Sleaford Town Council has set up a working group of councillors and local people to produce their first Neighbourhood Development Plan. The Plan will give people more say in how the town develops.

Through the Neighbourhood Plan, the Town Council are inviting you to:

• Provide information about your business and what it needs to thrive
• Say where you want new homes, shops, schools, offices, or other buildings to be located, or not located
• Influence the design of new buildings, roads, green spaces, leisure facilities and other developments

Sleaford Town Council want to hear from as many businesses as possible. By contributing to the Neighbourhood Plan you can make sure that decisions being made are the best for your business. To complete the survey please see here, the closing date for the survey is Sunday 28 February 2021. More details about the plan can be found on the Sleaford Neighbourhood Plan website.

Criminals are using the COVID-19 vaccine as a way to target the public by tricking them to hand over cash or financial details. They are sending convincing-looking text messages letting people know they are eligible for the vaccine or phoning people directly pretending to be from the NHS, or local pharmacy. People are warned to be alert to these scams.

If you receive a call you believe to be fraudulent, hang up. If you are suspicious about an email you have received, forward it to [email protected]. Suspicious text messages should be forwarded to the number 7726 which is free of charge.

Two Covid Safety Ambassadors will be on hand across the District to protect the health of communities, while bolstering public confidence in high streets and retail areas.

One, Joe Walker, is already in place and started this Monday, 11 January. He has experience working with the public as a pub General Manager as well as additional training for the role. A second ambassador is due to join him on Monday.

Working as a pair, they will explain, encourage and engage on best practice and compliance for businesses in various settings.

In their role they will:

• Cover different times of day and will work to identify and support those businesses found not to be following government guidelines.
• Be easily identifiable with uniforms and carry identification documents from the Council.
• Approach customers not following Covid guidance and encourage them to comply.
• Never call to a residential property, only working within business premises and public spaces.

They do not hold the power to issue Fixed Penalty Notices, which remains the remit of police and Local Authority enforcement officers. Any business matters requiring enforcement will be escalated to the relevant partners including the local Environmental Health Team.

The ambassadors will be in place until the end of March and will be provided using Government funding identified specifically for this purpose.

Should you have any questions or concerns please contact Mark Stuart (Public Protection Manager) on 01529 308287 or [email protected]

The People in Property (PIP) networking event is aimed at bringing together professionals from across the industry in an informal setting to enjoy an evening of networking. People in property in Lincoln (PIPIL) is held on the first Wednesday of the month with the next event being Wednesday 5th February at The Strait and Narrow Lincoln.

PIPIL events are relaxed networking events for property and construction professionals. Alongside the sponsors Cartwright Communications, RizkMcCay, Willmott Dixon and LK2, North Kesteven District Council will be sponsoring the event.

Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce is hosting a lunctime networking event over curry at The Agra. The event in February, will see a range of businesses of all shapes and sizes, come together to network and make new contracts.

Duncan & Toplis are sponsors and will be speaking at the event. Heidi Thompson will be presenting on the importance of company culture – an interesting and often overlooked aspect of business. The talk looks at what culture really means, how we can understand our own culture and taking steps for change; ensuring it sits front and centre of a company’s strategy and hardwiring our values and behaviours to future proof for success.

The event will take place on February 21st 2020, from 12:00pm-2:00pm. At The Agra in Sleaford.

For more event details and to purchase tickets please visit https://www.lincs-chamber.co.uk/events/sleaford-business-network-feb2020/

The Lincolnshire Business Expo was founded in 2016, and is now the largest and most popular B2B expo in the Greater Lincolnshire region. This year being the fifth annual Lincolnshire Business Expo, hosted on Wednesday 15th January 2020 from 9am until 3pm, at the Lincolnshire Showground.

The Economic Development team is very pleased to be exhibiting at the Lincolnshire Business Expo. As the largest and most popular B2B expo in the region, providing a powerful platform for meeting new customers and reaching out to existing clients, it is an ideal place to showcase the District as a vibrant business location. The Economic Development team will be on stand EY18 and look forward to engaging with new and existing businesses. Visit our stall to find out more information about ‘our offer’.

For more information on the Expo and to view the complete list of businesses exhibiting please see http://lincsbusinessexpo.co.uk/

Foreign owned businesses with a minimum of 10% foreign investment can receive free support from the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership’s (GLLEP) Investment Team.

Working closely with the Department for International Trade (DIT) and local authority partners, the GLLEP support all foreign owned businesses that are already located in Greater Lincolnshire to help them grow and also assist any foreign owned businesses that wish to relocate to our region from overseas or elsewhere in the UK.

The toolkit provided includes international, national, regional and local advice and information. Designated account managers will be assigned, who will visit and discuss the support on offer which includes access to a range of amenities,

For further information the support leaflet is attached below.