Member News

Businesses in King’s Lynn town centre are being invited to help to shape plans for the town at a virtual Vision King’s Lynn workshop taking place from 5.30pm – 7pm on Wednesday 9th September.

The workshop, organised by the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and Discover King’s Lynn, will see businesses asked to share their ideas on topics such as making use of empty units and enhancing the town centre offer.

The feedback in the workshop will help to inform activities and improvements in the town centre, including the Town Investment Plan. The Town Investment Plan is currently being developed and through it, King’s Lynn has the opportunity to potentially access £25M in investment from the Town’s Fund.

The workshop follows on from recent Vision King’s Lynn consultation to understand consumer and business confidence in the town centre. The findings from these surveys will be shared shortly, and there will be an opportunity for businesses to discuss some of the emerging themes at the workshop.

Graham Purkins, Chair of The Town Board which is overseeing the development of the Town Investment Plan said: “We know that businesses in the town centre, like so many others across the area, have felt the impact of Covid-19 significantly over the last few months.

“That is why it is so vital that we get their views. We want to hear their ideas for what we can do to help the town centre to bounce back from the difficulties caused by the pandemic and thrive into the future.”

“I would urge businesses in the town centre to please do join us at this important workshop and tell us what you think – your views are vital.”

*If you’re a King’s Lynn town centre business, don’t miss out on the opportunity to join the free workshop. Register your attendance today by emailing michelle@engaging-people.co.uk or get in touch via the website www.visionkingslynn.co.uk or the social media channels – Twitter: @vision_lynn or Facebook: Vision King’s Lynn.

The closing date to register a place is Friday 4th  September 2020.  

Communities are invited to take centre stage in shaping an exciting bid for major Government investment that will drive economic regeneration, recovery, jobs and growth across the main urban areas of the Great Yarmouth borough.

With lots already underway, including major seafront and town centre regeneration, the area now has the opportunity to apply for up to £25m of Government investment known as a ‘Town Deal’, covering Great Yarmouth, Gorleston and Bradwell.

A diverse Town Deal Board of local ambassadors from private, public and third sector organisations is writing the Investment Plan of ideas about how that money could be spent, in order to attract further investment and stage the revitalisation of our place in the wave of coronavirus.

After careful consideration of public feedback from the initial My Town survey, the Board is developing ideas for investment across four themes: Regeneration & Business Development, Skills & Aspiration, Arts, Culture & Tourism, and Connectivity & Sustainability.

Now they are inviting residents, businesses and others to take centre stage and to share their priorities for investment through a short survey entitled Our Place is Your Stage. By doing so, you will be part of shaping the Investment Plan, supporting a vibrant, attractive and unique place where more people choose to live, work, visit, do business and create.

The survey can be completed until Thursday, September 10 online at www.great-yarmouth.gov.uk/town-deal Paper survey forms are also available in Great Yarmouth Library. #OurPlaceYourStage

Chris Sargisson, vice chairman of the Town Deal Board and chief executive of Norfolk Chambers of Commerce, said: “Our ambition is to take our place to the next stage: to re-invent public places, to tap into and grow a thriving arts and cultural scene, to support new homes, nurture new jobs, businesses, new opportunities to learn and grow, to make our people, businesses and visitors proud.

“These are really exciting times for our place. We are Norfolk’s biggest seaside resort and England’s offshore energy hub, with an incredibly rich cultural heritage. We have some great strengths and opportunities, which we’re doing everything we can to maximise, and we’re keen to put the community centre stage and hear your views as we take the next steps on this exciting journey. If you had £25m to invest in our place, what would you do?”

Cllr Carl Smith and Cllr Trevor Wainwright, leaders of the council’s main political groups, said: “As a council, we’re doing everything we can to invest in our place. We’ve already seen the lovely Waterways restored with the help of volunteers, the exciting new Marina Centre is taking shape, and soon we’ll have a welcoming new Market Place as part of the town centre regeneration.

“We’re lucky to have such a high calibre and diverse membership of professional sector and place leaders on our Town Deal Board to write the Town Investment Plan, including strategic thought leaders, investors and entrepreneurs, academics and creatives. 

