MUMS WIN LEWISHAM BUSINESS AWARD
Two mums from Forest Hill, who co-founded Claudi & Fin frozen yogurt lollies, have won a Mayor of Lewisham Business Award.
The idea for Claudi & Fin Greek-style frozen yogurt lollies came about when Lucy Woodhouse and Meriel Kelhoe struggled to find any lollies with natural, wholesome ingredients for their children.
After searching high and low the pair decided to set about making their own lollies with real fruit and added Vitamin D – and named their new product after their children.
As part of the development of the business, Lucy attended a Start-Up Seminar in 2012, run by the Lewisham Business Advisory Service where she gained advice about legal structures, financial opportunities and how to write a business plan.
Armed with this new expertise, Lucy and Meriel went on to enter a competition run by StartUp Britain and were one of four start-ups to secure an initial 12-month contract with Sainsbury’s to supply Claudi & Fin in over 300 Sainsbury’s stores.
Co-founder Meriel Kehoe, said: ‘Lucy and I are absolutely thrilled to have won this award. “It’s taken more than two years of really hard work to get our yoghurt lollies launched and this amazing accolade is confirmation that all the hard work and sacrifice have been worth it.
‘We very much see ourselves as a Lewisham business and are grateful for the local support we have received; from the business advice we got from Tony Goldstein at South East Enterprise to the advice on food labelling we received from the local council.’
Other winners in this round of the Mayor of Lewisham Business Awards were Catford-based Phoebes Garden Centre in the Corporate Social Responsibility category and Deptford-based MuLondon in the Customer Care category.
The Mayor of Lewisham business awards are an opportunity for local businesses to celebrate their successes and to increase their profile within the community. The awards are open to any business in the borough.
Winners will be able to use the Mayor of Lewisham Business award winner logo in promotion and the Council will promote award winners through its existing channels, such as this website, Lewisham Life and in local media.
Nominations can be made by the business themselves, or on behalf of the business by customers or suppliers or partners. Nominations can be made at any time.
All nominations will be considered by a judging panel that includes people from business and professional business advisers. The panel will meet three times a year.
The closing date for the next round of the Mayor`s Business awards will be 6 November 2014. Go to Lewisham.gov / business awards
Email: [email protected] (Source: Lewisham council press release)
LONDON ROAD FACELIFT WILL TRANSFORM WEST CROYDON
Work begins this month on a multi-million pound project to change the face of London Road in West Croydon.
More than £3.2m is being invested by the council to improve the street. This will involve tidying up shop fronts and building facades, widening and repaving footpaths, planting trees, and providing new seating and cycle parking.
The project will make the road more pedestrian-friendly and increase trade for local shops and businesses.
Work on shopfronts will start in August in Broad Green and move south towards West Croydon, whilst work on the road and pavements will start at West Croydon and move north.
Almost £600,000 of the budget will be spent supporting 40 local businesses to improve their shops and building frontages. This will include cleaning and repainting, new shop fronts, signs, awnings and security shutters, and the restoration of historic features.
Five of the new shopfronts have been created by graphic design students at Croydon College. They spent five months working with the retailers and developing proposals, supported by their tutor Vicki Parrott and Geraldine Holland from Jan Kattein Architects.
Once the first phase of improvements is complete if there are any remaining funds these will be offered to other businesses nearby. Everything is due to be finished by the summer of 2015.
In total, over £50million is being invested in Croydon through the ‘Connected Croydon’ programme.
Cllr Toni Letts, cabinet member for economic development, said: “We’re really seeing significant changes to the face of Croydon.
“Our high streets are hugely important to the prosperity of the borough and they say a huge amount about us.
“If we create inviting public spaces where people feel safe to shop and spend their leisure time we will change Croydon’s image and bring in even more much-needed investment.
“It’s our pledge to be ambitious for Croydon, and by driving forward this scheme we are showing we mean business.”
Connected Croydon is a jointly-funded project, managed by Croydon council, with support from Transport for London and an £18m contribution from the Mayor of London.
A Croydon council spokesperson said: “As with the work currently being done in south Croydon around the restaurant quarter there will be some disruption and occasional traffic controls in place, but the council and its contractors will be aiming to keep these to a minimum.”
