Electric Vehicle Charging Installation - A Small Business Guide

By 2030, the UK Government is ending the sale of new petrol and diesel cars. The UK Government expects EVs to represent 20% of total cars and vans by 2025, and 100% by 2050.

This electric vehicle charging guide is intended to provide businesses across the South Downs National Park with information on how to start their EV charging roll-out. The guide aims to provide a basic overview of different technologies and outlines the steps to install charge points.

• The installation of EV charging infrastructure provides EV drivers with a solution to charging, giving them confidence in the ability to charge throughout the South Downs National Park.
• Introducing EVs and associated charging infrastructure could have significant financial savings, but also impact the way in which a business operates in the future.
• The EV charging market is a quickly changing landscape and can be confusing, but this guide is here to help you navigate the market by taking you through the journey.

You can read and download the guide here

Worthing Sustainable Transport Corridors - Have Your Say!

West Sussex County Council Transport Planning and Policy Team are working to improve walking and cycling networks in Worthing and are seeking your views on the initial ideas for improvements on two corridors.

By encouraging more walking and cycling, particularly for shorter journeys such as trips to school, we can help to create safer, more pleasant places in which to live, work and do business.

The proposals

Two potential improvement schemes in Worthing are being developed as part of our Strategic Transport Investment Programme (STIP). The proposed improvements that we are considering include the creation of safe, dedicated space for cycling, new crossings and improved footways. The schemes are:

• Worthing Town Centre to Grove Lodge (Corridor 1)
• Goring to Durrington (Corridor 2)

Have your say

You can find out more about these suggested improvements by visiting yourvoice.westsussex.gov.uk/worthing-corridors where you can also have your say by completing our questionnaire and commenting on interactive maps. This initial engagement period will close at 23:59 on Sunday 30 April 2023.

Our proposals are at an early stage, so we would like to hear from people and organisations who may be affected by the schemes to help us to develop the designs. If we decide to progress the schemes, these designs would then be presented as part of a further consultation period, which we would expect to take place later this year.

We want to gain as many responses as possible, so please share details of these proposals with your networks.

If you would like any of the materials in alternative formats, or have any questions, please email us at LTP@westsussex.gov.uk or contact us by telephone on 01243 642105 and we will do our best to assist you. If you are deaf or hard of hearing and have an NGT texting app installed on your computer, laptop or smartphone, you can contact us on 18001 01243 642105.

Shoreham Port's Apprenticeship Vacancies are now live!

Did you know that 95% of the UK’s trade imports and exports move through UK ports, keeping our economy moving and keeping Britain supplied? In the UK, the maritime industry is bigger than rail and aviation combined.

Found between Worthing and Hove, Shoreham Port is a thriving, diverse and modern port with a heritage that can be traced back to 1760. As a Trust Port, we operate at the heart of the community, with a purpose to improve the Port for everyone. Certified as an EcoPort for the last 10 years, our Port is amongst the most environmentally proactive ports in the UK, and we continually challenge ourselves to improve.

Our Port doesn’t just handle cargo; we offer a full range of services for commercial shipping, fishing, and our leisure marinas, alongside an extensive commercial property portfolio, with over 170 organisations basing their businesses at Shoreham Port. We also run our sustainable café, Port Kitchen, a community focused café with locally sourced ingredients.

We look after our people and live by a strong set of award-winning values; we were recently named Maritime UK’s 2023 Diversity and Inclusion Champion after impressing industry judges with our ongoing commitment to building an inclusive culture for our 200 colleagues, as well as contributing to wider industry efforts. Being part of our team means you will enjoy a diverse and dynamic working environment. Our promise to you is that no two days will be the same!

We offer a wide variety of exciting career opportunities, including our new Apprenticeships. Our Apprenticeships are designed to offer a mix of on-the-job training and classroom instruction, allowing Apprentices to learn from experienced professionals while also developing their knowledge and expertise in their chosen field. As an apprentice at our Port, you will have the opportunity to work alongside talented and passionate individuals, gaining real-world experience that will set you up for success in your career. With a focus on professional development, our apprenticeships offer a fantastic pathway for anyone looking to build a rewarding and fulfilling career. Learn more about our current Apprenticeship vacancies via our Careers page: www.shoreham-port.co.uk/careers.

THE FUTURE IS NOW! How virtual staging impacts the property market!

What is virtual staging and why do we need it? A case study conducted by Rightmove has shown that home staged properties sell 3 times faster and 8% higher than non-staged houses. However, the downside of traditional home staging is that there are a lot of logistics involved.

So, why not take advantage of new technology and use virtual staging to achieve the same effects?

Victoria Rumens, the business owner of Valley House Interiors & Landscape Design, based in Worthing, has found that with the help of new technology, AI and VR, virtual staging can be a cost effective, time-efficient, and faster way to stage a property.

