Notts firm digs deep to fund new charity scheme

Tess Egginton
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Notts firm digs deep to fund new charity scheme
Nottinghamshire PR agency Arch Communications is funding the launch of a major new project for a local homelessness charity. The Friary in West Bridgford wants to transform its old allotments into a haven of peace and reflection for the vulnerable adults it supports. The launch of the scheme has been made possible by a £10,000 donation from Arch, which is based in the South Nottinghamshire village of East Leake, just a few miles from the allotments. It marks the 35th anniversary of charity, which is appealing for further funding to bring the plans to full fruition. The Friary has helped hundreds of people through its drop-in centre and outreach work. Demand for its services has increased by more than a third over the past year alone. The charity has supported more than 850 vulnerable people in the last 12 months. The project will see the charity’s three allotments in West Bridgford re-vamped to create a quiet and creative space, where service users can help to grow vegetables, learn new crafts and practice mindfulness. With the help of volunteers, the allotments already produce one tonne of produce a year. This is used by the charity’s drop-in centre on Musters Road or given away to other good causes. The Chief Executive of The Friary, Ben Talbot, said: “These allotments will provide the perfect place for our clients to learn new skills, while also helping their mental health and giving them a sense of purpose. “We started to draw-up some proposals for the allotments a few years ago, but then the pandemic came along and we had to abandon the idea. We’re extremely grateful to Arch Communications for their financial and practical support, which is now helping to get the whole idea off the ground. “It’s still a tough time for many people at the moment and we hope this area will become an ideal space for some peace and reflection. Our clients already feel part of The Friary family and, with the valuable help of our volunteers, we hope this will be a space they can feel part of too.” Based in East Leake, Arch Communications believes in ploughing profits back into the community. The firm has donated over £165,000 to local good causes through donations and unpaid work. Arch Communications founder and director Matt Youdale said: “We’ve been aware of The Friary’s excellent work for some time, so when we heard about this project we were keen to help bring it to fruition. As well as providing the initial funding, our practical support is part of our whole business ethos.” Part of the donation from Arch has already paid for the replacement of an old wooden-framed greenhouse with a brand new high-spec greenhouse with tempered safety glass. There are further plans to improve the infrastructure, with a range of new facilities for things like woodwork, arts & crafts and meditation. The Friary hopes to attract further funding for the ongoing management of the allotments and the supervision of visitors.

Government announces financial backing for SMR nuclear power

Stuart Pearcey
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Government announces financial backing for SMR nuclear power
The government is to pump millions into development of nuclear power to develop cutting-edge technologies delivering cleaner, cheaper, more secure energy. Energy Security Secretary Grant Shapps says Great British Nuclear will drive the rapid expansion of new nuclear power plants in the UK at an unprecedented speed, boosting UK energy security, reducing dependence on fossil fuel imports, creating more affordable power and growing the economy, with the nuclear industry estimated to generate around £6 billion for the UK economy. Companies are now able to register their interest with GBN to competeto secure funding support to develop their products, with the potential to create billions of pounds of public and private sector investment in small modular reactor (SMR) projects in the UK. Unlike conventional reactors that are built on site, SMRs are smaller, can be made in factories and could transform how power stations are built by making construction faster and cheaper. Rolls-Royce at Derby has already done considerable work on the technology GBN will play a key role in helping the government hit its ambition to provide up to a quarter of the UK’s electricity from homegrown nuclear energy by 2050 and achieve among the cheapest wholesale electricity prices in Europe, whilst supporting jobs across the country. Simon Bowen, interim chair of GBN said: “GBN is core to delivering the government’s new nuclear programme. Building on the work done at Hinkley Point and Sizewell, announcement of the start of the SMR selection process signifies a real step forward in delivering the scale of nuclear power that Britain needs for secure, sustainable energy future.

“We look forward to working with all interested parties – technology vendors, the supply chain, the wider industry and local communities as we move this essential programme forward.”

