Align consultancy leads on regeneration of historic asset in Whitby
A £1m scheme to restore one of Whitby’s most recognisable buildings and bring it back into public use is due to begin next month, led by Align Property Partners, the North Yorkshire Council’s multi-disciplinary building design consultancy.
The managing director of Align, Ron Walton, said: “Our building design team of architects and engineers have worked closely with the council to ensure this important building is restored in the best way possible.
“We are all looking forward to seeing the project come to life and work to be completed – to the benefit of everyone who lives, works in and visits Whitby.”
The Old Town Hall building has been one of the town’s most famous heritage assets and a focal point for residents, visitors and traders since the 18th century.
An outdoor market is currently held in the under croft of the building and Market Place – but the Grade II* listed premises is in a poor state of repair and the first floor has been unoccupied since 2017.
The renovation will allow the building to be used as a public space for community, heritage and cultural activities all year round.
Executive member for open to business, Cllr Mark Crane, whose responsibilities include economic development and regeneration, said: “The Old Town Hall is a crucial part of Whitby’s rich history and heritage.
“Through this scheme we hope to restore, renovate and repurpose the building so it can be a thriving community anchor for local residents, businesses and visitors to enjoy and use.
“Whitby is a place held in the hearts of so many people and we hope the project can help create and maintain a vibrant and bustling year-round market place, increasing crucial footfall into the town and providing a welcome boost to the local economy.”
BCC revises growth expectations downwards for the nest two years
The British Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Forecast has revised down growth expectations for 2024, but marginally improved GDP expectations for 2025 and 2026.
Increased government spending is likely to boost GDP, but business investment and trade are likely to suffer this year through the impact of the national insurance rise and major global uncertainties.
David Bharier, Head of Research at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: “Our forecast expects the national insurance hike, alongside other growing cost pressures on business, to impact on several economic indicators over the coming months.
“GDP is expected to pick up slightly next year, but that’s likely to be down to more government spending. Our research continues to show that most SMEs are not increasing investment, amidst an array of rising costs and admin burdens.
“The knock-on effect of rising business costs are likely to restrict wage growth in the short term and employment, as firms struggle to pass on costs and boost recruitment. With fears of a tariff war and continued trade barriers with the EU, international trade will be challenging for many firms.
“Our surveys already showed a fall in business confidence before October’s Budget. While the full impact of the Chancellor’s statement is yet to be seen, businesses face tough decisions as bills rise. It’s vital that business rate reform is accelerated and much anticipated strategies on industry, infrastructure and trade deliver at pace in the months to come.”
The QEF, winner of the 2024 FocusEconomics award for best GDP forecast, expects the UK economy to grow by 0.8% in 2024, a downgrade from the previous forecast (1.1%). Growth has been revised upwards for the next two years – with 1.3% expected in 2025 and 1.5% in 2026, higher than previous forecast (1.0% and 1.1%). Upgrades to 2025 and 2026 are driven by increased levels of government spending, but the overall growth landscape remains relatively weak.
The rise in employer national insurance contributions, announced at the Budget, has had a small impact on the forecast – including average earnings and unemployment.
Inflation is now expected to remain above the Bank of England’s target until the end of 2026, due to increased business costs and global trade uncertainties. CPI is forecast to be 2.2% in Q4 2025, unchanged from the previous forecast, and 2% in Q4 2026, slightly higher than the last forecast.
As businesses face tough decisions on costs, unemployment has been revised upwards to be 4.5% by the end of 2025 before falling to 4.2% in 2026 (previously 4.4% in 2025 and 4.1% in 2026).
VOA shares details of business rate valuation plans
The Valuation Office Agency has published details about how it will improve the information it discloses on business rates valuations.
This means that by 2026 ratepayers will be able to see more tailored information about their property, and by 2029, they’ll will be able to see more specific valuation information and evidence.
Carolyn Bartlett, the VOA’s Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, said: “We understand the importance of greater transparency in business rates valuations. The consultation showed there are different views about what property valuation information should be disclosed.
“We’ve balanced the desire for greater transparency from some with the concerns of others about the confidentiality of their data and a preference for simplified information.”
This is all part of a wider set of changes are coming to business rates in England and Wales from 2026 to 2029. These changes are being introduced in stages. They will support the VOA to deliver more frequent property revaluations.
The changes include a new duty on ratepayers to provide information about their property to the VOA.
The new information duty on ratepayers is expected to be introduced after 1 April 2026. It will be tested with small numbers of customers in phases from that point so we can make sure the system works for all ratepayers.
The duty will then be formally activated and mandated for everyone by 1 April 2029.
There is no action you need to take now. We will tell you about the changes and when you will be affected.
