Month: June 2024

Suffolk’s foodie capital will welcome back the ever-popular Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston to the Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival over the August Bank Holiday. Galton, whose TV credits include Yes Chef, Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu among many others, champions seasonal produce from the region. This year he celebrated his Norfolk hotel and restaurant Morston Hall retaining its Michelin star for a 25th year.

Galton will take to the stage in the Stoves Cookery Theatre at the free admission event on Bank Holiday Monday (August 26) with three demonstrations. In between his cookery displays will be others from local businesses. On Sunday (August 25) the kitchen will play host to chefs from across Bury St Edmunds town centre. Establishments including Rustico, 1921, Maison Bleue and The Bay Tree will all take part.

The two day event will feature a range of stalls selling food from around the world. New to the festival this year are stalls selling Hungarian street food and Caribbean sauces. The award-winning English Whisky Company will also be at the festival for the first time. In addition, food lovers can enjoy a farmers’ market on Angel Hill and dozens of stalls in the town centre selling a range of cuisines for all tastes and everything those who love cooking could desire.

The Our Bury St Edmunds Food & Drink Festival is organised by the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation for the town. Our Bury St Edmunds BID Chief Executive Mark Cordell said: “Galton Blackiston has been one of our most popular celebrity chefs at the Food & Drink Festival over the years and we are delighted to welcome him back to Bury St Edmunds. It’s testament to the quality of food and drink businesses in the town centre that so many of them are also playing a part at the Festival. While we can’t put every one of them on the stage, throughout the weekend there is a good number taking a stall to immerse themselves in everything the two days have to offer.”

Another popular attraction over the bank holiday will be the much-loved virtual reality games which will be at arc shopping centre together with a racing car simulator and face painting. Children can also enjoy fairground rides (small charge) and free street entertainment across both days.

Full details about the event, which runs from 10am to 5pm on Sunday 25 and Monday 26 August, can be found at: www.ourburystedmunds.com/foodanddrinkfestival

Bury St Edmunds Shop&Drop will be extending its pedal-powered service to the town’s Wednesday Market.

Shop&Drop, operated by EcoCarriers BSE, currently offers a same day delivery from a number of businesses in town as well as from traders on the Saturday market and now it will introduce the Wednesday market. Just call Shop&Drop before 2pm for same day delivery.

A single 35L crate of goods costs £2 for delivery within the town including Moreton Hall, Lark Grange and Marham Park or £4.50 to nearby villages including Great Barton, Horringer and Nowton. It will be delivered by bicycle or cargo-bike by 6pm. The customer pays the rider on delivery (card or cash).

Shop&Drop, which currently has almost a dozen businesses participating in its initial trial, has been supported by West Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council as well as Our Bury St Edmunds BID.

On Wednesday 26th June Shop & Drop members will be at Marks and Spencer (just one of the retailers on the scheme) on the Buttermarket to tell customers about the service.

Director of Eco Carriers Libby said: “The service is proving successful, with over 150 deliveries made since we started, and we wanted to offer it to people who use the market on Wednesday’s too. Our cargo bikes can carry more than you’d expect, and for £2 we’ll deliver your shopping home to anywhere in Bury, leaving you unencumbered for a stroll round town or a café stop.”

To book a Shop&Drop pick up and delivery call 01284 413441, 07902 477833 or email hello@ecocarriersbse.co.uk for more information.

 

A series of free training courses to assist businesses in Bury St Edmunds town centre is proving so popular that spaces are now booked up months in advance.  The courses, provided by the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation Our Bury St Edmunds BID, help shops and companies meet their statutory obligations such as first aid, fire marshal and food safety.

One of the most popular courses is Emergency First Aid at Work, which is fully booked up until October.  Fire Marshal has limited spaces in September.  All businesses that are members of the BID including those who have opted to join voluntarily are able to send staff members on any of the courses on offer.

Our Bury St Edmunds BID Business Support Manager Mike Kirkham oversees the training programme.  He said: “Some of our courses relate specifically to types of business – for example our food safety and alcohol licensing courses are key for those in the hospitality sector.  However, first aid, fire marshal and digital marketing are skills that every business from shops to service providers can benefit from.  In fact, if one of our smaller independent businesses sent someone on each of those courses in a year, they would have recouped the cost of their BID payment on that alone.

“Another benefit of booking a course through the BID is that we ensure the courses are always within the town and we try to choose the quieter days of the week to hold them – very frequently a Monday.  Therefore, it’s easier for a business to free up a member of staff to attend and they are not having to send that staff member to Ipswich, Cambridge or even as far as Norwich for the course, which for many small businesses is just not practical.”

Since the current BID term began in April 2020 around 1,250 training places have been delivered in partnership with local training providers and venues wherever possible.  These include West Suffolk College, Menta, Latitude Training, Greene King and The Farmers Club.

Mr Kirkham added: “Our courses are designed to meet the needs of our member businesses.  Recently we were asked about training for awareness about neurodiversity by companies who wanted to enhance the inclusivity of their customer service.  We were able to work with Three Eggs Training to offer a course earlier this year.”

