Largest dedicated ambulance and police vehicle factory in the UK set for Bradford
WN VTech, a specialist vehicle manufacturer, is planning a major site move for VCS, the manufacturer of emergency services vehicles. The new site in Bradford will be the largest dedicated ambulance and police vehicle factory in the UK.
The new facility will house a dedicated R&D facility that doubles its engineering capability, enabling the company to maintain its reputation for creating the lightest vehicle conversions available while reducing emissions and increasing fuel efficiency.
The site move will also create more than 150 jobs and feature a dedicated training academy to provide a boost to the local community. To facilitate the expansion, VCS has appointed several senior hires. Paul Webb takes on the role of operational managing director, and Nick Withington becomes electric training lead.
Frank Barrett, CEO at WN VTech, said: “Our recent growth and expansion are a testament to the dedication and continuous innovation of our teams across the Group. We are thrilled to welcome our new hires, and to move VCS into its new facility.
“The new site will ensure we continue to deliver world-class emergency vehicles to our customers in the UK and beyond, and I’m personally incredibly proud of the opportunities for skills training it will provide.”
Raft of major agreements to help catalyse Bradford’s regeneration
Bradford Council has revealed a tranche of regeneration collaboration agreements with national partners at this week’s UKREiiF real estate conference, further supporting the ongoing transformation across the city centre.
Three major partnerships have been agreed this week involving Homes England, English Cities Fund, and UK Infrastructure Bank.
Bradford Council is set to collaborate with Homes England and the West Yorkshire Combined Authority (WYCA) to support the delivery of over 7,000 potential new homes across the district, after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed at UKREiiF. The new agreement will help unlock infrastructure, resources and support to deliver affordable, good quality housing in major regeneration areas across the district and beyond.
Bradford Council also signed a pre-development agreement with Muse Places/English Cities Fund (ECF) – which brings together Muse Places, Legal and General and the Government’s levelling up agency, Homes England. This second agreement will begin the detailed preparation work to deliver the development of the City Village Regeneration scheme that will provide up to 1,000 further new homes in the heart of the City Centre which includes the former Kirkgate and Oastler Centre sites.
Additionally, a third partnership has been agreed with UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), which will see UKIB provide technical assistance and strategic advice on the delivery, finance and options for the proposed new rail investments and landmark Southern Gateway regeneration.
Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe, leader of Bradford Council, said: “Bradford is very much open for business, we’re one of the country’s biggest regeneration opportunities and attracting a range of major national partners to help us achieve our commercial ambitions along with a quality housing pipeline to support Bradford’s future growth.
“This is a really exciting time for the District, we are enabling a number transformational projects which will boost the energy and vibrancy of the city centre and position it perfectly for the future. Many of these projects are now nearing completion such as Bradford Live, One City Park, Darley Street Market and North Parade public realm improvement schemes and we are preparing for Bradford 2025 which will further strengthen our investment offer.
“Through this Strategic Place Partnership – only the third of its kind to be launched in the country – Homes England has demonstrated its support for our vision and ambition to transform prime sites across the district.”
Kersten England, Chief Executive Officer, City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council, said: “City Village is one of our most significant developments, it will help set the tone for the future city centre residential offer and we are delighted to have secured this partnership with ECF to now take the scheme forward to delivery of 1,000 new homes in the City Centre.
“Housing plays an important role in the Bradford offer, and WYCA’s work with Homes England will go some way to helping us deliver the homes that we will need to shape a brighter future here in the district.
“Our collaboration with UKIB will help us look at investment options, funding models and the practicalities of market and state finance to realise our regeneration ambitions. Bradford has a pivotal role to play across the whole of the North of England – a successful North needs a successful Bradford!”
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, said: “Our new, ground-breaking partnership with Homes England – only the third of its kind in England – will help us smash our housing targets across West Yorkshire.
