delegates some tangible benefits relating to the recruitment of an apprentice, a copy of his slides can be found on our website. This was then followed by a short Q&A before a refreshment break where delegates took advantage of the networking time.

We then had an interview panel with Bernard Matthews and Reepham High School & College to talk about their successful joint working and how they have bridged the gap between the classroom and commerce, and how other businesses can plan to do the same. This led to a lively discussion on the causes behind the lack of take up from apprenticeships. Delegates were in agreement in the end that more education was needed for all including the general public on how important apprenticeships can be and the benefits of them as an alternative route to university.

We finished with another interview panel of businesses and apprentices who are actively involved and how apprentices have increased their knowledge, and employers benefited from practical engagement. This first-hand experience was widely accepted by the entire room. It was valid input from those who really are bridging the gap. This interview panel sparked yet another lively discussion on the calibre of young people that are choosing the apprenticeship root. The idea of ‘cheap labour’ was also discussed and the need replace this with the idea of training young people into the kind of employees your business really needs and could benefit from.

The event was a massive success with businesses getting a lot out of it including the relevant connections they need to take that next step in the apprenticeship path. Twitter was a hive of activity along with business sharing their ideas and tips.

To see photos of the event see our Facebook of Google+ pages.

The latest summary of business conditions from the Bank of England have highlighted:

• Consumer services and retail sales turnover had risen moderately.
• Housing market activity remained below that of a year earlier
• Investment intentions for the next twelve months were consistent with moderate growth overall
• Manufacturing output growth, both for the domestic market and for export, had edged lower
• Construction output growth had continued to ease on a year earlier
• Employment intentions had edged higher and were consistent with modest headcount growth overall.
• Capacity utilisation had remained at broadly normal levels in manufacturing, but slightly above normal for services
• Output prices had fallen on a year earlier for manufacturers, although they had risen moderately for business services firms
• Profitability growth had edged higher for services, but had fallen for manufacturers
• Consumer price inflation had remained negative for goods. Retail service prices had continued to increase modestly

For full details click here.

Cllr George Nobbs has been re-elected as Leader of Norfolk County Council following a meeting of Full Council at County Hall today (Monday 18 May).

Cllr Nobbs, who represents the Crome division in Norwich for Labour, was elected by42 votes to 39, with Liberal Democrat Cllr Dan Roper, of Hevingham and Spixworthelected as Deputy Leader without opposition.

Cllr Nobbs first became Leader of the Council in May 2013 following the County Council elections.

ThefollowingCommittee Chairswere also appointed at today’s Annual General Meeting of the council:

• Adult Social Care Committee – Cllr Sue Whitaker (Labour) as Chair; CllrElizabeth Morgan(Green) as Vice Chair
• Children’s Services Committee – Cllr James Joyce (Liberal Democrat) as Chairman; Cllr Emma Corlett (Lab) as Vice Chair
• Communities Committee – Cllr Paul Smyth (UKIP) as Chairman; CllrRichard Bearman(Green) as Vice Chair
• Environment, Development and Transport Committee – Cllr Toby Coke (UKIP) as Chairman; Cllr John Timewell (Liberal Democrat) as Vice Chair
• Economic Development sub committee – Cllr Colleen Walker(Lab)will chair the committee with Cllr Jonathan Childs (UKIP) as Vice Chairman
• Planning (Regulatory) – Cllr Alan Grey (UKIP) becomes Chairman
• Cllr Brian Watkins (Lib Dem) replaces Cllr Dan Roper as Chairman of the Norfolk Health and Wellbeing Board
• Cllr Nobbs and Cllr Dan Roper (Lib Dem)take theChair and Vice Chair of the Policy and Resources Committee

Cllr Rex Parkinson-Hare, who representsthe UKIP group for Yarmouth Nelson and Southtown ward, was elected as Chairman for the coming year with David Collis, who represents King’s Lynn North and Central for Labour becoming Vice Chairman.

Current political make-up at Norfolk County Council is as follows:

• 40 Conservative
• 14 Labour
• 13 UKIP
• 10 Liberal Democrat
• 4 Green
• 2 Independent
• 1 non-aligned member

The consultation on the proposed Modifications to the Core Strategy is now open for comment. The Great Yarmouth Borough Council is looking for any comments that you would like to make on the Main Modifications and the accompanying Sustainability Appraisal. The Inspector will then consider all comments made on the Main Modifications prior to issuing his final recommendations in the Inspector’s Report. The deadline for submitting your comments is: 5pm on Tuesday 23 June 2015.

