Author Archives: Ethos public relations news

Shropshire losing out on millions from foreign tourism

A Shropshire based tour operator which brings foreign tourists into the county believes Shropshire is losing out on millions of pounds from foreign tourism.

Janet Redler

According to calculations by Janet Redler Travel & Tourism, if just 10% of the 4.15 million visitors who currently visit the Brecon Beacons National Park came to visit the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this could result in extra income of £8.23 million to the local economy.

The Brecon Beacons, just over the border in Powys, is one of Britain’s most popular National Parks, with over 4 million visitors a year. If 10% of these visitors made the 25 mile journey up the road to the Shropshire Hills, they would be bringing over £8 million pound a year more into the Shropshire economy. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, if some of the other tourists passing through the county visited one of Shropshire’s many beautiful, but often overlooked, attractions.

Shrewsbury-based Janet Redler Travel & Tourism specialises in bringing groups from overseas to Britain and is doing its bit to boost tourism in Shropshire.

Chief Executive Janet Redler says: “Our calculations are a very conservative estimate of how much money the Shropshire economy is missing out on from tourism. If a fraction of the visitors to some of the country’s other major tourist destinations chose Shropshire instead, we would see millions of pounds more flowing into the local economy.

“Just next week Janet Redler Travel & Tourism is bringing a group of visitors from France to the Shropshire Hills for a seven day walking tour. This tour in itself will bring in over £10,000 to the local economy, which has to be good in terms of local jobs, but we are also very happy that we are giving more people an opportunity to enjoy the magnificent Shropshire countryside.”

The French walkers will take in many of the gems of the Shropshire Hills, including the town of Clun, made famous by the poet A.E. Housmann, the Stiperstones (Mary Webb country) and Stokesay Castle, considered to be the finest fortified manor house in Britain.

Janet Redler adds: “We know from the feedback we get that foreign visitors to Shropshire are pleasantly surprised by what they find when they get here and are often puzzled as to why they don’t know more about the area. As a tourist destination, Shropshire needs to do much more to shout about itself, not only to boost tourism but to benefit the wider economy of the area.”

Shropshire schools encouraged to increase recycling

Schools across Shropshire are being encouraged to follow the example of Oxon C of E Primary School in Shrewsbury and increase the amount of their waste that is recycled – whilst at the same time helping a charity get local people into work.

Photo shows (from left to right): Cllr Peter Adams (also a School Governor); School Head, Mark Rogers; Cllr Nick Bardsley, Trustee of Cae Post and Glyn Lewis, Cae Post vehicle driver.

Waste from Oxon C of E Primary School in Racecourse Lane, Shrewsbury, is collected weekly by Cae Post, a local social enterprise based in Trewern, near Welshpool, which exists to encourage recycling and help disadvantaged people into work.

Mark Rogers, Head at Oxon Primary School, said: “As a school with a caring ethos at its heart, we are proud to be working with Cae Post, as it helps them provide meaningful employment to disadvantaged people.

“Since working with Cae Post we have collected nearly seven tonnes of waste from the school which Cae Post has recycled – and at the same time helped people who are struggling to get work find useful employment.”

Cae Post is an innovative social enterprise based in Powys, providing waste management and recycling services across mid-Wales and North Shropshire.

As a social enterprise, the income generated from its business is used to fulfil its objectives to give more people a chance to be part of the working world.

Nick Bardsley, a Shropshire Councillor and Trustee of Cae Post, said: “Cae Post has been involved in providing opportunities to disadvantaged people and promoting environmental awareness for over 30 years.

“There are nowhere near enough places in Shropshire and Mid Wales where people who find it difficult to get work can get training and meaningful employment. Cae Post is an asset to Shropshire as well as Powys.

“By working with Cae Post, Oxon Primary School is keeping recyclable waste out of landfill or incineration – and helping local people find work at the same time.”

Cae Post is keen to encourage more schools in Shropshire to get in touch and arrange a visit to their plant to give pupils a better understanding of the importance of recycling and waste management.

Photo shows (from left to right): Cllr Peter Adams (also a School Governor); School Head, Mark Rogers; Cllr Nick Bardsley, Trustee of Cae Post and Glyn Lewis, Cae Post vehicle driver.

Cae Post receives Green Compass Award

Cae Post, the Welshpool based recycling and waste management social enterprise, has won its fourth Green Compass Scheme award.

Sue Packer with the Green Compass Award

Cae Post has been successfully accredited to PAS402:2013 through the Green Compass Scheme, which recognises waste management organisations that have made a commitment to improved efficiency and performance reporting as well as achieving a significant environmental credential.

Says Sue Packer, General Manager at Cae Post in Trewern, near Welshpool: “As a business with a social agenda, we are proud to have been inspected under the Green Compass Scheme and to have been awarded membership of the scheme.

“Our commitment to recycling, waste management and the people who work with us, defines how we do business and this recognition is for everyone at Cae Post.”

