Nottingham Building Society to close 17 branches
The Nottingham Building Society says it will close a third of its branches due, it says, to “changing consumer behaviour”.
A total of 17 branches across East Midlands, including Lincolnshire will close by the end of this year .
In a statement, the Nottingham Building Society explain: “Following a detailed review of our branch network we can see the way members are using our branches has changed. People are visiting us less and less each year, reducing the number of times they visit, and using alternative ways to manage their money – over the telephone and online.
“In some of our locations there are days where we have very few members transacting in our branches. In others, less than 30% of members have transacted in the branch in the last 12 months. We also have decreasing customer numbers and savings balances in some branches. Whilst we know it doesn’t suit everyone there is a continuing trend towards having the ability to transact digitally and we’ve seen this trend continue post the pandemic.
“We have a responsibility to our members to make sure we have an efficient branch network and that we operate in locations where members need and use them the most. We’ve been very thoughtful, and done a significant amount of analysis, to understand the impact branch closures will have. We have looked at the distance to an alternative Nottingham branch, whether there are other financial service providers on the high street or whether we are the last remaining branch. We’ve also considered the impact on colleague morale of working in branches where they have little to no interaction with members. “
Belmayne invites public to talk about finances
Dronfield-based financial planners, Belmayne, are offering free initial consultations with their experienced advisers to mark UK Financial Planning Week.
Local residents are invited to book face to face, online or telephone appointments during the week commencing October 3 to learn more about the importance of investing in their future.
The independent firm is supporting the national initiative to dispel myths around financial planning and encourage conversations about money. It will also be publishing a series of daily blogs, tackling common issues affecting consumer decisions about pensions and investments.
Run by the not-for-profit Chartered Institute for Securities and Investments (CISI), Financial Planning Week aims to help consumers build confidence, combat stress and anxiety and deal with the challenges that surround financial decisions.
Belmayne partner, Martin Birch, said: “When household finances are stretched to breaking point, many of us put retirement plans on the backburner. However, laying the foundations early is the only way to reach your life goals. We want to encourage consumers to learn as much as they can about the benefits of financial planning and consider their particular circumstances in more detail. Meeting with an independent planner is the best way to start a conversation about the future and the results could be life-changing.”
Sally Plant, CISI assistant director, financial planning and education development, added: “It has never been more important to get the message out – that financial literacy is an important tool for life, and financial planning is an essential part of wellbeing and mental fitness. Financial Planning Week helps raise awareness about the role of qualified financial planners in helping people from all walks of life, and all ages – and importantly, not just the wealthy – to think ahead and plan for the future.”
East Midlands manufacturer secures £1.5m furniture and fitout contracts in Scotland
Mansfield-based Deanestor, one of the UK’s leading furniture and fitout specialists, has been awarded its second contract this year for North Lanarkshire Council, taking the value of these orders to £1.5m.
The latest project is to provide furniture and fitout services for a £20m community hub in Chryston which is being delivered by hub South West Scotland and their construction partner, Robertson Group.
Deanestor will manufacture, procure and install over 5,200 items of furniture and equipment for Chryston Community Hub, including shelving, seating, storage cabinets, worktops, tables, and teaching aids. Designed by Ryder Architecture, this is a shared campus development for primary education and community health provision in a single building.
The building will have spaces for up to 509 primary pupils to meet the rising demand for school places in the area. Due for completion in autumn 2023, the hub will also incorporate a community health clinic to support the provision of health services.
William Tonkinson, Deanestor Managing Director, said, “We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this second project for North Lanarkshire Council. Both schemes are very innovative, using a shared campus approach to deliver state-of-the-art facilities to the benefit of the local communities.”
“Chryston Community Hub is a really unique scheme and a flagship development for shared community facilities. Deanestor has extensive, specialist experience in the delivery of furniture and fitout services for both education and healthcare projects, which will add value to this latest contract.”
Deanestor’s project for a second community hub and learning centre for North Lanarkshire Council is now underway. Here, Deanestor is working with hub South West Scotland’s construction partner, BAM Construct UK, to provide around 4,400 items of bespoke school furniture and equipment for a £20m shared learning campus in Wishaw. This will accommodate 500 pupils from Newmains and St Brigid’s Primary Schools, and a 100-place early years centre.
Deanestor will fit out more than 100 rooms in seven zones. Designed by BDP and scheduled to open around the end of 2022, this development will create a stimulating learning centre for denominational and non-denominational primary and early years education.
Deanestor provides high quality furniture and fitout solutions to construction clients and contractors for healthcare, education, student accommodation, build-to-rent and laboratory projects – both new build and refurbishment. It offers bespoke design services to meet specific project requirements and is responsible for installation to provide a seamless approach for its customers and a single point of contact.
