Member News

As part of National Volunteering Week, a team from Delta-Simons attended a volunteering session with park rangers from Hartsholme Country Park, a local park and nature reserve run by City of Lincoln Council.

Volunteers’ Week took place from 1-12 June this year, and is an annual celebration of the contribution millions of volunteers make across the UK.

Delta-Simons employees helped clear Ragwort, a potentially poisonous plant to cattle and horses, to prevent further spread before it flowered and the seeds distributed. Under the 1959 Weeds Act, the park has an obligation to clear ragwort, which is poisonous to many animals.

In addition, vegetation clearance was carried out near a picnic area, removing fast-growing saplings to encourage larger trees to grow.

Hartsholme Country Park lies about three miles south west of Lincoln city centre and covers more than 200 acres. The Green Flag Award winning park contains Victorian landscaped gardens, woodlands, grasslands and a large reservoir, where visitors can enjoy walks and cycle rides through the lakes and ornamental grounds.

Related articles: Warm weather causes outbreak of Japanese knotweed

This year, forecasts are predicting a very warm summer, and with it reports are out of Japanese knotweed taking hold earlier than usual. Japanese knotweed cost’s the British economy an estimated £166 million per year, with almost £11 million being spent on battling the plant along our road networks and waterways alone (source: www.cabi.org). Originally native to eastern Asia and China, Japanese knotweed was first introduced to Europe in the 19th century as an ornamental plant. This fast-growing, invasive plant is adaptable to a wide range of climatic conditions and can cause devastation for developers and home owners alike, growing through asphalt and concrete – damaging buildings, bridges and roads.

Once Japanese knotweed is established, underneath or around a built environment, it can be very difficult to control. Early identification allows developers to assess and cost options for destroying, disposing and managing it. The Environment Agency has created the knotweed code of practice which offers different methods of managing Japanese knotweed, and advises on alternative ways to treat it on site in order to avoid creating a waste disposal problem. This is intended to reduce landfill and haulage needs (and their associated cost), and the increased risk of spreading the knotweed.

Tips for developers

Always check the site you are buying for Japanese knotweed. Whilst this shouldn’t necessarily stop the purchase of the site, it will affect how profitable a development could be, and the timeframe in which it can be built. If there isn’t Japanese knotweed on the site, consider getting legal guarantees that confirm this before purchasing the site.

Create a timetable for Japanese knotweed treatment and development. If knotweed is present, then ensure enough time is allocated within the development timescales and apply a Japanese knotweed management plan.

Managing previously treated Japanese knotweed areas. Knotweed may have been buried on-Site or taken to landfill, or alternatively chemically sprayed or injected by appropriately qualified contractors, who should be members of INNSA. However, just because the development site has been treated doesn’t mean that Japanese knotweed may not grow again.

Speak to one of our advisers now if you want more advice on Japanese knotweed.

Contacts: Charlotte Sanderson (Associate and Ecology Team Leader), Paul Bennett (Unit Director)

Related articles: Giant hogweed hitting the headlines

We are pleased to introduce Shane McConnell to the Environment, Health & Safety team as the new Unit Director for EHS services in Ireland. Shane brings seven years of EHS experience to the role, with specialisms in ergonomics, risk assessments and DSE auditing.

Shane’s previous roles have included providing EHS consultancy for a number of clients in the high tech, pharmaceutical and construction sectors; he has also taught Health & Safety law to undergraduates and post graduates.

Comfortable and safe work places can increase productivity by 16%, and improve job satisfaction by 24%. Delta-Simons work within RiskRightTM EHS, a solution designed by Antea Group, aims to reduce and proactively manage Environment, Health & Safety risk factors in lower-risk environments, such as offices, data centres, and retail stores. As RiskRight EHS practitioners, we work to understand a business’s culture to ensure the successful implementation of EHS or enhancement of the EHS services in place. This could be from air quality through to employee wellness – providing rapid response to a specific local issue such as air quality, or delivering a strategic plan to address a global risk.

Shane will be responsible for supporting and advising clients on how best to meet their EHS obligations, as well as building a team to deliver EHS services for the growing marketing in Ireland.

Related articles: Associate joins Delta-Simons to head up Durham office

The majority of contaminated land investigation is funded by developers and landowners through the planning system. However, this only deals with sites that happen to be in the process of redevelopment and not those occupied by long-standing land uses.

