Chamber News

On Thursday 28th January we took over 20 lanes at Hollywood Bowl Norwich for a competitive evening, with 150 members joining us for our annual bowling challenge.

The challenge was even bigger this year as we increased the team sizes to 8 per lane, totalling up some high scores. The evening was filled with plenty of laughter and a relaxed atmosphere for delegates to make new connections.

One of the challenges on the night included Hollywood Bowl’s ‘Pink Pin Challenge’. If the pink pin landed in a lane, the next bowler must bowl a strike to win their team a bottle of Prosecco. In the end two teams walked away with this victory, which also saw Peter Bussey of Anglia Business Cleaning win our ‘Most Stylish Bowler’ award for a tremendous strike!

All the bowling action was followed by an incredible buffet provided by the Hollywood Bowl team, and of course the announcement of our winners…

Taking the Super Bowl Challenge 2016 Trophy back to the office was Tank Replacement Services, with an average score of 119.125 (total score 953). The extra decimal place worked in their favour as team Natwest came close second with an average score of 119 (total score 714).

Tank Replacement Services seemed to have a winning streak however as team member Daniel Copplestone won top score of the night with an overall score of 182!

View our photo gallery from the evening here, and this year you can see your scores on the table below!

Overall the evening was enjoyed by all, with some even staying behind for a few extra bowls. Our fun After Hours Series doesn’t stop here though, coming up we have a Cocktail Evening and a Quiz Night Challenge.

Position: Company: Team Members: Average Score: Total Score: 1 Tank Replacement Services Ltd 8 119.125 953 2 Coutts 6 119 714 3 Hugh J Boswell 8 113.625 909 4 Price Bailey 8 112.125 897 5 Create Consulting (team 1) 5 112 560 6 Lovewell Blake LLP 8 109.125 873 7 Natwest 6 106.833 641 8 Targetfollow Estates 7 106 742 8 Indigo Swan,Mayday Office Equipment Services Ltd andAnglia Business Cleaning 5 106 530 10 Anglian Financial & Investment Planning Ltd, Hugh J Boswell, Barclays and Prior Diesel 8 100.375 803 11 Kent Carlyle Wealth Management 8 100.125 801 12 Larking Gowen andMecca Bingo 5 98.2 491 13 Leathes Prior 8 96.875 775 14 Credo Asset Finance 8 94.25 754 15 MLM 8 93.625 749 16 Howes Percival LLP 8 92.25 738 17 Norfolk County Council 8 86.625 693 18 Finn Geotherm UK Ltd 8 86.125 689 19 Create Consulting (team 2) 5 83 415 20 Cozens-Hardy LLP 8 67.875 543

Motorists are warned that off-peak temporary traffic lights will be in use on the A140 Aylsham Road (north of Norwich)from Wednesday 3 February for up to two weeks.

This is to allow the construction of a haul route crossing point, just north of the Holt Road (B1149) roundabout,for use byNorwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR) construction vehicles. The haul route is being created along the line of the NDR to keep construction vehicles and plant off the surrounding road network. The crossing point involves the construction of a 10m-wide concrete access on each side of the A140.

Drayton Lane and Holly Lane Drayton Lane, a popular local access route between Reepham Road and the B1149 Holt Road at Horsford, will reopen tomorrow morning(Saturday 30th). Clearance work will then move to Holly Lane (the diversion route during the Drayton Lane closure), where three-way traffic lights will be needed off-peak at the junction with the B1149 Holt Road on Monday 1 February and Tuesday 2 February.

Norfolk County Council has apologised for the inconvenience that will be caused by these restrictions.

Marriotts Way reopens in time for weekend

Marriotts Way, which has been closed between Pendlesham Rise and Fir Covert Road, has been reopened in time forthe weekend.

The popular walking, cycling and horse riding routehas beenclosedfor clearance work where it is crossed by the NDR. Although reopening was originallyplanned for today (29th),earlier this week it was thought likely that work would have to continue over the weekend.

Eventually Marriotts Way will go over the NDR on a purpose-built’green bridge’, and access along the path will not be possible when construction gets underway later this year.

