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SBP Briefing - 7 July
Welcome to the new platform that SBP will now send our monthly newsletter from. If anyone new wishes to join SBP please subscribe here.
The last SBP briefing in April saw excellent engagement and response from the business community. Positive feedback has encouraged us to plan future events in person. While we are sorting out details please do put 7 July in your diary for the next SBP briefing.
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Garry Lowen's Passing
With great sadness I would like to pay tributes to Garry Lowen - a legendary businessman, campaigner and the deputy Chair of Southend Business Partnership - who died on Saturday 23 April following a battle with Motor Neurone Disease.
Garry was very much a committed charity worker, particularly as Chairman of Southend Carnival Association, who was granted the Freedom of Southend earlier this year and owned the Gleneagles Guest House in Clifftown Parade. Our thoughts are with his wife Penny and his family.
Read more
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No Use Empty South Essex
Funded by the Growing Places Fund and the Getting Building Fund, the No Use Empty South Essex (NUE SE) project aims to kick start the development and re-use of empty commercial properties across South Essex.
If your property has been empty for at least six months, there are a limited number of 0% secured loans available to help return the building to use. This can be for alternative commercial development or mixed residential/commercial use.
For questions & queries, please e-mail NoUseEmpty@southend.gov.uk
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SELEP: Business Support Recovery Grants
The South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) are able to support businesses who have struggled through the COVID-19 pandemic through advice, training and grants. If your business has been impacted by COVID-19, you could be eligible for a recovery grant of between £500 - £2,000.
Once you have spoken with one of their business advisors and have completed the allocated number of hours of support, you can apply directly on their website.
The deadline for the grant application is 17 June 2022.
Find out more
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SEBB Free Workshops
New workshops and dates have been released on the South East Business Boost (SEBB) programme, offering Essex businesses the opportunity of 12 hours of FREE business support covering: Driving Profit by Improving Supply Chain Management; Digital Strategy Development; Digital Marketing – Including why you need to set up Google Analytics 4 now!; How to Sell More; Accounting Essentials; Innovation Canvas; Recruitment & Retention and more!
The programme offers online workshops and 1-2-1 mentoring – helping your business to develop and grow. Spaces are limited.
Apply here
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Free Retrofit Training
The Retrofit Academy is working together with Essex County Council to deliver multiple Retrofit career development opportunities across Essex. The new programme of courses is fully funded by central Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund and is here to deliver leading-edge retrofit training and qualifications to help both teams and individuals prepare as demand for energy efficiency in residences increases.
Find out more
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Restart Programme
The Restart Scheme is a support service for long-term unemployed jobseekers.
Delivered by Reed in Partnership across the Home Counties, the service gives Universal Credit claimants up to 12 months of intensive personal support to help them break down their barriers to working and secure sustained employment.
Working closely with Southend employers to fill their job vacancies, Reed in Partnership are currently working with Essex County Council to source and fill care vacancies in the Southend area. The service to employers is FREE.
Find out more
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Free Arts Award Adviser Training
This Arts Award Adviser training is open to teachers and creative youth practitioners in Southend only.
The Arts Award allows young people aged 11-25 to get creative, develop their confidence, and explore the arts.
The award is a recognised qualification run through the Trinity College London in partnership with the Arts Council England. It is within the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ), and has the equivalent points of anywhere from a G-grade GCSE to an A Level, depending on the level of the award completed.
Find out more
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East Beach Festival
The East Beach Festival is an open air multicultural festival, with a carnival spirit and is coming to Shoeburyness.
This free event will take place over a 2-day period from 13th - 14th of August 2022, and this year will be marking the 60th Anniversary of Jamaica’s Independence
Find out more
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Metal is 20
Happy 20th Birthday to our friends at Metal Southend! Celebrating 20 years of putting the development of artists at the top of their agenda and we’re sure that the next 20 years will promise more of the same!
To celebrate 20 years of operation, Metal will be exploring their archives to share memories of historic events across their online platforms. There will be opportunities to get involved as Metal encourages their audiences to reflect on their last 20
years or how they might like to shape the upcoming years. Metal will also be launching a new website in summer 2022 to capture and honour their work over the years.
Find out more
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PlastiCity Call for Recycle Practices
PlastiCity, in partnership with Southend-on-Sea City Council, aims to develop a local “circular economy” where schools and businesses work together to find new ways to recycle Southend's plastic waste into new products. To reach this aim, we are doing a call out to find out how Southend businesses use recycled plastics to create new products, produce packaging with a recycled content, or implement circular economy principles in their business operations. The PlastiCity team would love to showcase your businesses to the wider community and put you on the circular map of Southend.
Find out more
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Chair's Comments
I’m delighted that there was so much positivity at our Briefing event at Genting Casino last month, with focuses on potential opportunities arising from City status, linking to the further development of our Airport Business Park, the up-and-coming Seaway development and expected resurgence of London Southend Airport, where in last few days EasyJet have recommenced flights. Since the meeting however, there has been an unkind “Which” survey about the quality of our tourism offer. Whilst we have much to be proud of, the survey does re-emphasise the continuing need for an expanded offer. Something such as the Seaway development will bring this to our city when unfortunately, the Kursaal continues to languish largely unoccupied from pre-pandemic times and on the opposite side of the road we have the undeveloped “Marine Plaza” brownfield site. It is good to see some businesses clearly recovering from the impact of pandemic but challenges remain, including the continuing and it seems increasingly unhelpful legacy of Brexit, as well as inflation issues linking to the cost of energy supplies. But onward and hopefully upward!
Hope the above information proves helpful. Please share with others and encourage them to sign up for these newsletters. You can also stay up to date with business news by following us on social media (links in the footer).
Murray Foster
Chairman of the Southend Business Partnership
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