STORIES Magazine - Resilience by Stories Magazine

RESILIENCE - MARCH 2021

RESILIENCE

You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. Dr Seuss

Stories IN ASSOCIATION WITH DISCOVER HARLOW

REAL STORIES ABOUT REAL PEOPLE

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Issue 11

Hello and welcome Sharon Summerfield and myself selected RESILIENCE as the theme for issue 11. Although perhaps predictable, it perfectly summarises how we’ve all coped, a year into the Coronavirus pandemic. Resilience is a noun and is defined in the Oxford dictionary as: 1. the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. 2. the ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity. We have all had to demonstrate some form or another of resilience, just to get us through the struggle each and every day living with the virus has presented us. I’d love to theme the next issue REWARD and celebrate the end of lockdowns and solitary confinement. I’m keeping my fingers crossed! But for now, I would like to celebrate our resilience as individuals, as a community supporting one another and as a nation (as united as we can be) trying to beat this as best we can. This issue we’ll be looking at the after-death sector hearing from Daniel Robinson with their story and Laurelo, Probate specialists, plus the new Stort Valley Spirits brand and the new exciting supercomputer in Harlow, we have our regular piece from Harlow Police plus all of the usual content from local businesses and highprofile individuals. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Anglia Ruskin University for supporting this magazine. In the meantime, please do get in touch to share your stories, support the magazine and to help promote the Discover Harlow initiative. As always thank you to MW Studio for the fantastic design work and to Best Mailing Services who look after the postage of issues for us. Take some time out, have a read and enjoy….

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Dear Reader Dr. John Keddie Chair of Harlow Place Board

Welcome to March 2021 edition of Stories! Although I think it is fair to say 2021 might not have felt a whole lot different to 2020 so far, there are some reasons to be cautiously optimistic as we move towards the easing of lockdown, and despite these obviously very difficult times, there is still thank fully much we can be positive about. Harlow Leisurezone is now home to the first large scale vaccination site in West Essex, and already the fantastic staff and volunteers at both this, and the Lister House site, have vaccinated thousands of people. I am sure everyone would like to join in to express our thanks for all their hard work. And staying with health care, Princess Alexandra Hospital is still moving full steam ahead with plans for a brand new hospital in Harlow. As Harlow Ambassadors, now is the time that I would encourage you all to get involved. It was great to hear Lance McCarthy, CEO of Princess Alexandra Hospital, speak at the February Harlow Ambassador Event, don’t forget to visit their micro site to get involved and help shape the future of health care in Harlow. Finally, I would like to once again thank our Harlow Ambassadors; Emma Knewstub from Magnificent Stuff, Mark Welby from MW Studio, and Lyn Reed from Best Mailing Services, for partnering with us to produce and distribute this publication. If you would like more information on joining Discover Harlow and becoming an Ambassador, or you are interested in sponsoring an edition of Stories please email discoverharlow@harlow.gov.uk. Best wishes Dr. John Keddie Chair of Harlow Place Board www.discoverharlow.co.uk

Census 2021 is in full swing in Harlow CENSUS FACTS At the time of the last census in 2011...

959

PEOPLE WORKED AS CLEANERS

Just over 24,000 of you used a car or van to drive to work, although 4,100 ( just over 10%) of you walked to work

81,944

people lived in Harlow, including 3,809 students

SUCCESSFUL CENSUS WILL HELP give the best picture of the needs of everyone living in England and Wales,” Iain Bell, deputy national statistician at the Office for National Statistics, said. “It helps us understand what our society needs now and what it will likely need in the future. Now is the time to make your mark on history!”

THERE WERE

961 NURSES

1,052 people worked as care workers and home carers

There were 389 electricians and electrical fitters

Harlow was made up of

232

DIFFERENT ETHNICITIES

There were 35 households with 8 or more people

2021 Other than the UK, Poland was the top country of birth, with Polish the most common main language other than English or Welsh, spoken by 1,061 people

330 people said they were

JEDI KNIGHTS

Results of the current Census will be available within 12 months, although personal records will be locked away for 100 years, kept safe for future generations.

N E W INNOVAT I O N B O OST F O R H A RLOW B U SI N ESSE S With Harlow at the cutting edge of the UK’s booming life sciences sector, it is the perfect location for Anglia Ruskin University’s (ARU) brand new innovation hub, Arise Harlow.

HE NEWLY OPENED BUILDING, located on the Harlow Innovation Park offers additional capacity for businesses alongside the Arise innovation hub at ARU’s Chelmsford campus, which is already home to a range of businesses. Funded by ARU and Essex County Council and supported by Harlow District Council, the hub offers physical and virtual tenancies to businesses looking for a professional environment which facilitates innovation, with access to business support packages and opportunities to collaborate with ARU on; securing talented graduates, upskilling business employees, R&D projects; access to specialist equipment and facilities. Its close proximity to other life sciences and biotech businesses in the region and strong relationships with key partners such as the Princess Alexandra Hospital and the National Institute for Health Protection, formerly Public Health England make Arise Harlow an important asset within the UK Innovation Corridor. Harlow Growth Board member and ARU’s Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Professor Yvonne Barnett says, “ARU is committed, in our role as an anchor institution in the eastern region, to playing a significant role in supporting post-pandemic economic recovery and to contribute to business growth and future prosperity. We commit the assets of our Arise Innovation Hubs, leadership of the current NHS England Clinical Entrepreneurs Programme and significant research expertise and infrastructure in health, performance and wellbeing to collaborate with other leading organisations in pursuit of this regional ambition.” Fiona Bodle, ARU’s lead for strategic innovation who is overseeing the operational development of Arise Harlow believes, “Being part of the Arise ecosystem means early-stage businesses will have membership to quality, serviced office space enhanced

