The application covers the 160,000 sq ft head office facility for aircraft painting firm Air Livery, the access infrastructure and an outline application for the remainder of the site Norwich AeroPark, the joint venture project announced in July last year between Norwich International Airport and Wrenbridge created to develop 100 acres of land at Norwich International Airport, has made a significant step forward today with the submission of a hybrid planning application for the site’s development, which is hoped to deliver 1,000 new skilled jobs for the region.
The application seeks permission to build a new five bay hangar and head office facility for aircraft painting firm Air Livery, and the associated access roads from the public highway. There is also an outline application for the development of the remainder of the 100 acre site which is expected to accommodate up to 860,000 sq ft of aviation related development in total.
Public consultation events held in November 2012 in the Airport’s terminal building were well attended. Feedback forms filled out by attendees indicated that the large majority were in favour of the plans, citing economic growth, skilled employment and growth of the Airport as major reasons for support. The detailed design work for Air Livery’s facility is being managed by Morgan Sindall Professional Services (MSPS) who bring a wide range and depth of experience to this major project. MSPS used the feedback from the public consultations to improve the design and layout of the AeroPark.
The application will be considered by both Norwich City and Broadland District Councils as the site straddles the district boundary. It is hoped that the application will be determined in the summer this year.
The submission of this application follows the Airport’s separate application for a state of the art engine testing ground run facility which was granted permission by Norwich City Council’s planning committee earlier this month.
Andrew Bell, CEO of Norwich International Airport, said, “We are satisfied with the progress we are making with Norwich AeroPark, and we remain on track to meet our development timetable for Air Livery’s facility. A huge amount of work has gone into the design of the various elements of this application, ensuring we took the views of the public into account. This project is now gathering momentum and, coupled with the permission we have secured for a first class engine testing facility, brings us another step closer to our vision of an aviation centre of excellence for Norfolk”.
John McHale, Associate Director of Wrenbridge comments; “The planning submission is a major milestone, underlining the good progress made in the last 6 months by the Professional Team led by Morgan Sindall. We continue to work hard to attract further occupiers to Norwich AeroPark site and look forward to working with Broadland District and Norwich City Councils and the stakeholders during the planning determination period.”
David Dukes, economic development manager at Norfolk County Council, said: “This is a really important development for the Greater Norwich economy. Of course, it will facilitate the growth of one of our major companies, but the opening up of 100 acres of new employment land provides a high quality investment opportunity which will generate considerable interest. The County Council looks forward to working with the airport to promoting it world-wide.” Brenda Arthur, Leader of Norwich City Council, said, “I welcome the submission of the planning application as an important step forward for this project which would provide much needed jobs in north Norwich. It is a major scheme and people can now have their say on the application as it has been published for consultation.”
On 1 April 2013 the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 comes into force, which aims to trim the existing £2.2 billion legal aid bill by £350 million.
The impact of this legislation will be significant, particularly in the area of family law. Legal aid will no longer be available in relation to family law matters including divorce, separation, the related financial matters and issues in relation to children such as residence and contact. From 1 April, only victims of domestic violence will be eligible to apply for legal aid, which is a major change to the current system.
The campaign group Liberty estimates that, currently, over 2 million people receive legal aid each year. Predictions suggest that 600,000 fewer people will be eligible to receive assistance from April onwards and family cases are set to be most affected.
There is likely to be an increase in the number of people representing themselves and there is concern that justice will not be done in these circumstances, particularly where one party to the proceedings can afford a lawyer and the other cannot.
Emma Alfieri from Steeles Law’s family team commented: “With just days to go there does seems to be a lack of awareness amongst the general public, despite these reforms having been announced around 18 months ago. The reforms are going to have a major impact on already stretched voluntary organisations such as the Citizens Advice Bureau.”
What can you do?
Look for firms that offer a free initial consultation. Prepare for the meeting and put together a list of questions of things that you want to know about so that you can make the most of the meeting.