One of the businesses to benefit from the training is Papakis Deli based in Buttermarket.  Owner George Protopapas commented: “Food safety, first aid and fire safety are all critical to a small business like mine.  As well as saving on the cost of sending someone on these courses I don’t have to research where the training is being held or how to register.  I let the BID know that we want to attend and then turn up on the day – it’s been a huge benefit to my business.”

The next courses that still have places available are Fire Marshal on September 10 and Emergency First Aid at Work on October 14.  Further information is available from Our Bury St Edmunds BID on 01284 766258 or www.ourburystedmunds.com.

Fans of beer and ale are saying ‘cheers’ to the brewing heritage of Bury St Edmunds ahead of Beer Day Britain on Saturday (June 15). The town’s popular Ale Trail has been given a boost with a new video digital marketing campaign promoting more than 20 pubs and bars in the town centre.

The Ale Trail was launched six years ago by the Business Improvement District (BID) organisation Our Bury St Edmunds. It showcases award-winning pubs, unique bars and the variety of brewers linked to the town.

Business Support Manager at Our Bury St Edmunds BID Mike Kirkham co-founded the trail with the then owner of Oakes Barn. Mike said: “While the Greene King brewery is a landmark in the town, our Ale Trail also champions the smaller breweries such as The Old Cannon, Brewshed, which is linked to the Beerhouse, and Nethergate Brewery which has a bar within its shop in The Traverse.

“Since launching our new marketing campaign for the Ale Trail at the end of May, the video has been viewed around 30,000 times and we are on course to deliver it to more than a million screens across social media platforms, on websites, internet searches and YouTube over the next few weeks.”

The Ale Trail has something for everyone and the free Ale Trail map indicates what’s on offer at each of the venues including whether they sell cask ale, craft beers and food, as well as details about accommodation, whether dogs are welcome or if there’s live music.

Two of the pubs on the Ale Trail are The Masons Arms and The Kings Arms, both run by Sean Driscoll. He commented: “Both pubs are among those featured in the new video which really highlights what a wonderful variety of establishments there are in the town centre. The Our Bury St Edmunds Ale Trail can guide you to everything from cocktail bars to Belgian beers, from traditional pubs like mine to the ones that are known for being somewhat quirkier.”

Will Hemmings who is Marketing Director for Brewing and Brands at Greene King has also welcomed the new Ale Trail video and digital marketing campaign from Our Bury St Edmunds BID and added: “Brewing in Bury St Edmunds is a core part of Greene King’s DNA as we’ve been brewing in the town for over 200 years. We are delighted that our Beer Café is being featured as one of the stops on the Our Bury St Edmunds Ale Trail and in the new marketing campaign which celebrates the town’s brewing history.”

Businesses in Bury St Edmunds will be able to access resources to help fight cyber crime thanks to the town’s Business Improvement District (BID) organisation Our Bury St Edmunds BID.  The BID has joined the Eastern Cyber Resilience Centre (ECRC) Community, which offers support including signposting to Government guidance on cyber threats and webinars and other events about the growing risk of cyber crime.

Chief Executive of Our Bury St Edmunds BID Mark Cordell recently met staff from the ECRC to discuss the vulnerability of businesses to scams whether online or in person.  The organisation works in collaboration with police forces in the region as well as assisting businesses and their staff to have the right strategies to respond to incidents efficiently.

Highlighting the importance of work to combat cyber attacks and scams Mr Cordell said: “The UK cyber crime statistics are truly shocking – 50% of businesses have been a victim of cyber crime and the average cost of a cyber attack to a company is more than £3,200.  Therefore, it’s vital that we support our member businesses in any way we can to reduce this happening in Bury St Edmunds.”

Our Bury St Edmunds BID is currently the subject of a ballot of businesses in the town over whether it should continue until 2030.  While it is unlikely that this could be a subject for an opportunist criminal, the organisation is advising businesses to err on the side of caution.

Mark Cordell added: “While we are happy to discuss any aspect of the ballot process with our member businesses, we will only do so at a time convenient to them and will not be using canvassers but BID staff members who will already be known to the businesses.  If anyone who can’t be verified by the BID does turn up unexpectedly at their premises to discuss the ballot, I would advise them to exercise caution.  It’s quite possible it could be some sort of distraction technique and nothing at all to do with the BID ballot.”

Efforts to reduce the impact of crime and anti-social behaviour on town centre businesses is a key element of the business plan for the next term of the BID. Mr Cordell commented: “Having spent the earlier part of my career with Suffolk Police I am very aware of the devastating effect criminals can have not just on businesses, but on the hard-working people who run them.  Of course, some types of crime have changed since I was an officer – hence the need for cyber security experts such as ECRC to offer support and assistance – but others like distraction theft sadly are still going on.  Like pretty much everywhere else in the country, Bury St Edmunds has seen an increase in shoplifting recently – figures show that across England and Wales it went up by nearly 40% in 2023.  So, I make no apology for reminding people to always be on your guard and while, of course, the vast majority of customers will be genuine, if you believe someone has targeted your business then report it at the earliest opportunity.”

Businesses who want to discuss the BID ballot and what it will mean for their premises are welcome to contact the Our Bury St Edmunds BID office on 01284 766258.  Similarly, if they wish to check anyone calling at their premises claiming to have information about the ballot is genuine, they should call the same number.