Part 2A of the 1990 Environmental Protection Act was therefore established with the aim that local authorities would proactively target potential contaminated land within their districts in areas not covered by the planning process. Government funding for this work peaked in 2009 / 2010 at £17.5m, but was reduced to £2m by 2013/2014 and is now merely a £0.5m contingency sum.

The Commons Environmental Audit Committe has now been told that, due to the cuts, some councils are reluctant to inspect their areas, as there are no funds available to deal with problems they might find. This view has been confirmed in discussions I have had with several local authority Contaminated Land Officers recently, with inspection strategies effectively shelved.

The lack of funding for Part 2A may also skew the prioritisation of what limited inspections are still undertaken by local authorities. Councils may choose to inspect only those sites where they believe there is a ‘Class A Appropriate Person’ (the original causer of the contamination) in existence with deep pockets, possibly ignoring higher priority sites such as housing estates on former industrial land where the original polluter cannot be identified (or on publicly owned land for that matter).

In these times of government austerity, there are competing claims for every penny of public money. The Commons Committe was told by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) Principal Policy Officer Howard Price that an annual budget of £20m would be sufficient for our local authoritites to address historical contaminated land in accordance with their duties.

£20m represents just 0.1% of DEFRA’s annual budget, which is mainly allocated to flood defence work. Surely this is a small price to help, ‘put in place stronger protections for our natural landscape and deliver on our commitments for a cleaner, healthier environment which benefits people and the economy’ (Liz Truss November 2015). Further reading: Brownfield Briefing

Contact: Richard Lawless, Unit Director – North Regions

Related articles: Right Waste, Right Place campaign targets waste criminals

Illegal waste activities cost the UK economy as much as £800 million every year through illegal waste sites and the damage they cause along with tax evasion and fly tipping, with an estimated 56% of UK businesses not complying with the law. A new campaign led by the Environmental Services Association (ESA) has just been launched to raise the profile of Duty of Care, aimed towards waste producing businesses to ensure that they meet their legal obligations. The campaign will also be used to highlight the significance of taking waste management responsibility and tackling waste crime.

The campaign tackles the lack of compliance around the growing problem of waste crime, with 2014/15 seeing an increased number of incidents recorded to 900,000 in England – representing an 11% increase on the previous year1.

One such illegal waste case was recently reported in Norfolk, where a man was jailed for 15 months for running an illegal waste site without planning permission or environmental permit to deposit, store, dispose and treat waste. Waste operator, Mark Fuller, continued to breach the Enforcement Notice, even after pleading guilty. Read article.

What is Duty of Care?

Businesses who produce, carry, keep, dispose of, treat, import or have control of controlled waste must fulfil a legal obligation (Duty of Care) to take all reasonable steps to keep it safe, as set out in the Environmental Protection Act 1990. Controlled waste includes waste from households, businesses and industry.

The campaign is managed by the Environmental Services Association (ESA), sponsored by the Environment Agency (EA), the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) and the Environmental Services Association Education Trust (ESAET) and supported by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), Build UK, The National Farmers Union (NFU), Veolia, Travis Perkins, URoC, SUEZ and The Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC).

For more information visit: https://www.rightwasterightplace.com/#intro

For those companies involved in the acquisition, management or development of land, there is a responsibility to the environment to find out if the work is likely to affect protected species, such as bats. A recent landmark case saw a property development company fined after destroying a brown long-eared bat roost (read article).

The property underwent redevelopment despite the completion of an ecological report, which identified a roost in the loft of the commercial property in Matlock. Whilst the judge deemed that the offence was not intentional, the Bat Conservation Trust commented that the outcome sent a strong message to developers about the importance of bat surveys prior to development.

Bats are protected by law, with 18 different species living in both rural and urban areas of the UK. Bat roosts vary in size and occur in both buildings and trees. Our Ecology department is able to carry out assessments to establish the presence of bats, and, as well as being qualified to prepare European Protected Species Licence (EPSL) applications and undertake the associated mitigation works, the team are qualified to complete works under the Bat Low Impact Class Licence (BLICL), in situations where it is appropriate, which reduces the time and cost burden to clients.

View our bat survey services.

