SHOWBIZ 2014 A HUGE SUCCESS

SPRING 2014

newsletterStarting Out:Green Frog Developments

Apprenticesserve up afeast

Skilling your future workforce

N O R T H T Y N E S I D E B U S I N E S S F O R U M N E W S L E T T E R2

In this issue...Chairman’s Message

Carbon Trust Award

Starting Out:Green Frog Developments

Sector Connector

J A HicksOptometrist

A Feast of a Celebration

New lettings at Cobalt

ShowBiz Event

Top Ten Tips:Presenting Your Company

Skills for yourFuture Workforce

Your Local Chambers of Trade

Support WW1 project - how you can get involved

Recent Forum Events

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

Making ConnectionsIf your business is based in NorthTyneside, the Business Forum canhelp you make connections throughnetworking events and a dedicatedbusiness helpline - 0191 643 6000.You can also emailbusinessforum@northtyneside.gov.ukor visit the websitewww.northtynesidebusinessforum.org.uk

Spread the word...• Do you have a story to tell?• Business expansion or a success

story?• News that will be of interest to

other Forum members?

Contact us here at the BusinessForum and we will do our best toinclude any newsworthy items infuture issues of the newsletter.Call 0191 643 600 or email us at:businessforum@northtyneside.gov.uk

During the past year we’ve worked closelywith a number of key organisations andbusiness network groups in the NorthTyneside area. As we all share the same ambition ofpromoting local business interests, we feltthat it would be more valuable to jointogether to provide a range of better, morecoordinated services and events. Whilst nomoney is involved, the benefits to all partiesare considerable in terms of sharedresources, signposting, membership benefitsand joint promotional activities. I speak to many local companies at our jointevents and it’s very clear to me that thereare a number of key issues which arise timeand time again and which concern mostbusinesses most of the time. We’ll thereforebe focusing on these topic areas over thenext year and provide a calendar of (largelyfree) events, meetings and seminars to helpyou get to grips with these perennialbusiness challenges. Broadly speaking,these are: business finance; help with sales& marketing; supply chain opportunities;and skills & training . If you have any otherideas for themes you would like us toaddress, please let me know by emailing meon pwh.assoc@virginmedia.com.

TyneMet College, our main partner, sharesthe Forum’s catchment area and its aim ofdeveloping closer links between businessand education so that future skills can beidentified and matched with learning &training provision. In addition the Forumhas developed ‘value partnerships’ with anumber of other local organisations in orderto strengthen our approach. This includesworking with‘Sector Connector’, a NTC-funded project which joins up businessexpertise and voluntary support for thebenefit of the third sector and communitygroups. It is intended to further developboth of these partnerships in 2014/15.Many businesses report that trading andworkload is slowly improving after a torridperiod of hard times. This falteringoptimism is something we can all build onand all work together in a way that is notonly beneficial it reinvents our localeconomy for mutual expansion and growth.Lets all go forward together.With best wishes for a successful year oftrading.

Peter Hedley Chair North Tyneside Business Forum

A message from the Chairman...

Trust LED, based in North Shields, hasbecome the first LED lighting companyin the North East to become a CarbonTrust Accredited Supplier. This award has been designed toexamine the capability of a business todeliver thoughtful, well-designed energyefficient and renewable energy systems.Through the supply of LED lighting,Trust LED has helped a number of localcompanies achieve savings in excess of75% in electric lighting costs whiledramatically reducing maintenancecosts. Customers also enjoy the extrabenefits of a 15 year life span and inmost instances lighting levels aresignificantly improved.Trust LED is also able to offer financingto customers through the EnergyEfficiency Finance Scheme (EEF). Thisjoint initiative between the Carbon Trustand Siemens Financial Services isdesigned to provide finance for energyefficient equipment for business, wheremonthly payments are arranged so thatthe expected energy cost savings offsetthe cost of financing the equipment. Inmost cases this means new equipment

can be installed at zero net cost to thebusiness, making it cash positive.Kym Jones, Director of Trust LEDcomments: “Eighty per cent of ourbusiness is now financed through theEEF scheme, where costs range between£10,000 and £200,000. “Companies that would like to slashcosts through energy-efficient lightingmight feel discouraged by the initialcapital outlay so this scheme means thatmonthly payments are funded by theenergy savings, so any additionalsavings can be reinvested into thebusiness. “With the payback period for most ofour projects being less than 12 months,customers can reap the benefits relativelyquickly.“We are very proud to be a Carbon TrustAccredited Supplier as it demonstratesthat the Carbon Trust recognises ourcapability and skills. It is also reassuringfor our customers because they can beconfident that they are dealing with areliable, high-quality supplier.”You can find out more atwww.trustled.co.uk

CARBON TRUST AWARD

N O R T H T Y N E S I D E B U S I N E S S F O R U M N E W S L E T T E R

After over two years of talking aboutwhat they wanted to do, Caron Foleyand her husband, Gareth finally tookthe steps needed to start their ownbusiness.

