The annual Hotel Stars Awards were recently held in Oxford, UK and at the annual event InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) recognised hotels and people for their outstanding performance and contribution to the business and the local community in which they operate. The winners are the best performing IHG hotels across Europe.

At the awards ceremony Holiday Inn Express London-Park Royal located in West London was awarded the Quality Excellence Award.

The Quality Excellence Award recognises hotels that excel in delivering the best guest experience and satisfaction.

Stella Fernandes, general manager, of Holiday Inn Express London-Park Royal visited Oxford, UK, to accept the award and said “This award recognises all the hard work and team effort we’ve put in this year. We’re constantly striving to go the extra mile so guests can expect a consistently top notch experience when visiting our hotel and we’ll continue to work together to keep delivering the same experience each year.”

Christopher Rawstron, Vice President Operations, UK and Ireland said, "We are fully committed to supporting and developing our people; our hotels are only as good as the people working in them. We aim to provide the right environment, support and inspiration they need to fulfil their capability and these awards are a reflection of the fantastic talent we have working in our hotels across Europe”

For more information please contact Stella Fernandes, 0208 8964460 or via email at: sfernandes@redefinehotels.com

Transport for London (TfL) and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham have developed an accredited Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (DCPC) training course. You can now take advantage of this course for your drivers free of charge.

The safe urban driving course focuses on driving in London and vulnerable road users, including cyclists. Funded by TfL and LB Hammersmith & Fulham, this is the first accredited training course in the UK to include practical on road cycle training for drivers and will count towards 35 hours DCPC that professional lorry drivers need to complete by September 2014.

To find out more, dates and to express your interest in the training course, please download the document below.

 Free Driver CPC Training.pdf

You may recall that a formal Ballot of businesses with a Rateable Value of £50,000 or more took place at the end of June 2011. This Ballot, conducted over the three London Boroughs that cover the Park Royal Area, result was found in favour of implementing a BID by the majority of those who voted in both number of businesses and rateable value. A copy of the BID Proposal, setting out the objectives of the BID can be accessed by clicking here.

Since this result was announced a number of key steps have been taken to implement the BID and are:
• Service Level and Operational Agreements with Local Authorities have been drafted ready for approval
• Park Royal BID Company Limited has been created
• An Interim Board has been appointed to oversee the election of Directors to the first BID Board.

• Agreed that PRP would provide secretariat services to the BID Company during formation

The legislation that enables the creation of a BID provides for an objection (Appeal) to be considered by the Secretary of State. Appeals are not uncommon and one in respect of the Park Royal BID was filed within the legislated timescale of 28 days following the Ballot result.

In the circumstances, the BID Interim Board decided that the Levy Demands and BID project activity should be suspended until the Appeal had been fully considered by the Secretary of State and his decision made known.

In the period up to December 2011 evidence was provided to the Secretary of State by the Objector(s), the Local Authorities (who managed the Ballot process) and the BID Proposer, PRP (who managed the BID project to Ballot).
 
It is now confirmed that the Ballot result is upheld in all three Local Authorities and the Appeal is formally dismissed. A copy of the decision letter from the Secretary of State is available at the end of this article.

The next steps will be for the BID Interim Board to agree timescales and criterion for the election of the first formal Directors of the BID Company, oversee the issue of the Levy Demands, consider commissioning of any project related activity and determine the formation of capacity to manage the BID Company.

It is of note that the Appeal process, while unequivocal in its conclusions, has highlighted issues that would benefit the management and administration of the BID Company and the activities it would seek to undertake. It is very likely that these matters will be considered carefully over the coming months and taken into account where appropriate and communicated to Levy Payers.

Should you require any further information in respect of the Park Royal BID please contact Brian Hinchley, Acting CEO for PRP ( bhinchley@parkroyal.org)who is currently administering the day to day affairs of the Park Royal Interim BID Company.”

 120106 - Park Royal Decision Letter.pdf

Park Royal Partnership offices will be closed from 5.00pm on Wednesday 21 December 2011 and re-opening on Tuesday 3 January 2012 at 9.00am.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Having obtained informal feedback from a number of local businesses and its members, PRP has completed the Consultation Questionnaire for the HS2. Details of the Response below:

Q1 Do you agree that there is a strong case for enhancing the capacity and performance of Britain’s inter-city rail network to support economic growth over the coming decades?