The re-opening of Marriotts Way will allow the closure of Furze Lane/Breck Farm Lane.Ways of providingtemporary route from Furze Lane to Marriotts Way are being considered, but it is unlikely that this would be able to stay open when the bridge work begins towards the end of the summer.

Further closures of Drayton Lane and Marriotts Way will be needed as construction of the NDR progresses.

On Tuesday 26th January, over 35 delegates joined us to learn about business opportunities in South East Asia at Holiday Inn Norwich. The venue provided a spacious setting where delegates were able to network over tea & coffee, followed by 3 presentations from expert speakers discussing the key areas of trade in South East Asia; Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Norfolk Chamber’s International Trade Manager, Julie Austin welcomed delegates to the event and thanked UKTI for sponsoring the event before introducing Ximena Florian, Overseas Business Network Advisor UKTI East of England. Ximena explained to delegates who the Overseas Business Network are and what services they can provide to UK companies.

Next up we had Anh Luong, Vietnam Overseas Business Network Partner who went into great detail about what Vietnam and Malaysia are looking to invest in. Anh explained whilst sectors such as education, retail, manufacturing are great opportunities to the UK there are still challenges which companies will face when trading with these areas.

We then took a short break and treated delegates to tea and cake to help them process the information just received.

The second half of the event was spilt into two more presentations in which Ximena Florian covered trading opportunities in Indonesia and Singapore, followed by a presentation from Roy Dallison, UK Representative of the British Chamber of Commerce Philippines, who discussed the opportunities the Philippines offer and also shared some success stories of UK companies trading in the area.

The presentations delivered by these industry experts are now available to view at your leisure. https://sandbox.norfolkchambers.co.uk/sites/default/files/chamber-event/files/south_east_asia_presentation.pdf

We closed the event with a short Q&A, after which, many delegates took this opportunity to talk further with the speakers and get in some final networking to make those all-important contacts.

Please click here to see photos of the event

Two significant road closures in Great and Little Plumstead are planned to allow work to continue on Norwich Northern Distributor Road (NDR).

Middle Road will be closed from Monday 1 February to Monday 8 February, but will reopen as soon as the site clearance and tree felling works allow. This reopening is to ensure there is no clash with the proposed closure of Plumstead Road, which is the diversion route.

The closure of Middle Road, from Green Lane North to the junction of C258 Hare Road, is needed to allow safe completion of site clearance, in particular tree felling, on the line of the new dual carriageway. It will reopen as soon as safe to do so, but a longer term closure of Middle Road (details to follow) will be necessary to allow more substantial work on the NDR, and for the construction of the bridge that will carry Middle Road over the new road. Once the bridge is complete, expected to be in late 2017, Middle Road will be able to reopen.

Norfolk County Council is currently consulting on the closure of Plumstead Road for up to 18 days to allow utility service diversions across Plumstead Road. A closure is required by Network Rail because of the risk of the works causing traffic to queue across the level crossing on the Norwich to Sheringham railway line.

The current proposal is for the closure of a150m stretch of Plumstead Road, between the railway crossing and the junction of Broad Lane,to begin on Monday 22 February, but this is subject to no overriding issues being raised during the current local consultation. Middle Road will remain open while Plumstead Road is closed.

Norfolk County Council has apologised for any inconvenience caused by these and other closures and traffic management measures during construction of Norwich Northern Distributor Road. Forregularupdates, anyone can sign up to receive the Transport Matters and Transport Matters NDR Extra newsletters by emailingnorwich.transport@norfolk.gov.uk.

On Thursday 21st January, 70 Norfolk Chamber members joined us for a Business Breakfast at the Great Yarmouth racecourse. The Victory Suite provided a spacious setting where delegates could network over coffee and breakfast upon arrival.

Following a slightly different format to our usual business breakfasts, delegates were led through ‘How to Network Successfully’ by Ian Hacon, Yellowbrick Road Solutions.

Take a look at Ian’s Top Tips and Tricks.

After a brief introduction, Ian asked delegates to create their ‘Twit Pitch’. Restricted to a maximum of 140 characters, a ‘Twit Pitch’ creates a concise and straight to the point pitch which was then put into practice during a twist on the popular activity; Safari Networking.

