“As well as donations totalling £400,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust that will bring great benefits to the environment, Yorkshire Water has made significant improvements to its monitoring system and completed repairs to its assets as part of the civil sanction.”
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust will use the donations on environmental improvements such as its Askham Bog, River Foss and Living Went projects.Yorkshire Water to give £400k to wildlife trust after pollution incidents
Yorkshire Water has agreed to donate £400,000 to Yorkshire Wildlife Trust after polluting two watercourses in separate incidents.
The Environment Agency found the company had breached its environmental permit with an unauthorised sewage discharge from Bellhouse Way Sewage Pumping Station, which polluted Holgate Beck in York, and two unauthorised sewage discharges from a rising main at Hemsworth Water Park, Hoyle Mill Lane Sewage Pumping Station, causing pollution at Hoyle Mill Stream at Wakefield.
It submitted two Enforcement Undertakings to the Environment Agency, which have now been accepted – £150,000 for the Holgate Beck incident and £250,000 for Hoyle Mill Stream.
An Enforcement Undertaking is a voluntary offer made by companies and individuals to make amends for their offending, and usually includes a donation to a wildlife charity to carry out environmental improvements in the local area.
Bellhouse Way Sewage Pumping Station has an environmental permit to discharge sewage into Holgate Beck in emergencies, which does not include storm conditions and heavy rain. At the start of April 2018 it discharged sewage intermittently due to an electrical failure in the main pump and blockage of the standby pump.
The alarm on the pumping station was activated, but as this coincided with a period of heavy rain it was not differentiated from other assets which are allowed to discharge during storm conditions.
As part of the Enforcement Undertaking requirements Yorkshire Water has improved its monitoring systems so that assets which are permitted to discharge in an emergency only are allocated a code to ensure they are always investigated. This code has been allocated to 670 assets across the county.
At Hoyle Mill Road Sewage Pumping Station a rising main burst in July 2020, discharging raw sewage into Hoyle Mill Stream, visibly polluting the beck for 2.75km and having a detrimental impact on water quality.
On 3 August a repair that had been made to the rising main failed and more raw sewage was discharged into the beck. Further investigation revealed the pipe was severely corroded and the repair was not sufficient to sustain the pressure. As part of the Enforcement Undertaking, Yorkshire Water replaced the whole rising main at the end of last year.
Martin Christmas, Environment Agency Area Environment Manager, said: “We are holding water companies to account like never before and while we will always take forward prosecutions in the most serious cases, Enforcement Undertakings are an effective enforcement tool to allow companies to put things right and contribute to environmental improvements.
“They allow polluters to correct and restore the harm caused to the environment and prevent repeat incidents by improving their procedures, helping ensure future compliance with environmental requirements.
Traffic Commissioners revamp Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing Guide
The Goods Vehicle Operator Licensing Guide has been revised and updated to reflect changes in legislation and brought into line with accessibility criteria.
The Traffic Commissioners for Great Britain have published an updated version of the guide which gives an overview of how the licensing system works for operators of goods vehicles.
It is intended to give a summary of operator licensing and to direct users to where further advice may be available.
This updated guidance provides clarification of modern rules and regulations and adheres to current accessibility criteria. The new guide remains fully printable for those who choose to do so.
It includes details on what is necessary in order to hold an operator’s licence, how to apply for a licence, managing a licence, the role and responsibilities of transport managers and more.
The guide can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/goods-vehicle-operator-licensing-guide
Traffic commissioners are the regulators of the road transport industry in Great Britain. They are appointed by the Secretary of State for Transport but act independently from Government and the enforcement agencies, for example, the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency.
Energy industry professionals offered places on Energy Council
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP is looking for energy industry professionals to join its Energy Council.
The Council is a board of the LEP, and supports work to ensure that the Greater Lincolnshire energy system is able to smoothly transition to a renewable future. It Energy Council is commissioning a Local Area Energy Plan (LAEP) to support the food sector and to support the growth of a low-carbon cluster.
To help in that work it’s looking for passionate, dynamic and motivated experts in any aspect of energy production, delivery and usage, who will act as ambassadors for the industry, take the lead on strategy for the sector and give focus to the delivery of the Local Area Energy Plan.
