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Follow NWEDR | Connect With North Worcs EDR | Visit NWEDR
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Set your course post Covid
Worcestershire Business & IP Centre (BIPC) in partnership with the British Library have collaborated to create a Reset.Restart webinar programme. This is aimed at supporting companies refocus their business plans in response to the challenges of Covid. People will initially enrol on the first webinar ‘From good ideas to good business’. Participants are then invited to attend all four elements of the programme, after which they qualify for a two hour, bespoke 121 session. The programme is aimed at early stage businesses who have been trading up to three years, and are Worcestershire based.
Find out more and register here.
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Business opportunities at Commonwealth Games
The search is on to find suppliers who can deliver nearly £5million worth of catering services for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. With just over 500 days to go until the start of the Games, the official procurement process to find catering suppliers of all sizes to provide services to spectators, athletes, officials, volunteers, and workforce, is now open. Catering contracts are expected to support approximately 2,000 jobs during Games time and will be a much welcome boost to a sector that has suffered during the global pandemic.
The successful suppliers will have proven experience of delivering high quality catering operations and share a passion for providing relevant, high-quality food and drinks as well as exemplary levels of customer service. Suppliers will be expected to demonstrate initiatives that deliver social value and support the local community.
The first procurement for these catering services is now open and businesses are invited to complete a Selection Questionnaire (formerly known as PQQ). The invitation to submit initial bids is April 2021, with the final tender in May 2021. The contract will be awarded in the summer of 2021.
Interested businesses are encouraged to apply via the procurement portal:
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Overview of grants and business support
NWedR has collated information on the current grants and support available to North Worcestershire businesses. This ‘at a glance’ summary has been designed to provide a quick overview for business leaders across the area. This is being updated regularly and displayed on the front page of our website.
Read the summary
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Moving goods between the UK and EU?
If you move goods between the UK and countries in the EU, you need to follow new customs and tax rules. Your business will be affected by the new rules if you buy goods from an EU seller and bring them into the UK, send goods you’ve sold to a buyer in an EU country, haven’t exchanged money but need to move equipment that you use for your business, between the UK and the EU.
HMRC is here to help you in several ways. You can now apply for the SME Brexit Support Fund. Smaller businesses can get up to £2,000 to pay for practical support, including training or professional advice to adjust to new customs, rules of origin and VAT rules when trading with the EU.
You can attend webinars to help you adjust to the new rules and keep your business moving. The webinars include an overview of the actions you need to take now before you export goods from Great Britain to the EU and move goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Please register to take part if you’re planning to export
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Are you working well?
To help local businesses gain a further understanding of Worcestershire Works Well, there will be a free webinar on Wednesday 21 April covering how the scheme works, how WWW Reps support businesses, experiences from current WWW Members and an opportunity to ask any questions.
Worcestershire Works Well is open to all public, private and third sector organisations located in Worcestershire that have a minimum of 5 employees. Click here to find out more about the free webinar.
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Is mentoring for you?
Plans are underway for attracting the next cohort of Here2Help Mentoring Programme. On Monday 22 there is a free webinar featuring mentee and mentor pairings from the pilot cohort to talk about their motivations to join the programme and their outcomes from being involved in the scheme. The webinar will also include a Q&A opportunity for our guest speakers to answer questions from delegates who we expect to comprise of prospective mentors and mentees.
The mentee eligibility criteria for the programme is extended and now includes mentees from any B2C background or B2B business who has received support from any of our business support programmes in the past. Register for the webinar
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Work starts on new homes in Bromsgrove
Work to build 61 new homes in Bromsgrove has begun on the site of former council offices. Bulldozers moved in on the almost 15,000sqm site on Bromsgrove’s Burcot Lane last week, clearing the way for a high-quality, low-carbon development led by Bromsgrove District Council which has commissioned local construction company Speller Metcalfe Ltd. Pictured: Artist Impression of the new Burcot Lane housing.
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Investment in Kidderminster
A £1.9m development loan has been awarded by Wyre Forest District Council to support the regeneration of 4.5 acres of brownfield land in Kidderminster. The scheme, led by Suma Developments Ltd, will deliver 17,000 sq ft of new light industrial units and also a drive through Costa Coffee as part of a larger employment scheme being delivered by them.
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March 2021 – Celebrating North Worcestershire Calendar
Our winning feature this month is Hogarths Stone Manor. The Hogarths team are seen here having fun in the spring sunshine for their photoshoot – before last year’s lockdown! See the complete 2021 Celebrating North Worcestershire calendar photo gallery.
This year, NWedR and North Worcestershire Business Leaders (NWBL) have partnered once again to invite local businesses to submit just 50 words about the area for a chance to win a fantastic package of free marketing support. Now in its fourth year, the 2022 ‘Celebrating North Worcestershire’ competition provides the opportunity to win a valuable prize which will go to 12 lucky businesses.
The prize includes a spotlight month in the wonderful ‘Celebrating North Worcestershire Calendar’ with a dedicated company photoshoot, features in the NWedR newsletter, social media PR campaign, an online feature in Business and Innovation magazine and your company photograph highlighted for a year on the NWedR and NWBL website photo galleries. The competition winners panel judges are looking for the most memorable, clear and insightful descriptions of why North Worcestershire is the best location for business.
Entries for 2022 are open now and close on Tuesday 4 May 2021.
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Birmingham Clean Air Zone: your chance to find out more
There are less than 100 days until Birmingham's Clean Air Zone goes live on 1 June 2021. We know you may have questions so over the next three months we are offering you the chance to hear from the team directly and ask any questions via a series of free webinars. These will be recorded and available to watch again in case you miss them live. Find out more and register
Join a demonstration of the Clean Air Zone business fleet payment system
Join representatives from the Government's Joint Air Quality Unit as they demonstrate how the national payment system for Clean Air Zones will operate.
The demonstration will include how to upload your business fleet information, how to assign payment managers and how to process payments for non-compliant vehicles travelling through national Clean Air Zones.
There will also be an opportunity to put questions to members of the Joint Air Quality Unit ahead of Birmingham's Clean Air Zone launching on 1 June 2021.
The free webinar will take place on Thursday, 15 April from 10am – 11am.
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Free rapid tests for all businesses
On 6 March, the Government announced that all businesses in England, including those with fewer than 50 employees, are now able to sign up to the free Coronavirus workplace testing programme. Businesses are encouraged to register their interest by 31 March to order free lateral flow tests for their employees.
Rapid testing detects cases in under 30 minutes, meaning positive cases can isolate immediately, breaking chains of transmission. Regular testing could be the difference between a workplace being able to stay open and operational, or needing to close due to a Coronavirus outbreak.
Book a personal Covid test
You can book a personal Covid test in Worcestershire as long as you are asymptomatic – not showing any symptoms of Covid such as a high temperature, a new continuous cough or any changes to your sense of taste and smell.To have a test you must be over 18 years of age.
Tests can be pre-booked online by visiting Worcestershire County Council's website or individuals can use the newly introduced walk-in service across the county. Simply turn up at one of the sites listed on the County Council website.
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