Business Newsletter - March 2011

March 2011

Fieldfare Local Action Group Awards Grant Funding to Projects in East Hampshire and Winchester The Fieldfare Local Action Group (LAG) continues to achieve remarkable success. The LAG, now in its second year of operation, has funded a variety of projects to include: the restoration of an historic property to accommodate an exciting antique and interior design business, an excellent open space improvement in a rural village and the supply of new computers to help a community project.

Since its launch in 2009, the Local Action Group has dealt with 628 enquiries and handled 91 full applications for LEADER funding. To date, the Fieldfare LAG has awarded £828,517.09 worth of grant funding to 67 projects.

The local business community has been the largest beneficiary of LEADER funding in the Winchester and East Hampshire areas. Support has included start up grant funding to encourage local entrepreneurs, funding for specific equipment and preparatory workshops to review the health of the business. See case study on Page 7 Funding for the new financial year is now available. The Fieldfare LAG welcomes applications from farmers and growers, foresters and private woodland owners, tourism enterprises, rural businesses and community organisations in the rural areas of East Hampshire and Winchester.

Businesses located in the urban areas of Winchester and East Hampshire but serve rural areas can also apply for funding (subject to eligibility).

Grayshott Square Project members with Councillor Richard Millard (to the right) EHDC Portfolio Holder For Economic Development

For more information on LEADER funding, please visit: http://www.fieldfareleader.org.uk/support or contact: Ken Brown (Fieldfare LEADER Programme Manager) on 01962 848588.

Case Studies and feedback from successful applications & projects:http://www.fieldfareleader.org.uk/projects-feedback

Business Rates - Changes to Empty Property Exemption The Government has announced that the empty property rate threshold will reduce from £18,000 to £2,600 with effect from 1 April 2011.

If your commercial property is empty, and has a rateable value of more than £2,600, you will be due to pay a 100% empty rate charge from 1 April 2011. There is an exception for Listed Buildings which will remain exempt whilst empty.

As from 1st April 2011, properties that become empty will not pay rates for the first three months that the property The East Hampshire Online Business Directory - join for free. For more information visit at www.easthants.gov.uk/businessdirectory

becomes empty. This is extended to 6 months for certain industrial properties.

If you have any queries on this matter or would like to discuss how this change may affect you, please contact the Business Rate Team on Telephone no. 01730 234159 or visit http://www.easthants.gov.uk/businessrates

Inside this issue:

♦ New Food Hygiene Rating Scheme (p.2) ♦ Copper Theft - Free Advice For Businesses (p.3) ♦ Business in the Big Society (p.5)

Busi nes s New s

Business News Busi nes s New s

New Food Hygiene Rating Scheme Good Hygiene is good for your business In April, East Hampshire District Council in partnership with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) will be implementing the National Food Hygiene Rating (NFHR) scheme.

The scheme will provide consumers with at-a-glance information about hygiene standards in the food business to make informed choices about where they buy/ eat food. It will replace the existing Safe2Eat scheme currently being operated. All businesses where consumers can eat or buy food will be given a rating.

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The rating is calculated using the score given at the end of your food hygiene inspection by the EHO/Food Safety Officer.

Based on this your business will be given a rating between 0 (low compliance – Urgent Improvement Necessary) and 6 (high compliance – Very Good). The rating will be published on a national website, so customers can look at it.

The scheme includes ‘Safeguards’ for businesses to make sure your rating is fair. You can appeal against your rating, you have a ‘right to reply’ on the national website, you can also request a revisit.

Hopefully all businesses in the district included in the scheme will receive their new NFHR rating by the middle of March ready for the launch in April.

The scheme will be a good advertisement for those businesses that comply with food hygiene law.

Good hygiene means a good hygiene rating and a good hygiene rating is good for business.

For further information contact the Food & Safety Team at EHDC on 01730 234306 or visit the FSA website at www.food.gov.uk/ hygieneratings

East Hampshire Business News

Business News March 2011

East Hampshire Start-up Incentive Grants Scheme a success East Hampshire District Council is committed to encouraging the strength and vitality of its local economy. In order to support local businesses the District Council made available grants of ÂŁ500 to new businesses in East Hampshire. The programme which started in 2007 has benefited a total of 65 start-up businesses.

Case Study: The Name UK Cressy Luke started her retail business (The Name UK) at the start of the recession and has successfully been trading for two and a half years.

Previously, Cressy worked as a Costume Designer for film and TV. Due to the recession and a slump in the film industry, she moved to Petersfield, a move that inspired her to open a little shop to carry on with her creativity and passion for vintage and collectables.

