Network North Golf Day at Whickham Golf Club and supporting The Variety Club. 

Friday 18th May 2012 with teams of 4 at £160 per team

Sandwich with tea/coffee on arrival and two course meal afterwards – Prizes for longest drive, nearest the pin etc.

sponsorship opportunities £25 to sponsor a hole – bring your banner and we’ll put yourt companies details up for you.

ask for details

At Newtork North we have seen the best start to a new year since its inception, after the first couple of weeks in January which were at the usual slow pace to burst in to life, the latter part of the month saw a record number of first time visitors to the groups. The ensuing result was an unbleievable influx of new members by the second week in February. Still with several businesses to confirm joining it will make February our best month of growth since we started.

January saw the introduction of Area Partners to Network North, four partners covering eight groups between them have implemented visitor days to the groups and with the help of the groups members it has been a massive success.

The four Area Partners are; Andy McLaughlin, Chris Adlam, Kate Watson and Les Dixon, we wish them all the best of luck in their new posts. with several new groups and more AP’s planned soon, 2012 is looking very bright.

Asian Business Connexions have joined forces with Astute Solutions KO (ASK) Ltd, Sintons Solicitors and Newcastle Council to deliver a new exciting programme tackling the illegal sales of alcohol to under-18s and promote best practice in the licensing trade.

In view of recent programmes specifically targeted at exposing underage drinking in the UK, many are ready to blame off licence owners as the perpetrators, however this is not always the case. With the rise of fake ID cards and „proxy‟ sales it’s becoming even harder for owners to determine whether or not their drinks are going to under age kids.

The Licensing Education Programme is a proactive multi-agency approach to addressing a very real issue in a positive manner. This free programme is also focused to help off-licence owners increase their knowledge and understanding of licensing regulations – e.g. how to reduce the risk of prosecution and make sure all their staff understand their responsibilities- in addition to helping them in their day-to-day business.

As this course has been developed in partnership with Newcastle City Council, Sintons Solicitors and Astute Solutions KO Ltd, licensees are able to receive expert advice and assistance on all alcohol related licensing matters, giving them a great opportunity to gain extra guidance and knowledge from those who know what they’re talking about.

The course is split into two stages. Licensees are invited to an interactive workshop and a free consultation, the first of which took place on Wednesday 3rd August at Sintons Solicitors and was attended by a broad range of licensees.

Sarah Smith – Lead Licensing Partner said “Sintons were delighted to take place in this very worthwhile scheme to help increase awareness of the licensing laws and the potential pitfalls to local retailers. The overall objective is to improve the quality of retail operations in the area and the feedback from those attending was very positive”

 All of the partners provided licensees with information on the law of selling alcohol, practical guidance on how to ensure they are complying with the law and up to the minute information as to how the Licensing Authority and responsible bodies are currently promoting and enforcing responsible alcohol sales in the area.

Amjad Hussain a local off-licence owner and ABC member said “I thought it was a „superb programme‟ that has showed me a lot of things that I can improve, I am going to „implement‟ all I have learnt with my staff.”

 Ian Logue – course developer from ASK, went on to say “I was delighted to have played my part in helping to deliver this ground breaking initiative by Asian Business Connexions. The positive response from those attending confirmed to me that the Asian Community are keen to demonstrate their responsibility towards neighbourhood cohesion and play their part in eradicating under- age drinking from communities. Hopefully through time, we can deliver this proactive package to a wider audience of North East retailers.” The second part of the course is a consultation at the licensees own premises with a member of the ASK team. Licensees are assessed and advised on the existing systems in place at the premises and left with all the tools to ensure compliance with the legislation, as well as a service review of their business.

The service review looks at marketing, business planning and financial forecasting. The practical holistic approach is exactly the type of support and assistance small business owners need in the current climate, potentially enabling the business to operate more profitably and successfully.  

After licensees have completed this course they are then being invited to apply under the Responsible Retailer Award Scheme for accreditation as a responsible retailer.

David Ellerington –Trading Standards Manager and local authority representative on the programme further endorsed the scheme by saying, “The City Council’s Trading Standards service is more than happy to support and participate in events of this nature which hopefully demonstrate that we are about assisting and advising business as well as enforcing the various requirements around a range of age restricted products including alcohol.

