Tree planting exercise sees 30 youngsters making a difference to Shoreham's Buckingham Park 

School children have played their part in helping the climate by taking part in a tree-planting exercise led by Adur & Worthing Councils’ Park Rangers.

A group of 30 youngsters from Buckingham Park Primary School were invited to plant 18 sweet chestnut trees in the middle of Buckingham Park in Shoreham.

The initiative provided the children with the chance to enjoy time out in the open green space, learn about what’s important for the climate and work as part of a team.

Nathan Hollisey-McLean, the school’s Assistant Head Teacher, said: “A lot of the children live in a flat or a house where they haven't got a garden - so many of them haven't experienced planting anything - let alone a sapling or a tree.

“Being just down the road, our students spend a lot of time here and have a strong connection to Buckingham Park, so it will be pretty cool for them to see something they’ve planted grow over their lifetimes.

“A lot of children these days are aware of climate change and deforestation, so it’s great that they know how trees feed the planet and are aware that we need to keep planting.”

Ricky Purnell, from Tree Action UK, attended the event - and has been working with local schools and the Councils to get children more involved with tree planting across the area.

The not for profit community interest company organises tree-planting events in schools, colleges, public spaces and on private land, to improve the environment, tackle climate change and improve the mental wellbeing of young people through connecting them with nature.

Ricky said: “Planting trees is a stress releasing exercise. It allows those who spend too much time on screens to have some quality time to connect with the environment. 

“Not only is it a great team building activity, but it also encourages our future generations to do their part in helping with the world’s climate crisis.”

The Councils are always looking for ways to improve sustainability across the area’s green spaces. 

The project was organised by Liam Lord, who is the Arboricultural Inspector for the Councils. 

He said: “The trees were grown from seed from the veteran sweet chestnuts trees, to preserve the history of the existing trees.”

Shocking Shirts & Funky Frocks

Date: Friday 25th June (come along to the Chamber Hub dressed up! Click here to book your place)

Dress to impress and entertain your colleagues and make a donation to Safe in Sussex.

Our annual event is held on the last Friday of June and businesses, schools and community groups take part by wearing some pretty outlandish and funky clothes to work or meetings and make a donation to Safe in Sussex.

Boost for traders as Council invests in increasingly-popular parades

Four parades outside the town centre are being given a makeover as Worthing Borough Council commits to investing in the local communities that have become more popular throughout the pandemic.

With residents shopping in areas closer to home due to Government restrictions, suburban shopping areas have gained more support from their communities.

The Council recognises the importance of these hubs and the need to ensure they remain attractive places for people to visit, shop and spend time in socially.

The four key sites that will benefit from improvements are Goring Road East, Broadwater, Kings Parade in Findon Valley and The Strand in Durrington.

Work - which includes jet washing, landscaping, repainting and new street furniture installed - has already begun and will continue over the next two to three months.

It forms part of the wider programme of work to improve the public realm within Worthing. This includes the multi-million pound investment in Portland Road and Railway Approach, which is supported by West Sussex County Council.

Councillor Kevin Jenkins, Worthing’s Executive Member for Regeneration, said: “With many residents working from home due to the pandemic and being unable to venture into town or farther afield, they have been experiencing retail much closer to home.

“Our local parades have really held their own over the past year and we have witnessed local businesses in different areas gaining more support from their communities.

“With this in mind, it’s important that we as a Council invest in these local parades, helping to ensure they remain bright, attractive and polished places that people want to continue to visit once lockdown is over.”

Each of the four areas have been assessed by Council teams and local representatives, such as residents or businesses, with a bespoke improvement plan created for each.

All sites will be jet washed and have weeds removed while disused signs and street furniture will be taken out to provide more accessible space.

In Goring, much of the street furniture will be repainted and old benches will be replaced while Broadwater will gain new park benches and planting.

In Findon Valley the older style planters and bollards will be removed, older street furniture will be replaced with smart, contemporary street furniture and planters will be added.

At The Strand, old signage and railings will be removed and new bike racks and benches will be installed - as well as some masonry works carried out.

Supporting communities and the promotion of high streets are both areas identified within Adur & Worthing Councils’ direction of travel Platforms for our Places: Going Further and the And Then…. Bouncing back in post-pandemic Adur and Worthing strategy.

Kreston Reeves commits to hybrid working arrangements and a new London hub

Accountants, business and financial advisers Kreston Reeves has made a commitment to hybrid working arrangements across the firm and announced a new London office hub in Shoreditch.

Kreston Reeves employs over 500 people working across its eight offices in London, Kent and Sussex. The firm, which had moved towards flexible and agile working patterns a few years ago will, when COVID-19 restrictions are lifted, allow employees to choose where and how to work to best meet their clients, team and personal needs.

