Winchester Entrepreneur

October 2011 - 19th Edition

Introduction by Cllr George Beckett, Winchester City Council’s Leader and Portfolio Holder for the Local Economy and Tourism

Welcome to the 19th edition of the Winchester Entrepreneur, our newsletter for local businesses. This edition includes:

South Hampshire Meet the Buyer 2012
How your business can deliver the 2012 Legacy with Gold Challenge
Visit Winchester and Heart of Hampshire Destination Management Partnership and approved accommodation accreditation
Best of British 2012
The government announcement on rural broadband funding
The latest training courses from Southern Entrepreneurs
How you can help to enhance the skills and ambitions of local people by taking on an apprentice
Barton Farm planning appeal dismissed
The Hampshire Chamber of Commerce Talking Business Conference

Do let us know if there are any stories you would like us to cover, so that we can make this magazine useful to you, our local business community.

Best wishes
Cllr George Beckett

Leap in 2012 with South Hampshire Meet the Buyer event - February 2012

The South Hampshire Partnership has just announced the date of the sixth Meet the Buyer event, which will be held on Wednesday 29 February 2012 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. This event enables major buying organisations within South Hampshire to meet local suppliers face-to-face. At last year’s event 120 suppliers pitched to 22 large buyers including Marwell Wildlife, Southern Water, Sparsholt College and the University of Winchester.

The event helps to build local supply chains and is funded by the South Hampshire Meet the Buyer Partnership, which includes Eastleigh Borough Council, Hampshire County Council, New Forest District Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council.

For more information, or to reserve your place, contact Hannah Powell, Marketing and Events Manager at the Hampshire Economic Partnership, on 01329 226 206 or email hannah.powell@hep.uk.com

How your business can deliver the 2012 legacy with Gold Challenge

Gold Challenge is the UK’s first Olympic and Paralympic sport-based charity challenge. Working in partnership with the British Olympic Association, Sport England and Paralympics GB it forms part of the legacy programme for London 2012.

You could offer it to your staff as a fun way to celebrate the Games, team build and raise money for charity. Choose your challenge from thirty Olympic and Paralympic sports or take on the 2012km Challenge. To find out more email corporate@goldchallenge.org

Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Destination Management Partnership

Working with Tourism South East, East Hampshire District Council, The South Downs National Park and Collabor8 (a European funding body), Winchester City Council has established a Destination Management Partnership named Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire.

Tourism businesses which are situated in the Winchester and East Hampshire Districts are invited to join the organisation for a single fee that also covers membership of Tourism South East. From the local authority partners, members will be offered discounted marketing opportunities that include advertising in and on award-winning publications and websites and access to popular social media channels and new mobile Apps. Members will become ‘partners’ of the new organisation, in the style of the John Lewis Partnership ethos, and will be able to have their say via networking and consultation events as stakeholders in the future of tourism.

Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Approved Accommodation

Winchester City Council has launched a new scheme for local accommodation businesses seeking to be accredited under basic ‘entry level’ criteria that qualify them for listing on the Visit Winchester website and in the tourism service’s publications. The Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Approved Accommodation scheme, created in association with the national tourism body, Visit England, is cheaper than the other national star rating schemes.

Over the last year the Council’s tourism officers have closely followed the national debate about the rise of TripAdvisor and the waning importance of star ratings. Having liaised with visitors and accommodation providers it was clear that to abandon accreditation altogether would be counter-productive as, amongst other reasons, accreditation helps to prevent customer dissatisfaction. Some businesses also fed back that the TripAdvisor system was not failsafe as it was open to abuse. One of the key criteria of the new local entry scheme is that it scrutinises the accuracy of marketing claims made by establishments thus protecting customers from a disappointing stay. The scheme has been well received by accommodation businesses in the Winchester District and the South Downs.

Best of British 2012

The Best of British Festival is a new idea from the Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Destination Management Partnership designed to raise the profile of Winchester in 2012.