The Green Compass Scheme was developed by Constructing Excellence in Wales (CEW), and in conjunction with UKAS accredited inspection bodies provides independent verification of the performance data reported by waste management organisations against PAS402:2013 (Waste resource management – Specification for performance reporting). PAS 402:2013 requires a waste resource management organisation to report how it conducts its waste management activities and the landfill diversion and materials recovery rates it achieves. The Green Compass Scheme verifies this data.

The Green Compass Scheme is applicable to all waste management organisations in Wales that process construction, industrial, commercial or household waste.

Speaking about the award to Cae Post, Paul Jennings, CEW’s Construction Waste Programme Director, said: “Construction and demolition waste remains a problem in Wales, but with organisations like Cae Post joining our successful Green Compass scheme, we are continuing to educate and inform the entire industry from site workers and their bosses through to major customers and the public.

“The best starting point is the actual handling of the waste itself and it is great that Cae Post is going to work alongside the network of Green Compass companies throughout Wales”.

Cae Post currently collects kerbside in North Powys as well as offering recycling and trade waste services to a wide range of businesses, schools and other organisations in Shropshire and Powys.

To find out more, visit www.caepost.co.uk. More information on the Green Compass Scheme is available at www.greencompass.org.

Haringey resident says join your credit union to support your community

A member of London Capital Credit Union is calling on Haringey residents to join their local credit union to help strengthen the local community.

“Unlike high street banks, credit unions are owned by local people and work for their best interests,” says Sue Hoyle.

Sue, a former care worker, has been a member of London Capital Credit Union for 20 years and says that credit unions are such a good idea that more people should know about them.

“I believe passionately in our local community and debt is a serious issue for many people. Credit unions can be part of the solution as they keep more of the money in the local community with local people.”

Credit unions work by offering loans on affordable terms to local members and the interest raised is then made available to lend to more people locally.

“I joined London Capital Credit Union to get a loan and thanks to the way the loan was structured, I was saving at the same time as paying the loan back.”

Encouraging saving and greater financial awareness is key to the way credit unions work. Says Sue, “I had a 0% transfer credit card some years back and paid back the minimum balance by standing order each month, but basically it was like giving them money for nothing as I was mainly paying off interest, so I used my credit union loan to pay off the credit card.”

Over the years Sue says she has saved a fair amount of interest by using the credit union and has used the savings to pay for car repairs and even a holiday.

“I am just one person,” says Sue, “but, across Haringey, local people have saved over £2.9 million in loan repayments by being members of the credit union. That’s something to shout about.”

Powys social enterprise to relaunch websites and increase brand awareness

Cae Post, the Powys based charity and social enterprise working to provide opportunities for disadvantaged people in Powys and Shropshire, has appointed Oswestry-based Ethos public relations to relaunch its website and to help increase recognition of its trading brands.

Cae Post is based in Trewern, Welshpool, and operates the Council’s recycling collection service in North Powys, as well as commercial recycling collection and processing in Powys and North Shropshire. The charity has also recently launched a hydrographics print business in Mile End, Oswestry, called Liquid Print Factory, to help support their ethos of providing work and training for people with disabilities or disadvantages in the jobs market.

Speaking about the link up, General Manager Sue Packer said: “Cae Post is a well regarded charity based in Powys, with 20 years’ experience working with people with disabilities and those who are disadvantaged in the jobs market, offering them useful and worthwhile work opportunities.

“We are a business just like any other, but the income we generate helps us to fulfil our charitable objectives to give everyone a chance to be part of the working world. We are looking forward to working with Ethos public relations to relaunch our websites, to help us gain even more recognition of our work in Powys and North Shropshire.”

Shaun Fisher, a Director at Ethos public relations, said: “As a business with a social conscience, we are looking forward to working with Sue and her team at Cae Post to help promote the charity and its commercial objectives. We have worked with a wide range of charities and social enterprises over the past 18 years and we have a real empathy for the work carried out by Cae Post for their beneficiaries.”

Season’s Greetings 2015

As 2015 comes to an end, it has become our tradition to have a glass of sherry and a mince pie and to reflect on the previous year.

It’s now over 12 months since Ethos public relations made the move from an office based PR agency in Manchester into a more flexible operation near Oswestry in Shropshire. Much has happened over the year and we have made some exciting new contacts and friends.

We continue to support clients across the UK and as the nature of public relations changes from its broadcast and print heritage to an increasingly digital and social media focus, we have enjoyed supporting clients with new website projects as well as traditional media relations.

We will be closed over the Christmas break from lunchtime on Christmas Eve until Monday 4th January 2016, but we will, of course, be checking our emails, social media accounts and text messages, so do stay in touch.

We wish all our clients, suppliers, friends and future clients Season’s Greetings
and the very best and a Happy 2016.

London Capital Credit Union commits to London Living Wage

One of London’s largest member-owned financial businesses has become a London Living Wage employer to demonstrate its commitment to its employees.

The London Living Wage award marks the continuing commitment by London Capital Credit Union in Archway, where, regardless of whether they are permanent employees, third-party contractors or suppliers, everyone receives a minimum hourly wage of £9.40 – significantly higher than the current national minimum wage of £6.70.

