A FINAL call is being made to firms across the area for this year’s Observer and Gazette Business Awards.

The deadline to place your nomination is Saturday, so don’t miss out on the chance to see either your own company shine or show your support for enterprising efforts during the past year.

With our biggest-ever tally of 19 categories for our 2012 awards, we have already seen a wide range of responses from businesses keen to promote their success amid testing times.

But we are eager to attract as diverse a mix of companies as possible to have the chance to be put forward for an accolade.

With awards up for grabs in everything from start-up firm of the year, medium business of the year, through to the lifetime achievement category, it is set to be another memorable event.

So if you are involved with a business across Chichester, Midhurst, Bognor Regis and Littlehampton, don’t be shy in putting your companies forward.

This year’s awards will be capped off by a glitzy black-tie evening at the end of next month compered once again by ITV’s Fred Dinenage at the Hilton Avisford Park on Friday, March 30. As past winners have told us, gaining an award has had a significant impact for companies in terms of their marketing and the prestige that comes with claiming an independently-judged award.

Make your nominations online at www.josouthevents.co.uk to see all 19 categories or email jeanette.hockley@chiobserver.co.uk with your nominations- either for your own firm or other worthy candidates across our area.

MILLIONS of pounds worth of investment in a new John Lewis store for Chichester is fast taking shape in the city.

Located in Portfield Way on the site of the former MFI and Paul Simon outlets, it will be opening on Thursday, April 5, in time for the key Easter trading period.

As an At Home branch, its focus is on core electrical and furnishing goods, with additional ranges of travel and nursey products in response to customer feedback. There will also be cafe faciltiies at the two-storey store which features 350 car parking spaces. The launch day will feature live music performances and entertainment for customers.

Gavin Smith, occupation manager with the firm, is responsible for the final stage delivery of the project and believed it is well on course for completion.

He said: “We are on target for the store opening before Easter trading in April. It has had its challenges due to it having previously been two stores that we are creating ours from. Once the construction work is finished we will be doing the final shop work in eight days, which includes moving £3m worth of stock in just three days.

“Each shop has its own design elements which make it different from others in the group and in Chichester’s case that is in the layout of its escalator and some different offerings including nursery and travel goods.”

Branch manager Claire Dunkason is joining from her present role at the retailer’s Poole store and will shortly be joined by her team of around 140 employees next month.

She said: “I am so excited that we are going to be openign in just a few weeks time. For me this is all about the people that work here and they will be working at other stores including Southampton in the month before we open so they will familiarise themeselves with the company.”

Computer terminals in the branch will allow shoppers to browse the wider johnlewis.com assortment including fashion, beauty and carpets and order for home delivery or next day collection at the shop via the retailer’s ‘click and collect’ service.

This allows customers to order products from johnlewis.com before 7pm and collect them at the branch after 2pm the following day or opt for home delivery.

Advertiser’s announcement

AN online business directory has hit out at unethically placed listings and reviews in the West Sussex area.

Find It, powered by Qype, Europe’s leading consumer reviews site, has cut thousands of misleading or malicious reviews from its 13.5 million online listings.

Taking a tough stance on third parties who abuse online reviews, Find It and Qype have taken down over two thousand fake reviews in the last month. Around three per cent of new reviews have been deleted since the partnership declared war on unethical listings.

With a new review appearing every 30 seconds on everything from hostels and tourist attractions to hairdressers and minicab companies, Find It and Qype have implemented a continuous campaign to keep the directory clean and ensure all business listings and reviews for West Sussex are accurate and fair.

Find It, powered by Qype, is committed to stopping people who use its listings for financial gain, and aims to stamp out biased or unreliable reviews.

“Find It is the number one source for trusted local reviews and listings, and working with Qype we want to ensure every single listing is independent and impartial,” said Andy Prior, digital product manager at Johnston Press.

Find it, powered by Qype, gives immediate access to over two million independent reviews on everything from quirky cafés and clubs to plumbers and primary schools. Covering 166,000 locations worldwide, including thousands of real reviews on the best places to go in West Sussex, Find it powered by Qype is an indispensable guide for locals, at home or away.

A DYSLEXIC cleaner at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester who left school without any qualifications is flying through her studies 20 years later.