We would like to hear what events and offers you are keen to promote between 25 May and 26 July 2012 as we celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Find out more about this in the next edition of Winchester Entrepreneur.

Government announces rural broadband funding

Over £8 million has been set aside to deliver superfast broadband to rural and hard to reach areas in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Nearly 7,000 Hampshire businesses are in broadband ‘not spots’. They currently have very slow broadband speeds of 2mbs or less.

The funding pot is part of the Government's drive to ensure that 90% of homes and businesses in the country have access to superfast broadband by 2015. The funding will be used to target areas that are unlikely to be upgraded through existing market forces.

Now that Hampshire County Council knows how much money has been set aside for our area the next steps will be to work with BDUK, suppliers and other local authorities to further develop delivery plans in order to secure Hampshire’s share.

In the meantime, businesses in the Winchester District can continue to register interest in faster broadband.

Low cost training opportunities with Southern Entrepreneurs

Coming up soon at Guildhall Winchester is:

Effective Business Newsletter Training Course: 11 November 2011 – 9.30am to 1pm

To find out more visit www.southernentrepreneurs.com or contact Southern Entrepreneurs’ Business Support Manager, Anne Dawson, on 023 8068 8334 or email anne.dawson@eastleigh.gov.uk

Help to enhance the skills and ambitions of local people by taking on an apprentice

Apprenticeships can make your organisation more effective, productive and competitive by addressing your skills gaps directly, even in uncertain economic times, and can provide a mixture of on and off-the-job training for people of all ages while they are being paid.

As employees, apprentices work alongside experienced staff to gain job-specific skills. Off-the-job, often on a day release basis, apprentices receive training from Sparsholt College to get the knowledge to underpin their practical work-based skills.

Apprenticeships typically take between one and two years to complete but this is determined on an individual basis.

An apprentice must:

be aged 16 or over (there is no upper age limit)
have a full contract of employment
be paid a minimum of £2.50 per hour
work for at least 16 hours a week.

For further information contact Ben Holloway, Business Coordinator at Sparsholt College, on 01962 797 387 or email ben.holloway@sparsholt.ac.uk

Barton Farm planning appeal dismissed

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has recently dismissed an appeal by Cala Homes to build 2,000 houses on the Barton Farm site to the North of Winchester.

The Secretary of State supported his Planning Inspector's conclusion that there were no overriding issues with the site itself, which would have justified refusal. Instead, he has said that any decision by him would undermine Winchester's own ability to plan for their future. He has therefore concluded that the matter must be decided locally. This supports the Council's original refusal on the grounds that it was premature.

The decision will now depend on the Council completing its Local Development Framework (LDF), which looks at sites that will provide for essential growth over the next 20 years. The Council has made significant progress in considering what development is needed and where and it will need to consider carefully the implications of the Secretary of State's decision.

Cllr George Beckett, Leader of the City Council, commented, "We are pleased the Secretary of State upheld our arguments made at the appeal. He is quite right that this should be a local decision. However, there will now be some challenging questions for Winchester. We must recognise that the Inspector's report recommended approving the application. While the Secretary of State has commended our approach, he has set Winchester the challenge of making the difficult decisions on necessary growth at a local level."

Talking Business Conference

The Hampshire Chamber of Commerce is holding its inaugural conference in Guildhall Winchester on 2 November from 8.30am to 2.30pm. A panel of local business people, chaired by Adam Marshall, Head of Policy for British Chambers of Commerce, will debate relevant business issues and take questions from the floor.

To book email events.southampton@hampshirechamber.co.uk, call 023 8022 3541 or visit www.hampshirechamber.co.uk/events/talking_business_2011_conference

Winchester City Council
City Offices
Colebrook Street
Winchester
Hampshire
SO23 9LJ

Tel: 01962 840 222
Fax: 01962 841 365
Text: 07797 877 004
www.winchester.gov.uk

All rights reserved. All content 2011 Winchester Council. Want to unsubscribe or change your details?