The new duty means ratepayers will have to tell the VOA within 60 days when there are changes to their property. These include changes to:
- the occupier
- their lease or rent
- the property.
New Lincoln housing development wins praise from police
Police have praised the design of a new housing development in Lincoln, saying it will help to reduce the risk of crime and improve peace of mind for local residents.
Hermit Mews has achieved Secured by Design Gold standard in recognition of the high-quality security measures it incorporates.
Secured by Design is a police-backed initiative that promotes security and crime prevention in new developments. The Gold standard is its highest level, requiring stringent adherence to security principles.
Hermit Mews was designed and built by Lindum Group on behalf of City of Lincoln Council. A former garage site in Lincoln’s Hermit Street was transformed, with the existing garage block and garages adjacent to the flats demolished.
Lindum Design Manager, Mark King, said his team had worked in conjunction with Lincolnshire Police to achieve the standard: “Achieving Secured by Design Gold standard at Hermit Street required us to build homes that were not only aesthetically pleasing but also prioritised the safety and well-being of the community.
“Examples of this include a new secure fence line to the rear of Portland Street which closes off public access through to alleyways and creates dedicated private access routes for residents.
“We also reorganised the CCTV to provide more comprehensive coverage and installed motion-sensitive lighting, which reduces the kind of dimly lit areas which might attract anti-social behaviour.”
Lincoln company celebrate new year with renewal of Royal Warrant
Lincolnshire-based lubricant and paint manufacturer the Witham Group has been granted a renewed Royal Warrant of Appointment as suppliers to the King.
Group MD Nigel R Bottom said: “We are immensely proud to have this Royal Warrant granted by His Majesty. This recognition is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team. We are committed to continuing to serve all our customers with the utmost care and professionalism, and we are honoured to continue our association with the Royal Household and Royal Estates.”
Witham Group was first granted a Royal Warrant to The Queen in 1991. The Appointment was the start of a journey which has culminated in the company supplying lubricants and paints for the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, as well as other connected properties, estates and farmland.
The Witham Group is one of the UK’s largest independent lubricant manufacturers and paint suppliers. It is a privately owned, family run business with its head office and lubricant manufacturing site based in Lincoln and a distribution warehouse, trade shop and paint decorating centre based in Soham, Cambridgeshire.
Witham Group makes around 5,000,000 litres of lubricants and paint every year, and a litre of its products is sold somewhere within the UK every six seconds.
German family firm invests in hydrogen generation with South Yorkshire company
ITM Power has signed a contract to supply three of its NEPTUNE V hydrogen generation units, totalling 15MW, to a family-owned private German company.
The NEPTUNE V units will be build in Sheffield and deployed into three individual projects, with the first delivery expected in the first half of 2026. The electrolysers will provide green hydrogen to refuelling stations in Germany.
ITM Power CEO Dennis Schulz said: “We are establishing ourselves as the go-to partner for down-to-earth industrial companies and family businesses, for whom it matters that their plants work reliably, safely and efficiently. We are pleased to have signed yet another NEPTUNE V contract in just a few weeks. Customer interest continues to exceed our expectations.”
Launched in May this year, NEPTUNE V is ideally suited for mid-sized projects. It utilises ITM’s leading and proven TRIDENT stack technology. NEPTUNE V is our full-scope 5MW containerised electrolyser plant. It provides reliable, flexible, and highly efficient hydrogen production capacity and the industry’s smallest footprint per MW.
Investment adviser joins Airlander team
Investment advisor Jean-Michel Deligny has joined the Hybrid Air Vehicles Advisory Board to play a key role, providing fresh insight and supporting the company’s onward financing strategy for its Airlander 10 production programme, which will happen at a site in South Yorkshire.
He said: “As an aerospace fan, I have been looking at the airship industry for the past 30 years, and none of the Lighter-Than-Air attempts have been successful. The main reason is that they are expensive, delicate, and require considerable infrastructure on the ground.
“HAV is a complete departure from LTA and provides the breakthrough the industry has been waiting for: comparatively inexpensive, robust, and flying from anywhere. To cap it all, HAV has a proven product which has already flown many times. Combined with the urgent need for aviation decarbonization, I believe HAV is ready for prime time.
“The $2+bn worth of options and $10+bn pipeline, both civil and military, is a testament of the pent-up demand. Huge market, proven product, considerable momentum – that’s the sort of company investors want to invest in. I am delighted to bring my financing expertise to accelerate the company’s success.”
NFU President reflects on a ‘wretched year’ for farming
UK farmers face a stark picture of the challenges faced by UK farming after a stitched year in he industry, says NFU President Tom Bradshaw.
