Inspiring North Norfolk event held

Date published: 13th March 2025

Last night North Norfolk District Council hosted “Inspiring North Norfolk,” an event which celebrated businesses in the district.

Fifteen local business were invited to receive recognition for their impressive work in several key business sectors, following on from receiving grant funding, training and skills programmes and business support through the Council.

Sectors included; manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, leisure and pharmacogenomics.

The four categories were:

Innovation – This involves allocating resources, such as time, capital and expertise, towards developing new ideas, technologies, processes or products that drive growth and solve problems. Superformula, for example, began as a family business and has invested in technology that has allowed them to develop into a leading manufacturer and distributor of cleaning and janitorial supplies throughout the UK and Europe.

Rural Diversification – This includes investing in tourism and hospitality, value-added agriculture, renewable energy projects, leisure and recreation, reforestation or conservation schemes and property development. For example, Norfolk Padel branched out from traditional agriculture and used some of their land to create a space for the fastest growing sport in the UK, padel tennis.

People - Supporting the growth, development and well-being of the workforce is key to many businesses. Richardson’s took advantage of the Future Skills Now grant and Audit and Training grant (through UKSPF in collaboration with North Norfolk District Council) allowing their workforce to upskill into a wide range of topics, from carpentry and joinery to Disability Awareness.

Sustainability - Reducing emissions and investing in sustainable practices. Pinewoods holiday park have been recognised for installing the first all-electric caravan of its kind in the region.

Full recipients were:

Investing in Innovation	Investing in Rural Diversification
AttoDiagnostics	Lodge Farm North Norfolk (GRANT RECEIVED - Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), Rural Business Grant)
Benthic Solutions	Norfolk Padel
JW Automarine	Raynham Estate (GRANT RECEIVED - Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), Rural Business Grant)
Superformula	Worstead Estate (GRANT RECEIVED - Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), Rural Business Grant)
Swift Aircraft (GRANT RECEIVED - Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), Rural Business Grant)

 

Investing in People	Investing in Sustainability
Hilltop Outdoor Centre	Pinewoods (Holkham)
Richardsons Leisure (GRANT RECEIVED - Future Skills Now, Audit and Training Grant)	Naked Kitchens (GRANT RECEIVED - Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF), Rural Business Grant)
Sanders Coaches (GRANT RECEIVED - Future Skills Now, Audit and Training Grant)	Trimingham Leisure Club (GRANT RECEIVED - Decarbonisation and Growth, Audit and Grant)

 

Reflecting on the event, Cllr. John Toye, Portfolio Holder for Sustainable Growth, said: 

"It is our hope that these businesses will continue to grow, that others will join them and that we'll have a future in North Norfolk that's as diverse as the landscape and the scenery, and I welcome any business that wants to come here and engage with us."

On working with other local businesses in North Norfolk, Ian Wilson, Group Director of Astroceras Ltd. said:

"Our landscape is quite unique, we work in the offshore industry and there is a hotspot for that in North Norfolk.

From our perspective, there are local businesses we choose to work with, because we want to try and diversify away from the larger companies, and are working with a lot of the smaller, fabricated [local] yards. It works well, and means we don't have to head into the urban centres."

This is the first of several events planned throughout the year designed to engage with businesses across the district.

The Council is set to host the North Norfolk Annual Business Forum on March 25^th.