Look for firms that offer fixed fee pricing for some or all of their work – that way you can budget for the work that needs to be done and you know where you stand.
Consider meditation. Mediation doesn’t suit everyone but it can be helpful if you are prepared to get around the table with your ex-partner and the mediator to discuss the issues and try to reach agreement. Once recorded, the agreement can be converted into a legally binding agreement by your lawyer.
In response to the proposed changes, Steeles Law’s family team launched fixed fee packages back in January 2013. This gives our clients a fixed price at the outset, rather than an hourly rate, in order that clients can budget and have transparency and certainty of what they are getting for their money.
Amanda Owens, head of Steeles Law’s family team, said: “Since launching our fixed fee packages, we have received a high response from clients. It appears that some clients have been surprised that they can still receive a high level of customer service from an established, local firm of solicitors like Steeles Law, which it seems they did not expect to receive on the basis of a fixed fee.”
We are delighted to announce that at the Spirit of Enterprise Awards 2013 we won the ‘Great Business to Business Service Award”
Now in its sixth year the prestigious awards ceremony which took place on 15th March 2013 at The Zest Rooms, Potters Leisure Resort is an evening of high-profile celebration of all that’s outstanding in business and enterprise in the Borough of Great Yarmouth. The awards focus on and recognise the achievements through innovation, entrepreneurial thinking and sheer determination of businesses of all sizes and from every sector.
Commenting on the award, Matt Buck, Head of Customer Experience at OneStream said “We are delighted to have won the Great Business to Business Customer Service Award at Friday night’s Spirit of Enterprise Awards judged by Bateman Groundworks. The awards evening was fantastic – really well organized by enterprise GY with a great venue, excellent food, great entertainment and good networking opportunities too!
“As I have previously said awards are so much more than a decoration for the company mantle-piece! Winning this award is independent approval for the hard work of our business and it’s people; it serves as a marker of what we expect of our organisation, and what others can expect of us; it has further boosted the spirit of the team at OneStream and crucially it will spur us to build on our hard work and achieve more.
“The quality of the judging businesses and fellow finalists across all of the award entries was impressive. For me, the Awards evening really drove home how Great Yarmouth has a great deal to offer and be proud of.”
Pure Resourcing Solutions (Pure) in Norwich hosted a fun-packed annual charity quiz night last Thursday (14th March) at the De Vere Dunston Hall Hotel, raising £1,897 for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH).
40 teams from local businesses including Heinz, Lovewell Blake LLP and Anglian Farmers came along for the evening of friendly rivalry which was organised by Pure – one of the leading recruitment consultancy businesses in the East of England. It was the ‘Amnesiacs’ from Norfolk Community Health and Care that claimed the quiz crown, with each lucky team member winning a bottle of champagne. A raffle also proved popular with superb prizes including a round of golf for four people at Dunston Hall Golf Club, champagne and £100 of Next vouchers.
Gill Buchanan, Director of Pure, said: “The evening’s success surpassed our expectations and I’d like to thank all of the businesses that contributed to the event. Our 10-year partnership with EACH is very important to us and we are proud to be supporting seriously ill children and their families in the communities where Pure is working.”
Gary Cook, Norfolk Fundraiser for EACH, added: “On behalf of everyone at the charity, I’d like to thank the quiz teams and Pure for raising funds to provide care and support to local life-threatened children and their families. Fundraising like this enables us to deliver a range of services including short-break care, specialist therapies, end of life care and bereavement support.”
The quiz brings the total that Pure has now raised for EACH in the last decade to more than £49,000. Also, in January staff from the company’s Norwich office volunteered at the Quidenham hospice.
To find out more about Pure’s fundraising activity, contact Anna Hill, Marketing Manager on: 01223 209888 or Anna.Hill@prs.uk.com.