The firm is also moving to a new office in London to better suit this more agile, collaborative, and flexible way of working. It will be moving from Chiswell Street, EC1 to 168 Shoreditch High Street, E1, creating a hub for its people to work together, learn from each other and meet clients. It follows a similar move in Brighton in January 2021, when Kreston Reeves moved its Brighton office to the Plus X Innovation Hub.

Nigel Fright, Managing Partner, Kreston Reeves said: “Over the past few years we have proudly led the way in adapting to modern agile working practices, supporting the needs of our clients and people. With the Coronavirus pandemic solidifying that shift in the way we work, our people can use that experience and skill to work seamlessly across our office footprint, from client sites and home.

“We have asked for and listened to feedback from our people over the past few months and we anticipate working about two days a week in the office with other time spent with clients and working remotely.

“We’re committed to our purpose in ‘guiding our clients, colleagues and communities to a brighter future’, and that requires flexibility and balance in where and how we work. Our people work hard to deliver the best possible client service so it’s important to create a working environment that meets their changing needs.”

Laurence Parry, Partner and London office lead at Kreston Reeves said: “We’re really excited to be moving to our new base in London that embodies our purpose and values. The office will be a place for collaboration, to share ideas, to meet clients, and for all our colleagues to grow and learn.

“Our people really do make Kreston Reeves and we trust them to decide where and how they can best serve their clients and work with their teams. We will see our colleagues across all our offices developing a working pattern that is a seamless blend of office and home working.”

Protectfully Covid Testing

Early in the pandemic we received many requests from our maritime clients asking if we could source reliable rapid COVID-19 antigen tests for crew whilst onboard superyachts. High priority was a qualitative yes/no answer within 15 minutes, with a high level of accuracy.

Efficacy and due diligence was of the utmost importance. We set about researching a robust UK manufacturer and very quickly become an official supplier for Surescreen Diagnostics, who offer a suite of rapid COVID-19 tests.

Within weeks many clients across varied sectors were requesting rapid COVID tests, the main request being a global airline. This airline was testing their staff using their own testing facilities and were looking for alternatives to the nasopharyngeal method, as some team members had suffered distress during routine testing.

Luckily, we were able to offer Saliva-based tests, which have similar efficacy to the nasal method with minimal discomfort.  We are super proud be assisting one of the UK’s largest airlines with their impressive testing rollout. A very positive relationship that has developed in unusual circumstances and is essentially helping people back to work.

We have since continued to support many other companies, proactively testing their teams and improve organisational resilience.  If you are looking for help to safeguard your business and would like to discuss Rapid Covid Testing or disinfection systems please do do get in touch.

For more information on rapid COVID-19 saliva tests please contact worthing based Protectfully

Adur District Council buys former police station site - investing almost £1.1m into the regeneration of Lancing Village

A prominent building in the heart of Lancing is set to be regenerated with the community in mind after it was purchased by Adur District Council.

The acquisition of the former police station in North Road was agreed last month, with the Council committing to investing almost £1.1m into helping to regenerate Lancing Village.

The purchase price of the site was £850,000 and the authority has committed a further £200,000 in order to bring forward viable proposals.

Due to the site’s prominence and importance, the Council has pledged to carry out wider community and stakeholder engagement so that residents have a say in the future of the area.

It will form part of the authority’s wider programme to support the regeneration of its town and village centres.

Options for the site could include retail, residential, medical or a community hub. Planning permission will be required before any works go ahead.

Councillor Carson Albury, Adur’s Executive Member for Customer Services, approved the purchase of the site. 

He said: “I’m very pleased to be able to say we have purchased this prominent site which has been empty for too long.

“We will be undertaking a full and thorough consultation with the people of Lancing to find out what potential uses for the site would best serve the community and I believe this is a great move for the area.

“The Council will bring together various stakeholders who are interested in investing in the village and further redevelopment such as this will help to breathe new life into Lancing Village Centre.”

Bouncing Back from COVID-19 Summit

Tim Loughton MP is hosting a summit, all businesses in Worthing and Adur are welcome to attend for free.

The event will include presentations from Mims Davies MP - Employment Minister, Worthing DWP employment advisors and representatives from Adur & Worthing Councils.

- What challenges are you facing coming out of lockdown?

- What support does your business need with recruiting and training staff?

- How can Central Government, Local Government and DWP help?

To book email tim.loughton.mp@parliament.uk

Alex Leads the Way on ICAEW Apprenticeship Scheme

Investment in young talent continues to reap benefits at MHA Carpenter Box, with news that Alex Kent has become the first apprentice at the firm to gain Associate Chartered Accountant (ACA) status. 

Alex, who lives in East Grinstead, joined the Sussex-based accountancy firm’s Audit & Assurance team at Gatwick in July 2017 after graduating from Canterbury Christ Church University. He started out on a traditional trainee route at MHA Carpenter Box, but then moved onto the ICAEW apprenticeship to develop his skills and enhance his career opportunities.