Yes, there is no doubt that additional capacity, improved performance and a wider choice of rail transport links, both passenger and freight, will be required to maintain the UK’s competitiveness and allow for sustainable growth in future decades.

Q2 Do you agree that a national high speed rail network from London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester (the Y network) would provide the best value for money solution (best balance of costs and benefits) for enhancing rail capacity and performance?

Yes, it would make better use of the investment which is planned for the London-Birmingham corridor, especially if adequate links with HS1 can be provided.  

Overview

The London Bus Network is kept under regular review. As part of this, we develop proposals for changes to services.

Why we are consulting
We are working closely with Brent and Ealing Councils to improve bus routes around the Wembley and Park Royal areas.

The proposed changes would mean that the bus network in and around Wembley and Park Royal would be able to provide more capacity and also offer more frequent and simple services alongside new links.

We are proposing;

Route 206 will be withdrawn from between Brent Park and St Raphael’s Estate and re-routed  to Wembley Park, The Paddocks
Route 224 will be rerouted at Harlesden Station running along Brentfield Road to terminate in St Raphael’s Estate.
Route PR2 is withdrawn
 

The vote count has now been independently undertaken on behalf of the three London Boroughs and it has been confirmed that the Business Improvement District for Park Royal is approved. 

After some analysis, the results broadly follow the pattern reflected during the consultation exercise and included within the BID Proposal.  There was an overall turnout of 40% with 63.2% of businesses voting “YES” representing 55.6% of their aggregate Rateable Value.Individual borough results have been published under formal Notice and are available on their websites.

A West London artisan firm that confirmed its move up the food rankings by winning the contract to supply fresh pasta to Wimbledon during the recent tennis championships, is moving into export markets with assistance from UK Trade & Investment (UKTI).

Italian-born Francesco Boggian founded La Tua Pasta in Bethnal Green with his French wife Caroline in 2006. He was soon supplying top-class hotels and high-end retail outlets such as the Four Seasons Hotels and Selfridges. As the firm’s reputation grew, it added more prestige customers to its client list, including Skylon and other restaurants, including those at the Dorchester and the Grosvenor House Hotel, as well as luxury delicatessens and discerning consumers through direct sales at London street markets.

At that time, Francesco was handmaking virtually all the pasta himself, while he and Caroline ran the business side of the company. All La Tua Pasta products are homemade, to traditional Italian recipes, with British ingredients, and free from preservatives and additives.

When Francesco approached UKTI’s London International Trade Team in 2009, the firm’s sales were still confined to the UK, but he saw the product’s wider potential. Working with International Trade Adviser Rob Furse, Francesco and Caroline devised a strategy for overseas expansion, focusing on opportunities in Western Europe and the Middle East for a frozen product. Rob said: “When I first met Francesco and Caroline, I discovered a family business with a great passion for their products and the vision to see beyond the boundaries of London and the UK.

“Together, we devised an approach to international trade focusing on metropolitan areas within Europe, targeting high-end retailers and HORECA (hotel, restaurant and catering sector) distribution.”

Rob put La Tua Pasta on UKTI’s flagship Passport to Export programme of advice and support for new and inexperienced exporters. The plan included financial backing from UKTI to exhibit at SIAL, the world’s leading food industry show, in Paris, in October 2010.

The exhibition was a success, with positive approaches to the La Tua stand by a Belgian distributor - which placed La Tua’s first overseas order, for 600 kg of pasta, and now has exclusive rights for the product in Belgium – and La Grande Epicerie, a top-end Paris food hall, with which a rolling one-year contract was agreed.

Francesco explained: “We are now selling eight pallets per month to these two customers, which is a good volume for an artisanal company like ours.”

Since it started working with UKTI, La Tua Pasta has secured overseas business worth £30,000 (equivalent to 4 tonnes, or 40,000 portions, of pasta), and this is expected to rise to £100,000 in the next 12 months.

The firm, which moved to Ealing in 2008, now has 30 employees – 17 directly involved in pasta making – and is working on increasing the shelf-life of its products. La Tua supplied pasta to the VIP area for the Champions League Final at Wembley in May, and is served by Virgin and British Airways.Total turnover is presently over £1 million, with the company having grown by more than 30 per cent already this year alone.