He says volatile input costs, commodity prices at record levels in some farming sectors and on the floor in others, a reduction in direct payments and one of the wettest periods in decades that resulted in a disastrous harvest, have left their mark and many farming businesses worse off.
“To cap a wretched year, we saw a Labour government, which, after 14 years in opposition, promised to reset its relations with British farmers and deliver a much-needed lift to farmer confidence. Instead, it delivered an inflationary Budget and all but removed the tax reliefs for agriculture property and business property.
In all my years in the industry, I’ve never experienced the anger, despair and sense of betrayal following the Chancellor’s announcement to changes to inheritance tax, which has long protected farming’s ability to pass on the farm business to the next generation, thereby protecting food producing businesses and the nation’s food security.”
He said these raw emotions had played out at fermers’ mass lobby of MPs in Westminster, the farmer rally in Whitehall, and at the various tractor protests in London and around the UK, with tens of thousands of farmers passionately expressing how this tax will devastate their businesses, families, rural communities and national food security.
“Ultimately, this needs to be sorted out by the Prime Minister and Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a solution that will mitigate the extreme human impacts of this indefensible family farm tax policy on the current holders of those businesses, for whom, up until 30 October, the best tax advice was to hold their farm until death. Rest assured, we will keep fighting to find a solution.”
Private sector predicts fall in activity in next three months, says CBI
Private sector firms expect activity to fall in the three months to March, according to the CBI’s latest Growth Indicator, which shows expectations are at their weakest in more than two years.
This pessimism was shared across all sub-sectors. Business volumes in the services sector are anticipated to decline (-18%), driven by predicted falls in both business and professional services (-13%) and consumer services (-37%). Distribution sales are expected to fall steeply (-35%), and manufacturers also anticipate output to fall (-31%), with expectations at their weakest since May 2020.
The disappointing outlook comes as private sector activity fell again in the three months to December, at a faster pace than in the three months to November (-21% from -13% in November). Activity has been flat or falling since August 2022.
Alpesh Paleja, CBI Interim Deputy Chief Economist, said: “There is little festive cheer in our latest surveys, which suggest that the economy is headed for the worst of all worlds – firms expect to reduce both output and hiring, and price growth expectations are getting firmer. Businesses continue to cite the impact of measures announced in the Budget – particularly the rise in employer NICs – exacerbating an already tepid demand environment.
“As we head into 2025, firms are looking to the government to boost confidence and to give them a reason to invest, whether that’s long overdue moves to reform the apprenticeship levy, supporting the health of the workforce through increased occupational health incentives or a reform of business rates.
“In the longer term, businesses will be looking to the industrial strategy to provide the stability and certainty which can unlock innovation and investment – and provide that much needed growth for the economy which can deliver prosperity for firms and households alike.”
South Yorkshire company signs AI deal with Swedish manufacturer
South Yorkshire tech company IntelliAM is to launch a commercial partnership with Swedish manufacturing powerhouse SKF to drive forward the global AI revolution.
The agreement, announced this month to the Aquis Stock Exchange, is expected to see breakthrough machine learning platform created by Dinnington-based IntelliAM embedded into SKF’s products.
SKF is a leading global supplier of products, solutions and services for the reduction of friction in rotation and one of the largest public companies in the world. The company is present in around 129 countries with over 17,000 distributors and has exposure to over 40 industries.
A letter of intent between both companies will be a precursor to a partnership agreement for the provision of IntelliAM’s machine learning platform and SKF AI-ready products, for both IntelliAM and SKF sales teams.
IntelliAM, which floated earlier this year on the specialist growth market Aquis, was created on the back of years of industry knowledge and domain expertise.
Many of the world’s biggest manufacturers, including half of the world’s top ten food and drinks producers, use IntelliAM’s machine learning and AI solution to tap into billions of manufacturing data points to improve productivity.
The SKF partnership will unlock new possibilities across industry, says Tom Clayton, CEO at IntelliAM. “This marks a pivotal moment in the partnership between SKF and IntelliAM. By embedding our machine learning platform into SKF’s exceptional products, we are not only enhancing their performance but also unlocking new possibilities for industry as a whole.”
Erika Morichetto, Director SKF Lubrication Management Sales Europe, Middle East & Africa added: “Our ambition is that we can continue to grow together and explore this market with joint product and customer development, now also with the intention to extend this to include machine learning.
“We see that machine learning will provide an opportunity to enhance the connected SKF products in application and support our clients with insights for their machines or processes and improve their maintenance practices.”
The discussions between the two companies are built upon a long-term partnership. It is anticipated that detailed contractual discussions will be concluded in 2025.
