Planning has been granted for the refurbishment and upgrade of the Sutton Community Theatre, which will be rebranded as ‘Cornerstone’ upon re-opening and designed by Nottingham-headquartered CPMG Architects.
The Cornerstone project aims to transform the existing theatre into a vibrant multifunctional entertainment space, catering to a wide range of events including professional theatre performances, cinematic experiences, music and comedy nights, academy concerts, and various community uses.
The upgrades come at a crucial time as the existing facilities age and face issues including a failing heating system, outdated lighting, inoperable microphone systems and inadequate changing rooms. The scope of works will largely be internal, providing complete renovation, refurbishment and reconfiguration to optimise the functionality of the theatre through enhanced facilities.
This includes the creation of a new theatre foyer, refurbishment of the auditorium, upgrades to the stage area, provision of new dressing rooms and backstage facilities, and installation of modern lighting and audio-visual systems.
Steve Milan, associate at CPMG Architects, said: “This represents a significant step forward in the efforts to bring the vision of Cornerstone to life, and providing the community with a space that is truly fit-for-purpose and something all can take pride in. The approval underscores our commitment to delivering architectural solutions that not only meet the functional needs of our clients but also enrich the fabric of the communities they serve.
“While the entrance to the theatre will remain unchanged from a practical perspective, a new foyer will be created at the front of the building, relocating a number of offices to create the new space and visitor facilities. In addition to the internal upgrades, there are a number of external improvement works planned, including recolouring the fly-tower cladding and installation of signage for Cornerstone’s new branding – all designed to be visible from the surrounding streets.”
The existing auditorium space will be given a complete refurbishment, with new flooring, ceiling, acoustic wall treatments and doors. A new retractable seating installation will provide 168 tiered seats, and specialist lighting will be installed throughout, to cater for a range of events. Meanwhile, a newly-constructed balcony will provide a further 24 seats and space for wheelchair users.
Backstage, existing areas will be completely stripped out to reconfigure the space to suit modern requirements. This will see replacement of narrow staircases, and two new dressing rooms, performance green room and shower facilities to the upper ground floor. On the first floor, a further two dressing rooms will be created along with a laundry room, theatre workshop and housing for amplifier and lighting dimmer equipment.
A key focus of the refurbishment is sustainability and energy efficiency. A comprehensive strategy has been developed to ensure that all upgrades meet the highest standards of efficiency and minimise carbon footprints, while working within any constraints. This includes the integration of passive design measures, efficient engineering approaches and the use of natural daylighting where appropriate, and heat recovery systems.
John Bennet, executive director of place at Ashfield District council, said: “This project will help us achieve our goals of creating a vibrant and safe night-time economy in Ashfield. As the new Planetarium will connect young people to space and raise their aspirations, Cornerstone Theatre will ignite their creativity and imagination.
“We are so proud to be investing in arts and culture, to allow more people of all backgrounds, young and old, in Ashfield and beyond to experience the magic of cinema, live theatre and music in an easy to access place.
“All our regeneration projects, funded through over £100million external investment, have the common aim – to create an Ashfield that is a great place to live, work, play, study and visit.”
The Sutton Community Theatre project is one of those under Ashfield District Council’s Future High Streets funding programme through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), aiming to raise perceptions of the town and to contribute towards a vibrant and safe night-time economy in Sutton.
Stage Right Theatre Consultancy has been appointed to specify the theatre lighting and audio-visual systems.
Providing a key opportunity to shout about businesses’ achievements in the property and construction industry, submit your nominations for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2024 NOW – ahead of entries closing on Thursday 5th September.
The prestigious annual event recognises development projects and people in commercial and public building across the region – from office, industrial and residential, through to community projects such as leisure schemes, schools and public spaces. We also highlight the work of architects, agencies and those behind large schemes.
The awards attract leaders from throughout the East Midlands and are the perfect way for businesses to promote themselves and those they work with. Indeed winning one of these awards will add considerably to a company’s or individual’s brand and enhance their commercial reach significantly.
Winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 3rd October,at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground – an evening of celebration and networking with property and construction professionals from across the region.
To nominate your (or another) business/development for one of our awards, please click on a category link below or visit this page.
Overall winner (this award cannot be entered, with the winner, and recipient of a year of marketing/publicity worth £20,000, selected from those nominated for the event’s other awards)
Nominations end Thursday 5th September
Following the 2023 event, Ben Dawson, business development manager at Blueprint Interiors, said: “I was very impressed with the calibre of award finalists and being able to network with so many other industry professionals.”
