The Insider

The UK ’s first Interactive Online Business Directory for Offshore Wind

The portal, Kentwindenergy.co.uk has now gone live and if you’re interested in doing business in one of the UK ’s fasteet growing sectors you are invited to sign on NOW for Free !

This interactive online business directory is dedicated to supporting the growth of the offshore wind industry in the Thames Estuary and southern North Sea and has been developed through the Backing Kent Business campaign and its Chamber partners – including Channel Chamber.

£1 Million Plus Investment at Port Lympne Wild Animal Park

News has reached us that Chamber member – Port Lympne Wild Life Animal Park is planning a massive investment in developing a new restaurant facility.

Open since the mid seventies this Park now attracts more than 220,000 visitors per annum. In addition to the rare and endangered species from around the world that visitors come to see, the Park has also developed a very successful wedding and banqueting business, built up at Port Lympne mansion with annual sales in excess of £500k.

The new restaurant facility will therefore add significant value to East Kent ’s foremost visitor attraction and Channel Chamber will be voicing its full support to Shepway’s planning team when the application is submitted later this month

New ‘Health for Work Adviceline’ for small businesses

For the UK ’s millions of small and medium-sized businesses, the impact of employee absence through illness can be huge. That’s why the free ‘Health for Work Adviceline’ has been created by the NHS. The adviceline provides small business owners and managers with the expert advice and support they need to help team members being affected by ill health.

f you’re losing working days because of employees with back pain and work-related mental health issues such as stress, anxiety and depression, this new NHS service could be invaluable.

Local Enterprise Partnerships

As SEEDA (the South East RDA) disappears it appears to be making way for more bottom-up economic development arrangements and your Chamber believes that business has a unique opportunity to set a stronger vision for local growth.

The timescale for these changes is short. and ahead of this summer’s Regional Growth White Paper, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is wasting no time making it clear to ministers and civil servants that LEPs must have a narrow focus on private-sector growth – and that the local business community AND the BCC Accredited Chambers must sit at the very heart of strategy-setting and decision-making.

If you’re interested in these developments and want to play an active part in the emrging LEP plans please contact Peter Hobbs on 01303 270022 or email: peter.hobbs@channel.co.uk

Cultural Journeys: The Arts, Higher Education an Great Expectations?

On Friday 10 September (9.30am - 4.00pm) University Centre Folkestone is hosting this free event for creative and performing arts practitioners, academics, tutors from schools and Further and Higher Education, and those interested in issues around regeneration, entrepreneurship and the arts. Topics for discussion and debate include why and how the arts can regenerate communities, how art changes lives, the X Factor Generation and expectation management and the arts practitioner as entrepreneur.

Speakers, all experts in their field, are drawn from the arts, business and academic community.

Places are limited so BOOK NOW to avoid disappointment. For more details and to book a place, please contact business.services@canterbury.ac.uk or ring 01227 782196.

Army Fun Day

An ‘Army Assault Course’ fund raising day in aid of Rifles Charities – Care for casualties is being held at the Folkestone Invicta Football Ground on Saturday 31st July 2010. Any members wishing to take part will need to report to the grounds at 9am sharp for an ‘army style’ warm up!

The grounds will then be open to the public, who will be welcome to come & cheer the teams on, participate in the excitement and help raise more money for this very worthy charity (only registered teams will be able to take part in the assault course).

There will also be….

· Laser clay pigeon shooting

· A penalty shoot out

· A raffle – with some fantastic prizes kindly donated from local businesses.

· Refreshments & much, much more!

In order to ensure your place in this event we will need to have final names & numbers ASAP. The teams need to consist of 10 people (individuals must be 18 or over for insurance reasons). For further details please contact Rebecca King – rebecca.king@saga.co.uk or bexlk@btinternet.com

Lydd Airport Prepares to Fight Public Inquiry

The airport’s senior management team is now busy preparing to fight the public inquiry which has been called by the Government Office for the South East without Jonathan Gordon, their Managing Director who announced his resignation last week . After an overwhelming vote from Shepway District Council in March in favour of the two planning applications, the airport team are determined to continue with their long-term airline development plans based at Lydd.