On top of today’s GBN competition launch, the government is also announcing today a grant funding package totalling up to £157 million: Up to £77.1 million for companies to accelerate advanced nuclear business development in the UK and support advanced nuclear designs to enter UK regulation, maximising the chance of small and advanced modular reactors being built during the next Parliament. Up to £58 million funding for the further development and design of a type of advanced modular reactor (AMR) and next generation fuel. AMRs operate at a higher temperature than SMRs and as a result they could provide high temperature heat for hydrogen and other industrial uses alongside nuclear power. Tom Greatrex, Chief Executive of the Nuclear Industry Association, said: “The launch of GBN marks a new era for nuclear deployment in the UK – helping drive a programme of construction at pace and at scale to strengthen our energy security, create good jobs across the country, and advance our net zero future by providing up to 25% of our future power needs. “Focus on the SMR selection will demonstrate the commitment to deployment of innovative technologies and open up new opportunities for the UK industrial supply chain here and abroad. There a range of sites and communities across the country ready to host SMR technology, alongside the large scale nuclear capacity we will also need.

“Britain has an important leadership role in the global nuclear industry, and nowhere more so than in our determination to drive Russia out of the nuclear fuel markets. The government’s Nuclear Fuel Fund will bolster those world-class capabilities that make us uniquely placed to help our allies replace Russian supplies with Western nuclear fuel.”

New support set for Ilkeston and Long Eaton town centre shops

Tess Egginton
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New support set for Ilkeston and Long Eaton town centre shops
A new grants scheme to encourage fresh shops into empty town centre retail units in Ilkeston and Long Eaton is poised to see Erewash Borough Council help pay for the signage the stores need to get up and running. The grants apply to new shops only and are worth up to £2,000 each. Erewash Borough Council experts are aiming to support new business and fund “quality signage, thereby enhancing the street scene and improving the overall vitality and viability of our town centres.” A report says the money will help “reduce vacancy rates in our town centres by encouraging new businesses to occupy empty units.” The grants over the next two years will come from cash allocated to Erewash under the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Erewash’s Council Executive meets on 18 July and is set to give the green light to what is called the Empty Shop Signage Grant Scheme. The borough’s Director of Resources said: “It will allow the council to support town centre businesses with immediate effect.” Councillor Alex Breene, the council’s Lead Member for Town Centres, Regeneration and Planning, said: “We want our town centres to be vibrant and thriving but too many shops have been left vacant. “These grants of up to £2,000 recognise financial support is necessary when opening a new business. The grants also signal the council’s wider ambitions to revitalise Erewash high streets.”

Flooding hardship fund opens to provide emergency payments to Derbyshire businesses

Tess Egginton
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Flooding hardship fund opens to provide emergency payments to Derbyshire businesses
Businesses hit by recent flooding, including the torrential downpours on Saturday 8 July and during June, can now apply for emergency financial help from Derbyshire County Council’s hardship fund. The council have set up the scheme to offer one-off grants of £500 for businesses employing up to 50 people. In total, up to £20,000 of financial support is available for eligible households and businesses in Derbyshire affected by the recent surface water flash flooding. Initial feedback shows that a number of towns have experienced flash flooding including Matlock, Cromford, Ripley, Killamarsh, Dronfield, parts of Chesterfield, and in Swadlincote. The emergency payments aim to help cover the loss of any immediate, short-term loss of income and cashflow difficulties and to help pay for repairs and replacement of items until insurance claims are settled. The fund closes on Friday 4 August. To make a claim, businesses will need to provide photographs showing spoilt items of stock, internal building damage and receipts for replacement products. Payments to businesses will be made by BACS bank transfer. Council Leader, Councillor Barry Lewis, said: “The torrential downpours in early July caused unavoidable flash flooding in Matlock and other communities across Derbyshire as drains were overwhelmed with the huge quantity of rainwater. “Since that weekend, I’ve seen the impact of the surface water flooding and spoken to a number of residents and businesses in the areas affected. “We stand shoulder to shoulder with local communities and our financial grant scheme will help people deal with the aftermath of the flood damage and clean up, supporting their business or their home. “The flood grant application process is straightforward and I’d urge people to apply for the help on offer. If we experience any further flooding over the coming months, we intend to reopen the scheme to provide additional, emergency support to local communities.”

