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Woman: ... And our studio guest today is Giles Milton, Operations Director at the National Weather Centre. Giles, welcome.
Man: Thank you.
Woman: Giles, firstly, most people will know the Centre provides weather reports for TV and radio stations, but they’re not your only ’customers’, are they?
Man: Not by any means. The Centre started out a hundred and fifty years ago, largely serving the shipping industry, but now it provides a whole range of services. We’ve been helping supermarkets for some time to predict when to buy more stocks of ice cream, for example, when a heat wave’s approaching. Our forecasts for administrators of health authorities help them predict when flu outbreaks might occur. That’s something we’ve only just got off the ground. And there’s also our long-standing industrial advisory service for farmers, fishermen and airlines.
Woman: A real industry, then! Two years ago, the Centre announced its plan to relocate. What brought about that decision?
Man: Well, our first premises were near London and were leased to us by the government, and we’d always expected to stay there. But the site offered no scope for desperately needed development, and we had to do something. Although we were initially reluctant to borrow money to finance a relocation, there was no other choice.
Woman: Hm. Did it take long finding an alternative site?
Man: Over a year - which looking back seems excessively long, as we only seriously considered three locations: Oxford, Ipswich - and Plymouth, which was the one we eventually chose. All three places had a good labour supply and running costs were comparable; although I guess Plymouth is slightly cheaper - while being the furthest by road and rail from London. I think, in the end, we realised we could do our work just about anywhere - the data we deal with are all received and sent out via computer, after all.
Woman: And you were sure staff would be happy to make the commitment of moving permanently to such a nice part of the country?
Man: Well, yes, but this is different from tourism. We rely on the expertise of specialist IT people and where we were before, there are hundreds of businesses in the same position. We think there’ll be less demand for their services here.
Woman: Didn’t you have to offer them more money to relocate?
Man: We decided on a generous relocation package, and that seemed to be enough.
Woman: Are staff who relocated to your new base happy they made the move?
Man: So fag yes. We thought they’d be most impressed by the beautiful countryside, but all they’ve said is how pleased they are they can now afford to move up the ladder in terms of finding a place to live - accommodation costs near London have shot up in recent years. And they’re finding Plymouth has the same amenities they were used to before, so no complaints there.
Woman: Did the Centre receive any local government support to relocate?
Man: Yes, and that was enormously useful. We didn’t have to buy land from the local council, and our offices were purpose-built according to our specifications. We were liable for business taxes from day one, but our first rent isn’t due until the site is fully developed, in about twelve months’ time.
Woman: A big incentive, then!
Man: Yes. We’re very pleased we’ve established such a good relationship with the local government. There’s a range of generous incentives in this region, and they are available equally to local and national organisations. They see us as a nationally high-profile organisation which, by moving here should attract a number of London-based companies to the region.
Woman: So, is there any other help available, from local business agencies, for example?
Man: We’ve been offered various things - one agency provided a consultant to advise us on the initial design phase. We’ve just signed an agreement with the local employment agency, whereby they’re prepared to pay fifty per cent of the cost of sending our technicians on external computer courses. We could have benefited financially from another scheme if we’d been able to take on school leavers, but our openings are only for experienced workers.
Woman: Quite. Tell me about the logistics of...