Solent LEP (Local Enterprise Partnership) has a mandate to help business growth in the Solent region. The organisation is business led with the support of local authorities and has direct access to government funding for grants, loans and other business support. It targets Small and Medium sized businesses and could help a number of firms in the area.

To find out more about the LEP visit their website on http://www.solentlep.org.uk or attend one of their forthcoming events:

Join the Solent LEP to learn about grant funding support for your business.

The event will provide you with all the information you need, plus the chance to meet with a range of business support organisations to discuss everything from assistance exporting, finding a business mentor, social enterprise support and more.

One-to-one sessions with members of the Solent LEP team will be on offer during the day. Slots must be booked in advance and details of how to book, along with information on all LEP grant programmes, are on the website http://www.solentlep.cmail2.com/t/r-l-ffhjtd-jufcpty-e/

Wednesday 16 September 2015 12.30 – 4.00pm at the National Oceanography Centre, Waterfront Campus, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH<http://solentlep.cmail2.com/t/r-l-ffhjtd-jufcpty-s/>

RSVP By 9 September via email to events@solentlep.org.uk with your name and organisation. Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Future Solent 4th Annual Conference 2nd October, 8:30am-4pm, Hilton at the Ageas, Botley Road, Southampton, S030 3XH

£3.8 billion leaves the Solent Region annually in energy costs – with careful planning and partnership working, business and consumers can thrive with more spent locally

With huge amounts of expertise and knowledge in our Universities and businesses are there more opportunities for you to take advantage of? With Solent businesses leading the way in developing clean tech products what can we learn and how can we support them? How can your business join the supply chain of some of the largest renewable projects ever seen? Hear the answers to these questions and more, all for £30 (inclusive of VAT) if you book before 31st August.

To book e-mail: events.south@hampshirechamber.co.uk or for more details visit http://www.solentgrowthhub.cmail2.com

Growing Your Small Business 15th September 2015 from 4pm to 6pm House Of Commons London SW1A 0AA

Chartered Management Institute invite you to the exclusive national launch of their latest report, Growing Your Small Business, at the House of Commons on the 15 September

CMI, Chartered ABS, Small Business Charter, The Supper Club and the QAA hosted roadshows across the UK, with 1,200 small businesses registering to attend 14 regional events. They explored how small businesses are improving their management and leadership capabilities and how this plays a vital role in the transition from start-up to established business. To register visit www.solentgrowthhub.cmail2.com/t/t-l-iyuhiuk-thkthlad-j/

Grant Funding for Sustainable Transport

The My Journey project are running a small grants programme to support workplaces to put in facilities which encourage sustainable travel, so improving cycle parking, car sharing bays, adding or improving showers or lockers.

The grants are of £3000 matched by the organisation (ideally but not totally essential), they ask that organisations have or are working towards a Travel Plan which they can provide if necessary and that they are based in Southampton .

More information available here www.solentgrowthhub.cmail2.com/t/t-l-iyuhiuk-thkthlad-t/ and deadline is the 4th September.

Hampshire County Council Trading Standards Service would like to raise awareness of a letter scam currently being received by several Hampshire residents. The letter is titled “People’s Postcode Lottery”, usually in coloured type,  and states that a big money win of £825,000 has been allocated to the recipient in a draw of the “People’s Postcode Lottery 2015 Award International programs held in Madrid, Spain”.

The letter contains poor grammar and looks home produced.  It claims to be from the People’s Postcode Lottery, gives a London address, London phone number and is signed by ‘Baron Wheels’ President of the company.  In order to start a claim the recipient is asked to contact the Foreign Service Manager.

The letter is to be regarded as a mass marketed fraud, and is very similar to the typical ‘Spanish Lottery’ scam that has been around for years.  Any attempts to respond to the letter will result in personal data and an administration fee being requested.  Further money will then be requested.

Under no circumstances should personal information or money be sent.  There is no prize, and the money will not be recovered.