 The service very much hopes that this training event will be a catalyst for off-licence businesses in Newcastle to take up the development of the Authority’s “Responsible Retailing Award Scheme”.

 The next workshop is planned for September and plans are underway to roll-out the unique programme regionally. The practical training delivered through this course will help licensees and those involved in the sale of alcohol grow their business and enable a better understanding of licensing legislation ultimately reducing underage alcohol sales.

The website of one of the North East’s primary sources of advice and investments has been enhanced by a recent partnership with Urban River, based in South Shields.

 The Tyne and Wear Development Company underwent a website revamp to further improve their dedicated service which attracts and supports inward investment to the North East from around the world, securing 100’s of jobs and bringing millions to the regional economy throughout its 25 years in practice.

By collaborating with the design team at Urban River, a clear and engaging site was created which attracts visitors whilst providing relevant information in a quick and easy way. John Barker, Urban Rivers Head of Digital, said “The site needed a design refresh; it did not provide the experience which today’s internet user expects and the content management system provided little functionality, meaning Tyne and Wear Development Co.’s web team found updating the site difficult and time-consuming”.“Bearing all of the above in mind, and taking into account Tyne and Wear Development Co.’s brand guidelines, Urban River set about designing and building a website which enhanced and improved Tyne and Wear’s online presence”.

Following this, a new series of adverts has been launched to further raise the business profile of Tyne and Wear Development Company with the goal of attracting new clients and to help them feel a part of the Tyneside region.

Sarah Gibson, Marketing Officer of Tyne and Wear Development Company, said “Urban River has been really helpful in meeting our needs and developing a new website that makes it even easier for businesses to access our services and to find all the information they need”.

Urban River has provided services for many other regional businesses such as Tyne Tunnel and Helen McArdle Care, placing high importance on putting clients ahead of their competition and providing them with the best possible return on investment. Providing a simple makeover through to a full promotional strategy is Urban River’s forte, continually promoting thriving businesses in the North East.  Carl Buckley, Managing Director of Urban River, said: “that now more than any other time, it is not only important to recognise, but to use the skills and expertise that exist on our local doorstep”.

CRAMLINGTON  based surveyor, Colin Bell, of Paramount Associates has this month been elected to President of the Association of Building Engineers (ABE) after a career that has seen him work his way up from a trade joiner to a Chartered Surveyor and Building Consultant, working with the north east residential and commercial property market.

Colin attended the House of Lords on 10 May for his inauguration lunch.  The event was hosted by Lord Howie of Troon and there were over 80 guests from senior positions in the surveying, building and engineering industry.

Colin’s lofty inauguration lunch was a far cry from his early working days.  Having been educated at Cramlington High School Colin went on to work as a joiner for various north east builders until the age of 24.  But luckily he’d also got the bug for education and had been studying alongside his role.  As he studied hard he worked his way up first in North Tyneside Council, then the private sector, then onto Gateshead Council and then in Gentoo and along the way got his HNC, his professional qualifications and his degree in surveying from Northumbria University.

After a head-on motorbike accident in June 2006 Colin reassessed his career and when an opportunity for voluntary redundancy came up he took it and set up his own surveying and building consultancy Paramount Associates. 

Colin says: “I was proud of my career history which had taken me from a trade background, then through local authority, private sector and housing association roles.  I knew when I started Paramount Associates that I could take this experience and offer expertise, professionalism and diversity to potential clients without being ‘stiff-shirted’ in my approach.”

Colin has been a member of the ABE since the 1980s, and has held roles that have included the Chairman of the Northern Region, the Continuous Professional Development Co-ordinator and Vice President. “I am honoured to have been inaugurated as President of the ABE.  It is a prestigious organisation  where members in the building and building maintenance fields get together to further develop their professional standards and most importantly of all to provide professional networking opportunities to share innovation and best practice  amongst members.  I am looking forward to helping it achieve these aims over the coming year.”

For more information on Paramount Associates or the Association of Building Engineers please contact Colin on 01670 715915 or email him on  info@paramountassociates.co.uk

The government is proposing radical reforms to access to justice that will affect everyone.

