Worthing’s trial “street clutter” scheme hailed a big success

Traders are being thanked for playing their part in helping improve access to one of the major shopping streets in Worthing town centre.

Worthing Borough Council began a pilot scheme in September aimed at reducing ‘street clutter’ in Warwick Street. This was following complaints from shoppers and wheelchair users that they were unable to get from A to B due to the amount of street furniture in the road.

In order to maintain access for all, local businesses were asked to apply for a licence to place items like A-Boards and outdoor seating in the public highway.

After all but three businesses in Warwick Street signed up to the self-funding scheme, access to the pedestrianised street has been dramatically improved.

Enforcement action is now being considered against those firms without a licence, which will see the removal of items belonging to non-compliant firms and potential fines of up to £1,000.

Council leaders will also look to roll out the pilot to other areas in the town from March.

Councillor Diane Guest, Worthing Borough Council’s Executive Member for Environment, said: “I know as a local business owner how important items like A-Boards and outdoor eating areas play in boosting trade and improving the vibrancy of our town centre.

“However, this cannot be done without thought to the very people that use the shops.

“While this scheme has not been universally popular, the result has been overwhelmingly positive - not only improving the appearance to one of the town’s major shopping streets, but making it a lot easier for everyone to access it.

“It’s disappointing that a small number of firms still refuse to sign up to the scheme which gives us no option but to enforce the laws.

“However, we will be rolling the scheme out across the town from March onwards, and are already beginning to receive unprompted applications from new businesses to the area.”

The powers to license street furniture used to belong to West Sussex County Council. But the scheme was not widely promoted or enforced, meaning just two firms in the whole of Worthing paid for permission to place items on the highway.

Worthing Borough Council took on the powers earlier this year - and pledged to work with businesses to ensure that the scheme is priced and enforced fairly.

Costs for the first year for an advertising board will start from £106.50 - or just over £2 a week - with the fee dropping to just £80.50 in the second. Prices for tables and chairs are more expensive and calculated on the amount of highway used.

Teams from the council regularly contacted every business in the street to make sure they are aware of the changes and talk them through the changes.

The scheme is entirely self-funding with all of the monies raised covering the administration costs.

Enjoy a free drink at Indigo

Enjoy a free glass of wine, half a pint of lager, half a pint of bitter or soft drink when you dine with us in January. Just click this link and show a member of staff
http://mailchi.mp/ardingtonhotel/a-festive-treat-on-us-merry-christmas 

Coastal West Sussex Partnership urges government rethink on apprenticeship funding for businesses 

Influential business partnership Coastal West Sussex (CWS)  today hit out at a government decision which could see a drastic drop in the number of small firm apprenticeships on offer in the region.

Government has awarded no funding for the Universities of Chichester and Brighton to run apprenticeship schemes on behalf of small and medium sized businesses despite growing demand in the area.  The Further Education Colleges received only about 50% of their requirements.

The South East as a whole has fared badly in the funding announcement despite the universities and colleges working hard with local businesses to grow demand and offer apprenticeships particularly in the digital, construction and engineering industries.

Now CWS chairman Geoff Edwards has written to the government’s Apprenticeships Minister Anne Milton calling for an urgent rethink.

In the letter, which has also been sent to all MPs covering the Coastal West Sussex region Mr Edwards, Executive Vice President of UK Operations at the high-end audio company Bowers and Wilkins says he is “very disappointed” by the outcome.

“This curtailed funding will force education providers to work with just the Levy paying employers which, along the coast, are few and far between as only a small percentage of companies are  large enough to actually pay the Apprenticeship Levy in this area,” he writes.

Director of CWS, Caroline Wood added, “This is extremely disappointing particularly given the hard work that has already gone in to creating these courses and growing the demand,” said director Caroline Wood, “Some courses will have to be scrapped despite there being demand from local people and businesses.