The London Living Wage is set annually by the Living Wage Foundation and calculated by the Greater London Authority. It covers all boroughs in Greater London. The UK Living Wage for outside of London is currently £8.25 per hour. The UK rate is set annually by the Living Wage Foundation and calculated by the Centre for Research in Social Policy at Loughborough University.

Felix Hebblethwaite, is a director at London Capital Credit Union

Felix Hebblethwaite, a director at London Capital Credit Union, said: “A key principle of the co-operative movement – of which credit unions are a part – is to champion the sustainable development of the communities in which we operate. At LCCU we believe that paying our employees appropriately is an important step forward in achieving this objective.”

Employers choose to pay the Living Wage on a voluntary basis. The Living Wage enjoys cross party support, with public backing from the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition.

Living Wage Foundation Director Sarah Vero said: “We are delighted to welcome London Capital Credit Union to the Living Wage movement as an accredited employer.

“The best employers are voluntarily signing up to pay the Living Wage now. The Living Wage is a robust calculation that reflects the real cost of living, rewarding a hard day’s work with a fair day’s pay.

Added Felix Hebblethwaite: “We are proud to be a London Living Wage employer and we would encourage other employers within London to do the same.”

Find out more about London Capital Credit Union at www.credit-union.coop. Find out more about the Living Wage at www.livingwage.org.uk.

Year of Adventure set to boost tourism to Wales

Travel professionals from UKinbound and Germany were amongst those in North Wales this weekend to experience adventure activities that are hoped will attract more overseas tourists to North West Wales and Anglesey in 2016.

The travel professionals took to the Menai Straits in a high speed rib.

The group representing tour operators and travel agencies were in Wales as part of the Discover Wales travel trade event which took place at the Quay Hotel and Spa, Deganwy on 1-2 October. The event is one of a series of initiatives to grow the sales of holidays in Wales through tour operators and travel agents in key international markets and was organised in partnership with UKinbound and VisitBritain.

Familiarisation tours of north and mid Wales took place before and after the event which included a fact finding trip put together by Visit Wales and Janet Redler Travel and Tourism to get a hands-on taste of the best leisure facilities available in North West Wales.

During their weekend in Wales the group spent time at the newly opened Surf Snowdonia, visited Penrhyn and Caernarfon castles, took the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway, spent time in Portmeirion and took a high speed boat ride down the Menai Straits and through the Swellies.

Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates said: “2016 is the Year of Adventure in Wales and it will see Wales building on a wave of exciting new openings and developments, and more than 10 years of ongoing tourism investment to make Wales the leading adventure destination. Research has shown that familiarisation trips arranged by Visit Wales for operators to experience Wales tourism products are the most influential intervention in increasing an operator’s interest or ability to feature or sell Wales programmes.”

Speaking about the trip Janet Redler said: “As a tour operator bringing tourists from across the world to Wales, we know how much they appreciate the scenery, heritage and sporting activities available to them. Hosting this group has given us the opportunity to work with Visit Wales to show more people what this area has to offer which will hopefully lead to more overseas visitors to the area in the future – and that has to be good for the local economy.”

According to Janet Redler, travel and tourism is a growing sector of the Welsh economy. “Wales is a super destination for both holiday and business trips and we know that nearly a million overseas visitors come each year to enjoy a Welsh welcome. We want to help increase that number during the Year of Adventure in 2016.”

Credit union calls for volunteers to help with soaring demand

London Capital Credit Union is looking for volunteers in the run up to Christmas as it deals with rocketing demand for its services. The credit union saw membership increase by 10% in September alone.

This follows a recent call by Sir Hector Sants, the former Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority, who now heads up the Church of England’s taskforce on credit unions, asking people with a professional background to consider volunteering for a credit union or standing for election to the board, in order that credit unions can benefit from a wide range of expertise and ability.

Martin Groombridge, Chief Executive of London Capital Credit Union, says: “We are experiencing a high level of demand for our services at the moment, and this is likely to increase further in the run up to Christmas – our busiest time of year. So we are looking for people with a wide range of skills to donate some of their time to help us.”

As financial co-operatives, credit unions are owned and controlled by their members and rely on local volunteers to help deliver their services to the community. “Our volunteers get involved with the day-to-day running of the credit union,” explains Martin Groombridge. “Duties include customer services, handling phone enquiries, processing membership applications, helping to maintain our database and working on marketing materials.”

Sir Hector also called for more people to deposit money with a credit union – money which can then be lent out at an affordable rate of interest to help those in need. Those who save with a credit union then qualify for a share in the profits of the credit union in the form of an annual dividend.

Sir Hector’s comments came as the Church of England rolls out its programme to provide financial support through its new Credit Champions network across 2,000 churches. The initiative encourages church congregations to promote saving as an alternative to borrowing and to raise awareness of the role of credit unions in providing low cost loans in times of need. London Capital Credit Union is working with a number of churches across North London as part of the scheme.