You may have seen recent press coverage regarding the proposed new Mersey Crossing in Halton (linking Runcorn and Widnes)

A public exhibition of the proposals will be on show at the ECHO building in Old Hall Street, Liverpool, from Monday July 9 to Friday July 13.

You are encouraged to attend the exhibition to view the proposals and to bring the matter to the attention of your contacts.

Other displays have been organised for various venues in Halton between July 4 and July 21.

For further details, go to www.merseygateway.co.uk

Download the Mersey Gateway Consultation Leaflet [PDF]

The Liverpool Culture Company is giving businesses an extra two weeks to get involved in the city’s 20/08 day celebrations.

Dozens of organisations have already pledged their support for the event, which comes just a week before Liverpool 800 day.

The Culture Company has extended the deadline to July 6 to give even more groups the chance to get involved.

Each year on August 20 - 20/08 - groups across the region are encouraged to celebrate Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture status by making an ‘offer’ for the day. An offer can take the form of free or discounted entrance, or a special event or promotion.

Current offers for 2007 take place all across Merseyside, ranging from discounted singing workshops in Woolton to free entry at the British Lawnmower Museum in Southport.

Councillor Warren Bradley, Leader of Liverpool city council, said: “This is the fifth year we’ve celebrated 20/08, and it will be an extra special start to our 800th birthday celebrations on August 28.

“We want as many groups as possible to get onboard and give the people of Merseyside a taste of the full range of cultural treats that our region has to offer.”

Last year, people took advantage of a huge range of activities, including free entry to an exhibition at Tate Liverpool, taster classes in baby massage, free water sports lessons, and heritage pub tours.

It’s really easy for groups, businesses, or organisations to get involved in 20/08, they just need to visit www.liverpool08.com and complete the special 20/08 form. All offers will appear on the website and in a 20/08 day brochure, which is distributed to venues across the city.

The new deadline for offers is Friday, July 6 2007.

The Communications Workers Union has today announced a 24 hour strike on Friday 29th June, and has also agreed, but not announced, further strike days to occur within two weeks of the 29th June.  As yet, no timings for the 29th June have been announced.

Clearly this action is deeply regrettable and only adds to the extremely difficult competitive challenges that face Royal Mail at this time. There is an absolute need to modernise in order to drive down their costs and the prices that they pass on to our members. This is the essence of the dispute that they find themselves embroiled in. Royal Mail remains very willing to talk with the CWU about the need to modernise and how damaging a strike would be for postmen and women, and, importantly, Chamber members, their customers.

Now that the strike has been announced, Royal Mail will be putting in place contingency plans and will be doing all it can to keep the disruption to a minimum.  On the 29th June;

• access to Royal Mail services will be available - but limited to a single collection from both street boxes and those Post Office Counters not affected by strike action. These collections may be earlier than the advertised times
• Royal Mail will attempt to deliver Special DeliveryT items.  This service cannot be guaranteed, and so the money-back guarantees on these services will be suspended during the strike period
• Parcelforce’s guaranteed services will remain unaffected

All other mail services will be subject to delay.

In order to minimise disruption to your post;

• please try to avoid posting on the day of the strike, and post early in the day if you have to.
• Post your mail at Post Offices not affected by strike action, but be aware that they will not be able to accept bulk mailings.

Royal Mail’s business helpline - 08457 950 950 - will operate, but will be very busy, so please be patient. Their website, www.royalmail.com/update, is another good source of information, so please log on to get an update.

It is inevitable that will be some disruption as a result of the strike, but please rest assured Royal Mail will do all it can to get back to a normal service as soon as possible.

This announcement was released by Royal Mail and has been posted here for our members’ information.

PLEASE NOTE - THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Did you know - a tap that drips once every second wastes 4 litres of water a day? That ’s equal to two large drink bottles.

Managing your water usage effectively can save your business money and help protect the environment.

This FREE seminar event has been organised by MERBEN (Merseyside Business Environment Network) on behalf of Liverpool Chamber Environment Club. It will help you understand where your water is being used and how you can manage its uses efficiently.

BOOK NOW FOR YOUR FREE PLACE

Date:Thursday 5th July 2007
Time:12.00 noon - 2.30pm
Venue:Liverpool Chamber of Commerce & Industry,
Number One Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9HG

. Download this PDF for more information and a fax-back form, or
. Book on-line at www.merben.org.uk, or
. Email anthony.seasman@groundwork.org.uk, or
. Phone the Groundwork EBS team on 0151 644 4720.

