Member Blog

At the Autumn Statement the Chancellor announced the formation of an industry-led taskforce to explore how to develop non-bank lending. Views have been gathered to contribute to the taskforce from 100+ respondents to the review’s call for evidence and from seven regional and technical workshops the taskforce has held with businesses and market participants. This covered information on, and experiences of, the barriers to non-bank lending, and a range of ideas and insights into how they might be tackled.

Thetaskforce’s report recommends areas where industry can act to stimulate andexpand alternative finance markets and where there are actions for Government totake. The Government agreed with the analysis set out in the report, welcomes thecommitment shown by those named in the report in taking forward therecommendations, and commits to work with businesses and the broader financecommunity to address these important objectives.

Details of the full report:

‘Heads of Terms’ is the document generally drawn up by the Landlord’s agent prior to the letting of a commercial property. Whilst the terms are not binding until incorporated into a lease, it can save you both time and money to get them right first time around.

10. Right Property right price!

Before you enter into negotiations consider whether the property is right for you. Speak to a surveyor to make sure you are not paying over the odds for a property in that location. Also make sure that the Landlord and the local planning regulations permit you to use the property for your desired use.

9. Term

When negotiating on the length of a lease term you should assume that you will be liable for the entire term. It sounds obvious, but do you really want to be committed to pay rent in the property for the next 10 years, whether or not your business is doing well?

8. Costs

Landlords will sometimes request that you pay their legal fees for entering into a lease with you. This is not something you have to agree to and is a matter for negotiation.

7. Guarantors

A Landlord may request a guarantor to the lease, especially where the tenant is a limited company. A guarantor will guarantee a tenant’s performance of a lease and is liable on the same basis as the tenant. As the old saying goes ‘ A Guarantor is a fool with a pen!’.

6. Rent Deposit

Landlords will often request a deposit upon commencement of a lease to cover the possibility of a tenant default. Consider whether you wish to negotiate that such a deposit is released before the end of the lease e.g. after 3 years or when you can provide accounts showing annual turnover three times greater than the rent.

5. Break Clause

Do you want the ability to bring your lease to an end early? By including a break clause you can have the right to do so at specified times during the term of your lease.

4. Alienation

Are there going to be any restrictions to your ability to ‘sell’ or ‘dispose of’ the lease? Leases often include restrictions that do so, which could make it very difficult to dispose of your lease should you wish to do so before the term has ended.

3. Security of tenure

Leases for business purposes generally attract ‘security of Tenure’ under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954. ‘Security of Tenure’ means that you have an automatic right to renew your lease at the end of its current term (subject to some exceptions) should you wish to. Check whether your lease going to be excluded from these provisions or not.

2. Repair

This is the most important element of negotiations to get right. Decide whether you are happy to have an open ended obligation to put a property back into repair (whether or not it was in repair when the leases starts) or whether you would like the obligation limited by reference to a schedule of condition

1. Finally

Consult a solicitor before agreeing the heads of term. Would you decide what medical treatment to have before consulting a doctor?!

The very nature of business demands we are all familiar with brands, but what are they? What are brands actually capable of? And in what ways can an effective brand benefit a business?

What is a brand? A brand is much more than just a logo. Aside from a logo or trademark, a brand is a tone of voice, a method of work, a visual identity and an ethos. It stands for the tangible aspects of the company, the product they create or the service they provide and the less tangible aspects – the ethos, aspirations and heritage of the company. A strong brand unifies every aspect of a company into a single cohesive, recognisable and, above all, memorable entity. Visually, a brand covers more conventional applications, found across a range of printed products, signage, advertising, packaging, digital applications and the product itself. But branding also applies to how an employee answers the phone, the way in which the company is managed, and where its offices are located.

A brand is an essential part of any business, large or small, regardless of the industry in question. It represents the culture of a business, the way in which a company works, what makes them truly unique.

What can a brand do for you? There truly are no limits to a successful brand. Regardless of the size of a company, from sole trader to corporate multinational, an effective brand can be a useful tool in generating and, crucially, sustaining business. A brand offers more than the product or service on sale; a brand offers existing and potential customers meaning, a helping hand in making the decision between one company and another offering a similar service.Having a cohesive brand identity allows you to increase company recognition, more closely associate yourself with the service or product you provide, and more readily be chosen by potential clients.

In the short term, a brand can help you stand out in a crowded market place, offering an introduction to customers. In the long term, a brand can unify the focus of your company, provide stability, encourage loyalty and act as a basis for future growth.