Winners and sponsors at the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023Tickets can now be booked for the 2024 awards event, click here to secure yours.
Taking place in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground on Thursday 3rd October, from 4:30pm – 7:30pm, connect with local decision makers over nibbles and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region.
Dress code is standard business attire.
Thanks to our sponsors:
Hospitality and retail across the East Midlands are likely to benefit financially from UEFA Euro 2024, East Midlands Chamber has said.
Head of Special Projects Richard Blackmore said: “Our nation’s favourite sport always packs out the pubs across the East Midlands, increasing spending and for our region’s hospitality sector, having faced the burden of high costs for far too long, that’s something to welcome with open arms.
“It’s not just pubs and bars that will see more cash in the till; with busier streets, shops should see a lift in takings too. The feelgood factor behind backing our national team brings people together, buying merchandise and team shirts, all helping swell the economy.
“Wherever people watch UEFA Euro 2024, one thing’s sure; we’ve got four nail-biting weeks ahead and I’m wishing the England team the very best in bringing the trophy home.”
Everards of Leicestershire Joint Managing Director Andy Wilson said: “Major sporting events are a great opportunity for our pub business owners as we all know it’s better to watch the game at your local!
“There’s nothing like the atmosphere and having great food and drink on tap. A huge number of pubs will be showing the games and the British Beer & Pub Association estimate that an extra 300m pints will be sold during the Euros. We look forward to a busy sporting Summer with both the Euros and the Olympics!”
Castle Rock Brewery Managing Director Colin Wilde said: “We’re excited to celebrate the Euros alongside the rest of the nation this year and around half of our pubs will be showing the matches. We’re even bringing back a fan favourite beer, Brian Clough, in honour of ‘the best manager England never had!’
“Past World Cups and Euros have always created an incredible atmosphere, drawing people together and showcasing pubs at their best. We anticipate another fantastic event this year and hope England go all the way!”
Six Derbyshire businesses are amongst the first to pledge support for a new fundraising initiative launched by East Midlands charity, Star Trust – The Charitable Entrepreneurs.
Derby entrepreneur Kavita Oberoi OBE, who is a patron of the Star Trust, launched the monthly pledge scheme at a Marketing Derby event at Darleys Restaurant recently alongside the charity’s founder Steve Hampson.
They invited the local business community to pledge a monthly amount from £50 upwards which will be ring-fenced and then donated to SME charities from the county who apply for much-needed funding to improve the lives of people in their local communities.
The first to join the scheme were Darleys restaurant, Ask The Chameleon, Cosy Direct, Q Branch Consulting, WDS Limited and Worcester Lloyd.
Kavita Oberoi, who is the founder and managing director of the Oberoi Business Hub in Pride Park, said: “Star Trust has traditionally raised over £100,000 from their Star Trust ball and Motoring Day each year which is then deployed within weeks to charities that have applied.
“When I joined as a patron, I was keen that we look at ways to generate funds throughout the year so that charities can benefit from our support when and where they most need it.
“I knew from experience that the Derby business community would get behind such a worthwhile cause and, as ever, the Marketing Derby bondholders have stepped up to the plate.
“Their monthly pledges will be ring fenced to Derbyshire and will be donated to local charities who make the greatest impact on our local communities.”
The Star Trust is run by charitable entrepreneurs and business leaders who are committed to supporting their local communities across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Rutland.
Since its launch ten years ago, Star Trust has supported 114 charities with a total of £852,642 and has directly touched the lives of more than 71,732 people in the East Midlands area.
Among the Derbyshire charities recently supported are Derventio Charitable Trust which received £2,739 that paid for 155 essential food hampers for the charity’s supported housing residents in the city and county.
Star Trust founder Steve Hampson concluded: “The fantastic companies and individuals across the East Midlands who support Star Trust do so safe in their knowledge that their generosity is translated into real support for real people in the heart of our local communities.
“Our goal is to surpass the £1 million fundraising mark in 2024 and a key part of this will be growing the number of businesses who pledge on a monthly basis.
“This saves time and resources for these like-minded businesses as our role as conduit is to handle all the funding applications, site visits and due diligence process and always aim to support grassroot charities who are making a positive difference to people’s lives in their local communities.
“The application process is very straightforward so that it is accessible to even the smallest of charities and we look forward to helping more organisations in the coming year.”
EarthSense, the Leicester-based air quality expert, has announced a strategic partnership with Ganeca Environmental Services, bringing its bespoke solutions and services to the Indonesian government, local authorities, and industries to visualise and manage air quality issues, aligning with its shared goals to bring solutions to the world’s environmental challenges.
