News and Events for Local Businesses - February 2020

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Plymouth business news

Issue 2 | February 2020

Welcome to the February edition of the Economic Development newsletter for 2020. Like all editions, we aim to provide the busy reader with summaries of empirical work carried out by the PCC Economic Development Teams and interconnected city wide activities and events. This newsletter will address some of the rich set of topical issues across all sectors, what’s more, celebrate the rich achievements and value that businesses and organisations like you bring to Britain’s Ocean City.

Your feedback is always appreciated, if you have any news, views or would like to review the newsletter then please do contact the team by emailing: invest@plymouth.gov.uk


Employers for Carers - Plymouth’s First Carers Business Networking Event

efc

Source: EFC / Eventbrite  | Published: 21 January 2020

Employers for carers - Plymouth’s first carers business networking event: Supporting carers at work makes business sense 1 in 9 in your workforce will be caring for someone who is older, disabled or seriously ill.  The number of carers in the UK is set to increase by 50% to 9.1m by 2037. Plymouth’s first working carers business networking event, organised by The Carers Partnership Board in Plymouth in conjunction with Employers for Carers of Carers UK will take place on Tuesday, March 10th, 4-7pm. To find out more click here


Skills Support for Redundancy

Skills for Business

Source: SSW | Published: 4 February 2020

Skills Support for the Workforce (SSW) is a programme developed to upskill employees within small and medium-sized businesses in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay. SSW provides recognised accredited qualifications and bespoke training courses to enhance your employees’ skills, increase the competitiveness of your business and boost the local economy.  SW also offers training for individuals at risk of redundancy or recently made redundant. Contact the SSW team for more information or visit our website. To find out more click here or email skillssupport@serco.com


Developing Sustainable Plastic Packaging: Apply for Funding

Sustainable Plastic Packaging

Source: GOV.UK | Published 16 January 2020

Businesses can apply for a share of up to £37 million to support projects that look at ways to radically reduce waste from plastic packaging. Competition information for early-stage projects: the competition opened on 13 January 2020, and the deadline for applications is on 1 April 2020; businesses of any size may apply but projects must include at least 1 SME;  projects could range in size between £30,000 and £100,000. To find out more about sustainable plastic packaging funding click here  For more funding opportunities click here


Engineering Design Boost for Offshore Wind from Top PSP Firm

PSP

Source: Invest Plymouth | 27 January 2020

A revolutionary design for the future of renewable energy is being developed by a firm based at Plymouth Science Park. Frontier Technical is designing a new way of deploying the structural components needed to build an offshore windfarm – its aim is to use controllable ‘float modules’ to construct a floating turbine base underwater with less cost and less hassle. To find out more click here


Swing into Spring with Devon & Plymouth Chamber of Commerce - 29 April 2020, Totnes

Devon & Plymouth Chamber

Source: Devon & Plymouth Chamber | Published: 29 January 2020

This spectacular black-tie event will take you back in time by welcoming in the spring with an evening full of style and elegance, and a celebration of our members' success stories. Date and venue: Friday 24th April, Dartington Hall, Totnes, Devon, TQ9 6EL. To find out more click here


Submit your Own Events on Invest Plymouth

Events

We are pleased to announce that we have a new functionality on our Invest Plymouth website, where you can add your own business-focussed events to the website for no charge, to help with promotion of your event. We invite all those with relevant events to start submitting! Find out more and submit your events here


Call to all UK Importers

Call to all UK importers

Source: GOV.UK | Published: 6 February 2020

The Department of International Trade (DIT) launched an online consultation  seeking businesses views on: simplifying and tailoring the tariff to suit UK businesses. The online consultation will be open for four weeks until 5 March 2020. The hope is that the new ‘UK Global Tariff’ will ensure UK businesses compete on fair terms with the rest of the world. This in turn should then help to make it easier to trade, drive investment and deliver more quality jobs across the UK. Your views matter. To find our more click here


Government Extends Customs Grants Deadline Through EU Exit Transition Period

HMRC

Source: HMRC | Published: 10 February 2020

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has extended the deadline for businesses to apply for customs support funding. The scheme, first announced in September 2019, had been due to close at the end of last month. To date, applications have been made for around £18.5 million out of a possible £26 million, meaning there is at least £7.5 million left to claim from HMRC. During the transition period following the UK’s departure from the EU – from 1 February to 31 December 2020 – there will be no change to the way businesses trade with the EU. Businesses that complete customs declarations now have until 31 January 2021. To find out more click here  For more funding opportunities click here


Marine Tech Expo - 30 June to 3 July 2020, Turnchapel Wharf, Plymouth

MTE

Source: Invest Plymouth | Published: 12 February 2020

Plymouth is hosting its third Marine Tech Expo, designed to demonstrate the South Coast's marine credentials to the world during the Mayflower 400 commemorations. The event will bring together the decision makers, innovators and enterprises involved in the latest advances in marine technology. Following the success of previous Marine Tech Expo events in 2016 and 2018, this 2020 event will focus its attention on Autonomous Applications and Sustainable Marine technologies, showcasing innovation and research from an inspiring line up of experts and contributors.​ The Marine Tech Expo is supported by Oceansgate, Plymouth City Council, Turnchapel Wharf and the Marine Business Technology Centre. To find out more and book tickets click here


PWP supports 'Spirit of Adventure'. A Project aimed at getting Young People on the Water

Children sailing

Source: Invest Plymouth | Published: 6th February 2020

A new project hopes to give more than 350 disadvantaged children in Plymouth an exciting and unique opportunity. PWP have teamed up with The Island Trust, Sailing Tectona, the Lynher Barge, and the Bounty Project to run the adventurous sailing sessions. The four organisations have seven vessels between them, which will undertake daily voyages in Plymouth Sound during the Mayflower Ocean Festival. In order to make the project a reality, PWP and their partners need to raise £50,000. To find out more click here You can support this project by donating online at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/spirit-of-adventure.