Cressy approached East Hampshire District Council (EHDC) and Business Link for support in setting up her business. She was awarded a start-up business grant from EHDC and with the help and advice from Business Link Advisor Miranda Morgan, she was able to establish, develop and grow her business (The Name UK) amidst the recession.

The Name UK sells an extensive and eclectic range of modern and vintage accessories from around the world.

In the first year of trading, the business won the award of best dressed shop display and went on to win the same award for the second year running. In 2010, the Name UK was highly commended as New Business of the Year by Petersfield Life awards.

For more information on the scheme please call 01730 234164 or send an email to: business@easthants.gov.uk Please note: the scheme is now fully subscribed and all new applications are placed on a waiting list.

Copper Theft - Free Advice For Businesses

Buy with Confidence Scheme - Hampshire

There have been quite a number of copper thefts in the East Hampshire area.

The Buy With Confidence Scheme was started in 1999 by Hampshire County Council Trading Standards Service.

Do you consider yourself vulnerable to Copper Thefts?

The Scheme brings together a list of over 500 gardeners, plumbers, electricians, car sales and many other types of business from all over Hampshire, which have been individually checked for trustworthiness and compliance with consumer protection laws.

If so, then please contact Hampshire Police. Please clearly state that you are a business which considers yourself vulnerable to copper thefts and you would like the Crime Prevention Officer to contact you to give you free crime prevention advice.

Businesses in Clanfield, Horndean or Rowlands Castle email southofbutser.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk Any other part of East Hampshire District, email: easthants.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk March 2011

Trading Standards officers visit and vet every applicant and if they pass stringent checks they are accepted onto the scheme. The business can then display the Buy With Confidence logo.

For information on how to join the scheme please visit www.buywithconfidence.gov.uk or call 08454 040506.

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Business News Local Enterprise Partnerships in Hampshire Hampshire now has two Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs): The Solent LEP and Enterprise M3. East Hampshire District is covered by both LEPs, with the most southern part in the Solent LEP and the rest in the Enterprise M3 LEP. Solent LEP The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (Solent LEP) seeks to create an environment that will facilitate economic growth and private sector investment in the Solent area, allow businesses to grow, become more profitable and greener, and enable new businesses to form and prosper.

The Solent LEP is led by the business community and supported by four university partners, the further education sector, three unitary authorities, eight district councils and the voluntary and community sector, all of whom are actively working together to secure a more prosperous and sustainable future for the Solent area.

Website: http://www.solentlep.org.uk/

Enterprise M3 LEP The vision for Enterprise M3 is to build on the existing strengths of the area by all sectors working closer together to create the premier centre for enterprise and sustainable economic growth outside London with an additional focus on creating a knowledge-based, rural economy. The Enterprise M3 area covers major parts of Hampshire and north west Surrey and now includes the towns of Alton, Aldershot Andover, Basingstoke, Bordon, Camberley, Farnborough, Farnham, Fleet, Guildford, Hook, Petersfield, Winchester, Woking and a large rural economy in Surrey and Hampshire. Website: http://www.basingstoke.gov.uk/go/lep

Hampshire Better Regulation Partnership The Food & Safety Team at East Hampshire District Council is taking part in a scheme to try and cut down on the number of visits made to businesses by different regulators.

The Team is working in partnership with the Hampshire Fire Authority and Hampshire Trading Standards.

The scheme is similar to the Retail Enforcement Pilot which was trialled recently but is more refined, less time consuming and more effective in terms Page 4

of the information collected.

necessary by that Regulator.

At the end of a Food Safety or Health & Safety inspection, the inspecting officer will complete a short checklist asking questions relating to Fire, Trading Standards and Licensing.

The scheme has been devised as a result of direction from central government and hopefully over time you will see a decrease in the number of visits made to your business by the different regulators.

The answers will be fed back to the relevant Regulator who will review the information.

If the information is satisfactory, it could result in an inspection not being

For further information contact the Food & Safety Team on 01730 234306.

East Hampshire Business News

Business News March 2011

Business in the Big Society

By Nick Wilson, Chair of East Hampshire Community Partnership Public spending cuts, localism, less big government, the Big Society: all ‘big’ issues for the public and voluntary sectors.

Googling ‘business in the Big Society’ gets 168,000 results but which of us could say what the Government thinks business should be doing in the Big Society?* Of course, the point about the Big Society is that we shouldn’t wait to be ‘told’.

I attended a recent Business East Hants (BEH) meeting where the focus was what businesses themselves could do – in this case about boosting the number of apprenticeship opportunities. A great example of business leaders themselves deciding what needs to be done and doing it.