It benefits homeowners, landlords, developers, and estate agents. Virtual staging shows the property in the best possible light and discovers its full potential.

Find out more at www.valleyhouseinteriors.com 

Help Safe in Sussex buy a Shed!

Our refuges provide safe living space for families who have fled from domestic abuse. There a several people living in refuge and there's an increasing need to be able to store pushchairs, buggies, scooters etc in a separate space. Doing this will free up communal areas inside, meaning more useable space for everyone staying with us.

We want to raise at least £500 by 30th April to help with this.

How to donate:

1️⃣ ➡ Text SISSHED followed by your donation amount to 70450 to give that amount. E.g. text SISSHED10 to donate £10.

2️⃣ ➡ Go here to donate any amount from £2: https://safe_in_sussex.donr.com/shed

Please share our appeal as even a couple of ££s helps!

[Texts will cost the donation amount plus one standard network rate message, and you’ll be opting into hearing more from us. If you would like to donate but don't wish to hear more from us, please text SISSHEDNOINFO instead.]

Andy's Angels Family Beano Race Night 22nd April 2023

Tickets available here https://buytickets.at/andysangels/839789

We have some Race Night sponsorship opportunities and offers to buy a Beano Character for each race. 

Thank you to Safe Hands Funeral Services for Sponsoring the whole event

1, There are 6 race sponsorships up for grabs for £30 each (If a business would like some advertising in our race night brochure) 

2, If you are interested in being an owner of a character for the evening £5 each (There will be a prize for the winning character owner for each race)

 If you would like to get involved with sponsorship or owning a character, Please email info@andysangels.org.uk by 31st March 2023. Race sponsorship artwork to be submitted by 2nd April 2023

There will be a bar and 50p each bet. 

Looking forward to seeing you, tickets only £10 a ticket includes a grazing Ploughman's platter 

Get the resources to support your employee's Mental Health

At the risk of stating the obvious, a new report has once more demonstrated that your manager has the same impact on your mental health as our partners and more than our doctors or therapists.

While we shouldn’t confuse the roles(!) it looks as if the workplace is often still struggling to get it right, with 43% of employees “often” or “always” exhausted, and 78% of employees reporting workplace stress – which then impacts on their homelife, wellbeing and relationships, creating a vicious and debilitating circle. With poor work-life balance reported by many, there are clear indicators of what managers need to be looking at.

Sadly, there seems to be a mis-match between perception of how well employers are looking after their staff and staff experience. With no sign of the ‘perma-crisis’ letting up, we need to be aware of the toll that permanent background worry takes on energy and motivation for all staff, including managers at all levels.

West Sussex Mind offer a free workplace culture guide, advice on how to support staff, workshops and resources, as well as support for individuals across West Sussex. If you would like to talk to us about any aspect of mental health in the workplace, contact us at training@westsussexmind.org

Could you support Highdown Gardens and become a 'Professional Friend'?

Your company can become associated with these unique gardens  through your corporate social responsibility strategy. You and your company can offer skilled staff volunteers hours, in kind and/or financial donations towards a specific project or ongoing programme

To inspire you, we want to  showcase what we are capable of, starting with our sustainable 'guild free ' water feature so that, at last, water can flow into our pond again. This was made possible thanks to a generous private donation … and the sun!

Thursday 30th March 2-3pm - we will be switching the solar powered pump for all to enjoy and we would like you to be part of this moment of pride and celebration. This will be followed by a private tour of the gardens if you wished to join.

If you'd like to attend, please fill out this form to confirm their attendance or email gwenn.parker-tregoat@adur-worthing.gov.uk to confirm your attendance so we can be sure to have enough cupcakes baked by our volunteers!

We really hope you can attend and we look forward to meeting you up in our hidden gem on the hills.

Highdown Gardens is a living library of rare plants and trees hidden on the Southdowns. Despite being ancient and fragile, the place bursts with life and energy, from fauna to flora, humans to rare plants from across the world, dreams to events, passion to propagation. The gardens have immense potential and the team at Highdown is determined to showcase best practice on all fronts from conservation to education and recreation. To carry on this exciting journey, like all charity, Highdown Tower Garden and Pleasure Ground Trust needs the support of the community it serves.

George Square Financial Management Investment Market Update. In conjunction with Albemarle Street Partners

February 2023

You can’t have your cake and eat it too:

The last few weeks have unearthed a potential downside to the unexpected strength in the global economy. 2023 started with a plethora of positive economic data. European retail sales were better than expected, the US economy created 517,000 new jobs in January and Chinese industrial activity rebounded.

