Chamber News

Yesterday, businesses in Norfolk’s food and drink sector had the opportunity to hear directly from the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) about the potential impact of a no deal Brexit on their industry and to ask any specific questions that they had.  The event was held in conjunction with Local Flavours and Birketts LLP and was attended by a range of businesses including Pasta Foods, Bullards Gin, Pepperells Meats, Yare Valley Oils and Fresh Pod.

Elizabeth Osgood from Defra’s Business Readiness team, provided information about the key changes as a result of the UK leaving the EU; how imports, exports and food labelling would be affected and offered some practical tips for the businesses around the table.

Some of the key takeaways included:

Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) – If the UK leaves the EU without a deal, businesses will need an EORI number that starts with GB to continue trading with the EU after 29 March 2019.

Food Labelling – the rules for what you must show on food labels will change for some food and drink products if the UK leaves the EU without a deal on 29 March 2019. Some of the new rules will come into effect from exit day. For others, businesses will have longer to update their food labels.  The UK government is aiming, wherever possible, to allow a transition period for labelling changes in relation to goods produced or imported and placed on the UK market after exit day. – for full information on all the aspects of food labelling click here.

Supply Chain – assess your whole supply chain – not only your food and drink products, but also any cleaning products/chemicals that are a necessary part of your product processing. i.e. carbonated drinks need Co2.  You also need to note that whilst your immediate suppliers may not affected, do their suppliers import from the EU and could this ultimately impact on you?

Businesses also heard an update on the regulations surrounding employing overseas workers and the potential impacts on GDPR regulations, where business data is being transferred between the UK and the EU.

Commenting on the event, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said:

“A recent Norfolk Chambers survey showed that 96% of businesses in our region advised that a No Deal Brexit would impact on their businesses in some way.  Any opportunity that we can offer them to hear more information on the level of preparation needed for the UK’s departure from the EU is very welcome.  Today’s event certainly provided plenty for our food and drink sector to think about.”

Commenting on the inflation statistics for February 2019, published today by the Office for National Statistics, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Inflation picked-up for the first time since August 2018, with rising prices across a range of items including food and alcohol, placing the largest upward pressure on price growth in February.

“Inflation is likely to drift higher in the coming months as the expected increase in Ofgem’s energy price cap in April enters the calculation. Businesses also continue to report that the cost of imported raw materials are rising. As these high input costs filter through supply chains, they could increase the upward pressure on consumer prices in the short-term.

“Overall, the UK’s weakening economic outlook is likely to ensure that any increase in consumer prices would be largely transitory, and inflation is expected to remain close to the Bank of England’s 2% target for some time to come.

“With the current trajectory for inflation largely benign, there remains sufficient scope to keep interest rates on hold through this year, particularly against a backdrop of increasing anxiety over Brexit and slowing economic growth.

“The overriding priority must be for parliament to avoid a messy and disorderly departure from the EU, which would likely drive a marked drop in sterling and could significantly increase inflation and the cost pressure on businesses and consumers.”

Norfolk Chambers is known in the region for our networking breakfasts, with two held every month across Norwich, Great Yarmouth, West Norfolk, South Norfolk and North Norfolk. Our networking breakfasts are perfect for businesses both in those areas, and from outside to meet new businesses, catch up with fellow Chamber members and enjoy and inspirational talk, all over breakfast.  The networking breakfast attendance numbers varies per location, with some attracting over 100 attendees! With so many attendees though, how do you make your business stand out? Well, we can help you with that! We’ve now introduced our bespoke promotional packages for networking breakfasts. The idea is to allow you to build a package that suits your business and your budget, giving you different options to promote your business at each event.  Each item is individually priced starting from just £50+VAT, and each item includes an event ticket worth £20+VAT! Take a look at the options below: Pop-up – £50+VAT Bring your pull up banners to the event, with x1 event ticket included. Literature – £50+VAT Place your leaflets or booklets on the delegate tables, with x1 event ticket included. Exhibition stand – £75+VAT Includes a table at the event for you to create an exhibition stand, with space for literature on the exhibition table only, pull-up banners behind the exhibition table and x1 event ticket included. Welcome address – £150+VAT A 5 minute talk at the start of the event, your logo on the event agendas and x1 event ticket included. Marketing package – £150+VAT Your logo and details listed on the website, email marketing, event agenda, event communication, with direct links to your pages where applicable, and x1 event ticket included. Take-over package – £550+VAT Includes all of the above, plus you get the main speaking slot at the event! You decide the topic*, and we do all the hard work! You then get a 10-15 minute speaking slot, Q&A time plus x3 event tickets included. *Topics must be approved by Norfolk Chambers of Commerce to ensure the topic is relevant and of interest to the business community.  Take a look at our upcoming events to see if you’d like to get involved with our NEW bespoke packaging! Click here to see upcoming networking events. Interested in taking your business to an even bigger audience? Why not check out all of our promotional opportunities – click here to find out more. To discuss any of our packages further, please do get in touch: [email protected] 01603 625977