Alex commented: “I am very grateful for the support that MHA Carpenter Box has given me throughout my training and would highly recommend the apprenticeship scheme to any young person interested in becoming a fully qualified accountant.

“The scheme provides structure, and the support of a ‘talent coach’ is also invaluable in building confidence and progressing through the programme.”

MHA Carpenter Box Managing Partner, Alan Edwards, said: “We have always taken our role of training the next generation of accountants, tax and business advisers very seriously and continue to invest heavily in emerging talent.

“We know that prospects for young people have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, so as a firm we are determined to continue offering opportunities to school and college leavers. Alex is the first of our young recruits on the apprenticeship scheme to qualify as an ACA and we now offer this route to qualification to all our trainees joining the firm.”

MHA Carpenter Box operates from offices in Worthing, Brighton, Gatwick and Chichester.

Learning in the Landscape 

Get out into the fresh air and explore a unique collaboration of two local charities, bringing together the stunning beauty of the Petworth Park with the learning expertise of Aspire Sussex. 

Whether through the lens of a camera, the touch of a brush, stroke of a pencil or stretch of a limb, discover a new way to see Petworth and your own creative abilities within a truly unique environment. 

Our range of courses start from June 9th, with short and full day courses available, there really is something to suit every interest level and pocket.  

For more information and to book your learning experience, visit our Eventbrite page or click on the individual course details below.

7 ways to improve your networking and meeting skills

The new networking

A couple of years ago we wrote a blog about improving networking skills. Now, as we return to face to face meetings following the Pandemic, the landscape has dramatically changed and yet the skills required for meetings and networking have largely remained the same. So should we be doing slightly different things when it comes to virtual networking as opposed to face to face? Well, it depends…

How much time do you have? 

Everyone working from home over the last few months has been hard for some and a blessing for others. We have all learnt how to use online meeting platforms and become comfortable with ‘meeting each other’ via screens. This does save on travel time but, if you’re virtually networking, it means you have to be really clear vocally about what you’re after, because it’s much harder to display your body language via a screen. However, no matter how virtual life gets, people will still always buy people – so, in business, making time for face to face networking is still vitally important. Surely a hybrid of virtual and actual networking will be the way forward?

We do a lot of networking both virtually and face to face. Virtual networking allows us to reach beyond our usual geographical area without having to travel, but we still think face to face networking forms a stronger bond in less time. We have attended all sorts of groups and meetings at various times of day. We often joke that we could become the size of a house and have no time to do any work if we attended all the actual meetings to which we were invited, so how do you pick the right ones and then make them work for you? Here are our top tips:

1. Prioritise meetings according to your current business goals 

Who are you aiming at when finding new business? What geographical area are you looking at? (and does it matter?) If the meeting does not fit within your business goals then don’t waste your time attending.

2. Who is going to be there? Don't know? Ask the organiser! 

Find out if the other people attending are worth 2 hours of your working day (plus travel time if it’s face to face). We often find that lunches take the longest working chunk out of the day, so we tend to go for breakfasts and evenings. Everyone is different however and sometimes the attendee list really does make it worth attending whatever the time of day.

3. You will fit into some groups better than others 

Some groups (a bit like the ones on LinkedIn) will be a better fit for you. We have walked into some networking groups and almost seen the tumbleweed blow across the floor as we introduced ourselves. Whereas others we’ve been made very welcome at. Don’t be disheartened if you don’t get a great feel from one group – there are lots of different types to try and you will find one that suits you.

4. Manage your expectations 

As with all marketing, you will not achieve much from just one try. Networking is about building relationships with people, which happens over time. Maintaining relationships takes effort – so we return to your business goals – is this meeting really worth it?

5. Make your elevator pitch relevant 

If there is just one person in that room with whom you’d love to do business, aim your pitch at their needs. Make it short – many groups do a 60 seconds round but some only allow 10 second introductions – so have a couple of pitches up your sleeve ready to go and practice them. Don’t forget to practice them. Oh, and did I say about practising them?

6. Have your details ready to give out 

This might be an obvious statement, but you would not believe how many people we’ve met when networking who have not filled in their online profile or (at face to face meetings) have run out of business cards! If you have any merchandising or other marketing collateral, then check with the organiser to see if it’s OK to bring along or email people too. Everyone still loves a freebie and if it’s got your company name on it then so much the better – but do check with the organiser first.

7. Relax and enjoy it 

This might be hard to do if you’ve had to get up at stupid o’clock in the morning or if you’re worrying about a deadline when you know you might be out of the office for 3 hours. Don’t attend if the work is more important, there will always be next time. When you’re out there ‘being your business’ you have to be on top of your game. You can’t do that if you’re stressed. You have nothing to lose when attending networking meetings, so just go and enjoy it.