The Insider - Business Bulletins
Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber
Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber
Thanet & East Kent Insider
21st August 2010 Issue No.: 204
1. Get a Share of £700,000
The Thanet & East Kent Chamber works closely with organisations in Thanet and East Kent to promote a strong local market in business-to-business sales. We are keen that wherever possible, companies based in East Kent should consider using suppliers located here. Thus, we are especially pleased that one large employer which currently spends £700,000 on purchases from suppliers outside East Kent has accepted an invitation from the Thanet & East Kent Chamber to meet local suppliers with a view to restructuring its purchasing policies to favour local companies. Price, quality and service will be important considerations, but there is every reason to expect companies in East Kent will be able to compete successfully on service with price and quality not far behind. The Chamber will be organizing a business breakfast on Tuesday 21st September 2010. Chamber members will receive more news during the week in a dedicated email. More details will be available in next week’s edition of the Thanet & East Kent Insider.
2. MSC & Fish In Ramsgate
The Marine Stewardship Council sets itself the objective to “transform the world's seafood markets and promote sustainable fishing practices”. Operating the world’s leading certification and eco-labelling programme does give the organization a claim to fame. The MSC states that the demand for sustainable seafood has never been higher and notes that an increasing number of fisheries, suppliers and restaurants are demonstrating their commitment to sourcing sustainable seafood products by getting official certification. MSC is organizing a free event in Ramsgate on the afternoon of Wednesday 1st September 2010 for fishermen, suppliers and restaurateurs. Beginning at 1430 hrs with an introduction to the work of the MSC, the afternoon continues with professional presentations from David Blackburn and Alfie Grimshaw on “Sustainability in the fish & chip shop sector” followed by a session on sustainable seafood for restaurants with Tony Welch and Laky Zervudachi of Seafood Holdings. Emily Howgate of the Seafood Choices Alliance will talk about the “Good Catch Project”. There follows advice on marketing MSC certified fish and a demonstration of fish filleting. Refreshments will be available during the interval and afterwards. The event is funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and will take place at the Ship Shape Café in Military Road, Ramsgate. Interested delegates are requested to email Ruth Westcott at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The Thanet & East Kent Chamber thanks Hannah Arcaro, UK Foodservice Manager at MSC and Louise Askew of Thanet District Council for raising our awareness of the event.
3. Code For Sustainable Homes
OFP Ltd has drawn our attention to the mandatory legislation used to rate the environmental performance of new buildings in the UK. The Code for Sustainable Homes is managed by BRE Global: “Ensuring that products and services protect people, property and the planet”. The code assesses nine different categories for sustainable design. Each category has a sub section with weighted credits allocated against them depending on their importance in the overall scheme. The figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government released yesterday show that there were nearly 8,000 post construction stage certificates and just over 27,000 design stage certificates issued up to and including June 2010. The private sector was responsible for just 10 per cent of homes with post construction certificates and 22 per cent of those with design stage certificates. The public sector accounted for 90 per cent of homes with post construction certificates and 78 per cent of those with design stage certificates. There is clearly a long way to go if the private sector is to meet government targets. With its industry leading products, OFP Timber Framed Homes can help you achieve nearly a third of the points needed through supplying the timber products required to minimize energy loss, maximize sound insulation and reduce the environmental impact of the materials used. For advice and more information contact OFP direct at their Sandwich headquarters, tel: 01304 613298.
4. End of Period of Grace On Tax
Mark Hurdman of Levicks Chartered Accountants informs us of an important change in a concession from Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. As Mark explains: “An HMRC concession, ESC B46, was introduced in 1995 and means that HMRC will not issue penalties for late filing of company tax returns or employers’/contractors’ end-of-year returns, provided that they are received by the last working day within seven days of the filing date. The concession ensures that penalties will not be charged where all reasonable steps to file the returns on time have been taken. However, all forms P35 and P14 must already be filed online by the majority of businesses and contractors are no longer required to file end-of-year construction industry returns. In addition, from 1 April 2011 company tax returns for accounting periods ending after 31 March 2010 must be filed online. Therefore, ESC B46 has become redundant and so will come to an end on 31 March 2011. Any businesses filing a return late will have to show that they had a reasonable excuse for the delay in filing to avoid a penalty.” For more details, contact Mark direct at Levicks in Broadstairs tel: 01843 862716 or in Canterbury tel: 01227 455183.
5. Doing It Better In HR
The Thanet & East Kent Insider has often featured articles on issues surrounding Human Resources, mental health and guidance on the latest thinking on improving production in the workplace. Members may be interested in a free and confidential Workforce Assessment tool. Announced in the Human Resources Magazine last Tuesday, The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) and the US-based AARP have launched a UK version of an assessment tool that has been used happily by over 2,000 US companies in the last two years. It enables employers to assess their current and future workforce needs. HR managers are invited to complete the online questionnaire which among other issues covers company demographics, knowledge retention, financial benefits, health benefits, flexible working options, the physical work environment, training opportunities and recruitment policies. Retaining the best staff aged over 50 is viewed as being as important, perhaps even more important, than recruiting the best twenty to thirty-year olds. After registering, it takes about 30 minutes to complete the questions. A customized report will automatically be generated based on your responses. For details, see http://www.aarpworkforceassessment.org/us/index.cfm
6. What Chips Can Teach Us
A respectable businessman with a hard-won reputation for fair dealing, this East Kent resident may not wish to be reminded of the errant behaviour of his youth. But, for a short time in the early 1970s he did have the habit of visiting fish and chip shops in the late evening to ask: “Have you got any chips left?” This leads us to reflect on processes. Just about every business is composed of processes which might be defined as ‘a series of activities carried out in order to satisfy a customer’s expectations’. Of course, specialists in quality management will tell us that the customer can be someone from within the business as well as an external cash buyer. But in either case, in order to manage the processes with the skills modern management demands, performance has to be measured and action should follow to optimise outputs relative to inputs. Process performance is often measured using data compared to objectives, KPIs or Key Performance Indicators. In most businesses, the critical process is order realisation; in other words, transforming external customer expectations into a delivered product or service. One common KPI for manufacturers and retailers relates to an appropriate level of finished goods: too low and you can’t meet customer demand, too high and money is needlessly blocked in the system leading to ageing stock, expensive storage and potential damage to perishable goods. “What has this got to do with fish and chips?” you might well ask. The answer is that when our budding entrepreneur used to put his head around the door just before closing time and ask: “Have you got any chips left?” the answer would almost always be a thankful “Oh yes, there’s plenty here”. Before disappearing quickly into the night with a gleeful smile on his face and just in time to avoid any flying vinegar bottles, the youthful manufacturer-to-be would unerringly reply: ‘Well, you shouldn’t have cooked so many”. When you think about it, he did have a point, didn’t he?
