Month: September 2026

Business Support Workshops across Sussex

Posted on by Mark Alger

The below are various Business Support Workshops that Members may find beneficial:

https://www.pbc.co.uk/east-sussex-workshops-1/doing-business-online.- This covers 6 core areas – websites, Google, content, data, cyber and AI – and is the ‘feeder’ session for subsequent workshops, which you can find here https://www.pbc.co.uk/east-sussex

Time to Grow is a fully funded business support programme for established, growth-ready SMEs across East Sussex. Eligible businesses can access up to 16 hours of tailored 1-1 support from a pool of 20 experienced specialists across marketing, sales, AI and automation, digital presence, SEO, CRM, finance and commercial planning. Starting with a business diagnostic, the support is shaped around your business, your challenges and your growth ambitions, matching you with the specialist expertise that can make the biggest difference.

Find out more and book your free discovery call: https://digitalislands.org/specialist-business-growth/

Business Essentials East Sussex is a fully funded programme for sole traders, early-stage businesses and micro businesses across East Sussex, offering six practical workshops across three in-person morning events. Covering business planning, online essentials, marketing, sales, systems and finance, each event brings together two complementary workshops designed to help you step back from the day-to-day, build confidence and leave with practical tools and clear actions you can apply straight away.

Explore the events and book your free place: https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/business-essentials-4862084

Tara from Kay & Pascoe smashes UltraMarathon!!

Posted on by Mark Alger

Huge congratulations to Tara from Kay & Pascoe, who took on the Ultra X England multi-day ultramarathon at the weekend…a total of 112km!

What an achievement… 🏅 Gold in her category, 9th female and 62nd overall!

A fantastic result in an incredibly tough event, with more runners not making it to the finish line than those who did!

St Wilfrid’s Hospice – Charity Race Day

Posted on by Mark Alger

St Wilfrid’s Hospice Race Day (invitation attached)

Join St Wilfrid’s Hospice in a private hospitality suite with balcony and enjoy a spectacular day of top-quality racing, live music, fashion, and celebration in the heart of the South Downs.

Sunday 20th September 2026. Plumpton Racecourse

ÂŁ175 per person. Includes:

  • Admission.
  • Welcome glass of fizz.
  • Hospitality within the private St Wilfrid’s hospitality suite and balcony.
  • Three-course set meal.
  • Coffee and Plumpton Petit Fours.
  • Coach transfer from St Wilfrid’s Hospice to Plumpton Racecourse return or Complimentary car parking.
  • Racecard.
  • Dedicated staff.
  • Tote Betting Facilities.

Places are very limited, secure yours today.

debra.elliott@stwhospice.org  or call: 01323 434221

St Wilfrid’s Hospice Race Day invitation

Two Tails Taproom – Permanent Home in Heathfield

Posted on by Mark Alger

IT’S OFFICIAL – TWO TAILS TAPROOM HAVE A PREMISES!

✅️ Premises licence granted

✅️ Change of use granted

✅️ LEASE SIGNED!

After some unexpected delays, they have finally completed on the lease on 37 High Street, Heathfield, so work now begins on turning it into their forever home.

Work begins straight away and if all goes to plan they’ll be open at the start of October.

Colin & Deena would like to thank the following people, without whom none of which would’ve been possible:

Bev, Martin & Paul at All Wrapped Up

Andie & team Appleby Petfield Ltd

Stefan & team at Dawson Hart Solicitors

Alex at Oldfield Smith & Co Ltd

Andy at Java Insurance Brokers

They look forward to welcoming everyone for a celebratory beer!

Find out more about the Two Tails story and their journey from pop-up to permanent premises here: http://two-tails-mgrewz.subscribepage.io

There’s a lot of work to be done before they can open, but if you want to offer your services – professionally or voluntarily – they would love to chat. All volunteers are fully insured while working on-site and will be well looked after

#Teamwork #ComingSoon #LocalBusiness #DrinkLocal #DogFriendly #CommunityFirst

Local Businesses meet with MP following water shortages

Posted on by Mark Alger

Nusrat Ghani, Sussex Weald MP, recently met with members of the Heathfield Chamber of Commerce and local businesses affected by South East Water’s outages. She heard of the difficult decisions taken by local High Street firms, when faced with having to close their businesses and services and lose income due to the water company’s decision to stem the supply.

Nusrat said: “from cafes to hairdressers, opticians to professional service providers, the impact of South East Water’s decision-making is hitting hard. I heard the emotional stories of businesses having to shut up shop because they could not safely operate. No toilets for staff or customers, no water for drinking. This means no business can carry on, company owners losing money and staff being sent home for the day.

The town’s local council is the first line of enquiry for many local residents and even they weren’t kept upto date with the local dire situation. I was disappointed to hear that South East Water’s communications were confusing matters for local residents.

I met many local businesses with the Chamber, including: Sokada, Melina Joy Opticians, Twinn Café and Martinez Hairdressing, all inconvenienced and many of them having to shut up shop and lose income. I will be campaigning for these businesses to receive compensation.

I have also renewed my call on the South East Water boss to leave the comfort of his office and to meet my constituents and tell them what he will do differently. Everyone is bored of hearing statistics, they just want to see action. My South East Water survey is still live, so head to my website and tell me if you have been impacted by recent water outages.”

As a Chamber, we’d like to thank Ms Ghani for her time and say that we’re very much looking forward to working with her in the future.