“We’d always spoken of workingtogether and starting a business but hadnever put pen to paper and actually madethe concrete plans of how we wouldmake this dream a reality. In 2013 wefinally began writing our business plan,”says Caron. So, early in May last year, they began finetuning their ideas and completingresearch, culminating in the officialregistration on September 2nd 2013 of thelimited company Green FrogDevelopments. During the months that followed, theysoon came to realize that owning acompany is not easy. Working from homein the hope that “I’ll have much moretime” they soon found that home-basedworking, in most cases, means moreworking hours rather than less. Definitely not a 9-5 job – but Caronacknowledges that there is extrasatisfaction in knowing that if you’veworked overtime that week, you aredoing it for yourself and for your future.“It can at times be tiring but it is muchmore rewarding than any other overtimeI’ve worked!” In the early stages many small businessowners don’t always see the correlationbetween the effort being put in and thework/sales in return. However, that is

definitely to be expected.It’s great to have highaspirations but growth innearly all businesses isn’timmediate, as it takes timeto get your name andproduct/ service out there.This has taught them tospend the quieter timespreparing for when thisgrowth comes, convincedthat it’s just a matter ofpatience. A particular highlight thatCaron has enjoyed isbecoming part of the NorthEast business community. She says: “Although still ‘the new kid’, itis lovely to be a part of groups who wantto support and encourage each other withthe goal of helping to develop ourregion’s growth. “Further, as far as practical support, theNorth Tyneside Business Factory has beeninvaluable in helping us develop ourMarketing, PR and Social Media skills, aswell as ensuring we are meeting our legalobligations in Health and Safety – asubject I was completely intimidated bybefore now. “It has also been fantastic for networkingand meeting like-minded, new or start upbusinesses.” In conclusion – is having your ownbusiness worth the hassle? Absolutelyaccording to Caron.“If only we’d started it earlier! The reality

is that at times, your work-life balancedoes get blurred and occasionally youmight wish for a job you could leave atthe front door but after speaking to someothers who’ve had their business forlonger, I was assured that you do get abalance and the juggling is all worth it.I’m glad to say I’m beginning to see thatfor myself now. Also, until the business ismore established, wondering where thenext job is, is a scenario I’m having to getused to but as Vince Lombardi says “Thedictionary is the only place that successcomes before work. Work is the key tosuccess, and hard work can help youaccomplish anything.”

GREEN FROG DEVELOPMENTSConstruction and Maintenance Contractor

gg

3

The Sector Connector project isdeveloping a Community FriendlyBusiness award to recognise localbusinesses which have helped NorthTyneside voluntary and communityorganisations.

The award will be on three levels; Bronze,for companies which have supported avoluntary and community organisation,Silver, for companies which havesupported up to 5 organisations andGold, for those which have supported 10or more. Awards will be issued each yearand an awards event will be held laterthis year to present certificates toqualifying businessesSector Connector coordinator, Ian

Dougall says: “The Community FriendlyBusiness award is a great way torecognise the support which businesseshave given to local communityorganisations. It’s also a useful way forcompanies to establish their credentials asbeing good people for the voluntary and

community sector to do business with.” The Sector Connector project helpsbusinesses to become more involved inthe community by supporting small, localvoluntary and community sectororganisations. It is funded by NorthTyneside Council and hosted by VODA.

To find out more about SectorConnector, contact Ian Dougall on0191 643 2638 or emailian.dougall@voda.org.uk

IS YOUR BUSINESS COMMUNITY FRIENDLY?

It’s a usefulway forcompanies toestablish theircredentials

“”

Gareth and Caron Foley

N O R T H T Y N E S I D E B U S I N E S S F O R U M N E W S L E T T E R4

To celebrate National ApprenticeshipWeek in early March TyneMet Collegewelcomed local businesses to share inthe success of the ApprenticeshipProgrammes.