October 2011 - 19th Edition

Introduction by Cllr George Beckett, Winchester City Council’s Leader and Portfolio Holder for the Local Economy and Tourism Welcome to the 19th edition of the Winchester Entrepreneur, our newsletter for local businesses. This edition includes: South Hampshire Meet the Buyer 2012 How your business can deliver the 2012 Legacy with Gold Challenge Visit Winchester and Heart of Hampshire Destination Management Partnership and approved accommodation accreditation Best of British 2012 The government announcement on rural broadband funding The latest training courses from Southern Entrepreneurs How you can help to enhance the skills and ambitions of local people by taking on an apprentice Barton Farm planning appeal dismissed The Hampshire Chamber of Commerce Talking Business Conference Do let us know if there are any stories you would like us to cover, so that we can make this magazine useful to you, our local business community. Best wishes Cllr George Beckett

Leap in 2012 with South Hampshire Meet the Buyer event - February 2012 The South Hampshire Partnership has just announced the date of the sixth Meet the Buyer event, which will be held on Wednesday 29 February 2012 at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. This event enables major buying organisations within South Hampshire to meet local suppliers face-to-face. At last year’s event 120 suppliers pitched to 22 large buyers including Marwell Wildlife, Southern Water, Sparsholt College and the University of Winchester. The event helps to build local supply chains and is funded by the South Hampshire Meet the Buyer Partnership, which includes Eastleigh Borough Council, Hampshire County Council, New Forest District Council, Test Valley Borough Council and Winchester City Council. For more information, or to reserve your place, contact Hannah Powell, Marketing and Events Manager at the Hampshire Economic Partnership, on 01329 226 206 or email hannah.powell@hep.uk.com How your business can deliver the 2012 legacy with Gold Challenge Gold Challenge is the UK’s first Olympic and Paralympic sport-based charity challenge. Working in partnership with the British Olympic Association, Sport England and Paralympics GB it forms part of the legacy programme for London 2012. You could offer it to your staff as a fun way to celebrate the Games, team build and raise money for charity. Choose your challenge from thirty Olympic and Paralympic sports or take on the 2012km Challenge. To find out more email corporate@goldchallenge.org Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Destination Management Partnership Working with Tourism South East, East Hampshire District Council, The South Downs National Park and Collabor8 (a European funding body), Winchester City Council has established a Destination Management Partnership named Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire. Tourism businesses which are situated in the Winchester and East Hampshire Districts are invited to join the organisation for a single fee that also covers membership of Tourism South East. From the local authority partners, members will be offered discounted marketing opportunities that include advertising in and on award-winning publications and websites and access to popular social media channels and new mobile Apps. Members will become ‘partners’ of the new organisation, in the style of the John Lewis Partnership ethos, and will be able to have their say via networking and consultation events as stakeholders in the future of tourism. Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Approved Accommodation Winchester City Council has launched a new scheme for local accommodation businesses seeking to be accredited under basic ‘entry level’ criteria that qualify them for listing on the Visit Winchester website and in the tourism service’s publications. The Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Approved Accommodation scheme, created in association with the national tourism body, Visit England, is cheaper than the other national star rating schemes. Over the last year the Council’s tourism officers have closely followed the national debate about the rise of TripAdvisor and the waning importance of star ratings. Having liaised with visitors and accommodation providers it was clear that to abandon accreditation altogether would be counter-productive as, amongst other reasons, accreditation helps to prevent customer dissatisfaction. Some businesses also fed back that the TripAdvisor system was not failsafe as it was open to abuse. One of the key criteria of the new local entry scheme is that it scrutinises the accuracy of marketing claims made by establishments thus protecting customers from a disappointing stay. The scheme has been well received by accommodation businesses in the Winchester District and the South Downs. Best of British 2012 The Best of British Festival is a new idea from the Visit Winchester and the Heart of Hampshire