A project that ensures Staveley residents can develop the skills they need to have great careers and bright futures has been given the green light. The Construction Skills Hub will provide a practical platform for construction training, careers activity and work experience on a live construction site in Mastin Moor. Over ten years, it aims to provide training, careers insights, and work experience for over 5,000 learners. The Skills Hub is one of the eleven projects that will be funded by the £25.2m Staveley Town Deal. Following formal Government sign-off, work to secure a training provider and develop the site can begin. Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council, said: “This is a fantastic project for Staveley as it will help residents to access the training they need to secure good quality jobs. “It serves as a great example of what we hope to achieve through the Staveley Town Deal – the creation of new opportunities, open to all. We can now start to work towards delivering this project and encouraging people to register their interest.” Initially the Skills Hub will provide training in site and bench joinery, brickwork, ground works and electrical installation but in time the offer will expand to include training in retrofit and green technologies. It will be open to school leavers and other residents seeking to train or retrain. There will also be a careers insight programme, which will be developed in collaboration with local schools, and opportunities for work experience to help young people make informed decisions about their futures. The project has received support from local construction companies. Ivan Fomin, chair of the Staveley Town Deal Board, said: “Establishing the right connections between construction companies, training providers and local people from the outset will be key to the success of this project. It is critical that the training provided meets the needs of the sector. We want Staveley to be a place where everyone has the opportunity to succeed – to start, to stay and to grow.” A site has already been identified for the Construction Skills Hub in collaboration with the Devonshire Group who will be bringing forward a new housing development in Mastin Moor from the Autumn. This will allow trainees to develop their skills on a live housing site whilst in time there will also be opportunities to gain experience on other Staveley Town Deal construction projects. A training provider will shortly be appointed to deliver the skills packages and operate the Hub. The provider will help influence how the Hub is developed to ensure that the space and facilities are optimised to meet the needs of learners and the sector. The first cohort of learners will be engaged from September 2022 with the training compound expected to be fully operational from September 2023. Staveley is set to benefit from £25.2 million of investment through the Town Deal. This investment will support eleven different projects across the town and provide a once in a lifetime opportunity to help shape the future by improving transport links, creating new housing, providing skills for local people, enhancing community facilities, and regenerating the town centre.

Workplaces in Leicester & Leicestershire are being pitted against each other for a fun challenge to see who can get the most staff to leave their cars at home.  The Let’s Go – Betterpoints Workplace Challenge is inviting anyone who travels to work to walk, run, wheel, ride or use public transport to help their team climb the leaderboard. And there’s the chance to get rewarded for your efforts, with participants going into a prize draw to win prizes including an electric bike from Rutland Cycling, a FitBit, and £400 worth of outdoor gear. The challenge takes place throughout March and is easy to join. Simply download the free Betterpoints app, register and join the Choose How You Move and Let’s Go challenges. You can then track your activities – such as walking or cycling to work – and earn points and rewards. Workplaces based in Leicester or Leicestershire can register to take part at any time throughout the challenge and workplaces of all sizes can take part, from self-employed individuals to those with hundreds or thousands of staff on site. Email customercare@betterpoints.uk to get started. Throughout the challenge, there will be daily opportunities to win points, plus weekly prizes such as shopping vouchers and family experiences on offer. There will also be the chance to win free monthly passes for Santander Cycles Leicester, the city’s e-bike share scheme, or to win credit for your Santander Cycles Leicester account. A £500 charity donation will also be given as a reward and split across the five workplaces in each size category which get the most employees taking part. All public transport, walking, cycling and running activities recorded within Leicestershire, of at least half a mile, will count towards the challenge. If you are working from home, all walking, cycling and running completed will also count. Deputy city mayor for environment and transport Cllr Adam Clarke said: “This is a great challenge with some really good prizes on offer. We know how popular last year’s Beat The Street game was with schools and families, where you could collect points for walking and cycling – so this is a chance for workplaces to get involved in something similar. “We’re facing a climate emergency and it’s never been more important to think carefully about how we travel and whether car journeys are the best option for the environment, our health and the air quality in our city. This is a chance for people to try out different ways of getting around, discover the benefits of active travel, and get rewarded for doing so.” The workplace challenge is being supported by a project called Choose How You Move Leicester and Leicestershire. This is a Department for Transport-funded programme to promote walking and cycling, supporting active travel across the city and county.