What have brands done for others? An effective brand is a powerful asset to businesses, provoking instant recognition of the service or product in question. In 1982, Nike, one of the world’s most successful brands, launched the Air Force One, one of the world’s best selling sneakers. So far, so normal. But Nike managed to do this without spending any money on conventionally advertising the shoe. Instead, they relied on a highly recognisable brand identity, celebrity endorsement and a quality product. Both brand and shoe have been embraced by generations and, though the basic silhouette of the Air Force One has remained largely unchanged, it is hugely popular to this day. As far as a return on their investment in branding is concerned, the Air Force One is estimated to earn Nike in excess of $800 million a year worldwide.

Apple is the world’s most powerful brand, with fortunes in excess of $80 billion (incidentally, that’s more money than the US Government). Though perhaps an obvious example, Apple has created a brilliantly rigorous example of a strong brand identity, attached to all the products they create. While a vast number of customers buy from Apple based on the quality and functionality of their products, many more buy into the appearance and aspirational nature of the brand. It is the very ethos of the company that many seek to purchase. Such is the power of the Apple brand that hundreds of impersonations have appeared, and not just in the field of consumer electronics. iChoc anyone?

The power of branding isn’t exclusive to global companies Closer to home, Sportspark, the East of England’s premier sports complex, benefits from a highly recognisable brand identity. An engaging and flexible identity helps Sportspark to attract new customers and retain existing users. The brand identity informs all Sportspark communications – it leads the advertising campaign and is at the very heart of each key message.

With the Olympic games imminent, the membership Sportscards become medals, denoting the three levels of benefit and ensuring Sportspark is synonymous with a headline-grabbing event. Clean graffiti was used to launch the brand and made local news, gaining further exposure for Sportspark. Around the complex, staff uniforms, interior and exterior signage and printed literature all carry the Sportspark brand, creating a cohesive visual identity across all consumer touchpoints. As a result of this investment in creating and promoting a strong and considered brand identity, Sportspark has seen an increase in new memberships and overall income at a time when the overall sports and leisure industry contracted.

The Sportspark brand communications was shortlisted as one of the UK’s best marketing campaigns in 2011 at the prestigious Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) Marketing Excellence Awards. This is testament that successful and effective brand identities aren’t only for the big boys.

In short, an effective brand can be a great asset to a business. A logo that makes people think, a friendly and professional voice on the other end of the telephone, even the tactile paper on which a letter is printed contributes to the success of a brand and, as a result, to the success of a company or organisation.

Bobby Burrage is a Norfolk Chamber board member and creative director at a leading branding agency in the East of England. Bobby works with a diverse range of clients, from entrepreneurial start-ups to established multi-national organisations, across a range of sectors.

It was alarming to read that there has been a growth in the number of businesses targetted by bogus enforcement officers.

As an ex Health and Safety Enforcer- at the time i would wonder why anyone would pretend to be one of them!! but it does give you an ‘access all areas’ pass intoa businesspremises

So the advice is simple- who ever comes knocking on your door- please do check their ID

All real Inspectors will carry ID with a signature and a number to check that they are who they say they are

An Enforcement Officer whether from the Health and Safety Excutive of from the Local Authority has the right of access at any reasonable time; to talk to any member of staff, to check any records and to check the premises- you must know eho you are letting into your business

They will not generally tring up and make appointments; so be wary if you do recive a call- always ask for the name, the reason for the visit and a contact number- so you can check that they are who they say they are

There have been recent cases of businesses making appointments with person who say they are from the HSEand are in fact unscrupulous consultants!

The cloud is nothing new, but in recent years its importance to business has become much more evident and is being embraced by both small and large enterprises.

The decision to adopt cloud computing facilities by businesses can throw up a number of questions that wouldn’t necessarily be faced if you were looking at more traditional software solutions.

What is cloud computing?

Cloud computing is an all-encompassing term and refers to a number of differing computing processes rolled into a centrally accessed source. In essence the cloud is a central computing resource handling such things as authentication, processing, data storage and networking.

Although the cloud may have the appearance of being a single central system, it is actually a distributed set of servers often operating in differing geographic locations.

The cloud is accessed over the Internet by end users through computers, mobile phones, tablets etc. The end user is therefore acting as a “dumb-terminal” which consumes resources from the cloud. You have probably already accessed cloud applications if you have used services such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo Mail.