I would like Business East Hants to be an influential member of the East Hampshire Community Partnership, together with key public and voluntary sector members, in a ‘partnership of equals’. BEH knows what local businesses’ big concerns are: transport and infrastructure, business support, skills and employment, etc. The Partnership can promote dialogue about these and broker solutions.

But this could also be about business opportunities. The race is on to design and deliver public services in new and more cost effective ways. Hampshire has around 4,000 social enterprises with a turnover of over £1 billion and 22,000 employees. Combining the knowledge, business

L-R: Nick Wilson (Chair of East Hampshire Community Partnership) and Faith Charnock-Wilson (Vice Chair of the East Hampshire Community Partnership)

skills and creativity of successful voluntary and private sector enterprises could be the route to winning public service contracts and achieving ‘more for less’. The Partnership can be a crucible for new alliances and new solutions.

For more information on the East Hampshire Community Partnership, please visit: www.easthampshirecommunitypartnership.org * For what the Prime Minister thinks about business in the Big Society, go to: http://www.bitc.org.uk/business_and_the_big_society/ business_commits/index.html

Horndean Business Group Started in late 2010 - The Horndean Network was set up by Horndean Community Association to support local businesses in the village and also highlight the support for & opportunities open regarding employment of young people in the village.

The members have used the network to support & promote the small businesses in Horndean.

The network is currently looking at how it can maintain and enhance the village’s March 2011

precinct and how this can be improved further through the Gales redevelopment programme.

The group wish to increase membership and invite small businesses from within the village to join the network.

Current membership includes Alice Blue, SM Printers, Universal Vehicle Services and local authorities.

Brendan Charles Association Manager for Horndean Community Association, Merchistoun Hall, 106 Portsmouth Road, Horndean, Waterlooville, Hampshire, PO8 9LJ Telephone: 023 9259 7114 Email: manager@merchistounhall.co.uk

For more information on the Business Group, please contact: Page 5

Tourism East Hampshire Tourism Conference a success The East Hampshire Tourism and Marketing Partnership recently held a successful conference.

The conference, held at the Gilbert White’s Field Studies Centre, was well attended, attracting over 60 delegates from tourism businesses, including representatives from the accommodation and attractions sectors.

District Councillors, representatives from partner organisations and EHDC officers to facilitate were also present.

One of the objectives of the event was to gain the commitment of local tourism businesses to the marketing action plan for the Hampshire South Downs developed by Blue Sail tourism consultants. The plan contains

recommendations on how East Hampshire, promoted as the Hampshire South Downs, can make the most of the opportunity afforded by the South Downs National Park. There was unanimous support for the plan, with businesses making a formal commitment to be involved.

The workshop session took forward one of the recommendations in the plan, to brainstorm PR ideas for the Hampshire South Downs. The outputs will form the basis for a PR task group of the East Hampshire Tourism and Marketing Partnership to generate PR for the area.

Overall, the delegates found the conference very interesting and helpful.

The Gilbert White’s Field Study Centre The Centre made an ideal venue, helping to ensure an inspiring event.

Delegates enjoyed the lovely views across Gilbert White's garden and an excellent lunch supplied by the Gilbert White tea parlour.

The magnificent 17th century Hampshire barn is available for day, evening or weekend hire for meetings, conferences, one-off events and celebrations. The space has been well designed and suites a variety of events. It certainly makes an excellent conference venue.

For more information, please visit http://www.gilbertwhiteshouse.org.uk/ field-studies-centre/

New Guide to Where to Stay The new guide to where to stay in East Hampshire, Hampshire South Downs 2011, is now available.

The guide promotes the area as a place to visit, highlighting the beautiful countryside of the South Downs.

The guide has details of hotels and B&Bs in the area, many with high speed or wi-fi internet access and other facilities for people staying on business.

All these establishments have been independently assessed as part of a national quality scheme, so you can be sure that your visitors will be well looked after if they need to stay overnight.

To obtain a free copy of the guide, please contact : The Tourist Information Centre in Petersfield Telephone 01730 268829, email tourism@easthants.gov.uk, or download from our website, www.easthants.gov.uk/tourism

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East Hampshire Business News

Rural Economy March 2011

Sustainability Centre takes the lead on sustainable building with help of LEADER Funding

By Mary Lewis, Sustainability Centre Manager LEADER funding (see page 1), granted through the Fieldfare Local Action Group, has enabled to us achieve this wonderful project.

The aims of the project fit well within the priorities identified in the Rural Development Plan for South East England, to include: rural skills development; the environment, increasing biodiversity through sustainable woodland management, developing facilities for eco-tourism and mitigating climate change through the use of zero carbon building materials.