Related articles: Ecology Manager qualified as registered BLICI consultant

Recruitment that works for you: Our POP UP screen at the Norfolk Polo Festival saw Contract Personnel advertise with BBA Digital Media. After such an impressive event the leading recruiters continued their DOOH (digital-out-of-home) campaign on our permanent screens across Norfolk. Contract Personnel are a rare breed: a recruitment company that cares not only for the quality of applicants it finds for roles, but for the quality of the roles in which they place their recruits. It is this level of care, dedication and passion for what they do that sets them apart in the ‘dog eat dog’ world of recruitment. So if you are on the hunt for an exciting and fulfilling new role, or are a company looking to find that perfect candidate, look no further.

Contract Personnel are well known and respected for their work in the fields of driving, industrial and catering roles, but did you know that they also have exceptionally strong office and commercial, professional and technical & engineering departments too.

Check outthe biggest independent recruiters in Norfolk and Suffolk on our network ofdigital signage screens across Norfolk.

Organisations in Norfolk are starting to increase salaries and introduce more innovative benefit packages as the job market becomes more competitive, according to the latest salary and recruitment report by Pure.

The 2016 report, released by East Anglia’s professional recruitment specialists, reveals that employers across Norfolk, and the region as a whole, are now having to work harder to attract and retain high calibre staff. Previous reports showed salaries had remained steady for the last five years, but this year a trend is beginning to emerge that shows an increase in salaries and more attractive benefits packages. The industries of food production, manufacturing, professional services, and the public sector, have all played a significant factor in a steady growth in the Norfolk recruitment market, despite the downturn in the oil and gas sector.

Joseph O’Sullivan, Manager of the Pure Norwich office, said: “In general, salaries across Norfolk have remained consistent, but there are signs that salaries are starting to increase and we predict that these will continue to rise as the job market becomes more buoyant. We have already seen some increases in salaries, particularly in temporary and permanent office roles in the county. This could be partly attributed to the introduction of the national living wage.

“However, we expect to see salaries continue to rise as competition for talented employees increases. With more job opportunities available, people are becoming more confident about switching companies. Candidates feel more empowered to negotiate better terms and employers need to be prepared for this. Our salary survey is not just provided for job-seekers; we also compile it to provide employers with the research needed to benchmark how competitive their salary offering is.”

The report also reveals that the positive increase in recruitment has resulted in employers across the region focussing on other ways to retain their best employees and to attract new talent. In Norfolk there has been a noticeable trend for increased investment in career development opportunities, highlighted by the number of businesses seeking to appoint learning and development or training specialists.

Joseph added: “Being able to demonstrate an investment in employee development is an excellent way to help attract high calibre candidates. Candidates are still reluctant to move on salary alone and benefits, career progression and workplace culture still remain significant deciding factors. However, employers also need to review whether the benefits they offer are still competitive. Pensions used to be a key differentiator, but with the Workplace Pensions roll out almost complete, employers are now starting to offer enhanced pensions to entice new employees. Benefits which used to make employers stand out from the crowd are also becoming more common place, for example 85 per cent of the companies we’ve surveyed now offer flexible working hours.”

Pure’s salary report covers its core industry recruitment sectors of Accountancy, Financial Services, Human Resources, Office Support and Marketing. The 2016 report also includes results for the IT sector, following the launch of Pure’s IT recruitment specialism in 2015.

The findings have been compiled using information from Pure’s Compare my Salary tool and the team’s extensive knowledge of the recruitment market in East Anglia. Compare my Salary is a unique online tool for candidates to benchmark their salary and benefits against like-for-like job roles in the region. It is also used as a benchmark for organisations to gauge salaries to acquire and retain top talent.

For more information or to see the full 2016 salary survey visithttps://www.prs.uk.com/clients/salaryguideor emailnorwich@prs.uk.com

You know you’ve got talent when senior members of the England Shooting Team encourage their manager to see you shoot. Even more so when the team manager approaches you afterwards and encourages you to try out for the England Team Selection Shoots! Charlie is looking into shooting in the remaining ones, just the experience will be beneficial for him but he really does have something about him and his shooting that it could also be the start of a winning career for him with the England Team.