“This couldn’t have come at a better time for Bradford. With City of Culture 2025 on the horizon, Bradford could be the shining beacon of ‘levelling up’, with a young diverse population and economic growth potential rivalling that of anywhere else in Britain.
“Working closely with Bradford Council and our private sector partners, we have ambitious plans to deliver safe, affordable and sustainable homes for all Bradfordians. Signing this historic agreement with Homes England today will help us considerably on that journey.”
Yorkshire business supplies company reports “encouraging” start to 2023
CTS UK, the Yorkshire business supplies company, has reported a “very encouraging” first quarter of 2023.
CTS UK, whose headquarters are in Northallerton, provides personalised workwear, merchandising, promotional products, cleaning and hygiene products, personal protective equipment (PPE) and office stationery.
Howard Gill, CTS’s Managing Director, addressing a quarterly business update meeting for all staff, said: “There’s no doubt that these are challenging economic times, with an on-going cost-of-living crisis which impacts on businesses across the UK. We are no exception.
“Having said that, we are very encouraged by the progress we have made so far this year, with strong trading figures across all sectors of our business, which are supported by a healthy order book, margin improvements across the board and exciting new customers, including Sainsburys and Bunzl.
“In addition, we have secured market leading suppliers from our burgeoning hygiene business, including a new partnership with Cleenol, as this division goes from strength to strength.
“At the same time, we are now being included in large tenders for major UK companies and we are establishing a formidable reputation for being a one-stop business supplies company with the ability to meet all the needs of our customers from quality workwear to high-class hygiene products.
“We are also delighted with the rapid growth of Equithread, which specialises in providing high quality, affordable workwear and uniform to the horse racing and equestrian industry,” said Howard. “Equithread is proving to be a resounding success.”
CTS’s senior team has been strengthened by two key appointments, James Smith who is the new production manager and Imran Amjad, who joins as a senior account manager, with special responsibility for cleaning and hygiene sector.
Howard explained: “James and Imran are tremendous additions to our tight-knit and hard-working team. Their experience and expertise will be vital in driving our business forward and ensuring that we continue to be the fastest-expanding supplier of business workwear, office supplies and hygiene products in the north of England and a leading player in these sectors in the UK.”
CTS has extensive warehouse and distribution facilities in Northallerton to service its high-profile clients including Sports Direct, WS Transport, Bunzl, Heck, Sainsburys, Flamingo Land and Woodsmith Construction.
Founded just four years ago, the company’s growth has been rapid, with a projected £50m turnover by 2027.
Work begins on major Swinton redevelopment project
Yorkshire property developer Ben Bailey Homes has begun work on a major development of new housing and important community restoration in Swinton town centre.
The long-awaited project will see the construction of 41 private properties and eight housing association homes, along with upgraded community buildings and public gardens.
The £8 million plus Harrop Mews project is being carried out in partnership with Rotherham Council.
The 49 new homes – including the eight affordable properties – are being built off Highcliffe Drive in Swinton, along with a newly refurbished library at the former customer service centre building, an upgraded and improved Civic Hall and a new public space area between the existing Civic Building and Station Street.
As part of the partnership, Ben Bailey will also provide funding towards sustainable travel measures, the planting of replacement trees and education provision.
Denise Lelliott, Cabinet Member for Jobs and the Local Economy, performed a ceremonial ground-breaking alongside Rotherham Council Leader Councillor Chris Read, Council colleagues and partners from Ben Bailey Homes.
“These new homes, green spaces and improved community facilities will transform Swinton Town Centre for the better,” said Lelliott.
“It’s a real privilege to be able to mark the official start of works and I’m looking forward to seeing the benefits.
“These changes will bring people much-needed housing, and new community buildings where friends and families will meet and enjoy their leisure time together.”
Ben Bailey Sales and Marketing Director, Jon Bailey said: “This project really takes Ben Bailey Homes back to its roots as the company was launched in the 1930s in neighbouring Mexborough.