Core Strategy Examination

The Borough Council submitted the Core Strategy to the Government in April 2014 and the Planning Inspector (Mr Malcolm Rivett) held an Examination in Public with hearing sessions between 25 and 27 November 2014. A number of changes to the Core Strategy are now being proposed, which reflect the discussions at the Hearing Sessions. These changes are known as Modifications and there are two types; Main and Additional. Main Modifications change a policy and are considered by the Inspector to be necessary to make the plan sound or legally compliant. Additional Modifications don’t change a policy and are generally factual updates and corrections. This consultation is on the Main Modifications only however, the Additional Modifications have also been published for reference.

This consultation is your chance to tell us whether the proposed Main Modifications are ‘legally compliant’ (meet the relevant legislation) and whether they are ‘sound’ (positively prepared, justified, effective and consistent with national policy). Comments on the proposed Main Modifications can only be accepted if they relate to soundness and legal compliance. Please note that comments on any other matter, such as the content of the Core Strategy, will not be accepted as this consultation is concerned with the Main Modifications only.

The easiest way to have your say is by using the online planning portal click on this link.

Viewing the consultation documents

The Modification Schedules, accompanying Sustainability Appraisal and Habitat Regulations Assessment will be available to inspect at the Town Hall in Great Yarmouth, at all public libraries throughout the borough during normal opening hours and on the Council’s website at https://www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/strategic-planning/local-plan/cs-examin…

The Chamber Awards is one of the UK’s most contested and prestigious business award programmes and as a member of an Accredited Chamber of Commerce you can enter for free! Each year, from Aberdeen to Norwich and King’s Lynn to Plymouth, organisations of all sizes and from all sectors compete for the coveted titles and the £10,000 cash prize on offer.

See what entering the Chamber Awards did for Titania Ltd, a security and compliance software development company based in Worcester who won last year’s Small Business of the Year award:

‘The entry process for the Chamber Awards really makes you think about the challenges and triumphs that your company has faced. It is a great feeling to see all that we have achieved down on paper and even better to have it read and appreciated by others. Writing the application really helped to solidify ideas around where the company has been and where it is going, our growth plans for the future and where we are aiming to be. This is something that can often get lost during the day to day bustle of running a fast growing SME.’ Ruth Inglis, Sales & Marketing Manager, Titania Ltd

Larkfleet Group, a sustainable house builder and sustainable energy projects developer based in Lincolnshire, entered the Sustainability award in 2014:

‘Entering the Chamber Awards helped us as a business to demonstrate our successes and reaffirm our strengths. This alone was a worthwhile exercise as it is rewarding to remember how far you’ve come and what you’ve achieved as a business.’ Helen Jones, Group Marketing Director, Larkfleet Group

O’Brien Contractors, a family run construction business based in Coventry, entered the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2013:

‘We would encourage others to enter the Chamber Awards, the entry process was straightforward, with a good balance of questions that made sense and were easy to understand. When entering make sure you research your company as if you don’t know anything about it. Speak to your team and customers and ask them what they think makes your organisation different, it’s not always what you think.” Rebecca Gozdecki, Marketing Manager, O’Brien Contractors

The Chamber Awards are open for entry until Friday 26th June. For information about the categories and to enter visit www.chamberawards.co.uk

Rail passengers using Norwich station are to benefit from improvements as Abellio Greater Anglia announces the start of a programme of works to redesign the concourse.

The works will see the relocation of the automatic ticket gates to create easier access to the toilet facilities, the installation of a new First Class lounge, a refurbished waiting room on platform 6, improved cycle parking and the introduction of Abellio Greater Anglia’s cycle hire scheme ‘Bike and Go’.

Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said” Norwich station is the gateway to both business and leisure visitors and it is essential that Norwich creates the right impression to its visitors. The Chamber has been looking for these improvements for a number so years and so we very much welcome the investment in this refurbishment and hope that it can be completed swiftly.”

The first phase, now underway, will see the relocation of the ticket barriers and removal of the central cash points and is expected to take four weeks to complete.

Work will also commence during this time to extend the existing cycle area to accommodate an additional 242 covered, free cycle parking spaces and the company’s ‘Bike and Go’ cycle hire scheme will be installed. Ten high quality cycles will be available for hire for just £3.80 per day.

During the summer months, Abellio Greater Anglia’s Customer Services Team will be relocated to a new, more centrally-located customer service office on the station concourse will which will also feature new retail units and cash machines, subject to planning approval.

