Chamber News

King’s Lynn town centre has the opportunity to potentially secure millions of pounds of transformational funding through the Future High Streets Fund – and your views are needed to help to shape the submission.

King’s Lynn is through to the next phase of the Future High Streets Fund and the Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk and its partners are working on the plans for the submission.

To support the submission, consultation is being carried out to understand how people use the town centre and how they feel about it. And, you can get involved in a number of ways:

• Online survey – have your say here
• Survey cards: these will be available for completion at shops, cafes and attractions around the town.
• Two consultation events: these will take place in the Tuesday Market Place.  People will be able to come along for a face-to-face chat about how they use the town, how they feel about the town, and what would improve their experience.
  • Saturday 16 November 2019 from 2pm to 5pm
  • Sunday 24 November 2019 from noon to 2pm

Feedback from the consultation will go forward to the Consultative Board overseeing the submission.  The survey is open to everyone, even if you only rarely or never visit King’s Lynn.

This survey builds on the original consultation in February 2019 which asked people for their views on King’s Lynn town centre. More than 750 people had their say and their feedback helped to inform the successful expression of interest to the Future High Streets Fund.

Updates about the Future High Streets Fund submission, and other funding for the town centre, will be shared across the Vision King’s Lynn social media channels Facebook @visionkingslynn, Twitter @vision_lynn and Instagram visionkingslynn.

Zoe and Trevor of Rhino Building and DIY Supplies are celebrating eight years! 

They put it down to their tremendous staff who always go the extra mile on a daily basis, and of course to their customers for their continued loyalty and support!



Is your business prepared for Brexit? Do you a contingency plan to mitigate the impact of possible changes? Are you a customs agent? Or does your company use customs agents and intermediaries to help you trade with the EU?

If so, you need to know how to meet customs requirements fast and efficiently after the UK leaves the EU. There will be new processes to follow and new forms to complete. We can help. Our training will highlight what you need to know to be able to accurately complete a simple customs declaration. Norfolk Chambers of Commerce have launched new dates for training courses on Customs Declaration to help businesses understand the procedure ahead of Brexit. Take action to be prepared for any possible scenario. Who should attend? Anyone who needs an understanding of Customs regimes and how to complete a Customs declaration form. There are no pre-requisites for this course. Dates:

Tuesday, 14 January, 2020

Wednesday, 26 February, 2020

Thursday, 26 March, 2020

Time: 09:00 to 16:30 Venue: Norfolk Chamber of Commerce, 9 Norwich Business Park, Whiting Road, Norwich, NR4 6DJ Prices Member Rate: £280 + VAT Non-Member Rate: £350 + VAT

You may be eligible to claim up to 100% of the training course cost back from HMRC. You can find out more if your business is eligible, how to register and submit an application at www.customsintermediarygrant.co.uk

To book your place on either course click on dates linked above. 

For any further information please contact Julie Austin on 01603 729706 or email export@norfolkchamber.co.uk   

We have a wide range of exciting and interesting training courses coming up before the end of November. They will be perfect if you are looking to further your knowledge or up-skill a member of your team.

Here is a selection of what we have coming up:

e-zCert Workshop – 14/11/2019

Do you want to save time and money when producing your export documentation? Creating documents online with e-zCert is the way forward. More info

The Essentials of Email Marketing – 21/11/2019

A non-technical half day training workshop delivered by Holly Stibbon, 101 designed for people with limited experience in email marketing who wish to improve their knowledge and get better results. More info

60 Minute Workshop – Customer Service on Social Media – 26/11/2019

In this short session we will share our advice on how best to deal with customer service on social media. More info

How to be a Brilliant Communicator – 28/11/2019

Would you like to be an even better communicator – brush up your skills and learn some new ones?  You may be looking to lead your team more effectively, build strong relationships with colleagues, be influential during that important meeting or simply feel more confident in different situations. More info

We’re all aware of the impact technology is having on our private lives, most people now have a smartphones and a large proportion have tablets and laptops too. There is an increasing buzz around screen time and how we manage our relationship with technology, at our recent HR Forum the experts from Birketts took delegates through how technology is impacting on the workplace and what you as employers can do about it.