“The prospect of £25m Government investment, along with this fabulous partnership working, is a huge opportunity to support further investment and job prospects for communities, and we’d like as many people as possible to take part in shaping that Investment Plan by taking part in the survey.”

Due to population rises, prime areas for TaxAssist Accountants shops have been released for new franchisees.

London has always been a major draw for people interested in taking on a TaxAssist Accountants franchise, with prime areas quickly snapped up. As populations and commuting footfall have risen over recent years, some franchise territories were not being fully utilised in all locations due to size. Through negotiations with existing franchisees, key areas have now been rescoped and released for new franchisees to purchase.

Seth Brown, Senior Manager, UK Recruitment explains: “We always receive a large number of enquiries from potential franchisees interested in taking a franchise in London, but once they are taken, territories do not get released again for many years, due to franchisees successfully building up substantial practices.

“I approached London franchisees to ask if there were any locations they weren’t operating in within their territories, which they would be happy to release, and I am pleased to report that a number of prime locations and territories are now available.

“I have tried to create the new territories in a structured way, so that they have clear identities for a new franchise to operate in, with plenty of good options for shop fronts.”

The locations which have been made available include:

• Earls Court and South Kensington • Chelsea Central & Battersea West • Part of Walthamstow • Whitechapel South • Bow If you are interested in learning more about the opportunities above, please contact Nikki Haythorne the UK Franchise Recruitment Manager on 0800 0188297.

Last week, Delia’s Canary Catering at Norwich City Football Club confirmed that we will re-open our doors to the Conference and Meeting spaces available at Carrow Road from October 1.

To get a taste of what we can offer, we are thrilled to release our bespoke video showcasing our state-of-the-art facilities.

At Carrow Road, a wealth of space is available with 17 function rooms of varying sizes, and 41 executive boxes ideal for breakout sessions, small meetings, or even temporary office space.

Our unique venue means we have a suitable space for all requirements. As a reminder, under the Delia’s Canary Catering brand, all of our menus are created from Delia’s very own published recipes, and everything is freshly prepared in-house to ensure that dining at Carrow Road is not only a safe experience, but a truly memorable one.

Please note, this video was produced before the COVID-19 pandemic. Your safety is our priority, so we have carried out a number of precautions to ensure you are in safe hands with us. These can be found here. To book, visit the Delia’s Canary Catering website or call 01603 218704.

We’re very excited to announce the launch of our newest and most powerful feature yet, GuardianPlus. This allows you to give your staff 24/7/365 protection through our fully accredited Safepoint Response Centre!

This means that to protect your staff every second of every day all that you need to do is download the Safepoint app and sign up, that’s it! What’s more, this process only takes around 5 minutes!

Protecting your staff has never been simpler. Check out our 14-day free trial – you don’t even need a credit card to get started!

Find out more at www.safepointapp.com

Please click onto the document to read this week’s Market Summary.

Great Yarmouth Borough Council is inviting small foodservice and hospitality businesses in the local tourism sector to apply for grants to help towards the costs they incurred in order to adapt their business to become Covid-safe.

Businesses can claim 50 percent of their eligible expenditure between May 1 and July 31 2020, up to a maximum of £2,500, providing this exceeds £500 and they can prove it relates to equipment and supplies purchased to trade safely in line with the Government guidelines.

Applications to the £100,000 adaption grants programme are invited from hotels, guest houses and B&Bs, cafés, restaurants, pubs, and takeaway food outlets within the borough. Hospitality accommodation providers must demonstrate that they are part of the tourism sector.

Click here for the link to the online application form, eligibility criteria and further business advice. Applications close at midnight on Monday, August 24 and grants will be allocated on a first come, first served basis, with only one claim accepted per business.

Examples of items that businesses could claim for include posters, signage, sneeze screens, floor stickers and markings, barriers and other controls to ensure social distancing, sanitiser stands and dispensers. Consumable PPE such as gloves, masks and hand sanitiser can also be claimed.

