Transformational multi-million-pound projects for Boston have been given the go-ahead by the government. The confirmations mean that Boston is set to get a bespoke learning centre for adults, and a redeveloped leisure complex. In addition, Boston train station will be refurbished. These projects have been given the green light after the Boston Town Deal Board submitted business cases to the government. The approval of summary documents and associated business cases is part of the process for accessing the Towns Fund investment, which was announced for Boston in 2021, with the agreement of a Town Deal worth £21.9m. Boston’s confirmations come as projects for Skegness and Mablethorpe have also been given the go-ahead after town deals were also agreed for Skegness £24.5m, and Mablethorpe £23.9m. Neil Kempster, chair of Boston Town Deal Board, said: “The approval of the remaining business cases by the government is a hugely significant milestone for our town. “With the confirmation of all of the funding, we can now move forward with delivering these projects which will be truly transformational for our area. “Through these projects, our learning and leisure offer in Boston will be hugely enhanced, and the experience of both residents and visitors at our railway station, a crucial gateway into the town, will be improved. “The Town Deal funding and projects present Boston with a once in a generation opportunity to bring sustainable change to our town and I am excited to see these projects develop as we move into delivery.” Matt Warman, MP for Boston and Skegness, said: “The confirmation that Boston and Skegness have secured almost £50 million in Government funding is a reflection not only of the Government-recognised need for ‘Levelling up’ in places like ours but also the quality of the work carried out by both the Boston Town Deal board and the Connected Coast Board. “I am confident that the projects selected, which met strict criteria around driving growth through skills, land use and connectivity, will begin to deliver real, visible improvements to our towns – and are only the start of the continued transformational funding this Government has recognised our area needs and deserves.” Councillor Paul Skinner, leader of Boston Borough Council, said: “This is an exciting time for Boston, as we look to enhance the offering for our communities by providing newly refurbished facilities within the town centre. This will deliver long lasting positive change for Boston and our residents. “These projects will also help meet our corporate ambitions; providing affordable and accessible leisure opportunities for all and to promote Boston’s economy, industry and opportunities.” The confirmation of the business cases means that in Boston a new bespoke learning centre for adults will be developed that will include higher education in a unique learning environment aimed at being inclusive to the whole community. Led by Boston College, the ‘Mayflower’ will enable business and learners to connect, create, and innovate. Almost £10m has been confirmed for this project. Claire Foster, principal and CEO of Boston College, said: “We are thrilled and delighted to be given the green light for Mayflower, an iconic building that will be an inspirational beacon for skills, enterprise and innovation in Boston. We are looking forward to taking the project forward, to provide a space that welcomes our communities to learn, develop and thrive for the benefit of the whole town and the wider region.” And, next to the new Mayflower there will be a redeveloped leisure complex which will provide additional facilities which forms part of a transformational development of this area of the town. In addition, Boston train station will be extensively refurbished by East Midlands Railway. Improvements will include a full refurbishment of the main station building and external areas, reconfiguring the layout to best utilise the space to include new community and start up business facilities. Lisa Angus, transition and projects director for EMR, said: “We’re delighted the investment at Boston and Skegness Railway Stations has been approved. As gateways to both towns, the enhancements at the Railway Stations will be transformative to the surrounding communities, offering an improved customer experience to all station visitors. We’re looking forward to start work on the extensive refurbishments, which include community spaces, cafés, customer waiting facilities, retail units, accessible toilets and much more.” As well as the Towns Funding from government, all of the projects will also benefit from match funding meaning the investment for Boston will be even higher. The confirmation of the projects comes after government approval was given earlier this year to Boston for the release of £2m in Town Deal funding for the Centre for Food and Fresh Produce Logistics and almost £4m for investment in town centre buildings. £802K was also confirmed for developing the Blenkin Memorial Hall, and £228k for St Botolph’s library and lighting. In addition, Boston received early funding – called accelerated funding of £750k in 2020 to bring projects forward.

The South East Midlands Local Enterprise Partnership (SEMLEP) is strongly encouraging Northamptonshire property and construction businesses to put themselves forward for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022. Vicky Hlomuka, SEMLEP’s Growth Hub Manager, said: “The construction industry is a significant and vital contributor to the economy of the South East Midlands, and we’re lucky to have numerous innovative, highly successful businesses within the region. “The East Midlands Bricks Awards are a wonderful way to celebrate the great things the sector has achieved in the last year, and I strongly encourage Northamptonshire businesses to put themselves and others forwards for the recognition that they deserve.”

