Construction of new schools begins in Wellingborough
Work has commenced on two educational facilities at Glenvale Park, a 3,000 home sustainable urban extension to the north of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.
The works comprise a new two-form entry primary school for up to 420 pupils as well as a 75-place nursery and community centre.
Alongside these works, a new children’s play park facility will be delivered, creating a flagship recreational amenity for children living in the area.
The ground-breaking ceremony marks a key point for the delivery of the development’s masterplan. In attendance were members of North Northants Council, Wellingborough Town Council, Homes England, and local community groups.
Special guest Cllr Valerie Anslow, deputy mayor of Wellingborough Town Council, cut the first piece of grass and said a few words to mark the occasion: “The ground-breaking event was a great way to celebrate work beginning on the primary and nursery schools at Glenvale Park.
“It fills me with tremendous pride to be able to kick-off these works which will bring additional school spaces to Wellingborough and be a place of inspiration for future generations. I’m looking forward to seeing how the schools progress in the coming months ahead of their opening in 2023.”
Mark Best, director of Midtown Capital, Managing Partners of Glenvale Park LLP, said: “We’re delighted that the first works have commenced on the two educational facilities at Glenvale Park, marking a significant milestone in the development’s progress as well as delivering on our commitment to generating social value for the Wellingborough area.
“The primary and nursery schools will become a space to learn for children living at Glenvale Park and beyond for many years to come. We’re excited to welcome the first pupils and their families to the schools in 2023.”
The design and delivery of the schools is being led by Kettering-based architects and lead consultants, GSSArchitecture with the main construction works driven forward by Lindum Group.
Tom Jagger, partner and project architect at GSSArchitecture, said: “It’s fantastic to see works start on site at Glenvale Park. The new primary school, community centre, nursery and play equipment will provide a key hub for the new community, offering purpose-built facilities that can enable the delivery of excellent learning opportunities for local children and benefit the wider community.”
Darren King, Managing Director at Lindum Group, said: “We have now started working on the primary school and another team from Lindum will start on the nursery in three weeks.
“To secure both contracts for the nursery and primary school will create a unique, but interesting situation for us, in the sense that we will have two separate teams working on projects that are right next to each other.
“This is an excellent opportunity for Lindum to help to expand and develop the community in our local area. I am very much looking forward to seeing this project completed and welcoming this new community into the already thriving area.”
Frasers Group makes offer for Australian business
Shirebrook-based retailer Frasers Group has revealed a cash offer to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of MySale not already held by the business for 2 pence per share.
The Australian-based fashion marketplace connects global buyers and sellers to Australian and New Zealand ecommerce sites.
The news comes after Frasers Group acquired a 28.7% stake in MySale earlier this year.
The offer values the rest of the company at approximately £13.6 million.
Frasers Group said it has “extensive ambitions to grow its business outside of the UK and is exploring the potential for further international expansion through acquisitions, joint ventures and organic openings.”
The company noted it has not made an approach to, or had any discussions with, MySale management in relation to the offer.
Frasers Group added that it intends to invest in MySale and use MySale as a vehicle for making other investments in the region.
Nominations close TOMORROW for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022
With entries closing TOMORROW (19 August) for East Midlands Business Link’s prestigious Bricks Awards, don’t miss this opportunity to raise the profile of your business by submitting a nomination!
Celebrating the region’s property and construction industry, its people, and outstanding developments, the annual awards attract leaders from across the region and are the perfect way for businesses to promote the work they are completing and create more buzz.
Award categories include: most active estate agent, commercial development of the year, responsible business of the year, residential development of the year, developer of the year, deal of the year, architects of the year, excellence in design, sustainable development of the year, contractor of the year, and overall winner.
A highlight in the business calendar, winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 15 September, at the famous Trent Bridge Cricket Ground – an evening that will also provide plenty of chances to forge new contacts with property and construction professionals from across the region.
Reflecting on the 2021 event, Paul Morris, director at St James Securities, said: “We are incredibly proud to have been awarded ‘Developer of the Year’ at the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2021, particularly as we were up against strong competition from some very established and experienced counterparts in the industry.