9. Our Sponsors
Girlings Solicitors has been managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274. Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250. Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292.CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software. To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 823724. Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems, tel: 0870 321 9986. Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420.
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Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber
Thanet & East Kent Insider
28th August 2010 Issue No.:
1. Get a Share of £700,000
The senior management of Thanet College is dedicated to supporting local business. As well as attracting an increasing number of companies to its training courses, the college is reviewing its list of suppliers to see if it can redirect around £700,000 of spending towards locally-based companies. The Thanet & East Kent Chamber is delighted to have been selected as the host for this pioneering initiative and looks forward to facilitating the process at a Thanet & East Kent Chamber Business Breakfast scheduled for 21st September 2010. All companies attending will have the opportunity to learn if their products and services might meet the needs of Thanet College. Potential suppliers will have to satisfy the senior management of the college that they can provide the right combination of price, quality and service to match the highest standards. To book your place at this business breakfast presentation, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line “Business Breakfast £700k”. Priority will be given to Chamber members with no membership fees outstanding.
2. A Window On East Kent
One company which can claim more than one window on East Kent is the Door & Window Company of Broadstairs. Now celebrating its 31st year of trading, this family firm has acquired an enviable reputation for keeping the customer satisfied. In an exclusive interview with the Thanet & East Kent Insider last week, director, Steve Palmer, said, “Over 90% of our sales are generated from repeat business from customers, their families and friends”. This may not be good news for advertising agencies and their outlets, but it has proved to be a sound policy for the proprietors at 8-10 Ramsgate Road, Broadstairs. Business has been sustained through the difficult trading conditions of the past three years through the simple virtues of offering excellent service with good quality products at a fair price. Happy to supply the trade as well as the home owner, Steve and his team have an enormous range of products on offer. Not everyone will want to examine the “128 billion designs to choose from” quoted in the on-line brochure, but when it comes to doors and windows, this firm has the knowledge and experience that lives up to its name. It also has some catchy slogans such as “What a difference a door makes”. If you want to know about a Dedicated Top Box Transom, an SPD multi-locking system approved by ACPO CPI or a 2 panel sunburst in White with Stippolyte Chrome hardware, the Door & Window Company will be happy to oblige. For details, telephone 01843 864307.
3. The Chamber Expands
With many new members joining the Thanet & East Kent Chamber, we are expanding the management team. Joining the Chamber next month will be Roger Wildman. A resident of Cliftonville, Roger brings with him a wealth of experience of the operational requirements of companies large and small. Following a solid background in banking with Barclays and HSBC, Roger developed his career in Sales & Marketing travelling extensively overseas before returning to Kent to work as Head of Business Development for a wealth management company in Tunbridge Wells and latterly in East Kent for Kennedy Scott Ltd. A keen golfer and sailor, Roger will begin his duties on 20th September in time for the business breakfast the following morning and the Chamber Golf Day on 8th October. Following successful trial arrangements, Sylvia Fagg has been confirmed as PA to the Chamber Chief Executive and will be available weekdays from 0900 hrs to 1600 hrs to assist members with administrative matters and appointments.
4. Some Good News
The news released last week by the Office for National Statistics that our national economy grew by 1.2% in the period from April to June 2010 will come as no surprise to some East Kent companies. Boosted by strong inward investment, the Chamber is receiving some heartening news of strong performance from some East Kent companies. TV One, tel: 01843 873300, has its European base at Westwood Industrial Estate and is firmly focused on international trade. Rather than drinking tea and waiting for customers to call, the management of this enterprising outfit believes in meeting its clients in their backyard. TV One’s exhibition schedule for the next few months includes stands at BIRTV in Beijing,Integrate 2010 in Sydney, IBC 2010 in Amsterdam, the AMX Technology Show in Massachusetts, Content and Communication World 2010 in New York and InfoComm Asia in Hong Kong. Anyone requiring proof of the success of its management team need only look at its current staffing requirement for a Research & Development Manager. Applicants should apply before 10 September. The successful candidate can expect a salary of between £49,000 and £55,000. There are three other posts up for grabs; a Windows Software Engineer £39-£45,000 p.a., a Hardware Design Engineer, £39 – £45,000, and a Research & Development Engineer, £29 – £35,000. As this Chamber has often stated, it’s happening now and it’s happening in Thanet and East Kent.
5. Manston Update
Regular readers will recall that daily flights connecting Manston and Manchester are due to begin on 6th September 2010. The inaugural flight from Manchester is expected to leave at 1040 hrs arriving at Manston at 1150 hrs. The Bombadier Q400 aircraft is then scheduled to collect the passengers boarding at Manston and depart at 1215 hrs, arriving at Manchester airport 70 minutes later. This timetable is expected to continue every day until 25th March 2011, except for Sundays when the flights leave a little later. At the time of writing, a one way flight to Manchester departing on 23rd November 2010 is available for £35.98 which is calculated as flight ticket £0.00; taxes and charges £25.99; baggage £9.99. Full details of the daily flights to Manchester and Edinburgh are listed on the Flybe website at http://www.flybe.com.
6. Passport
Are we the first generation to find that a passport for your trip abroad costs more than the flight? It seems to be the case. To renew your adult passport with the Home Office Identity and Passport Service costs £77.50 for the basic service. It can take up to three weeks. The Thanet & East Kent Chamber can book a ticket today for a Flybe flight from Birmingham to Milan for a total charge of £51.99. The flight takes 2 hours and 35 minutes; the cost of just the flight ticket is a mere £11.48. It makes you think, doesn’t it?