Rosie Mills, who has spent her adult life struggling with basic reading and writing, is now gaining qualifications for her work – and getting a ‘real buzz’ out of learning.

The 49-year-old (pictured on the right with Carol Mainhardt, domestic services manager), who began working as a cleaner at St Richard’s in the mid-1980s, took her NVQ Level I in Cleaning and Support Services in 2003.

“I had never had any qualifications before, but I will be doing more,” said Rosie, who lives in Chichester.”

“It is a real buzz, and when you have got a taste for it you want to carry on. I was nervous about doing qualifications, but my reading and writing are much better now – it wasn’t easy for me at all but it really helps me outside of work.”

This was the first time she had studied for a qualification in her adult life, and she has now gone on to complete a range of Skills for Life courses at Chichester College.

With help from her employer, Western Sussex Hospitals NHS Trust, Rosie has already begun the NVQ Level II in Cleaning and Support Service Skills at the college and is planning more study to boost her reading and writing skills still further.

In December she was nominated for an employee star award by the trust and health bosses have described her as ‘a real inspiration’.

Joanne Hauffe, learning and development nurse, said: “We know some of the courses were not easy for Rosie, but her positive attitude means she has made real progress.”

A CHARITY in Sidlesham is helping vulnerable members of society by donating bedding to an organisation which supports homeless people.

Brent Lodge Bird and Wildlife Trust receives numerous donations of duvets, towels, sheets and sleeping bags, some of which it cannot use for the animals.

To stop them being wasted it has formed a partnership with Hunston charity Stonepillow, and transferred to it any good-quality bedding it is unable to use. In return, Stonepillow will be taking along all its newspapers for use in the animal pens.

The link was the idea of Brent Lodge volunteer Danny Dawes who is now hoping to form links with other charities across the area to see how they can help each other in practical ways, for example by sharing equipment.

Last week Danny presented a pile of blankets, pillows and duvets to Kevin Bristow (pictured), senior project manager at the Old Glassworks in Chichester, run by Stonepillow.

“Everyone will benefit, it’s a win-win situation,” said Mr Bristow.

Mr Dawes said the initiative would help prevent waste, too. “There are so many things I come across which we can’t use that could be useful to other organisations. I want to bring charities together to see if we can work together, it will be for the good of all of us.”

To get involved, email brentlodge@yahoo.co.uk

PUBLIC exhibitions are being held in Sidlesham and Pagham to discuss the risks of flooding and erosion.

The Environment Agency (EA) is holding the exhibitions, in partnership with Arun District Council and Chichester District Council, to display the current risks which face the local coastline and surrounding areas.

The EA recognises local residents are concerned about recent increased rates of erosion in the area as well as the risk of flooding from within the harbour.

The exhibitions will show the community what the plans are for managing these risks into the future.

Officers from the EA, Arun District Council, Chichester District Council and Natural England will be available at the exhibitions so residents can ask any questions about flood and coastal erosion risks.

The exhibitions will be held on Monday and next Wednesday at St Ninians Church in Pagham, and also on Thursday, March 1 at Sidlesham Church Hall. The events will take place from 2pm-7pm each day.

Copies of an information booklet on the plans has been posted to residents who live directly on the beach or within the flood plain of the harbour.

The document can also be downloaded from the EA’s website and will be freely available to pick up at the exhibitions.

James Humphrys, Solent and South Downs area manager for the EA, said: “The changes we have seen around Pagham Harbour over the past ten years have been notable and difficult to predict.

“Following a great deal of study and analysis we now have detailed plans to manage the flood and erosion risks into the future that work with nature rather than against it.

“We appreciate that Pagham Harbour is a dynamic and fast-changing coastal area, so we have to be flexible with our approach.”

For more information visit www.environment-agency.gov.uk/paghamharbour or call 08708 506 506.

FIREFIGHTERS in West Sussex are reminding chip lovers to be vigilant as part of National Chip Week (February 20 to 26).

Almost 60 per cent of all accidental house fires in West Sussex are started in the kitchen, with the majority caused by unattended or careless cooking. Leaving a chip pan unattended for even a short time can have disastrous results as the oil can easily overheat and ignite. A simple switch from the pan to the oven or a temperature controlled deep-fat fryer can help prevent the worst.

