28,000ft² let at Amber Business Centre
More than £6m AI upskilling fund launched to help SMEs
East Midlands Combined County Authority and Homes England to unlock delivery of stalled residential schemes
The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) and Homes England are joining forces to unlock the delivery of stalled residential schemes across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.
Having secured a devolved allocation of £16.8 million from the Brownfield Housing Fund (BHF), under the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), EMCCA aims to rejuvenate brownfield sites across the region, through the delivery of between 1,000 and 1,400 new homes by March 2026.
EMCCA and Homes England have issued a call for schemes, inviting expressions of interest from organisations – including private sector developers, local authorities and registered providers – which is open until Friday 10 May.
Barry Cummins, Interim Land and Housing Programme Manager at EMCCA, said: “We’re committed to addressing under-investment and regional inequalities in our local area, whilst prioritising the environment and sustainability – this scheme empowers us to do just that.
“Working with valued partners, our ambition is to build up to 1,400 new, high-quality homes, marking a significant stride toward unleashing the potential of brownfield regeneration across our region.”
Schemes must align with eligibility and deliverability criteria, aligning with EMCCA’s Strategic Framework, which was approved in March 2024.
Supported schemes must contribute to:
- Economic growth resilience
- Skill alignment with economic needs
- Creation of sustainable, higher-paid jobs
- Advancement towards a net-zero economy
- Development of coherent, sustainable transport link
- Reduction in inequality and promotion of social mobility
- Improvement of healthy life expectancy and reduction of disparities
- Enhancement of green spaces to foster community wellbeing and biodiversity.
Vibrant Accountancy to support Down To Earth Derby in making a positive impact in the city
An innovative nature-based regeneration firm that is on a journey to transform Derby city centre into an urban metropolis is set to receive support to help it scale up.
Down To Earth Derby – the community-interest company behind the Electric Daisy community garden and event space that currently occupies the former Prince’s supermarket site, in Bold Lane – was chosen by Vibrant Accountancy as winners of its Community Growth programme.
The Down To Earth Derby project is linked with Cornwall’s Eden Project, underscoring its emphasis on sustainable and community-focused urban regeneration. They are committed to transforming city spaces to enhance community well-being and environmental health through a range of activities such as educational programmes, events and promoting close interaction with nature.
Vibrant Accountancy, meanwhile, opened up entries for the programme earlier this year, offering to mentor and support companies, charities and non-profit organisations making a positive impact in Derby.
And, after receiving many worthy entries, the Vibrant Team – led by founder Bev Wakefield – chose Down To Earth Derby as winners.
Bev said: “We will be supporting Down To Earth with tailored business support that includes strategic planning sessions, cash flow forecasting, mentoring and regular profit and cash flow improvement meetings.
“For us, Down To Earth tick so many boxes. They are a sustainable organisation at the heart of the community, and we feel that, with the support that we are giving them at Vibrant Accountancy, they will be able to put their visionary plans into action.
“Like us, Down To Earth are disruptors and we are looking forward to working with them as they continue their excellent work in Derby city.”
Vibrant also chose two organisations – the Empowered Parenting Programme and a community supermarket initiative that will be run at Reach Events, near Pride Park – to receive free coaching sessions at the company’s Lodge Lane headquarters.
Bev added: “Vibrant Accountancy’s mission statement is to make an impact, and that’s what we hope we can do with the Community Growth programme.
“This is our way of giving back; by helping others to achieve their goals and make a difference to our city.”
The support comes at an important time for Down To Earth Derby as it looks to scale up its public and private sector regeneration projects, and ahead of a busy spring/summer programme of events at Electric Daisy.
Warwick Acoustics confirms MIRA Technology Park as new sustainable manufacturing site
Derbyshire science company raises more than £20,000 for Macmillan
Derbyshire science company employees have been thanked by cancer charity Macmillan after raising more than £20,000 – and they are still going strong!
Lubrizol, which has a UK technical centre at Hazelwood near Duffield, has now donated £20,951.16 to the cancer charity having been raising funds since 2008.
The science company is dedicated to giving back to the community and to charity, supporting a different cause every two years. Macmillan has previously been the company’s chosen charity with £11,300.72 raised between 2015 and 2016.
Lubrizol employees have also been popping the kettle on and putting their baking skills to good use by holding Macmillan’s famous coffee mornings in September each year to raise extra funds which contributed to the mammoth total.
The amount is enough to pay for a Macmillan nurse for 616 hours – around 25 days; take 355 support line calls or provide 104 cancer patients with a grant to help ease the additional financial pressures caused by a diagnosis.
Hannah Lumb-Smith, Macmillan’s relationship fundraising manager, said: “It’s thanks to the dedication and generosity of people and companies like Lubrizol that we can continue to do whatever it takes to support people with cancer and their families.
“This money could pay for a nurse for 616 hours to help people living with cancer and their families receive essential medical, practical and emotional support. These nurses coordinate care services and advise patients on clinical and practical issues.
“Or it could fund our helpline which allows our teams to answer questions about cancer types and treatments or provide clinical, practical, emotional and financial support. We are also there if someone just wants to talk.
“There are also grants available which can be a lifeline for families to help ease the financial pressures that come with a cancer diagnosis, such as increased energy and water bills, cost of travel to and from hospital, home adaptations or pay for a wig for someone who has lost their hair due to the treatment.
“We would like to thank Lubrizol for its continued support. This has helped us to support so many families battling cancer in so many different ways.”
More than three million people are living with cancer in the UK and this figure is set to rise to four million by 2030, according to figures from Macmillan. The charity provides vital cancer services, research and campaigns to achieve better cancer care.