The Woodland Classroom project created an inspirational space for learning at the Sustainability Centre that gave a sense of being connected to nature. The project was aimed at developing something that would inspire people through the use of natural, tactile materials. We wanted a building that was very low-impact, had low embodied energy, used locally sourced materials and contributed to developing skills in woodland management and sustainable construction. The result is a beautiful building with a sweeping curved roof nestled in the woodlands of the South Downs National Park.

The innovative roundwood building was designed by nationally renowned timber framer and coppice worker Ben Law. The structure was built by Ben and a team of trainees using low-grade ‘waste’ timber from our own woodland with a locally sourced cedar shingle roof. The training element was an important part of the project with four trainees gaining skills in specialist sustainable building techniques.

The process was documented in an instructional DVD produced by Permanent Publications and a full colour book

by Ben Law titled Roundwood Timber Framing.

The classroom is used by schools and for adult courses in a wide range of subjects including rural crafts, woodland management, biodiversity, renewable energy and environmental education. It also provides a calm, peaceful venue for funeral gatherings at the South Downs Natural Burial Site.

The classroom enables us to grow our business and generate more revenue. We are a self-funded charity and we aim for all our projects to support themselves financially.

If you would like to visit the Woodland Classroom, or you would like to hire it for a training course or event please call 01730 823166 or visit our website: www.sustainability-centre.org March 2011

Woodland Classroom at the Sustainability Centre

Woodland Classroom at the Sustainability Centre

Fieldfare LEADER Programme Read about the successful projects and feedback at: http:// www.fieldfareleader.org.uk/projects-feedback For a full list of projects that have been awarded LEADER funding through Fieldfare Local Action Group, visit: http:// www.fieldfareleader.org.uk/grants-awarded/ For more information on LEADER funding and how to apply, please visit: http://www.fieldfareleader.org.uk/ support or contact: Ken Brown (Fieldfare LEADER Programme Manager) on 01962 848588.

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Employment & Skills Alton Business Advantage New range of business focussed training courses Launch Companies hoping to survive in the current economic climate should be looking at all the available resources for improving their businesses. From March, Business Advantage in conjunction with Alton College will be offering a range of cost effective bite-size courses that have been created to deliver up-to-date, practical business training and advice that is focused upon core skills and the adoption of best practice in managing and running a business.

Suitable for every stage of your business, from thinking about setting up to having been in business for several years, these short courses, many of which are just 3 hours duration, will ensure you understand business basics and can apply them with confidence, whether you are taking those first exciting steps into business or taking your business to the next level.

John Stratford, Business Advantage Manager commented “our range of bite-size courses has been designed specifically for business start-ups and SMEs with particular consideration to the current economic climate. Our aim is to deliver professional and affordable courses that are valuable to any business sector.”

A full list of business courses are listed on our website

Alton College Adult learning

www.altoncollege.ac.uk. Courses include Financial Awareness for Business, Essential Recruitment and Selection Skills, Essential Interview Skills, Managing Change in a Downturn, Effective Project Management, Essentials of a Marketing Plan, Improving Team Performance and Managing Staff Performance. As well as all of the listed courses, Business Advantage offer a bespoke business course service to provide companies with business courses to suit their individual needs.

For further details, see the Alton College website: http://www.altoncollege.ac.uk/business or contact the Business Advantage Team on 01420 592200.

Apprenticeships Facts Apprenticeships are the proven way to train your workforce. Apprenticeships can make your organisation more effective, productive and competitive by addressing your skills gaps directly, even in uncertain economic times.

There are real business benefits to taking on apprentices. This section outlines these benefits as well as answering other questions you may have about Apprenticeships.

The Apprenticeship programme has been designed to help your employees reach a high level of competency and Page 8

performance and with over 180 different types of Apprenticeships, there’s bound to be a place for an apprentice in your organisation.

What does it involve?

An Apprenticeship includes the following components: ♦ A minimum of 16 hours per week paid employment. (However it is expected that this will be greater than 30 hours per week…It is no longer required that permission is obtained from the Agency where a learner is employed less than 30

hours but 16 hours or more and wished to follow an Apprenticeship. It is anticipated that all employed apprentices will be engaged in working and learning for a minimum of 30 hours per week). ♦ A knowledge based element. ♦ A competence based element. ♦ Transferable or “key skills”. ♦ A module on employment rights and responsibilities.

Continued next on page 9 East Hampshire Business News

Employment & Skills March 2011

Sparsholt College Apprentices for Business With Apprenticeships now the preferred government training model there really isn’t a better time for businesses to benefit from these programmes. And even though some employers recognise there are huge advantages to having an Apprentice they can still be deterred from employing one because they think it will be very complicated, timeconsuming and risky.