The genuine People’s Postcode Lottery says it will not, under any circumstances, request a payment to receive any prize. If you receive a letter, email or text message claiming to be from the People’s Postcode Lottery, please call 0808 1098765 to check with their customer service team.

Remember – it is not possible to win a lottery unless you have personally purchased a ticket.

Here is a copy of a typical letter – click on the image to enlarge

For further consumer advice or to report a matter to Trading Standards, please contact the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06.

Hampshire County Council Trading Standards Service, Montgomery House,  Monarch Way, Winchester,  Hampshire,  SO22 5PW. Tel: 01962 833620 E-mail: doorstep.crime@hants.gov.uk

At the moment discussions and proposals are being considered which, if they can be agreed with the government, will see new powers and investment transferred from Whitehall to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight so that we can manage local affairs locally. These discussions are being led by the 15 leaders and executive officers of the Councils in Hampshire (County, District, Borough and City) but what might they mean for us?

The Hampshire and Isle of Wight economy is worth £47bn a year. And we are a major economy outside of London. We have Deep water ports, airports, renowned universities and specialist market sectors like aerospace, defence, maritime as well as a highly qualified and professional population earning above the average wage.

The main objective of the Combined Authority is to drive growth in business and economy. As well as making more jobs to cater for our growing population and combating our (relatively low) unemployment, this means working to up-skill the population to raise the average wage of our existing population. Much of the discussions that are taking place are therefore focused on the economy, but this is also a chance to look at other topics such as health, transport, housing and surplus government land.

A key principal though is to look to add responsibilities that complement existing duties carried out by HCC, EHDC and other organisations (like the LEPS – Local Enterprise Partnerships) to simplify the way we work and accountability without introducing a new level of government and bureaucracy.

Detail is now starting to emerge on some of the topics that might form the final plans:

• Local control of business rates to support business growth. This will help each local authority to reinvest income from business rates into projects and activities to promote new business growth. This could include enterprise centres, business parks, better Broadband, road improvements or regeneration of business areas.
• Local control over transport infrastructure funding working with rail, highways England etc. This might address issues on the motorways where there are bottlenecks and provide solutions like motorway hard shoulder shared use (as around Birmingham), greater say on rail franchise renewals and a more joined up approach with our road network which is currently managed by multiple agencies
• Better support for local enterprise to grow our SME’s through increased locally decided funding to support local businesses through the LEPS and other organisations.
• More cost effective public services. At the moment several organisations look into environmental issues – The Environment Agency, County and District Councils and others. By bringing these into one organisation the overhead reduces.
• Local skills for anyone currently working and our growing population, our skill base needs to grow in proportion and we would like local control over this to work with universities, colleges etc to ensure this is well coordinated. Currently our average wage per head is good but we would like to see this grow particularly in STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).
• Housing Making sure we get the best out of the right land, for example looking to use Ex MOD land for housing as a priority such as the Royal Clarence Yard in Gosport which is surplus but not yet released by the MOD. This would help us to increase housing delivery to meet our needs but to channel this to the areas that need it and can take it. (We have our local plan and are not willing to support housing above these levels)
• Make sure there are infrastructure improvements in areas like Tipner to access land so that it can be developed. In this case it would help Portsmouth provide some housing which it very much needs to prevent them looking elsewhere to satisfy their growth.
• Health. Bring service decisions closer to communities and service users. About 3bn a year is spent on health. The plans would help improve skills and training, look at areas that are under strain for example the local A+E and make local improvements. Prepare for future needs like increased strain from aging population.

Fundamentally the changes must present a benefit to our communities with the monies transferred to carry them out in full. EHDC will not support a Combined Authority which takes on new powers without the funding to support them, or changes that do not benefit our communities.