7. Hooked On Sales
Being able to recognise an opportunity when it presents itself is one of the innate qualities of successful business people. With the inward investment promised to Thanet, there will be many local firms in a position to benefit from the opportunities presented by the increased spend from visitors and the purchasing power of new companies. Taking full advantage of the cash in a customer’s pocket requires salesmanship of a high order. Are the best sales people born or is it a skill that can be acquired? The answer is probably that those with a serious talent for sales will be among the first to wish to polish their skills. One Chamber member sent us an account of a Thanet graduate who would do well in any retail environment. We do have our doubts about this story, but readers must judge for themselves. A young Thanet business skills graduate went to Harrods looking for a job. The manager asked: “Do you have any sales experience?” The young man answered: “I certainly do. I was a salesman in my Dad’s shop every summer for five years”. The manager liked the positive attitude and our Ramsgate friend landed the post. His first day at the UK’s largest store was busy, but he survived. The store’s Latin motto translates into English as ‘Everythingfor Everyone Everywhere’ which of course should provide comfort to any salesman at any time. As the doors closed at the end of the trading day, the store manager spoke to our Ramsgate rookie and said: “Alright then, how many sales did you make?” The young Thanet graduate replied: “One”. The manager looked to the heavens and groaned: “Only one, only one. I don’t believe it. Our sales staff usually make at least 30 sales a day, what have you been doing? OK now, tell me, how much did the toothbrush cost?” “It wasn’t a toothbrush”, came the reply, “but it did cost £132,282.80.” The manager gasped: “£132,000. What did you sell?”. “Well, first I sold him a fish hook, a Captain Hamilton Nymph No. 10 as I recall, and then I sold him a new fishing rod. Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said along the coast; so it was obvious he would need a boat. We went down to the marine department and I sold him that Trophy 2502 Walkaround. Then he said he didn't think his sports car would pull it, so I took him to car sales and he bought that blue Land Rover Discovery 4 x4”. The manager was entranced and said: “You mean to tell me that a man came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a boat and a 4 x 4”. “On no,” said our Ramsgate wonderboy, “He came in to buy some mouthwash for his girlfriend and I told him he should get out more in the fresh air.”
8. Our Sponsors
Girlings Solicitors has been managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274. Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250. Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292.CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software. To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 823724. Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems, tel: 0870 321 9986. Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420.
Thanet & East Kent Insider
Issue No.: 134
1. Growth Without Gridlock
Next week, Kent County Council will launch its plan to ease congestion on our roads. It is entitled, Growth Without Gridlock and consists of a “transport delivery plan to keep Kent moving”. Among the issues to be addressed are: Third Thames Crossing, Duelling of the A2, Operation Stack, High Speed Rail, Parkway Station at Manston and Local Control of Highways Spending. The new strategy will also consider linking new infrastructure to local planning through the District Local Development Framework and improving the transport network to boost business in our Kent villages. As Kent County Council looks to make savings of £340 million over the next 4 years, identifying the priorities for public spending on our roads will be a key issue. SWIFT Codes for all Banks in Australia The Thanet & East Kent Insider expects to report on the launch in next week’s edition which Thanet & East Kent Chamber members will receive promptly on publication.
2. Business Networking Breakfast
This is a reminder of the Transport & Tourism Business Networking Breakfast scheduled for Friday 10th December 2010. Speakers include Neil Wiggins, Chairman of the Dover People’s Port Trust Limited; Charles Buchanan, Managing Director of Manston Airport; Paul Howe, Managing Director of Carol Peters Travel and a Senior Manager of Norfolk Line, a division of DFDS Seaways which operates cross-channel ferries. Delegates will be welcomed with a cooked breakfast and the opportunity to promote their products and services to those present. Booking is essential. To reserve your place, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line “Transport & Tourism Breakfast”.
3. News From Europe
The Your Europe Newsletter for November 2010 published by the Enterprise and Industry department of the European Union focuses on innovation in small businesses and research & development. We learn the EU has set a target of 3% of EU GDP to be spent on R&D by the year 2020. The current rate has remained at around 1.84% since 2005 which contrasts rather sharply with that of 2.5% in the United States and 3% in Japan. Apparently, the US obliges its federal agencies to devote 2.5% of their external budgets to “funding innovative projects by SMEs”. This is surely a measure that would be welcomed by SMEs in East Kent. European directives have created considerable obstacles to bringing new ideas to market. A European Patent valid in 13 European countries costs about 20,000 Euros. A US patent can be obtained for 1,850 Euros. You do not need a Ph.D. in economics to know which of the two systems is the more favourable to innovation and commercial success. The EU Commission is proposing a patent for 27 EU member states, but at a cost of 6,200 Euros this would still be over three times more expensive than the US equivalent.
4. Jobs Fair
Chamber member CanterburyChristChurchUniversity is organising a Job Fair for Friday 21st January 2011. We are grateful to Fontemaria Totaro and James Corbin for bringing this event to our attention. The day promises a variety of exhibitor stands, presentations and workshops that will “provide a forum for future and current graduates to network with potential employers.” Asda, Reeves and IBM have confirmed their participation and CCCU is expecting a wide range of employers to use the occasion to attract the best candidates. Employment agencies will also be interested in surveying the market place. Further details can be found at http://www.canterbury.ac.uk/support/careers-and-student-development/events/jobfair.asp. News of the recent Evans EasySpace exhibition at Lakeside Business Park will follow in the next edition of the Thanet & East Kent insider.
