Norfolk Chamber welcomes the news that Ikea have confirmed that they will be locating one of their stores onto the Sweetbriar Retail Park in Norwich. Norwich is becoming much more visible on the national stage and rightfully earns is place in the top 15 of retail destinations in the UK.
With the opening of the A11 last year and more road and rail improvements in the pipeline, Norfolk is fast becoming a popular choice for both visitors and businesses alike. Investment in our region is very welcome and as more nationally known brands invest in Norwich and the wider area, this brings greater economic prosperity and growth to Norfolk.
The number 3 service, operated by First using low-floor fully accessible buses, will connect with trains at Abellio Greater Anglia’s Great Yarmouth (Vauxhall) station seven days a week, including Bank Holidays. The service will run hourly from Sunday 24th May until Saturday 19th September, increasing to a 30 minute frequency between Sunday 26th July and Saturday 29th August.
David Squire, Managing Director of First Eastern Counties said “The re-introduction last summer of a bus service to Great Yarmouth rail station was very well received by local residents and visitors alike. Service 3 provides direct links to many holiday centres and other attractions such as Yarmouth Racecourse and Stadium as well as connections to the extensive local bus network at Market Gates. We are happy to be working in partnership with Abellio Greater Anglia once again and look forward to welcoming passengers on board the service this summer.”
James Reeve, Abellio Greater Anglia’s Head of Customer Service North for Abellio Greater Anglia said: “We are pleased to work with FirstGroup at Yarmouth to promote the service between the rail station and the key tourist leisure attractions in the district. Many visitors to the town arrive by train and being able to offer a seamless travel experience for onward journeys from the station is very important for our customers and helps to showcase Great Yarmouth as a great holiday destination.”
Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber of Commerce said “The linking of our transport is essential for a seamless journey both for our visitors and residents so we very much welcome the news that this bus service will be running for its second season”
Service 3 links Great Yarmouth Rail Station with Vauxhall Holiday Park, Great Yarmouth Town Centre, Britannia Pier, the Waterways, Seashore Holiday Centre, Yarmouth Racecourse, Yarmouth Stadium, Caister Holiday Centre, California Holiday Village, Scratby, Newport Caravan Park, and Hemsby Village and Beach.
Commenting on the Chancellor’s Mansion House speech, where George Osborne set out strict new fiscal rules, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, said:
“While running a budget surplus is a laudable aim, economic history shows that the national interest sometimes requires fiscal flexibility. It is impossible to predict global economic conditions with any certainty, so no government should put itself into a fiscal straitjacket that limits its scope to respond.
“Any move to constrain future spending should explicitly exclude infrastructure, which is an investment rather than just a cost. Roads, railways, energy grids and broadband drive productivity and job creation – and it is time for government’s contributions to national infrastructure to be removed from the debate on the deficit and the national debt.
“Far too often, Britain’s infrastructure needs have been sacrificed to short-term spending considerations. This must stop.”
Norfolk has historically lagged behind in terms of infrastructure and Norfolk Chamber and our members, from start ups to our large scale members have been lobbying hard for those improvements. In December last year funding was announced in the Autumn Statement to deliver improvements along the A47.
Improvements announced in Autumn Statement:
A47 North Tuddenham to Easton
A47 Blofield to North Burlingham
A47/A12 Great Yarmouth: junction improvements, including reconstruction of the Vauxhall roundabout.
Acle Straight – Safety improvements at key hotspots
We would call for the Government to honour its Autumn Statement funding announcements and provide the necessary infrastructure for Norfolk businesses to deliver economic growth and jobs for our region.
Is your current broadband speed slowing down your business? You can now do something about it!
If your business employs less than 250 employees and you are based in the Norwich City Council area, then it is likely that you are eligible for free funding through the government’s Superfast Britain Broadband Connection Vouchers scheme.
Eligible businesses can get a connection voucher of between £100 and £3,000 towards the charge of installing superfast broadband. This is usually enough to cover the costs involved. If your business is based at home, the connection voucher can also be used to get superfast broadband there.
It canfund associated installation costs including infrastructure equipment, construction charges, engineering works and surveys.