The LEP is particularly keen to strengthen the voice of the private sector, small and medium-sized businesses, and welcome applications from female candidates and candidates from diverse backgrounds. looking for applicants with some or all of the following:
- Infrastructure and utility insights
- Experience of energy applications across multiple sectors
- Understanding of community energy, off-grid and hybrid solutions
- Understanding of whole systems and circular economy
- Ability to work with a wide range of stakeholders
- A leader with a demonstrable track record at turning vision into reality
Lincolnshire business marks major milestone with help for hospitality
One of Lincolnshire’s best loved family businesses is celebrating its 120thanniversary.
Stokes Tea & Coffee marked this major achievement yesterday (14 July 2022), by hosting a special event to celebrate, and provide support to fellow businesses.
The company has a long, proven history of supplying wholesale coffee, tea, machines, servicing, and training as well as operating some of the busiest cafés in the city of Lincoln.
Nick Peel is the fourth generation of the family to lead Stokes Tea & Coffee, he said: “I’m sure my Great Grandfather would have been amazed to see how far the company has come since he started it 120 years ago. It makes me feel very proud as well as grateful. Our customers, suppliers, colleagues, and teams have all helped us along the way to achieve this milestone.
“It’s a challenging time right now for independent businesses, especially those in hospitality. So, we were keen to team up with our colleagues and use our anniversary event to not only celebrate our history, but to help support the future of hospitality businesses.”
The event was held at the company’s HQ, in the famous Lawn Building – a former 19th Century asylum on Union Road in Lincoln. Guests at the event were treated to a packed agenda. Panel discussions tackling the hottest topics in hospitality including advice on funding, innovation, business growth and sustainability were lively and thought provoking. There was also an exhibitor area, roastery tours, demos, and tasters.
Mary Powell, Visit Lincolnshire, said: “We were delighted to be Event Partner with Stokes Tea & Coffee for this momentous occasion. It’s so encouraging to see businesses coming together to share ideas and collaborate to overcome common challenges. Visit Lincolnshire has been working hard over the last 2 years to support businesses in a range of ways from marketing skills to product development and investment.”
Wright Vigar were event sponsors and were on hand to provide advice about professional accountancy services for businesses.
Panel speaker, Andrew Ward, MBE, director at Roy Ward Farms, spoke passionately about the growing challenges for farmers across the UK and Lincolnshire. They are experiencing price hikes much higher than consumers are aware of. In one example, he mentioned that the cost of red diesel has increased by 200% in recent months. He also explained how farmers are playing a crucial part in protecting the environment by using natural crop control methods, reducing the use of herbicides, and preserving many acres of land for wild areas.
Representatives from British Garden Centres spoke about how the family firm, which was born in Lincolnshire, has grown to just over 60 sites across the UK as far as Carmarthen, Wimborne, and East Durham.
Stokes continues to be passionate about supporting the hospitality sector and looks forward to working together with businesses to secure future success – for the next 120 years.
VetPartners continues European growth with Spanish group
A Spanish veterinary group has joined York-headquartered VetPartners.
Alianza Petsalud, which has 21 small animal practices, as well as the Vetersalud business, has become the biggest group in Spain to join forces with VetPartners.
Founded in 2004, Alianza Petsalud was established by vets, including founding partner and CEO Jose Antonio Carrillo.
VetPartners aims to become one of Europe’s leading animal health businesses and currently has more than 600 locations across seven European countries, as well as complementary businesses, including laboratories, two nursing schools, a locum agency and online retail businesses.
After being launched in York in 2015 with three practices, VetPartners, which is led by vet and CEO Jo Malone, now has practices in Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Ireland.
In January 2022, Praxia, a referral practice specialising in various fields, including cardiology and orthopaedics, based in Elche, Alicante, became their founding practice in Spain, where it now has more than 40 practice sites following the acquisition of Alianza Petsalud.
Jose Antonio Carrillo said: “We are delighted to be joining a group which shares the values of Alianza Petsalud. By joining forces, we can be a force for good in the veterinary profession in Spain and the rest of Europe.
