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Business Support from Malvern Hills District Council

The Council offers a wide range of services and advice to businesses. Whether you are a business start up, an established business or a business moving into the area, Council staff will be happy to help with your enquiries. Professional advice is available from Economic Development, Planning, Environmental Services, Business Rates and Trade Waste.

For more information about these services contact one of our Customer Service Centres

Economic Development

The department provides information and advice on a range of topics such as availability of business premises, funding and economic data. We are also involved in a number of projects and partnerships which help to develop the economy of the District. Services and projects include:

• Planning and development of Economic Infrastructure

• Land and Workspace development

• Marketing the District

• Business surveys

• Economic data

• Commercial premises search

• Town centre projects and promotional events

• Business support and guidance in partnership with Business Link West Midlands.

• Local Partnerships e.g. Enigma Business Park, Great Malvern Town Centre Partnership, Tenbury Area Partnership

For further information please call Simon Smith on 01684 862199, email simon.smith@malvernhills.gov.uk or for commercial premises searches visit www.worcestershire.gov.uk/business

Funding Opportunities

There are a number of funding schemes in the District to support both business and community development. These include small grants for town centre businesses and grants to convert redundant buildings in rural areas. The Economic Development team can provide information and advice on funding schemes or advise you of the appropriate funding body to contact.

The following websites provide comprehensive information on funding and grants:

www.worcestershire.gov.uk/business

www.j4bgrants.co.uk

www.westmidlandsfinance.com

www.grantnet.com

Tourism and Conference Venues

The Council’s tourism department can assist businesses with finding suitable accommodation for visitors, and providing advice on places to visit in the area. The Malvern Hills District is an ideal location for conferences, meetings and exhibitions. There is a wide choice of venues to cater for a range of needs from large corporate events to team ‘away days’. Malvern Tourist Information Centres offers a conference booking service or can advise businesses on suitable venues. The Tourist Information Centres are also a good source of information for new staff moving to the local area.

For further information on accommodation and places to visit contact one of the local Tourist Information Centres in either Malvern (01684 892289), Upton Upon Severn (01684 594200) or Tenbury Wells (01584 810136). For information on conference venues or assistance with booking conferences either contact Malvern Tourist Information Centre (01684 892289) or visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/tourism.

Transport

Advice is available for businesses interested in preparing an Employer Travel Plan. A Travel Plan is a package of measures to tackle different aspects of a company’s transport requirements, including commuter journeys, business travel and fleet management. Benefits include potential cost savings, reduced congestion and demand for parking and a more sustainable approach to transport.

For further information please call Madeleine Sumner on 01684 862188 or email madeleine.sumner@malvenhills.gov.uk

Planning

Responsible for a wide range of Planning Policy, Building Control and Development Control services. The service includes:

Development Plans & Conservation

• Planning Policy: preparation of the Local Plan, the new Local Development Framework and Supplementary Planning Documents

• Research and Monitoring: including annual employment and housing land availability studies

• The protection of the historic and environmental fabric of the District, ensuring the protection of listed buildings, conservation areas and the protection and retention of amenity trees

• Processing applications for works to protected trees and providing advice on applications for Listed Building Consent and Conservation Area Consent

Building Control

• Ensures new building work complies with the Building regulations

• Dangerous structures

Development Control

• Planning advice and pre-application discussions

• Processing planning applications and dealing with appeals

• Investigating and enforcing breaches of planning control

A weekly list of planning appeals, applications and decisions is available on the Council’s website www.malvernhills.gov.uk together with details of current planning applications.

There is also advice on making a planning application, the Local Plan and various documents.

Initial planning enquiries should be directed through the Malvern Hills Customer Service Centre on 01684 862151. A ‘Duty Planner’ is normally available to answer general planning enquiries between 10am and 4pm daily. Appointments can also be made via the Customer Service Centre with individual planning staff.

Environmental Services

Responsible for providing information and advice and enforcing regulation in the following areas:

• Food safety - advice, investigation, inspection, licensing registration, infectious diseases

• Environmental protection - noise, water supplies, air quality, contaminated land and drainage

• Health and safety at work - advice, investigations and inspections

• Pest control

• Street Scene - littering, graffiti, fly tipping and cleanliness of public open spaces and facilities

• Animal welfare - dog warden service, licensing of animal related businesses

• Licensing for a wide range of businesses and activities

• Training - food hygiene, health and safety

For more information please contact Customer Services. Information and forms are also available on the Environment and Licensing pages

Trade Waste

The Council offers a trade waste collection to businesses operating in the District. The service includes bin hire in four different sizes or weekly trade sack collections.

To arrange a commercial waste collection, see our Trade Waste page. Businesses may also contact Customer Services for advice on seeking commercial waste recycling.

Revenues

Responsible for administration and collection of Non-Domestic rates, also known as business rates.  Business rates are payable on business rated properties such as shops, offices and industrial units. Valuation of business premises is the responsibility of the Valuations Office.

Certain businesses may be eligible for rate relief or exemptions, for example:

• Unoccupied or partly occupied premises

• Businesses with a low rateable value

• Buildings subject to a building preservation notice

• Businesses suffering hardship

• Certain types of businesses in rural areas e.g. post offices, general stores, pubs, petrol filling stations

For more information please contact Customer Services. For more information on the valuation of business premises contact the Worcester Valuation office on 01905 687600 or visit www.voa.gov.uk

Procurement - Trading with MHDC and Tenders

The Council trades with organisations of all sizes with a range of commercial opportunities. Our aim is to provide value for money on supplies and services bought and leased by the Council - this does not mean the cheapest but a balance between cost, quality and performance.

Current tender opportunities are published on the Procurement page. There are also documents to help businesses understand contracting procurement rules and how to do business with Malvern Hills District Council.

For further information contact Margaret Duys on 01684 862260 or email margaret.duys@malvernhills.gov.uk

Malvern Hills Customer Services

Your first point of contact for all Council Services is the Worcestershire Hub. Malvern Hills District Council works in partnership with the County Council to provide a wide range of district and county services through a team of highly trained, multi-functional Customer Service Advisors. The Hub also provide information relating to many other public services - whatever your enquiry, we will help you find a solution.

There are many ways that you can access the Hub

Visit our Customer Services website or e-mail us at: worcestershirehub@malvernhills.gov.uk