If you haven’t submitted your nominations yet, now is the ideal time.

The East Midlands Bricks Awards celebrate the region’s property and construction industry, its people, and exceptional developments, and provide the perfect opportunity to shine a light on your team, reward their hard work, and boost morale. Winners will be revealed at a glittering awards ceremony on Thursday 15 September, at the Trent Bridge Cricket Ground – an evening that will also provide plenty of time to forge new contacts with property and construction professionals from across the region. To submit a business or development for the East Midlands Bricks Awards 2022, please click on a category link below or visit this page. Thanks to our sponsors:                                      

To be held at:

Growth is important for your business, but it’s just as important that you do it the right way. Grow too quickly or in the wrong direction and you could lose all the momentum you’ve created. The tips below can help you expand your business in a way that’s smart and balanced between overly cautious and too risky.

Have a Plan

It’s surprising how many businesses start expanding without a plan. This happens when you are reactive rather than proactive. Of course, growth often happens in response to demand. If you have more customers than you can manage, you may need to move to a larger space or hire more staff. However, you should have a vision of where your business is going and how you will continue to fulfill your mission statement. Some of this comes down to your initial planning when you first open the business, but you also need to be prepared to pivot and set new goals as things change.

Attend to Your Fleet

If a fleet is part of your business or is going to be as you grow, it’s critical that you have the right technology to track your vehicles and ensure that your drivers are operating safely and you are keeping costs down as much as possible. Included in this should be a tachograph, which offers live status and allows you to ensure that your fleet remains compliant. Tracking technology can also help to reduce the amount of paperwork that your drivers are required to do.

Talk to People

What do your customers want? What do your employees want? Finding out can help you determine the direction that you need to go in and what new processes or equipment you may need. Another common error of businesses is expanding in a direction that customers aren’t interested in. There’s no point in introducing a new product line or a service that has no demand. Top-down efforts at improvements can also cause problems for employees sometimes if they are made by executives who do not understand the daily tasks of workers and where their challenges lie. Getting input from all shareholders gives you more of the insight you need to grow the right way.

Consider a Loyalty Program

Depending on the nature of your business, consider a loyalty program. This can help you track your most loyal customers and better understand their behaviors and what motivates them. These can also be among the most valuable customers that you retain since they are usually the ones who also tend to spend the most. If you tend to work closely with a smaller number of clients and a loyalty program does not fit your business, consider whether there are other ways you could reward your best clients. Maybe you could offer bulk discounts or particular services only to them.

Build Your Customer Base

Instead of or in addition to a loyalty program, you could look at how to increase the number of clients or customers you have. Depending on the nature of your business, an email newsletter, a strong digital marketing campaign or a more traditional approach to advertising might be an appropriate strategy.

Licensing Law Consultancy (LLC) has hosted its National Licensing Week Event 2022 in Nottingham, an event described as spectacular. The National Licensing Week Event was conceived and first delivered in June 2019 by Walaiti Rathore and Licensing Law Consultancy. The purpose was to support the Institute of Licensing’s annual National Licensing Week campaign, with a large scale national event to celebrate and raise awareness of licensing and the role it plays in everyday lives. The chair of the Institute of Licensing, Dan Davies said: “I am delighted to support this event and I thank Walaiti Rathore for having the vision and energy to make this happen.” This year’s event, an invitation only black tie celebration, was held at Alea and was attended by representatives of the Institute of Licensing, directors of UK Hospitality and the Confederation of British Industry, Nottingham BID, Pub Watch, Hospitality Association, leading operators with a local and national presence, representatives from international hospitality brands as well as leading businesses and professionals from all sectors. Guests were treated to canapes, a three course meal, unlimited complimentary drinks all evening, spectacular entertainment acts and music, and received designer gifts on departure from fashion designer Paul Smith. The evening was compered by Bikram Rathore, who gave an overview of the current landscape and positive outlook of the hospitality sector as per a recent research briefing issued by the House of Commons Library, before introducing guest speakers, Jim Cathcart, director of policy and regulation for UK Hospitality, and Amy English, chief inspector of Nottinghamshire Police for the city centre. Both speakers emphasised the importance of partnership working to help overcome the current challenges faced in hospitality and licensing, to ensure vibrancy and safety in businesses as well as in our communities. Walaiti Rathore said: “I am humbled, once again, by all the guests who attended as it would not have been possible without them, some of whom travelled long distances to Nottingham to support LLC and this event. “Once again the idea was to involve representatives or members of organisations within or closely connected to licensing and also people from businesses and professionals with no such connections. This has proved to be the best way to reach out to the wider public. “A special mention for Nottingham BID, PIB Insurance and Alea for their incredible support as well as Micheal Wisher Team Support, Chaiiwala, Equinox Audio Visual and Freedom Brewery. Also, a special thanks to Dan Carver of Fletcher Gate Industries.”