“This is short-sighted thinking by the government and ignores the very real need smaller businesses have in the Coastal West Sussex region for young people with new skills to help local businesses  develop their markets.”

In particular the University of Chichester had been developing a broad range of  Degree Apprenticeships and is about to open a new, £38M Engineering and Digital Technology Centre in Bognor Regis which would also have offered apprenticeships including Digital Degree Apprenticeships for which there is a desperate shortage in the area.

Now with no allocation of funding those are in serious doubt.

Skills levels at apprenticeship level in the coastal area are 11% lower than the rest of the region and the CWS Partnership says the new Centre in Bognor Regis with strong links to local small and medium businesses offered career pathway opportunities to inspire local young people and support the wider education led regeneration of the area.

The nearest university to win funding is in Portsmouth making it very difficult and costly for new apprentices on day release to attend.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (Esfa) funding was announced just before Christmas with big differences in the regional winners and losers.

The figures are for non-levy apprenticeships which the government funds for businesses with an annual paybill of less than £3m. Levy employers, usually larger companies, will be unaffected by this move.

Coastal West Sussex Partnership has been very active in promoting apprenticeships and the importance of STEM educational subjects, science, technology, engineering and mathematics, so that young people in the area can gain the skills needed by local businesses.

CWS is running its third Coastal STEMfest this year; an interactive series of events aimed at inspiring young people, particularly girls, to take STEM subjects to meet the growing national and local demand.

Opportunities at Coast to Capital

Coast to Capital is at an exciting time in our development and seeking to recruit professionals to our small, highly motivated and engaged team. We have a vacancy for a Governance/Compliance Officer who will be responsible for delivering our governance arrangements and ensuring compliance with our Assurance Framework. We are also looking for a Strategy and Policy Manager who will support the Head of Strategy and Policy to develop, review and deliver on Coast to Capital’s overarching strategies for economic growth.  For more information and how to apply please visit our website. 

Support Growing for Brighton Mainline Alliance

The ‘Brighton Mainline Alliance’ is a group of businesses and organisations that support the aim for Government to fully commit to funding strategic investment in the Brighton Mainline.  We are delighted that over 30 organisations and the majority of our regional MPs have already demonstrated their support for the Alliance. If you haven’t already please show your support by sending your company logo to Jake Daniels. If you are an Alliance member please share the campaign messages and encourage others in your network to join.

Launch into 2018 with a challenge for St Barnabas House

Join St Barnabas for a breathtaking year of action-packed challenges in 2018 and together we can reach everyone who needs hospice care.

Snowdon Sunset Trek - Explore and summit the highest mountain in England and Wales and witness the beautiful sunset across snowdonia whilst raising vital funds for St Barnabas House.

Trail or Road Cycling - 20-4- miles off-road over the southdowns or 100 miles through London and Surrey.

Jump, Climb or Fly - Abseil down an iconic building or soar through skies at 120 miles per hour.

10k or Ultra Marathon - 10k coastal run, a marathon with a picturesque view or 53.5 miles finishing at Winchester Cathedral.

Walk, Trek or Hike - Overseas or in the UK, covering 200 miles in a team and seeing sights of Sussex or walking through the night for your local hospice.

Find out more here

Are you ready to attract new buyers?

West Sussex County Council has commissioned Natural Partnerships CIC to create an opportunity for the county's food and drink producers to meet and sell to new buyers. This Meet the Buyer Event will be held on 26th February 2018 in West Sussex - spaces are limited, so register below for your stand space! 

 Building up to this, we are managing four fully subsidised workshops to help you get ready to sell to new buyers.

You might make the most delicious product in the world, but a recent survey showed that buyers from retail, wholesale and hospitality businesses often find that local producers don't have everything ready to be able to sell to them, however good your product is. This might be that your pricing isn't quite right; you don't have the right certificates to meet their health and hygiene procurement rules; or your marketing and packaging needs to be more appealing to customers. Or perhaps you've got all this right, but just need a refresher to make sure you're bang up to date. 