Offshore energy industry titans Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, ScottishPower Renewables, and Vattenfall have joined forces with the University of East Anglia, Nautilus Associates and local charity The Bridge Trust to form the STEM Coordination Hub. In a highly innovative and game-changing approach they are developing a solution to improve the learning experience and create new career opportunities for young people in Norfolk and Suffolk.

An increasingly fragmented STEM education landscape is contributing to a crisis in the talent pipeline, affecting not just offshore wind but almost all sectors. This industry-funded programme brings together employers with education and academia to transform the STEM provision in Norfolk and Suffolk, directly impacting the future workforce in the East of England.

The STEM Coordination Hub will initially be piloted in parts of Norfolk and Suffolk, counties that are already a hub for engineering and technology supporting the energy sector. It aims to make the most of what is already there, identify and plug the gaps and find new ways to enhance STEM education.

Over half of the UK’s offshore wind industry is located off the coast of Norfolk and Suffolk, with a development pipeline that could see more than 15GW developed over the next decade, or half of the industry’s vision to deliver 30GW by 2030 up from 7.5GW today. The region has also been identified as one of the UK’s leading energy clusters when Claire Perry, Minister for Energy and Clean Growth, was in Lowestoft last week launching the new national Offshore Wind Sector Deal.

The sector supports thousands of high-skilled jobs across the supply chain, generating billions in revenue, but an increased supply of STEM skills is crucial in other key sectors in the region such as nuclear, civil engineering, agri-tech, finance, life sciences, and digital creative industries.

The project takes a game-changing approach to the problem by integrating industry itself into the solution. Businesses will have the opportunity to directly influence the conversation driving STEM delivery in education.

Sonja Chirico Indrebø is the Power Plant Manager of the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, which is operated and part-owned by Equinor. As one of the first female Power Plant Managers’ in the UK offshore wind energy industry, she said:

“I believe we all have a duty to be role models for future generations, and by strengthening the delivery of STEM skills, the Stem Hub will help inspire today’s young people to become tomorrow’s scientists, engineers and inventors.”

Victoria Sinclair for ScottishPower Renewables said:

“We are excited to be supporting the STEM Hub and furthering our commitment to promote STEM subjects and careers to young people across East Anglia. The STEM Hub represents a unique opportunity for us to deepen our understanding of what students, teachers and parents would like to know about when it comes to STEM. We believe in a collaborative approach between education and industry when it comes to encouraging young people particularly girls into STEM subjects and believe the STEM Hub will be a huge step forward in achieving this.”

Susan Falch-Lovesey, Skills Champion for Vattenfall said

“Vattenfall believe in enabling high quality skills and learning opportunities that inform our next generation’s career aspirations. We are thrilled to collaborate with Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm, ScottishPower Renewables and other industry and academic partners on this innovative initiative and look forward to working together to create inclusive pathways into the offshore wind industry for our talented students.”

Professor Lawrence Coates from UEA’s Faculty of Science said

“The UEA relishes the chance to work directly with these industry partners in helping young learners to understand the full range of STEM opportunities available to them.”

A new web portal will offer work experience opportunities and STEM events to students and teachers, and signpost STEM resources for educators to use in teaching and career personal development (CPD).

The project was originally developed by Nautilus Associates whilst investigating opportunities to encourage business growth in North Norfolk, a piece of work that highlighted the barriers and challenges industry faces and acted as a catalyst to develop a solution.

