Aztec Construction to open new Northern headquarters at Pennine Five in Sheffield
Aztec Construction, a recently launched design and building specialist, is set to open its new Northern headquarters at Pennine Five in Sheffield City Centre.
Set up by Russell Sumner earlier this year, the team of construction professionals at Aztec have over 30 years of sector expertise behind them.
With one office already in London, the firm’s new 4,000+ sq ft space at Pennine Five will be home to around 30 construction professionals and support their construction projects in the North. This includes delivering True Sheffield, the major 27-storey student-residential tower bounded by Hollis Croft and Broad Lane – just a stone’s throw from Pennine Five.
Aztec Construction will take the ground floor of Pennine Five’s eight-storey block off Tenter Street, directly underneath Spaces – the recently opened coworking hub from IWG Group.
Jeremy Hughes, director at RBH Properties, said: “We are delighted to welcome Aztec Construction to Pennine Five. They are an extremely exciting and quickly growing contractor. The fact they are basing themselves in the same district as one of their flagship construction contracts shows a real confidence in the evolution and future of this area of town.”
Since taking ownership of the five office blocks that made up the former HSBC headquarters in 2019, RBH Properties has been injecting a new lease of life into Pennine Five.
Russell Sumner, Managing Director at Aztec Construction, said: “We’re very excited to be moving into the Pennine Five development and plan to be in by November. It is perfectly located for our projects and allows us to continue building our presence in the city and the wider region.
“We understand the importance of refurbishing the existing built environment. Sustainable and commercially viable regeneration cannot be delivered through new builds alone, and we were really keen to be part of Pennine Five’s ‘renewal’ story.”
Countryside Partnerships gets new MD for North-East Midlands
Lee Parry has joined Countryside Partnerships as MD for the North-East Midlands, bringing with him an ambitious vision for the region.
He’s come from Keepmoat Homes, where he worked as Construction Operations Director, before becoming Interim MD. In his new role he aims to unlock sites in Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and North Derbyshire, working in partnership with local authorities, housing associations and private rented institutional investors to bring multi-tenure new housing to the region.
The North-East Midlands business has ambitious site acquisition targets for 2024, with a minimum target of at least six new sites with or without detailed planning permission in place. These sites will be located within bolstering our strong position in these areas.
Following its merger with Vistry, Countryside Partnerships business is now uniquely placed to secure and deliver sustainable developments, using its Timber Frame factories based in the East Midlands, on sites from 100 dwellings up to 1,500 dwellings in size. As well as delivering multi-tenure schemes, the business can also leverage the strengths of its three private for sale housing brands, Linden, Bovis and Countryside.
Adam Daniels, Divisional MD for the Midlands, said: “I am delighted to welcome Lee Parry to head up our North East Midlands team. He brings a wealth of experience and a clear vision to tackle the region’s need for high quality homes across a range of tenures. I look forward to working with him to further develop our partnership building division across the North East Midlands.”
Lee said: “I’m extremely proud to be taking the reins for North East Midlands. It’s a privilege to be working with such a great team and I look forward to continuing to grow the business. My focus is firmly on addressing the region’s chronic shortage of affordable mixed-tenure housing.”
The Harris Partnership strengthens management team
Wakefield-headquartered The Harris Partnership has made a series of senior promotions as the architectural practice continues its growth.
In recognition of their ongoing valuable contribution to the business, Iain Church, Ian Perrell, Russell O’Donoghue and Sarah Charlesworth are now Directors of parent company The Harris Group.
Other key figures across the group have also been recognised with Mark Hendy promoted to Director of the Harris Project Management business.
In the Manchester office, Sarah Rhodes is now Design Director at The Harris Partnership and Marisa Rigby has been promoted to Associate in Harris Project Management, further strengthening the group’s presence in the North West market.
Jonathan Wrynne has been made Associate in The Harris Partnership’s London office following a sustained period of expansion in the capital.
James Richmond, Joint Managing Group Director, says: “These promotions are thoroughly deserved, and we thank all those recognised for their ongoing hard work and dedication.
“We are committed to not only developing our people but fostering a positive culture across the business, which is reflected in the long service of many members of our team.
“These promotions also signify our ongoing confidence as a group as we invest for the future and look forward to the next phase of our growth.”
Humber Freeport approves £25m of investment for projects stimulating green economic growth
Humber Freeport has signed off a total of almost £25m of investment for projects to stimulate growth and create hundreds of jobs across the region.
The projects include major new facilities that will accelerate the decarbonisation of the Humber, which is critical for the Government to meet its net zero ambitions.
Each Freeport is granted up to £25m of seed capital funding by the Government and the Humber Freeport Board has now approved seven seed capital-funded projects, highlighting the game-changing role it has to play driving significant inward investment.