Trialed for the first time at this breakfast, delegates participated in ‘Speed’ Safari Networking. With everyone on their feet in an open space, delegates had 4 safari moves with 6 minutes at each station allowing them the opportunity to network with up to 24 different people. The activity was a great success with many saying they’d run out of business cards!

Another trial run at New Year Networking, was the addition of a Networking App; Presdo Match. Accessible only by event delegates, Presdo Match creates an interactive networking experience. Attendees can view a visual delegate list complete with images and bios pulled directly from Linkedin, send messages to others via a secure messaging system and schedule appointments, making following up after the event quick and easy. Following great feedback of the app, we will continue to implement it’s use at future events.

To take advantage of these great networking opportunities, book now for our next Great Yarmouth Business Breakfast.

The UK Government has committed to holding an in-out referendum on Britain’s membership of the European Union (EU) by the end of 2017. In November 2015, Prime Minister David Cameron outlined his proposals for reform in a letter to the President of the European Council Donald Tusk. The four objectives for the Prime Minister’s renegotiation of the UK’s membership of the European Union were:

• Ensuring that steps to further financial union cannot be imposed on non-Eurozone countries, such as the UK
• Boosting competitiveness by setting a target for the reduction of the “burden” of red tape
• Exempting Britain from “ever-closer union” and enhancing national parliaments’ ability to block EU legislation
• Restricting EU migrants’ access to in-work benefits such as tax credits

A response to David Cameron’s letter was received in December. The main sticking point has been opposition from countries including Hungary and Poland to the idea of the four year ban on claiming some UK benefits. The message from the rest of the EU is that there cannot be a policy which discriminates against other EU nationals.

As the Prime Minister tours Europe highlighting Britain’s stance and looking to drum up support from other EU leaders, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) will be once again polling Chamber members across the UK to find out what the local business communities think about the EU Referendum. This will enable the British Chambers of Commerce to understand business views on reform of the EU, and the UK’s future relationship with the EU. You can have your sayhere.

The results of a previous BCC poll on the EU Referendum, held in August 2015, highlighted that if an in-out referendum were to be held immediately, 63% of businesspeople would vote to remain in the European Union, 27% would vote to leave, and 10% are unsure. Yet fully 50% said their vote could change depending on David Cameron’s renegotiation package.

The survey period is from Monday 25 January 2015 to Thursday 04 February 2015 and the results will be published a few weeks later.

Apprenticeship Providers Bring New Prospects to Local Businesses in Norfolk.

3aaa Norwich, one of the Apprenticeship Providers newest academies have been making a great deal of noise in the vibrant city, by bringing exciting new career prospects to local young people and by providing an excellent service to a whole host of local businesses.

The Ofsted Grade 1 National Training providers, who specialise in the delivery of IT, Digital Marketing, Accountancy and Business Administration Apprenticeships continue to make an impact by bringing life changing opportunities to the local community.

The Norwich Academy, recent winners of Training Provider of the Year 2015, would like to welcome all interested young people and local employers to drop into their academy throughout National Apprenticeship Week* if they wish to discuss future Apprenticeship opportunities. An open day event will take place at some point during this week which will allow all interested parties the chance to ask questions and see how the academy works. This event shall give all attendees a thorough insight into the world of Apprenticeships.*National Apprenticeship week March 14th to March 18 2016

In early 2015, 3aaa joined forces with Norwich City FC as a way of continuing to use the ‘power of sport’ to help change the lives of young people and engage with the local community. The partnership has been a complete success and it has highlighted the work both parties do to help nurture and encourage talented young people.

Further to the courses the academy specialise in, they also offer Traineeships and Trailblazer programmes for learners, which are set to be programmes of key interest in 2016. If you are interested in any of these opportunities, please call the Norwich team directly on 01603 660 995, email employnorwich@3aaa.co.uk, visit our website at 3aaa.co.uk or alternatively if you would rather visit us in person we would be more than happy to offer you help and advice:

25 – 27 Surrey Street, Norwich , NR1 3NX

A public consultation has now opened to gather views on a proposed merger of Great Yarmouth College, Lowestoft College and Lowestoft Sixth Form College.

The vision set out by the three colleges is to create a new, three-campus institution, under the name ‘East Coast Colleges Group’. This would see each campus maintain its name, individual strengths and specialisms, but come together under one new, overarching organisation.