Following rapid population growth in Indonesia, accompanied by high levels of industrialisation and urbanisation, and with almost 23 million vehicles in the Jakarta metropolitan area alone, big cities in Indonesia face serious challenges in managing air quality.
EarthSense and Ganeca’s partnership will enable both government and commercial organisations to monitor ambient air pollutants in real-time and track and visualise data to implement change where necessary.
Founded in early 2014, Ganeca is one of the leading consultants and providers of environmental management technology in Indonesia. The partnership will provide accurate and reliable air quality monitoring solutions in the country, with EarthSense’s Zephyr® air quality sensors providing governments, local authorities, and industries with the ability to take real-time measurements of pollution.
The air quality data can then be analysed in EarthSense’s MyAir® web application, where it can be visualised, analysed, and downloaded, allowing for strategic changes to be planned.
Muhammad Sonny Abfertiawan, Senior Managing Director at Ganeca Environmental Services, said: “We are thrilled to partner with EarthSense and look forward to bringing its complete air quality monitoring solution to our customers.
“We believe this collaboration will provide reliable and accurate air quality monitoring technology to various sectors including the Indonesian Government, manufacturing, mining industries, and academic communities, facilitating scientific research endeavours.
“The air quality challenges in Indonesia are growing, but the innovative MyAir® app will allow its users to isolate areas of concern, enabling the authorities and industries to make changes to reduce pollution levels.”
Greg Lewis, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at EarthSense, said: “We are delighted to have partnered with Ganeca Environmental Services and bring our industry-leading suite of air quality solutions to Indonesia. The partnership will allow us to join our air quality expertise with Ganeca Environmental Services’ tailored approach to environmental challenges to improve air quality in Indonesia.”
The next phase of the regeneration of Chesterfield town centre is set to start in July – with experienced contractor, Thomas Bow, now appointed to take the project forward.
The multi-million pound Revitalising the Heart of Chesterfield project includes a range of improvement works to transform the look, feel and flow of the town’s key public spaces. The works are due to start on 1 July and will take eighteen months to complete.
The project will begin in Market Square, where improvements will create a new market layout with new stalls and enhancements to paving, seating and lighting, before moving on to New Square, where works will be carried out to create an attractive flexible space to support both traditional and speciality markets and a wider range of uses. The final phase will involve improvement works to Rykneld Square.
Separately, G F Tomlinson will carry out improvements to Corporation Street to create a new gateway to the refurbished Stephenson Memorial Hall.
A spokesperson for the council said: “We’re pleased to confirm Thomas Bow as our contractor and look forward to the project gathering pace over the coming weeks – with work due to start next month. The town centre will remain open for business, although inevitably the work will cause some short-term disruption and we thank people in advance for their patience.
“We have a detailed plan to support our market traders and town centre businesses throughout the improvement works, and we’ll also be making sure we keep members of the public up to date by sharing information as the work progresses.”
New Square – the plans will create an attractive and flexible space that will complement the main market and speciality markets, but can also be used to host festivals, events, cultural celebrations, and community gatherings – bringing the town centre to life.
Thomas Bow is an experienced civil engineering contractor having worked on major public realm regeneration projects in cities across the Midlands, including Lincoln, Nottingham and Leicester. They will be operating a site office from Low Pavement and from where members of the public will be able to view the plans and find out more about how the project is progressing.
John Allen, Construction Director from Thomas Bow, said: “We are delighted to secure this important scheme with Chesterfield Borough Council. As a local contractor with significant experience in successful public realm delivery across the Midlands, our teams are very much looking forward to embarking on this project in the coming months.”
Rykneld Square – this area will be transformed to create a more welcoming, green space from which to enjoy the much-loved Crooked Spire, and better connect this landmark to the town centre.
Two major student accommodation schemes have been recommended for approval ahead of Nottingham City Council’s Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday 19 June.
The first development, on Norton Street, on part of the former John Player factory in Radford, would comprise two accommodation blocks of 7 storeys. Each block would accommodate a mix of studios and 3 to 10 bed cluster apartments, comprising 587 bedspaces in total.
The ground floor of ‘Block D’ would have extensive communal and ancillary areas including a lounge, study area, gym, spa, laundry room, and bike storage. A lounge area with roof garden is additionally included at level 7. ‘Block E’ would also have a lounge area at ground floor level. Landscaped outside space is to be provided within a ‘green heart’ area.
Hyson Green Developments are behind the plans for the site, currently a former car park.
The second development, which sits at the junction of Wilford Road and Traffic Street, involves the erection of an up to 17 storey building.