Application providers write software that can be run using cloud resources and accessed by their clients, this is known as Software as a Service (SaaS), examples include Salesforce.com, Office365 and Basecamp. Additionally, application vendors may write software that is delivered to their users though an Application Programming Interface (API) such as Google Maps.

A business may subscribe to these applications or perhaps utilise the cloud itself to write their own bespoke software, either way, end users will usually pay only for the services they use.

What are the benefits of cloud computing?

• Add capacity, without additional infrastructure, licensing or training Since the cloud is made up of any number of separate servers it’s easy to expand, or reduce the servers available to run a particular task, usually with no noticeable impact on the running systems. This process can often be automated to allow for peaks in usage.
• Access applications from anywhere Users can access applications from desktop computers, servers, mobile phones, tablets or even through a TV set.
• Inexpensive user hardware The heavy processing is achieved using cloud resources so business costs are reduced since only basic end user hardware is required.
• Licensing and management simplified There is no need to pay for expensive operating systems, licenses for software or a big IT team, the costs of these are rolled into the overall cost of the service.
• Reliability Availability is improved since cloud hardware is self-correcting, so if a piece of hardware in the cloud fails there will normally be another replacement piece that will automatically take over that task.
• Multi-tenanted applications allow for sharing of resources and costs It’s not necessary for a business to pay for software development and hardware, they are one of many businesses utilising the same application and hardware for the same task.
• Green There is often an environmental benefit to using cloud systems. Only the resources required for the task are consuming power, whereas traditionally if a server was running an application, such as your company email, it may be underutilised if your requirements are low.

Why should I avoid cloud computing?

• Privacy and Security The overriding concern of many businesses is the security of the cloud. If the cloud goes offline, and there have been instances of providers being offline for many hours recently, then this can have a more significant effect on operations than a single server going down. Businesses should also ask themselves who owns their data stored in the cloud, could the providers prevent access to that data?
• Customisation The benefit of a shared application can be attractive, but if you need to make modifications to the application to accommodate your particular business requirement this can prove costly, if at all possible.
• Connectivity If you lose connectivity to the Internet you won’t be able to access your cloud systems. This can be a particular problem if you are in rural areas or using mobile devices.

What does the future hold?

Industry experts see the future of business computing leveraging the power of cloud computing not only for the cost benefits but also for improving collaboration, outsourced IT expertise and centralising data.

The Cabinet Office has recently developed their own G-Cloud procurement strategy whereby application providers write cloud based systems for consumption by government departments. The hope is that these departments will move away from buying many similar silo based systems from multiple providers and instead source smaller, more flexible software from specialist providers.

With IT giants such as Microsoft, IBM, HP and Amazon firmly adopting the cloud it’s clear that this technology is not simply a passing fad but will be the way businesses of tomorrow, as well as today, will manage their IT, infrastructures and staff.

According to the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), everyone should have a sight test at least once every two years.

But a recent survey by YouGov showed that nearly a third of UK adults have failed to have their eyes tested in the last 24 months, putting themselves at risk of developing a range of potentially serious eye conditions, such as glaucoma.

Dr Joseph Feder, a board-certified ophthalmologist at the Aurora Health Center, said: “Not all age-related eye conditions are routine. At every eye exam, we are on the look-out for potentially devastating eye diseases such as glaucoma and macular degeneration (AMD). These diseases often begin ‘silently’ and, if left untreated, can cause blindness.”

And Clara Eaglen, Policy and Campaigns Manager at the RNIB, said: “Our eye sight can deteriorate as we get older, but sight loss isn’t an inevitable consequence of ageing. There are things people can do to protect their vision.

“Wearing the right prescription glasses or contact lenses is essential and regular eye tests, at least every two years, can pick up conditions such as AMD or glaucoma.”

So why are people avoiding regular sight tests? YouGov’s research claims that it’s down to a number of factors, including the cost. Fourteen per cent of the 2,102 British adults questioned admitted they delay getting their eyes tested because they cannot afford the perceived cost.

Under the Health and Safety Executive Display Screen Equipment Regulations 1992, in a workplace where staff habitually use display screen equipment such as computers, employers must provide eye tests on request and, in some cases, provide special glasses, too.

Westfield Health’s Chamber Primary Health Plan, which is available to all members of Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, includes an optical benefit, which can help employers to meet their requirements. Employees can manage their eye care, booking sight tests at their own convenience and claiming back the cost of their tests and prescription eyewear up to the limit provided.

