Commercial developer, Peveril Securities and Charterpoint have sold their Beeston care home development site to Tanglewood Care Services. Peveril Securities, together with Charterpoint and Tanglewood, received planning permission from Broxtowe Borough Council for the 66-bed care home in the summer, after submitting an application for the development. The care home is part of a mixed-use scheme on the site of the former Myford Works, which also features Myford Court, a new development of penthouses and apartments by Peveril Homes. The site also benefits from a Central England Co-op store, which opened in May 2020. Peveril Securities and Charterpoint have now announced that the sale of the care home site, which is located off Ellis Grove, to Tanglewood, has been completed. It will be Tanglewood’s first development in Nottinghamshire and the first outside of Lincolnshire. James Smith at Peveril Securities said: “We are very pleased that Tanglewood will take this superb scheme forward to create a modern care home in a prime location just a few hundred metres from Beeston town centre and close to a tram stop.” Karen Whitehead, director of development for Tanglewood, said: “We are delighted to have completed on the site in Beeston. We are fully committed to the prompt delivery of our 66-bed care home, which will be a further key element of the wider regeneration of Chilwell High Road and the western end of Beeston. “Our new care home assists in delivering the town’s aspirations to transform what has been a large derelict site into a space that will benefit the community in terms of social cohesion and providing vital care for our ageing population. We anticipate our residents will be local to Beeston.” The three-storey care home scheme will include a cinema, juice bar, health and well-being spa, hair salon and nail bar, sauna and steam room, along with a shop, bar and entrance café. It also features resident lounges and dining rooms, a library and an activity room, as well as a first-floor tearoom opening out onto a terrace. Charterpoint Managing Director, Giles Nursey, said: “The care home is an integral part of the mixed-use scheme on this key site, and we look forward to seeing the construction take shape over the coming months.” Outside, there are residents’ and visitor gardens, landscaped areas, plus a car park featuring electric charging points. Jordan Rundle of Christie & Co brokered the sale to Tanglewood.

Work has begun to transform East Midlands Railway’s (EMR) Etches Park depot in Derby in preparation for the arrival of the company’s new Aurora train fleet. The £35 million project, which is largely funded by rolling stock company RockRail, will be delivered in two phases, firstly to upgrade the site to accommodate the new bi-mode Aurora fleet and secondly the construction of new train cleaning areas, replacement offices and staff facilities at the site’s South Shed. The first phase of works, which comes at a cost of £15 million and will be undertaken by Buckingham Group Contracting Ltd (Buckingham), will involve reconfiguring the current track layout at the site – helping to improve operational flexibility and greater train movements across the depot. Alongside these works, the North Shed, where trains are maintained at the depot, will also be extended and a new electric overhead line will be fitted so the new bi-mode fleet can easily be tested. Further to this, a new carriage wash system will be built at the site, all fuelling and servicing equipment will be upgraded, and the depot’s fuel road will be extended – helping to accommodate 2 x 5 car units. New technology will play a key role in the future of the depot, including the use of a new Vehicle Equipment Monitoring System. This system feeds back numerous levels of detailed data to EMR so it can quickly monitor its trains in real-time – helping to plan preventative maintenance at the depot and leading to an enhanced performance of its trains. Lisa Angus, transitions and projects director at East Midlands Railway, said: “These massive improvements to Etches Park are great news for the city of Derby and the customers we serve. “Using the latest technology and techniques, we will be able to operate our new Aurora fleet as efficiently as possible, while also maintaining specialist engineering jobs in the city for decades to come – helping to cement Derby’s proud railway heritage. “Everyone at EMR is very excited to begin operating our new Aurora trains for our customers in the East Midlands and South Yorkshire and these new improvements are another important step on our journey to bring the new trains to the regions we serve.”

A 9,688ft² industrial unit in Mansfield, the former premises of Environmental Coating (UK) Limited, has been sold to Trentside Products Limited. The unit itself fronted the established industrial location of Hermitage Lane and provided warehouse space alongside internal offices, trade counter and fenced front yard/car park. Trentside Products offer a full range of upholstery supplies and furniture components to the upholstered furniture market and have been established in the Mansfield area for more than a decade. This purchase has helped with their rapid expansion and is an ideal location for their business model (staff, client base etc.) and has become their new head office. Anthony Barrowcliffe of FHP said: “I was pleased to have disposed of this unit on behalf of Ray and Victoria Wright, allowing them to retire as well as enabling and facilitating Trentside Products’ expansion. “This sale signifies the end of one highly successful company’s journey to open up the path for another local Mansfield company to have many years of success from this premises.”