The East Midlands Freeport has secured formal Government approval for its plans to offer businesses locating in the Freeport special incentives. The UK’s only inland freeport is set to deliver over 61,000 jobs for the East Midlands and an extra £8.9bn for the local economy over the next 30 years. The greenlight means that from 22nd March 2022, eligible companies investing in designated areas within the Freeport’s boundary will be able to access a range of benefits offered through the Government’s Freeport policy. These areas, known as ‘tax sites’, cover the Freeport’s three main locations at East Midlands Airport and Gateway Industrial Cluster (‘EMAGIC’), East Midlands Intermodal Park (‘EMIP’) and the Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station Redevelopment Site. The special incentives will be offered to companies whose development plans support the Freeport’s main objectives, including promoting growth in advanced manufacturing and logistics, and turbocharging the drive towards Net Zero. By building on the Freeport’s other unique advantages as the nation’s only inland Freeport with unparalleled global transport links, these benefits will help attract and accelerate new high value, low carbon investment that promises to create thousands of skilled green jobs. By creating much-needed jobs and boosting the economy, the Freeport is set to benefit communities across the East Midlands and make a critical contribution to the Government’s levelling-up agenda. It is one of eight Freeports being established across England. Hailing a pivotal moment in the development of the Freeport, Penny Coates, chair of the East Midlands Freeport Board, said: “The Government’s approval for our tax sites means that the East Midlands Freeport now offers a total of 533ha of prime, strategic development land where companies can not only benefit from a fantastic location with fantastic global transport links; they can also benefit from a comprehensive package of special incentives that make our Freeport one of the best places to invest in the UK. “That’s why today’s announcement is the moment when we can really start to turn our ambitions for the Freeport into reality, delivering well-paid green jobs for communities, supporting levelling-up and helping achieve a Net Zero economy.” Nick Rushton, leader of Leicestershire County Council, said: “Freeports are a key element of levelling up the UK and I’m delighted to have reached this major milestone. This is a big moment for the East Midlands. As the UK’s only inland freeport, the innovative plans will power up the region’s economy, create much-needed jobs and put the East Midlands firmly on the map. We can now get to work on starting to deliver its promise.” Clare James, East Midlands Airport’s Managing Director, said: “We look forward to continuing our work with public and private sector partners to make a success of the UK’s only inland Freeport, and to playing our role in the future prosperity of the East Midlands. By building on the strengths of the region’s leading sectors including advanced manufacturing, logistics and R&D, the Freeport is well-placed to drive future investment and economic growth which will create new and diverse jobs for local people.” Andrew Pilsworth, Managing Director, National Logistics, SEGRO, said: “As a long-term investor in the Midlands, we believe warehouse infrastructure can contribute to wide socio-economic benefits, from creating sustainable employment opportunities and stimulating economic growth to enhancing infrastructure and enabling better consumer choice. We welcome the approval of the East Midlands Freeport as a way of accelerating the contribution SEGRO, our customers and partners can make to delivering these benefits as well as driving forward the levelling up agenda.” John Williams, Maritime Transport’s executive chairman, said: “Maritime Transport is excited about the Governments’ confirmation of Tax Site designation for EMF. The designation and accompanying benefits will undoubtedly attract and accelerate investment into the region, where Maritime’s Rail Terminal, located within the EMAGIC Tax Site, is the key freight gateway for East Midlands Freeport global connectivity.” Dave Johnson, site manager for Uniper, said: “Uniper welcomes the Government’s statement confirming Tax Site designation for the EMF. As landowner of the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station site, Uniper continues to work with regional stakeholders to progress plans for the redevelopment of the site into a zero carbon technology and energy hub for the East Midlands, with the potential to create employment opportunities based around modern industrial and manufacturing uses. “The benefits associated with the designation of Ratcliffe as a Tax Site within the freeport will significantly enhance its attractiveness as a location for new businesses; boosting future employment and growth opportunities.”