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Lancaster-based Rosebank PR & Communications named in UK top 50 independent comms practitioners for second year running

Lancaster-based Rosebank PR & Communications has been named as one of the top 50 independent comms practices in the UK for the second year running.

The company was listed as a member of the Independent Impact 50, a national awards scheme recognising 50 of “the most innovative and influential independent PR practitioners who are shaping the future of communication”.

Founded by Bob Hart, Rosebank PR & Communications works with a wide variety of organisations nationwide, including public sector bodies, charities, and businesses.

Bob said: “I’m very pleased as well as pleasantly surprised to have been included in the Independent Impact 50 for a second consecutive year.

“This recognition means a lot because it comes from a judging panel made up of leading figures from across the comms & PR sectors. I feel very fortunate to have been included in the 50 alongside some very impressive colleagues from across the independent sector.

“The Independent Impact 50 highlights the often-unseen contribution of independent PR and comms practitioners all over the country who collectively make a huge impact on behalf of their clients.”

Winners gathered for a celebration event at London’s Globe Theatre on May 7.

The Independent Impact 50 was created by Rod Cartwright, principal of Rod Cartwright Consulting, and Nigel Sarbutts, founder of freelance PR matchmaking platform The PR Cavalry. 

They said: “Impact is a deliberately vague choice for the awards. There is no standard definition, it can be at any scale, from changing legislation that affects us all to the intimate, human scale of how one person’s work can change the life of another indelibly.

“Powering that is the belief that one does not need the security blanket of a big brand employer to have an impact on those we work for and alongside.

“We want this showcase and celebration to help accelerate change, making independent practice as accessible as possible and as widely discussed as the outdated idea of the PR industry being in two camps: agency or in-house.”

The Independent Impact 50 is backed by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), PRovoke Media, and PR agency 72Point, and training organisation Socially Mobile.

Prior to launching Rosebank PR & Communications, Bob worked in journalism and in-house in marketing and comms roles in the higher education sector. He is also a non-executive director of Lancaster & Morecambe Chamber of Commerce and a trustee of Aberystwyth Students’ Union.

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Enjoy networking on two wheels with Business Bike Club

A free group combining business networking with cycling is returning to Lancaster and Morecambe for 2026.

Business Bike Club was created by Lancaster University’s Health Innovation Campus, Lancaster & Morecambe Chamber of Commerce, and local business Rosebank PR & Communications as an alternative to traditional networking events.

Rides are scheduled to take place monthly from April to September.

Stuart Powers, Innovation Community Manager at the Health Innovation Campus, said: “Everybody knows the huge health benefits gained by people who regularly actively commute, but often life gets in the way.

“At the Health Innovation Campus we’re all about finding new approaches to help people improve their health, and we try to live by what we believe.

“It’s amazing how much we can improve our health by simply getting out of our cars and choosing active travel modes instead. We hope Business Bike Club gives people the opportunity to leave their car at home and take the bike to work.”

Bob Hart, non-executive director at Lancaster & Morecambe Chamber of Commerce and owner of Rosebank PR & Communications said: “The Chamber organises a wide variety of events and activities designed to help to build connections within the local business community, but we know that a lot of people can find traditional business networking a bit off-putting. 

“The idea behind Business Bike Club is to bring people together through a shared interest in cycling, and hopefully friendships and business opportunities will develop from there.”

Each ride is usually on the last Thursday of the month and alternate between mornings and evenings. After work rides start at the Health Innovation Campus with a pick up in the city centre, morning rides start in Lancaster at Millenium Bridge. All ride details and routes will be sent over in advance.

For anyone wanting to work at the Health Innovation Campus on the day, there are shower facilities onsite and you can take advantage of free workspace and meeting room bookings.

The rides are suitable for all bikes and the group operates a policy of leaving no one behind. Places on each ride are limited to eight. Some hi-viz/reflective clothing is recommended and helmets are required.

Book your place at https://www.trybooking.com/uk/events/landing/105732

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Rosebank PR & Communications named in UK top 50 independent comms practitioners

Lancaster-based Rosebank PR & Communications has been named as one of the top 50 independent comms practices in the UK. 

The company was listed as a member of the Independent Impact 50, a national awards scheme recognising 50 of “the most innovative and influential independent PR practitioners who are shaping the future of communication”.

Founded by Bob Hart, Rosebank PR & Communications supports a wide variety of organisations nationwide, including public sector bodies, charities, and businesses.

Bob said: ”Since becoming an independent practitioner in 2020, I’ve had a chance to work on so many interesting projects and campaigns with fantastic clients up and down the country.

“I’m really proud of this recognition for lots of reasons, but particularly because it comes from a judging panel made up of major figures from across the comms & PR sectors – it’s great to see the independent sector celebrated like this.”

Winners gathered for a celebration event at London’s Globe Theatre on May 1.

Bob said: “It was very enjoyable to attend the Independent Impact 50 announcement and get to know more of the brilliant people working independently in the industry.”

The Independent Impact 50 was created by Rod Cartwright, principal of Rod Cartwright Consulting, and Nigel Sarbutts, founder of freelance PR matchmaking platform The PR Cavalry. 

They said: “The Independent Impact 50 is a celebration of outstanding practice for clients and the disproportionate commitment, contribution and impact of the winners on the PR community more widely.