For more information about the Chamber Plan, visit www.westfieldhealth.com/chamber or call 0845 602 1629, available 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday.

Every employer has a duty to protect employees and others who may be exposed to noise generated as a result of his work activities and should be working on measures to reduce the risk. The law “Control of Noise at WorkRegulations 2005” says that an employer has to find out what levels of noise individuals are exposed to and assess the risk to their hearing.

Symptoms and early signs of hearing loss

• Conversation becomes difficult or impossible
• An individual’s family complains about the television being too loud
• You have trouble using the telephone
• You find it difficult to catch sounds like ‘t’, ‘d’ and ‘s’, so you confuse similar words

Permanent tinnitus (ringing, whistling, buzzing or humming in the ears) can also be caused.

One can also suffer instant damage from very loud or explosive noises.

Generally hearing loss is gradual. By the time you notice it, it is probably too late.

Everyone should want to prevent hearing loss before it happens.

Every employer has a duty to protect employees and others who may be exposed to noise generated as a result of his work activities and should be working on measures to reduce the risk. The law “Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005” says that an employer has to find out what levels of noise individuals are exposed to and assess the risk to their hearing.

Particular industries and jobs most likely to produce intrusive, potentially damaging noise include:

• Construction
• Demolition or road repair
• Woodworking
• Plastics processing
• Engineering
• Textile manufacture
• General fabrication
• Forging, pressing or stamping
• Paper or board making
• General industrial food processing, mixing, mincing, canning or bottling etc.
• Foundries

Employers should be taking measures to minimise and control where possible noise at source such as:

• Ensuring all tools and noise generating processes equipment are serviced and maintained to manufacturer’s standards and specification.

Employees should make sure to use properly any noise control devices (eg noise enclosures), and follow any working methods that are put in place, wear appropriate hearing protection provided, wear it properly (you should be trained how to do this), and make sure you wear it all the time when you are doing noisy work, and when you are in hearing protection areas. Taking it off even for a short while means that your hearing could still be damaged. Remember that there is no cure for deafness.

HSE’s leaflet – Noise at Work: guidance for employers INDG – 362 advises on good practice and what can be done to minimize the risks and inherent dangers to hearing for anyone exposed to noise from work activities.

‘Contains public sector information published by the Health and Safety Executive and licensed under the Open Government Licence v1.0’.

Gas Safe Register is the official list of gas engineers who are registered to work safely and legally on gas appliances in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and Guernsey. By law, all gas engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register. It replaced CORGI registration in April 2009. It’s important to take care of your gas appliances. Get your gas appliances safety checked once a year by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Annual maintenance not only helps keep your heating and hot water working properly, it helps keep you safe.

Why do I need to use a Gas Safe registered engineer? In the right hands, gas is safe, but badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. Only use a Gas Safe registered engineer to fit, fix or service your gas boiler, gas cooker and other gas appliances. Gas Safe Register is here to help keep you and your family safe.

How do I check that my engineer is on the Gas Safe Register? All Gas Safe registered engineers carry a Gas Safe Register ID card, with their own unique licence number, showing the type of work they are qualified to do. Before any gas work is carried out always ask for the engineer’s ID card. Remember to check both sides of the ID card for:

• The licence number
• The start and expiry dates of their registration
• The work your engineer is registered to do
• The engineer’s up-to-date qualifications

How do I find a Gas Safe registered engineer? It’s easy. All Gas Safe registered engineers are listed on the website www.gassaferegister.co.uk

The Government’s plans to help the long term and disadvantaged members of Britain’s unemployed to gain work experience leading to permanent employment via The Work Programme have recently foundered in the wake of public mistrust of the system. Many high profile employers providing opportunities under the scheme have withdrawn their involvement to protect the reputation and image of their business in light of the outcry over the underlying basis of the scheme.

The Work Programme is designed and put forward as a scheme to help individuals to prepare for, find and stay in work and for existing part time employees, to help them to increase their hours to full time levels. It is delivered for Jobcentre Plus by specialist organisations, known as providers who are fundamentally required to give the support needed to help those participating to find and stay in work, This includes the provision by the providers of work experience and training and further support, tailored to individual needs and circumstances.