Biomechanics Lab; Biometrics Lab; Eye Clinic, Music Therapy Clinic, Sports Performance and Exercise Testing Facility and Clinical Trials Unit situated on our Cambridge and Chelmsford campuses.

by access to a growing community of researchers, students and alumni of ARU with expertise in the health, performance and wellbeing sectors.” “We like to describe our hubs as an ecosystem for entrepreneurs – a place where businesses come to thrive. That’s evidenced by some of the products and services our occupants have developed during their time at Arise Chelmsford. The opportunities for innovators to connect with occupants through our regular networking sessions and established innovation programmes has resulted in some really pioneering collaborations,” says Fiona. There are many possibilities for companies to apply their innovations to a range of sectors and tap into ARU’s diverse range of expertise and facilities. Research specialisms within ARU which are relevant to the Health, Performance and Wellbeing Sectors include but are not limited to: computing, data science and AI; medical technology and engineering; psychology and neuroscience; sports performance; music therapy; health economics, public health and social-epidemiology; vision and hearing; augmented, mixed and virtual reality. Companies can also access expertise that may support other areas of the business including: business planning and marketing strategy; human resources and organisational behaviour; financial and legal advice; intercultural business communications; supply chain management and logistics. State-of the-art facilities include a

Occupants can also access ARU’s student and graduate talent. Whether that’s taking on an intern for a short period of time, or developing a “live industry brief” where students work together to solve a real-world business challenge, there are a number of opportunities available. More recently, our occupants have been benefiting from a number of COVID-19 business recovery support initiatives which has connected

Occupant profile: “We like to describe our hubs as, an ecosystem for entrepreneurs”

them to innovation vouchers and fullyfunded internships. “Take Arise Chelmsford occupant Antobot, for example” says Fiona. “They are a robotics start-up that have taken on two of our student interns through ARU’s internship initiative. COVID-19 and the travel restrictions that come with it has created a drastic labour shortage within farming and the agricultural industry at large. Antobot recognised that they could help solve this issue as they were developing commercial grade universal Robot Control Units (uRCU) with a focus on agricultural robotic applications.” The interns gained exposure to stateof-the-art robotics technology, controls and machine vision. They helped to solve challenging technical issues, developing concepts and prototyping hardware

(e.g. for a new mobile robot platform) and testing prototypes which has hugely benefited the business. As Fiona points out, “We wouldn’t be who we are today without our diverse range of occupants. And this is just one example of how one of our occupants has benefited from joining Arise and accessed our student talent. We’re looking forward to the future and collaborating with new partners to build a healthier, more sustainable regional economy.” By providing an innovation hub, Arise will place us at the heart of our community creating links between our academic expertise and student talent and helping to deliver an innovation eco-system alongside other occupiers of the Harlow Innovation Park and other major investors in the region.

Digital health start-up Skyrocket Phytopharma (UK) Ltd joins Arise Harlow Neuropad, part of Skyrocket Phytopharma (UK) Ltd is a digital therapeutics and diagnostics company specialising in the early detection of peripheral neuropathy. We asked company founder and managing director John Simpson, a few questions about his company and why he decided to relocate to our innovation hub in Harlow. Tell us about your company Neuropad® is a unique non-invasive and painless 10-minute screening test to detect early signs of foot disease in people with diabetes which can lead to the development of foot ulcers and amputations. Neuropad® is already on the NHS Tariff and is being evaluated by NICE. It was also assessed by the NHS Innovation Accelerator who called it a ‘great innovation’. “Neurometrics-Diab™ is a digital therapeutics (DTx) smartphone app which uses the Neuropad™ as a biomarker to produce a continuous record of a person’s neuropathy to see if it is improving, is stable or is worsening with trend-lines helping to predict outcomes. Using a smartphone camera, patients can take a photo of their test result which is then automatically sent to a web server where the photo is run through a proprietary image processing algorithm resulting in a percentage score which is recorded. Over time a trend can be calculated. Why did you choose to locate your company to Arise Harlow? We chose to locate to Arise Harlow because it really is an excellent high-quality location. It has everything my company needs right now and there is of course a connection with Anglia Ruskin University which I hope may mean future cooperation particularly with regard to our DTx app. How do you hope to collaborate with ARU? We have ambitious plans for NeurometricsDiab™ including US FDA clearance to market it there and planned launches in Brazil and Canada within the next 12 months. We are also hoping that we can cooperate with ARU on the validation of home screening with our DTx app through at least one patient study. To find out more about Neuropad and how the Arise Innovation Hubs are supporting similar entrepreneurs, visit the Arise Harlow website or email the team on: ariseharlow@aru.ac.uk www.aru.ac.uk/arise/harlow

ARU students help County Council understand the impact of lockdown on young people’s mental health

TUDENTS STUDYING OUR BSC PUBLIC Health degree in Chelmsford provided Essex County Council with valuable insight into an important and pressing organisational challenge – how had COVID-19 and lockdown affected the mental health and wellbeing of our county’s young people? The answer came from our students. Lianne Canning and Beth Brown are Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health Coordinators for the local government authority. Part of their job is to understand, through research, how a group of people are thinking and feeling. How are societal factors such as COVID-19 impacting upon their everyday emotional wellbeing and mental health and how can they support them.