Bigfork and By Design have created a new website for Norwich based printing services company, Saxon Digital Services. Saxon work with many great brands such as The National Trust, Joules, Harper Collins and the Natural History Museum. They needed a new website that promoted their expertise more effectively through better images, new copy, case studies and worthy testimonials. The new website is modern and professional, so take a look here www.saxondigitalservices.co.uk
If you need to improve your website then please contact Bigfork
Business telecoms specialist Comms Supply has formed a strategic alliance with Woodbridge based IT support company, React Computer Partnership. Working together, the two companies will be providing businesses across Norfolk and the East of England with a complete IT and connectivity solution.
React CP was founded in January 1997 by Richard Pledger and his brothers Alan and Francis. The company has established a great reputation for providing business customers across the East of England with a single contact point for all their IT needs: from hardware to software installation to comprehensive support.
Comms Supply was founded by experienced business telecoms specialist Karl Alderton in January 2012. The company provides a wide range of business telecoms services: from comprehensive phone, mobile and broadband packages to simple line rental; with an aim of delivering innovative and flexible communications solutions that really help businesses to thrive.
Richard Pledger explains the thinking behind the new alliance. “When we are recommending IT solutions for our customers it makes perfect sense for us to be able to supply broadband or any other type of connectivity, such as fibre connections, that they may require. In the past we have used large, well-known suppliers but they can provide a very one-dimensional service. Broadband isn’t always the right fit and our business is all about creating bespoke solutions for our customers; we needed a partner who works in the same way. We often recommend that customers have two broadband connections at one site so that they are protected should problems occur. Comms Supply can provide us with these options.”
“It was a mutual interest in football that first got me talking to Karl at a networking event, but once we’d finished chatting about sport we moved on to IT and telecoms,” Richard continues. “It became clear very quickly that Karl and his team share the same ethos as we do and there is a natural synergy between our two businesses. Delivering exceptional service to our customers is our priority and if we don’t feel we can do a job properly we won’t take it on; Karl shares this view. Comms Supply can provide connectivity through a range of channels and they are committed to continuous development of their product range. This clearly adds value to us and our clients.”
“We are extremely excited by this new alliance as we’ve found a third party supplier that meets our high standards,” adds Richard. “I’m happy to say that the service we’ve had from Karl and his team has been excellent”
“Forging this alliance with React CP is a great way to mark the first anniversary of Comms Supply,” says Karl Alderton. “We’ve expanded into larger premises in Norfolk but are committed to growth in Suffolk and across the East. Suffolk is an extremely exciting market place for us. There is a varied business landscape with some innovative start up businesses working alongside established, high-profile organisations.”
“Like React CP, we will only recommend products that are right for the customer and we never attempt to oversell or tie people into longer than necessary contracts. We know from experience that this openness and transparency is what fosters customer loyalty. Our priority is building long-lasting relationships with clients and partners so that we can create a sustainable, reputable business,” concludes Karl.
To find out more about the range of IT services that React CP can provide visit www.reactcp.co.uk, telephone 01394 387 337 or email info@reactcp.co.uk.
Vicki Mitman and Ed Savory of Leathes Prior’s Franchising team provide their thoughts on franchising your business
When you think “franchise” you probably think of a fast food restaurant like McDonalds or a coffee shop like Costa. There is in fact a huge variety of businesses which have successfully franchised which together contribute a staggering £13.4 billion to the UK economy (source: Natwest bfa Franchise Survey 2012).
These businesses range from having franchisees running high street outlets in the fast food, retail, fashion and beauty sectors, to office-based, “man-and-van” and part-time or home-based franchises. The range of sectors in which franchises operate is vast including healthcare, retail, domestic and commercial cleaning, educational & sports coaching, theatrical performance & arts, fashion & beauty, computer services, signage, business cost reduction, accountancy and bookkeeping, automobile services, lawn care, landscaping and gardening, home improvement, exercise & weight loss, estate & letting agency, pet care and pest prevention.
The type of business you own may have already been franchised but you should not be put off by that as it may be the ideal way for you to expand. If you own a business, there is a good chance that it could be franchised.
But the question is whether you should franchise. In order to successfully franchise your business you should ask yourself the following questions:
1. Is your business financially viable and would it still be viable for your franchisees if they had additional costs of 5-15% (which would typically be payable by the franchisees to you, as the franchisor)?