Involvement in the Work Programme can last up to two years. Job Centre Plus may require an individual in receipt of either Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) or Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) to take part in the Work Programme. For JSA recipients, this will apply after being in receipt of the benefit for nine months (if aged 18 to 24) or 12 months (if 25 or over)

Individuals may however apply to join the Work Programme earlier or alternatively they can volunteer to join even if they are not required to do so. A decision on entry to the scheme is however based upon individual needs and circumstances.

The Government’s own description of the aims of the scheme are laudable in principle. It intends that the scheme:

Provides tailored support for claimants who need more help to undertake active and effective jobseeking. Participants receive support to overcome barriers that prevent them from finding and staying in work. It is delivered by DWP contracted service providers who have been given complete autonomy to decide how best to support participants while meeting their minimum service delivery standards.

The Government is committed to fighting poverty; supporting the most vulnerable and helping people break the cycle of benefit dependency. …..

The Work Programme also ensures value for money for the taxpayer by basing payments largely on results, and paying service providers from the benefits saved from getting people into work. It is very much a partnership between Government and providers from across the public, private and third sectors.

The Work Programme is now under closer scrutiny than ever from those critical of its underlying purpose and ethical basis. It will be interesting to see whether or not it survives in its present form or whether more existing providers review their position over the coming weeks

For further information all aspects of employment relationships, please contact Chamber HR

What actually is health and safety? What do I actually have to do?? A Health and Safety Wizard’s overview of what you need in your potion cabinet, to work some safety magic over your business…..

Wouldn’t it be great if you could crack open a bottle, and pour out a magic potion that made your workplace completely safe and removed the worry of accidents and workplace illness? A fanciful idea, but it made me think, and ask myself for the umpteenth time, “what exactly is health and safety?” If I had to have an essential set of potions to get me started, this is what I’d have…

Potion 1; “Essence of Leadership” It’s an old but very true cliché that if the senior management aren’t committed, it won’t happen. Just as relevant to health and safety as any other issue. Some management styles are safer; others can be toxic.

Potion 2; “Eye Drops” This potion opens your eyes to the fact that health and safety is a management activity, and shares a common platform with any other management activity. Plan what needs doing, get organised, implement control measures, monitor them, use corrective action and review. Indeed, nothing new here, but it’s no placebo. This basic management cycle has a few tweaks to make it even more relevant to health and safety.

Potion 3; “Visible Ink” OK we need to mention the paperwork at some point, but effective policies and procedures (where necessary) are an important step forward. We can’t uncork the next bottle until we’ve got this bottle in the cabinet. Paperwork need not be onerous; for the majority of small businesses (less than 20 employees, say) this can mostly be found in one HSE leaflet; https://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/indg259.pdf

Potion 4; “Essential Competence Oil” We all hear “our staff are our greatest asset;” well they are. Enabling and empowering our staff to act safely and carry out their jobs safely comes from a few gallons of this potion.

Potion 5; “Invisible Ink” As well as the written rules, the unwritten rules are equally important. This potion reveals your organisational culture, attitudes and beliefs. It will influence your visible behaviour, communication, involvement/consultation, and whether personal protective equipment is worn even when no-one is looking. One interesting thing I did learnt from a Chamber “High Five” event (speaker from Dow Chemicals) was that you don’t just do good health and safety; high standards in one area rub off on other functional areas too, such as quality management.

This list of potions is not meant as a comprehensive medicine chest, it’s meant as an indicator of the activities involved in managing a business with health and safety in mind. Also, there are no magic potions; in reality there is a fair bit of work involved in getting a business into good shape………

The Government opened non-domestic applications for the RHI scheme in November 2011 and look set follow-up with domestic applications later this year, coinciding with the launch of the Green Deal.

So what is the Renewable Heat Incentive? To meet EU targets for Carbon reductions the government introduced the National Renewable Energy Plan, aimed at meeting a 15% renewable energy target for all energy supply by 2020, this includes electricity, heating and transport needs.

Around 80% of domestic energy use can be attributed to water and space heating, this equate to 44% of the total UK energy demand across all sectors.

The RHI has been introduced to encourage the use of renewable technologies for the production of water and space heating, enabling users to benefit from tariff payments to help reduce paybacks, which previously had been considered a major obstacle in utilising such technologies due to high capital investment.

The scheme effectively pays for heat generated via renewable sources, and one of the major hurdles to overcome in the setting up RHI’s was to eliminate the misuse of the scheme; for example: running the heating constantly and opening windows to then burn more fuel and thus receive more payment!

To overcome such anomalies a system should meet all the requirements set out by the scheme and be eligible for inclusion; applications will be assessed and administered by Ofgem, more information can be found at their website: ofgem E-Serve website

What comprises an eligible system?