So when Lianne and Beth heard about ARU’s live industry briefs programme, they knew it was an opportunity to connect with the very group of people they wanted to learn more about and through them gain access to relevant research and fresh ideas which would complement their existing work. “The interaction between us and the live brief team has been fantastic. It was clear from the outset what the expectation for both parties was and that our time commitment would be no more than six hours,” said Lianne. The programme is an opportunity for an organisation to brief a group of undergraduate students with a real-world business challenge. Students then work on the brief as part of their course to solve the outlined issue. Bringing employers and students together enables the development of fresh and creative ideas that benefits both parties. “We worked together with the course module leader to develop a brief that was relevant to our business challenge, whilst remaining relevant to the student cohort’s learning priorities,” said Beth. The students were asked to carry out some research, identifying what the advantages and disadvantages of lockdown were for young people and what help if any had they had to support their emotional wellbeing during the pandemic. The results of their research were then shared with Essex County Council via a series of group presentations. This experience proved to be particularly useful to the local authority team, “The students’ presentations were really good. We put the students on the spot with our

questions – made them think, but they rose to the challenge. The work produced by the students was useful and met our initial expectations. It was really useful to us to gain a better understanding of how young people think and feel. The students gave us that insight.” The time commitment from the organisation was between three and six hours in total. Enough to set the challenge, brief the students and listen to their presentations at the end of term.

As for the future, “We would definitely take part in this programme again and are interested in working with second year students in the future too. You have done us a favour – you have supported our work – it is really valuable to us.” Find out more about how your organisation can benefit from our live brief programme: www.aru.ac.uk/ business-employers/access-student-andgraduate-talent/live-briefs

“Bringing employers and students together enables the development of fresh and creative ideas that benefit both parties”

TRADITIONAL VALUES, RESPECT & CARE SINCE 1892 After seeing a feature in yourharlow.com we spoke to Daniel Robinson, Funeral Directors to learn more about their heritage. that period, in 2001 and more recently in 2018/19, when it doubled in size. Founded on traditional values of providing best quality and services for bereaved families, the premises has two Chapels of Rest, a mortuary, garaging, staff facilities and three arrangement rooms.

HE BUSINESS WAS FOUNDED IN 1892 by Daniel Robinson. Daniel was a particularly able and farsighted man of business and, within a relatively short time, he had bought a brickyard and land, followed by a builder’s yard. Timber was readily available on his farmland and he built a saw mill to enable the use of the timber in building local properties.

The team are all fully trained through the Independent Funeral Directors College and proudly display their certificates on the passageways in the building. There are two managers at the funeral home, Robert Barr and Derek Oakley, Derek has worked with the Company for nearly 20 years and knows a great number of local people and community groups. The managers are assisted by a team of funeral arrangers, funeral operatives, receptionists, an Embalmer and casual bearer/drivers, all of whom play their part in working to provide a warm, caring and professional service. The business began to use the timber for coffins and the funeral and memorial side of the business initially began trading in Bishop’s Stortford.

In 1966 it was evident that the flourishing New Town of Harlow would benefit from the building of a funeral home with the full services of a funeral director and monumental mason. A leasehold site at Wych Elm, Harlow, was acquired from Harlow Development Corporation, enabling the second branch of Daniel Robinson & Sons to open, this was the first purpose-designed funeral director’s premises built in the area. In those days it was run by Fred Donaldson who lived and served Harlow for thirty years. Today the Wych Elm funeral home provides excellent facilities for the families of Harlow, with everything on-site, a dedicated, qualified team and ongoing investment in their fleet of funeral vehicles which are fully air conditioned for the comfort of families. The building has been subject to extensive renovations and extensions twice during

Stay The Company is led by Gary Neill who is based at Bishop’s Stortford, he has held the position of Managing Director for 33 years and there are further branches in Epping, Loughton, Great Dunmow, Sawbridgeworth, Braintree, Halstead, and most recently a new branch has been opened in Waltham Abbey. Daniel Robinson & Sons work closely with the local community, supporting a range of Clubs and Charities, including an ongoing commitment to St Clare Hospice, which they have supported from its development and for which they have raised over £700k. For more information about Daniel Robinson, their community support or their heritage in Harlow please contact 01279 426990 or visit www.drobinson.co.uk/offices-harlow/

connected with sources of support

ITH STRONG PERSONAL and business ties to Harlow, the family run business Laurelo, who specialise in Probate in the After Death sector reflect on the year. “Our clients overall have shown extreme resilience this past year. We’ve worked very closely supporting nearly 500 (mainly local) families and funeral homes with what can often be a complex and frustrating journey in achieving closure on an estate” It’s one thing having to deal with a loved ones death, but during the past year the ability and flexibility to freely grieve and hold or touch, something that we all took for granted in the past was taken from us with families unable to comfort or support each other in the way they would at a time of grieving. This past year we have worked with families whose lives had been devastated and disrupted by Covid-19 but who still fought on, didn’t wallow and defeated the run of sad fortune sent to them. Following a very close and supportive family relationship the mother (likely infected by her granddaughter) had died of Covid-19 in hospital already, with the father given a few days to survive. Neither had underlying health issues. Whilst dealing with something that had torn their lives apart so suddenly the siblings took control and joined up as a team to look after the estate. Despite the horrific circumstances they pulled together (with a redundancy thrown at them too) and managed everything to tidy their parents estate. Stricken with heart wrenching grief they both continued to manage their own families, find new work and support one another (from a distance) throughout their whole pre-post and after death management. Another true example of outstanding resilience this past year would be the husband and wife, childhood sweethearts had been married 72 years. Unable to have children they adopted and fostered most of their life. The wife died alone in hospital (the only night in her

married life she had spent away from her husband) and the husband along with their 3 children were left to manage the entire probate process. “When you loose a loved one and your heart feels entirely broken you’re just focused on trying to get through that moment and nothing else. The last thing you want to be doing is sitting on hold to the probate office or filling out complex paperwork. Having us on board helps support families not only with the probable process but also to get the emotional and practical advice they so often need”. Having lost a close family member last year themselves the Laurelo family team continue to be amazed and inspired by the strength their families display. “Every day we’re blown away by a different families story and how hard they work to overcome their grief and battle on” Our service is on the front line working for families wanting a personal, handheld and consultative approach to applying for a grant of probate. Those families in need of a personal, empathetic touch, and a very different offering than a solicitor specialising in probate may offer. What happens is, generally a will writer, hospice/end of life team, or a funeral director will recommend us to families looking for support with probate. Those who perhaps are grieving the heaviest or who may have a more complex estate to resolve. We work very closely with the family to support them and make the whole process both seamless and effortless. For probate advice and more information please contact www.laurelo.co.uk or call 0203 058 2329

R E SI LI EN C E :

THE ART OF

E S S E N T IA L

Embracing many of the lessons learnt throughout the pandemic, Katie Templeton-Knight at MW Studio explores how customer understanding and a clever marketing strategy can help ensure that your business will exit from these economic difficulties stronger than ever.

