15.03.07
EC official visits Cornwall

The new European Commission desk officer for the UK and Latvia, Koen Delanghe, has visited Cornwall to see Objective One successes for himself.

On Wednesday, March 14th, after visiting the Objective One Partnership Office, where he also met representatives of Government Office for the South West, Mr Delanghe was taken to Penzance to sit in on the last of three events organised by the honey2cornwall project.

The events, which were held at Falmouth, Lanhydrock and Penzance, were designed to highlight how hoteliers and guest house owners across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly can expand their businesses using specialist advice combined with investment.

honey2cornwall is the follow on from HONEY, a highly successful project that led to accommodation providers in the Newquay area dramatically improving the quality of what was on offer to visitors. As a result of HONEY more jobs have been created, partly because establishments are able to open and stay busy year round, rather than just for the traditional summer season.

Because of its success honey2cornwall was launched, rolling the project out across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. Both HONEY and honey2cornwall have received Objective One investment and are administered by Newquay for Excellence Training Limited and Restormel Borough Council.

Ruth Vincent, honey2cornwall Programme Director, said: "These events have been very successful for us and we have signed up several hotel and guest house owners to the honey2cornwall programme. It was a pleasure to be able to show a high ranking EC official exactly what we do and how successful it has been so far."

Mr Delanghe took over in the Brussels-based desk officer post late last year. His visit to Cornwall was hosted by Government Office for the South West.

For further information contact Clare Morgan, Media Relations Manager of the Objective One Partnership Office on 01872 223439 or email: cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk.

The Objective One Programme for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly has invested in HONEY and honey2Cornwall through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

Editor's notes:

honey2cornwall has been designed to operate as an exclusive club where establishments benefit from business support through which they can then access funding. On joining the club and paying a one off membership fee of £750 every business is allocated their own business mentor, who will undertake an initial business analysis, designed to help to identify priorities for each establishment. Every member will also have access to a team of specialists who are all practitioners within their respective professional field and range from structural engineers, architects, computer experts to marketers and interior designers.

honey2cornwall is based around quality and the National Assured Quality Standards (NQAS) together with five core disciplines:

• Guest Service – adding value for the guest
• Marketing Approach – incorporating all aspects of marketing.
• Pricing Strategy – costs and pricing for every element of the business.
• Support Systems – addressing IT, HR and legislative matters
• Physical Environment – grant aided enhancements & equipment purchases.

Expert information will also be provided to honey2cornwall members via workshops. Each workshop is created around a specific brief and designed to be very different from the standard 'talk and chalk' style. The workshop environment also encourages members to network.

Every honey2cornwall member will be eligible to apply for up to £30,000*, which can be used towards enhancing their businesses to help them meet their quality goals. A Gateway Fund Manager is available to guide members through their applications.

honey2cornwall has a total project investment in excess of £6million, including more than £2.3 million from the Objective One ERDF. This equates to thousands of pounds worth of professional assistance per business.

* Terms and conditions apply.

Clare Morgan
Media Relations Manager
Objective One Partnership Office
Castle House
Pydar Street
Truro TR1 2UD
Mobile: 07973 813647
Telephone: 01872 223439

cmorgan@cornwall.gov.uk

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