5. Thanet College & Chaucer School
ThanetCollege held its Star Awards last Thursday evening. Unlike awards ceremonies in many educational circles, the Star Awards are the subject of a democratic vote from other members of staff. Thus the winners enjoy the prestige of knowing that their performance has been judged as outstanding by their colleagues and peers. This system should have much appeal to readers working at institutions with a forward-looking leadership anxious to recognise the achievements of their best workers. Fortunately for the leadership of this Chamber of Commerce, such arrangements have not yet been adopted here. Also celebrating success last week was the ChaucerTechnologySchool in Canterbury which has enjoyed five years of successive improvements in its GCSE results at A - C grades under its inspiring head, Simon Murphy. Hosting the evening at the King’s HallHerneBay last Wednesday, Simon paid tribute to his invited speaker for the presentations, Paul Carter, the Leader of Kent County Council. Afterwards, he said that the trip to the United States in 2005 by over 90 head teachers to visit Microsoft which had been organised by Paul Carter had inspired him to put new technology at the forefront of his policies and had been a significant factor in the progress of his school. The Thanet & East Kent Insider has often reported on best practice. We congratulate ThanetCollege and ChaucerTechnologySchool for putting innovation at the heart of their agendas.
6. Parcel Delivery Service
Many readers and one public authority have contacted the Thanet & East Kent Insider asking us to publicise an alleged scam involving a company called PDS, Parcel Delivery Service, which invites readers to telephone a premium rate number in Belize at great cost to the owner of the line. It is also alleged that the scam is on a hot list provided by Royal Mail, Trading Standards and various other bodies. Readers might like to know that there was a scam of this type which was closed in 2005. Kind-hearted citizens might be tempted to warn their friends and associates, but the official advice from PhonePayPlus, Sophos and many other reputable organisations is very much to the contrary. In a statement dated 17th November 2010, PhonePayPlus states:”PhonepayPlus, the phone-paid services regulator, is aware that a chain e-mail about an alleged postal scam is being circulated on the internet. The email refers to the Royal Mail, Trading Standards and ICSTIS (PhonepayPlus' former name). PhonepayPlus appreciates that recipients of the email may want to find out more information about the alleged scam and has therefore issued the following statement: The chain email refers to a service (operating on 0906 6611911) that was shut down by PhonepayPlus (then ICSTIS) in December 2005. PhonepayPlus subsequently fined the company that was operating the service, Studio Telecom (based in Belize), £10,000. The service is NO LONGER running and has NOT been running since December 2005. You do NOT need to contact PhonepayPlus, or the Royal Mail, about this service as it was stopped almost five years ago. If you receive a copy of the email warning you about the alleged scam, please do NOT forward it to others. Instead, please forward this statement from PhonepayPlus.” Of course, like capital letters, crooks appear all the time. The vast majority of them do not live in Thanet or East Kent. It is entirely possible that some bright spark might attempt to pervert the Christmas spirit and try to revive the scam. Our advice is to keep your boss happy. Do not succumb to any requests from any unknown sources to call unfamiliar telephone numbers in exotic locations.
7. Grants From Europe
Information on the grants available from the European Union is available in a beginner’s guide on the website at http://ec.europa.eu/budget/library/publications/financial_pub/pack_rules_funds_en.pdf. More detailed information on grants can be accessed at http://ec.europa.eu/contracts_grants/index_en.htm. Careful navigation through the latter website reveals a page entitled “Financial Transparency System”. A quick search on European Commission beneficiaries shows that the UK received two grants totalling over 2.75 million Euros (£2.33 million) for “PROVIDING ACCOMODATION SECURITY, LIFE SUPPORT & OTHER SERVICES TO EC OFFICIALS IN IRAQ”. Perhaps some of the funds could have been spent on spelling classes. Of course, we all make mistakes, but, unlike the EU, we do not all have a budget of £107 billion to make mistakes with.
8. Mayor Takes Great Strides
Unfortunately, in this case the ‘strides’ in question did not belong to the mayor but refer to the Australian slang term for underwear. Anyone focused on next year’s council elections may be relieved to know that whatever your criticisms of the behaviour and policies of local councillors, it is unlikely to rival the opprobrium heaped on Ian Stafford, gardener, handyman and erstwhile mayor of Preesall and Knott End. We are grateful to one of our readers who took time away from the imposing intellectual demands of his day job to give us the sordid details of this public servant who fell from grace. In fact, Grace might be one of those who lost her nether garments as a result. Twice elected mayor of a quiet town near Fleetwood in Lancashire, Ian Stafford carried the hopes of his electorate to make the area a better place; unfortunately, he also carried to his home the underwear of some its female citizens. Following a spate of thefts, an undercover operation recorded the Mayor on camera stealing the items from the bedroom of a female victim. Police took little time in getting to the bottom of the matter and on visiting his house they found nearly £900 worth of women’s underwear. Candidates for the main political parties at the next election can breathe a little more easily from knowing that this particular Mayor was an Independent; perhaps a little too independent for most people.
9. Our Sponsors
Girlings Solicitors has been managing the managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, HerneBay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274 . Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250 . Adecco is the world’ s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292 . CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software. To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 . Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems. tel: 0870 321 9986 . Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420 .
© David Foley November 2010
Thanet & East Kent Insider
Issue No.: 135
1. Tourism & Transport
This is the final reminder of the Chamber’s Transport & Tourism business networking breakfast scheduled for 10th December 2010 in Cliftonville. Speakers include Charles Buchanan, Managing Director of Manston Airport, Neil Wiggins, Chairman of Dover People’s Port Trust Limited, Chris Laming, Commercial Director of P&O Ferries and Peter Howe, Managing Director of Carol Peters Travel. If you have an interest in transport infrastructure, tourism or boosting the footfall to your business, this is the event to attend. Booking is essential. SWIFT Codes for all Banks in Australia Tickets cost £12 for Chamber members and £16 for non-members. To obtain your ticket, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.with the subject line Transport & Tourism Breakfast. Bookings close at 1300 hrs on Wednesday, 8th December 2010.