NLESS YOU ARE JEFF BEZOS OR A major shareholder in Zoom, finding success during the COVID 19 crisis has been challenging to say the least. This unprecedented time has turned the business world upside down and while there is still much uncertainty around life after COVID, businesses would do well to heed the words of Benjamin Franklin “Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.”

has fostered a significant backlash against globalisation and yet has strangely united the globe through this common horrific experience. In the United Kingdom, BREXIT has also accelerated the trend towards deglobalisation, whilst paradoxically exposing the limits of nationalism. The virus has strengthened our sense of community, while also widening political, social, educational and economic divisions.

As countries across the globe embrace vaccination programmes apace in a bid to restart economies and return to “normal”, it is worth considering some of the factors that will shape life after Covid. For example, the rapid jet-enabled spread of the virus

Individuals have recalibrated their priorities, with Covid forcing us all to look at what is essential for our fulfilment and happiness and what is not. Behavioural scientists refer to this as the idea of “congruence”; the alignment of one’s personal values with the

other aspects of life. People are giving new priority to family and personal relationships, to health and to those in our society who have sustained us through this pandemic, either on the front line or as key workers. The pre-pandemic near obsessional interest in all things celebrity has waned being replaced by a national respect for real-life heroes embodied in the incredible efforts of the late Captain Tom. Whether these priority shifts will shift into long term behaviours is hard to know right now but they do give us a sense of the factors that will shape people’s choices as the next “normal” emerges. People have adapted to sustain themselves through the pandemic. Businesses now need to be ready to embrace these changes in

SURVIVAL OF THE SAVVIEST Being ‘essential’ is reflecting customers’ most fundamental needs back to them in ways that are most relevant to them now. We see three forces driving the connection between brands and customers now:

Advance

Retreat

Restore

Consumers taking up new routines, learning a new language, taking on new roles in their households and at work. Acquiring new skills to be better equipped through this crisis.

These are our safety zones. Where people feel comfortable and cared for. Where people’s good memories reside and they can tap into for love and belonging. To know that everything is going to be ok. Disney movies. Campbell’s soup. Comfy couches.

How we take care of ourselves. Not as indulgences, but as motivations to survive in good health. To look better on zoom calls. Painting our nails. Trimming our beards. Drinking water.

The degree to which brands can adapt with empathy for their customers; to align their brands with these consumer forces, is the degree to which brands can prove their essential relevance now, to see benefit now and position themselves for longer-term success.

order to show true resilience through global uncertainty and to arrive at economic prosperity. People who live introspectively through a time of crisis can often come to a realisation that certain things that they felt were significant before, like designer labels and prestige cars, are actually somewhat trivial. This realisation is not just confined to frivolous spending habits. People have focused on their mental and physical health, with sales of home use gym equipment and subscriptions to online yoga classes skyrocketing. We are all desperate for a return to normality but, in the short term at least, what we want that normality to look like has definitely changed. Whilst many have expressed the strong desire to eat out in restaurants and increase their travel budget as soon as we are able, there will be other industries focused on the more luxury end of the market that will suffer as postpandemic Britain tries to streamline life and implement some of the resolutions made whilst in lockdown. The desire for online entertainment will inevitably dip as people re-establish themselves as social butterflies. Understanding and engaging with this communal outpouring of an altruistic wave for as long as it persists is essential for any business to thrive post-pandemic. It is vital to get the marketing messages right through this period which is why it makes sense to employ the services of marketing experts whose job it is to monitor and anticipate these societal mood swings.

People will of course continue to purchase goods and services that are non-essential but the means by which they are persuaded to do so needs to change. That’s where clever marketing scores. If your business is not already using the plethora of online tools available, then

“Consumer engagement and the personal experience of the customer has become an integral part of the e-commerce landscape.” now is the time to start. Although retail shopping is down, people are online more than ever before and likely to remain so for the foreseeable future, so you need to move as many of your services as you can online. According to the Office for National Statistics, internet sales as a percentage of total retail sales increased by nearly 15% from March 2020 to January 2021. This is the biggest spike in a decade and coupled with the decimation of the high street, when the retail sector bounces back as it inevitably will, online will account for the lion’s share.