Johnathan Reynolds, Managing Director at Nautilus Associates said

“Seeing our ambitious solution come to fruition has been immensely exciting for the Nautilus team. “The STEM Coordination Hub is a new and disruptive model that we hope will significantly enhance STEM activity in the area. The Hub will focus on the benefits to young learners, but crucially it will also provide support to teachers, non-teaching support staff, parents and guardians, and other influencers too. You never know, we could be educating parents about new career opportunities in the clean energy sectors as well as their children.”

The Hub will be hosted by The Bridge Trust, a Great Yarmouth-based charity that provides support to young people and community development.

The UK government’s recently announced sector deal will ensure 30% of electricity comes from offshore wind by 2030. It also aims to increase the number of highly-skilled jobs to 27,000, up from 7,200 today.

The deal explicitly sets out steps to achieve at least 33% of women in the total offshore wind workforce by 2030, with the ambition of reaching 40%. As International Women’s’ Day highlighted, women currently represent just 16% of this workforce.

The STEM Coordination Hub has ambitions to improve parity between the sexes, helping young people to access STEM and improve the entry rate of women into the workforce.

Celia Anderson, Director of STEM Coordination Hub knows the programme will be transformative:

“STEM is the cornerstone of 21st Century industry. We have a responsibility to ensure the workforce of the future can meet the demands of tomorrow’s industry. This is a partnership of incredible organisations determined to deliver a shared vision: local people with well-paid sustainable STEM based careers.

“We will only make the vision a reality if we work together to enthuse more young people about the opportunities for them in STEM based employment. By putting industry at the heart of this process, we can support education’s ability to deliver STEM whilst giving students unparalleled opportunities to gain real-world experience in some of the country’s most exciting businesses.”

The STEM Coordination Hub will launch formally in May this year and is actively seeking to grow its industry and education partnerships.

Mental health is still one of the most misunderstood health issues by employers in the modern workplace. It often leads to hesitancy and uncertainty about how to help, and concern about managing employees suffering from such conditions.

With this in mind we held an HR Forum on Wednesday 13th April which focused on mental health. The morning was very kindly sponsored by Steeles Law, started in 1969 and now with offices in Norwich, Diss, and London they have achieved a number of qualifications and accreditations since then. They have teams specialising in a number of areas including commercial property, dispute resolution, employment, agriculture, education, and motorsport. Our expert speakers, Oliver Brabbins and Robert Hickford, were from their employment law team.

It was a very informative session with a number of case studies cited, these helped with myth-busting and gave real-world examples of how far you’re allowed to go as an employer when an employee experiences mental health issues. They also gave advice on what to look out for and the type of support you can give in order to help the employee and protect yourself as an employer to give delegates confidence with the topic.

Mental health in the workplace is a very interesting topic as the delegates discovered since there are a myriad of potential claims that could be made against an employer. The session gave an overview of how to deal with some issues and highlighted the fact that this changes depending on the nature of the claims and condition. Delegates left with a clear understanding that, in this area in particular, there is a need for medical expert intervention and advice and that the clarity of this advice is driven by the instructions received and the questions asked.

Overall it was a highly informative afternoon and there were a number of questions at the end which delegates were able to put to Oliver and Robert. These were mainly around clarifying points raised in the presentation and how to deal with issues specific to their businesses.

Thank you again to Steeles Law for sponsoring the afternoon and providing delegates with a lot of food for thought, if you have any questions about anything covered at the HR Forum please do not hesitate to get in touch with them. Also thank you to Norwich Mind for highlighting some of the great work they do, including their work with Great Yarmouth companies carrying out wellbeing audits.

As a member of the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce you have access to a free 24 hour advice line, a great first port of call for any HR questions, and a document library with over 400 free downloadable documents. If you have any questions about it or any other benefits of membership the team will be happy to answer any questions – 01603 625977 or [email protected]

Join us at our next HR Forum Wednesday 19th June 2019.  

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today (Monday) slightly downgraded its growth expectations for the UK economy, forecasting growth of just 1.2% in 2019 (down from 1.3%), which if realised would be the weakest growth in a decade. The BCC has also downgraded its growth forecast for 2020 to 1.3% (down from 1.5%) and published its first forecast for 2021 of 1.4% growth.

A weaker outlook for business investment and trade amid continued Brexit uncertainty and slower expected global economic growth were the main drivers behind the leading business group’s downgrades to its forecast for GDP growth in 2019 and 2020.