The employers were invited to a 3 courselunch prepared and cooked byapprentices studying on the Level 2Apprenticeship in Professional Cookery.Supervised by award winning TyneMetstaff, the apprentices showcased their

creative skills and talents and created amenu especially for the day which offereda choice of mouth watering starters,mains and deserts.In total, 30 employers shared the lunchexperience with managers and TyneMet’sBusiness Development Team. The foodwas cooked to perfection and wasprofessionally served by studentsstudying on catering and hospitalitycourses.Paul Smissen, Business and CommercialDevelopment Manager, TyneMet Collegesaid: “Without the commitment ofemployers who attended the celebratorylunch, our Apprenticeship programmeswould not be so successful. Theemployers invest a great deal in to theirapprentices and the college delivers highquality training to match thisinvestment."TyneMet College is committed to lookingat the needs of local industry to developcourses to match industry requirementsand overcome skills shortages, with anaim to creating more employmentopportunities for students onapprenticeship courses and develophighly trained workers of the future.

Apprentices serve up a feast of a celebration

Established in...J A Hicks,OptometristJA Hicks Optometrist wasestablished in North Shields in theearly seventies. Formerly SCRichardson, the practice originated ina prefab near the then train station.

In 1978 it changed its name to GREvans and the practice relocated to itscurrent position on Nile Street. MrEvans then sold the practice to JudithHicks, who had worked as his partnerfor several years, and she fullymodernised it and brought it into thecomputer age. Janet Alexander is now the onlyoriginal staff member having workedin the prefab as a teenager. CatherineReid joined in 1979 and Nicola Lockeyjoined a few years later. Five years agothe team was joined by Sylvia Bailey.

Mrs Hicks retired last year and thepractice is now run by Sylvia Bailey(above). Sylvia says: “We pride ourselves onoffering a personalised, professionalservice. We continually enhance ourframe selection from budget todesigner frames with affordability andfashion to the forefront.“The practice continues to developand move with the times and we nowoffer Retinal Photography - Frames onFaces, a video capture system whichaids in frame selection. This enablesthe customer to put their ownspectacles on to see how they look inthe frames selected. We also supplyand advise on magnifiers and lighting,contact lenses and sunglasses.”Mrs Bailey and the team run an annualcoffee morning including a raffle in aidof the local guide dog society. This hasmanaged to raise more than £2,000 forthe society over the last 3 years.

Highbridge has announced three newlettings at Cobalt which confirm thescheme’s status as one of the mostsuccessful office parks in the UK.

G4S, Accenture and IBM have allacquired extra space within Cobalt.Adrian Hill, Director of Highbridge,commented: “There can be no betterendorsement of a scheme’s quality thanmajor corporate occupiers taking a secondbuilding or taking additional floorswithin their existing building.“Highbridge are very proud of the factthat at Cobalt 67% of the occupiedfloorspace comprises deals of this typewhere P&G, HP, EE, North TynesideCouncil and, most recently, Accentureand G4S have all significantly increasedthe scale of their operations by acquiringadditional floorspace.”Aidan Baker, Director, Newcastle OfficeAgency at BNP Real Estate, added:“Cobalt prides itself on offering modernand sustainable out of town office space,

which continues to attract leadingcompanies. We are currently indisucussions with several other world-class businesses that are keen to securethe flexible, high quality space on offerand potential 2014 take up looksencouraging.” Other major occupiers at Cobalt includeNewcastle Building Society, BancoSantander, LS Trillium and Formica.

Cobalt welcomes more majorcorporate occupiers

N O R T H T Y N E S I D E B U S I N E S S F O R U M N E W S L E T T E R 5

A brand new event format, organised bythe North Tyneside Business Forum andhosted by Tyne Met College, wasattended by over 100 local businesspeople recently.

The quality event focused on providingattendees with practical hints and tips ontheir marketing and customer servicesactivities as well as advice and guidanceon a range of currently available businessgrowth and support services. After a welcome from Jon Vincent,Principal of Tyne Met College and anintroduction from Peter Hedley,Chairman of the Business Forum, thepacked auditorium was treated to akeynote speech from professional

international speaker, Geoff Ramm.Guests then had chance to speak to arange of 27 different business supportproviders over lunch followed by a miniseminar on “250 Sources of BusinessFinance” from NE Access to Finance andanother from Karen James Social Mediaentitled “Twitter: Are You Listening?”Business Forum Manager, Sandra Wilsoncommented: “We were hoping to attractaround 50 businesses to this event, but itwas so popular over twice that numberactually attended. Feedback has beenphenomenal and it is certainly a formatwe will be holding again so if you missedout, or want to come again, keep youreyes peeled for notice soon on the secondinstalment.”