2. Is there long-term demand for your products and/or services as most franchises are granted for at least a 5 year term?
3. Are your business processes easily replicable? To ensure that all franchisees operate in exactly the same way, your systems and processes need to be easily communicated and repeated by your franchisees.
4. Can you easily train a person who is unfamiliar with the industry or concept to run the business?
If the answer to each of these is “yes” then you are on the right track. The first step may be to review your business in order to prepare it to franchise. From there you will need to create a franchise business model which is clearly defined in a manual (a “How To Guide”) and put in place an effective legal structure through which to operate it. Of course, not all businesses are suited to franchising and there are a range of expansion options which will be available to your business including organic growth, acquisition, agency and/or distribution.
Our team has extensive experience in advising businesses on expansion through franchising and other means. If you would like to discuss the potential expansion of your business with a member of our Franchising team, please call us on 01603 610911 and we will be happy to help.
Leathes Prior’s Franchising team provides a full range of services to franchisors both nationally and internationally across a broad range of business sectors, from brand protection to drafting franchise agreements, together with advice on property, employment, data protection, commercial arrangements, corporate matters, international expansion and dispute resolution. The firm is an Affiliate member of the British Franchise Association.
The Business Shaper Group have announced the appointment of Victoria Myhill as Group Sales and Marketing Director to support the our growing team of consultants and the national rollout of the franchise network.
Since the launch of the Business Shaper Group in 2011, the company has seen turnover double year on year and service offerings increase, with the introduction of a further 6 consultants to the group. Victoria will become an important member of the management team having previously worked as an International Account Director for IT publishing company, VNU Business Publications. Her experience of working with international brands such as Dell and Hewlett Packard will be invaluable to the Business Shaper Group as they go through 2013 and beyond.
Reporting to Chief Executive Gary Douglas-Beet, Victoria assumes overall responsibility for the Business Shaper Group’s national rollout programme and the development of the Groups brands locally. Her immediate focus will be on developing and enhancing the presence of the Business Shaper Groups existing brands Business Shaper, HR Shaper, Marketing Shaper, Design Shaper and PR Shaper.
Victoria joins the Business Shaper Group on 18 March after spending the last few years bring up her young family. “I’m really excited to be joining Business Shaper Group at such a pivotal time for the company and the broader development of the national franchise network. With such a strong portfolio of key local businesses they have helped, the Business Shaper Group is in a unique position to develop an even stronger business proposition for SME owners” said Victoria. “I am confident that my broad experience in the corporate world will bring real value to a company that is already driving innovation in the consultancy world. I look forward to being part of the future success of the Business Shaper Group’s team”
Think Mobile Media is delighted to be working with Break and the GoGoGorillas project coming to Norwich Summer 2013.
We will be providing the trail app, custom QR codes (which will be visible on all the sculpture bases), and their mobile optimised website. Watch out for the app launch and NFC ‘tap’ technology too!
Come and see us at 2013 Opportunities and win a free QR Code.
To celebrate we are offering all Chamber Members the chance to win a free QR code Simply Scan the QR Code for details.Come and see us at Opportunites 2013
Our Matt has been listed in Building Design Magazine’s ‘Top Ten Architects to Follow on Twitter’. The ‘BD Twitter 100’ uses an automated ranking device called Peer-Index to list architectural Twitter users according to their connectedness and level of activity, but the ‘Top Ten’ also includes a hefty slice of subjectivity from the magazine’s editorial staff.
‘Twitter has opened up the possibilities for architects to share knowledge and opinions, open up independent discourse on architecture, and expand their influence and visibility, and over the last two years large numbers of architects have really embraced it’, explains BD’s Anna Winston. ‘For our top 10 we chose the architects we thought were a good combination of entertaining, influential, responsive, engaging and knowledgeable.’
Matt Tweets mostly as @ruralise, in connection with his website www.ruralise.co.uk