Business investment is forecast to decline by 1.0% in 2019, which if realised would be the weakest outturn since the financial crisis in 2009. Ongoing uncertainty over the UK’s future relationship with the EU is expected to continue to weigh on investment intentions. The diversion of resources to prepare for no deal and the high upfront cost of doing business in the UK is also projected to limit the extent to which investment activity will bounce back over the near term.

Net trade is expected to make a negative contribution to GDP growth over the forecast period, reflecting the lack of clarity on the UK’s future trade arrangements, weaker global growth and continued trade tensions.

While average earnings growth in real terms is set to improve over the forecast period and unemployment is forecast to remain low by historic standards, household spending is expected to be limited by weak consumer confidence and high household debt levels.

Growth in the dominant services sector is expected to weaken to 1.1% in 2019, which would be the slowest growth since 2009. The manufacturing and construction sectors are also expected to grow by less than expected in our previous forecast.

The BCC forecast assumes that the UK avoids a messy and disorderly exit from the EU. Another scenario would lead to revisions in the next forecast.

If realised, the BCC’s forecast depicts a UK economy stuck on a low-growth trajectory. The degree of Brexit uncertainty at this late stage in the process has already damaged investment and confidence across UK business communities. To boost growth prospects, the government must urgently provide firms with clarity on future conditions and bolster business investment incentives.

Commenting on the forecast, Suren Thiru, Head of Economics at the British Chambers of Commerce, said:

“The downgrades to our near-term growth outlook are a further indication that the UK economy is set to remain on a historically weak growth trajectory for some time to come, unless decisive action is taken.

“Brexit uncertainty, the financial squeeze on business and consumers and a slowing global economy are expected to weigh significantly on business investment and trade and limit the extent to which consumer spending will be boosted by a stronger real wage growth. The broad nature of the headwinds facing the UK economy is likely to be reflected in widespread weakness across all the main sectors, leaving the UK more exposed to sudden shifts in the economic conditions.

“The significant costs, diversion of resources and loss of business that many firms have had to incur to protect themselves against a possibility of no-deal Brexit and the lack of clarity over the UK’s future relationship with the EU is likely to limit the expected improvement in economic output as Brexit uncertainty eases.

“While heightened uncertainty looms over the near-term outlook for the UK economy, the risks to the forecast remain firmly on the downside. A messy and disorderly exit from the EU would materially increase the probability of the UK slipping into recession, particularly if global economic conditions continue to soften.”   

Commenting on the forecast, Nova Fairbank, Head of Policy for Norfolk Chambers of Commerce said:

“Norfolk business clearly need certainty surrounding the UK’s leaving of the EU.  Many businesses are putting investment and recruitment decisions on hold, as a result of the uncertainty and the impact on the local economy is beginning to show.”

Responding to the forecast, Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, added:

“It is clear that political inaction has already had economic consequences.  Firms are hitting the brakes on investment and recruitment decisions.  Worse still, some companies have moved investment and growth plans as part of their contingency preparations. Some of this investment may never come back to the UK.

“The economy is currently growing sluggishly at best, but a messy and disorderly exit from the EU would do real and lasting damage to the UK’s economic prospects. A clear course of action on Brexit is needed from government, and greater levels of planning and guidance to prepare its own agencies and communities for all possible outcomes.

“Once no deal on March 29 has been averted, the attention and energy of both Westminster and Whitehall must return to the UK growth agenda. For too long Brexit has distracted from efforts to remove barriers to growth at home, including critical skills gaps, ageing physical and digital infrastructure systems, and high costs in the business environment. If the UK economy is to have a shot at escaping a Brexit-induced black hole, practical growth issues here at home need to be tackled urgently.