Eligible loads:

• Must be a building, defined as enclosed and long lasting, includes glass houses
• Applies to water and space heating
• Includes process heating, i.e. heat generated for a production purposes
• Systems first commissioned on or after 15th July 2009

Non eligible loads:

• External distribution losses, i.e. piped supply between external plant and supplied building
• Heat used for generating electricity
• Underground heating of external surfaces, i.e. heated football pitches
• Temporary structures, such as polytunnels

An eligible load must also be measurable with the aid of approved and compliant meters to Class 2 accuracy.

Equipment and plant of 45kW or less must be MCS (Micro Generation Scheme) certified and installed by MCS approved installers to qualify for RHI’s, larger plant will be assessed by Ofgem for eligibility.

Which technologies are currently supported by the RHI?

Biomass boilers

Biomass boilers generate heat through burning organic matter, primarily wood. The heat is usually used to produce hot water or steam, the latter being more suitable for industrial applications. The wood, derived directly from forestry or as a forestry by-product is commonly supplied in the form of wood chips, logs or pellets.

Energy from waste combustion (the biomass proportion of municipal waste)

“More than half of the rubbish households throw away is organic, renewable matter, such as food or paper products. Although it is usually better from an environmental perspective to reuse, recycle or produce biogas from these materials, this is not always possible and combustion can offer a better option than disposal to landfill, which generates harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Due to its renewable biomass proportion, currently around half the heat produced by burning municipal waste is renewable heat.”

Heat pumps (ground, water source)

Heat pumps are electrically (or occasionally gas) driven heat exchangers that extract renewable solar heat from the air, ground or water. The heat pump extracts low level heat from outside and upgrades the temperature so that it is warm enough to heat space and water inside the building.

Deep geothermal

Geothermal systems use energy stored in the form of heat deep underground. Normally this heat has to be extracted from several hundred metres below the surface. Hot water or steam is produced by extracting the underground heat using pipes carrying water. Geothermal systems are large scale and can have a variety of heat uses, including district heating.

Solar thermal

Solar thermal technologies collect heat from the sun onto a collector which transfers the heat energy to a working liquid. This liquid can then be used directly to provide hot water within a building, or an exchanger can transfer the heat from the working liquid to the water.

Biogas Combustion

Biogas is gas produced from renewable materials such as food waste, commercial waste, farm waste or sewage, most commonly through the anaerobic digestion of those materials. For the purpose of heat generation, biogas can be burned and used to create heat directly or to boil water and produce steam.

To date there is no facility to include Air Source heat pumps; however that is not to say this form of technology will not be included in the future as further research is ongoing to determine methods of metering and data collection.

What are the tariffs and how are they claimed?

The tariffs are set dependant on the heat output and technology used and an eligible system will provide a return, indexed link to RPI, for 20 years. Typically one can expect a capital expenditure paypack on most systems within 8-10 years, which means up to 10 years of income stream to follow, which would typically cover fuel costs.

As a method of dissuading fraudulent misuse, biomass boilers are split into two tiers of tariff, the first tier providing a higher tariff for the first 1314 peak load hours, a lower tariff being set for the remainder. The owner of the plant is the recipient of the RHI scheme and will be required to make quarterly meter readings to Ofgem who will then administer the whole process. Ofgem retain the right to carry out inspections of plant.

The following link below will display current tariff information:

Table of tariffs

A typical case study for a non-domestic installation:

• A 38kW biomass boiler, delivering 95,103kW/h
• Consuming 23 tonnes of pellet fuel, at £170 per tonne, equating to £3910 per year
• Comparison cost of oil would be 7,800 litres at £0.64 per litre, equating to £4,992 per year
• Installation cost: £60,000
• Tier 1 return:

o Installed capacity x 1314 peak load hours o 38 x 1314 = 49,932kW/h o Rate x 49,932 o 0.079 x 49,932 = £3,944.63

• Tier 2 return:

o Rate x Remaining kW/h o 0.002 x 45,171 = £903.42

• Total tariff returns: £4,848.05
• Annual fuel saving: £1,082
• Total annual return: £5,930.05
• Capital investment payback: ~ 10 years

Introduced in April 2010, CIL will operate as a tax on development subject to certain exceptions. Chamber Planning & Development Group member Paul Clarke Bidwells updates you

What is CIL? Introduced in April 2010, CIL will operate as a tax on development subject to certain exceptions. Any development undertaken that is greater than 100sq m in floor area, will be charged. It is based on a gross internal floor space calculation. It is likely that more than one single rate of CIL will be applied in any particular area and there will be differential rates for different uses and/or different parts of a Council’s area.