With these myths still hindering some businesses from taking on Apprentices, Sparsholt College has created and launched Apprentices for Business, a new scheme based on the Apprenticeship Agency model. This flexible solution has been specifically developed to meet the needs of local businesses, by centrally employing apprentices (much like an employment agency) on their behalf. This makes recruitment much simpler, efficient and even more cost effective.

the wage. Sparsholt College will then work closely with the employer to advertise the vacancy through a dedicated web-based Jobs board, screen applicants and provide the employer with a shortlist of the most suitable candidates. Naturally the actual interview and selection stage is done by the employer but once the right person has been found, Apprentices for Business will officially employ the Apprentice, managing all payroll and HR functions. Businesses thereby get to enjoy the benefit without the administrative burden of being the employer.

As one of the region’s experts in delivering quality Apprenticeship programmes, Sparsholt College understands the issues businesses face and have the industry links and support mechanisms in place to ensure the

programmes are successfully delivered – their outstanding 89% completion rates are 15% above the national average and Ofsted graded the programme ‘good’ in 2008.

The College’s Apprenticeship programme incorporates a vast range of courses: from various business disciplines, the service industries, care and education to construction and engineering and land based industries.

Having an Apprentice really could not be much simpler – why not give the College a call on 0845 850 0916 or email business@sparsholt.ac.uk to find out more?

The process couldn’t be easier – firstly potential employers define the role and

Apprenticeships Facts continued.

Continued from page 8

Business Benefits

What are Apprenticeships?

Apprenticeships can help businesses across all sectors by offering a route to harness fresh new talent. UK businesses consider skills shortages and recruitment difficulties a bigger threat to performance than soaring oil prices and declining consumer spending, and more than a quarter of these rate this form of vocational training higher than any other qualification.

now and in the future. The mixture of on and off job learning ensures they learn the skills that work best for your business. Over 130,000 companies offer apprentice places because they understand the benefits that apprentices bring to their business – increased productivity, improved competitiveness and a committed and competent work-force.

Apprenticeships ensure that your workforce has the practical skills and qualifications your organisation needs

For more information on Apprenticeships, please visit: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk/

They are work-based training programmes designed around the needs of employers, which lead to national recognised qualifications.

How long does it take?

The length of an Apprenticeship varies depending on prior skills levels of the apprentice, the qualification being obtained and industry sector. Generally, Apprenticeships take between one and three years to complete.

March 2011

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Community First—Training News Community First East Hampshire is the lead organisation in the Learning Highways programme, a consortium of local councils for voluntary service in East Hampshire, Winchester, Rushmoor, Test Valley and Hart.

New courses on offer in the Spring 2011 programme include: ♦ Learn how to touch type: An exciting new course that will teach the basics of touch typing and help you to increase your typing speed Date: Mondays 7 & 14 & Friday 25 March (a 3 part course).

Venue: Petersfield Library. ♦ Managing your Workload Efficiently. Monday 21 March 2011. Venue: Church on the Green, Rowlands Castle.

♦ Enjoy Email and Outlook: Gain an in-depth look into the electronic world of email and how to manage it. Learn how to survive and thrive in the modern world of emails and electronic communication. Date: 8 April 2011 at 9.30 - 17.00 Venue: Alton College.

The usual favourites are also on offer: Enjoy PowerPoint, An introduction to Publisher and Basic committee skills plus much more.

Book online by filling out the online Training Booking Form – http:// www.cfeh.org.uk/training/trainingbooking-form For the full Spring 2011 Training Programme visit: www.cfeh.org.uk/ information/training.

Did you know that East Hampshire District Council provides a pest control service for the commercial sector as well as the public sector?

The Council provides a professional pest control service at competitive rates, whatever your premises. Our pest control team has more than 30 years’ experience in commercial and domestic pest control.

Treatment and protection is provided against rats, mice, wasps and much, much more.

Annual contracts and ad-hoc visits are available.

Survey and quotations are free.

For more information, to obtain a quote and book a survey, please call: 01730 234 360.

Community First can also offer bespoke IT or Personal Safety & Lone Working training tailored to your organisation's needs.

The next East Hampshire Community Learning Forum will be held on 14th June and 10th November, 13.45 for a 2.00pm start until 4.00pm at EHDC offices, Petersfield.

Contact Liz Moore, Learning & Development Manager at liz.moore@cfeh.org.uk or call 01730 710017 if you would like to attend the Learning Forum or if you would like to find out more about any of Community First's training.