Essex drinks factory closure
Drinks company Britvic is to close its factory in Chelmsford with the loss of around 230 jobs.
Pub turns waste into water
A pub in Norfolk is using new technology to keep its food waste out of landfill
More choice for airline passengers
Travellers looking for flights to Europe will soon have more choice thanks to a new deal struck at Cambridge Airport.
Live updates
Essex school caters to museum
A school in Essex has outsourced its catering team to help run a tea room in a museum.
The Plume School in Maldon is working with the Steam Pump Tea Room located in the Museum of Power in Langford. Catering students will be able to get work experience in customer service and it's created two jobs.
Stilton in Stilton?
Campaigners trying to reverse a ruling which prevents Stilton cheese being sold in the Cambridgeshire village from which it gets it's name say they're making good progress.
At the moment the blue cheese can only be produced in Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire under a European Protected Designation of Origin ruling.
Villagers say DEFRA has now agreed to carry out a public consultation to see if it should be changed.
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Businesses warn of shortage of skilled staff
A science company in Cambridgeshire is warning it can't expand as fast as it would like because of a shortage of skilled staff.
Melbourn Scientific say many science and engineering businesses are struggling to find staff because of a lack of technicial qualifications.
A recent survey by the Engineering Employers Federation found that 75% of manufacturers said that recruiting skilled people is a key business concern, with 4 out of 5 saying they are currently suffering recruitment problems.
Mark Parry from Melbourn Scientific said " We're growing and recruiting so we're constantly looking for candidates. What we see very often is candidates who have a lot of academic ability who are keen and intelligent people, but they lack the skills and technical awareness that we need."
Chippies take a battering as the price of spuds soar
Chips are set to soar in price after one of the coldest winters ever.
Rain, snow and ice has led to the lowest yield and poorest quality crops since the drought of 1976.
Paul Robinson's family has had a fish and chip shop in Chelmsford in Essex since 1950. Last year a 55lb bag of potatoes cost him £6.50, it's now double that and by June it's expected to be £17.
Natalie Gray reports.(Interviews - Paul Robinson, chip shop owner. Rod Garnham, Corkers Crisps and Tim Papworth, farmer)
Passenger numbers up at Stansted
Stansted Airport handled almost 4% more passengers last month, compared to the same time last year.
The Essex airport saw more than 1.34 million passengers pass through in March 2013.
This was 3.8% more than in March last year, with planes flying 79% full last month compared with 77% in March 2012.
Stansted handled more than 17.5 million passengers in the 12 months ending in March 2013 - a fall of 1.8% on the previous 12-month total.
– Stansted Airport spokesperson"The passenger figures for March 2013 reflect a good monthly operational performance and a solid winter schedule overall. It's encouraging to see monthly passenger numbers in growth."
Safety warning on new road
The company behind the building of the new A11 dual carriageway in Norfolk and Suffolk is asking drivers to stick to the new speed limits to help prevent accidents.
Around 50 construction workers are killed every year in roadworks and a 40 mile per hour limit between Thetford and Barton Mills is designed to keep them and drivers safe.
Kate Prout reports...
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Peterborough brick workers to strike
Workers at a firm which makes bricks will start a six-week strike tomorrow in a row over holidays.
Members of the GMB union at Hanson Brick in Peterborough will take action amid complaints that the company was trying to cut their holiday entitlement following a reorganisation which came into effect after the closure of brick works at Whittlesey in Cambridgeshire.
The company says staff were compensated for the changes to their terms and conditions.
A company spokesman added: "It is disappointing that, having accepted the compensation payment, a small section of the workforce has now changed their minds and elected to take industrial action."
"We have a contingency plan in place to ensure the factory continues to run and production is not disrupted."
HMV stores in the East saved from closure
Around 2,500 jobs at entertainment retailer HMV have been saved nationwide after the restructuring firm Hilco bought 141 stores, 18 of them in the East of England.
Stores have been saved in: Basildon, Basingstoke, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Cambridge (FOPP), Chelmsford, Colchester, Harlow, Hatfield, Ipswich, Kings Lynn, Milton Keynes, Norwich Gentlemans Walk, Norwich Chapelfield, Peterborough Queensgate, Southend Victoria, Stevenage.
For more on the HMV deal, click here.
easyJet cuts losses thanks to big Easter getaway
Budget airline easyJet, based at Luton, has delivered strong trading figures thanks to a surge in Easter bookings.
Read the full storyAirline celebrates 10 years of Norwich to Scotland flights
The airline bmi regional is marking a decade of flights between Norwich and Aberdeen. The service first started on 31 March 2003 and now operates twice daily on weekdays.
Cathal O’Connell chief executive of bmi regional, said: "Since the launch of the Aberdeen to Manchester and Norwich service, we have had consistently strong load factors, thanks to the continued support of our customers."
