A bid to reopen a passenger railway line between Burton upon Trent and Leicester has taken a significant step forward – and East Midlands Chamber says there could be significant benefits for businesses along the route. The Campaign for Reopening the Ivanhoe Line (CRIL) has led a movement to restore the 31-mile line, which was sacrificed in the 1960s and 1970s as part of the Beeching Cuts – when British Railways chairman Dr Richard Beeching closed thousands of stations and hundreds of branch lines to make the nationalised railways profitable again. After receiving Government funding to conduct a feasibility study on its reopening last year, the Department for Transport announced in June that CRIL’s scheme was among nine – chosen from 39 schemes – rail projects authorised to move on to the next stage as part of the Restoring Your Railway initiative. Network Rail will now provide funding to conduct a detailed study of the costs of construction and scrutinise the benefits as part of a full outline business case. If this confirms the line’s viability, it will carry out design work and, subject to Government approval, work could begin in mid-2024 should it receive parliamentary approval ahead of a potential opening 2026 opening date. The route includes eight possible railway stations – in Drakelow & Stapenhill, Castle Gresley (for Swadlincote), Moira, Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Coalville, Ellistown, Meynell’s Gorse and Leicester South. However, at this stage of the project, only Gresley, Ashby, Coalville and Leicester South are included in the business case Network Rail is reviewing. East Midlands Chamber is now supporting CRIL to engage with businesses along the route, with a member of the group presenting at a recent forum for Leicestershire-based members. The Chamber’s chief executive Scott Knowles said: “Following the monumental efforts from the CRIL team of volunteers to reopen this historic railway line, bringing the project into the scope of Network Rail is a welcoming development and will raise hopes it can be brought to life. “While there is still a long way to go, bringing this important rail route back to life would provide a boost to the economy for the many communities along the route by opening up further connections with the rest of the region and country. “Improved connectivity would enable companies to tap into a wider labour pool across Derbyshire and Leicestershire. The proposed Leicester South station, meanwhile, would complement Leicester City’s plans for an expanded King Power Stadium and wider development scheme.”

Network Rail and Campaign for Reopening the Ivanhoe Line want to engage with businesses

CRIL, which was founded in 2019, will support Network Rail as a member of the programme board by engaging with local politicians and businesses. The relevant local authorities will decide on where stations, access and car parking are located. The group’s business liaison manager Stacey Ash said: “The decision to take our project to the next stage is a fantastic boost for the communities along the Ivanhoe Line, which could benefit from improved journey times and better connectivity across the region, regeneration of areas surrounding stations and a healthier environment. “We now need to engage even more closely with our local stakeholders, including businesses and residents, to help us understand their needs so we can fully articulate the benefits a reopened Ivanhoe Line will deliver.” A Network Rail spokesperson said: “We welcome the opportunity to work with all stakeholders along the line to further develop the business case to justify the reopening of the Ivanhoe Line to passengers, building on the work done so far by CRIL. “We encourage businesses to think about how a reopened line may be incorporated into their future business plans and to feedback via CRIL any economic or employee benefits they feel it might bring to them.” To speak with CRIL about how the Ivanhoe Line would support their business or employees, contact Stacey Ash at crilbusinessliaison@gmail.com. For more information on the CRIL, visit www.ivanhoeline.org.

In just two week’s time, on Monday 14 November 2022, the free to attend East Midlands Expo will return! Taking place at the East Midlands Conference Centre, Nottingham, the established event of over 20 years has everything you require for a great day of business generation, with the chance to meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road. A well targeted exhibition and networking opportunity, aimed at the construction, property, business, investment, finance, professional services and related B2B markets, register to attend the event for free here. The day, for which Business Link is a proud partner, will begin with exhibitor breakfast networking, with the exhibition opening to attendees at 9am. A seminar will take place between 10:45am and noon with BSP Consulting’s directors Mark Rayers and Tony Goddard lined up to present ‘Sustainability and how engineering plays its part’. Not to be missed, a special networking lunch (for which tickets can be purchased here) will then take place between 12:15pm and 2:15pm, and the exhibition will close at 3:30pm.

