A link road which will provide access to a brand-new community on the edge of Ashbourne will be officially opened next month – creating new jobs and homes, improving connectivity and reducing congestion. The 720m road, called Harrison Way, will link the new roundabout on the A52 to Blenheim Road, which runs through the Ashbourne Airfield Industrial Estate, unlocking access to in excess of 40-hectares of brownfield development land. The land will be developed to create Dales Park comprising a new business park, new commercial units, a pub, hotel, community facilities and more than 360 homes, providing a space where people can work, live, entertain and enjoy themselves. The creation of Dales Park is expected to generate thousands of jobs and represents major investment in the area, which is already the largest employment location in the Derbyshire Dales. More than 70 companies currently operate on the industrial estate employing around 2,000 people. The development creates a piece of history for the Harrison family who run FW Harrison, which bought the land in the 1960s following closure of the former RAF Ashbourne air base. Sixty years on, the family is finally putting its long-term purchase to good use and company directors Paul and Joanne Harrison are hailing the unveiling of the road as the moment the development can finally be declared open for business. Joanne said: “Although the roundabout has been completed for some time, the link road has been delayed for a variety of reasons, including simple bad weather, and so we’re very excited to set a date for its opening. “It will bring so many benefits to Ashbourne. Not only does it open up access to land for housing and commercial units, creating and securing jobs for the town, it also eases the bottleneck caused by there only being one access point to the airfield estate. “And it also offers space for companies currently based at Ashbourne Airfield to expand. So many firms want to grow but don’t have the room, so this gives them the ability to expand without having to leave Ashbourne. “We are very proud to have built Harrison Way for the community of Dales Park and it will be exciting to see this being developed.” The project is being funded by the land’s owners FW Harrison Estates Ltd with support from Derbyshire County Council to enable the roundabout and link road construction. The improvement works to the final stretch of Blenheim Road have been funded by Derbyshire Dales District Council, while a grant of £1m from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership helped towards the cost of the roundabout. The completion of the link road scheme will deliver significant regeneration benefits for Ashbourne which is set to further benefit from the recent £13.37m Levelling Up fund award to improve the town centre. A Derbyshire Dales District Council spokesman said: “The development of the former Ashbourne Airfield is a hugely significant regeneration project for the District Council. The site is key for economic growth in our district, providing much-needed jobs and homes. We are thrilled that ten years of work by Derbyshire Dales District Council has unlocked the regeneration of Ashbourne Airfield. “This site is superbly located. The new link road will help address existing highway capacity problems and release the site’s enormous potential, providing expansion opportunities for local firms, serviced land to attract new firms, and local employment opportunities within the Derbyshire Dales district.” Councillor Carolyn Renwick, Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Infrastructure and Environment, said: “We’re pleased to have played a key role in this project which is bringing huge economic benefits to the area. “As well as unlocking development land to bring new jobs and housing to the area, the new road will help to reduce traffic delays in the town by easing congestion on Blenheim Road.” Will Morlidge, Chief Executive of D2N2 LEP, said: “We were delighted to co-invest £1 million in the construction of the roundabout on the A52, and it’s great news that Harrison Way is now open, linking the roundabout to Blenheim Road. This means that the Ashbourne Airfield Industrial Estate can now be easily accessed, opening up opportunities for further investment and development.” The official opening will be carried out on May 19 by Sarah Dines, MP for Derbyshire Dales, who has previously praised the project for its contribution to the region’s development.

Mather Jamie has joined the sponsor line up for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2023, backing the Deal of the Year category. Speaking with Business Link, Amy Biddell, Director and Marketing lead from Mather Jamie, said: “We attended the event for the first time in 2021 when we were shortlisted for ‘Deal of the Year’, then in 2022 we were nominated for and won the ‘Most Active Agent of the Year’ category. “We were delighted to win, and since then have witnessed first-hand the benefits of raising our brand profile through this awards platform. It was a natural progression for us to sponsor the ‘Deal of the Year’ as this will help to promote our services to an elite audience of landowners, property developers and building contractors.” The awards, which will take place on Thursday 28 September at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground, celebrate the outstanding work of those shaping the landscape of our region, recognising development projects and people in commercial and public building across the East Midlands – from offices, industrial and residential, through to community projects such as leisure schemes and schools. Nominations are now OPEN for East Midlands Business Link’s annual Bricks Awards. To nominate your (or another) business/development for one of our awards, please click on a category link below or visit this page.

Book your tickets now

Tickets can now be booked for the awards event – click here to secure yours. The special awards evening and networking event will be held on Thursday 28 September 2023 in the Derek Randall Suite at the Trent Bridge County Cricket Club from 4:30pm – 7:30pm. Connect with local decision makers over canapés and complimentary drinks while applauding the outstanding companies and projects in our region, and hear from Mike Denby, Director of Inward Investment and Place Marketing at Leicester City Council, our keynote speaker. Dress code is standard business attire. Thanks to our sponsors:                                                             To be held at:

YouTube is the world’s second-largest search engine, making it an essential platform for businesses looking to expand their reach and connect with new audiences. With over 2 billion monthly active users and more than 1 billion hours of video watched every day, YouTube has become a crucial tool for companies to engage with their customers and promote their products or services. However, growing a YouTube channel takes time and effort. To help you get started, we’ve put together some tips on how to grow your company’s YouTube channel. Create High-Quality Videos For businesses, the first and most crucial step to growing their YouTube channel is to create videos that showcase their products or services in the best possible light. This can include product demos, customer testimonials, or case studies. Your videos should be informative and engaging. Businesses should also aim to make their videos visually appealing and professional-looking, as this can help build trust with potential customers. A well-produced video will help establish your brand’s credibility and professionalism. Develop a Content Strategy Developing a content strategy is critical to growing your company’s YouTube channel. When developing a content strategy for their YouTube channel, businesses should focus on creating content that aligns with their brand values and resonates with their target audience. This can include tutorials, product reviews, behind-the-scenes footage, or industry insights, and many other types of videos. Make sure your content is relevant and useful to your viewers. Your strategy should be focused on providing value to your target audience. It’s also important for businesses to maintain a consistent posting schedule to keep their audience engaged and coming back for more. Optimise Your Videos for Search To ensure their videos get discovered by potential customers, businesses should optimise their video titles, descriptions, and tags with relevant keywords. This can help their videos rank higher in YouTube search results and increase their chances of being seen by people interested in their products or services. Closed captions can also help make videos more accessible and increase their reach. Promote Your Videos Promoting your videos is another important factor in growing your company’s YouTube channel. Share your videos on your social media channels, embed them on your website, and include them in your email marketing campaigns. This will help you reach a wider audience and increase your video’s views. You can also run ads on YouTube to reach a wider audience and drive more views and engagement. Additionally, businesses can collaborate with influencers or other brands to promote their videos and increase their reach. Collaborate with Other YouTubers Collaborating with other YouTubers in your industry is a great way to grow your company’s YouTube channel. This can include your appearance as a guest on other channels, or someone from another channel being your guest. You can even work together on a new video idea, to eventually be posted on both of your channels. For example, a business selling fitness equipment could collaborate with a popular fitness influencer to create a workout video featuring their products. Collaborating can help businesses reach new audiences and build valuable relationships. By partnering with other creators, businesses can leverage their existing audiences and increase their exposure on YouTube, as well as establish their brand as an industry leader. Engage with Your Audience Engaging with your audience is essential for businesses looking to build a loyal following on YouTube. This can involve responding to comments and questions, asking for feedback, and even featuring customer stories or testimonials in your videos. By creating a dialogue with your audience, you can gain valuable insights into your customers’ needs and preferences, and tailor your content accordingly. This will also help you build a community of loyal followers and increase your channel’s engagement. In conclusion, growing your company’s YouTube channel takes time and effort, but it can be a highly effective way to connect with your target audience and promote your products or services. By creating high-quality videos, developing a content strategy, optimising your videos for search, promoting your videos, engaging with your audience, and collaborating with other YouTubers, you can successfully grow your company’s YouTube channel and take your business to the next level. To achieve consistently high production standards, consider hiring a specialist corporate video production company such as Glowfrog. (www.glowfrogvideo.com)

The headline NatWest East Midlands PMI^® Business Activity Index – a seasonally adjusted index that measures the month-on-month change in the combined output of the region’s manufacturing and service sectors – posted 51.2 in March, little-changed from 51.1 in February.

Although signalling only a marginal expansion in business activity that was slower than the UK average, the rise in output was the fastest in ten months. Where survey respondents noted an increase in activity, this was attributed to stronger client demand and a faster rise in new business.

Private sector firms across the East Midlands registered a second successive monthly increase in new orders in March. The upturn in new business was reportedly linked to stronger demand and greater client activity. Although only marginal, the rate of growth was the fastest for a year. That said, the pace of expansion was below the UK average and among the slowest of the 12 monitored UK regions (faster than only Yorkshire & Humber and the North West).

Private sector firms in the East Midlands signalled a stronger degree of confidence in the outlook for output over the coming year during March. The level of optimism picked up to the highest in over a year and was slightly greater than the UK average. Positive sentiment across the region was linked to hopes of increased client demand, investment in new product development and diversification.

March data indicated a renewed fall in employment across the East Midlands private sector. The decrease in workforce numbers followed back-to-back expansions seen in the opening two months of 2023. Although only fractional, the decline in staffing numbers was attributed to the non-replacement of voluntary leavers amid cost-cutting initiatives.

The slight contraction in employment contrasted with a stabilisation in headcounts seen across the UK as a whole.

East Midlands firms recorded a sixth successive monthly decline in incomplete business at the end of the first quarter. The rate of contraction quickened slightly and was solid overall. Of the 12 monitored UK regions, only Wales registered a sharper drop in backlogs of work. Subdued demand conditions in recent months meant companies had sufficient capacity to process incoming new work.

East Midlands companies noted a further softening in the rate of input cost inflation during March. Although still marked, the pace of increase was the slowest since February 2021 and much weaker than those seen throughout 2022. Nonetheless, the historically elevated rise in operating expenses was linked to greater material and utility costs, alongside increased wage bills.

Of the 12 monitored UK regions, only the North East and London registered steeper upticks in input prices.

March data signalled a sharp increase in output charges at East Midlands private sector firms. Companies commonly mentioned the pass-through of higher costs to clients as driving inflation. That said, the rate of increase in selling prices eased for the fourth month running and was the softest since February 2021. At the UK level, only the East of England recorded a slower rise in output charges.

Rashel Chowdhury, NatWest Midlands and East Regional Board, said: “Companies in the East Midlands registered another monthly expansion in activity in March, thereby ending the first quarter on a more positive note. New business rose at a quicker pace, as client demand reportedly strengthened.

“Nonetheless, historically subdued demand conditions and further marked hikes in operating expenses led firms to cut their workforce numbers. Cost-cutting initiatives were put in place as many noted sufficient capacity to work through incoming business. “On a more positive note, inflationary pressures softened again. Rates of input cost and output charge inflation eased to the slowest for over two years, as some material prices moderated. “Despite muted demand conditions and still challenging rates of inflation, firms’ confidence in the outlook for output reached the strongest for over a year. East Midlands firms were broadly in agreement with their counterparts across the UK as a whole, who also recorded more upbeat expectations.”