2. Growth Without Gridlock
In last week’s edition of the Thanet & East Kent Insider, we promised readers a report on the Growth Without Gridlock presentation in Maidstone last Wednesday. This welcome initiative from Kent County Council seeks to produce a co-ordinated transport strategy for the next twenty years. In welcoming delegates to the inner sanctum of KCC at County Hall, KCC’s leader, Paul Carter, thanked those attending for braving the severe weather conditions. It was with a self-conscious irony that he noted the absence of 40% of the delegates due to the ice and snow on the roads. The Thanet & East Kent Chamber is of course made of stern stuff and was fully represented as were our good friends at the Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce and the Dover District Chamber of Commerce. So that was the East Kent private sector’s most serious supporters eager and willing to hear the news and we were not disappointed. Each resident, worker and tourist has an opinion on what should be done to address the traffic jams on our roads. Delays in delivering goods to our shops are as frustrating as hold ups on the school run. KCC’s transport delivery plan is not called Growth Without Gridlock without good reason. It sets out a series of proposals that are designed to promote trade, boost jobs and minimise delays. What distinguishes this plan from many others is that it not only lists the cost of the improvements, but outlines a funding stream to pay for them.
3. Who Pays?
One of the proposals to help pay for the programme is a Port Landing Charge on international passengers in Dover and Ramsgate. This would put our local ports on a par with common practice at airports. Another proposal is for the revival of the Britdisc. First mooted by Paul Carter’s predecessor, Sandy Bruce-Lockhart, foreign lorries entering the UK would pay a surcharge. UK hauliers currently operate at a distinct disadvantage to many of their continental counterparts. Why should foreign lorries be allowed to fill their tanks with 1,000 litres of cheap diesel bought in Luxembourg and then undercut our domestic hauliers whose taxes pay for the roads they use? This is not what the European Union was designed to do and not what British membership should allow. If it means renaming the Britdisc with the fancy French title KCC proposes of ‘vignette’, we accept that in polite silence. We do not want our East Kent lorries to go the way of Grimsby trawlers. Over a 20-year period, the income generated from a vignette and the associated additional spending on fuel duty would amount to a staggering £9.5 billion which would meet over half the costs of the road infrastructure improvements envisioned.
4. What Would We Get For the Money?
A key element in KCC’s plan is a third Thames crossing between Gravesend and Chadwell. Delays at the Dartford crossing are estimated to cost the UK economy £40 million per year. A third Thames crossing is projected to contribute 6,000 jobs and £334 million a year to the UK Gross Value Added with significant reductions in journey times. The new crossing is scheduled to connect the A2 with the M11. Dover’s port traffic of around 5 million vehicles a year would be split between the Eastern Docks route via the A2 and the Western Docks via the A20/M20. This measure involves the rather quaintly named “bifurcation”. The mention of this word can bring a swift change of subject in discussions with the average Joe who may not want to admit that he or she has no idea want the word means. This is a handy technique that officialdom has used for centuries to baffle unwelcome enquiries. If you do not believe us, go to the pub this evening and say to the bar staff, “What do you think of bifurcation?” With luck you may just get directions to the nearest opticians. It may be that now at last, bifurcation may lose some its mystery. In a fluent presentation, the leader of Dover District Council, Paul Watkins, outlined the main benefits of the planned improvements to the Channel Corridor and the ending of the horrendous Operation Stack which costs our benighted UK haulage industry £1 million a day. The priorities for Growth Without Gridlock also include a Parkway Station at Manston which would bring journey times from London to Thanet much closer to the golden 60 minutes. Following discussions with Chamber members, later editions of the Thanet & East Kent Insider will bring more comment on Tax Increment Funding, a Variable Tariff on the Thames Gateway, Integrating the Bus Network and improvements to the A21 West Kent corridor.
5. Will East Kent Companies Have a Voice in Growth Without Gridlock?
The answer to this question is with Kent County Council and the new Local Enterprise Partnership. If these two public bodies wish the two largest business support organisations in the East Kent coastal business community to be represented then the Thanet & East Kent Chamber and the Dover District Chamber of Commerce are more than willing to participate.
6. YMCA
The Thanet YMCA is a local organisation that is part of a national charity. The branch in Margate benefits from an Employment Engagement team which specialises in liaising with local companies to satisfy their recruitment needs. This is a free service for employers. For further details, Chamber members are invited to telephone 01843 221555 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting or 07900 137750 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
7. More Success In Thanet
. Keen to put customer service at the top of the agenda, Karen is anxious to build on the success and is currently looking for more rental properties to add to their client list. Industry indicators point to a growing rental market. Medics on the Move is also equipped to assist professionals looking to buy a property. As Karen puts it: “O n average a buyer looks at 19 houses before finding the right one?”. She undertakes to “do all the leg work, leaving you free to step in and review a short list of homes which meet your needs.” For details call Karen tel: 07809 736327 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
8. Thanet and KCC
On the evening of Monday, 6th December 2010, Kent County Council was due to hold a meeting of the Thanet Local Board at St Saviour's Church of England Junior School, Elm Grove, Westgate-on-Sea. The meeting has been postponed due to the inclement weather. These gatherings provide an opportunity for KCC Councillors to get feedback from local people on the impact of regional policies in Thanet. We will keep readers informed of the new date. You may be assured that the Thanet & East Kent Chamber will be in attendance to represent the interests of the private sector.
9. Fare Increases
Roger Gale MP for North Thanet has described the recently announced 12.8% increase in fares on East Kent services by SoutheasternTrains as “an absolute disgrace”. What irks him most is that the promised upgrading of signalling is considerably behind schedule and that the line between Thanet and Ashford remains distinctly unimproved. As he puts it: “Why should people have to pay to subsidise a service that does not serve their needs?”. This is one MP who will not be voting in favour of a franchise renewal for Southeastern Trains. Readers might be interested to know that Japan has been operating a high speed railway network since 1964. In the past 46 years there has been not been a single fatality due to a train accident or collision. The current average delay on the 186 mph bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka under all conditions is under 30 seconds. It does snow in Japan.
