Plans for Redditch town centre and community hub – have your say
Proposals for a new town centre plaza and community hub as part of plans to improve Redditch town centre are under consideration. The proposals are to transform Redditch Town Hall into a new community hub, able to include a new bigger Redditch Library, and create a new retail and food plaza to replace the building currently occupied by the library.
The Government has made over £4m in 'Towns Fund' money available to support these proposals, which require various decisions from both Redditch Borough Council and Worcestershire County Council to be able to proceed. There is now an opportunity for you to have your say in the public consultation.
For more information visit the Redditch Borough Council website.
Take part in the Redditch library consultation
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Visit Worcestershire’s new website
Visit Worcestershire has launched a brand-new, user-friendly website showcasing the best of Worcestershire's destinations and tourist attractions. Businesses will be able to claim their listings within the coming weeks to edit and update business profiles as well as uploading events to the popular What’s On calendar.
Make Worcestershire part of your story – and invite your friends and family to join you! Be inspired for your upcoming festive holiday with an abundance of places to see, visit and enjoy.
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BetaDen named Best Tech Accelerator in national awards
Worcestershire’s first tech accelerator, BetaDen, is celebrating after being named Best Tech Accelerator in the country at the UK Business Tech Awards.
The team - based at Malvern Hills Science Park - is a creation of the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and has supported six cohorts of technology entrepreneurs since its inception in 2018.
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Chamber's Quarterly Economic Survey Now Open
The Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber’s Quarterly Economic Survey. Help us to let government know how their economic policy can help your business and the local economy. By taking part in this quarter’s survey, you will have the chance to win afternoon tea for two at Hogarths Stone Manor, Kidderminster, Worcestershire. The information you provide will be anonymised and via the British Chamber of Commerce given to the government to lobby and shape policy to help support the UK economy.
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Have your say on West Midlands Rail investment strategy
The West Midlands Rail Executive (WMRE) is updating the West Midlands Rail Investment Strategy and needs your support. Help WMRE plan the next 30 years of rail in the region by reading their draft strategy and completing the online survey. When completing the survey you only need to answer the questions that are relevant to you. It also includes an option to upload a document detailing your feedback. The survey is open until 11.59pm on Monday 28 November. The draft strategy sets out how WMRE’s plans to tackle key challenges, including bouncing back from Covid, maximising the benefits of HS2 and Midlands Rail Hub, and contributing to net zero.
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What is the value of Digital Skills to your business?
Local businesses are being asked to take part in a new survey to understand the challenges and opportunities around Digital Skills.
The Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Worcestershire County Council are conducting the digital skills survey to gather data and evidence on how valuable digital skills are to businesses now and how this will change in the future.
The evidence collected from the survey will enable the LEP and County Council to build a strategy around digital skills, which will work closely with businesses, schools and colleges to ensure that digital needs are being met with the future local workforce. This will also help to improve digital education for future generations and will improve their employability.
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Worcestershire Ambassadors Appeal
Over the last 20 years, Worcestershire Ambassadors have raised over £1m for local good causes. This year the cost of living crisis is significantly affecting all, however for those on the lowest incomes, the impact is truly significant. This is why the Ambassadors have launched a campaign in support of five county-based food banks in Redditch, Kidderminster, Droitwich, Worcester and Malvern Hills.
All are individual charities franchised through the Trussell Trust and the aim is to raise enough funds to help these organisations provide a Christmas food parcel to all families and individuals who need their support. The Ambassadors are asking for business leaders and their families to donate if they can.
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Survive and Thrive support launched for businesses
In response to the increasingly tough conditions facing businesses, the Worcestershire Local Enterprise Partnership and Worcestershire Growth Hub, have partnered with Herefordshire and Worcestershire Chamber of Commerce, the Institute of Directors, Federation of Small Businesses and NFU to release “Survive and Thrive” – a consolidated collection of business advice.
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Start-Up support now available
Enterprising Worcestershire is delighted to announce that the new contract for delivery of the Start-Up Club has been awarded to Smarter Society, who have extensive experience supporting and sharing their knowledge with individuals hoping to start and develop their own business. The support is available to anyone, whether their business idea is B2B or B2C, and will be running across Worcestershire Districts over the coming months. The course promises to deliver engaging, informative, and interactive information across 5-days and will cover a wide range of topics from sales and marketing through to pitching an idea. Upon completion of the course, individuals can also access up to 2 hours of additional 1:1 support.
For further information, visit the website or email ew@worcestershire.gov.uk
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Businesses to be given UK product marking flexibility
The Business Secretary, Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, has announced that businesses will be given an additional two years to apply the new product safety marking.
The UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking has been introduced as part of the UK’s own regulatory framework. It shows that products comply with our product safety regulations which are designed to protect consumers.
The government will continue to recognise the Conformitè Europëenne (CE) marking for two years, allowing businesses until 31 December 2024 to prepare for the UKCA marking. Businesses can also use the UKCA marking, giving them flexibility to choose which marking to apply.
The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy is running a series of webinars to help businesses understand the process of adopting the UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) safety markings.
Read more about this and sign up to attend webinars
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Tap into the Sustainability Hub from GBSLEP
Are you a small business who wants to understand your carbon footprint? Would you like to see where you can strategically invest in your business to be more sustainable? Do you want to explore how you can innovate to tap into new low carbon commercial opportunities?
If you have answered yes to any of the questions above, or simply want to see what is on offer from the GBSLEP Sustainability Hub, visit the Hib and see the support programmes on offer.
Any SME registered for business within the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP can receive 1-to-1 advice from a Growth Hub Adviser. Any business with between 11 and 249 employees registered for business within the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP geography can access our Clean Growth support programmes.
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Give your business the Green Advantage
Gain the skills and tools to drive positive change within your workplace. Green Advantage is a new free-of-charge short course from Aston University. It is designed for business leaders, managers and professionals who want to consider the implications of climate and environmental challenges for their business or workplace alongside maintaining business performance and profitability.
Supported by interactive workshops, like-minded peers and a one-to-one business coach, you will learn about environmental sustainability from leading Aston academics and industry experts, hear examples of sustainability strategies being used by businesses today, and build a bespoke Sustainability Road Map for your business or business area.
The programme lasts approximately 12 weeks and is designed to fit around a full-time role, comprising of five workshops and five hours of one-to-one business coaching. The next Green Advantage cohort begins in January 2023. Find out more here or email centreforgrowth@aston.ac.uk for further information.
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Does your business need new skills?
SMEs based in and around Birmingham are able to apply for up to £50,000 in funding for training of their staff via Birmingham City Council’s (BCC) Supplier Skills Programme. Training programmes under this scheme need to be authorised by BCC and grants are available of 50% of the course fees. Join our online briefing 18:00 on Tuesday 29 November to find out more about these programmes and the funding available.
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Celebrating North Worcestershire business calendar – November 2022 feature
This month we celebrate North Worcestershire Business Leaders. The team is busy working with NWedR to host the exciting North Worcestershire Business Awards at Hogarths Stone Manor on Thursday 24 November. Melanie Hawkett founded and runs NWBL with the support of business leader ambassadors. It’s been a busy year for NWBL with its growing membership and programme of live and virtual events all designed to promote learning, working in partnership and celebration.
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