We had three Senior Associates with us, Laura Brown, Jenny Leeder, and Kitty Rosser guiding delegates through a number of case studies involving the fictional character Sam Sung. Laura started by outlining the positives technology has on our lives such as computational accuracy and flexibility as well as risks such as data protection and working time issues. The majority of businesses in the room gave employees work phones and Laura highlighted that these pose an interesting question around working times as they give employees the flexibility to work from anywhere but also have the potential to encourage a blurring of lines between work and home life.

The case studies covered social media use both personally and professionally, mobile phone use, emails and data protection, and employee surveillance. It was suggested to delegates that even personal social media use can have a professional impact and that in order to protect themselves they should have a clear policy in place. Many delegates said that they would consider looking at a potential candidate’s social media channels prior to interviewing them, it was suggested that actually the best time to do this is after the first interview and that all staff should be trained on the relevant policies. On the subject of employee surveillance delegates were given a number of ways to protect themselves and things to consider including ensuring surveillance isn’t excessive and that clear boundaries are set. Finally delegates were given some examples of emerging technologies such as HR chatbots that could have an impact on their businesses. 

Delegates left with a number of action points such as reviewing current policies to ensure that they cover all technology and are fair and reasonable, providing training to staff which was a clear theme throughout the afternoon, the importance of consistency when enforcing policies, and making sure they’re aware of potential vicarious liability risks. Overall it was a really informative afternoon that raised some issues that you would not necessarily consider when discussing technology and the workplace.

Big thanks to Laura Brown, Jenny Leeder, and Kitty Rosser for leading the afternoon and Birketts for sponsoring. All slides from the HR Forum can be found here.

Help us give a warm welcome to the newest members of Norfolk Chambers of Commerce for the month of October

Visit their business to explore what they have to offer. Click on a business name below to view the full listing in our Member Directory.

Aqcuity A niche consultancy specialising in organisation development, design, and leadership. I work with organisations seeking to refresh their strategies, renew their team and make step changes in executive performance.  Archive-Vault Ltd Proud to be a family-run business, we have provided clients with affordable solutions for secure document storage and records management since 2006.

Barkers Photos We also offer a lot of non-studio services (eg Event photography, wedding photography, cine and vhs to dvd, negative and slide scanning, photo restoration etc).

Bicycle Links Bicycle Links is a friendly bike-recycling workshop in central Norwich. We run workshops, repair and sell second-hand bikes and encourage safer cycling skill

Condimentum Condimentum is a new company with an established legacy which processes mustard seed, mint and horseradish to provide a range of ingredients for the food industry.

Hannah Sell’s Tea I’m Hannah Sell, and my helper and production partner Kev Wilson and I are starting out as tea merchants local to Norwich.

Housecheckr Buying a Home? Traditional house surveys don’t check for the practical things that could cost you money. Our Home Fixtures Survey does.

The Learning Tank  At The Learning Tank our philosophy is to provide comprehensive, uncomplicated and affordable E-learning for all business’s.

Method Marketing A content marketing consultancy

Satchells of Burnham Market Established in the 1880s, Satchells now boasts a huge selection of wines and spirits from all over the world, including several single malt whiskies.

Selesti A digital agency for brands with ambition. We use strategies, technologies and campaigns to help brands achieve extraordinary things.

Shepherds Health & Safety Ltd We are a health and safety training provider based in Norfolk, but we cover the whole of the UK.

The Hearing Care Centre East Anglia’s multi-award winning, private and independent hearing care company. 

Wymondham College Truly unique, World Class state school for day and boarding students aged 11-18. With ‘outstanding’ judgements from Ofsted for both education and boarding elements of the College and one of the few UK state schools to hold the ‘World Class’ accolade, we are amongst the highest performing schools in the country.

Ahead of the forthcoming general election, Norfolk Chambers, in conjunction with our members want to call on any future government to deliver a bold and clear strategy to support economic growth across Norfolk, all the regions and nations of the UK.

Health, immigration and crime, as well as avoiding a messy disorderly No Deal Brexit, are all important and relevant issues for business.  However, we feel that clear action is needed on a range of domestic fronts, including improving the competitiveness of the UK’s business environment; upgrading physical and digital infrastructure across the country; and supporting business growth; whilst balancing the need to be sustainable.