Consumer engagement and the personal experience of the customer has become an integral part of the e-commerce landscape. Yes, registering online will trigger the obvious welcome back message and selfpopulate your details to make the final purchase of goods as painless as possible. But more complex data ’segmentation’ and recognition software can tailor content to your interests. For example, content loaded on your homepage could be entirely different to the next customer and the list of products ‘you may also be interested in’ will be tailored according to your profile, not just similar products. But I sound a note of caution. This can be extremely frustrating when applied to say a news channel, who start to push content around specific interests and not what might be important in the world today! We have all witnessed how gyms took their offering online during the pandemic showing true resilience by finding a way to deliver their services in innovate ways. It’s all about keeping the virtual contact with your client base and the wider community vibrant. Clear messaging about what you are currently offering and what you are doing as a business to help at this time is critical…even if that is just staying closed, for now, protecting employees and customers. Businesses need to tap into the new sense of community and demonstrate that they too have reflected, re-evaluated and re-invigorated. mwstudio.uk

Harlow - home of the UK’s largest Supercomputer

AVE BURROWS, ECONOMIC Development Advisor to the Innovation Core, tells us about Harlow’s exciting new resident, the UK’s largest Supercomputer Cambridge-1. The Innovation Core is the central part of the UK Innovation Corridor, situated midway between London and Cambridge, encompassing Harlow, Broxbourne, East Herts, Epping, and Uttlesford districts. Medtech and Digital Health have been identified as a key investment opportunity for the Innovation Core within the broader Life Sciences offer of the UK Innovation Corridor, considering the regional intersection of Advanced Manufacturing, ICT, and Life Sciences. Taking advantage of all this opportunity, US chip and technology company, NVIDIA, have just announced that they will site their powerful new supercomputer in Harlow. This momentous project is to be located on Kao Park, the same park where Sir Charles Kao and George Hockham invented fibre optic technology in 1966, and is therefore of tremendous importance for Harlow and the broader Innovation Core and UK Innovation Corridor.

“The supercomputer will be used for AI-powered drug discovery and analysis of NHS datasets”

The project strengthens the local ICT sector and in particular boosts the credentials of the Kao Data Centre as a hub for big data processing, machine learning and artificial intelligence. Cambridge-1 will be ranked the world’s 29th most powerful supercomputer and the most powerful in the U.K., according to Nvidia. For the Innovation Core, however, the most exciting aspect of this project regards the purposes for which this supercomputer will be used. Business Weekly reported that the supercomputer will be used for AI-powered drug discovery and analysis of NHS datasets. Jensen Huang, Chief Executive of Nvidia, said that Cambridge-1 will be available to healthcare researchers using artificial intelligence to work on urgent medical challenges:

“Tackling the world’s most pressing challenges in healthcare requires massively powerful computing resources to harness the capabilities of AI,” Pharmaceutical giants GlaxoSmithKline and AstraZeneca are among those reported to have already signed up to use the supercomputer, demonstrating the capacity of Harlow and the Innovation Core to support advanced projects in Medtech, Digital Health and broader Life Sciences. Harlow Innovation Park, formally known as Harlow Science Park, situated adjacent to Kao Park, is currently completing construction on a number of additional units, ready to house companies and projects linked to these sectors. Anglia Ruskin University’s Arise Innovation Hub is aimed at health, wellbeing and performance companies and the Nexus building next door has even larger office space available while the new Modus units will be flexible mid-tech facilities adaptable to a variety of uses. With the arrival of the new supercomputer, the appeal of Harlow for business looks set to go from strength to strength. For further information on opportunities in the Innovation Core for Medtech and related Life Sciences projects, contact David.Burrows@harlow.gov.uk

DEL I V E R I NG SUP P O RT F O R H AR LOW BUSIN E SSES Harlow is a fantastic place to do business, but we all know and appreciate that times are tough for many of our businesses in the town.

NSURING THAT BUSINESSES KNOW where to go for help and support has never been more important. We have established some recent initiatives to try and get the word out to the business community about that support, and, provide a space for businesses to talk about the challenges that they are facing and ways that they can find solutions to problems. Harlow Business Forum is a joint initiative between Harlow Council and the Harlow & District Chamber of Commerce. It meets virtually every month and has talked about issues ranging from Business Support & Apprenticeships to Brexit. The meeting is joint chaired by Councillor Eugenie Harvey,

Deputy Leader and Lead for Covid 19 recovery and Michael Harrowven, Chair of the Chamber. The meetings have attracted businesses from a wide range of sectors and have enabled lots of discussion. Speakers so far have included representatives of the BEST Growth Hub, our local NWES Business Adviser from the Harlow Enterprise Hub, Harlow College and the new Brexit transition programme EUTAS. We want to hear from more businesses about useful subjects for the Forum and about how businesses have changed their business model or innovated what they do that has enabled them to weather the

One of the initiatives that has been established from the Forum suggestions is the Harlow Business Facebook page and Twitter account. We are using these to pass on useful information for businesses so please join us on Facebook and @HarlowBusiness where you can find out lots more and links to the organisations mentioned above.

storm and indeed become more successful. For example, we know how important doing business or marketing through digital platforms has become. If you have any suggestions or would like to register for the Harlow Business Forum contact list, please drop us a line at business@harlow.gov.uk. We hope to see you on-line soon! Julie Houston Strategy & Economic Development Manager Harlow Council T: 01279 446445 E: julie.houston@harlow.gov.uk

@HarlowBusiness

CO LO U R C U LT U R E S C U L P T U R E :

H A RLOW’S GROW IN G V I S I TO R ECO N O M Y

F YOU ARE PLANNING A SHORT BREAK post covid, you may be forgiven for not having Harlow on your shortlist. But that may be about to change.

