South West Water businesses to benefit from new scheme

Tourism businesses can save water and cut costs with the launch of a new scheme by South West Water.

Exeter bed &breakfast, The Silversprings Hotel, is the first business in the region to gain the top exceptional grade in this new scheme after slashing its water use by 25% following a free water audit.

Water use at the 10 bedroom hotel has fallen from over 200 to less than 150 litres per guest per day after the installation of dual flush toilets, a new low consumption washing machine and the fitting of flow restrictors to basin taps and high pressure showers.

Owner Richard Power, has also learned how to accurately monitor their water use as well as setting up a rainwater collection system and automated drip irrigation on the hotel's patio for its plants.

He said: "We have found the Water Efficiency Certificate to be an excellent way for us to focus upon eliminating waste of water in a directly measurable manner. The target requirements for each level are specifically defined, and SWW have been most proactive in helping us to achieve these standards through free audits, detailed advice and encouragement to make the changes. We have found these changes to be quick, easy and interesting to implement and have very rapid payback times."

SWW Water Conservation Team Leader Jon Wood said: "The hotel is a great example of how a business can save water and money with some free advice and making just a few changes.

"We hope many more businesses across the region will make a commitment to saving water and take pride in displaying their Water Efficiency certificates."

The certificates are awarded at three levels: Exceptional, Comprehensive and Basic.

Businesses can learn more about the scheme by phoning the Water Conservation Team at South West Water on: 01392 443 946.

How to assess the potential impacts of climate change on your business

The Business Areas Climate Impacts Assessment Tool (BACLIAT) is a simple tool developed by the UK Climate Impacts Programme (UKCIP) to help organisations assess the potential impacts of climate change on their business.

Climate change affects all areas of a business, so the checklist tool encourages exploration of the opportunities and threats of climate change within seven business areas: logistics, finance, markets, process, people, premises and management implications.

The checklist can be used by a single organisation or an entire businesses sector. It provides an initial impacts assessment that can form part of the first tier of a risk-based approach to decision making, and is most effective when used as part of a group brainstorming exercise.

For more information please visit: http://www.ukcip.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=82&Itemid=374

Disability Discrimination Act: new access requirements and tax guidance

HMRC has revised its guidance on the tax treatment of costs incurred by businesses on DDA compliance. This reflects changes in the tax system, which came into force in April 2008. Businesses can reduce some costs of making their business more accessible with the help of the tax system.

Details of the current tax situation and how this might affect your plans can be seen if you visit the HMRC website.

From 1st October 2004, the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) required service providers to make 'reasonable adjustments' to their premises to tackle any physical features that prevent disabled people from using their services. What is reasonable will vary in different situations. It may depend on the type of service being provided and the size and resources of the service provider.

It could be as simple as using contrasting colours to help visually impaired people distinguish walls from doors, lowering a counter to make it more accessible to a wheelchair user or providing better lighting and clearer signs.

If you would like more information about these duties, please visit the Equality and Human Rights Commission website.

What limits your businesses profitability and/or growth?

We are keen to hear your comments regarding what you see as a limiting factor to your businesses success or what annoys / causes confusion with the current South West tourism industry. We will then review, discuss and explore possible ways of rectifying these factors for the future.

For example:

Unnecessary red tape
Skills, labour supply and rising labour costs
Confusing structures
Increasing costs of energy and insurance etc
Lack of marketing the region and its destinations.

Weather forecast websites

It's the summer season, however it's probably fair to say that the current weather hasn't been helpful to all tourism businesses, and is causing many visitors to hold off on booking a holiday until the last minute.

Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive of South West Tourism, has recently been commenting on the weather forecasts in the media and in particular the risk factor regarding showers. It is felt that these need to be made clearer so visitors can make an informed choice over whether they are prepared to risk a bit of rain, and then plan their holiday better, rather than staying away altogether.

See which weather website work for you and your visitors: we have listed a few below, which offer different amounts of detail dependent on your requirements.

www.metoffice.com
www.metcheck.com
www.windguru.com
www.xcweather.co.uk
www.magicseaweed.co.uk