Norfolk Chambers want to support the Norfolk business community to send a strong message that this election cannot, and must not, be about Brexit alone.  So we have put together a manifesto which highlights some key asks of any future government.  We will be using the manifesto for all media enquiries and when talking to the various parties and future Ministers in Westminster.  These include:

• Infrastructure
• Skills
• Trade
• Sustainability
• Brexit

Our mission is to ‘connect, support and give voice to every business in Norfolk’ – therefore we want to hear your voice and opinions. 

Please can we ask you to provide your opinions on subjects such as infrastructure, skills, overseas trade, sustainability and of course Brexit.

Give us your opinion now.

The previous Quarter 3 results highlighted the continued impact of economic uncertainty on our economy.  The manufacturing sector reported the lowest level on exports since the EU Referendum in 2016.  And the normally buoyant services sector saw falling domestic and export sales and orders.

Norfolk’ manufacturing sector saw a marked downward shift in many indicators in the third quarter. The balance of firms reported weak sales and domestic orders and export sales dropped to the lowest level since Q1 2016. Business confidence in turnover and profitability among manufacturers fell.

The dominant Norfolk services sector also saw decreased domestic sales and orders and export orders. The balance of firms confident in turnover and profitability improvements fell in quarter three, as did the balance for investment in training.  

With Brexit postponed until 31 January and a General Election set for 12 December –  we need your help to clearly understand what shape the Norfolk economy is in.  The Quarterly Economic Survey for Quarter 4 is now underway and we need to hear from as many Norfolk businesses as possible. Please take the short survey Q4 Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).

The QES is the largest independent business survey in the UK and is used by both the Bank of England and the Chancellor of the Exchequer to plan the future of the UK economy.  It is also closely watched by the International Monetary Fund.  It is vital that as many Norfolk businesses as possible take part, so we get a true reflection of the local economy.

You can have your say by completing the QES online NOW.  It takes less than 3 minutes.  The completion deadline for this survey is midnight on Monday 25 November 2019.  The Q4 results will be published in the first week of January 2020.

Key findings in the Q3 2019 survey:

Norfolk Manufacturing sector  

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales rose from -13 in Q2 2019, to 0, whilst those reporting increased domestic orders rose, but remained in negative territory from -19 to -11.
• The balance of firms reporting improved export sales fell from +23 to -6  and the balance of firms reporting increased export orders dropped from +15 to -24.
• The balance of firms reporting improved cashflow fell into negative territory from +25 to -5.
• The balance of firms increasing investment in plant/machinery rose in the quarter from -19 to +10 remaining historically weak, and investment in training rose from -6 to +10.
• The balance of firms confident that turnover and profitability will increase in the next 12 months fell from +50 to +38 for turnover and from +19 to +14 for profitability.

Norfolk Services sector  

• The balance of firms reporting increased domestic sales fell from +12 in Q2 2019 to +8. Those reporting increased domestic orders fell slightly from +4 to 0.
• The balance of firms reporting improved export sales fell from +4 to -5.  Those reporting increased export orders continuing in negative territory fell still further from -4 to -5.
• The balance of firms reporting improved cashflow rose very slightly from -5 to +2 but remains weak by historic standards.
• The balance of firms looking to increase investment in plant and machinery drastically fell from +2 to -14 and fell slightly from +10 to +7 in training.
• The balance of firms confident that turnover and profitability will improve over the next year decreased from +30 to +10 for turnover from +12 to -5 for profitability.

You may not think of Psychopaths and The Norfolk Chamber of Commerce in the same sentence (well, hopefully not) but our West Norfolk Networking lunch on Friday 1st November was a very interesting couple of hours… Our West Norfolk events are relaxed affairs, our members being a chatty and engaging bunch, and new visitors are made to feel welcome and engaged the moment they walk in. We have a wide cross section of businesses and it is the perfect opportunity to meet other local companies. The relaxed setting was a perfect back drop for our guest speaker Chamber Member Steve Gaskin, Director of Right Angle Events to talk to us about his 25 year background as a Detective Chief Inspector with The Metropolitan Police. Busy these days running a successful teambuilding company, Steve is a fascinating and engaging man. We learnt how the traits of Psychopaths can impact upon certain sectors, and are used in business skills and training. Steve then invited the room to take part in a Psychometric test to see where they fell on the scale – thankfully he didn’t ask for the results to be shared, but it was an interesting and fun way to end to his talk and certainly created quite a stir! Following the success of our King’s Lynn Two Hour Tuesdays, the change of timings from our West Norfolk Networking breakfasts to a lunch event has happily been well received, and it offers a mix of timings that make networking that much easier in West Norfolk. We look forward to our next lunch and meeting you there!