Towards the end of the year the existing waiting room on platform 6 will be refurbished and a new First Class Lounge will be created alongside platform 1 (in the old Customer Services Office). The customer toilet facilities will be completely refurbished and will be accessible to everyone without the need to pass through the ticket barriers.

Abellio Greater Anglia’s Area Customer Service Manager, James Reeve,said: “This is an exciting project for the station which will deliver a much-improved layout of the station concourse, refurbished waiting rooms and toilet facilities and improved cycle storage. Investing in upgrades to stations across the network is extremely important to Abellio Greater Anglia, demonstrating our commitment to providing excellent facilities and service to our customers.

“We will be doing all we can to progress the works as quickly as possible and to minimise any inconvenience to our customers while these improvements are carried out.

“We are grateful to our customers for their co-operation and patience in the meantime.”

Over 70 Norfolk and Cambridgeshire Chamber Members joined together on a sunny May morning at the Knights Hill Hotel for a delicious breakfast and some fantastic networking.

Our host for the morning Heather Garrod, took the delegates through the morning, challenging them to make at least one appointment in the diary with a prospective client. It was then onto a themed ice breaker to get all the delegates thinking and discussing which countries imported which good the most. There was a great atmosphere from this and it continued through breakfast and into our safari move.

Our speaker for the morning Alastair McFarlane followed on from breakfast, he gave a delegates an insight into how much AB Ports are doing across the country and in the local area and the importance of the ports. He told delegates how Kings Lynn port is a major grain exporter supporting agriculture in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire and it contributes £40 million to the local economy every year. A recent refurbishment has meant that there are also now modern laboratory facilities on site for testing of a wide range of products.

Delegates found the talk very interesting and had lots of questions for Alastair during the Q&A. The morning then ended with some free networking giving the delegates a little bit more time to get that all important meeting in.

Our next event in this area is a Hog Roast and Quiz Night on Wednesday 22 July, for more details click here

The Generation Park Norwich team are holding a series of events as part of the second round of public consultation.

The latest proposals, featuring a display of models illustrating the scheme, will be on display at the King’s Centre, King Street, Norwich, on Friday, May 8th from (2pm – 7pm) and Saturday, May 9th (9am – 1pm). The public will be invited to offer comments on the proposals.

The following week a public meeting will be held for residents of Trowse, focusing on transport. The meeting will be held at The White Horse, Trowse, on Friday, May 15th from 4pm – 8pm.

There will then be another opportunity to see models of the proposed scheme on display in the Atrium at The Forum in Norwich from Tuesday, June 9th to Thursday, June 11th (9am – 6pm daily).

These meetings and the subsequent display at The Forum follow the first public consultation, staged in January this year.

Subject to planning permission, the proposed riverside development, adjacent to Crown Point rail depot, would transform the derelict 30-acre Utilities Site into a new amenity for Norwich and reflect a modern revival of the heritage of the brownfield site.

Generation Park Norwich would feature an efficient green Community Energy Centre producing electricity for major power users in the city and for the National Grid, along with more affordable and reliable heat for local businesses and houses via a District Heating network.

The scheme would create 11 acres of parkland, new cycle routes and walkways on the banks of the rivers Wensum and Yare, plus highly energy-efficient houses and student residences.

In keeping with the low carbon, forward-looking, spirit of the proposal an energy research and development centre and education centre would complete a remarkable new river gateway for the city.

Professor Trevor Davies, of Generation Park Norwich, said: “Community engagement is key to this project as it is very much a development that will serve the local community and at the same time create a new hub with its mix of leisure facilities, housing, education and research.

“The feedback we get from the community is a vital part of the process and we look forward to sharing our proposals.

“For anyone unable to make the consultation, the updated proposals will be posted on the Generation Park Norwich website, where people can also register for news alerts”.

The Norfolk Chamber would like to congratulate all the candidates who were successfully elected to their seats in Norfolk. We look forward to working closely with them to supportNorfolk businesses to drive forward economic growth.

The 9 Norfolk MP’s are:

BROADLAND-Keith SIMPSON (Conservative) HOLD

GREAT YARMOUTH-Brandon LEWIS (Conservative) HOLD

MID NORFOLK-George FREEMAN (Conservative) HOLD

NORTH NORFOLK-Norman LAMB (Lib Dem) HOLD

NORTH WEST NORFOLK-Henry BELLINGHAM (Conservative) HOLD

NORWICH NORTH – Chloe SMITH (Conservative) HOLD

NORWICH SOUTH-Clive LEWIS (Labour) GAIN

SOUTH NORFOLK-Richard BACON (Conservative) HOLD

SOUTH WEST NORFOLK-Elizabeth TRUSS (Conservative) HOLD

As the largest party, the Conservative Party has the opportunity to form the next Government. The Conservative Party must demonstrate how it will support British business and help us to deliver wider prosperity. Support for investment, infrastructure, apprenticeships and exports would promote business confidence and growth, whereas more regulation, tax increases, and uncertainty over the nation’s finances would hit jobs, wages and prosperity.