“The award is testament to the hard work and excellent progress we have made over the last year at our £200m Becketwell regeneration scheme in the centre of Derby, particularly the forward funding and sale of the first phase 259 build to rents apartments to Grainger plc, one of the leading owners and operators of purpose build BtR in the UK.
“The event was held at the impressive Trent Bridge cricket ground and was well attended by many serious players in the property and construction industry, many of whom I had a chance to network with over a glass of wine and delicious hors d’oeuvres.”
To submit a business or development for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022, please click on a category link below or visit this page. Make your nominations before entries close on Friday 19 August!
The Overall Winner of the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022 will also be awarded a year of marketing/publicity worth £20,000.
Find out who last year’s winners were here.
Thanks to our sponsors:
- Most active estate agent
- Commercial development of the year
- Responsible business of the year
- Residential development of the year
- Developer of the year
- Deal of the year
- Architects of the year
- Excellence in design
- Sustainable development of the year
- Contractor of the year
- Overall winner (this award cannot be entered, the winner will be selected from those nominated)
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 15 September 2022 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. The event will also welcome John Forkin MBE DL, Managing Director at award-winning investment promotion agency Marketing Derby, as keynote speaker, as well as award-winning mind reader, magician, and professional mentalist Looch, who will bewilder and astonish guests during the evening’s networking. Dress code is standard business attire.
To be held at:
Go ahead given for Goose Gate student scheme
Plans to redevelop and extend a former retail and office building in Nottingham to provide purpose built student accommodation and a commercial unit have been approved.
The proposals from Clarendon Nottingham relate to 38-46 Goose Gate, a thee storey building and a courtyard and parking area to the rear. The ground floor of the Goose Gate frontage was last used as a bar/restaurant.
The new development would provide 100 student bedrooms in a variety of studios and cluster flats on the upper floors, with shared recreation facilities, amenity space and cycle parking. The ground floor would host a commercial unit.
The project would involve retaining and converting the existing three storey building that fronts onto Goose Gate, while rear parts of the building, together with other buildings that front onto Woolpack Lane, would be demolished to allow redevelopment at the back of the site.
The development at the rear of the site would comprise a four storey extension immediately behind the retained Goose Gate building. This extension would increase in height to six storeys along the Woolpack Lane frontage but step down to five storeys towards Hockley House.
Burton debt recovery business secures £100k growth funding
A Burton-On-Trent-based debt recovery business is preparing to grow its workforce with five new job roles after securing a £100,000 funding package.
Maxima Creditor Resolutions, based in Blakenhall Park Bar Lane, Barton Under Needwood, secured funding from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) and Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Business Loan Fund managed by BCRS Business Loans.
Funding will allow Maxima Creditor Resolutions to strengthen and expand its services as a startup business. The funding will create five additional jobs and support three existing roles which will enable Maxima to employ specialist legal support and take advantage of new market opportunities.
Established in October 2021 Maxima Creditor Resolutions are insolvency experts, specialising in the recovery of outstanding debts for creditors.
Mark Andrews, co-founder of Maxima Creditor Resolutions, said: “After securing funding from BCRS we will be able to use the fund to recruit an additional five people and secure the futures of three existing members of staff.
“The investment fund will allow us to recruit legal professionals together with administerial roles to support the infrastructure.
“The loan application process with BCRS was painless. Andrew from BCRS took the time to understand the business and what we were trying to achieve. It felt more like a partnership rather than just completing a single application form.”
Andrew Hustwit, head of business development at BCRS Business Loans, said: “We are so pleased to have delivered the funding that Maxima Creditor Resolutions need via the MEIF WM Small Business Loan Fund and Staffordshire & Stoke on Trent Loan Fund in order to achieve their growth plans.
“As a lender that delivers funding for intentional social and economic impact, it is great news that five new jobs will be created by Maxima Creditor Resolutions.”
Lack of IT support negatively impacting manufacturing workers’ attitude to technology
A lack of support from their company’s IT department is having a detrimental impact on manufacturing field workers’ attitudes towards – and confidence with – technology, while also endangering the success of digital transformation initiatives, new research has found.
With the nature of their work meaning that they are rarely at the office, digital solutions can be an effective way of improving field workers’ communication with the rest of the business, as well as improving efficiency and productivity.
