The lunches will be hosted by restaurant owner Iftikhar Ahmed at his restaurant Desi Grill Pri Pri Chicken on Monday 8 June and Tuesday 9 June, at 11:30am- 1:30pm for both days. Places are limited, to reserve your place contact Iftikhar Ahmed at ifty48@hotmail.com or call 07956180982 Iftikhar said “The concept of the business lunches is an excellent initiative for the community. I now have a greater understanding of the regulations I have to follow in order to keep my business successful. I know that other business owners within the Pakistani community often feel intimidated by business legislation and regulatory bodies, and are not aware of the support and advice they can actually receive. Working with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service has opened my eyes to see this and the support I have received has been very beneficial. “I am looking forward to hosting the business networking lunches at my restaurant, and I feel it will be the start of building the bridge between the local community and business regulators. I can now act as an advocate for my community and set the example for other business owners in the area to follow. If you are a business owner I would urge you to come along as it will be a great chance to engage with regulators in a relaxed environment.” Fire Protection Officers at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS) have seen a rise in the amount of prohibition notices being issued due to unsafe practices in restaurants and fast food outlets in Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) and emerging communities. This is partly due to language being a barrier to understanding safe business practice. Through research the Fire Protection Officers have identified hotspots within the county, and the aim of these lunches will be to educate business owners to create safe environments which embrace the culture of fire safety awareness. Paul Cooper, organiser of the event and the Business Education Advocate for NFRS said: “In order for us to engage with businesses in our community we have worked very closely with members of the Pakistani community to build a sense of trust and understanding. We want business owners to feel comfortable in coming along to the business lunches so they can learn the requirements regarding business premises from a Fire Protection perspective and have an understanding of any regulatory growth issues. |  “The lunches are a great opportunity for business owners to receive valuable information from Environmental Health and business advice from the D2N2 Growth Hub. I hope the events give owners a sense of confidence to develop growth within their communities. This is the first event of this sort we have supported but moving forwards we want to continue this work with different communities in the county as we really want to see local businesses thrive and understand what is expected of them when it comes to fire safety.” Paul Dales, Nottingham City Council’s Food and Health & Safety Manager, said: “This is a great way for my team to meet informally with business owners and advise them on how to comply with the various regulations in the easiest and most cost effective way. My colleagues have a wide experience across many business types and can suggest different options to achieve hygiene and safety compliance.” |
Sneinton Blog >