Leicester City Council to boost Waterside development with £4.9m funding
Leicester City Council intends to provide £4.9million of funding to emh Group towards the construction of 55 new affordable rent homes in the Waterside area.
Emh Group – one of the largest providers of affordable homes in the East Midlands – has confirmed that the council will be able to nominate people from its housing waiting list for the new homes. The new homes – which will be a mix of one and two-bedroom flats – will be part of the council’s response to the need for affordable housing supported living schemes that support adults who are in receipt of social care.
The 55 flats would be part of a larger proposed 75-unit supported housing scheme that emh Group plans to develop.
The council’s proposed contribution will be from receipts from the sale of council properties under the Government’s Right to Buy scheme.
Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, assistant city mayor four housing said: “By providing Right to Buy funding to emh Group in this way, we can help ensure that dozens of new homes – including much-needed wheelchair accessible properties – are available at affordable rent to some of the most vulnerable people in the city.
“There is no doubt that the Right to Buy scheme has hit the supply of council housing hard. We’re losing homes much faster that they are being built and it’s time the Right to Buy scheme was abandoned. In the meantime, it is essential that we invest whatever proceeds back into addressing our local and critical need for more affordable homes.”
Whenever a council property is sold under Right to Buy, the proceeds of the sale must be used in line with strict Government guidelines. This means that only some of the proceeds can be used to support the costs of building new affordable homes for rent. It also means that this money can only be used to cover up to 40 per cent of construction costs.
Emh Group’s proposed scheme will be part of the delivery of over 360 new homes currently under construction by Keepmoat, the city council’s development partner for the first phase of the Waterside regeneration project.
Chris Jones, Executive Director – Development at emh said “We are proud to partner with Leicester City Council and look forward to making a key contribution towards the regeneration of Waterside.
“We are committed to building high quality, affordable homes that meet the needs of local people as well as provide a boost to local the area.”
A formal decision on the proposed use of £4.9million of Right to Buy receipts to help address the need for more affordable housing is due to be taken on Thursday 6 October 2022.
Nottingham achieves a 57% reduction in carbon emissions
Nottingham has reduced its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 57.7% per person in the last 15 years the latest review of the city’s Carbon Neutral Action Plan shows. This is the highest reduction for any core city in the country. The City Council and partner organisations across Nottingham have been delivering the plan for two years in order to tackle climate change. Positive results are being achieved and this is reflected in the city’s overall CO2 emissions levels.
The Carbon Neutral Action Plan covers a range of themes that impact CO2 emissions in Nottingham that aim to:
- Reduce CO2 emissions across six key areas: transport, energy generation, the built environment (buildings), water, waste and consumption (what we buy and use)
- Remove CO2 from the atmosphere
- Protect and enhance nature
- Protect the city from extreme weather events
- Nottingham is considered one of the top 100 cities in the world for climate action
- Progress has been made to decarbonise vehicles in the city, with over 50% of the council’s fleet running on electric battery power while 30% of the city’s buses are either electric or run on biogas
- Work has begun on an innovative wireless taxi pilot project, which is a first for the UK
- To date, over 13,000 energy efficiency improvements have been made to social and privately owned homes through the Greener HousiNG schemes
- 9,000 new trees were planted in 2021-22 which , lower the temperature of the city, and make Nottingham greener
- Properties across Nottingham have been made more resilient to the impacts of climate changethrough flood management schemes
- Thousands of kilos of food waste avoided through redistribution project with FareShare Midlands.
AW Repair Group sold to Steer Automotive Group in multi-million-pound deal
Azets, the regional accountancy and business advisor to SMEs, has advised on a multi-million-pound sale of specialist accident repair centres, AW Repair Group, to Chiltern Capital-backed Steer Automotive Group.
Founded in 1996 by Andrew Walsh, AW Repair Group Limited operates a group of specialist accident repair centres. From its 12 operational sites spread across South Yorkshire and the East Midlands, the business delivers a mix of vehicle accident repair services to its established and growing base of customers in the insurance and manufacturer sector.
With over 30 years of experience within the body shop industry, Steer Automotive Group is now the new owner of AW Repair Group.
Exiting founder and CEO of AW Repair Group, Andrew Walsh, said: “I started the business at the age of 24 and to negotiate its sale was, at times, emotive, frustrating and also exciting.
“Thanks to the guidance from the Azets’ team, namely Martin Poole, Tom Eastwood and Doug Allan, who were always calm, diligent and consistent in their approach and any alternative proposals were always explored. They had a really good understanding of all the intricacies, and worked in partnership with our legal advisors.