However, the data, published in WorkMobile’s The Forgotten Workforce report, revealed that although 63% of manufacturing professionals use some form of digital technologies while out in the field, many remain unconvinced of their usefulness.
When asked to describe their feelings towards the roll out of new technologies many seemed apprehensive, with more than a third (46%) saying that they are generally reluctant to embrace them, and 22% believing that they can cause problems if they’re not implemented carefully.
Some of this may be linked to a lack of support from the business during the roll out, with 27% of those surveyed saying that they don’t feel they are given enough help and support when they are expected to start using a new piece of technology or digital solution.
Not only is the lack of attention having an impact on employee morale, but it also means that the technologies used are not necessarily having the desired impact on business operations, rendering any attempts at digital transformation within field service less effective than they should be.
Very few manufacturing field workers (14%) said that technology enhances their day-to-day life, and 18% even said that it prevents them from doing their job to the best of their ability. Just over half (55%) said that they improve efficiency and productivity – two of the key benefits of carefully chosen and implemented digital solutions – and under one in 10 (9%) think that it positively impacts customer relationships.
However, the good news is that only 5% of manufacturing field workers think that the traditional way of operating is more effective, while 41% of respondents said that they appreciate the benefits of new technologies, suggesting that the situation could be improved, provided the right tools are implemented with a good level of support and guidance from elsewhere in the business.
Colin Yates, chief support officer at WorkMobile, said: “It’s important to remember that while digital transformation should make companies more profitable, enhance the customer experience and enable them to keep up with competitors, it should also always improve the employee experience.
“If a new technology will not ultimately make the daily responsibilities of manufacturing employees simpler or more efficient (following the appropriate training), then it is not the right technology for that business and will likely not be a success in the long run.”
First phase of work transforming Derby’s historic Market Hall into attractive retail and leisure destination completes
The first phase of work to transform Derby’s historic Market Hall into an attractive retail and leisure destination fit for the future is now complete. Work is set to start soon on the second phase, which will focus on refurbishing the interior and developing the exterior public space at Osnabruck Square – a key entrance to the Grade II listed building.
Wates Construction has been leading an expert project team of local architects and engineers on the flagship project, comprising Latham Architects, Rogers Leask, and Clancy Consultants.
The vision is to create a building that celebrates its heritage and market tradition, while offering attractive and flexible spaces that can be adapted to meet modern needs and evolving consumer demand.
When it reopens, the Market Hall will include both traditional and theme markets, events, one-off or pop-up uses, make and trade spaces, and small performances – with a greater emphasis on food and drink to attract a wide range of businesses and visitors. Located at the heart of the city centre, linking Derbion and St Peter’s Quarter to the Cathedral Quarter and Becketwell, it will also play a key role in widening the diversity of the city centre economy.
A vibrant city centre is a key part of the strategy developed to ensure Derby’s economy remains resilient after the pandemic. A task force, made up of representatives from both public and private sectors, is driving activity to maintain business and investor confidence, diversify the local economy and decarbonise the city.
Councillor Mick Barker, cabinet member for governance and deputy leader of Derby City Council, said: “Derby Market Hall is one of the city’s most beautiful and prominent buildings, which connects key areas of our city centre.
“As a Grade II listed building, it deserves tasteful and sympathetic attention to detail to its renovation. Quality takes time and we’re delighted to see that this striking copper roof has now been finished, which paves the way for the rest of the Market Hall’s transformation.
“Soon we can move onto the internal renovation and give Derby a fantastic market, which is full of life and which will help draw people back into the heart of our city.”
After undergoing extensive roof and structural restoration assisted by a scaffolding structure weighing more than eight blue whales, the Grade II listed Victorian market hall, which has been trading since 1866, is well on its way to being transformed into a contemporary and vibrant cultural and retail destination.
The work completed includes masonry repairs to the building envelope, internal cleaning of the roof structure, and lead paint removal before the challenging and extensive heritage glazed roof replacement works. This included increasing ridge height to accommodate natural ventilation for the building, copper roof replacement, gutter and rainwater works, access equipment, localised electric works, lightening protection, and decoration.
John Carlin, regional director at Wates Construction, said: “It has been a privilege to work on the restoration and transformation of such an iconic and unique building, maintaining its historic charm but also bringing it into the council’s overall modern vision for the revitalisation of the wider city centre.