Combined Authorities Timescale:

• September 2015 – proposals for a devolution deal are tabled
• November 2015 – Spending review where the proposals will be assessed
• December 2015 to January 2016 – Stakeholder consultations
• February 2016 – “Cities and Local Government Devolution Act” expected to be in force
• February 2016 to April 2016 – Public Consultation
• September 2016 – Governance scheme put to full councils for approval
• April 2017 – Combined Authority would commence formal operation
• February 2016 to April 2016 – Public Consultation
• September 2016 – Governance scheme put to full councils for approval
• April 2017 – Combined Authority would commence formal operation

East Hants District Council refused Southcotts planning application on Downhouse Road following the progression of the Allocation Plan. This was followed by an appeal being lodged by Southcott Homes, the same developer who was refused permission on Lovedean Lane which also fell at appeal. On Tuesday this week we recieved notification the developers appeal had been dismissed.

This is a great result for EHDC and all the hard work that has taken place over the past 18 months in achieving a five year plan and also identifying the Allocation sites throughout the District.

The Planning Inquiry for 26 dwellings at this site (application 25288/01 Land at 102 – 120 Downhouse Road)was heard in Petersfield on July 8th and 9th.

25288/001 – Land at 102 – 120 Downhouse Road,Catherington

Importantly, The Inspector acknowledged that EHDC has a robust five year plan including an adequate five percent buffer, an argument which the developer tried very hard to disprove. He has also supported the use of the Local Gap Policy saying that Southcotts had not proved that these additional homes could not be built within the Settlement Policy Boundary – if they were required.

The Inspector concluded that the building dwellings at this location would cause harm to the character and appearance of the area which could not all be mitigated by planning conditions.

The Inspector has not identified specific conflict with JCS Policies CP1, CP2 or CP10 but concludes “that there is overall conflict with the development plan which is not outweighed by the general support for housing development in the Framework.”

The Inspector also said that interested parties had raised a number of significant concerns about the safety of road users, proving that public support and well written letters with valid reasons are taken into account, as indeed they were in the Lovedean Inquiry.

This is a fantastic result that goes a long way to protect our valuable countryside and I would like to record my thanks to the team from EHDC and Cllr Elaine Tickell who defended our case so well.

Cllr Sara Schillemore

You may not know that Horndean, Lovedean, Blendworth and Catherington are blessed with almost 80 public footpaths, which provide easy access to the beautiful countryside that surrounds the villages.  If you want to see where these paths are, there is a map on Hampshire CC’s website at http://www3.hants.gov.uk/row.htm

Unfortunately, being in open countryside, the paths can readily get overgrown with vegetation and some inconsiderate users will drop litter, so they need regular attention.  This is handled locally an active volunteer group that ensured the paths are kept in good order for us to use, in conjunction with landowners and the county/parish councils.

The group meets on the morning of the third Saturday of each of the summer months, the next being this coming Saturday 15th.  It is always seeking new volunteers.  This is a good way to give some community time for a worthwhile cause, whilst meeting new people and having time out in the fresh air in beautiful surroundings.  If you fancy being a volunteer, even if only for one or two sessions each year, please contact James Tickell on jamie@tickell.biz or 07710 157951.  Tools and protective clothing are provided.

“I’m well aware that crime figures can often be more complex than they look at first sight, but it’s very disappointing that Hampshire is near the top of the list in the survey and very concerning that the estimated cost of rural crime in the county has almost doubled in 2014 from the 2013 figures.

“As I represent a largely rural constituency, I’m very much aware of the devastating effect rural crime has on communities and it’s really one of the top concerns in the countryside.

“If this level of crime took place in an urban location there would be an uproar, so it is right that the rural community makes sure the problem is in the limelight.

“I know that the police and crime commissioner and chief constable are putting resources into tackling this type of crime and that Hampshire police has had a Rural Crime Strategy in place since July last year, so I’m hopeful that progress is being made on this issue.

“I will be talking to the Chief Constable about rural crime and the survey when I next see him at one of our regular meetings.”

Here is the full NFU Press Release:

Rural crime falls as country people unite to fight thieves

• Rural crime cost UK economy £37.8 million in 2014
• Thieves becoming more sophisticated and cybercrime a ‘growing concern’
• Criminals exploiting new targets including solar panels

Leading rural insurer NFU Mutual today releases its annual rural crime data, based on claims received in 2014. The data reveals rural crime cost the UK economy £37.8 million in 2014, down from £44.5 million in 2013 – representing a 15% fall.