For more information on exhibiting at the event click here.

To register to attend the event for free click here.

To secure tickets for the networking lunch click here.

From property agents to developers, architects, contractors, investors, PR firms, and more, see the list of current exhibitors here.

North East Lincolnshire Council has just been awarded a prestigious national award after winning the best in region in England for its support for the local small business community. North East Lincolnshire Council was among 250 councils in England who entered the inaugural Local Government awards run by Britain’s biggest business representation group, and it emerged triumphant in the ‘All Round, Small Business Friendly’ category. Local authorities from across England responded to the call when FSB (Federation of Small Businesses) launched their inaugural Local Government awards sponsored by Maybe*, which were aimed at celebrating and recognising those that had made the biggest impact on local SMEs during the Covid crisis and beyond. Over the last few years, North East Lincolnshire Council has led a new approach to providing a comprehensive business support offer to small and medium enterprises, catering to varied needs of small business. Paula Gouldthorpe, FSB Development Manager for South Yorkshire and the Humber said “It is really pleasing to see North East Lincolnshire Council rewarded for their consistent hard work and effort to help businesses through what has been a very challenging couple of years.  This was amid a high-quality field of entries by local councils!    “Both the quality and quantity of entries from this region and beyond was incredibly high so the Council, its teams and individuals involved in supporting the business community should feel very proud to be among the winners. We look forward to continuing to work with them – and all our other business-supporting councils – to ensure we have a vibrant and strong local small business community.” Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of the Council, said: “Small businesses are the real lifeblood of our local economy, with more than 95% of all businesses in North East Lincolnshire employing under 49 people. This award is testament to the great work that many people put in and to the partnership and collaboration across our borough.” In its round up, the FSB praised the joint approach to supporting small and medium enterprises and said that the collegiate, holistic approach has been transformational and created an environment conducive to long ­term success for local businesses. Projects highlighted included business workshops and events, business festivals, sector­ specific Business Growth Advisors, start-­up programmes, managed and coworking spaces an Investment Hub and access to Business Investment Advisors. In recent years, a range of support for our small businesses has been put in place with partners, that includes: e- Factor: A local, not-for-profit social enterprise founded in 2010, offering business workshops, business events such as the ‘Great Big Small Business Festival’, tailored 1-1 support via sector-specific Business Growth Advisors, and important programmes such as Smarter Energy NEL, and the Start Up Academy Programme launched in 2021 which provides a comprehensive 12-month support programme for new businesses. Investment Hub: A unique service created in 2016, this small team has a combined 100 years’ background in finance. They put businesses in contact with commercial lenders including banks, finance companies, gap funders and peer to peer lenders to help their business move forward. The team invests their time and knowledge in supporting local, small businesses to achieve their goals, for example, Hub Advisors will attend and support business owners in-person when they speak to commercial lenders. Business Investment Advisors: Business Investment Advisors provide a set 12-week programme to small business owners to access £1,000 in funding for specialist support. They know that the needs and circumstances of every business is unique, and they find creative solutions to support businesses to achieve their goals The council’s economy and growth team: With access to information about commercial property being offered to market we are able to match this with local business needs and requirements and present tailored property portfolios of available land/property that matches their specification. Our InvestNEL website offers businesses a raft of information, and we offer regular newsletter updates on activities and opportunities for local business. The Council also runs a number of Business Centres, ideal for small and micro businesses across the borough. Vikki Wilson, who manages the Council’s business centres, said: “In a place like ours with so many small businesses thrive, it’s easy to see why Business Centres are popular. Their flexibility of office sizes, provision of communal facilities and opportunities to collaborate with other small businesses make them a compelling choice of workplace. “With break-out rooms and conferencing facilities for up to 64 people on-site, locations like the Innovation Centre on Grimsby’s Europarc make the high-quality workspaces and services associated with big corporations accessible for the area’s many micro-businesses.”