“Both parties are dedicated to delivering clinical excellence for our patients, as well as supporting the wellbeing and development of our people, which is why we felt VetPartners was the right home for our organisation.”
VetPartners’ operations and expansion in Spain is overseen by Managing Director Augusto Macías, a vet, who also has 30 years’ experience in the veterinary business. He is president of AGESVET-GGA Group in AVEPA association and professor in Universidad Europea.
Mr Macias said: “VetPartners and Alianza Petsalud share the same values, and together we want to create a great place for our vets and nurses to work, where they feel valued and supported. Both groups have been founded and are led by vets so we understand what is important to our people and to the profession.
“We also want to be renowned for providing an excellent service and care of our patients with investment in our practices and continued development of our team members.
“By focusing on its people and the veterinary profession, VetPartners is making a huge difference. We want to focus on attracting and growing talent, with good professionals and good people who can continue developing in the profession. This will enable VetPartners to become the group of choice in Spain and Alianza Petsalud are a very welcome addition to our family of practices.”
As well as veterinary practices, Alianza Petsalud also has Vetersalud, which provides services, including training, to independent clinics.
West Yorkshire textile business secures £2.1m to support management buy-out
OakNorth Bank has provided a £2.1m loan to Europa Wools, the West Yorkshire-based trader and processor of natural wool, to allow Richard Morsley to take 100% control of Europa Wools, while allowing his sister to exit the business.
Founded in 1988 by David and Lynn Morsley, Europa Wools’ expertise, which now spans more than 30 years, has seen the firm become a major player in the global textile industry, specialising in wool from New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain.
The family-run firm supplies over one million kilograms of textile raw materials to the international wool trade every year, making it one of the industry’s leading wholesalers in the UK. Europa Wools is also a large scale processor of raw wool from its own commercial mill in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, which sees it supply manufacturers from all over the world.
It supplies manufacturers both domestically and internationally, including spinners of weaving, knitting, upholstery and carpet yarns, as well as felt-makers, technical non-woven and home-ware manufacturers.
Richard Morsley, Managing Director of Europa Wools, said: “Since my parents founded Europa Wools over three decades ago, we’ve strived to build a business that knows everything there is to know about every kind of textile fibre available. This includes where to source materials at the most competitive price, anticipating customer demand, and ensuring we stock the required range of fibres to meet every order.
“This management buy-out will allow for the managed exit of my sister, Gina, in addition to powering the scaling of Europa Wools moving forward, as we look to further strengthen our new retail offering. It was great to see the team at OakNorth Bank take their time to really get to know our business inside and out, before then completing the transaction in only a few weeks.”
Al Morris, director of debt finance at OakNorth Bank, added: “The Morsley family are very well known within Huddersfield and across the wider West Yorkshire region, as a result of building such a successful business. Having been with the business since 2002, and part of the family that started it, Richard is clearly very dedicated to Europa Wools and has been central to its continued success and growth.
“With the global wool market forecast to see substantial growth over the next four years, driven by technological advancements in spinning and weaving machines that allow for increased sales, Europa Wools is in a perfect position to capitalise on this opportunity. Helping fast-growing, family-run businesses like Europa Wools achieve their growth ambitions is what gets us out of bed in the morning, so we’re excited to be part of their growth story.”
Duo of Scarborough retail centres snapped up
Commercial property and investment company Evolve Estates has acquired two prime town centre parades in the North Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough.
It has added to its burgeoning retail portfolio The Balmoral Centre, a 57,339 sq ft covered retail centre anchored by Wilko, and Bar House, on Aberdeen Walk, which has 17,602 sq ft of retail and leisure space over three floors.
It acquired the parades for an undisclosed sum, taking this year’s retail acquisitions to more than £48m.
Sebastian MacDonald-Hall, of Evolve Estates, said: “Scarborough is a beloved seaside resort and we’re pleased to have secured these well-known, popular parades, bringing them into our in-house portfolio.
“We are committed to focusing our efforts on regional retail centres and neighbourhood parades where we can see there is incredible potential. The Balmoral Centre and Bar House provide us with significant opportunities to add significant value and we are already looking to identify how we can revitalise these centres further. We hope to make announcements on how we can achieve this over the next few months.”