ShowBiz Event doesthe Business

“One of the best and mostinspirational events I’vebeen to”

“I feel my business willbenefit from today”

“Friendly, well organisedevent”

“It has really inspired me tochange and better thebusiness I work for”

“Outstanding. Something foreveryone...”

“I cant believe it’s free!”

“Good venue, great speaker,excellent advice”

“Fun, informative, veryuseful”

“Thank you for theopportunity to be here”

“Really good use of myvaluable time”

“Really enjoyed the event, allthe staff were great...”

“..I now have some greatmarketing ideas I had neverthought of before, fab!”

“Informative, innovative andinspirational”

Geoff Ramm,international

motivational speaker

N O R T H T Y N E S I D E B U S I N E S S F O R U M N E W S L E T T E R6

PRESENTING YOURCOMPANY

As a speaking coach I am often asked if canprovide guidance on presentationsespecially when promoting a company.

Dale Carnegie said, ”People who talk aboutwhat life has taught them will never fail tohold an audience.”

With that quote in mind here are some ofmy top tips for public speaking andpresenting your business...

1. What is the message to be deliveredand how it is going to be delivered? Treat it as a story, with a boldintroduction, an informativemessage, and then a strongconclusion.

2. Start with a quote. People likequotes. Or a question which willengage your audience and makethem think.

3. Practice, practice, practice. Recordyour voice and listen to it. Does thecontent flow from point to point.Check vocal variety and pace ofdelivery.

4. Understand your audience. The rightpresentation for the right audienceachieves the required results.

5. Include personal experiences. Peoplelike to hear success stories.

6. Keep it simple and safe, no largewords or complicated phrases. Theycan alienate some audiences andsometimes seem unprofessional.

7. Know your stage. Where is themicrophone? How do you accessyour visual aids?

8. Look at areas where there could beawkward questions, pre-empt themand have answers ready.

9. If using Powerpoint keep it Neat,Interesting, Concise, Exciting.

10. Try relaxation exercises, deepbreaths, stretching, listening to music,smile.

11. Whereever possible use the powerof three. It hammers home themessage. “I came, I saw, Iconquered”. (Julius Caesar).“Education, Education, Education”(Tony Blair). “Tell it, Sell it and Winit” (Speech Genius).

These tips have worked for me andothers I coach. I am sure they will workfor you. Dale Carnegie said, “Peoplerarely succeed unless they have fun inwhat they are doing”. Go out and enjoypromoting your business.

These tips were kindly provided byMichael Rickwood

michael@speechgenius.co.uk

TENTOP

TIPS

1 4 6 88

North Tyneside Learning Trust is a partnership comprising 45 schools working with employers, colleges and universities andsupported by the local authority to improve education and life chances for children and young people.

Volunteer Database

The Trust is looking for individuals froma range of industries and job roles to offerchildren and young people a broadknowledge and awareness of differentcareer opportunities. They are currentlysetting up a database of volunteers frombusiness and industry who are able tosupport careers events in schools. There will be opportunities to advise inprimary, secondary and special school

settings. Career Speed Dating isincredibly popular with secondaryschools. Students are given theopportunity to ‘interview’ volunteersfrom business and industry to find outabout their job role. In primary schools volunteers frombusiness and industry are often invited tosupport STEM (Science TechnologyEngineering and Maths) focused days. There is no minimum requirement interms of commitment. Individuals canvolunteer for just an hour, or a half day ora full day or several days spread acrossthe year. If you are interested in registering youravailability to support these importantschool based events please contactchloe.mortimer@ntlp.org.uk

Foundation Trust Governor Roles

The Trust is also very keen to secureindividuals from business and industry toserve on the Governing Bodies of Trustschools to strengthen leadership andgovernance and offer a businessperspective to discussions.