“We’re pleased that as well as providing much needed two, three and four bedroom homes for sale, all with Ben Bailey’s signature unrivalled specification, we are also providing refurbished facilities to Swinton town centre, delivering a project that will once again make this area the centre of the community.
“This is the sort of project that the Ben Bailey brand was revived for, bringing quality development to the heart of the region.”
Launched in 1933 by Ben Bailey himself, Mexborough-based Ben Bailey Plc was Yorkshire’s largest independent house builder, developing more than 700 homes a year when acquired by Gladedale in 2007.
Following the takeover and a subsequent rebrand, the Ben Bailey name disappeared completely from the construction industry. But it has made a strong return after it was acquired and revived by Yorkshire’s Conroy Brook Group.
North Yorkshire charity welcomes £5,000 donation
An animal rescue charity is celebrating after being awarded a £5,000 donation. Whitby Animal Sanctuary will receive a monetary gift as part of Benefact Group’s Movement for Good Awards.
Founded by Alexandra Farmer and aided by a team of dedicated volunteers, Whitby Animal Sanctuary rescues thousands of animals each year. The charity moved to new premises in 2020 enabling it to increase the number of animals it is able to home.
More than 104,000 people around the country gave their time and nominated the animal welfare causes they cared most about to receive one of the ten special grants that were available. The winning charities were chosen at random from those nominated.
Now in its fifth year, the Movement for Good Awards is the flagship charitable giving initiative from Benefact Group. This year once again, more than £1 million will be gifted to charities up and down the UK and Ireland, following £4 million being given to good causes since the initiative started in 2019.
Since the awards began, more than 1.6 million nominations have been received resulting in over 2,200 charities benefitting from valuable donations.
This year, 420 charities will be awarded £1,000 donations, while 40 good causes will be awarded £5,000 sums via special grants throughout the year, aimed at helping charities in specific sectors. Winners will be drawn at random and the more times a charity is nominated the more chance it has of being selected. Further gifts totalling £500,000 will also be donated in larger amounts later this year.
Mark Hews, Group Chief Executive of Benefact Group, says: “We would like to thank every single person who took the time to nominate an animal charity as part of our Movement for Good Awards. Benefact Group is the third largest corporate donor in the UK and has an ambition to be the biggest.
“Owned by a charity, all of its available profits go to good causes, and the more the Group grows, the more the Group can give. We know that £5,000 can make a huge difference to the incredible work that animal charities do and we’re looking forward to seeing how this financial boost will help animal welfare.”
Benefact Group has donated almost £200 million to charitable causes since 2014 and has just been recognised as the third biggest corporate giver in the UK. The organisation aims to reach £250 million in donations by 2025.
Movement for Good is funded by EIO plc, part of the Benefact Group.
Partnership cements pledge to boost homes in West Yorkshire
A ground-breaking new partnership will cement the commitment made by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, to build more affordable and sustainable homes for people across the region.
The Government’s housing and regeneration agency, Homes England, has partnered with West Yorkshire Combined Authority to boost the delivery of thousands more homes, including affordable homes, throughout all five districts of West Yorkshire.
The agreement will be officially signed at UKREiiF, a major conference in Leeds that brings together global investors and developers.
Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin said: “I’m thrilled to have secured this fantastic opportunity to work in partnership with Homes England, which will take us forward in our journey towards achieving good quality and truly affordable housing growth in West Yorkshire.
“We have ambitious plans to create and grow vibrant communities and support an ever-growing population, addressing decades of underinvestment in the region.
“The partnership will allow us to build on the progress made so far, and bring vital resources directly to West Yorkshire, ensuring a better quality of life for people throughout the region.”
Chief Executive of Homes England, Peter Denton said: “We enjoy a fantastic working relationship with the West Yorkshire Combined Authority. This Strategic Place Partnership agreement builds on this, helping the Mayor to deliver her housing and regeneration priorities and create thriving new and renewed places that the people of West Yorkshire seek.