“We wish the team at Steer Automotive Group all the best and look forward to following their journey.”
Martin Poole, partner at Azets, added: “It was a pleasure working with Andrew and Emma, long-standing clients of the firm. Through their hard work, they have grown a business from scratch into one that is at the forefront of the industry. Their commitment and determination through the transaction process has been second to none and they thoroughly deserve the value that they have achieved for all of their efforts.
“I have no doubt that the legacy and dedication shown by AW Repair Group’s founder and CEO Andrew and finance and legal director Emma will enable the business to flourish under new ownership.”
Azets provided corporate finance, audit and tax advisory services to the shareholders of AW Repair Group Limited.
Melton Building Society appoints local business to carry out Mutual House office revamp
Melton Building Society have partnered with fellow Leicester business, Blueprint Interiors, to carry out the refurbishment of their Mutual House offices.
Work is set to start in early October to modernise the interior of the well-known building, a landmark passed regularly by commuters travelling along Leicester Road. There will be no disruption to service during the renovations which are intended to improve the functionality of the workspace for Melton Building Society colleagues, and also provide new meeting and event space that will be opened up for use by local charities and community groups.
Simon Taylor, CEO of Melton Building Society, commented on the refurbishment plans: “We are thrilled to be able to support a fantastic local business such as Blueprint Interiors by appointing them to carry out the transformation of our offices.
“As a mutual, our founding purpose is to ‘build thriving communities’ and so the aim of the revamp is to better accommodate our colleagues, most of whom live locally, with a more efficient work environment and to bring value to our members by investing in our shared future.”
Simon continues: “We are very excited to be able to enhance our services by opening up the improved space and inviting our members in on a regular basis – hosting workshops and events and supporting community projects.”
As a significant local employer, Melton Building Society has hired 35 new roles this year, taking their total to over 135 colleagues. The planned building works will further support the community by bringing in local firms to provide expertise.
Chloe Sproston, creative and commercial director at Blueprint Interiors, comments on the partnership: “It’s been a huge privilege to work alongside The Melton team during our workplace consultancy and design stages. We’ve taken time to understand how its people and processes need to be supported, so that they can deliver on the society’s objective to become a ‘modern mutual’.
“The result is a bespoke selection of spaces. From tech driven workspaces to community focused cafes – all perfected to suit the needs and activities of colleagues, members and the wider community. Delivering these transformational spaces is about to begin, and we can’t wait to see it come to life.”
The work is set to be completed in the spring of 2023, with plans for a reopening.
Law firm advises on care provider sale
Flint Bishop has advised on the sale of a residential care business to one of the UK’s leading providers.
The law firm has advised the shareholders of Quality Care, a regional provider of residential care for those with learning disabilities and complex needs, on their sale to Choice Care Group.
The Flint Bishop transaction team comprised of partner Joel Nixon, senior associate Mark Wilcock and associate Emma Hadley.
Nicola Bullock and Chris Jones, of Bates Weston, provided corporate finance advice to the sellers.
Joel said: “It was a pleasure to support the team on this successful sale.
“Together they have built a strong business from the ground up through their passion and vocation for caring for those in need.
“Along with continuity of the management team, it is great to see custody being passed into the hands of an organisation such as Choice, which shares the same values with the needs of its service users at its core.”
Progress made on new Derby nuclear manufacturing and research centre site
The new Nuclear AMRC Midlands site progresses after a successful interim period in the iHub at Infinity Park Derby.
Stephen George + Partners (SGP) is “pleased” with the progress of the new 46,904 sq ft research and development design and manufacturing centre at Infinity Park Derby (IPD), for Nuclear AMRC Midlands.
Infinity Park Derby is a unique collaboration between Derby City Council, the Harper Crewe Estate, Rolls-Royce and developers IPD LLP, Wilson Bowden and Peveril Securities. The high-quality employment park is located next to the world headquarters of Rolls-Royce Civil Aerospace and is located within 15 minutes of OEMs such as Toyota, JCB and Alstom. SGP have been involved in the development of the masterplan for Infinity Park Derby since 2001.
Working closely with March Developments, who are developers within Infinity Park Derby LLP, as well as Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (Nuclear AMRC), SGP designed a bespoke operational facility to suit the end user’s research and development and advanced manufacturing requirements.
Situated on an approximately 2.4 hectares (6 acres) site, the 21,528 sq ft manufacturing centre, with a haunch height of 10m, provides the best layout for flow, positioning of equipment and maximum use of space. The two storey 25,210 sq ft office and welfare facility contains laboratories, testing and prototyping facilities along with technical development offices. A double height atrium marks the entrance to the facility and provides exhibition space to showcase the work carried out at the facility.