Key points in the forecast:

• UK GDP growth forecast for 2019 is downgraded from 1.3% to 1.2%, and from 1.5% to 1.3% for 2019, our first forecast for 2021 is growth of 1.4%
• Business investment is expected to contract by -1.0% in 2019, before returning to growth of 0.6% in 2020 and 1.1% in 2021
• Growth in household consumption for 2019 is expected to slow to 1.3%, before rising slightly to 1.4% in 2020 and 1.5% in 2021
• Average earnings growth is forecast to outstrip inflation over the period, with growth of 2.9%, 3.0%, and 3.1%, compared with inflation of 2.1%, 2.0%, and 1.9%
• UK official interest rates are expected to remain on hold throughout 2019, before increasing to 1.0% in Q2 2020. This is three quarters later than predicted in our Q4 forecast
• BCC forecasts a negative contribution from trade over the forecast period. We forecast export growth of 1.8%, 1.7% and 1.7%, compared to import growth of 2.0%, 2.2% and 2.3%
• In terms of sectors, growth in services has been downgraded to 1.1% (from 1.2%), 1.3% (from 1.4%) and 1.7%. Growth in manufacturing has also been downgraded to 0.5% (from 1.1%) in 2019, 0.7% (from 1.3%) in 2020, and 0.8% in 2021. Construction sector growth has also been downgraded to 0.7% (from 1.2%), 1.0% (from 1.2%) and 1.0%
• Public sector net borrowing is expected to total £32.0 billion in 2019/20 and £28.5 billion in 2020/21, £10 billion higher than forecast by the Office for Budget Responsibility at last week’s Spring Statement. 

Commenting on the parliamentary vote on extending Article 50, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“While most businesses will support an extension to Article 50 to avert the prospect of a messy and disorderly exit on the March 29th, with just two weeks to go this vote leaves firms with no real clarity on the future.

“Although Parliament has indicated this week its desire to avoid a no deal exit and has requested the Prime Minister seek an extension to Article 50, the purpose and the timeframe are yet to be determined. Crucially, until this is agreed with the EU, leaving without a deal on March 29th remains the default position.

“Once again, businesses are left waiting for Parliament to reach a consensus on the way forward and are losing faith that they will achieve this. In the meantime, firms are continuing to enact their contingency plans, anxiety amongst many businesses is rising, and customers are being lost.  

“While this process rumbles on, there must be no let up from Government, its agencies and businesses in their preparations for all eventualities, including a no deal exit.

“Businesses, jobs, investment and our communities are still firmly in the danger zone.”

Commenting on the announcement of changes to tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“If the tariffs announced today were to come into effect, there would be winners and losers across UK industry overnight. The abruptness of changes to tariff rates in the event of a no-deal exit from the EU would be an unwelcome shock to many of the businesses affected.

“If the government were to bring these tariffs into effect on March 30, the move would also have the potential to cede negotiating leverage in future trade talks. 

“While ministers have clearly listened to our arguments and maintained targeted protection in some areas, overall there has not been enough consultation, preparation or planning to support the firms and communities that could find themselves at the end of a sudden shift in tariffs. As MPs vote tonight, this is yet another reason why they must act to avoid a messy and disorderly exit from the EU on March 29.”

Commenting on the parliamentary defeat of the meaningful vote on the Brexit agreement, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“Businesses have warned time and again that the United Kingdom is not ready to face the consequences of a messy and disorderly exit from the European Union. Government agencies are not ready, many businesses are not ready, and despite two and a half years passing since the referendum, there is no clear plan to support communities at the sharp end of such an abrupt change.

“Parliament must demonstrate that it will heed these repeated warnings. It is profoundly obvious that neither government nor many businesses are ready for a disorderly exit – and this must not be allowed to happen on March 29th, whether by default or by design.

“Businesses have been failed over and over again by Westminster in recent months, but allowing a messy and disorderly exit on March 29th would take political negligence to new extremes.”

Here in the export department at the Norfolk Chambers of Commerce we understand the daily pressures that you as exporters and agents come up against when preparing Certificates of Origin and other shipping documents and how tricky it can be when things are delayed. 

Julie Austin, Norfolk Chambers’ International Trade Manager, said

“Completing applications for Certificates of Origin can be a tricky process as there are lots of steps to remember. To try to make the process as smooth as possible for exporters, we have pulled together a checklist, which gives you a step by step guide to minimise the delays and give you peace of mind when submitting your documentation.”  