In particular, we need to see the new Government continue to invest in Norfolk and to ensure that investment decisions that have been put on hold are made as soon as possible. Norfolk Chamber has been working with its local MPs on key issues affecting Norfolk for the period of the last Government and will continue to press the case for the Norfolk business community in the months ahead.

Norfolk Chamber has developed a ‘Business Plan for Norfolk’to help deliver sustainable long-term growth that benefits local people and the Norfolk business community. The 4 key campaign areas are: Development of the A11/A47 growth corridors; developing the talent of our young people; grow Norfolk’s global trade and improving digital connectivity

We are looking for the newly elected government to ensure that the following happens as soon as possible:

Infrastructure (Growth Corridors)

• Deliver the commitment to improve the junctions along the A47 – outlined in the Autumn Statement
• Release Development Consent and the funding for the NDR – a strongly supported shovel ready infrastructure improvement – potential to bring £1bn economic benefits to Norfolk.

Young People

• Support Chambers to bridge the gap between the world of education and work, which will help local businesses to access the talent and skills they need and boosts career prospects for our young people.

Export / Grow Global Trade

• Support local companies seeking to enter new overseas markets. Companies that export grow faster and are typically more innovative and adept at developing new products and services.
• Focus funding to help small and medium businesses to export and/or trade internationally.

Improve Digital Connectivity

• Ensure continued invest in fast broadband and improve mobile coverage across Norfolk

The outlook for the UK economy remains strong, despite GDP growth slowing to 2.4% in Q1 from 3.0% in the previous quarter. Public finances continue to improve but the UK deficit widened, rising from £2.9 billion in February from £1.5 billion in January. The widening deficit mainly reflects a fall in exports of goods to non-EU countries, particularly the US.

The global outlook continues to be uncertain as China and US growth slowed in Q1. The US economy slowed as a result of a 7.2% fall in exports and weaker consumer spending and investment. The slow down of the Chinese economy mirrored a similar economic slow down seen in the previous year. The world’s second largest economy grew at an annual rate of 7.0% in Q1, a drop fro 7.3% in the previous quarter.

For the full results of the economic review click here.

The A47 at Postwick will be closed again this coming weekend (Friday 8 May to Monday 11 May) for the final stage in lifting bridge beams into place. Diversions will be as on previous weekend closures.*

Both carriageways of the A47 will close at 8pm tomorrow, Friday 8 May, opening no later than 6am on Monday 11 May. A series of overnight closures (details below) will follow, but these will be less disruptive.

This weekend, theA47 will re-open sooner than 6am on Mondayif possible, but the amount of work required is more than on the two weekend closures in April.

Postwick Park & Ride will again be closed. The nearest alternative is Harford Park & Ride.

As on previous weekends, the diversions will be via the junction slip-roads and the new business park access roads. There may be delays on the diversion routes when beams are being moved into position for lifting into place.

If it is not possible to complete the work by 6am on Monday, work will be halted in time to allow the A47 to reopen on schedule, and will resume the following weekend (15 May to 18 May) under another A47closure. If this is necessary it will be well publicised next week.

If all goes well and the beam lifts are complete this coming weekend (8-11 May), there will be no weekend closure on the 15-18 May.

However, there will still be the need for a series of Monday to Thursday overnight closures, starting on Monday night (11 May) and continuing for around four weeks (no closure on Bank Holiday Monday, 25 May). These closures will be from 8pm, with the road reopening as soon as possible, but no later than 6am the following morning.

Vehicles will use the same diversions as at the weekend, but this is unlikely to cause significant delays because of the low levels of overnighttraffic.

Later this month there willbe a change to thetraffic management arrangements on the westbound’off’ slip road, where traffic from the Great Yarmouth direction leaves the A47 for Thorpe St Andrew, Broadland Business Park, Postwick Park & Ride and the north and east of Norwich (including Norwich International Airport). The change will be at the site of the Oaks Lane roundabout to allow the north side of the roundabout to be constructed.

*Click here for diversion plans or go to norfolk.gov.uk/Postwickfor further background, including links to A47 closure information.