Harlow Hotel by Accorhotels has worked extremely hard to stay operational during the pandemic. The hotel, which primarily catered for overnight business stays, saw customer numbers plummet in March 2020 as the UK entered its first national lockdown. Moving quickly to respond, the hotel used their resources to support local NHS staff with accommodation and meals. At the same time, thinking ahead to what the future may look like for the hotel, Hotel Manager Emilie Dengremont-Marceau, began working on an idea to offer a short break in Harlow, in order to capitalize on Harlow’s unique selling points of “Colour Culture Sculpture”, and “Location: London and lifestyle”. Emilie’s idea was to offer overnight stay, cycle hire and self-guided tours around our amazing world class outdoor sculpture collection, all within a short hop from London, and all within socially distanced guidelines, for as long as they are necessary. Emilie approached Discover Harlow with her idea, and by using the existing Discover Harlow network of local businesses and orgainsations, Discover Harlow was quickly able to bring together key stakeholders, and the Harlow Visitor Economy Group was created. As a sub group of the Harlow Ambassadors programme, the Visitor Economy Group

includes some of the key visitor attractions in Harlow. It quickly became apparent that, not only could the group support each other with this distinct offer, but could also further promote the visitor economy in Harlow for day trips and short stays, by enhancing

the visitor section of the Discover Harlow website, as well as working with colleagues in neighboring local authorities on a joint visitor offer. The Harlow Visitor Economy Group are now looking at ways in which to invest in the equipment required to offer cycle hire with local cycle shops, and Harlow Hotel are establishing a marketing strategy which will untilise their position within the Accor hotel group, to reach potential customers across the UK with the new Harlow short break offer. We are very much at the beginning of our journey, but it is safe to say there are exciting opportunities ahead, and who knows, just as Harlow was shortlisted with Barcelona, Estonia and Eindhoven for Place Brand of the Year in 2019, perhaps we will join them soon on the short break wish list too.

STO RT VALLEY SPI RI TS:

AMBASSADORS COLLABORATING TO RAISE SPIRITS

IKE MANY PEOPLE, LAST AUGUST I was on furlough – my role involved developing study abroad programmes for American universities, which obviously wasn’t happening during lockdown. But I still celebrated my 18-year anniversary with the company, and felt confident I’d return to doing what I loved. Fast forward two weeks, and I was being made redundant. It was emotional; I cried. But I’ve never been one to sit around; that same day I discussed options with my husband. We’ve always been passionate about supporting local businesses and, prior to lockdown, spent our free time browsing farmers’ markets. Why shouldn’t WE have our own stall at such a market? We decided to set up a small business, initially selling a range of artisan spirits that my cousin produces. In less than 24 hours, Stort Valley Spirits (SVS) was born, and we embarked on a journey unlike any other.

“Setting up a business during uncertain times has been daunting but rewarding” It was swiftly followed by The Orange Tree, Sawbridgeworth, and, despite lockdown constraints, we’ve welcomed more wholesale customers onboard. Just a few weeks in, we looked at other local businesses we could partner with. We sell ‘Cocktails for Lockdown’ kits and we immediately thought of selling Redchurch Brewery’s beers alongside these. After a meeting with Commercial Director Tony Porter, where he tried – and loved – our

selection, we offered a beer flight and complementing liqueurs. With Christmas upon us, we partnered with a chocolatier, Tom’s Bonbons, to create festive gift sets. Since then, SVS has teamed up with Four Acres Estate to sell cider and sparkling wine, and The Coffee Officina, which roasts coffee. Now we’re launching an exciting range of local produce hampers. We love being based in Harlow, where there are businesses to collaborate with, decent transport links and a supportive community. Giving back to Harlow is important to us. We donate a percentage of profits to a nominated regional charity, currently Teens Unite Fighting Cancer. SVS has also donated items to St Clare Hospice and other local causes, and worked with The Cock, Chipping Ongar, to promote a small farmers’ market. We’re proud to be involved with Harlow Ambassadors, which has allowed us to make connections and champion Harlow as a great place to live and work.

With my husband also being on furlough, we threw our efforts into establishing SVS, working with the council to obtain the relevant licences, organising stock and inventory systems, and sourcing premises. Six weeks later, we launched with a target of £500 sales for the first week. To our disbelief, we more than tripled that – and continued to grow weekly.

Setting up a business during uncertain times has been daunting but rewarding. Whenever we receive positive feedback or an order, however small, it gives us motivation and the ability to grow. So explore the small producers and suppliers on your doorstep; they were there for you in 2020 when supermarket shelves were bare.

At first, we focused on retail sales, but we were lucky enough to secure a wholesale customer, The English Cream Tea Company.

Learn more about SVS at www.stortvalleyspirits.co.uk or drop us a line on hello@stortvalleyspirits.co.uk

Prioritising Active Travel

ARLOW & GILSTON GARDEN Town (HGGT) recently carried out consultation on its Transport Strategy, revealing that 80% of residents who took part are in support of a shift towards active travel and improving walking and cycling routes locally. Active travel is considered to be walking and cycling but may also include micromobility such as scooters, wheelchairs and adapted cycles. The Garden Town partnership, consisting of Harlow, East Herts and Epping Forest District Councils with Herts and Essex County Councils, held two consultations on the Strategy in 2020, engaging with over 150 people via travel surveys, over 1,000 votes in social media polls and gathering over 900 comments from across the local community. Active Travel Officer for HGGT, David Burt, said: “There has been a lot of interest from the local community in the Transport Strategy and we’ve had some interesting and meaningful conversations with a range of different groups.” “This engagement really helps to strengthen and focus the Strategy.” The HGGT Transport Strategy outlines an ambitious objective for 50% of all trips within existing neighbourhoods and 60% within the new Garden Communities to be made by active and sustainable modes of travel. Feedback from the consultations shows that this is something a majority of residents support.

“Cycling and walking in the Garden Town is planned to be more attractive, safer and more inclusive.”

David Burt said: “Investing in active and sustainable travel across the Garden Town is a priority for HGGT given the huge benefits this brings, from healthier and betterconnected people to a cleaner environment and more enjoyable places.”

Sustainable travel is a key priority for HGGT, with new public transport routes proposed as a way of reducing local car journeys, gridlocked traffic in rush hour and associated carbon emissions in the Garden Town.

All the feedback submitted on the Transport Strategy has been reviewed and used to inform several changes. The Strategy is now in the process of being finalised and approved by the Garden Town Board and partner councils.

Last year saw the Garden Town awarded £172m from Government for transport infrastructure investment in the Gilston area with proposals including:

Transport engagement with residents will continue this year with a new Garden Town consultation on the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) coming soon.