The shortlist for the Daily Post Regional Business Awards has been announced with Chamber members featuring in most categories. Congratulations to the following companies and we wish them every success at the awards ceremony on Thursday.

Small business of the Year
AA Projects
New Mind

Corporate Social Responsibility Award
Medicash Health Benefits

International Trader of the Year
A Algeo

Business Science & Technology Business of the year
MA Logistics

Business of the Year
Lime Pictures
Warmer Heating

New research shows North West businesses could be out of step with consumer needs

Companies in the North West are adopting an increasingly risky business strategy according to new research revealed today - by not recognising the impact that environmental behaviour could have on their competitive position.

A survey conducted by sustainable business experts, Envirowise found that a startling 45% expected ‘no change’ in the environmental awareness of customers and clients in the near future. This is despite the UK market for green goods and services topping an annual £29 billion and rising, according to the Co-operative Bank.1

Significantly, while 82% of North West companies say they view the environment as a ‘quite important’ issue, in reality just over a third (36%) are actually taking practical action.

Nick Ward, Envirowise Regional Manager for the North West, comments: “These results highlight a worrying divide between the growing influence of the environment and delays by business to implement practical action.

“Not only could this ‘blinkered’ approach impact on a company’s competitive position and reputation, but it also suggests they are missing out on the significant cost-saving potential of resource efficiency. For example, only 10% of our survey respondents cite money savings as the reason for environmental action, yet we know that businesses can save up to £10002 per employee per year by taking action in the workplace.”

It is hoped that these results will act as a real eye-opener for North West businesses and Envirowise recommends taking the following action:

• Ensure that an environmental plan of action is assigned to an appropriate staff member. Almost three quarters of those surveyed had no individual in charge of this area
• Make the best use of the free advice available from business support organisations such as Envirowise (69% had never considered making use of such a service)
• Start small - simple changes, such as printing double-sided, are easy to implement, but can have an impact and help get the ball rolling.

Envirowise offers a package of free advice to companies across the region, to help them understand resource efficiency and take appropriate action, which can have both environmental and economic benefits. For information on all levels of help visit www.envirowise.gov.uk/northwest or call 0800 585 794.

(1)     Co-operative Bank & Forum for the Future http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1957687,00.html

(2)     Average for manufacturing companies

LiveOne20 is the fantastic Chamber scheme which mixes value with va-va-voom to get you, your staff and clients on the move around Liverpool!

An exclusive package of deals means you can make waves in the city and make your way across the waves on the Mersey with our travel partners.

Use your LiveOne20 card when booking with WhizzGo car hire and get free membership saving you £25. WhizzGo is the quick and easy service which allows you to reserve a car at short notice at no more than £4.95 an hour.

If indulging in the style of the stars while on the road is more your thing, use your LiveOne20 card to get a third off the price of a booking with IntX luxury vehicle hire.

IntX has a fleet of premier limousines and people carriers, and numbers the likes of Britney Spears, Elton John and Robbie Williams among its clients.

Make a splash of a different kind with our fun-filled two-for-one offer on the Yellow Duckmarine. The hour-long tour is fantastic fun for all the family and takes you around the city centre in former World War II landing vehicle, culminating in a trip across the waters of Salthouse Dock!

If you prefer dry land, travel around the city using the S2 and S3 buses for free. The services run throughout from Lime Street to Princes Dock, connecting train stations, museums, shops and restaurants - ideal for cardholders working in the city centre.

The travel offers are just some of the LiveOne20 deals with some of the city’s premier names in dining, retail, leisure, health and beauty which will save cardholders more than £800 a year.

The cards cost from as little as £10 each for an entire year of benefits, so it’s a fabulous way of treating yourself, staff, clients and contacts to a little bit of luxury.

To find out more information about the LiveOne20 scheme or to become part of it by purchasing cards, contact Jenny Stewart, Head of Membership by email at liveone20@liverpoolchamber.org.uk or by telephone on 0151 227 1234 or Livesmart’s account manager Daniel White by phone on 0870 055 3472 or by e-mail at liveone20@livesmart.biz.