The adaption grants programme is part of Norfolk’s tourism sector support package from the Norfolk Strategic Fund. The project, led by Norfolk County Council in partnership with all seven district councils and Visit East of England, is being put in place to help the tourism sector to recover from the impact of Covid-19.

Update your business continuity plan

The global pandemic has highlighted the importance to all businesses and organisations of having in place robust and up-to-date continuity plans, identifying key risks and setting out approaches for safeguarding staff, buildings, stock and their operations in a civil emergency. Businesses are advised to update their plans to reflect the ongoing situation with Covid-19, thinking through how they would protect themselves in the event of a second wave of Covid-19 and other potential disruptions such as severe weather, ICT system failure, power cuts, fire or chemical spills. The website of the Norfolk Resilience Form has free advice and guidance on how to develop your own plan.

Do you have your ‘Good to Go’ mark yet?

If you have read and applied the Government’s guidance, understand the guidance from Public Health England and have a Covid-19 Risk Assessment in place, you can apply for Visit Britain’s  ‘We’re Good to Go’ Covid-19 consumer confidence mark to display at your premises. Simply complete a self-assessment here. To assist all businesses to meet their responsibilities, the council website has all the latest guidance and support for businesses, including funding opportunities, advice on operating safely, along with a downloadable pack of useful materials including safety posters. Click here.

What to do if a guest has Covid-19

Check our Norfolk County Council’s free toolkit for accommodation providers and the tourism sector, aimed at helping Norfolk visitors keep themselves and others safe. It contains a step-by-step guide on what you need to do in the unfortunate event of a guest with suspected Coronavirus, as well as a guest poster and guest information leaflet. Click here.

News has emerged that preferential rates are to be scrapped for some goods coming out of Cambodia. Here is Tracey Renshaw’s update on how this will affect importers in the UK.

For many years, the WTO has promoted trade with less well-developed countries through implementation of preferential or zero duty rates. By building the international trade of the least well-developed countries, jobs are created and economies become more robust. It also means these countries become less dependent on international aid and more self-sufficient. 

Preferential rates are granted to such countries provided they meet stringent criteria on issues like human rights and the safety and freedom of their inhabitants and visitors. For many years Cambodia has benefitted from preferential duty rates.  However, following what the EU Commission describes as “Serious and systematic violations of principles laid down in the ICCPR” it has decided to withdraw preferential duty rates on products which are imported into the EU under the following HS codes: 1212 93, 4201 00, 4202, 4203, 4205 00, 4206 00, 6103 41, 6103 43, 6103 49, 6105, 6107, 6109, 6115 10, 6115 21, 6115 22, 6115 29, 6115 95, 6115 96, 6115 99, 6203 41, 6203 43, 6203 49, 6205, 6207, 6211 32, 6211 33, 6211 39, 6211 42, 6211 43, 6211 49, 6212, 6403 19, 6403 20, 6403 40, 6403 51, 6403 59, 6403 91, 6403 99, 6405 and 6406. The ruling comes into effect for goods leaving Cambodia after 12th August 2020 and means that imported goods in these categories will attract the full rate of duty. For example, products with current code 4202929890, leather bags with a textile coating, which are of Cambodian origin were being imported with 0% duty, but now will have a duty rate of 2.7%.  As this will impact margins it will be worthwhile reviewing your product ranges to find affected products as it may influence on where you source affected products in future. If you need any assistance on classification or origin issues with your products please contact us   For more information on the Commissions findings click here

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) is highlighting worrying gaps in road safety knowledge as the key theme of Injury Prevention Week 2020 which is running from 17-21 August.

Research by YouGov commissioned by APIL revealed many parents were unconfident about their children’s understanding of how to stay safe on the roads. In addition, the research found most adults who do not drive did not know that white lights indicate a parked vehicle is about to start reversing. 

Colin Cook, Head of Dispute Resolution at Hatch Brenner and APIL accredited senior personal injury litigator and brain injury specialist commented: “We are pleased to be supporting the vital work of APIL in highlighting the importance of road safety. The Green Cross Code remains a key tool in educating children and young people about every day dangers on our roads. As we approach the back to school period, I would advise parents to take the opportunity to have a discussion with their children about being ‘roadwise’. 