10. VAT and Aunty’s Sweater
We are grateful to Mark Hurdman of Levicks Chartered Accountants, tel: 01843 for providing some welcome advice on the implications of the imminent rise in VAT scheduled for 4th January 2010. In an exclusive communication to the Thanet & East Kent Insider, he writes: With the standard rate of VAT set to increase to 20% from the current 17.5%, it is a good idea to be aware of the rules on the correct rate of VAT you should be charged on purchases around the busy New Year period. When buying goods or services on or after 4 January 2011 from a retail business such as a shop, restaurant or hairdressing salon, all purchases should be subject to 20% VAT. Businesses that are passing the VAT increase on to customers will increase their current prices by just over 2%. The exact calculation is 120/117.5. It is up to each individual business to decide whether it wants to pass the VAT increase onto its customers in this way. If however you pay for something you have taken away (or the supplier has delivered) before 4 January 2011 then the sale took place before 4 January 2011 and you should be charged VAT at 17.5%. It is common for retailers to give refunds, particularly in the period after Christmas. If you are given a refund on or after 4 January 2011 for a sale made before 4 January 2011 this will be made at the old VAT rate. If you want to exchange goods, for example a jumper for another size or colour, you may find the gross cost has increased and you have to pay more. The replacement item will have been sold at the new VAT rate.” So now you know. If you really want to exchange that yellow, purple and orange sweater that your aunty bought you for Christmas, take it back to the shop before 4th January 2011. For anything more complicated, you might like to give Mark a call at Levicks, tel: 01843 862716 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting.
11. Fake or Genuine
With Christmas shopping beginning to dominate retail trade, Crimestoppers is reminding us all that buying counterfeit goods can be dangerous and can lead to unintended support for organised crime. We are also notified that buying counterfeit goods by credit card can produce a serious risk of identity theft. Some fakes are obvious and require little more than a cursory glance to determine that the luxury goods may not be quite as luxurious as the seller would wish them to be. If someone is deceiving you, Crimestoppers would be grateful for a telephone call to 0800 555 111 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting. Sometimes discrimination is more difficult than simply spotting that Roleks may not be the correct spelling of the brand name. The Thanet & East Kent Insider offers an insight into buying a Rolex watch. Make your purchase from a recognised Rolex agency and you should not have a problem. Rolex dealers in Kent do not sell on-line. If you are offered a new Rolex with a stainless steel case inset with 18ct yellow gold, a champagne diamond dial with a date display and an 18ct gold fluted bezel for just £1,000, perhaps someone wants to marry you or, more likely, the watch is stolen or a fake. The recommended retail price is £7,040. If the second hand of the watch in question has two movements per second, it is a fake. The genuine Rolex moves five times a second. If the watch feels light, it is a fake. A good Rolex is heavy. Finally, if the person selling the watch looks fake the chances are that the watch is the same. Finally, of course, if the seller is a member of the Thanet & East Kent Chamber can produce a member of the Chamber logo, then you should have every confidence in the transaction.
12. Finding Staff
News has reached the Chamber of a local educational establishment wishing employ a handyman to assist with the security and maintenance of their premises. We have our doubts about this story, but readers must judge for themselves. Of course, what is undoubtedly true is that the organisation could have saved itself time, money and headaches by using one of the following Chamber members; 247 Recruitment of Cliftonville tel: 01843 Adecco of Broadstairs tel: 01843 609292 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlightingConnexions Partnership Kent & Medway of Maidstone tel: 01622 607578 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting Direction Recruitment of Ramsgate tel: 01843 HRGO of Ramsgate tel: 01843 591798 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting Maximus Employment & Training of Ramsgate tel: 01843 808410 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting, TNG (Avanta Enterprises) of Ramsgate tel: 01843 570250 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting and tel: YMCA of Margate tel: 01843 221555 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting. To get back to our story, t he enterprising head was reluctant to rely solely on references, a CV and the advice of his caretaker. He wrote the advertisement himself. Turning his back on the pre-interviews and personality profiling offered by the employment agencies in the Chamber membership, he wanted to interview all the candidates personally. He opted to absent himself from managing his area of expertise to deal directly with recruiting a handyman. Setting aside a whole day for the process, he asked the first candidate into his office. “Mr Jones”, he began, “We are planning no major works here for the next year, but it is important that the successful candidate can undertake some simple maintenance tasks. Now in the corner of the room is a sink. I would like you to remove the tap and replace the washer with this one here. Can you do that?” Mr Jones looked at the new washer offered and said adamantly. “I don’t do plumbing”. Taken aback momentarily, the Head moved on to his next task. “Oh I see. Well then, here is a short plank of wood and a saw. I would like you to cut this down the middle in a straight line”. “Ah well”, said the candidate, “I’m not much good at carpentry I’m afraid.” Striving hard to contain his frustration, the Head continued, “In that case perhaps you could do the last job and that is to paint the bottom left quarter of this door with the gloss paint here”. As the Head was about to hand over the paint and brush, Mr Jones said, “I don’t do painting”. Containing himself no longer, the Head blurted out, “You don’t do plumbing, you are no good at carpentry and you cannot paint. Tell me Mr Jones, what makes you think you are so blessed handy?”. “Well, headmaster”, said the candidate, “You see I live just around the corner”.
© David Foley December 2010
Your Business Bulletin from Thanet & East Kent Chamber
Thanet & East Kent Insider
16th October 2010 Issue No.:
1. Eurocell Open Day
We cherish inward investors. We should embrace them warmly, give them every encouragement and make them feel so welcome that they tell all their friends and contacts from outside East Kent to come and set up shop in our neighbourhood. Eurocell is the UK's market-leading manufacturer and distributor of quality UPVC profiles for UPVC windows, UPVC doors, UPVC conservatories, UPVC fascias, UPVC soffits, UPVC guttering and rain water systems. By now you will have gathered that Eurocell knows a thing or two about UPVC building materials. This successful company is now in Thanet and trading at Eurokent Business Park. The Deputy Chairman of Thanet District Council, Cllr Michael J Roberts, and the Chief Executive of Thanet & East Kent Chamber shared the honour of cutting the ribbon to mark the official opening of Eurocell in Thanet. As retail and trade customers streamed into premises, Area Manager Tony Smith and local manager Dave Ashley looked on with great satisfaction, confident that their offers cannot be beaten for price, quality and service. Initial results are very positive. Some of the most popular items on sale are the low-maintenance PVC soffit boards. Guaranteed against discolouration, warping and cracking, these can be ordered on line and delivered free of charge within 48 hours. Give Dave a call to discuss your needs, tel: 01843 589686 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more details. The Thanet & East Kent Chamber will be working closely with our associates at the Dover District Chamber of Commerce to assist the company to open another outlet in East Kent.