Full details can be found at www.croydon.gov.uk/londonroad. (Source: Croydon council press release)
PRISON RESTAURANT AMONG LAMBETH BUSINESS AWARD NOMINEES
A prison restaurant, a family-owned cycle shop and a swimming pool café are among the nominees for the 2014 Lambeth Business Awards.
More than 30 local businesses are shortlisted for the coveted Lambeth Best of Business title across six categories.
Cllr Jack Hopkins, Lambeth cabinet member for jobs and growth, said: “The Lambeth Business awards are all about recognising the wonderful and inspirational organisations we have here in Lambeth.
“People feel really passionate about local, independent businesses and this is an opportunity to reward them for all they bring to the community.”
The six categories are Business Gives Back, Best High-growth Business, Best Innovation, Best Start-up, Best Independent Retailer and Best Place to Eat and Drink.
The business winners will be announced at a special celebration in September.
Finalists in Best Independent Retailer and Best Place to Eat and Drink categories have two chances to win – once from the judges and once from the public.
Customers regardless of where they live are encouraged to cast their vote to crown the ‘People’s Choice’ by visitinghttp://www.lambethbusinessawards.com/vote. Voting closes on the 24th August.
The full list of nominees is;
Business Gives Back
•Beyond the Classroom
•Block Workout
•Brand Amplifier
•De Ver Cycles Ltd
•Eden Caterers
•The Clink Restaurant
Best High-growth Business
•British Security Technologies
•Mediworld
•Pad Creative
•Simulacra Studio
Best Innovation
•Contracts IT Consulting
•Payment Card Solutions
•Prosper 4 Group Ltd
•SUB50
•Waterloo Quarter Business Improvement District
Best Start-up
•Baker Baby
•Brickwood – Coffee and Bread
•Centrepunch
•Four Corners Café
•Haus of Hair
•The Vaults
•Tooth
•Vintners Studios
Best Independent Retailer
•Charles Carter Hair
•Fish Tale
•Max and Melia
•Mediworld
•The Wine Parlour
Best Place to Eat and Drink
•Brickwood – Coffee and Bread
•I Love Coffee
•Mimosa
•The Lido Cafe
•The Walrus Bar and Hostel
(Source: Lambeth council press release)
CROYDON COULD BECOME HOME TO A MINI WHITEHALL
Ambitious proposals to create a new civil service hub in Croydon could become a reality after the government announced it is to consider relocating major offices to the town centre.
This comes as Croydon council has been chosen as one of 20 local authorities to become part of the government’s One Public Estate programme, a property sharing scheme between central and local government.
The council will receive funding and training from the Government Property Unit and Local Government Association to look at the feasibility of relocating the existing civil service presence in Croydon into modern offices as part of the regeneration of the town centre over the next five years.
Civil service estate in Croydon currently includes the Home Office contingent at Apollo House and Lunar House, and Land Registry on Bedford Park.
The ambitious “mini-Whitehall” plans would bring up to 10 local/central government services into one.
Sites under consideration for the hub include Ruskin Square, which has been derelict for 30 years, and West Croydon Interchange.
A Croydon council spokesperson said: “The government’s interest in the council’s proposals reflect the growing confidence in Croydon as a major office destination, after agents reported a 96 per cent increase in commercial occupation across the town centre last year.
“The hub has the potential to create significant economic growth and generate income from moving the existing civil service estate into fit for purpose, modern and efficient buildings.
“With the Westfield/Hammerson Partnership’s plans to redevelop the Whitgift Centre already in the pipeline, a new civil service hub would provide another huge boost to the regeneration of the town centre.
“It will create economic growth and generate income from the sale of the existing civil service estate. “The plans will bring job opportunities for Croydon residents as well as providing significant benefits to the SME business economy.”
Cllr Toni Letts, cabinet member for economic development, said: “We are on the brink of seeing massive regeneration in Croydon.
“We have future growth plans of Olympic-sized proportions which will see the creation of 16,500 more jobs, the building of 9,500 new homes, and the redevelopment of our retail centre by Westfield and Hammerson.
“These are really exciting times and these ambitious proposals for a civil service hub will only enhance Croydon’s reputation as a great place to work, live and visit.” (Source: Croydon council press release)