Community risk reduction officer, Jackie Boyle, said: “I’m sure chips will be on many people’s menus during National Chip Week. People assume that cooking chips in a pan of hot oil is a thing of the past, but we know from the incidents our crews attend that it’s still popular. Last month a lady in Crawley sustained serious burns attempting to tackle a chip pan fire which shows just how dangerous it can be.

“We’d recommend oven chips as a safer and healthier option, but if people do choose to fry then please ensure you stand by your pan - don’t be tempted to leave it unattended. If you are unlucky enough to have a chip pan fire, please don’t try and tackle it yourself, especially not with water, it could put your life in serious danger.”

Tips on frying safely:

. Most kitchen fires occur when people leave things unattended. Don’t get distracted while cooking, if you are called away from the cooker take pans off the heat

. Never fill a chip pan (or other deep-fat fryer) more than one-third full of oil

. Consider using a thermostatically controlled deep-fat fryer - this will ensure that the fat does not get too hot

. Test it Tuesday – fit a smoke alarm on each level of your home and don’t forget that weekly test!

If a pan catches fire:

. Don’t move it – it is likely to be extremely hot

. Turn off the heat if it’s safe to do so – but never lean over a pan to reach the controls

. Don’t use water on a chip pan fire – the water reacts with the oil creating a potentially lethal fireball

. Don’t use a fire extinguisher on a pan of oil – the force of the extinguisher can spread the fire

. If you have put the fire out, leave the pan to cool completely.

The Silver Arrow racers are to race at the 2012 Goodwood Revival for the first time in nearly 75 years.

The iconic Mercedes-Benz W25, W125, W154 and W165, plus examples of the Auto Union Type C and Type D, will be in action at race-speeds, piloted by well-known top-level racing drivers.

Alongside the Silver Arrow racers will be many of the cars that competed against the dominant Mercedes-Benz and Auto Unions in the late 1930s – ERA, Maserati, Riley, Bugatti and MG – on the legendary Goodwood track.

Piloted by world-famous drivers, the Silver Arrows will stage a carefully choreographed ‘race’, alongside examples of the British and Continental ‘cannon fodder’ that raced against them in period – providing all the spectacle of a real race, but without risk to these priceless machines.

Low-speed demonstrations by individual Silver Arrows are an impressive sight, and this will be the first time so many of these mighty machines have been driven together at full racing speed since the Yugoslav Grand Prix, on September 3, 1939 – the day after the second world war broke out.

The cars will be housed in an authentic recreation of a period pit/paddock building.

A CHICHESTER city-centre shop has lost an appeal to replace its front windows because of the impact it would have on the architectural importance of the listed building.

Between the Lines, at 79 North Street, made two applications, both retrospective to replace the windows at the front the shop, but they were refused because it would have ‘a harmful impact on the special architectural and historic interest of the listed building and on the character and appearance of the conservation area’, according to the appeal inspector.

The two applications were refused by Chichester District Council in September because they were to the ‘detriment of the character and appearance of the Grade II Listed Building’.

The appeal inspector, J Armstrong said: “There are other shop windows in the vicinity which are not sub-divided but equally there are many, including some very similar to the appeal premises, which are, and which have thereby succeeded in retaining or reviving a more traditional appearance.

“While it has been argued that the change was necessitated by the use of thicker glass for security reasons, other premises appear to have resolved this matter and indeed I note that the sub-divisions have been retained in the other window of the appeal premises which fronts the adjoining alley.

“My finding is that the unauthorised alteration, while small, has a harmful impact on the special architectural and historic interest of the listed building and on the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.

“I find no public benefit to weigh against this harm which could justify the alteration.

“It is therefore contrary to policies in the Chichester District Local Plan First Review (1999), particularly BE5 which requires alterations to listed buildings to be appropriate in design and BE6 which refers to the need for shop fronts to accord with the character and appearance of the Conservation Area.”

We much enjoyed this 2.5-mile (4kms) walk last week across National Trust heathland with fine views south to the Downs.

Parking is easy, off-road, in NT car park SU949187, one mile west of A285. Cross the road south into Lavington Plantation on Serpent Trail.

As the notice says, this is reclamation from dense pine cover returning the heath to heather, sand lizards, nightjars, Dartford warblers and sundew carnivorous plants, all of which are rare and endangered.

