Key milestone for £35m scheme at Nottingham hospital
A £35 million scheme which aims to increase capacity and deliver high quality outcomes for patients undergoing elective surgery has reached a key milestone.
Ground works have started and a 35.5 metre tower crane has been installed at the Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) City Hospital site to progress the creation of a new elective hub. Works include extending an existing building alongside the creation of a three-storey building.
Funds for the scheme have come from the national Targeted Investment Fund (TIF) to support the reduction of patient waiting lists and cancelled operations following the Covid-19 pandemic, and in the wake of mounting operational pressures.
Once completed, the elective hub will include three operating theatres, an additional 24 elective in-patient beds and 18 day-case beds to support elective day-case surgery.
Phase One of the elective hub, the additional 24 in-patient beds, is already in place and operational. Over the last year works have progressed to prepare the City Hospital site for Phase Two, which has included the demolition of a Victorian building containing two old theatres.
In its place the new facilities will include the three state-of-the-art operating theatres and 18 day-case beds, as well as a patient Reception Waiting Room. Staff will also benefit from brand new office and seminar spaces, rest areas and new changing rooms.
Duncan Hanslow, NUH Programme Director for Reconfiguration, said: “The new hub will give us the opportunity to continue to reduce the backlog of people in Nottingham and Nottinghamshire waiting for planned operations, as well as minimising the risk of cancellations.
“It will also provide a new, more efficient way of working for our elective theatres, as they will be located together within a purpose-built setting.
“We have worked extensively with stakeholders and colleagues across NUH to help design the new facilities. In addition to supporting the delivery of high quality, safe, efficient and effective care for patients, the hub will also provide an excellent working space for staff.”
The elective hub is expected to be completed in 2026.
Precision medicine company falls into administration
Oncimmune, a precision medicine company spun out from the University of Nottingham, has fallen into administration.
It follows attempts by the business to sell its German trading subsidiary and a failure to raise additional capital required to meet the company’s short term funding needs. Oncimmune has concluded that there are no further options available to extend its cash runway and that the firm should therefore be placed into administration.In a statement Oncimmune said: “Despite a comprehensive sale process and positive interest in the business it has unfortunately not been possible to secure a buyer for the Company’s trading subsidiary, Oncimmune Germany GmbH. It has also not been possible to raise the additional capital required to meet the Company’s short term funding needs.
“In light of this, and after extensive consideration of the Company’s current financial situation as well as the resulting creditor position, the Board has regrettably concluded that there are no further options available to the Company to extend its cash runway and that the Group should therefore be placed into administration in order to preserve the value of the business for creditors.
“Accordingly, a notice will be filed with the Court today notifying the directors’ intention to appoint Managing Directors from Alvarez & Marsal Europe LLP as administrators of the Company as soon as reasonably practicable.
“Consequently, the Company has requested a suspension in the trading of its ordinary shares on AIM, which will become effective from 7.30am on 17 March 2025.”
Bakkavor rejects £1.1bn offer from Greencore
Bakkavor, the manufacturer of fresh prepared food, has turned down a takeover bid from convenience foods manufacturer Greencore, stating that the offer “significantly undervalued the Company and its future prospects.”
Greencore, which has its UK head office in Worksop, has made two proposals to Bakkavor, with the first made on 25 February and rejected on 27 February.
Greencore made a second approach to the board of Bakkavor on 7 March 2025, with the revised proposal now rejected.
The £1.1bn offer would have seen Greencore shareholders own approximately 59.8% and Bakkavor shareholders own approximately 40.2% of the enlarged group.The group would create a leading UK convenience food business with a combined revenue of £4bn.
Grimsby homes to be upgraded for energy efficiency and living standards
Up to 60 homes in Grimsby’s East Marsh area will undergo renovations to improve insulation and energy efficiency. North East Lincolnshire Council will retrofit properties on Rutland Street using £3.1 million in government funding awarded last summer.
Approved by the council’s cabinet, the project will be delivered in partnership with community groups, including East Marsh United. The council selected Rutland Street following a borough-wide assessment and may seek additional funding to enhance surrounding areas with fencing and greenery.
A similar regeneration effort took place in Guildford Street in 2017. The council says the upgrades will enhance safety, reduce anti-social behaviour, and improve public health by addressing housing conditions and energy costs.
New Greggs store proposed for Leicestershire business park
Plans have been submitted for a new Greggs outlet at Welland Industrial Estate, Market Harborough. Tony How’s application updates a previously approved scheme with minor modifications to the building size, operational details, and extended opening hours.
The proposed 140m² unit will be in front of the Home Outlet store within the business park. It is intended to provide a convenient food option for area employees. The site will be accessible via the existing shared entrance on Valley Way, a key access route within the estate.