2. Golf At Its Best
The 2010 Thanet v Dover Golf Tournament took place at the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club. East Kent’s largest corporate golf day featured a team from Nord De Calais as well as over £20,000 of prizes available to the teams competing. In a closely fought contest the main team prize was won by Thanet with team captain Alastair Narraway of OFP Ltd collecting the trophy on behalf of the Thanet & East Kent Chamber members. The winner of the Ray Haines Memorial Trophy with the lowest individual score was Justin Bishop following a round of 74, an excellent return on this demanding course which has hosted two Open Championships. Other winners included Alex Pentecost of Avia, Dave Mulcare of Amdell and Darren Lamb of Country Carpets. Joe Futter was nearest the pin on the 8th hole but just not quite near enough to win the new Skoda car on offer for a hole-in-one. One of the happiest winners of the day was the Dover Counselling Centre (DCC), a charity founded in the wake of the Herald of Free Enterprise disaster which is now £276 better off thanks to the generosity of Chamber golfers. DCC continues to minister to some of the bereaved of the 193 victims of that dreadful night of 6th March 1987. The National Memorial was the beneficiary of the putting competition. Full details will be available shortly on a Roll of Honour. The Chamber thanks Ken Hannah and his team at the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club for its delightfully friendly service, Graham Rayner for his unrivalled marketing skills and Justin Bishop of the Walpole Bay Hotel who used all his experience as an ex-professional golfer to make the sure the tournament progressed without a hitch.
3. Boost Your Turnover
The Thanet & East Kent Chamber has designed a logo specifically for the use of Chamber members. We urge all members to use the logo on their publicity, websites, letterheads, sales brochures and email correspondence. Members will be aware of the advantages of Chamber membership when applying to access the Thanet College discretionary spending budget of £3.5 million and a free place at the Business-to-Business exhibition on 24th November 2010, see 4 below. The increasingly high profile of the Chamber on television and radio will also produce a credibility advantage to members who advertise that they are officially linked to the largest business support agency in the area. Attached to the members only edition of this Thanet & East Kent Insider is a copy of the Conditions of Use together with a high resolution jpeg file of the logo. In contrast to some membership organisations, there is no charge for its usage.
4. Free Exhibition Space
“B2B 24 Nov 2010 Thanet & East Kent Chamber Members”. email now This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
5. News From Dover
The People’s Port of Dover Trust is now a legal entity and will be bidding to take over the ownership of the Port of Dover with the stated objective of operating the port for the benefit of the local community. Plans for the National War Memorial on Dover’s Western Heights received a boost last week with news of the support of Ian Hislop. Although a renowned humourist as editor of the satirical magazine Private Eye and a panelist on every episode to date of the BBC’s Have I Got News For You, Ian Hislop takes a serious interest in military history. He presented the six episodes of Channel 4’s Not Forgotten which detailed the experiences of soldiers in the First World War. Ian Hislop’s support increases the chances of the National War Memorial being built before the 4th August 2014, the centenary of the outbreak of the twentieth century’s most lethal conflict which resulted in over one million deaths among the British Imperial Forces.
6. A Little Bird Told Us
Thanet’s poorest residents are being offered financial support by the charity Cheerful Sparrows. Tracing its origins to a Mr Sparrow, a casualty of the Boer War, this wonderful Thanet-based organisation offers help to Thanet residents whose specific needs cannot be addressed through official channels. Referrals must originate in the first instance from a reputable body or professional association; GPs and school welfare officers are in a particularly good position to make recommendations. Long-term residents of Thanet will recall the former President of Cheerful Sparrows, the late Peter Finlay, who passed away in May this year after a lifetime of service to the district. Those who attended his funeral may remember the Reverend Stanley Evans’s comments from the pulpit when he said that Peter Finlay served only one term as a Councillor as “he found the council's bureaucracy frustrating”. For those not blessed with the best numeracy and literacy skills, accessing help from social services can also prove impossibly frustrating and Cheerful Sparrows may provide the solution.
7. Trustees Week
We are grateful to Cllr Clive Hart who has drawn our attention to the valuable work of trustees who play a vital role, volunteering their time for the benefit of others less fortunate than themselves. The week beginning 25th October 2010 has been designated Trustees Week and has been designed to celebrate the efforts of trustees everywhere in the country, encouraging more people to take an active interest in the charities operating in their local area. Full details are available at http://www.trusteesweek.org.uk
8. China’s Growing Domestic Market
We learned last week that China’s foreign exchange reserves increased in the last reported quarter by USD 194 billion, the equivalent of around £121 billion at current exchange rates. The Financial Times tells us that total foreign currency reserves now stand at around £1,160 billion. That is a lot of money to have jingling in your pocket available to spend. We have received a succession of reports over the last six months from seasoned travellers to China that a significant change has taken place. There is a growing market for imports. It might be time to stop thinking of China as a base for low-cost manufacturing and to start considering exporting to the country to meet the growing demand from increasingly wealthy and urban domestic consumers. We have received a request for a Kent-based clothing manufacturer who can supply China with ready-made garments for 18 – 25 year olds. Another Chamber member has begun exporting mini-keyboards for mobile phones. Consumer demand in China is undoubtedly growing strongly and UK companies with interesting products are well advised to get in quick. The BBC and the CIA agree on an estimated population for China of 1.34 billion. Even if just 5% of the inhabitants are potential customers, that is still more than the population of the UK. Makes you think, doesn’t it?