The Balmoral Centre, which Evolve bought as freehold, comprises seven retail units on ground floor, with five fronting Westborough. There are also two further units, plus a vacant night club located on the first floor and a gym located on the second floor. An NCP car park has space for 480 vehicles.
Bar House comprises seven shops fronting Westborough and Aberdeen Walk, with vacant first and second floors, which used to be a nightclub.
The agents for Evolve Estates were Prime Retail.
Council to progress with purchase of shopping centre as approval given
The green light for North East Lincolnshire Council to go ahead with buying Freshney Place shopping centre was given at a meeting last night.
Members at the Full Council approved the purchase of the shopping centre – a recommendation that was approved by the Council’s Cabinet in June. The Full Council meeting heard from leader Cllr Philip Jackson that the purchase was vital to ensure a healthy future for Grimsby Town Centre.
The news comes as it was also revealed that local cinema company The Parkway is the operator behind plans to open a big screen within the planned new development at the western end of Freshney Place. The current Top Town Market is set to move, making way for leisure activities with a cinema a priority. Cllr Jackson expressed his delight that it was a local company involved, allowing the Top Town cinema to complement its operation in Cleethorpes.
The Grimsby shopping centre went into receivership earlier this year, and the deadline for bids for its sale closed last month. The Council bid for the centre was submitted and following this decision will be subject to further due diligence in the coming weeks.
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of the Council, said: “We needed to take this course of action to make sure we can continue to deliver our transformation of the urban heart of Grimsby. If we didn’t agree to buy the centre, it could be bought by someone who is unwilling to invest and the decline of the heart of our town centre would be devastating.”
The centre makes up 60 per cent of the town centre’s retail offer, supporting one in five jobs within that area.
“To enable this regeneration to continue, Freshney Place, a huge space in our town centre, must have a stable future. If this becomes Council-owned, this would mean that we could take Freshney Place into account when we’re looking at the transformation of the whole of our town centre, potentially bringing in different offers, using the centre in different and more modern ways to reduce its current over-reliance on retail.”
The plan for the centre would be to appoint external asset managers with significant experience to run the centre on a day-to-day basis with the Council taking an ‘arms-length’ approach in the near future.
Grant funding from Central Government, including the Towns Fund, has already seen significant transformation in the town centre with projects still under way. These include Garth Lane, St James Square, the new Onside Horizon Youth Zone and the conversion of St James House into an E-Factor Group businesses centre and hub.
FSB to launch scheme recognising council support for small firms
For the first time councils across England can nominate themselves to have their partnerships with small businesses recognised and celebrated.
The Federation of Small Businesses will host the inaugural FSB Local Government Awards on 14 October to highlight the great work local government is doing to support small firms and sole traders all across England, helping to boost local economies and employment.
The aim of the awards is to highlight outstanding partnerships and projects, so that ‘best practice’ examples can be built upon more widely, as well as to increase knowledge among local government organisations of the types of projects and programmes which work best to empower the small business community. They will also give small firms themselves the opportunity to see the types of support that are available to them.
The awards ceremony will be held at DRP Group in Worcestershire, a state-of-the-art venue which has hosted events such as the Gadget Show, and will be jointly produced with students from Kidderminster College, giving them hands-on experience at a high-profile professional event.
The awards themselves will cover four main categories:
- COVID-19 Support and Recovery – how local government were able to support local businesses in innovative and proactive ways during the pandemic;
- Programme of Business Support – what is on offer to local businesses, including a small business-focused procurement programme, schemes to help high streets, crime reduction, and help on ‘ESG’ (environmental, sustainability, and governance) issues;
- Future-Ready – what are councils and local authorities doing to address skills gaps, adapt high streets to shifting consumer habits, help local firms on the way to net zero, nurture future entrepreneurs, and more; and
- All-Round Small Business Friendly – to recognise an overall outstanding contribution to the life and health of the local business community.
Ron Dearing UTC welcomes more business partners to further boost opportunities for students
Several of the region’s leading businesses have partnered with Hull’s employer-led school to provide students with industry standard skills and help create their potential future workforces.