The site has historically been used for industrial and commercial purposes since the 1880’s and was latterly occupied by Sentinel House, used by Boots as offices and a laboratory. This was demolished and the site cleared in 2008. The site is currently hoarded and in use as a construction compound and parking area associated with the development of sites on Traffic Street.
The scheme comprises 396 bedrooms across a range of cluster flats and studios. The lower ground, ground and first floors would accommodate communal facilities such as a gym, cinema, private dining space, games area, amenity spaces, meeting rooms, a cycle store, laundry and waste storage facilities.
Externally, a sunken entrance space incorporates soft landscaping and tapering steps to provide informal seating, whilst a further courtyard space with soft landscaping and seating is also proposed. Jensco is behind the plans.
April rings alarm bells, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.
Latest figures from the ONS shows that GDP was flat in April, promoting the FSB’s Martin McTague to say the economy was not yet delivering the conditions that small businesses needed to flourish. He said: “Coming off the back of solid growth in the first quarter, it is especially disappointing. With the election just weeks away, no political party has yet set out a compelling vision for how it would achieve a steady increase of two to three per cent growth per year. To ensure that GDP climbs – and stays – at healthy levels, the next Government must prioritise this. It’s the only way we can rebuild the number of small businesses in the UK from 5.5 million to the pre-pandemic level of six million.
“Construction output fell for the third month in a row, underlining the need for a new Small Housebuilder Strategy, to ensure sufficient capacity to achieve ambitious housebuilding targets.
“Our latest Small Business Index shows that while small firms’ confidence score in the first quarter climbed to positive territory for the first time in two years, the domestic economy was still seen as the top barrier to growth, and today’s GDP result could contribute to a decline in the findings for the second quarter.
“Now that the National Living Wage (NLW) increase has kicked in, employment costs are a growing pressure. To help offset that, our election manifesto calls for the Employment Allowance to be raised to £6,500 and automatically go up each year with the NLW.
“Whoever takes office on July 5 should also see through a Small Business Act, establishing legislation to bolster small businesses on crucial issues. This does not require any extra spending but will bring a wealth of benefits to the economy. The Act would enshrine measures to clamp down on big businesses with poor payment practices, improve access to finance, and put in place a 33 per cent SME statutory public procurement target. Other measures could include reforming business rates and increasing the number of start-up loans.
“Small firms are the key to economic recovery – after all, they’re the ones who drive innovation and create jobs. Supporting them is a sure-fire way to strengthen our economy and ensure lasting growth. The next Government has its work cut out for it, but with the right focus, it will be able to make a substantial impact on the economy.”
The East Midlands region’s top 500 companies will be revealed at the East Midlands Chamber’s annual dinner next week.
East Midlands Chamber President Stuart Dawkins said: “I’m delighted to host the Annual Dinner once again, which is very much the jewel in the crown of the Chamber’s calendar. The most influential of the East Midlands business community will be able to reflect on the challenges of the year gone by and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead, while enjoying an excellent menu.
De Montfort University Professor David Rae, who compiled data for the Top 500 index, said: “East Midlands Chamber has been a partner of the East Midlands Top 500 Companies since its inception and we’re delighted this year to be sponsoring the presentation of the Top 500 at the East Midlands Chamber Annual Dinner. This rightly positions the Top 500 at a prestigious gathering of business leaders in the region.”
Mr Dawkins added: “The venue Goosedale is a stunning setting, and it’s tremendously exciting that we’ve not only secured a superb keynote speaker in Katie King, with her extensive knowledge on AI and its potential; we also have the Top 500 Companies being revealed at the event too. I’m very much looking forward to sharing my thoughts and to speaking with my fellow diners at what will be a memorable evening.” The event is on June 20th.
Derbyshire County Council’s former adult community education centre in New Mills town centre is to go up for auction this month with a £235,000 guide price.
The historic, two-storey, 15,000 sq ft building stands on a one-acre site on Spring Bank and was most recently the home of the High Peak Community Arts organisation. It is now being put up for sale by the council and will appear in the online auction being held by SDL Property Auctions on 27 June.
Built in 1891, the stone-built property was originally constructed by local philanthropists and business owners, the Mackie Family, as the Mackie Memorial Library.
Andrew Parker, auctioneer and managing director at SDL Property Auctions, said: “This imposing building, which has been an important presence in the town for over 130 years, would be well suited to a variety of alternative uses that would make a positive new addition for people in New Mills.
“Redeveloping the property to create apartments, a medical centre or some other community scheme, subject to obtaining the appropriate planning consents, are all options. It will be interesting to see what the next chapter holds for this characterful building.”
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