“Whilst we remain dedicated to helping those who have sustained an injury and who are in genuine need both financially and in terms of rehabilitation, the ideal situation is for people not to be injured in the first place. Through their development of a national strategy for the prevention of needless injury and awareness campaigns like Injury Prevention Week, APIL champion avoiding unnecessary harm and suffering in our communities.”

Any accident which takes place on a public highway or other public place can be termed a road accident. There is usually a vehicle of some sort involved, either colliding with another vehicle, or with a cycle, motorbike or pedestrian.

A recent Department for Transport report found that those aged under 15 accounted for around a quarter of pedestrian injuries and deaths on British roads in 2019.

Hatch Brenner Solicitors advise on very simple or very complicated cases which will always be dealt with by a member of our experienced and qualified team, able to provide you with the best legal advice. We have experience in acting on behalf of individuals dissatisfied with the way in which claims have been handled by their own insurer panel firms. Our team has successfully recovered damages for individuals who had elements of their injury previously overlooked (for example subtle head injury and chronic pain). 

Contact Colin Cook, Personal Injury Solicitor and Head of Dispute Resolution at Hatch Brenner at colincook@hatchbrenner.co.uk or via info@hatchbrenner.co.uk

Mad HR recently interviewed Norfolk Chamber Members Expert Print Management as part of their Covid-19 Spotlight on businesses. Print management is owned and managed by Paul Youngs is a successful Norwich based business working with marketers and marketing departments of businesses throughout the UK. Paul has over thirty years’ experience in the print industry, and over that time has seen significant change and survived economic turmoil more than once, but nothing quite prepared him for 2020.

All three areas of the business – print, banners and promotional products – started to experience a slowdown in early March and by 20 March when lockdown commenced, all orders had stopped coming in.

“After a challenging 2019 influenced by Brexit, January and February had been buoyant. Just as it felt the economy was picking up, Covid-19 hit and stopped activity overnight. No one had a clue what was going to happen next,” remembers Paul. 

Paul had restructured in late 2019 leaving him running the business alone. This gave him the benefit of not having the worry of employees’ welfare or dealing with furlough, but it also meant he had no team to talk to or discuss decisions with. His positive attitude and determination to keep going provided the motivation that he needed.  

“I follow Brad Sugars so took his 12 Day Survival Guide course and kept reading coaching materials. I also rang around my clients and contacts that were still open, to find out more about what people needed and what has happening out there.  I realised it was important to speak to other positive business owners to keep a positive mind-set” says Paul.  He notes that for those who continued to work, some strong relationships have developed and is pleased with the attitude and mind-set local businesses have shown: “There is definitely an attitude of collaboration and working together for the common good, with a less selfish approach than before lockdown. I formed some great working relationships and hope they continue. The change in approach surprised me to a certain degree but is very welcome”.

Paul quickly realised that print alone was not going to be enough to keep the business afloat during the lockdown and that he needed to diversify. Those still operating needed floor stickers, signage and banners to support social distancing and hand hygiene,  which he was readily set up to provide.  Paul decided to take it to the next level; “If organisations needed signage about hand hygiene, they also needed sanitisation stations and the consumables to fill them. I decided to diversify into all Covid-secure products, not just the signage and print element”.

Paul set up a separate website, using the same branding of Expert Print Management but under the name https://www.covidessential.online/. He started looking for new supply chains and new markets. He opted for local suppliers where possible with the stainless steel sanitiser and hand sanitiser being made in Norfolk. The new website was put together and went live within five days.  Paul kept communication open and continued to blog, sharing Government advice and signposting businesses to support. There have been many long days, and early starts to get everything in place and Paul acknowledges it was a steep learning curve. “It started with the idea of providing Covid-secure print-related products and moved on to sanitiser stations, and PPE. In the future, I am planning to include all cleaning products and materials, eventually moving away from a Covid- driven demand, towards a more generic clean and hygienic work environment demand”, explains Paul.

Paul has taken advantage of the Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme and the Small Business Grant Funding, that have helped to ensure both sides of the business are in a strong financial position moving forward.