If you are interested in a Trust Governorposition please contactchloe.mortimer@ntlp.org.uk

Business Engagement

A range of businesses from small, local,family run firms to large multi nationalcompanies engage with Trust schools in avariety of other ways:

• Providing work experience andwork placements

• Curriculum support anddevelopment (deliveringsessions/master classes)

• Providing guest speakers forevents/assembly talks

• Supporting students (Mentoring,career workshops,)

• Employability skills support (CVwriting, mock interviews)

• Educational visits

• Sponsorship (providing materialsfor projects, prizes for events,running competitions

Skills for your Future Workforce

If your business would like more information on the work of the Trust please visit the website www.ntlearningtrust.og.uk orcontact Kehri Ellis, Chief Executive, North Tyneside Learning Trust at kehri.ellis@ntlp.org.uk

N O R T H T Y N E S I D E B U S I N E S S F O R U M N E W S L E T T E R 7

News from your Local Chambers of Trade

North ShieldsFree Chamber Membership

The North Shields Chamber of Trade &Commerce is developing closer links withthe Business Factory to encourage newbusinesses to set up in the town. The first few months of trading are crucialfor any new business and the range ofbusiness support services available fromboth the Chamber and the BusinessFactory can greatly assist in those testingtimes.The Chamber is offering free membershipfor the first twelve months to all newstart-up businesses in the town. Miles Walton from the Chambercommented: “We are keen to attract newbusinesses to the town and freemembership of the Chamber for start upbusinesses will be another incentive toencourage businesses to set up here.” The Business Factory, which is part ofNorth Tyneside Council’s menu ofbusiness support, is aimed at potentialentrepreneurs in North Tyneside and inthe past 12 months has helped over 400businesses to start up. Any individuals who are consideringsetting up a business in North Tynesidecan contact the Business Factory on 0191605 3110 or can visit their website atwww.businessfactorynt.co.uk. Shouldany start up businesses wish to takeadvantage of the Chamber’s freemembership please contact the Chamberdirect at info@northshieldschamber.co.uk.

YMCA North Tyneside BuildingTransformation Revealed

The scaffolding is down and the new lookYMCA North Tyneside in Church Way,North Shields is revealed. The charity moved to their currentpremises 75 years ago but the local landmark had suffered significant damageover recent harsh winters. The Board ofTrustees had taken the decision to invest£1 million in solving leaking roofs, draftywindows and repair a drab looking facia. Dean Titterton, Chief Executive of YMCANorth Tyneside, said: “The spruced upbuilding looks fab and exceeds ourexpectations we gleaned from thearchitect’s pictures. To find out more about the work, peopleshould visit the charity’s website,www.ymcanorthtyneside.org.Alternatively, people can keep updatedon the refurbishment progress via twitterby following @YMCANTyneside.

The Four Seasons – an Exhibition of ArtWork by HND and HNC Fine ArtStudents, Creative Studios

HND Fine Art students studying at TheCreative Studios, part of TyneMetCollege, in North Shields have recentlyshowcased their work at an exhibitionopen to the general public. ‘The FourSeasons’ exhibition was held at theBeacon Shopping Centre.Dr John O'Rourke, Course Leader, HNDFine Art & Design, Creative Studios, said:“Having the opportunity to share theseworks with the general public is a

fantastic experience for the students. Iwould particularly like to thank theowners of the shopping centre forallowing us to make use of the space.”Chris Wilson, Beacon Centre Managersaid: “The new owners of the BeaconCentre are keen to make more of animpact in the malls, and to brighten themup. As we had previously had anexhibition with the Creative Studios, weknew who to go to, as the quality of thestudents’ artwork is excellent.”Commentating on the exhibitionChamber Chair David Bavaird said: “Weare delighted that the students from TheCreative Studios have returned to NorthShields with this exhibition which will bean attractive display for residents andvisitors to the town and is a furtherdemonstration of the close links whichthe town has with local schools andcolleges.”

Local businesses are invited to be part ofone of the largest community basedprojects in the country commemoratingthe outbreak of WW1. The Projectmarks the centenary of the Great Warand will involve all sections of thecommunity – residents, voluntarygroups, schools and local businesses.