• A walking, cycling and public transport link from Eastwick junction to Harlow town centre via the railway station. • An additional crossing over the River Stort. • Improvements to junctions along Fifth Avenue, benefitting walking, cycling and public transport networks.

Epping Forest District Council’s Garden Town Lead, Anna Rowell, explained more: “The LCWIP is a plan for how we can make cycling and walking in the Garden Town more attractive, safer and more inclusive.

Feedback from the Transport Strategy consultation showed over 50% of residents thought active travel should be prioritised over other modes of transport, and that public transport should be prioritised over private vehicles.

“Having high quality walking and cycling infrastructure will support more people to travel actively for everyday journeys like the school run or travelling to work.” www.harlowandgilstongardentown.co.uk Twitter & Facebook: @HGGTofficial

Get all the latest consultation and public engagement news for Harlow & Gilston Garden Town by subscribing for updates. Just fill in your email details via harlowandgilstongardentown.co.uk/contact

B E R ES I LI ENT

E ARE TOLD THAT BUSINESSES need to be resilient. Certainly many of my clients have this ringing in their ears from the media. OK it isn’t always those exact words, but phrases like businesses need to pivot, you have to be a leader, make sure people can carry on working from home... It’s all about resilience. Sure, we can understand how resilience is a useful trait to have in abundance when running a business but how do we draw upon this resource? Especially when the landscape keeps throwing up surprises or you’d rather just have a duvet day. There’s a huge power in doing what you’d say you’d do when you’d said you’d do it by. A calendar, a sense of duty and the tools to deliver will help fake it for a while but there’s no denying it, it’s been a rough year. And any well-imposed timetable for you or your employees can perhaps get some output. But, do you ever get that feeling it isn’t a true sense of resilient effort that really stiffens the sinews of your teams, suppliers and customers? It’s not quite the boundless energy and creativity you’d hoped for is it?

It’s Ok though. Like I said it’s been a tough year. There was a phrase kicking around that said, “In a world where you can be anything you want to be, be kind” Starting with being kind may just be a simple solution to developing the appearance of resilience, until it becomes a very real trait for you and your team. Discover what’s really going on with those around you. Everyone I know has had enough at some point this year. We aren’t that different as people. Are they in fear? Putting off jobs? Missing deadlines? Or maybe they haven’t dared look up yet, immersing themselves in the sphere of workaholism lest the reality of covid alcoholism and entrapment seeps in? Get a sense of where those around you are. Check that they still have the same goals (hopefully similar to your business goals if they work for you).

“Everyone I know has had enough at some point this year. We aren’t that different”

Then ask them to track their time for a week or two in half or one hour blocks. But unlike the Victorian methods of bells and structure, at the end of the week or fortnight, ask them to review what they spent time on by totalling the number of hours each task completed on and then look at their priorities. Two things happen when people do this exercise: output magically goes up and time taken to do things goes down. And when priorities become the priority again and hours to complete the tasks are less, there’s suddenly time to think and be more creative. In a short time, that reinforces that belief that they can tackle the workload while they have the energy and creativity to explore further - they become more resilient! And before you’re thinking about which employees to approach first, you should know that this exercise works best for business owners - which is where I’d recommend starting. Want some structure to get you started? Drop me an email and I’ll fire back a plan that typically frees up 3-6 hours a week to guide you through it all. Ed Pearson ed@thatcoachingthing.co.uk

A BIDING BY RESTRICTIONS

FFICERS FROM HARLOW POLICE have continued patrolling in different areas of the community since the move to the national lockdown for the whole country. There have been a few people who have chosen to ignore the guidelines. These people have been dealt with when they have come to our notice. Fortunately, the majority of people have been abiding by the restrictions. We will be continuing these patrols, as well as our day to day business in Harlow. We know this will continue to be tough for some people and we appreciate the sacrifice everyone’s been making to keep us all safe.

Tell us what matters to you by e-mailing us on HarlowCPT@essex.police.uk. Officers will keep up the high visibility patrol in these areas as well as their general patrolling of Harlow. If you have any ASB problems within your area please report this via essex.police.uk, call 101 or if it’s an Emergency dial 999. #ProtectingandservingHarlow.

for keeping safer: Thefts from a doorstep are when a parcel that has been delivered to your home or business address is stolen from where it was left by the delivery driver. This is a growing trend across the country, as thieves take advantage of the opportunity to steal unattended parcels. Reduce the risk of becoming a victim of doorstep theft by tracking your parcel to ensure you or someone else is at home for the delivery. For more advice on steps you can take to help secure your belongings, protect yourself and prevent becoming a victim of crime visit www.essex.police.uk/cp Your home is only as secure as its weakest point of entry. Spy holes and security chains are recommended so that anyone visiting can be identified before you open the door. For more advice on steps you can take to help secure your belongings, protect yourself and prevent becoming a victim of crime visit www.essex.police.uk/cp Fake HMRC telephone calls are currently being received. Telling the recipient that they owe Tax and will be arrested if they don’t pay over the phone. HMRC never make calls demanding payment of tax or ask you to disclose personal or payment information by call or text message. The telephone number that’s being used is 07399 996193, if you think you might have responded to a telephone call scam and provided your bank account details, contact your bank immediately. Report all scams to us via Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.

Image: MW Studio

Our approach will continue to be, engaging with the public, encouraging people to do the right thing and, explaining the regulations.

We are very grateful to those of you who have reported issues. We cannot deal with these issues without your help and will do our best to respond where possible. Prosecution will be a last resort when all else has failed.

