8
news Call for a level playing field
The managing director of Britain’s oldest wind turbine manufacturer is hoping for government planning regulation changes that could make his business – and others like it – even more recession-proof.
Milborne St Andrew-based Ampair doubled its workforce from nine to 18 staff last year, but according to David Sharman: ”If I hadn’t been fighting with two hands tied behind my back, we’d have more than doubled.”
Ampair, which has supplied turbines and power systems to customers around the globe since 1973, relies mostly on exports to keep its business afloat, as a lack of planning guidelines makes the small wind market in the UK a challenge.
Sharman said a level playing field for British turbine manufacturers competing with their European and American counterparts was essential for the industry’s continued survival and growth: ”We have foreign wind turbine manufacturers exporting into the UK who are able to get government-backed loan guarantees, so that’s not a level playing field.” He would also like to see greater investment in the
wind industry, as well as fewer restrictions for skilled workers.
He added that numerous potential customers in the UK have been put off by the difficulties involved in getting planning permission for small-scale turbine installation.
Referring to the turbines that Ampair recently provided for the engineering department of Birmingham’s Aston University, Sharman noted: ”That took two years – it should have taken two months, and these are for academic use; it’s not there to generate power. They’re a large organisation that can crunch their way through two years to get a planning certificate. But you know, if you’re Joe Householder, faced with a two-year grind, without knowing if you’re going to get a positive result at the end of it, you stop pretty fast.”
A major reform of the planning system is now underway. The Department for Communities and Local Government announced that a ’planning guarantee’ would be produced by the end of the year, ensuring that it would take no longer than 12 months to reach a final decision on planning applications.
Accountancy firm in top five student employers
Business and financial adviser Grant Thornton has been voted one of the top five employers for students on paid internships and work placements, scoring an impressive 8.72, making it this year’s best employer.
The accountancy firm, which places strong emphasis on finding and developing new talent, hires 100 students nationwide annually for internships and placements. Recruits are trained and given the opportunity to work with a range of global clients, plus opportunities to further skills outside work. Students gave strong positive feedback and many have returned under the graduate and school leaver programmes.
Stephen Mills, office managing partner in Southampton, commented: ”It is crucial that we offer these opportunities. Grant Thornton does all it can to support and drive employment, particularly
www.businessmag.co.uk
Stephen Mills
for young people aged 16 to 24, where unemployment has reached one in five, the highest figure since comparable records began in 1992.”
This year Grant Thornton Southampton has supported five graduate trainees in completing their studies to qualify as chartered accountants and will take on four more during the next few months.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – OCTOBER 2011
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44