If approved, the Greggs store will operate from 6am-8pm Monday to Saturday and 6am-6pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays. A decision on the application is expected by 23 April.
Corporate donors welcomed as charity helping children recover from abuse needs to raise £250,000 each year
An independent charity helping children and teenagers recover after sexual and domestic abuse needs to raise £250,000 each year to allow its vital work to continue.
Imara has helped more than 2,200 children and young people and more than 1,500 families across Nottingham city and Nottinghamshire on their journey to recovery since 2011.
Now the charity says it will be forced to turn away those who need support after experiencing sexual abuse unless it can raise the vital funds. It has launched the Imara Impact Fund to raise £250,000 each year to enable their work helping people to recover from trauma to continue, and is welcoming potential corporate donors to get in touch to find out how they can support the Fund.
Imara CEO Cath Wakeman OBE said: “The reality is that there is insufficient funding for therapy services for children affected by abuse so there is a limit to the length of support we are able to offer, although these children may have complex needs.
“This leads to children who need longer term support being turned away before they are ready for the support to end. Imara does what it can to be flexible and respond to the need, but we don’t have enough funding to do that in every case.
“Our vision is for children to receive the support they need, and this support has to be trauma responsive, available when they are ready and for as long as they need. Without the Imara Impact Fund, this is not possible and society as a whole fails our most vulnerable children and families.
“Often survivors of abuse need time to build trust allowing them to process their experiences at their own pace, without being judged.
“Our survivors tell us that receiving the equivalent of less than one day of therapy isn’t adequate to heal a lifetime of abuse and trauma. Research shows support for families is also crucial, but the current available funding isn’t sufficient.
“The Imara Impact Fund will enable us to continue to take a best practice holistic approach to supporting our clients for as long as they need.”
This holistic approach includes the charity providing creative therapy to children and their families from their base just outside Nottingham city centre; educating and training professionals to understand trauma; supporting safe family members who may have experienced abuse and ensuring young people are not mislabelled with behavioural issues.
Imara plays a vital role in training professionals including teachers, social workers, police and foster carers in understanding and responding to child sexual abuse and offer placements to creative therapy and social work students. Testimonials from police officers praise the role the charity plays in supporting the young people through the criminal justice process.
In one year, the charity delivered: 4,755 hours of therapy, 3,100 hours of sexual violence support, 6,865 hours of direct work with children, young people and their families around the criminal justice process, 1,750 hours working with professionals.
The charity also invites those with lived experience who have been through the Imara service to join a group to share and reflect on their experiences to support others. The charity offers participants paid roles for training delivery and supports their professional development.
As well as advocating for survivors of child sexual abuse, the group has drawn on their lived experience to develop a project for the training of barristers working with young survivors of abuse.
At their base just outside Nottingham city centre, Imara invites children and young people into safe therapeutic spaces where they can meet with a qualified professional to receive support through creative methods like messy play, writing, storytelling and art.
Creative arts therapists also use dance, movement or music therapy in dedicated therapy rooms to improve emotional, cognitive, physical, and social needs.
Supported living development handed over in Leicestershire
Hockley Developments, an East Midlands-based supported living and residential developer, has handed over Hawthorn House, in Wigston, Leicestershire.
This development has created 14 ground floor self contained apartments, plus staff and common areas, as well as a courtyard and private parking a five minute walk from local amenities.
This is now being managed by Fosse Healthcare, with Westmoreland Supported Housing the Registered Provider.
Westmoreland Supported Housing Managing Director, Tom Hodgson, said: “At Westmoreland we are really pleased to be involved in this project – it is our first supported living development in Leicestershire and we are proud to partner with Hockley Developments, Fosse Healthcare and Leicestershire County Council to deliver this high quality site.”
Hockley Developments Managing Director, Alan Forsyth, said: “We are delighted to have handed over this quality development in Leicestershire, and it has been a pleasure to work with Leicestershire council, Westmoreland Housing and Fosse Healthcare again. We look forward to delivering more qualiy developments across the East Midlands over the next few years.”
Fosse Healthcare CEO, Volt Sacco, said: “This is a high-quality specialist supported living site in a fantastic location, which has become a beautiful home for people in need of care and support from the local community.
“Delivered in partnership with Leicestershire County Council and Westmoreland, this project reflects our shared commitment to providing outstanding care and accommodation for those who need it most.”
Inclusive Growth Commission calls for step change in investment in East Midlands with strengthened devolved powers
The Inclusive Growth Commission has set out bold recommendations to transform the East Midlands economy at an event at Nottingham Trent University’s Mansfield University Centre co-hosted by Chair of the Commission and CEO of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), Andy Haldane, and Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward.
In its interim report, published today, the commission called for a step change in investment in the East Midlands, underpinned by strengthened devolved powers to better reflect the needs and opportunities of a region that boasts a population of more than 2.2 million people, an economy worth £50bn in GVA annually, and which is spread over more than 1,800 square miles.