The Project aims to provide every schoolstudent in the Borough with a free copy ofa brochure commemorating the outbreakof the Great War, its impact on localpeople and present day efforts toremember the sacrifices made by thecommunity during the conflict. The brochure features details of theAugust event together with many otherevents happening between June andSeptember this year. In order that everypupil can be provided with a brochure weare asking the business community to

help us through sponsorship ofindividual schools. This approach means that the Project isnot asking any business for substantialsums of money and, in the case of some ofthe smaller schools, sponsorship isconceivably within the reach of very localand small-scale businesses.For details of how your business can getinvolved and to find which schools westill need to find sponsors for, pleasecontact Peter Hedley, Chair of theBusiness Forum, on 07907 296581. As part of the wide-ranging programmeof events to mark the centenary of theGreat War, the Commemoration Projectis arranging a public event to be held onSunday 3 August 2014 from 10am to 4pmin Northumberland Square, NorthShields.

Support WW1 project - how you can get involved

Full details of all the Project’s activitiescan be found at their websitewww.tynemouthworldwarone.org

North Tyneside businesses can now use the ‘mi North Tyneside’ phone app andwebsite to promote special offers for free.

This will allow businesses to efficiently communicate with thousands of local residentsusing the latest technology. The system lets businesses login to add exclusive ‘mi offers’,promotions and events which are then promoted via the free smartphone apps foriPhone and Android, web, social media and email.John Fleet, Town Centres Manager, said: “We are delighted to be working with miconexto harness the power of social media and the latest smartphone technology to supportour retail businesses. I’m looking forward to taking advantage of the great offers whichare being posted on the system.”Colin Munro of miconex added: “We share North Tyneside Council’s goal of promotingNorth Tyneside businesses and by providing this service for free we will be able toengage with even more businesses. This in turn makes the proposition stronger for theconsumers using the resources which completes the circle.”To find out more visit the AppStore or the Google Playstore on your smartphone anddownload the MiNorthTyneside app.

Recent Forum Events

2014 Events Schedule available soon

This newsletter has been produced to raise awareness of North Tyneside Business Forum and its services to the borough’s business community.

Business Forum Plays CupidBusiness Forum members learned ‘The Art ofSeduction – How to Attract More Customers’ in aninnovative workshop held earlier this year.Hosted jointly by the North Tyneside Business Factoryand Business Forum, the event featured two high-profileand globally successful speakers who shared tips withdelegates.Phil Gripton – originally from North Tyneside – is theCEO of Cupid plc, one of the top five global datingorganisations, listed on the London Stock ExchangeAIM (Alternative Investment Market) in June 2010. Philtalked about the importance of sales in building abusiness drawing on 20 years’ experience in technologybusinesses.Joining Phil was business development specialist DanBond whose motivational session on ‘Special BusinessPowers’ took the audience through all aspects of thesales process spurring them on to achieve furthersuccess.

Business Exchange with NECCThe BusinessForum joinedforces withNECCrecently tohost aroundtableBusinessExchangeevent at theVillage Hotel.Sharingsuccess – delegates were encouraged to share a recentbusiness success around the table before moving on todiscuss a recent business challenge and how they overcame it.Other delegates offered personal advice and guidance fromtheir own experiences.Also present on the day was Andrew Hebden from the Bankof England who gave advice on how the Bank aims to helpsmall north east businesses.It’s hoped that the Forum and the NECC can work togetheragain in future to host joint free events to bring localbusinesses together and promote networking.

Promote your company with ‘mi North Tyneside’

Members of the local businesscommunity were given an update abouteconomic growth plans in the NorthTyneside area at a recent breakfastbriefing.The event was organised by the NorthTyneside Manufacturers’ Forum - part ofthe North Tyneside Business Forum, inpartnership with North TynesideCouncil. Attendees heard about thework the Council is doing to maximiseopportunities presented by theregeneration of the North Bank of theTyne Enterprise Zone. Paul Woolston, Chair of the NE LocalEconomic Partnership (NE LEP), spokeabout the emerging Regional Economic

Strategy, and NTC’s Chief ExecutivePatrick Melia described how a newcombined authority will work alongsidethe NE LEP to deliver the best outcomesfor the regional economy. The Elected Mayor Norma Redfearnsaid: “I am keen to work closely withlocal industry and think it is veryimportant to make sure our businesscommunity is fully informed about thedevelopments which will have an impacton the future of our local economy.”Andrew Esson, Chair of North TynesideManufacturers’ Forum, added: “TheManufacturers’ Forum shares theCouncil’s ambition to grow the localeconomy and to ensure that North

Tyneside companies are given everychance to flourish and take a leading roleon the regional stage. I am very pleasedto work with the council to provide thisopportunity for us all to hear aboutrecent developments and future plans.”

Breakfast Briefing