Stay ahead southeast by a water trough at path junction, ignoring the path which goes off west, and again the next one west. At that second junction, if you look west into the bracken you will see one of four or five Bronze Age tumuli sticking up. Amazing these sandy cemeteries are still there after 3,500 years.

This was good farming land for those tribes and they cultivated much of Sussex, including those areas we know today as ancient forest on the dip slope of the downs. We need their cattle back here on this heath today to get rid of the bracken, a tremendous conservation challenge for National Trust.

Arrive at cottages and Lower Barn. Note request on sign asking that dogs be controlled in bird-breeding season. Turn right on fingerpost passing ‘Equine Logistics’.

Note two vintage tractors and a fine holly hedge with ivy too – splendid breeding ground for that beautiful little butterfly the holly blue. Note also several green woodpecker holes in oaks.

Now sharp left between black post-and-rails for 350 yards, when, at rue, sharp right on fingerpost, noting the first of several large clumps of pendulous sedge in the woods ahead. Also rookery active, and marsh tits singing.

High stile, on to road, where turn right to follow this road through the hamlet of Upper Norwood, noting model sailing boat in window of first house.

Road sharp bend right and then down the dip where a fine exposure of the three-million-year-old sandstone bedrock to left. Also a large growth of polypody ferns on a bank on left too.

Take the second of two right turns off the road, yours opposite a new metal gate, and follow this damp woodland path downwards to a boggy area. After 500 yards you will come to a crossways of yellow arrows. Keep straight ahead, following the wire fence for 450 yards until you reach the second of two right turns, walking as you turn right between two Douglas firs.

Again hook right on to the long damp white sandy track southeast across the open heath. The track is also a streamway in which rare dragonflies breed, that is why it is not made up. It is OK for walking on though, and you may see the slot marks of muntjac deer as I did last week.

Eventually turn left back to car, noting as you do an oak sapling that has been tapped by a green woodpecker for the sap tannin which helps make its feathers iridescent. Hope it hasn’t tapped a hole in my wooden car.

* See the February 16 issue of the Observer to view a map of this walk.

A man has been charged with a series of burglaries of shops and industrial properties including a cake shop in Chichester.

Solomon Dixon, 22, of Wadhurst Gardens, Southampton, appeared before Chichester Magistrates Court on February 18 charged with eight burglaries and an attempted burglary and has been remanded to appear at Worthing Magistrates Court on March 13.

Dixon is charged with an attempted burglary at Patisserie Valerie at The Buttermarket, North Street, Chichester, as well as burglaries at Stead and Simpson and the West Cornwall Pasty Company in South Street, Worthing, overnight on September 14 and 15, 2011.

Other burglaries took place at Easy Lay Carpets, Tyre Express, Property Maintenance Services and Caterbake Packaging on a business park in Shripney Road, Bognor Regis and at Eurotek in Steyning Way, Bognor, between February 28 and March 3 last year.

There was also a burglary at Barnham Trading Post, Barnham on March 11, 2011.

]]> 1.3542393 Tue, 21 Feb 2012 09:12:46 +0000 http://www.chichester.co.uk/police_candidate_monitoring_bnp_1_3524668

Elections to publicly appoint a police commissioner for the first time could turn into a gritty political battle after it emerged the British National Party (BNP) is planning to stand a candidate in Sussex.

Paul Richards, who is seeking the Labour nomination for the newly-created job, said if the far right party’s candidate was elected, it would be a disaster for community relations.

He warned residents to make sure they voted in the elections on November 15 to stop the BNP succeeding.

Mr Richards, an adviser to the last Labour government on community relations and counter-terrorism, has been monitoring the party’s websites in the county.

It is believed they plan to start campaigning on the streets of Emsworth and distributing leaflets.

“It is now clear the BNP is fundraising and organising to stand a candidate for police commissioner in Sussex,” he said.

“As a Labour Party candidate, I will stand against the BNP and argue for fairness and tolerance. But it will be down to the voters to turn out on election day to stop the BNP being elected.”

Each candidate requires 100 signatures, and a deposit of £5,000 to stand for the new posts, which replace the now-defunct police authorities. The police commissioners will have wide-ranging powers, including setting budgets.