“We want to change the narrative that you only matter in PR because you work somewhere important or noteworthy. Freelancers confront and confound that idea completely.

“They have made it their choice to do it their own way. to be captain of their own little ship and to embrace the fear that entails.

“The independent practitioners listed accept that challenge and then go further. They lift others up, they contribute to professional standards and they help chip away at the prejudices which bedevil the PR world.”

The Independent Impact 50 is backed by the Public Relations and Communications Association (PRCA), the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR), PRovoke Media and PR agency 72Point.

Prior to launching Rosebank PR & Communications, Bob worked in journalism and in-house in marketing and comms roles in the higher education sector.

Contact Rosebank PR & Communications.

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Bay Health Festivals seeks corporate sponsors for its wellbeing events

Businesses and organisations are invited to support the wellbeing of the Morecambe Bay area by becoming sponsors of Bay Health Festivals.

Launched in 2017, Bay Health Festivals was created by University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust lead chaplain Rev Ian Dewar with the aim of starting conversations that would lead to healthier, happier lives for people in our region.

The festival team is now looking for corporate sponsors to help the events to continue to grow and reach more people.

Rev Dewar said: “As Bay Health Festivals grows we’re looking for support from the community to fund our events.

“From individual donations to headline sponsorship, all contributions to our population health mission are gratefully received.

“When we launched Bay Health Festivals the plan was always to receive seed funding from the trust while we established our brand.

“Bay Health Festivals is a staff-led initiative we have achieved so much to date using a number of small charitable grants and a huge amount of free staff time. But we’re ambitious, and we’re now working to do more events, make them bigger and better, and achieve financial self-sufficiency.”

The idea behind the festivals is to inspire people to make small lifestyle changes that add up to big improvements in our mental and physical health.

More people improving their diet, doing more exercise, and addressing potential health problems early can reduce the financial burden on the NHS and make our communities healthier.

Rev Dewar said: “In the eight years since we launched Bay Health Festivals, we have been gathering momentum and reaching more and more people with our message about improving health through rediscovering ‘the lost art of living’.

“We’re looking for sponsors who share our wish to improve the health of our population and become a part of the Bay Health Festivals movement.

“A healthy population is an economically-strong population. We know that people who live around Morecambe Bay are immensely proud of the region and want to see it thrive – we can all play a part in that by looking after our health.

“Whether you want to make a contribution large or small, please get in touch and be part of our work to help people to live healthier, happier lives.”

Forthcoming Bay Health Festivals events include:

  • Dalton Square, Lancaster, July 13 & 14: Free health checks, live entertainment and a huge selection of health and wellbeing organisations on Saturday, following by a ‘celebration of cycling’ event on Sunday
  • Kendal Leisure Centre, October 27: Our Sunday Funday event with lots of activities to inspire healthy lifestyles
  • The team also has ambitions to organise an additional event in Barrow

From sponsoring a monthly email newsletter, to becoming a headline event supporter, there are packages available for all budgets. To find out more about the packages available, email ian.dewar@mbht.nhs.uk

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Digital signature software boss calls for reforms to law on signing of wills

The CEO of a pioneering digital signature software company has called for modernisation of the law to allow wills to be signed online.

Steven Tallant, Chief Executive of Liverpool-based Videosign, says outdated regulations around signing and witnessing of wills have failed to keep up with technological developments.

Current law requires wills to be signed with pen and ink and witnessed in person. A temporary amendment allowing wet signatures to be witnessed online was introduced in England and Wales during the Covid pandemic, but is due to expire at the end of January 2024.

The Videosign CEO has written to Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice Lord Bellamy KC to make the case for updating the legal framework for making wills.

Mr Tallant said: “It’s legal to sign most contracts and documents online these days, but wills remain one of the few areas where a pen-and-ink signature is required.

“There are very good reasons why the security and probity of wills is taken seriously. But there are equally valid reasons to improve processes in the UK to take advantage of the benefits technology has to offer.

“Other countries are now ahead of the UK in terms of modernising this area of law. For example, many US states are introducing laws allowing wills to be both witnessed and signed digitally.

“I hope that Lord Bellamy will agree with me that there is an opportunity here to modernise this archaic process.”

The Videosign CEO said a recent personal experience had given him additional insight into the shortcomings of relying on paper wills.

He said: “The flaws in the current system were brought into focus for me recently after my aunt died suddenly in December of last year, and I was named as executor of her will.

“The process took months to complete, largely due to queries that were raised over the authenticity of the will – which was legally required to be written on paper and signed in ink.

“Statements from witnesses had to be sent in the post, documents went missing, and the whole process dragged on for longer than it needed to.

“All of the issues could have been resolved in minutes by referring to the video evidence and digital documents if technology like Videosign had been used to sign the will in the first place, rather than depending on physical paperwork that can be easily damaged or lost.

“I’m sure many people will have much more difficult experiences than mine while dealing with probate, and I would love to see the UK legislate to bring wills into the digital age at last.”

Headquartered in Liverpool and with a development hub in Glasgow, Videosign launched in 2019 aiming to develop a solution more secure, efficient and convenient than the traditional pen-and-ink signature.

The software uses AI-driven facial recognition to identify signatories and records video evidence of documents being signed.

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