“Before this work on the roof was carried out, the Market Hall often had to close to customers for safety reasons if there was possibility of strong winds, snow, or heavy rain in case the glass windows came out of their frames. Along with the extensive restoration of the roof structure, all of these windows have now been replaced, meaning that closing the market and disrupting trade just for weather will no longer be necessary.
“Making sure that trading could continue while initial surveys and work on the roof took place was particularly important. To do this, we installed a scaffolding structure to give access to the roof without disrupting ground level activity. It was an impressive feat of engineering all by itself, which would have spanned more than 62 miles if placed end-to-end and weighed almost 900 tonnes, but it really was the key to making sure trade could continue despite our ongoing work, supporting the city’s traders post-pandemic.”
The team is now looking forward to commencing the second phase of the programme to transform the interior and exterior spaces, which will start later this year. Raised concrete floor plinths that currently house individual market stalls will be removed to create a more airy, open and accessible space, with the ground level intended to provide space for up to 32 market stalls, which will be portable for flexibility.
Meanwhile, the interior balcony area will provide an opportunity to accommodate a small business incubator, and to provide space for special themed markets, such as antiques or crafts. The entrances to the Market Hall are also set to be improved in the upcoming phase of work, allowing market activity to flow seamlessly into the surrounding streets and creating an attractive and flexible space in the adjacent Osnabruck Square.
Wates Construction was appointed via SCAPE’s Major Works framework. The second phase of development is set to commence on site in Q4 2022, with an aim to complete in 2024.
Tightening labour market is a “ticking timebomb” for East Midlands businesses
The East Midlands’ unemployment rate remains the lowest in the UK at 2.4% – having halved in just over a year.
The latest figure, reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the period between April and June 2022, is below the 3.8% national average.
In March to May 2021, it was 4.9% but has fallen almost every month since then. The region’s economic inactivity rate – which measures the number of working-age people who have dropped out of the labour market for reasons such as retirement, caring duties, long-term ill health or studying – has grown by six-tenths of a percentage point to 21.9% during the same period.
East Midlands Chamber Chief Executive Scott Knowles said: “These latest statistics show that our region’s businesses are creating plenty of jobs and people are filling them. We said throughout the pandemic that firms in sectors most directly affected by restrictions remained viable once they were allowed to trade freely and the data proves this is the case.
“However, the labour market remains incredibly tight, with the number of job vacancies in the UK economy around the highest on record. Competition for skills and labour continues to drive up wage costs, which is adding to the growing list of concerns facing organisations – which are being hit left, right and centre by the cost of doing business crisis, driven by the highest inflation in almost 40 years.
“Two-thirds of East Midlands businesses told us in our Quarterly Economic Survey they attempted to recruit between April and June, but 82% of this cohort struggled to fill roles. With four in 10 businesses now at capacity, the lack of access to people is becoming a ticking timebomb.
“The lack of human resource means they are struggling to meet customer demand and are often forced to turn away new business. This is restricting growth – as reflected by the latest figure showing GDP fell by 0.1% in the second quarter of 2022 – and dampening confidence among businesses to make the investments that will drive the economy forward again.”
Scott said it was “time for the Government to listen to businesses” as he outlined some key policies that would help firms to fill vacancies and bring people back to the labour market.
“The Government can help ease the growing pressure in the labour market at no extra cost to the Exchequer,” he added. “We need an immediate review and reform of the Shortage Occupations List to include more jobs at all skill levels, giving firms breathing space to train and upskill their workforce.
“We also need to encourage economically inactive people back into the labour market through access to publicly-funded rapid retraining opportunities. Businesses must be part of the solution too by creating the right workplace conditions, for example by providing flexible working practices, training opportunities and a focus on workplace healthcare and support.
“There are also innovative schemes for firms to tap into and access funding, including the UK Community Renewal Fund-backed Kickstart Accelerator, in which the Chamber has helped organisations in our region create more than 160 jobs for young people.”
The what, the how and the why: by Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency
Fiona Duncan-Steer, founder of RSViP Business Networking Agency, explores the ‘what’, the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ in business.