This new facility for advanced manufacturing is expected to add £52 million to the local Derby economy across a five-year period, supporting SMEs in the area to grow by creating opportunities for research and development.
The elevational treatment creates a striking presence in the landscape, using a combination of profiled built-up cladding alongside carefully proportioned flat panel rain screen cladding to create distinctive dark ‘framed boxes’ to define the three volumes. A subtle colour palette enhances the composition whilst the large, glazed volume of the main reception area is set behind projecting brise soleil, which knits together the office and industrial unit.
A new, multifunctional green infrastructure has been designed for the site to provide long term environment enhancement and a potentially strategically important area for wetland habitats. The planting of new broadleaved trees and species rich hedgerows will improve biodiversity across the site.
The design of the building – a high quality contemporary development reflecting the high technology aspiration for Infinity Park Derby – is an important element in establishing IPD as a key manufacturing base for the East Midlands.
The D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) awarded Derby City Council over £9m in funding – £6.875m from its Getting Building Fund and £2.2m from its Growing Places Fund – to support the development of a Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at Infinity Park in Derby.
The Nuclear AMRC Midlands facility will deliver 70 direct jobs. Nuclear AMRC Midlands will work with companies of all sizes to help them win work in carbon-neutral supply chains as part of the global drive to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Nuclear AMRC Midlands will support 100 businesses through collaborative research and supply chain development projects within the first five years, in high-value sectors such as aerospace, automotive and rail as well as nuclear and other low-carbon energy technologies.
Cllr Steve Hassall, portfolio for regeneration, decarbonisation, strategic planning and transport at Derby City Council, said: “We’re pleased to see construction progressing on the new Nuclear AMRC. Construction of this state-of-the-art research and development centre is great news for Derby’s SME businesses. Not only will it offer a huge boost to our local economy, but also cement our place as a national leader for innovation, manufacturing, and world-class research and development.”
Andrew Storer, CEO of the Nuclear AMRC, said: “The new Nuclear AMRC Midlands facility will play a vital role in helping manufacturers seize the opportunities and tackle the challenges of the national transition to net zero emissions.
“As the first High Value Manufacturing Catapult facility in the East Midlands, we will continue to work closely with local industry, academic and government partners to deliver sustainable growth for decades to come. The coming years will see increasing investment into clean energy and low-carbon technologies, and the region is well placed to capitalise on the opportunity thanks to its wealth of experience, innovation, and engineering expertise.”
The facility will bring together Nuclear AMRC and the University of Derby’s Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Manufacturing (IISE), to carry out research, innovation, supply chain development and teaching with the purpose of developing the skills and capability of businesses in the region and nationally.
Professor Warren Manning, Provost – Innovation and Research at the University of Derby, said: “Co-locating our Institute for Innovation in Sustainable Engineering with the Nuclear AMRC opens up new possibilities for our academics, who are already engaged in work to help achieve the UK’s decarbonisation and Net Zero goals in sectors such as rail and logistics.”
Exciting plans for Kings Mill Reservoir revealed
Artist impressions have been released by Ashfield District Council showing the plans for a new leisure building at Kings Mill Reservoir.
The new building will provide modern, accessible changing and storage facilities for water sports on the ground floor, with a dedicated space for a restaurant on the first floor. The plans will support activities including sailing, paddleboarding, kayaking, and open water swimming at the reservoir. The new offering will allow more residents and visitors to Kings Mill Reservoir the opportunity to access water sports.
The first floor of the new boathouse will be home to an 80-seat restaurant overlooking the water, taking advantage of the spectacular views of the reservoir.
The new facilities are due to be completed during the summer of 2024. The new leisure facilities will complement the expansion of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Mill Adventure Base to include new outdoor activities which will be operational in 2023.
The plans for the well-loved reservoir are just one of the 17 projects being funded by the £62.6m Towns Fund. The Council was successful in securing the funding from the government in June 2021, and since then have been developing business cases, designs, and plans for the planned projects.
Cllr Matthew Relf, executive lead member for regeneration and corporate transformation, said: “The plans for Kings Mill Reservoir are extremely exciting. We can’t wait to be able to open up the offer of a variety of great new activities to visitors. The location of the new restaurant offering will be a fantastic addition to the reservoir, and will bring in even more visitors to Ashfield.
“Last week we started work on the dilapidated Yorkshire Bank in Sutton as part of the Future High Streets Fund, and now we are in a position to be able to start releasing plans for the other projects. It is a thrilling time to be an Ashfield resident!
“We want to hear from existing or new clubs, and/or individuals, who are keen to get involved in developing and running water sports activities at the reservoir. Please get in touch with the team if you are interested.”