Advanced Plastics Ltd and Shipham Valves have become Major Partners of Ron Dearing University Technical College (UTC), while CATCH, Northern Powergrid, Ridings Consulting Engineers and Spectrum have become Partners.
In addition to its Founding Partners, the UTC in Kingston Square, Hull city centre, has many other successful businesses working alongside it as Major Partners and Partners.
These companies help to develop and deliver employer-led projects, offering work experience and apprenticeships and leading the school’s careers information, advice and guidance programme.
Major Partners also play a key role in helping to develop the Ofsted “Outstanding”-rated school’s unique employer-engaged curriculum.
Founded in 1992 and celebrating 30 years in business this year, Advanced Plastics employs almost 250 people at its 65,000 sq ft manufacturing site at Sutton Fields in Hull. It provides a diverse range of technical injection moulded products for blue chip clients across a range of market sectors.
Rob Anderson, Joint Managing Director at Advanced Plastics Ltd, said: “Becoming a Major Partner presents us with an opportunity to develop our talent pipeline to feed our own technical solutions and what better way to do it than supporting the development of local young minds.”
Shipham Valves was founded in Hull in 1798 and is now based in Brough, employing 75 staff. It specialises in the design, development and manufacture of a range of valves used in global industries including onshore and offshore oil and gas, petro chemical and power generation.
The business is taking on four apprentices from Ron Dearing UTC in September and plans to organise hands-on programming sessions, work experience, further apprenticeships and industry standard projects for students to work on in the future.
Managing Director Rob Moulds said: “We want to support Ron Dearing UTC to promote engineering and inspire students at the earliest possible stage, taking on apprentices and enabling them to have the right mindset and values we want to see as a business.”
CATCH is an industry-led partnership supporting the process, energy, engineering and renewable industries in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and the Humber, and helps to develop and deliver skills and apprenticeship programmes both regionally and nationally.
James McIntosh, Chief Operating Officer at CATCH, said: “We’re extremely passionate about developing young people and ensuring our region has the right skills to become a hub of industry for years to come. The UTC model of excellent education, facilities and people links to our aims of creating a talent pipeline for apprenticeships.”
Northern Powergrid is responsible for the electricity distribution network that powers everyday life for eight million people across 3.9 million homes and businesses in Yorkshire, northern Lincolnshire and the North East, employing 2,700 people.
Cathryn Harper, Northern Powergrid’s Regional Customer Service Manager for the Humber, said: “We’re on a mission to find different ways to attract new talent into our industry. This partnership will help inspire more Ron Dearing UTC students, from a diverse range of backgrounds, to be part of our exciting journey to create a greener energy system to power peoples’ lives and our region.”
Hessle-based Ridings Consulting Engineers specialises in building services engineering design solutions for refurbishment and new construction projects. Its 14-strong team works across the commercial, industrial, public and private sectors.
Director Liam Beardshaw said: “We’ve already taken on two apprentices from Ron Dearing UTC and we’re taking on another one or two in September. The long-term goal is to help to shape our potential future workforce even further.”
Spectrum has helped hundreds of organisations manage and improve their business and print processes for over 35 years. The company, with a head office located at Bridgehead business park in Hessle, and a second office based in Newcastle, are always on the lookout for securing new talent and being able to grow it’s thriving workforce.
Spectrum is looking to offer work placement, apprenticeship and employment opportunities to Ron Dearing students.
Sally Evans, Director of People at Spectrum, said: “We have a huge focus on training and progression, being able to provide our people with opportunities in which to flourish.
“We want to continue to work with schools, colleges and universities to link up with young people who have a specific interest in what we do. We are proud to partner with Ron Dearing UTC and looking forward to working together.”
Ron Dearing UTC caters for students aged between 14 and 19, offering a specialist focus on digital technology, creative digital, art and design and digital engineering.
Glenn Jensen, Senior Assistant Principal and Head of Engineering at Ron Dearing UTC, said: “We’re delighted to welcome six new Employer Partners on board and continue to build on the success of our employer-led learning model of education.”