All the while, the main driver of investor anxiety, inflation, appeared to be in rapid decline. Markets started to price in peak monetary tightening and a benign recession for corporate profits. Risk assets (equities, high yield bonds and commodities) buoyed by high expected returns enjoyed their best start to a year since 2019.   

Unfortunately, January’s inflation readings have scuppered hopes of the perfect landing investors wanted. While the base affect for inflation (the prior year price for comparison) creates meaningful downside pressure on inflation, month to month inconsistencies in the data can unsettle risk appetite.

Peak interest rate forecasts for the US have moved from 5% to 5.5% in recent weeks. This change creates some additional risk for cyclical assets and increases the probability that the Federal Reserve keeps policy tight for a protracted period.  

We expect inflation to continue to fall, but a sharper decline in bond yields may need to be reassessed. The Fed has set a high bar for rate cuts and we may have to wait till the end of the year for there to be any easing in monetary conditions.

In the meantime, earnings, a key supporting factor for equity markets may start to wane. Fourth quarter earnings from the US were down 5% despite mid-single digit rising revenue growth. Analysts expect revenues to start to fall from the second quarter but margins to remain resilient. While this assessment is rooted in detailed bottom-up forecasts, they fly in the face of conventional wisdom. We are not forecasting a severe economic recession but see a risk to profit expectations in 2023.

Conclusion:

As we entered 2023, we saw signs that the tide may be turning. We increased diversification in portfolios by allocating to Asia, Europe, and parts of the fixed income market. These steps were purposefully modest as we envisaged a bumpy journey. This includes parts of the fixed income market and UK mid-cap stocks. As always, we will be patient and measured in our approach.

The value of investments, and the income from them, can go down and you may get back less than invested. Changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of your investment. This material may include charts displaying financial instruments' past performance as well as estimates and forecasts. Past performance is not an indicator of future returns. Capital at risk.

© 2023 George Square Financial Management Ltd. All Rights Reserved. The content of this material is a marketing communication, and not independent investment research. As such, the legal and regulatory requirements in relation to independent investment research do not apply to this material and it is not subject to any prohibition on dealing ahead of its dissemination. The material is for general information purposes only (whether or not it states any opinions). It does not consider your personal circumstances or objectives. Nothing in this material is (or should be considered to be) legal, financial, investment or other advice on which reliance should be placed. No opinion given in the material constitutes a recommendation by Albemarle Street Partners or George Square Financial Management Ltd that any particular investment, security, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific person. Although the information set out in this marketing communication is obtained from sources believed to be reliable, Albemarle Street Partners or George Square Financial Management Ltd. makes no guarantee as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither Albemarle Street Partners or George Square Financial Management Ltd. shall be responsible for any loss that you may incur, either directly or indirectly, arising from any investment based on any information contained herein. Albemarle Street Partners is a trading name of Atlantic House Fund Management LLP (AHI). Issued by AHI who is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered Office: 135 Bishopsgate, 8th Floor, London, EC2M 3TP. George Square Financial Management Ltd. is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority

Digital Futures West Sussex, a new programme launched to connect local businesses with talented jobseekers, is running its first roadshow in Worthing.

Jobseekers, career shifters and anyone with an interest in digital skills will get the chance to meet with employers and learn about the vast range of opportunities for digital careers in West Sussex at new interactive roadshows this spring.

The roadshows will showcase the best digital opportunities in the county, with local businesses attending to present their success stories and talk about their work, as well as advising on routes into digital jobs, the roles available and the benefits and salaries associated with digital careers. Attendees will be able to meet with a diverse range of business people from different sectors and find out about relevant courses to support career development.

There will be talks from business leaders to share their insights on the skills and experience needed to pursue digital careers.

W hat to expect

• Hear from and connect with the breadth of employers and businesses in need of digital skills
• Discuss and contribute to conversations on the importance of digital transformation in the county and feel part of a bigger focus on digital futures.
• Speak to employers and businesses about typical roles within their business and what these look like.
• Feel more confident in understanding what skills and attributes are helpful in digital careers and what's available locally.
• Connect with and identify potential training and education routes into digital careers.
• Building networks across the digital space in West Sussex.

We will be joined by local leaders and experts who are tackling these challenges head-on...

Are businesses set up to support a diverse workforce and how can tech roles attract more neurodiverse people,

Dom Huxley, Huxley

How a leading voice in accessible web design is paving the way for building an inclusive and ethical internet that works for everyone

Julian Erbsloeh & Emma Couling, Fresh Egg 

Fresh Egg will be sharing their own approach to supporting, training and developing staff and their clients workforce

Our expert panel will also include people from GB Electronics and TechNative Digital to share their insight on the role of language in West Sussex digital skills recruitment.

Book your free place here

If you are a West Sussex employer who would like to get involved and showcase your business at a roadshow , please complete this form and a member of the team will be in touch