The HMRC’s R&D Tax Credit scheme is a many splendoured thing. By incentivising companies to undertake research and development to improve the products and services they supply, it paves the way for more and more companies to benefit, helping to generate a stronger UK economy.

The trick is not to put off dipping that first toe in the water. Which is where you come in.

It’s a common misconception that R&D Credits are just for companies that have developed groundbreaking new products. Not true! The fact is that any activity which a company carries out to improve an existing product, process or service makes it eligible for an R&D Tax Credit.

Take the successful claim made by mens’ hire business ACS Clothing Ltd, based in Glasgow. The claim was based on their investment in developing new computer software to improve product handling. The software helped accelerate the speed at which garments were brought in, cleaned and then re-distributed, providing a better service to their many clothing-retailer clients throughout the UK. But it didn’t end there…

The advances ACS Clothing made with one piece of processing software had a knock-on effect that stretched far beyond Glasgow, leading to efficiency improvements in the many UK-based clothing companies that they supply.

That’s typical of how the organic process we call progress works and demonstrates just how important a role small, efficient companies play in creating a stable economy. No wonder HMRC allows SMEs to claim Tax Credits at a better rate than larger companies.

Who is eligible?
The Government's R&D tax credits scheme isn't just for companies with R&D departments and men in white coats.

Indeed, you may be surprised to discover that any company that spends money trying to improve a product or service through a technological advance, using qualified staff and appropriate project controls, and where there's doubt about the project's success, is likely to be eligible.

Over 6,600 SMEs and 1,760 Large Companies are already claiming more than £980m each year in R&D tax relief from HMRC, but many more thousands aren't. Is your company one of them?

To find out more about R & D tax credits and how may be able to claim, please contact Auditel in Brooklands House, Marlborough Road for a no obligation discussion on 01903 680002.

This week saw the start of preparations for the Sussex County F.A. 2012-2013 Senior Cup competition with draws taking place for the first two rounds.

It heralds the start of a three year sponsorship deal that will rename the trophy as The Parafix Sussex Senior Challenge Cup.  Colin Wills, a director at Parafix, carried out the draw along with Ken Benham, Chief Executive of the Sussex F.A. and said “We are very proud to be associated with such a long standing and respected football competition within Sussex.  Many of our own staff and those from our customers and suppliers will have the opportunity to play in it or support their local teams.  I look forward to watching as many of the matches as I can, throughout the season.”

For the first time, the draw was reported live on Twitter as the balls were pulled out of the bag.  There were many positive comments from the clubs and supporters who were waiting to hear the fate of their teams.

For details of all the fixtures, please go to http://www.sussexfa.com/cups/2012-2013/parafix-sussex-senior-challenge-cup/fixtures#round-1

Dear Stakeholder,

I am writing to advise you that following the 12 week community consultation period that ended on 6th May, there is another opportunity for the community to have their say on the Rampion proposals. We will publish our draft Environmental Statement (ES) and launch a consultation period for statutory bodies, Local Authorities, Landowners and the wider public, commencing on Wednesday 13th June.  This consultation is about the same Rampion proposals, but with more detailed information available in the draft ES.

The original community consultation featured 12 public exhibitions across Sussex and generated huge interest, attracting over 4,500 visitors from the local community and generating around 1,500 consultation responses commenting on the proposals.  As part of this response, some non-statutory organisations with a keen interest in the Rampion project asked for more time to consider the proposals in greater detail, once the draft ES was published.

We’ve been really impressed with the level of interest during the community consultation which generated a thirst for knowledge about the Rampion project.

In response to this growing interest, I’m pleased to announce that this statutory and public consultation period will be extended to eight weeks, doubling the statutory requirement of 28 days, to offer time to consider the proposals in greater detail now that the draft ES is available.  In addition, I can confirm that the draft ES will be made available to the public at www.eon-uk.com/rampion from Wednesday and will be on display at six council offices, as follows:

• Adur District Council Offices Help Point Ham Road Shoreham-by-Sea, BN43 6PR
• Horsham District Town Hall Park House, North Street Horsham, RH12 1RL
• Worthing Borough Council Offices, Portland House Worthing, BN11 1LF
• Mid Sussex District Planning Offices, Oaklands Road Haywards Heath, RH16 1SS
• Brighton & Hove City Council Offices, Hove Town Hall, Norton Road, Hove
  
• East SussexCounty, Council Offices, 18 Fort Road, Newhaven, BN9 9QE

Any responses to the public consultation should be sent to E.ON in writing only, by email to rampion@eon.com or by post to FREEPOST RAMPION OFFSHORE WIND FARM, by no later than Wednesday 8th August.

This information is also being publicised in a statutory notice published in several regional newspapers.

This is the largest consultation E.ON has ever undertaken on any project.  Having doubled this additional consultation to eight weeks to allow more detailed discussions with the public and stakeholder groups, this brings the total period of consultation to 20 weeks with the community and wider public consultation combined.

We’ll carefully analyse feedback received from both parts of the consultation and consider what changes may be required to the proposals before any final application is made.

As well as having this additional opportunity to have their say on the draft Environmental Statement, everyone will also be able to comment on the final application once it has been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate later in the year.


Kind regards,
 

Chris Tomlinson
Development Manager
Rampion Offshore
E.ON Climate & Renewables
01273 603 721
07815 141 008

Lancing United Football Club are looking for a Sponsor for their 2012/2013 Playing Kit. Read more here

Crime and Community Safety Survey
West Sussex County Council want to know your views on crime and community safety in your local area and in West Sussex. Police, Local authorities, NHS, Fire and Rescue Services as well as local community groups work in partnership to reduce crime and disorder to make residents feel safe. They want to understand your priorities and the areas you think services should be focusing on in the future.