Claire Hollingshurst, from Lubrizol’s charities and communities committee, said: “Our charitable work with Macmillan is very important to us and we are proud of how much we have raised to help the charity continue supporting people with cancer and their families.
“Everyone is affected by cancer in some way – whether they have received a diagnosis or someone close to them has.
“It is charities like Macmillan that are there when patients need them most, offering the professional help and support they need. It is a lifeline for so many families and it is wonderful to see how far this money will go towards helping so many people.
“We will be carrying on holding regular coffee mornings as I know what an important charity Macmillan is within our Lubrizol community.”
Team of the Year award for IP lawyers helping small businesses
The Intellectual Property team from Nottingham Law School’s teaching law firm, NLS Legal, has been crowned Team of the Year 2024 at the Nottinghamshire Law Society Awards for its work supporting small businesses with complex legal matters.
The award recognises consistent, outstanding performance, requiring firms to demonstrate evidence of a growing reputation or maintaining their standing as a leader in their field, their dedication to clients, the value they add to the business or organisation, and/or the contribution they make to the legal community.
The four-person IP team at NLS Legal is supported by student volunteers and offers free advice to individuals, sole traders and start-ups, addressing an unmet legal need in the community.
It acts across trademarks, designs and copyright, providing support on contentious and non-contentious matters, and is the only team in England and Wales providing IP advice and representation on a completely pro-bono basis.
In the past 12 months, the team of lawyers and students have assisted 27 clients across 45 matters, including supporting small businesses and start ups in successful legal challenges against much larger organisations, covering issues such as trademark applications and branding disputes.
It has also developed and run 20 public education sessions to more than 180 attendees with the aim of increasing awareness of IP amongst local businesses and individuals.
Working as part of the service, 39 Nottingham Law School students have gained volunteering experience in IP, giving them valuable insight into a competitive field and enhancing their employability skills. Several volunteers have received job offers to train as IP lawyers.
Head of NLS Legal, Laura Pinkney, said: “All the lawyers involved in our IP team balance the service alongside either academic commitments or supporting other services within the firm – yet they still provide an invaluable service to their clients, helping them to navigate a very complex field of law.”
Executive dean of Nottingham Law School, Jenny Chapman, said: “The team has a growing reputation for its IP pro bono work without which many clients would have been unable to withstand the pressure from much larger opponents. We know from client feedback that the impact of the team’s work on the local community has been significant.”
As a not-for-profit teaching law firm with charitable status, NLS Legal was the UK’s first law firm fully integrated into a law school when it obtained an ABS (Alternative Business Structure) licence in 2015. It is currently the only firm in the UK operating in this way.
Supervised by a small team of experienced lawyers, Nottingham Law School students support members of the local community with free legal advice on a range of areas, including employment, family, housing, business, civil litigation, intellectual property, special educational needs and disability, welfare benefits, and victims’ rights. NLS Legal also delivers public legal education sessions to raise awareness of legal rights and responsibilities.
Unexpected fall in corporate insolvencies
A significant month-on-month fall in the number of corporate insolvencies in England and Wales is an additional sign that economic conditions are starting to improve and revenues may increase this year.
This is according to the Midlands branch of the UK’s insolvency and restructuring trade body R3 and comes on the back of lower inflation, expected interest rate cuts and latest figures published by the Insolvency Service which show that corporate insolvencies decreased by 16.6% in March to a total of 1,815 compared to February’s total of 2,177.
The government figures also show a decrease of 17.2% against March 2023’s figure of 2,193, and a fall of 2.2% in comparison with March 2022’s total of 1,856.
R3 Midlands chair Stephen Rome, a partner at local law firm Penningtons Manches Cooper, said: “The biggest driver of the monthly and yearly fall in corporate insolvency numbers is a reduction in Creditors’ Voluntary Liquidations. However, it should be noted that numbers for this process and overall levels of corporate insolvency are still higher than they were pre-pandemic.
“High costs and constrained spending have continued to hit businesses hard in the first three months of 2024. But while the trading climate is a challenging one, there are signs that directors expect revenues to increase this year, suggesting the mood among much of the local business community is becoming more positive.
“It remains to be seen, however, whether inflation will fall quickly enough to benefit businesses, and whether the hoped-for increases in income will outstrip potential rises in costs and wages.
“Importantly, directors need to be alert to any indications of business distress and act on them promptly. Cashflow issues, increases in stock, and problems paying taxes or invoices are all signs to watch out for. The sooner these are acted upon and professional advice sought, the greater chance there is of the situation improving.”
New chair named for East Midlands Institute of Technology
Former trainee returns to professional services firm to bolster tax dispute offer for Midlands clients
A former KPMG UK trainee has returned to the firm as a director to help support tax dispute clients across the Midlands and beyond.
Vicky Topps, who returns after 14 years, has taken on the role as director in KPMG Law’s Tax Disputes team, and plans to use the knowledge and skills spent working at HMRC to help a wide range of firms of all shapes and sizes.
Her most recent role at HMRC saw Vicky acting as deputy director overseeing the Large Business Midlands region, looking after the compliance affairs of 340 of the UK’s top 2000 businesses.
This work ranged from listed entities and household names to large privately owned groups, including utilities companies, breweries, pharma companies, construction companies, transport and logistics.
She said: “I was interested in working as part of a multidisciplinary team, which includes some dispute people with tax backgrounds, but also those with legal skills, and who have together been recognised for being ahead of the pack.
“The team are committed to growing the practice in early dispute resolution and advocating alternative dispute resolution as a tool to resolve issues through our mediators here.”
She thinks these approaches will help KPMG Law clients get to certainty and resolution without tying up resources, and “hopefully come up with an outcome that’s compliant and allows streamlining and fast tracking.”