Destination Management Partnership designed to raise the profile of Winchester in 2012. We would like to hear what events and offers you are keen to promote between 25 May and 26 July 2012 as we celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the run up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Find out more about this in the next edition of Winchester Entrepreneur. Government announces rural broadband funding Over £8 million has been set aside to deliver superfast broadband to rural and hard to reach areas in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Nearly 7,000 Hampshire businesses are in broadband ‘not spots’. They currently have very slow broadband speeds of 2mbs or less. The funding pot is part of the Government's drive to ensure that 90% of homes and businesses in the country have access to superfast broadband by 2015. The funding will be used to target areas that are unlikely to be upgraded through existing market forces. Now that Hampshire County Council knows how much money has been set aside for our area the next steps will be to work with BDUK, suppliers and other local authorities to further develop delivery plans in order to secure Hampshire’s share. In the meantime, businesses in the Winchester District can continue to register interest in faster broadband. Low cost training opportunities with Southern Entrepreneurs Coming up soon at Guildhall Winchester is: Effective Business Newsletter Training Course: 11 November 2011 – 9.30am to 1pm To find out more visit www.southernentrepreneurs.com or contact Southern Entrepreneurs’ Business Support Manager, Anne Dawson, on 023 8068 8334 or email anne.dawson@eastleigh.gov.uk Help to enhance the skills and ambitions of local people by taking on an apprentice Apprenticeships can make your organisation more effective, productive and competitive by addressing your skills gaps directly, even in uncertain economic times, and can provide a mixture of on and off-the-job training for people of all ages while they are being paid. As employees, apprentices work alongside experienced staff to gain job-specific skills. Off-the-job, often on a day release basis, apprentices receive training from Sparsholt College to get the knowledge to underpin their practical work-based skills. Apprenticeships typically take between one and two years to complete but this is determined on an individual basis. An apprentice must: be aged 16 or over (there is no upper age limit) have a full contract of employment be paid a minimum of £2.50 per hour work for at least 16 hours a week. For further information contact Ben Holloway, Business Coordinator at Sparsholt College, on 01962 797 387 or email ben.holloway@sparsholt.ac.uk Barton Farm planning appeal dismissed The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has recently dismissed an appeal by Cala Homes to build 2,000 houses on the Barton Farm site to the North of Winchester. The Secretary of State supported his Planning Inspector's conclusion that there were no overriding issues with the site itself, which would have justified refusal. Instead, he has said that any decision by him would undermine Winchester's own ability to plan for their future. He has therefore concluded that the matter must be decided locally. This supports the Council's original refusal on the grounds that it was premature. The decision will now depend on the Council completing its Local Development Framework (LDF), which looks at sites that will provide for essential growth over the next 20 years. The Council has made significant progress in considering what development is needed and where and it will need to consider carefully the implications of the Secretary of State's decision. Cllr George Beckett, Leader of the City Council, commented, "We are pleased the Secretary of State upheld our arguments made at the appeal. He is quite right that this should be a local decision. However, there will now be some challenging questions for Winchester. We must recognise that the Inspector's report recommended approving the application. While the Secretary of State has commended our approach, he has set Winchester the challenge of making the difficult decisions on necessary growth at a local level." Talking Business Conference The Hampshire Chamber of Commerce is holding its inaugural conference in Guildhall Winchester on 2 November from 8.30am to 2.30pm. A panel of local business people, chaired by Adam Marshall, Head of Policy for British Chambers of Commerce, will debate relevant business issues and take questions from the floor. To book email events.southampton@hampshirechamber.co.uk, call 023 8022 3541 or visit www.hampshirechamber.co.uk/events/talking_business_2011_conference

Winchester City Council City Offices Colebrook Street Winchester Hampshire SO23 9LJ	Tel: 01962 840 222 Fax: 01962 841 365 Text: 07797 877 004 www.winchester.gov.uk
All rights reserved. All content 2011 Winchester Council. Want to unsubscribe or change your details?