The survey is available from 30th April to 31st July and will take about 10 to 15 minutes to complete. Please click HERE to complete the survey 

Lancing Business Park - Estates Excellence Pilot Project

The Lancing Business Park Committee is pleased to announce its partnership with Adur and Worthing Councils, the Health and Safety Executive and the NHS, to reduce the costs associated with accidents and ill health in the workplace.

We feel strongly that companies on Lancing Business Park could see real benefits from participating in the new national initiative called ‘Estates Excellence’. Our business park has been chosen to pilot this project which aims to reduce red tape, by developing a new collaborative and more sensible approach to managing business risk. The pilot will be designed to directly meet the health and safety needs of businesses, to help lower costs, improve the health of staff and reduce concern regarding legal requirements.

The pilot will provide free health and safety training and support for all businesses on the park, to help improve performance without unnecessary costs. This is a non-enforcement based approach, where officers will freely give advice and access to the following help, without any obligation:

•    Free face to face contact with health and safety professionals giving guidance in a non-enforcement context
•    Free advice and coaching on health improvement
•    Free training and taster sessions
•    Increased knowledge and competence
•    Opportunity for occupational health assessment
•    Clear guidance on what measures are actually required
•    Opportunity to collaborate and save e.g. through joint procurement
Phase 1 of the pilot will begin on the 28th May and run until 15th June 2012, with the Estates Excellence Team calling on all businesses on the park to give them a quick overview of the pilot. Please note that this initial visit should take no longer than 15 minutes. The team will ask for information about your business and your main health or safety concerns to ensure that Phase 2 meets your business needs. Businesses will then be offered an opportunity to participate in Phase 2.

Phase 2 will begin on 2nd July and run until 3rd August 2012 and will offer a free informal “benchmarking” visit which will take about an hour and aims to identify any gaps in health or safety provision, which your business could benefit from addressing.

Phase 3 will begin in September 2012 and will offer a full menu of free training and events aimed at addressing the issues identified in Phase 2.
 
This is a unique opportunity for our business park to lead the way in raising standards ahead of any future health and safety inspections. It will further improve our reputation as an excellent business park and we hope you will be able to share our enthusiasm for this project and take full advantage of it.

 For further information go to:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/estatesexcellence/index.htm
Or contact the Environmental Health Team at Adur and Worthing Councils through alison.lindley@adur-worthing.gov.uk  tel.01273 263437 or
paul.unsworth@adur-worthing.gov.uk  tel.07827 926 266

The team challenges at Teamsports Go Karting have been a big success and congratulations once again to Alverstone Autos in winning the Team Sport Indoor Karting Challenge held on the 22nd March.

This fun event is organised for Lancing Business Park members and open to anyone to participate.


Obviously the guys from Alverstone are professionals so perhaps they should be awarded a handicap for the next event

The next race is planned for the 5th June. Please contact Jon direct at  trackmanager.brighton@team-sport.co.uk  if you are interested in taking part.

Insurance Surgery - Wednesday 27th June 2012 - 10am to 4pm

Our recommended insurance broker and risk manager, Sutton Winson, are running a free insurance surgery for all Lancing Business Park Members on the above date at Phoenix Systems premises, Unit 4, Elm Business Units, Chartwell Road.
 
Noel Preston will be there waiting to help you with any insurance queries, issues, concerns or just a general update on what the insurance market is doing at the moment for your particular industry.
 
Noel will also be happy to carry out a free review of your current insurance arrangements.
 
By all means contact Noel to book a time during the day or if you just want to pop in for a tea/coffee while your passing then feel free!
 
Noel's contact details are:
 
Tel: 01444 251 161
Mobile: 07831 604 610
email: noel.preston@swib.co.uk
www.suttonwinson.com

Click here to read the latest LBP Newsletter

You may be aware that Adur District and Lancing Parish Councils have jointly appointed BDP to produce a regeneration vision to identify aspirations for the future of Lancing village and seafront. We started work in January 2012 and many of you talked to them in February to share your thoughts and hopes for Lancing. Since then they have been working hard to develop the vision proposals based on the issues,
opportunities and aspirations you raised and a detailed technical analysis of the village.

The draft vision proposals are now ready for you to view and comment on. The vision sees Lancing becoming a vibrant 21st century village, a lively seaside destination and a network of places for the community. The vision will provide a strategy for regenerating the village centre, identifying land use zones and measures to stimulate economic growth, as well as transport, visual and street improvements. It will also include an action plan for putting the proposals in place.

You are invited to take a look at the draft vision ideas at a drop-in exhibition on Friday 13th April from 3pm through to 8pm and Saturday 14th April from 12pm to 6pm at Lancing Parish Hall, South Street. The project team will be there to answer any queries and we would be delighted to hear your thoughts on the initial proposals. The exhibition will remain in the Parish Hall foyer for the following week for you to view
at your leisure. Please do pass this invitation to anyone else that may be interested and please download the poster and display wherever you can.

Following the exhibition the vision report will be produced and is due to be finalised by the end of May 2012. There will be a vision launch event on 24th May 2012. If you would like more information or wish to share your views privately, please do contact Becky.Cocker@bdp.com or on 0207 8128980. The exhibition boards will also be available to view online on the Parish Council website at www.lancingparishcouncil.gov.uk Alternatively, keep up to date with progress or join the debate through the Adur and Worthing Regeneration Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Adur-and-Worthing-Regeneration/277684372284224?ref=tn_tnmn.