Here are our Top Tips

Boosting Essex’s workplaces with Infectious Enthusiasm

CL WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2009 AS the UK’s first Local Authority Trading Company, wholly owned by Essex County Council. Our company status means that we are a private limited company. Over the last 10 years, we have grown to offer a wide range of specialist services. We are the largest care provider in Essex providing high quality care and support to older people, adults receiving reablement services, adults with learning disabilities and people with sensory impairment.

“Paid employment is so important to a persons confidence, self-esteem and sense of purpose.“ As a company we aim to support our clients in all aspects of their lives and provide them with the means to build their confidence and independence, especially when seeking employment. Supporting the clients to achieve their goals of becoming more independent is what motivates our Inclusive Employment Team. We are able to present employers with candidates who have been specifically matched to the vacancy, who will be supported by the team with on-the-job coaching once they are within a placement and be assisted with vocational training at

no cost to the employer. Some organisations have anxieties around the induction process and additional support that may be required in the workplace but the team are available to adapt this with accessible learning ensuring support is provided every step of the way. Xanthe and Trisha, two young women with learning disabilities, have found their ideal jobs through ECL. Both were supported in their search for work by their ECL Consultant, who contacted a local care home to see if they had any suitable positions. It is very difficult for adults with learning disabilities to secure work through a traditional recruitment process, so consultant’s approach companies they think may be able to provide something specifically tailored. The care home had need for further cleaning support, and so Xanthe and Trisha were given CV writing and interview technique training, to help them approach the care home regarding the possibility of work. Following a successful interview both ladies were employed, and one month on Michelle, Residential Care Manager had this to say: “Xanthe was a bit shy at first and nervous, but I did her probation interview this week, and to see this young lady sitting in my office, beaming smile on her face, just grown in confidence, it makes my heart melt, and makes you think this has been so worthwhile and something we should encourage everyone to do” Paid employment is so important to a person’s confidence, self-esteem and sense of purpose, when asked how she felt about her new job Xanthe replied: “Happy!!”

Become a Disability Confident employer: Employing someone with a disability and becoming a Disability Confident Employer has huge benefits. Our clients thrive on routine and repetitive tasks that other employees cannot sustain, or may find mundane, our clients increase job loyalty and reduce staff turnover, as well as bringing diversity within the workforce and increased staff engagement. The enthusiasm of the Inclusive employees can be infectious and it has been shown that they are able to boost both workplace morale and productivity, as the company gains a positive sense of reward in giving a person the opportunity they deserve, empowering them to be more independent. As a Disability Confident Employer you will also benefit from free publicity through ECL’s own communications including social media, the ECL website and use of the free digital toolkit which includes the Inclusive Employer badge. Julie.Bailey2@essexcares.org www.ecl.org Folllow Julie Bailey on LinkedIn

VI RTUA LLY SPEA KING The show must go on! The Discover Harlow team have recently hosted their second virtual Ambassador event.

ISCOVER HARLOW WAS THRILLED to hold its second virtual Harlow Ambassador event recently. Over 70 Harlow Ambassadors joined us online to enjoy presentations from Lance McCarthy CEO, and Michael Meredith Director of Strategy, at Princess Alexandra Hospital. Speaking on the latest plans for a brand new multimillion pound hospital in Harlow, Lance McCarthy described the plans as a; “Once in a lifetime opportunity to completely reset our healthcare. We want PAH to be a community asset, more about treatment, a calm and restorative place providing the best quality healthcare.” Ambitious plans include an emphasis on contact with nature, building on a human scale, and maybe even a rooftop farm! Donna Tyrelli, Founder and Director of ReGlow Ltd in Harlow then spoke to Harlow Ambassadors about the positive practical steps we, as businesses and organisations,

can take to move towards carbon neutral operations, in order to help in the global fight against climate change. We heard the positive results of Discover Harlow networking in action, as we learnt how ReGlow met with St Mary’s, Little Parndon, through the Harlow Ambassador network, and how they are now working together on the churches journey towards carbon neutral by moving to renewable energy.

“The very popular breakout rooms have enabled our Ambassadors to network, share and collaborate”

Following the speakers, Harlow Ambassadors enjoyed virtual networking in smaller breakout rooms. This proved very popular and has enabled our Ambassadors to continue to network, share expertise and support each other through these difficult times. The resilience of Discover Harlow over the last year has enabled us to learn new ways of working that we perhaps would not have otherwise explored. The popularity of our virtual events has meant that, as we move forward and hopefully leave the restrictions of the pandemic behind, we will continue to mix virtual events with face to face.

Discover Harlow is free to join, and exists to promote Harlow on the global stage as a world class business destination, bringing in new organisations and helping them thrive to provide a wide range of jobs for local people – something which we can all benefit from.

To find out more about plans for the new Princess Alexandra Hospital, visit www.pah.nhs.uk/newhospital To discover how ReGlow Ltd can help your organisation become Carbon Neutral visit www.reglow.co.uk

Our Harlow Ambassador Programme not only provides the salesforce for Harlow, as our communications aim to make Ambassadors the most informed business group in Harlow, in terms of place, but our well connected patrons also provide support to one another, forging new partnerships and projects to help their own organisations flourish.

Once registered as a Harlow Ambassador you will receive invites to all our events, plus our monthly newsletter and blog, and copies of Stories magazine. To find out more about joining over 400 other Harlow businesses and organisations as a Harlow Ambassador, please get in touch at discoverharlow@harlow.gov.uk www.discoverharlow.co.uk

Stories

“ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A STORM IS THE STRENGTH THAT COMES FROM HAVING NAVIGATED THROUGH IT. RAISE YOUR SAIL AND BEGIN.” GREGORY S. WILLIAMS

IN ASSOCIATION WITH DISCOVER HARLOW

REAL STORIES ABOUT REAL PEOPLE

STORIES Magazine - Resilience

Articles inside

STORIES Magazine - Resilience