High input prices, labour shortages and environmental pressure are all driving the need for increased efficiency on-farm, and agricultural suppliers are responding. At the Midlands Machinery Show on 16-17 November at Newark Showground, visitors will find technology that improves performance, precision and safety of machinery. There will also be time-saving innovations for operators, software that optimises input use and apps designed to provide information for more informed decision-making. The latest JCB Fastrac will be making its Midlands Machinery Show debut. It will sit alongside a selection of other JCB handlers exhibited by Sharmans Agricultural and G&J Peck. “The Fastrac has always had strong appeal with its unrivalled ride comfort, great all-round visibility, and fast working and road speeds, says managing director of Sharmans, Scott Barclay. “With the new iCON version, it’s also up with the best in terms of tractor and implement control and guidance, with an enhanced transmission contributing to a more enjoyable, more productive experience for the operator.” Pecks and Sharmans also plan to exhibit some of JCB’s world-leading range of Loadall telescopic handlers. Earlier this year, the range was expanded with the new 542-70 AGRI Pro which is said to significantly increase productivity potential for large farming enterprises and contracting businesses. Burdens Group will be showcasing New Holland’s new T7 Heavy Duty with PLM Intelligence tractor. The latest model has a wide variety of features designed to optimise efficiency. IntelliTurn, for example automates steering during headland turns, selecting the optimum route to minimise time and compaction. It can be combined with the HTS II control, which records and stores all implement sequences and operations at the headland. When it comes to manure handling, the rising cost of synthetic fertilisers has increased demand for the FBS18 Manure spreader, says Amy Taylor at Richard Western. “It is a rear discharge spreader which has horizontal beaters with spinning discs. It is designed to handle all types of farmyard manures, sludges and waste product,” she says. Alongside the manure spreader, Richard Western will be showcasing the BTTA16/28HS bale trailer with a safe lock bale clamping system, developed to allow farmers to load bales quickly and safely. Also on display will be the SF18HS Suffolk trailer fitted with a hydraulic roll-over sheet – a more effective, quicker and safer way to cover loads than the conventional manual easy sheet. Root crop growers will find a range of innovations at the event, too. Tong Engineering has recently announced its latest product development – an advanced optical sorting option available on all new models of its popular field loader machine, the FieldLoad PRO. “With rising costs and an increasing need for growers to streamline their post-harvest operations to get tractors and trailers off the roads, carting less soil and generally minimising crop mileage, the demand for our FieldLoad PRO has continued to increase since its launch in 2018,” says Charlie Rich, sales director at Tong Engineering. “Recent results have been very impressive, both in terms of the amount of labour that can be saved at this stage of the post-harvest handling process, as well as the potential reduction in storage costs as only good crop is being stored,” he notes. Technology at the event isn’t limited to machinery hardware. Visitors will also find exhibitors demonstrating a range of software and apps designed to improve accuracy and arm growers with information. Lemken, for instance, will be showcasing its digital solution, iQBlue, designed to make work more efficient, both in the field and in the office. The easy-to-install module is a cost-effective alternative to upgrading kit, so users can benefit from optimised implement performance and automatic data management. Cost-efficiency has also been at the heart of Drone Ag’s latest development – the Skippy Scout Android app. Like it’s iOS counterpart, the Android app gives users real-time reports on plant counts, green area index (GAI), crop health and flowering ratio- saving time and providing deeper actionable insights which can enhance crops yields and profitability. “By introducing the Android app, we have been able to design new features like creating field boundaries,” says Drone Ag founder Jack Wrangham. “Android devices are also far cheaper than Apple, which will enable more users to access the app at a lower price using existing phones, tablets or computers. “Skippy Scout automates drone flights using field maps to navigate a drone to points of interest. Users need not have any experience of flying drones or a license* because Skippy will fly the drone for them,” he explains. “Our image analysis takes only minutes after the drone has completed its flight to present high resolution photographs and crop data. This means that users can identify problems with crops, like weeds or pests, more quickly by viewing the leaf level images on their phone or tablet.”