Who can charge CIL? The charging authorities who will impose the levy include District and Unitary Authorities, London Boroughs, The Broads Authority and National Park Authorities. In London, the Mayor will also be able to charge CIL. The charging rate will be determined by the local authority following an assessment of the Infrastructure needs in an area, which will have to take into account whatever other sources of funding are available. Using the Local Development Framework (LDF) and normally an Adopted Core Strategy, local authorities must identify gaps in funding to enable them to arrive at the proposed amount expected to be levied by the CIL. In addition, charging Authorities will also be able to use up to 5% of the funds to recover the costs of administering the levy, collaborate and pool their respected Levies to support Regional Infrastructure, and also borrow against future projected income from the Levy to enable them more time in delivery of Infrastructure.

What is happening in Norfolk? Currently the Greater Norwich Development Partnership (GNDP) are consulting on a draft CIL which will relate to the administrative boundary of Broadland, South Norfolk and Norwich City Councils. This seeks to impose the following rates:

CIL Rates for Consultation (£ per m2)

Residential

£135 to £160 (inner)£75 (outer)

Large Foodstores

£135

Other Retail (A class) Assemblyand Leisure

£25

Residential and non-residential institutions (C2, C2A, D1)

£0

Residential garages (not shared)

£25-35

All other uses including Business (B class), Hotels (C1), PD

£5

Sui generis

In line with similar use class

Where does the money go? Money raised form the CIL is ring fenced for local infrastructure needed to support the development of the area. Each charging authority will publish a list of the specific infrastructure it will invest in.

What is the difference between Section 106 Agreement and Community Infrastructure Levy? The main difference between CIL and planning obligations is that the Levy is intended to provide Infrastructure to support development of an actual area, rather than make individual planning applications acceptable. The Levy will be charged on the basis of “granted” planning permission only or consent granted by the Infrastructure Planning Commission. Whilst planning obligations had to specifically relate to the development site and the consequences of its development. CIL is intended to fund Infrastructure in a given area.

Who is liable? Although the person liable in default will be the landowner (this includes free holders and lease holders with at least 7 years remaining), the regulations encourage (with financial incentives) “assumption” of liability. This may be by the landowner or developer. If there is more than one owner who is liable, then the charging Authority will apportion liability according to relative values. Significantly, an owner of land which is subject of the planning permission for chargeable development may be liable for CIL even though they might not have consented to the relevant planning application.

Are there any exemptions? There are very few limited exemptions. There is mandatory exemptions for charities, where the building is to be used for their charitable purposes and there is no joint ownership with a non charity. There is also proposed to be a discretion for charging Authorities to allow relief where the chargeable development is owned by a charity but for investment purposes.

It is not proposed to exempt others such as, schools or NHS Trusts who would be caught in the came way as a commercial development. It is, however, at the discretion of the charging Authorities to set lower rates for certain types of development where the application of CIL may render development unviable.

Is CIL likely to affect me or my business? It will depend very much on whether you have an intention to undertake development yourself, for example, expand your business premises or whether your potential market is dependant on growth happening in certain locations in Norfolk. For example, if your intention is to extend your premises over 100 sq m in floor area, then you will need to allow for a potential CIL payment to be paid to the chargeable Authority. As you will see from the charging schedule for the GNDP, the requirement for commercial development is relatively limited. In terms of growth, potentially, CIL could act as “break” on potential growth that may happen in Norfolk. If the tariffs for CIL are set at too high a level, there will be no incentive for land owners or developers to bring forward development in the immediate future. The concern of the Chamber is that without any realistic levels being set, there could be a significant reduction in development within the County.

What should I be doing? If you are intending to undertake development in the near future, you need to understand the implications of the CIL Levy. It may be prudent to seek a planning permission before a CIL is imposed in your particular area if you are intending to undertake development yourself. Similarly you need to be aware that if you are negotiating with a landowner/developer on a form of agreement where planning permission is to be sought, it would be prudent to deal with CIL and to agree where liability falls.

The planning and development group of the Norfolk Chamber of Commerce is in discussions with the GNDP and other Councils in an effort to represent the views of members of this important issue.