“As the national Housing and Regeneration Agency, we are committed to bringing all of our capital, expertise, land, powers and relationships in support of WYCA’s desire to boost place-based growth, prosperity and pride of place.”
15 projects have been identified through the partnership, which will be the focus for regeneration, developing great places and homes for the people of West Yorkshire.
The Combined Authority was able to secure the partnership through investment of its £3.2 million housing revenue fund to build a credible project pipeline, secured through the devolution deal.
It is Homes England’s third Strategic Place Partnership (SPP) to be signed, following the successful pilots in Greater Manchester and South Essex.
Final phase of development for multi-million pound regeneration project
A multi-million pound regeneration project that is nearing completion in the heart of North Yorkshire’s county town looks set to help drive forward the county’s economy.
The last phase of the £20m Treadmills development in Northallerton will see Everyman open this week (Friday 19 May) on the site of the town’s former prison – which has been turned into a retail, leisure, education and business destination in the centre of the market town.
The 276-seat, four-screen cinema and three adjoining restaurant units has been part funded with £4.75m from the Government’s Future High Street Fund (FHSF) awarded to Northallerton two years ago. The funding was part of a wider £7m investment of Future High Street Fund in the town.
The Treadmills scheme has been delivered by the Central Northallerton Development Company Ltd (CNDCL), a joint venture between North Yorkshire Council and Yorkshire developer Wykeland Group.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “This development is a prime example of how regeneration projects can help to build momentum for wider economic benefits and more investment across North Yorkshire. The Treadmills project has turned dark buildings surrounded by a huge wall into a vibrant centre in our county town.”
Central Northallerton Development Company Ltd board member and North Yorkshire Councillor Cllr Peter Wilkinson added: “It’s very exciting that the innovative regeneration project, Treadmills, is almost complete. The cinema will be a huge asset to the town and bring with it new visitors who we hope will also enjoy spending some time there, shopping and dining.
“I have had a sneak preview and Everyman brings a new experience to the usual cinema trip – with comfortable sofas, food and drink.
“Treadmills is a thriving centre with restaurants, shops, an education campus and business growth hub and sees this council joining forces with a range of partners to bring high-quality services to the county town.”
Dehenna Davison MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Levelling Up), added: “I am delighted that Government investment of over £7m is supporting the exciting Treadmills development in Northallerton. The project is delivering retail, education and business support to the historic market town, and the opening of the Everyman Cinema this month will be a great asset for the town, its residents, and the wider region.”
Olivia Gold, Head of Marketing at Everyman, added: “We are delighted to be opening our 39th venue as part of the final phase of the exciting new Treadmills destination. At Everyman we promised a redefined cinema experience, and the new Northallerton venue is no exception. We can’t wait to open our doors next week for customers to enjoy the full offering of this beautiful new cinema.”
Treadmills also features the digital innovation centre, C4DI (Centre for Digital Innovation); Lidl and Iceland stores; a pilates studio; kitchen showroom; restaurants and bistro; and the educational facility, Campus@Northallerton (C@N). The development has also been supported by the York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership, which secured investment of £1.8m from the Government’s Local Growth Fund for the redevelopment and fit-out of Centre for Digital Innovation and a further £725,000 from the Government’s Getting Building Fund for Campus@Northallerton – the first further and higher education facility in the area with two education providers, the University of Sunderland and York College.
The project was a former Hambleton District Council initiative, which has passed to the new North Yorkshire Council as part of local government reorganisation that saw all the district and borough councils and the county council of North Yorkshire combine into one unitary authority.
Huge funding boost for Huddersfield District Energy Network
Kirklees Council have been awarded over £8 million for the commercialisation and construction of the Huddersfield District Energy Network (HDEN) from the Green Heat Network Fund (GHNF).
The GHNF is a 3-year £288 million capital grant fund launched by the Government last year, which is open to organisations in the public and private sectors in England. It aims to develop and grow the heat network market and address some of the challenges of decarbonising the UK’s heat sector.