This proposed merger is as a result of the three colleges participating in a pioneering area review in 2015. This was designed to identify the opportunities and challenges faced by those delivering post-16 education in the local area and to address ways to protect and enhance the provision available.

The discussions raised through the review have led to the proposal to create a combined college group. It is proposed that the merger would result in the colleges being better equipped to deliver a full range of vocational and traditional academic courses, with integrated degree level opportunities, while maintaining a more solid financial footing at a time when public funding is under increasing pressure.

The overall aim is to preserve and expand the excellent academic offer of Lowestoft Sixth Form College and the much-valued technical and professional education and training of both Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth Colleges. By coming together the colleges will be able to capitalise on their individual strengths and become more resilient, and better able to face the challenges ahead. The attached consultation document sets out in more detail the background to the proposal, the reasons for the merger and the benefits and opportunities available.

They believe this proposal offers Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth a forward-thinking plan which addresses the needs of local students, parents and employers, and which will act as a catalyst for local and regional economic prosperity. Now we would like to give you the opportunity to have your say. We want to work together to shape the best possible future for our colleges, and for all those who depend on them for a great future.

Your views are extremely important to them and will be given full consideration before any final decisions are made by the colleges. They would welcome your responses to the following questions:

• Do you agree that by merging, the three colleges will be able to more effectively meet the needs of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft’s students, communities and employers?
  • If ‘yes’, what specific advantages can you see?
  • If ‘no’, please indicate what you see as the potential disadvantages
• Are there any areas that you would particularly wish to see addressed through the merger, e.g. local needs that are inadequately represented under current arrangements?
• How might you or your organisation be involved in or support this merger?
• Are there any other comments you would like us to take into consideration?

Please submit your responses using the online feedback form.

Alternatively you are welcome to email your responses to eccg@fouragency.co.uk or write to them at: East Coast Colleges Group Consultation, C/O FOUR Agency, Hill House, 20 Hill House Road, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 4BE.

The deadline for responses is 5pm on Friday 19 February 2016.

• Leading business group publishes letter signed by leaders of 52 Chambers of Commerce – every accredited Chamber of Commerce in the UK – demanding improved digital and mobile connectivity for UK business

On the closing day of the government’s consultation on the UK’s future digital strategy (19 January), the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) calls for the government to match the scope and ambition of other countries to create a solid foundation for future business growth.

In a letter signed by all 52 Accredited Chambers across the country to the Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, the leading business group has highlighted areas where a lack of action is impeding business growth – including mobile coverage, supplier competition, and insufficient broadband coverage and speeds.BCC Director General, John Longworth, presented the letter to the Culture Secretary at a meeting on 14 January.

Unless UK businesses see swift improvements in reliability, speed, coverage and competition, individual companies’ performances – and UK productivity – may be severely affected.

Commenting, John Longworth, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), said:

“The digital world is changing daily, and UK firms have a track record as global innovators and leaders. However, the infrastructure they rely upon is failing to keep pace.

“Britain may lead the world in e-commerce, but many offices, business parks and road and rail routes lack both mobile and broadband connectivity. Unless we set the bar high – and ensure UK companies have access to world-class digital infrastructure – we will be out-competed by others around the globe.

“The UK government must set a far more ambitious digital strategy, starting with an immediate action plan to boost mobile and fibre connections for business. Companies of every size and sector, in every nation and region, are reporting connectivity problems. We need action from ministers, regulators, service providers and businesses themselves if we want to stay competitive in future.”

Specific areas of concern highlighted by the BCC were:

• Broadband– 24Mbps is the speed the government defines as superfast, but this does not compare favourably with many other EU countries who define it as 30Mbps+. To ensure strong performance there must be funding equivalent to the rollout of superfast broadband to extend Ultrafast broadband across the UK, as outlined in the BCC’s spending review submission.

• Mobile coverage– Mobile phones are crucial to businesses for many aspects of their daily work, and for this reason poor mobile coverage must be eliminated. The government, regulators and service providers must act now to target areas of low connectivity, including many business parks and on primary road and rail routes.

