MARK HODGES SPEAKS AT SNF CONFERENCE

"Norfolk has been good to me. It is important that Norfolk thrives." Mark Hodges, Chairman of Shaping Norfolk's Future and Aviva Executive Director, was speaking at the 2009 Shaping Norfolk's Future (SNF) Conference entitled 'from Recession to Recovery'.

He added that the current difficult economic climate had brought the role of SNF into sharp focus.

He said: “Flying the flag for “World Class Norfolk” and speaking up for businesses will help the county out of recession and on the road to recovery.”

Mark Hodges told industry chiefs, senior business figures and civic leaders that Norfolk needed to shout about its skills and successes on a global stage, to ensure businesses prospered amid the toughest of economic conditions.

More than 250 people, including decision-makers from the private and public sectors, attended the annual conference of Shaping Norfolk's Future, at the new Open venue in Norwich.

Mr Hodges praised the “World Class Norfolk” advertising campaign, which is aiming to raise the raise the county's profile as a great place in which to live, work and do business.

“Getting the World Class Norfolk message across is extremely important and I very much hope that we can secure further funding to keep the campaign going beyond March next year. We all have a great global vision for Norfolk and if we can all get behind it, we really can achieve incredible results.”

Mr Hodges said that Shaping Norfolk's Future would continue “acting as a powerful advocate for the county and its economy” in the year ahead.

“Our new rail campaign will gather pace, with the aim of securing faster and more reliable journeys to London. We will be focusing hard on improving Norfolk's broadband infrastructure, crucial for businesses to remain competitive, and will work closely with our partners to drive forward the skills agenda,” he said.

“Shaping Norfolk's Future will also play a leading role in the low-carbon agenda, helping co-ordinate and simplify the plethora of information on offer. All in all it promises to be an exciting 12 months.”

The conference turned the spotlight on Great Yarmouth's £80 million outer harbour scheme, which was described as a “gateway to Europe” that would boost the Norfolk economy significantly.

Eddie Freeman, Chief Executive of EastPort UK, told delegates that the harbour, which would formally open for business in December, was in the “Premier League” of ports.

“Our county now has a gateway port to Europe. Norfolk has never had this before and it's wonderful for the people, the county and our economy,” he said.

Christine Birchall, from Norfolk County Council's communications team, and Michael Gurney, of advertising agency The Point, briefed the conference on their “World Class Norfolk” campaign. The seven-month campaign aims to help bring 5,000 high value jobs into the county – and treble the number of enquiries about investing in Norfolk.

Andrew Chivers, Managing Director of rail operator National Express East Anglia, told the conference that he supported the Shaping Norfolk's Future newly launched campaign for rail improvements on the Norwich-London line and called upon delegates to pull together in a joint call for action and funding.

Peter McCarthy-Ward, BT's Director for the East of England, addressed the conference hall on the controversial issue of so-called broadband “black spots” in rural areas such as Norfolk.

Shaping Norfolk's Future, he explained, needed to work with BT to put together a compelling and coherent argument to help win public funding for the broadband acceleration the county deserved.

Two leading figures from the professional services sector – Chris Maw, Senior Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Norwich, and Mark Finch, Finance Director of law firm Mills & Reeve – looked back at the economic rollercoaster ride firms had been forced to brave.

The speakers, whose firms were main sponsors of the conference, examined how businesses were reacting to current conditions and gearing up for the anticipated recovery.