Many of you may be familiar with inspirational speaker and coach Simon Sinek, who has created not only a business, but a movement around the word ‘why’ – why do we do what we do? Encouraging us to dig deep and resurface our reasons for making the decisions that we make, ultimately leading to why we do the things that we do, whether it be within our careers or our personal lives. Since Simon’s famous Ted Talk, ‘How great leaders inspire action’, went viral on YouTube in 2009, many coaches and consultants, myself included, have used his teachings within our own practises – in particular his framework, he calls ‘The Golden Circle’, which essentially explores the idea that most people know and explain ‘what’ they do, most people know and relay ‘how they do it’, but rarely do people share ‘why’ they do what they do – hence the what, the how and the why.
Storytelling in business has become the clever marketer’s super-power. Gone are the days when people tolerated being ‘sold’ to. People want to buy from people they like, admire and relate to and this is where sharing your story – your why – comes into play. Simply by having a conversation, showing up as your true self and allowing someone a window into your world – even just a nugget, is enough to create intrigue and release all of those endorphins (the happy hormones that help to connect us as humans).
So, what we if took a step back for a moment and focused on the ‘how’?
We know ‘what’ we do and ‘why’ we do it, but do we truly know ‘how’ to do what we do as well as we could?
This is where self-awareness comes in and your ego is left at the door. It’s easy to become complacent in business when we have been doing what we do for a while. When the feedback we receive from our audience is consistent and there are no real challenges to overcome. Why would we change anything? This is when we should be using that wave of time to develop both ourselves, our processes and our offerings.
Asking ourselves important questions, such as; is what I still offer relevant? Can I diversify my offerings? Is now the time to expand and scale my business model? Am I happy with my current audience?
Monitoring progress and having regular reviews shows great leadership – even if you are a freelancer with no staff or team, this still applies to you. Being aware of your capabilities, your strengths, your weaknesses, for example, will help you to make all important decisions on where you best spend your time within the business and which areas of work you delegate to others.
Perhaps you’ve reached a time where you are ready to take it to the next level, to scale up, to take on new staff members, to move to a bigger office or to diversify your current business to offer other services.
Wherever you are at right now, I encourage you to focus on the ‘how’ for a while. To take some time to analyse and review what you know and figure out what you don’t – then go learn and apply it.
How do you do what you do?
Fiona Duncan-Steer www.fionaduncansteer.com www.rsvipnetwork.co.uk
Apprenticeship Ambassador numbers increase tenfold in local schools – but more still required
Work is ongoing to double the number of Apprenticeship Ambassadors working with local schools in time for the start of the new academic year.
Ten Apprenticeship Ambassadors (AAs) have now been recruited and are completing their training with the East Midlands Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (AAN) and the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) Careers Hub.
It came after a recruitment campaign led by the Careers Hub in February after it had emerged that there was just a single AA available to spread the word about apprenticeships across 91 schools and colleges in Leicester and Leicestershire.
Work has continued over the summer to extend the network further as the LLEP looks to start the autumn term with 20 AAs available to visit classrooms to help other young people better understand the local labour market and available career options.
By introducing AAs as relatable peer group members within communities, schools and employers are helping to change perceptions about apprenticeships in the region.
Students who subsequently express an interest in vocational training are introduced to the local Apprenticeship Skills and Knowledge Team (ASK) and the Careers Hub network.
The LLEP is now looking for local employers to join the AAN as Employer Ambassadors. In doing so they will develop the skills of their own apprentices, create a pipeline of future talent, and give back to schools in their communities.
The project will also increase the number of local AAs being recruited, trained and made available for classroom engagement.
AAs will be from a range of sectors and social backgrounds.
They will be supported by Employer Ambassadors who have a desire to support their communities and develop pipelines of new talent.
Andy Reed OBE, interim chair of the LLEP board, said: “Gains already made through this project, in terms of increasing the size of the network, will help towards our objective of increasing regional productivity by ensuring that we have people with the skills needed by our employers.
“Equally importantly, we are focusing on areas where apprenticeships are not typically being taken up.
“This is important because young people are particularly impacted by changes in the labour market which reduce entry level positions – and these are typically catered for by apprenticeships.”
The LLEP now has Apprentice Ambassadors representing local employers including EON, Jaguar Land Rover, and CE Civil Engineering.