The projects have all been deemed by the Board to meet the Freeport’s key objectives, which include maximising the opportunities from the net zero transition to create skilled jobs and unlock the region’s economic potential.
They will reinforce the Humber’s status as the pre-eminent energy cluster in north west Europe and make a tangible contribution to levelling up the economy.
The seven projects that have been granted funding are:
· CATCH’s Humber Industrial Decarbonisation Centre (HIDC) in Stallingborough, North East Lincolnshire. The centre will be a regional decarbonisation hub, hosting research, events, conferences and networking to drive further inward investment.
· Humbergate Infrastructure, led by North East Lincolnshire Council, which will provide the necessary infrastructure to develop a brownfield site between the Ports of Immingham and Grimsby.
· Ideal Heating’s UK Technology Centre and wider developments at its headquarters on National Avenue in Hull. The research and development facility will support low carbon technologies, including heat pumps.
· Development of a derelict site in east Hull into an advanced manufacturing plant.
· RE:Group’s development of a facility for the treatment of waste oil on a currently derelict site in Air Street, close to the River Hull.
· South Humber Industrial Investment Programme (SHIIP). Funding has been granted for new industrial units for the ongoing programme by North East Lincolnshire Council to improve infrastructure at the Ports of Immingham and Grimsby.
· Development of a site in Hull for the production of low-cost, zero emission hydrogen.
The seven projects combined will lever in three times as much investment from the private sector and are expected to create hundreds of jobs across the north and south banks of the Humber.
Humber Freeport Chair Simon Bird said: “The Board is delighted to have approved a total of close to £25m of funding for these crucial projects across the region.
“This clearly demonstrates the vital role Humber Freeport has in securing and distributing significant funding to meet the region’s decarbonisation and economic growth ambitions.
“This funding will allow these projects to progress, creating and protecting jobs, and helping the region on its journey to a prosperous, net zero economy.
“However, this is just the start. Humber Freeport is working hard to attract hundreds of millions of pounds of inward investment and create thousands of skilled jobs.”
Humber Freeport comprises of three defined tax sites – Hull East; Able Marine Energy Park and Immingham, on the south bank of the Humber; and Goole – each of which offers incentives for businesses operating within the zones.
Benefits include land tax relief, business rate relief, enhanced capital allowances and National Insurance contribution relief for employers.
As the largest energy-related cluster in north west Europe, the Humber is often referred to as the UK’s Energy Estuary.
Decarbonisation is one of three key workstreams established by Humber Freeport, alongside skills and innovation, and will be a key focus for the freeport’s work.
Companies that have already announced plans to invest on freeport sites within the Humber region include rare earth exploration company Pensana and green hydrogen specialist Meld Energy.
Wellie brand bought by French footwear manufacturer
Wellie brand Evercreatures has been bought by French footwear company Rouchette as part of a deal for its parent company Astbury Collections.
It is a first overseas purchase for the French company, which had previously been a supplier to Evercreatures.
The purchase of the Lincolnshire-based business will bring significant inward investment of up to £500,000 from Rouchette as it looks to bolster its presence in the UK.
Tony Bailey, a co-director of Astbury Collections, will join Rouchette as its sales and marketing director in the UK. He said: “This is a great deal for both brands. Rouchette want to expand faster into the UK and approached us last year about a sale to use the infrastructure already in place.
“Now the deal has been completed, it will see considerable investment in new products, innovation, infrastructure and staff. For current UK customers, they will see the benefit with a new range of stock and new designs for Evercreatures.
“I am already engaged in talks with major retailers, predominantly garden centre chains, who are looking to secure stock in 2024.”
Evercreatures was founded in 2004 and has consistently produced eye-catching fashionable wellies for men, women and children as well as a range of accessories.
Rouchette, which is known for its robust rubber footwear in a range of designs for the garden, maritime and lifestyle sectors, was established in 1990 by Jean-Louis Rouchette.
Sébastien Rouchette, managing director and son of the founder, said: “I’m proud to announce our first overseas acquisition with the purchase of Astbury Collections and its flagship rain boot brand Evercreatures.
“It was quite natural for us to buy a well-known brand in the world of footwear. This is a new stage in the company’s life, which promises to be an exciting and extremely rewarding project.”
Rural West Yorkshire businesses start to benefit from new £2.5m fund
Small businesses across West Yorkshire’s rural communities are starting to benefit from a new £2.5 million Rural Fund, Mayor Tracy Brabin has announced.
With awards of up to £50,000 to help rural businesses develop new products, purchase machinery and improve facilities, Mayor Tracy Brabin has made her first award to Birkwood Plant Training in Crofton, Wakefield – a construction training business with a 20-year heritage.