9. High Earners
Jon Cleverdon of J Cleverdon Chartered Accountants invited the Thanet & East Kent Chamber to a confidential meeting last week at which he outlined a series of strategies relating to bespoke planning to save high earners considerable sums of money which could then be used to invest in the local economy or reward key employees, our preferences, or alternatively to indulge every whim living on a beach in a warm country. In our limited experience, you soon tire of exotic locations where there is no marmite, HP sauce or news of Doncaster Rovers’s latest defeat. You pays your money, and you takes your choice. The beauty of Jon’s system is that you pays a lot less money. He categorizes the tax solutions in seven areas as follows: Employee Benefit Trust, IR 35 Contractor Solutions Peak Performance Contracts, Stamp Duty, Income Tax Strategy, Inheritance Tax Planning, Capital Gains Tax and Employer Funded Retirement Schemes. To find out more, give Jon and his colleagues a call at their main office in Broadstairs, telephone 01843 866599
10. Community & The Arts
This Chamber has always believed that a successful enterprise requires a strong arts community. That is why the Chamber organised arts festivals in 2009 and 2010 from which many members benefited. A consistent supporter of business engagement has been Michael Wheatley-Ward of Chamber member, the Sarah Thorne Theatre Club. Despite the forebodings of disaster from some quarters, Michael has made a brilliant success of the venture, combining artistic success with a commercial acumen from which heavily subsidised public theatres could all learn. Regular readers of the Thanet & East Kent Insider, see editions of 1st May 2010 and 12th June 2010, will be familiar with the names of the patrons Michael has ensnared, Dame Judi Dench and David Suchet. What is perhaps less well-known is the astonishing audience figures he has secured for his programmes, most recently for Rodney Bewes in a production of Jerome K Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat. One Likely Lad does not make a summer, but with enticing evenings to come which include The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band Changed My Life Forever and Kissing Sid James, about which the advance publicity tells us intriguingly “Crystal's a croupier with a bit of a thing for Sean Connery”, we can expect continuing success for the rest of the year. SWIFT Codes for all Banks in Australia In the last twelve months, over twenty community and business groups have shared in the success of the Sarah Thorne Theatre Club, proving yet again that reciprocity is a key ingredient in promoting sales. Recently, we have featured the exemplary business engagement policy of Thanet College. Michael Wheatley-Ward can be added to the list of enlightened East Kent entrepreneurs who believe in their community. In efforts to boost turnover and reduce costs, you do not need to be Richard Branson or Damien Hirst, Britain’s wealthiest artist, to appreciate that in our local economy there is a simple reciprocal benefit in the doctrine, “You buy from me, I buy from you”.
11. Princes
Following the success of the event at the Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, the Thanet & East Kent Chamber has received many requests to organize a Spring Golf Day. We will shortly be discussing options with Chamber member Princes Golf Club and welcome suggestions from members. We would particularly like to hear of any ideas that can help us to work together with our other fellow members at Stoneless Golf Club and Manston Golf Centre. All suggestions welcome. Please email us with your ideas to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line “Spring 20100 Golf”.
12. Insurance Claim
News has reached the Chamber of some rather unusual insurance claims. Anyone who has been the victim or the perpetrator of a road accident will know the foreboding that greets you when faced with a claim form to complete. Chamber member Millards Insurance of Deal, tel: 01304 613072 can offer practical help and years of experience to Chamber members required to provide a true and accurate account of an incident. We have heard of some curious replies to common questions but none more so than the example forwarded by one Chamber member who insists that it is the gospel truth. We have no doubt about its veracity, but readers must judge for themselves. In answer to the question “Could either driver have done anything to avoid the accident?”, this enterprising claimant wrote simply: “Travelled by bus.” Now you can’t argue with that, can you?
13. Our Sponsors
Girlings Solicitors has been managing the managing the legal affairs of commercial and private clients for over a century. Twenty-six partners and one hundred and twenty members of staff ensure a comprehensive range of services from the local offices in Ashford, Canterbury, Folkestone, Herne Bay and Margate. Offices in France and Spain complement specialist departments for charities, individuals and companies. For details, telephone 01843 220274 Express By Holiday Inn took on the daunting task of restoring the former Prospect Inn at Minster. The result is a spectacular hotel that combines the best of Oliver Hill’s 1930s design with ultra modern facilities and technological support. Conveniently located for business guests and holiday makers in East Kent, the meeting rooms and 105 bedrooms are available at competitive prices throughout the year. For details, telephone 01843 820250 Adecco is the world’s largest HR solutions company offering a comprehensive service of temporary and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outsourcing, outplacement, career services, training and consulting. Officially designated as a 2009 British Superbrand, Adecco is represented in Thanet and Dover by its Broadstairs office, tel: 01843 609292 CARISS design, install and support education and business computing systems as East Kent’s leading specialist company in Open Source Software. To lower your carbon footprint, reduce your power consumption and adopt a thin client system, call CARISS, tel: 01843 823724 Mach Associates are the high-fliers in providing Internet technologies and specialist software solutions with a particular expertise in servicing the travel industry. A Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and with ISO9001 accreditation, Mach Associates also offers reduces telecom operating cost through VOIP/PBX phone systems. tel: 0870 321 9986 Sota Connect offers a comprehensive IT service covering best-value voice, data and Internet services for companies of all sizes as well as public sector organisations. The company operates two state-of-the-art data centres of over 10,000sq ft. Sota Connect owns and operates a unique 200km fibre network from London to Ramsgate with high bandwidth Internet access giving superfast Internet connections, tel: 0800 072 2420
© David Foley October 2010
£3.5 Million Boost to Local Economy
Thanet & East Kent Chamber, the largest business support body in Thanet, has partnered with Thanet College, the largest training provider, in a pioneering initiative that promises to give a huge boost to the local economy. A series of meetings between the new College Principal, Graham Razey, and the Chamber’s Chief Executive, David Foley, resulted in a breakfast meeting at the Fayreness Hotel, Broadstairs last Tuesday. During the meeting Graham Razey announced to a packed room that £3.5 million of the College’s budget that is currently being spent on suppliers from outside the area will be switched to local companies “wherever possible”. Almost every sector of the East Kent economy stands to benefit from this new policy. SWIFT Codes for all Banks in Australia Commenting on the announcement, David Foley said: “This is a wonderful example of business engagement at its very best. Thanet College is leading the way in working with the private sector.” Graham Razey declared: “The Thanet & East Kent Chamber is at the heart of the business community. We will go local wherever possible and look forward to working with East Kent companies of all sizes”.