Outset Enterprise Coaching - Free Workshops in April

Outset

Source: Outset Enterprise Coaching | Published: 12 February 2020 

Outset Enterprise Coaching delivers a full support programme combining modular business workshops, rich online learning resources and 1:1 support. It’s open to all Plymouth residents, and fully funded by Plymouth City Council and the European Regional Development Fund. To find out more about the events in April; follow these links click Introduction to Self-Employment , Introduction to Marketing and Introduction to Finance and Business Funding


Export Clinics

Readiness clinic

Source: Heart of the South West Growth Hub | Published:  19 February 2020

The Heart of the South West Growth Hub is offering support for businesses in Devon and Somerset to help them understand the impact of leaving the EU on exporting and importing. The clinics are suitable for companies that are engaged in international trade or are involved in international supply chains, and will provide one-to-one advice. The export clinics are taking place at: North Devon Plus, Bideford on 6th March. Devon and Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, Plymouth on 4th and 9th March, Somerset Chamber of Commerce, Taunton on 3rd and 11th March. The clinics offer a one-hour slot per business, and must be booked in advance. To book your place, email Linda@internationaltradematters.com


Professional Tourist Guide Training Opportunity 

itg

Source: Institute of Tourist Guiding | Published: 17 February 2020

A rare opportunity has arisen to train and qualify as a professional Devon and Cornwall Blue Badge Tourist Guide.  The  Prospectus together with an Application Form can also be obtained on request by emailing  training@ptgtraining.co.uk   Applications are now being accepted and it is anticipated that interviews for a place on the course will be in April, with an Introductory weekend in June before lectures begin in September. Alternatively the documents can be downloaded directly from the 'Courses Running' page on the Institute of Tourist Guiding website


Business Relationship Programme

Whether you are just starting out, or an established business looking for practical business advice, we are offering free one hour business information, advice and guidance sessions for business owners looking to grow. To find out more and to book, please email invest@plymouth.gov.uk


Support for Scale-up Business

ScaleUp2

A wealth of fully funded (yes free!), specialist support is available to businesses in Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay with aspirations to become the ScaleUp businesses of tomorrow.

We have categorised this support by the main challenges facing ScaleUp and aspiring ScaleUp businesses. To find out more click here


Plymouth Energy Community

Tradeshow Access Programme (TAP)

DIT

Attending overseas trade shows can promote your business overseas. Exporters can attend TAP's selected events, and get financial support to offset some costs. To find out more click here.


Plymouth Property Search

Property

Are you looking for new business premises? Have you outgrown your current premises? PCC’s Economic Development Team has access to a property search tool and is able to produce property reports based on your search criteria. This can give you an insight into market availability and costs and provides contact details for you to follow up with the relevant agent. Contact the team at invest@plymouth.gov.uk for more information. 


To Help Your Business Prepare for EU Exit

ScaleUp

We have a lot of useful information on our Invest Plymouth website to guide you in preparing for EU Exit. There is a helpful Government toolkit and latest publications. HMRC latest letter and sector factsheets.

We also have advice from the Growth Hub and EEF - The Manufacturers organisation.To find out more click here


Gigabit Broadband Voucher Scheme

Gigabit

The voucher scheme has been changed from £3,000 to £2,500. If you are a small or medium sized business, you may be able to get a gigabit voucher worth up to £2500 to upgrade your business broadband to a fast and reliable connection over gigabit capable infrastructure. Deadline: March 2021. Find out more click here.


InvestPlymouth

Please visit our Invest Plymouth website for some more exciting business news articles here.


LinkedIn

Did you know we are on Linkedin? Join us here for more regular updates.


Business Events

To find out more about the exciting business events coming up soon click here


Funding Options

Find out more about all the funding options available to your business click here


Business Awarsd

Winning one of these prestigious awards in front of your industry peers can be a major boost for your company's profile. To find out more click here


Business Support

To make the process of finding appropriate support easier for businesses in the city, Plymouth City Council Economic Development Service produce and maintain two booklets focussed on helping start ups and existing businesses to find support locally available. Please click here for Existing businesses and click here for Start-ups.


Signpost

Business help, advice and guidance in growing and exporting your business. To find out more, click here


Plymotion 325

Free Adult Cycle Training, cycle groups and Walk and Talk. Plymotion is working with companies to promote sustainable travel and encourage staff to be more active on their journey to work. Have a look at our web pages and our latest business newsletter which you can find here.


Plymouth City Council Property to Rent or Buy

Property to rent or buy

Please follow this link to find Plymouth City Council owned land and property to rent or buy click here


Property to Rent

Mutley property

Address: 34 Mutley Plain, Plymouth, PL4 6LD. Size available: 984 sq ft, rent £14,504.16 per annum.

To find out more contact the agents: Stratton Creber Commercial - Gavin Sagar 01752 907512 Gavins@sccplymouth.co.uk