Over the past few weeks, Charlie has shot in the English Open Sporting and came in 2nd in the Colt class (juniors) and 7th in the C class (with adult shooters). He also came in 2nd at a normal registered shoot at Barrow Heath Shooting Ground. Then at the East Midlands Skeet Championship he came 2nd in the C class and 3rd in the Juniors, winning a Bronze medal!

The Premier League shoots are also underway and at the halfway mark, the 4th shoot last weekend, Charlie was High Gun and also won the C class. The event ends in September and Charlie is currently in 2nd place, just 3 targets off the top spot! He is also 31 targets clear in the Colts class and 32 targets clear in the C class so he’s looking good for a top end finish.

To top off a spectacular few weeks, he was crowned Norfolk Junior Skeet Champion again at the Counties Championship held at Eriswell Gun Club. This is his second time holding this title, he first bought this home in 2014.

This enigmatic youngster is going from strength to strength and we’re proud to be sponsoring such a local-born talent.

As the Government prepares to announce the successful bidder for the East Anglia rail franchise in the coming weeks, the Great Eastern Mainline Taskforce has offered a punctual reminder of its demands for a better rail service for the region.

In a letter to Secretary of State for Transport, Patrick McLoughlin MP, Joint Chairs of the GEML Taskforce Mark Pendlington and Chloe Smith MP have restated the key improvements they are determined to secure:

• New rolling stock to be included in the new franchise tender. • The delivery of journey time improvements to achieve: London to Chelmsfordin 25 minutes, Colchester in 40 minutes, Ipswich in 60 minutes and Norwichin 90 minutes. • A comprehensive package of infrastructure improvements.

The letter to the Secretary of State has also been signed by over 20 business and sector leaders from across the three counties, including the Chambers of Commerce, Anglian Farmers Ltd, Bernard Matthews Ltd, Willis Towers Watson, Howes Percival LLP, Aviva, EEEGR (East of England Energy Group), Visit East Anglia and the LEP board.

It states: “We were delighted that you, the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have all explicitly endorsed the findings of our campaign and we are looking forward to delivery.”

The key improvements needed were set out in the Great Eastern Main Line Report, published in November 2014, accepted by Government and included within the franchise Invitation to Tender (ITT) published last September. The report made a strong economic case for investment, which will deliver:

• £4.5bn economic benefits • £1.3bn of capital investment along the line • Journey time savings of £9m annually • 48,000 jobs along the line • £9.50 return for every £1 invested

Since its launch in the summer of 2014, the GEML Campaign has been supported by more than 100 of the region’s most senior business and education leaders representing more than 111,000 employees and students pledged their support and more than 1,600 commuters and rail users joined the campaign online.

Mark Pendlington, Chairman of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and Joint Chair of the Great Eastern Mainline Taskforce, said: “Our three-year campaign has consistently stated that for far too long, thousands of commuters, visitors and businesses in Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk have not had a service worthy of our region. We have worked long and hard to ensure the new franchise provides the high quality, world-class rail service that is crucial to delivering key economic benefits including new jobs, homes and business growth right along the length of the line. Now is the time for the campaign to get the result it deserves.”

Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North and Joint Chair of the Great Eastern Mainline Taskforce, said: “We’ve had a big campaign with huge ambition. We have demanded the highest standards possible. In the franchise soon to be announced we are expecting new trains – that’s a huge part of the campaign, but there is more to do. We need track improvements as well, so the work continues.”

David Burch, Director of Policy at Essex Chambers of Commerce, said: We are seeing a lot of new development in places like Chelmsford and Colchester and the businesses investing in those areas tell us that a first class rail network is essential to businesses in Essex. They are expecting the Government to honour its pledge to invest in upgrading the infrastructure and introduce faster, more modern rolling stock through the new franchise. For too long rail users in the East of England have been the poor relations when it comes to rail services and now is the time for the Government to put that right.”

Lindsey Rix, Managing Director, Personal Lines at Aviva said: “As the announcement of the contract winner for the new East Anglian rail franchise nears, it’s important to make clear what is required to create a high-quality rail service for the region. Effective transport infrastructure is critical to our business – particularly in Norwich, a core location for Aviva. This will help our employees when they need to travel and, in turn, helps our business function more efficiently. We look forward to working with the new franchise operator to achieve the goal of a world class rail service”

Robert Gough, Managing Director of Gough Hotels, said: “With hotels across Suffolk, it’s vital to our business that visitors are able to get here safely, in comfort and without delay. A rail network deserving of the East should provide the perfect start to a trip to our region. That is what we hope for and expect from the franchise winners.”