On a visit to the family run business, the Mayor learnt how the investment will create two new jobs and a purpose-built training facility, with plans to work with local suppliers and appoint local tradespeople to make the improvements.
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin said: “Rural businesses are vital to our wider economy, and I’m thrilled that communities are starting to benefit from our fund.
“It’s fantastic that our support for Birkwood will allow more people to be trained in the construction sector and boost well-paid jobs. This will help us to build a stronger, brighter West Yorkshire that works for all.”
Managing Director, Birkwood Plant Training, Sally Ramskill said: “Birkwood Plant Training Ltd is a small but dynamic family business, and we have significant challenges to business growth, particularly in terms of space for training delivery, and the purchase and upkeep of plant and equipment.
“The fund has supported us to invest further in the business and provide excellent new enhanced training facilities and resources to strengthen our offering to our clients. The level of investment would not have been possible without this support.”
The Mayor has so far approved over £230,000 of grants through West Yorkshire’s £2.5 million Rural England Prosperity Fund, which will be distributed among seven businesses and is expected to create an additional 12 jobs.
With more set to be approved over the coming months and with applications still open, small businesses of up to 50 employees based in rural areas of West Yorkshire can apply for awards of up to £50,000.
These projects are part-funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and delivered in partnership with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, as part of Mayor Tracy Brabin’s ambition to make West Yorkshire the best place to live, work or run a business.
Chamber welcomes plans to scrap rail ticket office closures
The Hull & Humber Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the scrapping rail ticket offices, announced by Transport Secretary Mark Harper.
Chamber Chief Exec Ian Kelly said: “This was never a good idea and is one of the issues we raised when we met with the Rail Minister in the House of Commons a couple of weeks ago. I am pleased the Government has now cancelled these proposals and people will still be able to buy their rail tickets from a person, rather than having to battle with a ticket machine or an app.”
Train operators had come up with the plans as a way of saving money after the Government told them to cut costs after they had been financially supported through the pandemic.
Unions, passenger groups and the public complained loudly about the plans which would have left people largely reliant on ticket machines and reduced staffing levels at stations.
Dr Kelly had written to Rail Minister Huw Merriman to urge him to reconsider the proposals after “the limited time for consultation you have given us to feed back and consult our own members across the Humber economic sub-region for what appeared to be a plan to save money rather than a sensibly timetabled review of rail customer services across our area.
“These ticket office closure proposals appear to be very badly thought through, discriminatory towards older people and variously disabled people who currently use these services.
“Our business rail users in Hull, Grimsby, Cleethorpes and Scunthorpe have indicated valuable service from their ticket offices and we would therefore strongly urge you and the Secretary of State to review this decision to consult in this way, which appears to have little to do with public service/transport interest to business travellers and everything to do with cost cutting objectives in the department.”
Following today’s announcement, Trans-Pennine Express, which operates the stations at Brough, Cleethorpes, Grimsby Town, and Scunthorpe, among others, said it was not taking forward any of its proposals to change ticket office opening hours.
UK manufacturing sector risks falling behind international rivals on AI and automation
Britain’s manufacturing sector is warning the UK risks falling behind its international rivals in the race to embrace cutting edge technologies such as AI and other game changing automation seen as vital to Britain’s industrial future.
The warning was made on the back of a major survey published by Make UK and Infor.
The survey shows that companies are fully committed to investing in AI, Machine Learning and other automation to improve productivity, processes and efficiency. However, despite this, a majority of manufacturers believe the UK is falling behind competitors and hampered by access to key technical and digital skills, as well as short term policy incentives which do not match investment cycles or expected returns on investment (ROI).
In response, Make UK is calling on Government to reform the Apprentice Levy to help expand Britain’s technological skills base, roll out a widely proven scheme to help boost digital adoption by SMEs and introduce a better approach to the tax system with policies which match the average investment cycle of manufacturers and expected ROI.
Verity Davidge, Director of Policy at Make UK, said: “The adoption of AI, automation and other game changing technologies by manufacturers is rapidly accelerating and will provide vital pieces in solving the productivity puzzle. But, there is still more to be done to match our competitors, especially among SMEs who face far greater hurdles in adopting digital technology.
“As well as tackling the digital skills barrier which remains the biggest hurdle, Government should roll out the Made Smarter scheme across the UK. This has a proven success in delivering step change for SMEs on their automation journey.”
Andrew Kinder, SVP, Industry Strategy, Infor, added: “We are seeing a substantial shift in the adoption of digital automation as manufacturers seek to improve efficiency, instill agility and drive greater productivity. While generative AI is still in its relative infancy, intent to capitalise on it is incredibly encouraging with many companies saying they are ‘aware of and planning to use’ the technology.