It wants to implement a change in the way costs are awarded in civil litigation cases, which includes personal injury, commercial disputes etc.

This will mean that if you or your business takes a case to court on a no win no fee basis, instead of recovering all of your costs from the party at fault, you will have to pay a substantial amount of costs out of any award made by the court for damages/compensation.

It will be like the American system, where costs take away most of the damages people are awarded.

Take the example of a brain damaged baby who needs constant care and support for the rest of their lives due for example to injury caused by negligence or abuse. Under the current system the Compensation awarded by the court would remain intact and costs would be paid in addition to this, ensuring that the child has enough money for the rest of their lives.

Under the new proposal, a large proportion of the award, up to 25% would be taken away from the child meaning that there would be a large shortfall in the cash required to care and provide for the rest of the child’s life.

Something similar would happen if you or someone close was disabled after a road traffic accident or an injury at work.

The only beneficiaries under this new scheme will be the insurance companies.

Below is a link to the Access to Justice Action Group website.

Please help spend one minute online to complete the petition and fill in the form which automatically emails your local MP.

http://www.accesstojusticeactiongroup.co.uk/home/lobby-your-mp

Jacksons Sure Move is a new and unique house moving service. We endeavour to make the house moving process as stress free as possible by coordinating the whole process on behalf of our clients whilst where possible reducing their costs. The service is open to anyone, at any stage of the moving process provided that they place their Conveyancing with Jacksons Law Firm.

 We coordinate the client’s choice of “primary referrers”, (those key to the actual moving process) such as the estate agent, IFA, buildings insurer, removal and we also instruct Jacksons Law Firm conveyancing department to complete the transaction at a discounted rate (available only where we instruct the estate agent on our client’s behalf).

 We have also partnered with highly recommended local businesses who provide a first class service at a reasonable price. In addition, wherever possible Jacksons Sure Move has negotiated with our partners on behalf of our client’s so that may they receive discounts on the services provided by our partners wherever they are able. 

 Jacksons Sure Move will make no charge to its client’s or partnered companies for joining but would charge a referral fee to the partners for instruction, which in respect of Estate Agents will be off-set against Jacksons Law Firm’s conveyancing charges reducing the cost of conveyancing to the client.

First of all a question, how can an athlete have the same BMI as someone who is told they are overweight?

Local Personal Coach Steve Twynham from Brandsby has launched a brand new online coaching programme for people who would like to feel good, look good, be happier and have a healthier life style.
Steve has put the programme together after working with many people who would like to live a healthier life style but are either unable to find time or find that regular weekly groups are not for them.

Steve says “ It is well recognised that generally we are not enjoying a healthy life style as we did 50 years ago, we tend to eat on the move and often the things we eat do not provide the right nutrients the body needs. However it seems so complicated and confusing to do the right things.
The aim of this programme is to make feeling good, looking good, being happier and having a healthier life something that everyone can achieve, it even makes nutritional information simple to understand with easily digestible information delivered in bite size chunks”.

The programme includes short videos from leading nutritionists, as well as information that can be downloaded and the option to work one to one with a Personal Wellness Coach.

Passionate about people helping achieve a healthier life style Steve looks forward to working locally and helping people understand some key things about health and wellness.

The answer to the question is the way BMI is measured.

BMI takes the weight of an individual, divided by height squared. A person of around 5 feet 7 inches weighing 11st 7lb would have a BMI of 26.3, which on the BMI scale means that this person is overweight.
What BMI does not measure is body fat v body muscle. Body muscle weighs more than fat. Therefore an athlete of the same height and weight would have the same BMI but would have significant less body fat.
A more meaningful measure is measuring the amount of body fat. The dangers of body fat were highlighted in a recent BBC Documentary.

If you like to arrange a FREE NO OBLIGATION BODY FAT TEST simply call or text 07833 627866.

Steve is offering 5 FREE ONLINE COACHING PROGRAMMES to the first five people who email steve@stevetwynham.com showing Free Online Programme in the subject line or text 07833 627866 beginning the message with Easingwold Free or for more information about the online coaching programme visit www.beabrilliantyou.blogspot.com