If you work through our checklist below before submitting your application this can avoid discrepancies and related extra charges

1. If you’re applying online never use a colleagues’ log-in details and electronic signature
2. Make sure United Kingdom (in full) appears as part of your/the exporter’s address in box 1
3. Make sure the goods are described in a way that a lay person would understand, i.e. no technical jargon
4. Remember to add your export invoice number and date to the certificate
5. Check to ensure that the invoice number and date you’ve declared on the certificate match your supporting invoice
6. If your supporting invoice does not show the weight of the consignment please remember to supply a packing list
7. Check that the correct country of origin has been declared in box 3
8. If you’re claiming foreign origin make sure that you have supplied sufficient proof of origin with your application and check to ensure it provides clear linkage to the goods
9. If you’re applying for your Certificate of Origin online remember to upload your export invoice at the same time as well as your proof of origin if you’re claiming foreign origin
10. For goods of European Community origin the correct designation of origin in box 3 is “European Community” followed by the member state/s
11. Remember to add the marks and numbers that appear on the packages
12. Check that invoice or other documents for certifying are signed
13. When applying online for export invoices or other documents to be certified, tick the “stamp uploaded document” box
14. When applying online, enter an invoice or PO number as your customer reference – avoid adding your company name to this box – it helps you and us if you ever need to query an invoice we send you

If any mistakes are made we will work with you to put things right as quickly as possible, as we understand that you and your clients are relying on the service for the timely exportation of your goods. 

If you have any questions please give Julie or the team a call on 01603 729706.  Still worried about submitting your documents?  For additional peace of mind, we also offer an advance checking service which you would need to implement before uploading your documents.  The cost is just £5+VAT (members) and £10+VAT (non-members) plus the cost of the Certificate of Origin.  To take advantage of this service, just email a draft copy of your certificate along with your supporting documents to [email protected] for us to check. We will then let you know if any amendments need to be made; if we require any additional information; or if you can submit the application online. 

For more information and if you have any questions about the process of completing Certificates of Origin, please do not hesitate to call us on 01603 729717 or email at [email protected].

As the possibility of a no-deal exit from the European Union draws closer we, as part of the accredited Chambers network have been working with the British Chambers of Commerce to try to make the process as smooth as possible for exporters.

Commenting on the Parliamentary vote on the motion to rule out leaving the EU without a withdrawal agreement, Dr Adam Marshall, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce said:

“It’s all well and good that Parliament has said it doesn’t want a no-deal exit, but without concrete action, its gestures are meaningless for business. A messy and disorderly exit on March 29th is still a clear and present danger.”

We understand that businesses need answers they can base decisions on, no matter the outcome. This includes the trade documentation for use by exporters to prove origin, things cannot just stop because decisions haven’t been made.

The British Chambers of Commerce have advised us that should the United Kingdom reach a Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, then the existing documents that we currently issue will continue to be used throughout any period of transition and no changes will need to be made.

As part of the network’s contingency planning for a no-deal Brexit, our colleagues at the British Chambers of Commerce have worked closely with HMRC and the DIT on the revised format of preference and non-preference certificates of origin. This is to ensure that everything runs as smoothly as possible for exporters in all scenarios.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit we have made preparations to enable us to provide exporters with continuity of service through the issuance of revised ‘United Kingdom’ documentation. This will be ready and available in time for March 29th.

Julie Austin, International Trade Manager for Norfolk Chambers of Commerce said:

“If you use blank certificates for printing at your business premises, then we will be contacting you, as much in advance as possible, to arrange to supply replacement certificates. These should only be used in the event that the United Kingdom leaves the European Union in a no-deal scenario. If you have any questions or would like to discuss this with myself or any of the team please give me a call on 01603 729706.”

The University of East Anglia (UEA) is sponsoring British Cycling’s 2019 HSBC UK | National Road Championships which will see the very best athletes in British cycling competing in Norfolk this June.

The British Cycling Challenge 100 Sportive will take place on Sunday 30th June, the same day as the elite road races, giving participants the chance to ride in the wheel tracks of those elites racing for the British title.

Norfolk Chambers of Commerce have been awarded an allocation of 10 places to put forward a team to take part in the 100mile Sportive from the official sponsors, UEA. We are looking for members of Norfolk Chambers of Commerce who are keen cyclists to take part. 

To register your interest please email [email protected], spaces on the Chambers Team are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.

The Sportive will be starting and finishing in front of Norwich City Hall. UEA will have a marquee in the ‘race village’ in Chapelfield Gardens, where riders and their supporters are welcome to join for complimentary food and drinks. Some of UEA’s physiotherapy lecturers and students will be on hand should anyone need a post-race massage!

For more information about the Sportive click here.