Plans submitted for Edwalton retirement apartments and convenience store

Tess Egginton
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Plans submitted for Edwalton retirement apartments and convenience store

Developer Charterpoint and retirement housing provider Anchor have submitted a joint planning application for 77 retirement apartments at Edwalton, near Nottingham. A convenience store, which will be operated separately, is also part of the plans.

Earmarked for land on the corner of Rose Way and Melton Road, the retirement scheme would provide a range of one and two-bedroom apartments in a three-storey block.

The proposals also include a residents’ restaurant, lounge, outdoor dining terrace, hairdressing salon, beauty and treatment studio, guest suite, and a courtyard garden and will be operated by Anchor, England’s largest not-for-profit provider of housing and care for people in later life.

The apartments will be a mix of shared ownership and rental properties – filling a gap in the market in the West Bridgford area.

A single-storey convenience store is also planned for the 2.2 acre site, both accessed off Rose Way, which will be operated separately from the retirement scheme.

The site has outline planning permission for development, but now Charterpoint and Anchor have submitted detailed designs for the land to Rushcliffe Borough Council.

Charterpoint CEO Adrian Goose said: “This is a prominent site in an area of Edwalton which has seen considerable development in recent years, providing a range of housing and community facilities.

“Our integrated plan will introduce a handy convenience store for local shopping needs to augment what is there already. This plan, submitted in conjunction with Anchor, will fill a gap in the market and create much-needed retirement apartments for the area, helping to free up larger family homes in Edwalton and West Bridgford too.”

Victoria Mager, director of development delivery at Anchor, said: “We are looking forward to working with Charterpoint on the development of high quality, affordable independent living apartments in Edwalton. In line with Anchor’s vision, this development takes us one step closer to delivering 5,700 homes where people can love living in later life over ten years.”

The plans for the Edwalton site have been designed by Brewster Bye Architects.

Developer submits plans to build 79 new homes in Syston

Tess Egginton
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Developer submits plans to build 79 new homes in Syston

Bellway Strategic Land is looking to secure planning permission for up to 79 new homes in Syston. The housebuilder has submitted an outline planning application for a 16.8-acre site identified for housing off Barkby Lane, to the south of the town.

The land is bordered by the railway line to the east, existing properties to the west, and Barkby Lane to the north. The site forms the northern part of a site identified as an allocation for residential development by Charnwood Borough Council in their emerging Charnwood Local Plan. The plan is currently being considered by the government and Charnwood Borough Council will be looking to adopt it as soon as they can.

Bellway Strategic Land has also submitted a planning application for up to 130 homes on the southern portion of the site, which is accessed off Barkby Thorpe Lane in Thurmaston. Together, the two applications, which are separated by a green corridor, will help deliver the housing allocation and improve land supply in Charnwood in accordance with the local plan.

The proposals for the Barkby Lane site in Syston delivers 30 per cent of the homes as affordable housing for low-cost rent or shared ownership, with 10 acres of open space created including a children’s play area and a network of footpaths and cycleways, along with areas for Biodiversity Net Gain.

Fergus Thomas, Bellway Strategic Land Director for the Central region, said: “We have worked closely with Charnwood Borough Council to develop our plans for Barkby Lane in Syston and ensure the proposed scheme meets the needs of the local community.

“There is an identifiable need for new housing in the area and this is a site which is close to town centre amenities and will align with the emerging Charnwood Local Plan.

“Our outline proposals include a primary tree-lined street which will lead into the site from Barkby Lane while an ‘arrival space’ in the north-western corner of the site will greet pedestrians entering the development via a new footpath link.

“Our sustainable design sets aside an area of 10 acres of open space within the development, which includes an area for children to play, recreational walking, and would feature new planting alongside the retention of trees and hedgerows wherever possible. Areas of green infrastructure in the east and south of the site will create new habitats of ecological value, such as scrub and wildflower grassland, to help protect and promote local wildlife.