Steve Mannix, Executive Director of the Mercury Theatre in Colchester, said: “We have embarked on a £10 million scheme to re-develop our theatre and surrounding site in Colchester and having reliable transport links is essential to this development to enable us to continue to grow our audiences from the region and beyond.”

Proeon Systems yesterday held an open event at their facilities in Norfolk, to show case a technology collaboration with Danish company SAAB, known for their military communications and aircraft equipment, and BARTEC with their latest range in ATEX approved AV equipment.

Proeon presented an integrated solution to complement changes in offshore working practices providing multi level lines of communications to the beach. Dr Dorian Hindmarsh, Proeon’s Business Development Manager, said “The offshore industry is really starting to look at operational costs both in O&G and Renewables sector, and with the application of the right kinds of technology, safety and quality improvement with significant cost reduction can happen”

Proeon are now working with clients to offer bespoke packages with personal helmet mounted and remote HD ATEX cameras, PDAs and wi-fi communications, to provide direct lines of communication between workers offshore and the technical support and senior engineering team back on beach.

“With this robust technology operators can utilising softer, multi skilled engineers offshore positioned between assets, and maintaining a smaller skilled Engineering discipline team on the beach. The smaller offshore team has fast access to all the technical details available to the senior beach team through a two way direct and secure communication, with HD video.”

The systems offered could lead to significant headcount reductions offshore for operators with immediate reductions in logistics costs, and increases efficiency of problem solving.

Ben Hornsby, Proeon’s Senior Telecoms Engineer said “With the direct ability to query a situation back to beach whilst the team are actually in front the issue, the time saved in down time, reporting, and solution development is significant. The systems can be tied in to existing communication infrastructures including the UHF and VHF radio, PAGA, etc so instructions, notices and personnel management can be maintained and improved”

Major operators from both the O&G and wind industry and their supporting maintenance companies attended the event, with live demos of the cameras, PDAs desktop management consoles and examples of various applications discussed; from rope access reviews and surveys, through to enclosed space operations, first aid support, and training.

Dr Hindmarsh commented “We are delighted to be working with BARTEC and SAAB on this application though I am sure this systems is sure to meet with objections and misinterpretations of spying and monitoring, but I think now everyone in the industry wants to work more efficiently and communications, cameras, and rapid verification is the method to do this.”

Proeon Systems Ltd, has been providing Innovatively Engineered Solutions for the Energy sector around the globe since 2004. www.proeon.co.uk

To find out more about Proeon or offshore communication solutions with Headcam equipment please contact Proeon directly on 01953 859110

Leathes Prior will be supporting the Royal Norfolk Show this year by sponsoring the much loved Grand Parade of champion livestock and heavy horses. Continuing on from last year’s support of the Supreme Ridden Championship at the show in 2015, the firm is delighted to be supporting the show for another year.

The Grand Parade takes place within the prestigious Grand Ring, situated within the heart of the showground, taking place between 15:25 and 16:05 on the Thursday afternoon.

The Grand Parade gives exhibitors the chance to showcase their final livestock, offering over 258 championship classes for Cattle, Sheep, Pigs and Goats. The parade also acts as a salute to the farmers, exhibitors and their animals in Norfolk, as the award winning champion livestock and heavy horses are showcased.

TheEquine Prize Schedule has several new classes, sections, awards and qualifiers at the show this year. There are some exciting new additions in Light Horses, Heavy Horses, Private Driving and Showjumping. In addition, the new ‘Beltex Class’ will be introduced to the livestock category this year, to reflect the growing popularity of the Beltex Breed in East Anglia.

Leathes Prior will be not only be sponsoring the event but also proudly presenting the prizes in the Grand Ring, to the winners of each class on the day. With the Royal Norfolk Show livestock schedule set to be bigger than ever, the competitions will continue to be a real attraction for visitors and make up the heart of the show.

The firm has an increasingly strong presence in agriculture and equine across Norfolk and Suffolk with specialistAgricultureandEquineteams. Both teams are delighted to be presenting the awards to each class and extremely pleased to be sponsoring such a prestigious event within the show.