“Actions, however, speak louder than words. While the government clearly has a role to play in supporting AI adoption, manufacturers have an opportunity to take control in bridging the gap between intent and value in creating first-mover advantage. The technologies are now widely available, affordable and come with a typically fast return on investment, which all help manufacturers compete in increasingly challenging conditions.”
According to the survey, more than half of companies (55%) have already implemented, or are planning to implement, AI and Machine Learning to automate decision making processes and improve operational efficiency. In addition, four fifths of companies have already introduced, or are planning to introduce, Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality techniques in areas such as design and prototyping.
More than three quarters of companies (76%) have invested in automation, while almost six in ten (59%) plan to increase their expenditure this year compared to last. Furthermore, a fifth of companies plan to automate between a quarter and half of processes in the next two years, while a further quarter plan to automate between 10% and 25%.
These investments are aimed at improving manufacturing processes (65% of companies) and product design & development (49%) with companies seeing significant benefits of improved productivity (60%) greater labour efficiency (49%) and a similar number seeing better quality.
However, despite this positive picture, 40% of companies believe the UK is falling behind competitors in adopting automation. Robot density in the UK is currently at 101 units per 10,000 workers, below the average of 126 units globally. Overall, the UK ranks 24th globally and is the lowest of the G7 nations.
According to the survey, significant barriers to investing in automation are a lack of technical skills cited by almost half of companies (48%) and a similar number integration and data challenges (41%). More than a third of companies cite high costs and workplace culture (38% and 36% respectively) as barriers.
In addition, the survey shows a clear mismatch between policy incentives designed to boost investment and the expected ROI. More than eight in ten companies expect up to five years for a positive impact of investment. In contrast, more than half of manufacturers (56.4%) believe Government policies are not sensitive to the time needed to see a ROI.
To help address these barriers and boost further automation, Make UK has made the following recommendations:
- Roll out the successful Made Smarter scheme nationwide. This is a proven scheme to help with the adoption of new technology in manufacturing businesses. It should also extend the remit of Made Smarter to include industrial decarbonisation to aid energy efficiency and transition to net zero.
- Make full expensing capital allowances permanent to enable businesses to plan investment over long leads.
- Expand the R&D tax credit to include capital expenditure to spur further digitalised R&D.
- Government should work with business organisations and sector specific bodies to help SME engagement with the successful Catapult Centres. This is especially important given the geographic distribution of the centres and would help more SMEs take advantage of their world leading facilities.
Council forums to provide information on changes in property law
North Yorkshire Council is to run two forums to help private landlords, estate agents, estate landlords and people involved with private sector housing to gather information and updates on changing legislation.
The autumn forums take place on Wednesday, November 15, at 2pm at Mercury House in Richmond and Thursday, November 30, at 4pm at Ryedale House in Malton.
In Richmond, they will feature news from the North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, North Yorkshire Police’s Community Safety team, the National Residential Landlords Association, the Department of Work and Pensions and our environmental health team. The session covers the Hambleton and Richmondshire area, although attendees from across the county are welcome.
The Ryedale House event will also cover legislative updates and damp and mould guidance.
The council’s executive member for housing, Cllr Simon Myers, said: “These forums build on the good work started by the previous district councils and aim to provide those in the private housing sector with updates on our work and that of partners agencies.
“They also provide a great networking opportunity with like-minded people and organisations – we encourage everyone to attend.”
To book a place at one of the events, please contact the council.
Hull Trains receives accolade as UK’s most reliable operator
Hull Trains has been recognised nationally as the most reliable operator in the UK.
Whilst other operators across the UK have struggled with cancellations resulting from a wide range of circumstances, Hull Trains has continued to maintain direct services to London King’s Cross from all stations including Hull, Selby, Retford, Howden, Grantham, and Doncaster.
Disruption over the most recent four-week period was so minimal that the Office of Rail and Road data named Hull Trains as the best-performing operator, following the publication of its recent statistics.
The ORR is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the regulation and performance of National Highways including rail.
Its most recent report, covering the four-week period to September 16th, showed that only 1% of Hull Trains’ services were affected by a cancellation; the lowest figure amongst all train operating companies in the UK.
Hull Trains MD Martijn Gilbert, said: “This an incredible achievement for Hull Trains. There have been so many circumstances that have affected the reliability of some rail services, many out of the operator’s control, so for Hull Trains to maintain vital transport links during the same period shows our commitment to delivering reliable and environmentally friendly services.
“It is testament to the hard work and dedication of the entire Hull Trains team. Whatever the challenge, we continue to deliver for our customers. Whilst this is pleasing news, we will not rest on laurels and will continue to look for new ways to further improve the level of service.”