“Care has been taken in the preparation of the illustrative layout to show how a detailed scheme could be brought forward as the next stage of the planning process that positively responds to local character. In particular, assessments are presented in the submitted documents that show an understanding of local materials and of how built form and massing create interest along Barkby Lane.”

Industry continues to drive forward digital revolution towards Net Zero

Tess Egginton
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Industry continues to drive forward digital revolution towards Net Zero
Britain’s manufacturers are powering forward in their digital journey towards Net Zero as the sector moves to reduce energy usage and costs, cut greenhouse gas emissions and boost productivity, according to new research published by Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation, and cloud business management solutions firm Sage. The research – ‘Decarbonisation through Digitalisation’ – shows manufacturing businesses are investing in digital technologies more than ever before and reaping multiple benefits – from productivity increases to product improvements, reduction in waste and labour efficiencies. Use of a pool of digital tools including data analytics, supply chain management to boost resilience and full automation of business processes including finance, human resources, manufacturing and procurement have been working together to boost productivity. Nearly half of manufacturers have an active plan to invest in digital technologies to decarbonise their business and almost a quarter have already invested in digital solutions. A further 23% plan to do so in the coming 12 months. Some 62% of companies which have already adopted digital technologies into their production processes reported energy cost savings – over half said those savings were between £10,000 and £100,000 the last 12 months. A further 46% said energy savings came in under £10,000 but were still significant to their businesses. But savings did not end there with companies citing real cost savings on labour, material wastage and water usage. Almost half (44%) of companies surveyed said that digitalisation has been their firm’s top driver of productivity improvements, with production processes tightened up. The need to reduce carbon is now embedded in most companies’ business plans with a quarter of Britain’s manufacturers believing new digital technologies have already had an impact on decarbonisation and their ability to achieve challenging Net Zero targets. Just one in ten businesses do not believe that digitalisation will have any impact on their Net Zero ambitions. Of those surveyed, 30% of businesses reported they had already invested in supply chain management digital tools which can reduce emissions and build resilience from delivery disruptions caused by new Brexit trading rules and long-term Covid disruption in Asia. However, significant barriers to digitalisation remain, with six in ten manufacturers still wary of the upfront cost without accurate timings for return on the investment. Companies (45%) said more evidence on investment return would help drive positive decisions towards the adoption of digital tech as part of their journey towards Net Zero. Half of manufacturers said that tax incentives to invest in digital decarbonisation technologies and upskill their current workforce would provide a major boost to uptake. Again, SMEs found taking those first digital steps much harder than larger companies with  64% of smaller firms saying they experience skills shortages while trying to invest and adopt digital tech. Stephen Phipson, CEO of Make UK, the manufacturers organisation, said: “Britain’s manufacturers have long been at the forefront of digital innovation globally and they have taken significant steps to cut carbon emissions and move towards Net Zero. “But in order to supercharge that journey, business needs Government to play its part in driving the process forward. “To that end, Government needs to help them move forward faster by committing to a national rollout of the industrial digitalisation programme Made Smarter across the UK and expand its remit to include industrial decarbonisation. “Made Smarter has already delivered amazing successes in helping SMEs boost their productivity through digitalisation, and they are ideally placed to pick up the mantle to help decarbonise through digitalisation. “We need to see an expansion in the R&D tax relief to include capital equipment relating to industrial decarbonisation and the introduction of a Help to Grow Green tax credit to incentivise businesses to take those first active steps to produce goods more sustainably at a time companies are cash-strapped through the burden of higher labour and energy costs.”