The British Chambers of Commerce, together with the accredited Chamber Network, including Norfolk Chambers, run Britain’s largest and most influential independent business survey – the Quarterly Economic Survey (QES).  The next fieldwork period for the QES will start on Monday 04 November and will be open for 3 weeks. 

But why should your organisation take part?  Nova Fairbank, Norfolk Chambers’ Head of Policy outlines why she wants more input from Norfolk businesses:

“The QES is Britain’s largest, and longest-running, private business survey and it’s a leading economic indicator – often picking up big changes in the economy long before other surveys or official statistics.  With the continued uncertainty of Brexit and the UK economy effectively treading water, it is more important than ever that as many businesses as possible take part.

“By completing the QES you are helping to identify how strong our local economy is and how well it is performing against the national averages and some international measures. Norfolk has many dynamic and innovative businesses, we need to have a strong voice and ensure our region gets both the credit and the investment that it deserves.”

Below are just a few more reasons why your organisation should take part in this important economic survey:

1. It’s provided consistent data since 1989, and regularly receives over 7,500 business responses. Compare that to the average business survey, which garners only a few hundred responses.

1. Norfolk responses represent over 34% of the responses from the East of England.  (East of England includes: Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire).

1. The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee uses the QES as one of its key benchmarks when setting interest rates.

1. HM Treasury and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility use the QES to put together their forecasts for the UK’s economic performance.

1. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) use the QES when comparing the UK to competitors worldwide.

The more Norfolk businesses that take part – the louder the voice of the Norfolk business community will be.  So what can your business do to contribute to the QES?  During the fieldwork period, the survey can be completed electronically.  There are several ways to access this online survey either:

• Use the link within the Chamber Policy news article or;
• Use the link that the Chamber can send direct to you

To be added to the Norfolk Chambers’ QES email list, please contact Nova Fairbank or Jack Edwards.  Emails: nova.fairbank@norfolkchamber.co.uk and jack.edwards@norfolkchamber.co.uk.

The online survey takes less than 3 minutes and your input is vital to help ensure that Norfolk business has a strong collective ‘voice’.

TOP-PERFORMING businesses are invited to take centre stage by entering the Spirit of Enterprise Awards, the most prestigious annual celebration of business excellence in the Great Yarmouth borough.

Organised by enterpriseGY, Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s business support and inward investment service, the popular awards aim to recognise and raise the profile of the area’s top-performing businesses, while boosting confidence in the strength of the local economy.  

The awards are free-of-charge to enter online at www.enterpriseGY.co.uk. Businesses of all sizes and sectors are encouraged to put themselves forward for one or more of the nine categories before entries close on Friday, November 22.

This year, there are some new categories, plus extra incentive to enter as all entrants will automatically be entered into the Norfolk Business Awards in 2020, where there is a like-for-like category.

The finalists and winners in the Spirit of Enterprise Awards will be showcased in the media and at a glittering awards ceremony and gala dinner at the Town Hall’s prestigious Assembly Room in spring.

Each award is backed by a different local sponsor, who shortlists the finalists and chooses their category winner. This year, the main sponsor is last year’s Business of the Year, API Microelectronics Ltd, who will choose the 2019/20 Business of the Year from the winners of the other categories.

The other confirmed sponsors are P&S Personnel, Noritake Itron, ASCO Group, Potters Friends Foundation and Lovewell Blake.

Nominate your business now!

For businesses wanting to understand what they need to do to prepare for  Brexit, you can now watch this free HM Government online Brexit Business Readiness Event to watch presentations from government advisers and to find out what actions your business needs to take to prepare for Brexit. 

Understand what Brexit means for business, find out why personal data matters, plan for imports, exports and international trade after Brexit, and learn more about how to prepare your services business, or what to do if you operate in food and drink, farming, fisheries, waste, or chemical sectors.  

You can view the presentation online by clicking this link – Online Brexit Business Readiness Event.