But despite an overall decline in the cost of rural crime in every UK region, several types of crime have continued to rise in parts of the UK, with quad bikes proving particularly attractive to thieves.

Meanwhile the cost of livestock theft nationally has remained stubbornly high with several regions recording increases. The data follows a spate of high-value livestock thefts across the country, and the rollout of a national livestock theft reduction scheme sponsored by NFU Mutual.

In a survey of NFU Mutual’s branch offices across the UK, 56% of respondents indicated that awareness of crime is rising in rural communities. The survey also reveals that rural communities are employing ever more sophisticated means of protecting themselves, including the installation of alarm and CCTV systems.

According to the survey, the most commonly targeted items over the last twelve months were fuel, tools and quad bikes. Essex and Kent are the UK’s worst affected counties in 2014 while in Scotland the cost of quad bike theft has increased by around 80%.

And despite an overall decline in rural crime, the survey reveals that many in rural communities feel that thieves are also becoming more sophisticated.

And further highlighting the changing nature of rural crime, 63% of those surveyed said that cybercrime is a growing problem for rural communities while NFU Mutual’s most recent claims data also shows thieves are taking advantage of new targets such as solar panels.

The survey also revealed that vehicle theft, burglary and livestock theft are the most prevalent crimes being experienced in Britain’s rural communities.

 Commenting on the findings, Matthew Scott, Chief Claims Manager at NFU Mutual said;

 “That our figures show an overall decline in the cost of rural crime during the last 12 months is welcome news and reflects the huge efforts being made by communities and others to tackle this problem. Initiatives like the Lancashire Livestock Scheme and CESAR tracking for agricultural vehicles are having a real impact and making life increasingly difficult for rural criminals.

“That said, problem areas remain. Levels of livestock theft for example are stubbornly high and quad bikes continue to be targeted by criminals with several regions of the country recording significant increases in the cost of quad bike theft.

“So, while today’s survey contains some good news, it also highlights the need for rural communities to remain vigilant and put security at the forefront of their minds.”

 To-date, NFU Mutual has invested more than £600,000 funding police specialist units to coordinate activity on agricultural vehicle crime. This has helped reduce tractor theft by a third from a record £10 million in 2010 to £5.4 million in 2014.

The Mutual also sponsors the Lancashire Livestock Initiative, a scheme launched in 2014 to bring police and communities together to beat livestock thieves, and provide safe spaces for stolen livestock. The scheme is now being replicated in Yorkshire, Cumbria and other livestock rearing counties across the country.

For more information and advice on how to beat rural crime in your area visit www.nfumutual.co.uk/ruralcrime

Top 10 items targeted by thieves in 2014 (2013 rankings in brackets)

1. Tools (Tools)
2. ATVs/Quad bikes (ATVs/Quad bikes)
3. Oil/Diesel (Oil/Diesel)
4. Machinery (Machinery)
5. Livestock (Garden equipment)
6. Garden equipment (Livestock)
7. Trailers (Tractors)
8. Equestrian transport and equipment (Trailers)
9. Bicycles (Vehicles)
10. Personal effects/tractors (Equestrian equipment)

 Cost of rural crime by country in 2014

England                                   £31.1m (£36.3m)

Northern Ireland                      £2.4m (£3.9m)

Scotland                                  £1.8m (£1.9m)

Wales                                      £1.7m (£2m)

 Top 10 UK counties by estimated cost of rural crime in 2014 (last year’s figures in brackets)

1. Essex £2.4m (£2m)
2. Kent £2.2m (£1.8m)
3. Lincolnshire £1.8m (£2.2m)
4. Hampshire £1.7m (£970,000)
5. Cambridgeshire £1.7m (£2.4m)
6. Lancashire £1.4m (£1.7m)
7. Somerset £1.1m (£1.2m)
8. Suffolk £1.1m (£1.4m)
9. North Yorkshire £1m (£1.5m)
10. Gloucestershire £1m (£790,000)