A warehouse is critical for any company that stores or ships products. Many businesses rely on their warehouse to manage inventory and fulfil orders. So, if you’re new to the management role of a warehouse, it can be difficult to know where to begin. Efficient management of your warehouse can help maximize productivity and improve profits. You’d want to ensure security in your warehouse, for example, or ensure that everything is well fixed as it should. To make your life easier and your work fun, you may even visit ESE Direct to find essential tools to improve productivity. You can also apply these tips to manage your warehouse effectively: Become Familiar With Warehouse Management Software Warehouse management software is one of the best ways to keep track of inventory and ensure that it doesn’t get lost or damaged during shipping. For starters, the software you’d choose should be compatible with any other technology (like barcode scanners) you already have. If they aren’t compatible, then they won’t be able to interact in any meaningful way. You should also ensure that it’s easy for employees who use it regularly. And most importantly, ensure the price tag isn’t too high to not negatively impact other areas of business revenue generation like marketing or sales efforts. Create A Warehouse Layout That Makes Sense This is more important than you might think. A well-planned warehouse layout will make your workers more efficient and safer in the long run—and it can also help you streamline your entire operation. For example, a logical layout will make it easy for employees to find what they need without wasting time or effort. An efficient layout means that workers spend less time traveling between areas of the warehouse and complete their tasks faster. An easy-to-understand layout will also make it easy for new employees to learn how things work. All these will allow flexibility in the entire system for product inventory needs. Implement A Warehouse Organization System The warehouse organization system is the foundation for a highly efficient and productive warehouse. There are several ways you can implement a warehouse system, depending on your current setup. In a world where warehouses are like an investment, you can redesign your current layout from scratch, especially if you’ve been in business for more than two years. You can also modify an existing layout by adding additional racks or shelves. This will boost your warehouse’s value and make your business efficient. Establish Clear Operating Procedures Operating procedures are essential because they provide a step-by-step guide on how to complete tasks in your warehouse and what to do if something goes wrong. These written instructions should be communicated to all employees and updated regularly to keep up with any changes or new equipment being introduced. When writing procedures, be sure they’re easy to understand and follow. Track Key Performance Indicators Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the metrics you use to measure your warehouse’s performance. Tracking these KPIs helps you identify areas of improvement and take actionable steps towards achieving them. For example, if you want to reduce the number of bad inventory pieces in your warehouse, you may track how many customers per month returned defective items. This way, when it’s time to make decisions about the future of your warehouse operations, you can see what has worked and what hasn’t worked so well. You may also want to consider the inventory turnover ratio. How long does it take for an item in storage to be sold or used up for its intended purpose? Improve Worker Productivity First, ensure that your employees are well trained and know their expectations. You should also provide clear instructions for each task and ensure your tools and equipment are easy to use. If you want them to improve their work, you can set goals and reward employees when they reach them. For example, if you’ve been struggling with productivity, you could offer a bonus at the end of each month to the employee who makes the highest number of products or moves more boxes per hour than anyone else in your warehouse. This doesn’t mean your work environment should be toxic; you can set any other reasonable and work-friendly metric to boost their productivity. You can also maximize their productivity by encouraging them and providing feedback. It helps them know how well they’re doing to keep improving at their jobs over time. Conclusion You can efficiently manage your warehouse with some basic strategies. Having adequate space for all the goods that need to be stored is a sure way to make your warehouse work-friendly and navigable. You must also be creative with your layout and organize your inventory to make things run smoothly. With everything in place, you’ll be able to keep everyone on the same page and improve worker productivity.