Plans have been submitted for a major heritage project that will help restore Leicester’s Grand Hotel to its former glory. The Grade II listed building, in Granby Street in the city centre, is set to be repaired and restored as part of Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zones. Under the plans, the shopfronts that line the hotel would be reinstated as close to the building’s original design as possible, using a sustainable hardwood timber and toughened glass. A new retail unit on Belvoir Street would also be created. Recessed doorways and delivery entrances would be fitted with bespoke iron gates, and uniform signage would be introduced, in keeping with the building. There would also be improvements made to the hotel’s entrance, with cleaning and repairs made to the oriel windows and balcony. Specialists would look at the existing canopy above the entrance and determine whether it could be retained and restored. The project follows another successful grant for £750,000 secured from the High Street Heritage Action Zone programme in November, which will be used to fund vital repair works to the ISKON (International Society for Krishna Consciousness) building on the corner of Granby Street and Bishop Street. This iconic Victorian building, designed by architect Joseph Goddard, will benefit from extensive roof repairs to protect its structure and remove it from the Buildings At Risk register. The work being carried out as part of the Heritage Action Zone, and the linked pedestrianisation works at the end of Granby Street, are part of the council’s efforts to revitalise the city centre and encourage more businesses to invest and people to visit, post-pandemic. A number of new business have set up recently along the street. Deputy city mayor Cllr Adam Clarke said: “The Grand Hotel and ISKON buildings are fine examples of Leicester’s Victorian past, and we have an important responsibility to preserve them for future generations to enjoy. “The Grand Hotel – now owned by the Mercure group – has always been considered one of Leicester’s most prestigious hotels, but today the ground floor is spoilt by poorly designed shop fronts, cheap modern materials and oversized signage. “In February 2020, thanks to the hard work of the council’s conservation team, Historic England announced that Leicester had been successful in securing £1.5m towards a High Street Heritage Action Zone scheme for the Granby Street and Church Gate conservation areas. “This means we have been able to support the hotel to get an expert conservation architect team, Conception Architects, to survey the building, and plans have now been submitted for changes that will highlight and enhance the building’s important and attractive historical features.” High Street Heritage Action Zones are areas up and down the country which have been singled out by Historic England for funding support. They encourage local councils, businesses, architects and contractors to work together to bid for funding which can be used to sympathetically restore historic buildings. In order to access the funding from Historic England, a grant application will be assessed in detail by a local grants panel – chaired by Cllr Clarke and made up of volunteers including architects and surveyors. The panel will check the quality of the design, experience of the contractors proposed, and value for money. If this is satisfactory, the grant will be approved and work can begin. Louise Brennan, regional director for the Midlands at Historic England, said: “This is a welcome step forward in the revitalising of this wonderful area of Leicester. The Grand Hotel is a prestigious building, and we are looking forward to supporting the repair and refurbishment of its street-facing ground floor. Hopefully, this will encourage more people, both tourists and local residents, to step inside to see its fantastic interior and become part of this historic building’s future.” The plans for the project will now be considered by the city council’s planning department. If granted planning permission, work on the project is likely to start in summer 2022.

Very initial ideas are being put forward for how regeneration could enhance a key entrance into Derby city centre. The Council plans to hold a stakeholder event in the near future for all local interested parties. The ‘northern gateway’ is the area bordered by Queen Street, King Street, Cathedral Road and the A601 St Alkmund’s Way, including Chapel Street, and is a link to the Cathedral Quarter. Currently much of the land in this area is owned by Derby City Council, including the building occupied by Deda, Queen’s Leisure Centre and Chapel Street multi-storey car park. It was decided earlier this year by Councillors to cease operating Queen’s Leisure Centre when the new Moorways Sports Village opens in the Spring. Chapel Street car park is one of the city car parks that will be included in an upcoming review of Council-owned car parking provision. This will re-assess the demand for and provision of car parking spaces across the city. This has offered the opportunity to review how this part of the city centre is used and to consider whether some redevelopment could make the area a more vibrant entry point into the city centre. Meanwhile the Council is working with Deda to look at renewing their lease on a long term basis, which would give them a more secure basis for applying for ongoing arts sector funding. It would also help Deda realise their vision to secure funding to make their building in Chapel Street more environmentally friendly. Their current lease will soon be due for renewal. The Council has commissioned Lathams architects to look at options for the northern gateway area, which will be outlined for the first time at a Finance, Assets and Digital Cabinet Member Meeting on 14 March. All the options assume that residents, The Bless, The Flowerpot public house and Deda will be retained, with increased vibrancy in this part of the city centre likely to be around increased student accommodation and activity. The first option considers more student accommodation in the area, on the site of the current Chapel Street car park and Queen’s Leisure Centre, with new public green space and squares. The second option also focuses on the housing provision for students, whilst also including new housing with residents’ parking along with the new public realm. The third option suggests temporary uses for Derby City Council’s main areas of land, with artist studios and co-working space on the site of Chapel Street car park, and a temporary event venue on the site of Queen’s Leisure Centre. A comprehensive scheme which looks at all the options for regeneration in the area is considered as the best way forward. The Council has recently appointed Avison Young as professional property advisers and there is now an opportunity for them to review the entire site, looking at existing restrictions, conservation issues and current land ownership to consider what is most appropriate for the city and the best way to deliver it. Councillor Jonathan Smale, Cabinet Member for Finance, Assets and Digital, said: “We are at the very start of looking at how we can enhance this key gateway into the city centre, which will make the most of the cultural attractions that we already have to offer and to make it a more vibrant area to live in, and walk through.”