The future is looking positive. The print business started to pick up again in mid-June and the Covid Essential business is increasing in range and clientele every day.  Paul has plans to develop and grow the business over the next three to six months, including the recruitment of a new team member and taking on warehouse premises.  “This is not something that I had planned or envisaged. I recognised a new demand in the market and decided to move quickly to fill it. Once the decision was made, I have just ploughed on.  The next few months are going to be interesting”, states Paul.

Norwich Puppet Theatre are thrilled to present a special series of online puppetry performances of Roald Dahl’s Dirty Beasts and Revolting Rhymes poems. These mini shows will be broadcast for free on Norwich Puppet Theatre’s YouTube channel, with a new performance being released each week from 21 August until October Half Term. The performances will then remain online until early December. Dirty Beasts is a collection of hilarious animal rhymes about a host of (mainly) grisly beasts, all of whom are none too keen on human beings. Revolting Rhymes is a series of twisted fairy tales told in verse and with plenty of humour. Each of the poems in these two Roald Dahl collections are being performed by a different artist or company working in lockdown. Audiences can look forward to a range of puppetry styles, from shadow theatre, to animation, and from pop-up theatres to rod marionettes. All the artists involved have a close connection with Norwich Puppet Theatre, including past apprentices and directors, plus regular visiting companies and collaborators. The Theatre is also working with musicians Ali Houiellebecq and Jonathan Lambert who have created some original music for the special credits sequences for each set of poems. Norwich Puppet Theatre has been presenting creative activity videos for children since the beginning of lockdown, but this project marks the first time the Theatre has presented puppetry performances for online audiences. Norwich Puppet Theatre’s General Manager, Ian Woods, said: “In these challenging times for artists and theatres it is great to be creating something new in our 40th anniversary year, and we are delighted that this is based on work by our one time patron Roald Dahl.” The poems are being presented with permission from the Roald Dahl Story Company, and with the support of Arts Council England and The Martin Laing Foundation. Norwich Puppet Theatre’s website and social media channels will share further announcements about dates and times of the premieres.

Hatch Brenner Solicitors have joined the Law Society and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners in welcoming plans announced by the Government to introduce temporary legislation in September 2020 allowing the digital signing and witnessing of wills in England and Wales.

The new legislation, which is being introduced following the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, will be backdated to apply to wills made since 31 January 2020 and it is expected to remain in force until at least 31 January 2022.

Alexandria Martin, Trainee Solicitor within the Private Client team at Hatch Brenner Solicitors in Norwich commented: “As we all adapt to the ‘new normal’, it is vital that legal legislation keeps pace with the demands of social distancing and pandemic prevention measures. This temporary legislation allowing the virtual signing and witnessing of wills and codicils via video conference technology like Zoom or Skype should be welcomed. Particularly during uncertain times, the process of drawing up a legally valid will gives individuals peace of mind and ensures their wishes will be carried out in the event of their passing.

“It is worth noting that the government guidance states that digital signing and witnessing via video link should be a last resort and where individuals can sign their wills in the conventional way, then they should do so. Hatch Brenner Solicitors has procedures in place to allow our clients to physically sign wills – either in our office on Theatre Street or at their home, within social distancing and covid-secure guidelines.”

Read more: Confessions of a Private Client Solicitor: will signing during a pandemic

Until now, for a will to be legally valid, it must be signed in the physical presence of two independent witnesses at the same time, who must then sign in the presence of the testator of the will. The new legislation varies the requirement of “presence” to allow for those witnessing a will to include virtual presence via video link as an alternative to physical presence. The standard formalities for executing a will under The Wills Act 1837 otherwise remain in force. The legislation may remain in force for a shortened or extended period than initially announced as deemed necessary.

The Ministry of Justice has stated that there are no additional plans in the immediate future to further relax the strict protocols around will signing and witnessing – for example to allow electronic signatures or counterpart wills.

If you would like to enquire about making a will, we offer a fixed fee will service. Contact alexandriamartin@hatchbrenner.co.uk or call 01603 660 811.