The following workshops have been designed, with input from local producers, to help make sure you are ready to sell - and that you are ready to sell to the right buyer for your business. Sign up for any or all of the following workshops now, but be quick places are limited!

Meet the Buyer Event - 12-4pm, 26th February 2018

We can offer free stand spaces to up to 50 West Sussex food and drink producers at a special event, hosted in West Sussex, attended by dozens of buyers from retail, wholesale and hospitality businesses. This will be based on a first come first served basis.

REGISTER HERE

Workshop 1 - The Nuts & Bolts 

Monday 22 January 2018, 2-4.30pm, Bolney Wine Estate

Who are my customers? Costings and pricing. How to distribute. Packaging and design. 

Experts will help you make sure that you have everything in place to get to the exciting part - selling to new customers. 

REGISTER HERE

Workshop 2 - Are you ready to sell?

Monday 29 January 2018, 2-4.30pm, Highdown Vineyard

Legal requirements. Packs for auditing. Preparing for a customer visit. Can you scale up the business?

Experts will help you get the paperwork in place so that you are ready to receive new customers and manage success, without compromising your business and product. 

REGISTER HERE

Workshop 3 - Marketing your products

Monday 12 February 2018, 2-4.30pm, Bolney Wine Estate

Developing your story. Marketing packs - practical exercise. Social media. Public relations. 

Experts will help you through a practical exercise to build your story and prepare your marketing pack to give to buyers, with top tips on supporting your customers through social online and attracting media profile.  

REGISTER HERE

Workshop 4 - Selling your products

Monday 19 February 2018, 2-4.30pm, Highdown Vineyard

Going to a trade show & following up enquiries. Finding the right customers. Relationship building and maintenance. Keeping your products listed. 

Southern Co-op's Local Flavours Sourcing Manager will lead this workshop, with support from a leading local food producer who can add producer insight.

£14.35 Million ERDF Call Launched

Coast to Capital has launched a new £14.35 million European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) call.  This call focuses on Innovation, Business Support and Low Carbon, and whilst the activity must take place in the Coast to Capital area we are looking for bids from organisations across England. Coast to Capital held an event in Horsham last week to launch the funding, which was both well attended and well received. Read the full press release here. 

£27 Million for Regional Projects

Coast to Capital has announced that 10 projects from across the region will be provided funding from the final phase of Growth Deal 1 and Growth Deal 2. A total of £27 million has been allocated in the areas of Housing, Regeneration & Infrastructure; Business, Enterprise & Skills; and Transport. The approved projects are subject to due diligence and final checks and will provide 810 new homes, 2,651 new jobs, 34,762 square metres of Commercial Space and 7,953 square metres of Learning Space. Read the full list of projects here. 

First Rampion power is delivered to the national grid

The first of Rampion Offshore Wind Farm's 116 turbines has started generating electricity, with the others set to follow as they are commissioned and turned on one by one in the coming months.

Delivering first power to the grid is a significant milestone for the project, as it moves from the construction phase towards full operation.

The installation of all the turbines was completed in September in just six months, with the two MPI jack-up vessels - Discovery and Adventure - working around the clock to get the job done.

Installing the final turbine was a major milestone but since the last newsletter, work has also included completion of the project's electrical infrastructure, which is less visible but no less vital for the wind farm.

Offshore, this meant the burial of all 144 kilometres of array cables, which connect the turbines to the offshore substation, as well as the completion of the offshore substation itself. Onshore, all 26.8 kilometres of cables are now installed and working, and the substation at Twineham is also operating. The first power generated by Rampion was delivered to the grid on 26th November. Teams of technicians working inside the turbines and onshore in the control rooms will continue carrying out final work required for each turbine to start producing electricity.

All turbines are due to be generating power later in 2018 when the wind farm will be fully operational.

Click here to read the rest of the Rampion newsletter