Major Derby business park plans get the go ahead

Tess Egginton
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Major Derby business park plans get the go ahead
Plans for a major new business park, delivering over 1.6 million sq ft of floorspace and forming part of the Infinity Park Derby site, have been approved by Derby City Council.
Outline planning permission for the development was sought by Infinity Park Derby LLP. The scheme’s uses are to include storage and distribution, general industrial and light industrial, research and development, office, hotel, pub, and drive thru cafe use.
The construction costs for the development are estimated to be approximately £150 million over a seven-year build programme. An estimated 318 temporary direct and indirect jobs could be supported per annum. Once fully developed and occupied, the development is expected to support 2,731 gross full-time equivalent jobs on site and it is estimated that the wages paid to the on-site workers would be around £80 million per annum. The GVA to economic output is estimated to be around £138 million per annum.
Outline planning permission for a business park of this nature was already agreed in principle on the site, but this has now expired.

£3.5m award to create new cutting-edge automotive training facilities in Derby

Tess Egginton
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£3.5m award to create new cutting-edge automotive training facilities in Derby
Derby College Group (DCG) are set to receive a £3.5 million capital award from the Government’s Post 16 capacity fund. This will enable DCG to provide additional capacity for 16-19 learners and create a space that meets local and national skills requirements and is reflective of learner demand.The new state-of-the-art facilities will ensure that DCG is equipped to provide training for the changing automotive technologies including the evolving requirements for electric vehicles.The new facility will be located at the back of the current Stephenson Building on the Roundhouse site in Derby. And importantly, it will be built in the most efficient and sustainable way in order to achieve net-zero carbon emissions. To accomplish this, the construction will be future-proofed and will incorporate air-source heat pumps, thermal-resistant materials and solar panels.Iain Baldwin, Director of Estate commented on the new building: “It is excellent news to be awarded this grant as this will enable us to create a building that will be totally aligned to the needs of the automotive industry.  “The building will be in the region of 1150 metres and will incorporate facilities such as high-level lifts, and a double workshop and will be designed to integrate with the existing Stephenson Building. And the construction will be environmentally friendly incorporating the latest building techniques and materials.” Steven Elliott, Head of Technology Apprenticeships said of the new build: “This facility will help strengthen the automotive skills of today’s learners and support the education of the next generation. “We want to inspire anyone who is interested in working in the automotive industry as it is an ever-changing and exciting area to work in. It really has evolved and it’s now an extremely technical industry which requires an abundance of new skills. “So by creating this propose-built training centre, DCG will be perfectly placed to meet the needs of the learners and of the employers.” The building is currently in the planning stage, looking at enhancing the design, finalising costings and preparing all the specifications ready to go out for tender for an anticipated date of the end of July. September 2024 is the anticipated completion date and occupancy of the building is expected in the new academic year.

80% of offices let at Chesterfield enterprise centre

Tess Egginton
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80% of offices let at Chesterfield enterprise centre

After being open for just one year, 80% of offices are now let in Chesterfield’s flagship enterprise centre.

The Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre was officially opened in July 2022 and to mark one year since opening an informal networking session was held on Thursday 13 July to celebrate with tenants.

Councillor Tricia Gilby, leader of Chesterfield Borough Council and cabinet member for economic growth, said: “We faced many challenges when developing this building but it was a cornerstone of our Covid recovery plan and to see the building almost fully let just one year after opening shows that our local economy is strong and that Chesterfield is a great place to do business.

“The building is home to a really diverse range of businesses with lots of them being new startups that we hope will grow and thrive in our town. It was fantastic to speak with our tenants and learn more about what they do and the opportunities they are creating for local people.”

The Enterprise Centre includes 32 office suites in a range of sizes. It has meeting facilities allowing businesses to host hybrid meetings and secure cycle parking and shower facilities to allow tenants to bike to work – supporting low carbon transport options. There are also features like the break out room where businesses can network and find out how they can work together.

But the centre provides more than office space, as tenants can access bespoke business support services to help them grow and develop, supporting the creation of more jobs and boosting the local economy.

The building also boasts some first-class sustainability features which help keep energy use down and ensure the building is fit for the future – supporting to the council’s target of becoming a carbon neutral organisation by 2030.

The Northern Gateway Enterprise Centre was part funded through a grant from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority Investment Fund, with additional funding provided by Chesterfield Borough Council.

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