What types of broadband are eligible?
Cable
Ethernet First Mile (EFM)
Fibre to the Premise (FttP)
Fibre to the Cabinet (FttC)
Fixed Wireless Access (FWA)
Leased lines
Microwave
Satellite
Multiple organisations can jointly apply to the scheme and pool the funding. This can help where a whole office block wants to get superfast broadband,though all organisations must meet theeligibility criteria. The offer is also open to registered charities, social enterprises and sole traders.
The benefits to you business could include:
Increasing profits by offering better services to more satisfied customers.
Improving customers’ experience with quicker upload and download speeds and faster file-sharing, especially for large files.
Reducing software and hardware costs by helping businesses switch to online data storage solutions.
Enhancing the way businesses communicate and collaborate through online video conference and cloud-based information sharing.
How to apply
You can claim your broadband connection voucher in three simple steps:
Check your business is eligible using the scheme’spostcode checker.
Get a quote from aregistered supplieron a package tomeet your specific needs.
Click on the button below and fill in an application form. We’ll do the rest!
You can also go for an off-the-shelf deal directly throughwww.connectionvouchers.co.uk. Just check your postcode is eligible then click on option one ‘off the shelf deal’.Your chosen supplier will then complete the administration for you.
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
There has been a sharp fall in the number of apprenticeships in the construction and IT sectors over the past five years.
There were 16,890 construction, planning and built environment apprentices in 2009-10, but this had more than halved to barely 8,000 just four years later. The construction industry has complained of an ageing workforce, but apprentice numbers suffered as companies struggled for work when they were badly hit by the economic crisis.
There were 10,510 apprentices who entered the information and communications technology sector in 2010-11, but this fell to under 8,000 for the following two years – still much higher than pre-financial crisis levels. Retail and leisure travel and tourism sectors have suffered declines since 2012.
There is also concerned about an apparent lack of take-up in certain sectors of high-level apprentices, which can lead to degrees by the end of the training.
By contrast, apprenticeships in health, public services and care shot up from 28,230 in 2009-10 to nearly 58,000 four years later. The number setting out in careers in agriculture, animal care and horticulture was up 22.4 per cent to 4,480 over the same time.
The Skills minister, Nick Boles, said: “We want far more employers to get involved in apprenticeships. This means making sure that we practise what we preach in government, so we’re going require all public-sector bodies – schools, hospitals, prisons and police forces – to employ apprentices.”
Caroline Williams, CEO Norfolk Chamber said “These statistics back up what we are hearing from our members. Many of our larger companies, especially in IT, are finding it hard to recruit the number of apprentices needed to meet their requirements. There continues to be a misunderstanding about the opportunities that especially the high level apprentices can bring to a young person. The drive to go to university is still strong for our more able students but we would encourage Norfolk’s young people and their parents to ensure that the apprenticeship route is considered carefully as a real alternative”
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.”
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
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.
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.”
A new scheme has been launched this week to place apprentices in 850 companies quoted on AIM, London Stock Exchange’s growth market for ambitious small and medium businesses.
Business Secretary Sajid Javid has announced a new scheme to place apprentices in small and medium companies quoted onAIM, London Stock Exchange’s growth market for ambitious small and medium businesses.
Caroline Williams CEO Norfolk Chamber said ‘It is good news that apprenticeships are getting so much positive news at the moment. The fact that businesses, such as those in AIM, are recognising the benefit to their businesses to employ apprentices sends out a very positive message.
Many Norfolk companies are currently unable to fill high level apprenticeship places as young people do not see apprenticeships as the route for them to consider. Apprenticeships are now a real alternative to university with many advantages to young people. It is of course down to personal choice, but one that is increasingly being considered. This is good news for the Norfolk business community who need young people to help grow their businesses especially those with an ageing workforce’.
The London Stock Exchange Group Foundation has committed an initial £20,000 to underwrite the cost of administering the scheme, with additional funds raised at the event last night. The scheme will be run by the educational charity City Gateway. More than 850 companies from across the country are quoted onAIM, and the scheme will work to highlight the opportunities they offer to young people.