Creatrix- A look ahead in 2017
In Bath , 2017 is already shaping up to be an interesting year and one business in the city is continuing to work alongside developers and key stakeholders as important decisions are made .
Creatrix PR has been working with businesses throughout the South West for 17 years .
A specialist in the property development sector , Creatrix has a range of high profile clients on its books including Bath Rugby , Crest Nicholson , Curo , HPH Commercial Property and Iesis Group .
2017 will see Bath Rugby working towards their long-held ambition to create new facilities at The Rec . Creatrix PR will be helping the club to engage with the community on their plans later in the year .
As one of the largest urban regeneration projects in the South West , Crest Nicholson ’ s Bath Riverside development , 2017 will see the first residents move into its impressive landmark building Royal View adjacent to the restored Victoria Bridge . This will add to the 600
Crest Nicholson ’ s Bath Riverside development homes already completed on site and bring more much-needed housing to the city centre .
The Creatrix PR team has also assisted Curo in turning plans for a new £ 10million community hub project in to a reality at the former Foxhill MoD site as well as helping Firmstone Developments deliver 260 new homes at the former MoD site at Warminster Road .
Curo ’ s new community hub will include a new 210 place primary school , nursery , community café , meeting rooms , enterprise area and a new public square . Building work is set to start in March and the first pupils will start school in September 2018 .
Creatrix assists its clients by creating comprehensive communications strategies to encompass political liaison ,
SMALL BUSINESS FOCUS
Notes from the back room ...
There is a growing desire to see education become more accurately reflective of the real needs within the business world . It has already been established that education and training needs to be more flexible and more vocationally focused . But although it is quite straightforward to adapt training to specific careers in hair and beauty , catering and hospitality , electrical and plumbing services , how do we readily adapt training to better fit general employability ?
The business world is becoming more adept at identifying the skills needed for job roles , partly due to their ability to break down roles with more accurate goals and objectives , and this has resulted in much
more importance being placed on employability . Understanding the work environment , team goals and strategic problem solving can mean the difference between being offered a role and reliving that sinking feeling time and again as you go through the soul-destroying hunt for a job . So how can the business community help improve or create training for ‘ office based ’ roles ? By being more honest about what they are really looking for in their recruitment process ? That is certainly part of it , but it ’ s also about engaging with our local education providers , by talking to them about what skills our school and college leavers are missing , about how they can help to identify the gaps in their learning and testing those changes . stakeholder engagement , PR , marketing , digital and social media .
Company director Gary Squires said , “ 2017 will be a really important year for Bath and the wider region . The city itself has seen some big changes over the past few years , and some of the development schemes coming forward have the potential to bring positive change to the city .
“ There are also national and regional influences to monitor . Last month the Government unveiled their Housing White Paper and a new draft of the emerging West of England Joint Spatial Plan and Joint Transport Study is expected by the summer . 2017 will also see the election for the regions first Metro Mayor and it is clear that all of these factors will have a big effect on future development in the city and across the entire region .” Creatrix will be keeping a close eye on all these national and regional issues and how they will impact development going forward , all of which will be reported in the company ’ s blog which you can access via their website .
For more info : www . creatrixpr . co . uk
@ CreatrixPR
So the next time , your business is approached by one of our educational establishments requesting your help , please respond and become part of the solution .
Anji Henderson
Chair of Small Business Focus
Next Small Business Focus Breakfast Dates : 30 / 03 / 2017 and 27 / 04 / 2017 , 8-10am , Boston Tea Party , Alfred Street , Bath . Visit the SBF website to book .
For more info : www . smallbusinessfocus . co . ik
chair @ smallbusinessfocus . o . uk
Ben Franks : Living the dream ?
People tell me that I have the best job in the world . While I currently find it a little challenging to agree – with my nose deep into a third book on the science of sherry – I must admit I cannot complain .
For a living , it ’ s my job to find new and exciting wines for us to share with you all through Novel Wines , our brand-new retailer that aspires to be Britain ’ s most curious wine shop .
It ’ s somewhat hard to believe that only three years ago , I was a student running a non-profit online magazine with an ambition to become a writer for a living . I was naïve , perhaps a little too inclined to rush into things , and completely unaware of how to sell – and as most business people are aware , ‘ if you can ’ t sell then you don ’ t have a business ’.
I still remember spending a week of my second year at Uni at the local Bath Chronicle . I was writing a piece on ‘ giant rats ’, a dramatic article on the rising number of rodent complaints in Bath , when I stumbled across Angela MacAusland ’ s guest column for the Federation of Small Businesses . Her article was on student entrepreneurs and , instinctively motivated , I wrote my own column in reply .
That was the start of my time with the Federation of Small Businesses . Angela asked me to be their first ever Student Ambassador and I agreed . It was the beginning of a journey that would see me grow in confidence , completely change my business outlook and remodify my aims to achieve that one dream I ’ ve always had : to write full time . Today I am Secretary on the FSB ’ s committee .
While people tell me I have the dream career because I try wine all day , I know I have my dream career because I get to discover and unravel amazing stories from across the globe and write about them . I ’ ve written about Japan ’ s pioneering female winemaker Ayana Misawa , to a small family run vineyard called Oatley in south Somerset , and spoken to winemakers from Hungary , Croatia , Champagne and beyond .
The point is if you have a dream and you truly want to achieve it you ’ ll do it .
Ben Franks
Wine Specialist and Secretary at FSB Bath & Wiltshire branch .
For more info : www . fsb . org . uk / 119 www . benfrankswine . com
@ FSB _ Bath
6 THE BUSINESS EXCHANGE 2017