A testimonial from Tony Mulvahil, Director at Planning for the Best:

"These daily emails make it feel like I speak with you every day and I look forward to my daily update from you via the Hounslow Chamber. Your updates capture the latest changes from the government as well as keeping me up to date with local news."
Clean Air day - 8th October 2020

Clean Air Day is on Thursday 8 October this year and is the UK's largest air pollution campaign.  Please do try to attend our Clean Air Day webinar, 10:00am for 60 minutes:


Panellists include:
  • Chris Smith, Meld Energy – net zero consultancy and project developer
  • Jack Alexander – Idling Action London
  • Jane Wiest – Parcels not Pollution
  • John Rayment - GWR Kia
  • Matthew Kamau – TfL
  • Cllr Katherine Dunne - Cabinet member for Communities, Climate Change, Hounslow Council
 
Air Pollution in Hounslow

The lockdown imposed across the UK due to the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant positive impact on air pollution in Hounslow. This is due to a number of factors including a reduction in road traffic and air travel. Between March and May 2020, nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was down 34% across the borough, compared to the same period in 2019. Particulate matter was also greatly reduced, down 12% on average.

Between June to August 2020 there has been an 16% rise in nitrogen dioxide pollution. This is still lower than the value recorded over the same period in 2019, however the trend is increasing as the borough comes out of lockdown.

Between 1st April 2019 and 31st March 2020 there were 18 airTEXT alert days in Hounslow. If you are concerned about air quality and would like to receive regular warnings of high pollution, you can sign up to our free airTEXT service, which sends alerts via text message or email. See www.airtext.info for further details.

#EnginesOff: No Idling Toolkit & Driver Education

As part of the London wide #EnginesOff campaign, Idling Action is providing businesses with a free driver education video and a toolkit of resources for those who have fleets, professional drivers, or employees who travel by car to work. 
 
Workplace cycle promotion tips

Increasing the levels of active travel in your workplace, such as cycling, has substantial benefits. For individuals, it means cheaper travel and better health. For businesses, it means increased productivity and increased footfall in shops. And for society as a whole it means lower congestion, better air quality, and vibrant, attractive places and communities. 
 
The Cycle to Work scheme

The Cycle to Work scheme is designed to help your employees save up to 42% on a new bike and accessories, as well as spreading the cost over monthly salary sacrifice instalments. Employers will need to sign up to Cycle to Work scheme such as Halford’s Cycle 2 Work, Cyclescheme or Bike2Work to name a few. Please find the Government’s Cycle to Work guidance here.
 
Free cycle training

London Borough of Hounslow are offering free adult cycle training to all anyone aged 16 and over who lives, works or studies in the borough. The 1 to 1 session will be tailored to the rider’s ability and can include planning a safe cycle route to work/home.
 
Free bike checks

London Borough of Hounslow run regular free ‘Dr Bike’ sessions around the borough every month. Please find the latest schedule here. If you are large organisation, we can offer a free ‘Dr Bike’ session at your workplace to ensure your employees bikes are safe to ride to work. If you are interested, please request a session by emailing cycling@hounslow.gov.uk.
 
E-cargo bike service for new Chiswick Flower Market

London Borough of Hounslow in conjunction with Sustrans, the UK’s walking and cycling charity, are providing an e-cargo bike delivery service for the new Chiswick Flower Market, located on Chiswick High Road, W4 2DR. Running on the first Sunday of every month (8th November, 6th December), customers will be able to have their flowers delivered on the same day, free of charge, to anywhere within a 2-mile radius of Chiswick (W4 postcode). If your business is interested in setting up a E-cargo bike service for your deliveries please email cycling@hounslow.gov.uk.
Click here to attend the events or find out about these resources
Become a green homes grant installer
The Green Homes Grant scheme allows homeowners and residential landlords to apply for a voucher towards the cost of installing energy efficient improvements to their home.
Vouchers will cover two-thirds of the cost of eligible improvements, up to a maximum government contribution of £5,000 or £10,000 if the household is on low income.
To carry out work under the scheme, all tradespeople and businesses will need to be certified to install energy efficiency measures and register to take part in the scheme.
Tradespeople: register here to be an installer now.
Employers Fair for BAME residents as part of Black History Month
Hounslow Council is pleased to be working with the Met Police, the NHS, Job Centre and DWP as well as other partners to host a virtual employers fair to support our residents into employment and training. This webinar aims to help raise awareness of the recruitment drives, apprenticeship opportunities, skills courses and transitioning into new career paths.

COVID-19 has had a disproportionate effect on the BAME community, with many residents working in ‘at-risk’ jobs and BAME residents face many unique issues – language barrier and poor knowledge of navigating for employment opportunities and bureaucracies are to name but a few. Register here
Business support for our BAME businesses, as part of Black History Month - 29th October - 10:00am for 60 minutes
Panellists include:
  • Cllr Steve Curran - Leader of Hounslow Council
  • Seema Malhotra - MP for Feltham & Heston
  • Nauzar Manekshaw - Branduin Business Support

More details to follow.
Shaping our Town Centres

Numbers responding to THIS online survey have been encouraging but our business community is under-represented unfortunately. The deadline is Sunday 18 October 2020 so please do try to complete it. This is your chance to have a say in the place you work!
Area Forums return – submit your questions
Hounslow Council is hosting their first area forum since lockdown on Thursday, 8 October.

The Central Hounslow Area Forum will take place virtually on and starts at 5.30pm. You’ll be able to submit questions on the night or you can at email them ahead of the event to CHAF@hounslow.gov.uk. We will try to ensure all emailed questions are addressed. Alan Rides, MD of Hounslow Chamber will be making a presentation and taking questions.

Topics of discussion include the Council’s new approach to community engagement, and recovery support for businesses. More information about the forum here.
Calls for action to protect creative industries
In response to Cineworld’s announcement that it’s temporarily closing all of its UK cinemas, Hounslow Council has called for an effective package of measures to support venues and their employees who face losing their jobs. 
Mystery Shopper Recruitment Scam alert – please click here.

As a recent victim of a scammer, (not this one, I am too old!) I found this scam most upsetting – we all need to be so careful.
BRUNEL BUSINESS SCHOOL WEBINAR
Why it's time to understand & measure your customers' needs

When: Wednesday, 14 October 2020
Time: 10-11am

For any organisation, understanding their customers and what they need from the organisation should be a high priority. Yet many businesses fail to fully listen to their customers, focussing on scores and metrics rather than working out how best to interpret extremely valuable verbatim feedback that customers often leave in surveys. In this webinar Jonathan Mindell and Stephen Hewett, practice and thought leaders from Internal Consulting Group (ICG), will share their advice and solutions to deliver a better customer experience, including increasing revenue, improving margin and reducing customer churn. This webinar will also cover alternative ways of measuring and taking action on customer feedback.
Good News:
West London Local Chambers & Hounslow Chamber of Commerce are the primary support, networking, and representation organisation in west London for SMEs.

We support the interests, the commercial aspirations and the investment from businesses in Ealing, Hounslow and Hammersmith & Fulham - the Chamber is the voice for all businesses located in the borough