To realise the untapped potential of the region, the commission argued that the Combined Authority needs to quickly be placed on a fast-track for more powers, funding and flexibility like those seen in places like Greater Manchester and the West Midlands.
Revealing its interim findings, the commission drew on the East Midlands’ unique geography and economic landscape, identifying the strengths, challenges, and opportunities that will shape its final report, and subsequent strategy, to be published in September 2025.
It acknowledged the historic underinvestment that has put the East Midlands on the back foot to date, with public spending per person being the lowest in the UK, and called for more investment to be committed in the government’s next spending review.
Underpinning the commission’s interim recommendations was the concept of an “opportunity escalator” – an integrated approach combining practical, step-by-step skills development with work experience and career guidance to help more people onto and up an escalator of well paid, secure jobs across the region.
Creating these jobs must go beyond simply bolstering high-tech, high-growth industries set out in the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Green Paper. For the region to have a truly inclusive growth strategy, this must sit alongside a plan to nurture a broader range of industries that offer large numbers of secure and rewarding job opportunities in manufacturing, logistics, construction, health and social care, and modern services, including the visitor economy.
The commission also identified some of the key barriers that stand in the way of people in the East Midlands accessing jobs and progressing in work. These included a rise in long-term ill health, a fraying social fabric that leaves people and communities feeling isolated, access to transport, and acute housing needs that prevent people from locating or commuting to the places where good quality jobs are on offer.
Other interim recommendations include:
- Forging a region-wide skills partnership – A new, deeper partnership between businesses, educators, and government is needed to help people “get on and get up” the opportunity escalator, supporting career progression from entry-level to higher-paid work – increasing access to jobs and training opportunities.
- Integrated health and employment support – A step change in the connection between health services and employment support is necessary to break the cycle of health issues leading to economic inactivity, particularly among younger and older workers.
- Building aspiration from an early age – Strengthening community networks and increasing social mobility by addressing social and economic inequalities early on, including though much earlier careers guidance and work experience in schools.
- Access to affordable housing and transport – Some areas of the East Midlands will require improved housing options and better transport links to widen access to job opportunities across the region.
Spring forward: How businesses can make the most of the clock change – A PRspective by Greg Simpson, founder of Press For Attention PR
Greg Simpson, founder of Press For Attention PR, showcases how businesses can make the most of the upcoming clock change.
As the clocks go forward this spring, many people will grumble about losing an hour’s kip. But for businesses—and particularly those in marketing—this shift presents a golden opportunity.
Rather than moaning about what’s lost, why not flip the script and focus on what’s gained? Longer days, renewed energy, and a fresh perspective on storytelling and audience engagement all await.
Here’s how businesses can make the most of the clock change and turn one less hour of sleep into a season of opportunity.
- Capitalise on the ‘psychological reset’ in PR campaigns
- Harness the power of more daylight for PR events & engagement
- Use the time change to drive PR & marketing campaigns
- Reignite media and audience engagement
New affordable housing development named after Bletchley Park codebreaker completes
Colleagues from housing association Futures Housing Group, housebuilder Cameron Homes and Erewash Borough Council have joined together to celebrate the completion of 38 family friendly homes in Sandiacre, Derbyshire.
The two streets at the site are called Enigma Close and Bletchley Gardens Way, chosen to honour Bletchley Park codebreaker, Rolf Noskwith. Noskwith, who died in 2017, used to live in the house which was demolished to make way for the development.
With funding from Homes England, the site is made up of 22 social rent and 16 shared ownership homes, helping bring affordable housing to the Erewash community.
There’s a mixture of two, three and four-bedroom houses and bungalows, and each has an electric car charging point, solar panels and increased insulation to help make the homes more comfortable and affordable to heat.
Neil Laws, Head of Programme Delivery at Futures, said: “We’re committed to building and acquiring as many new homes as we can at Futures as we know the shortage of affordable, high quality homes is at the heart of the housing crisis.
“So this has been a fantastic scheme to work on with Cameron Homes and Erewash Borough Council, which has now moved families waiting on the housing register into high quality, modern, affordable homes.”
Paul Morrissey, Operations Director at Cameron Homes, added: “It’s been fantastic to have worked with Futures Housing Group and Erewash Borough Council on this project in Sandiacre. We’re delighted to have been involved in constructing these high-quality homes to help meet the housing needs of the local community.”
Cllr Curtis Howard, who is Erewash’s Lead Member for Town Centres, Regeneration and Planning, said: “We are excited to see this new development being completed. Our thanks go to all those involved – including Futures Housing and Cameron Homes. At the same time as families move into these precious affordable homes it is fantastic to honour our local Bletchley Park hero.”