• Improved competition– Improved competition and investment in the broadband market will boost access and choice for businesses. Ofcom’s review of the UK’s digital communications markets has come at the right time, and we look forward to the full findings and recommendations of this review.

• Lead the world in developing 5G technology– The government must ensure necessary funding is in place to drive research into 5G in order to make this a reality in the next decade. If the UK is a leading player in technologies like 5G, it can roll out the technology more quickly to give businesses a strong competitive advantage and boost productivity.

Over 40 delegates attended Norfolk County Council’s annual Business Ratepayers Consultation event on Wednesday 13 January 2016, at Holiday Inn, Ipswich Road, Norwich. Norfolk Chamber delivered the event in partnership with the County Council.

There were presentations from Simon George, Executive Director of Finance land Wendy Thomson, Managing Director at Norfolk County Council with ample time for Q&As. This event provided local business ratepayers with the opportunity to learn more about the County Council’s budget planning and prospects for 2016/1, the impact of this on the County’s delivery of key services as well as the impact on the economy.

Delegates were able to learn about the The Council’s Re-imagining Norfolk programme – which sets out the strategic plan for change across Norfolk in order to work better and more efficiently. The Devolution agenda from a national and local perspective – which will begin to play a growing and significant part in how the County will shape its services for many years to come. Central to this is the change in business rate retention with local authorities retaining 100% of business rates collected with effect from 2020, thus replacing the revenue support grant.

Wendy Thomson, Managing Director, with other senior leaders from the County Council will outlined its budget planning and prospects for 2016; how it has been supporting business and its plans for next year; as well as information and discussion regarding the proposed localisation of business rates in 2020.

There was plenty of opportunities for businesses to take part in the debate in the Questions section at the end of the event.

To view photos from the event click here

Three members of the Virgin Money creative studio team have caught the entrepreneurial bug and quit their jobs at Branson’s bank to set up their own business, A Fine Studio – a brand new creative agency based right in the heart of Norwich.

Following in Sir Richard’s footsteps, Kelly Smith, Steve Kirkendall and Rob Skinn often talked about running their own business during casual lunchtime chats. Having both clocked up a decade at Virgin, Rob and Steve contributed to building the challenger bank’s brand identity, while Kelly joined as a senior copywriter in 2013, having worked freelance in the UK and abroad for brands like MINI, Google and Carlsberg. Together, they worked on high profile campaigns for the bank, the Virgin Money London Marathon and the company’s charitable venture, Virgin Money Giving.

The team says, “Running an agency had long been an ambition for all of us. We love working creatively together, and realised we’d finally found the perfect business partners. Taking the leap into the unknown with like-minded people, means we’re able to run our own business our way and build the right culture right from the very beginning.”

With their roots very firmly in Norwich, they’re so proud of the fine city they work in, they’ve even named their business after it. Kelly is a graduate of the prestigious MA in Creative Writing at UEA, and is a scriptwriter too, with her film short being shot this spring. Steve returned to his home city back in the 90’s after working as a Creative Director in London and Chicago, and Rob was born, bred, and built his career as a respected web developer in Norwich. Since leaving Virgin Money the trio hasn’t looked back, with international clients like Eastpak USA joining the agency within their very first week.

The team’s excited to be involved in Norwich’s thriving business community too; Rob and Steve both volunteered their time at Norwich’s Sync the City event that brought local start up founders and tech professionals together for three exciting days in November. Based at NUA’s cutting edge new start up workspace, the Ideas Factory, A Fine Studio is a small creative agency with big brand experience. They offer film and motion graphics, copywriting and online strategy, design and digital, branding and identity and illustration and animation.

View their showreel at www.afinestudio.com/#showreel

Contact:

www.afinestudio.com Kelly Smith – kelly@afinestudio.com Tel: 07833153810

A Fine Studio The Ideas Factory Cavendish House 28-32 St Andrews Street Norwich NR2 4AE

We have today been advised by the Egyptian-British Chamber of Commercethat new regulations are recently issued by the Egyptian Ministry of Trade and Industry regarding the importation of certain product and goods for the retail market.

Both 991/2015 and 992/2015 Ministerial Decrees are briefly translated, please click here to view, they will also soon be published them on the EBCC website www.theebcc.com along with the original Arabic version.