Kirklees Council have previously benefitted from funding for the various stages of the project, including £300k for the delivery of the outline business case from the BEIS Heat Network Delivery Unit who have since shown their written support of the scheme to progress to the next stage.
This most recent grant funding, a total of £8.2m, includes an initial £1m for commercialisation and a subsequent £7.2m for construction of the network subject to successful completion and approval of the commercialisation stage. Commercialisation includes the final technical design work for this council initiative, setting out the procurement and commercial arrangements for how the HDEN will be constructed and operated, and the proposed customers.
The HDEN is intended to recover heat from the existing Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plant in Huddersfield. A network of underground pipes will distribute heat to public and private sector buildings in the town centre.
The heat network is expected to deliver 7.6GWh of low carbon heat in its first year, rising to 14.2GWh and 21.7GWh in its second and third years respectively. The network will go towards helping Kirklees Council achieve an ambitious target of net zero carbon emissions by 2038 – a target set when Kirklees Council declared a Climate Emergency in 2019. It is being designed with ambition for potential future expansion and connection to other heat sources.
Councillor Naheed Mather, Cabinet Member for the Environment, said: “District Energy Networks, also known as Heat Networks, are widely recognised as one of the most effective ways of decarbonising the local heat supply in built-up urban areas.
“We recognise the challenges of a changing climate facing the district and are making changes and have set targets of becoming Net Zero and ‘climate ready’ by 2038 for the benefit of Kirklees residents, its wildlife, landscape and biodiversity.”
Councillor Will Simpson, Cabinet Member for Culture and Greener Kirklees, said: “The scale of the Huddersfield District Energy Network (HDEN) would contribute significantly to the decarbonisation of Huddersfield Town Centre and our 2038 targets. It will also provide the town with greater energy resilience and control over the local heat supply along with the potential for future expansion.”
Officers will now start developing the full business case. Once completed, this will go to Cabinet and GHFN, for approval.
Leeds architect and retirement living scheme provider unveil hat-trick of new developments
Providers of extra care and retirement living developments, Housing 21, and Leeds-based Brewster Bye Architects are working on three major new schemes that will create almost 200 new homes for local people over the age of 55.
Principal contractor, Esh Construction, is due to complete work in the coming weeks on a £7.5 million, 60-home development on Highfield Road in Askern near Doncaster, that Housing 21 has developed in partnership with Doncaster Council and Askern Town Council.
Known as Askern Vale Court, the development offers 58 one and two bedroom apartments within a three storey building, complete with communal facilities, landscaped gardens and dedicated parking area, as well as two bungalows. All the homes are available for affordable rent.
Work is also due to start this summer on a major new extra care scheme at Cleckheaton that will provide 80 rental apartments for over 55s, who have a connection to the local area. Housing 21 is developing the scheme in partnership with Kirklees Council.
Designed to promote independent living in a community setting, a care team will be on-site 24 hours a day to deliver planned care packages to residents if needed. Facilities will include an activity room, communal lounge and gardens. An on-site hair salon and café for residents will also be open to the public.
Earlier this year, work started on another retirement living development consisting of 57 apartments on the site of a disused mill at Compton near Leek in Staffordshire. The part two, three, four and five-storey development will include associated ancillary spaces, gardens and parking. It is being constructed by Tricas Construction for Collaborate Living and Housing 21.
Mark Henderson, director at Brewster Bye, said: “These three developments are about creating stunning homes, in safe environments, that mean older people can enjoy their independence for longer.
“Over the past five years we have designed more than 1,000 homes for older people across the north of England and working on three large scale developments with Housing 21 is testament to our experience in this market.
“We always put residents at the heart of our designs, in order to create well thought out developments, where people will want to live, as well as carefully considering their surroundings and the requirements of local planning officials. The result is three exceptional schemes that have the potential to become landmarks and focal points within their local communities.”
New promotions at Aon’s Leeds office
Aon, a professional services firm, has made five promotions in its Leeds advisory team which is responsible for commercial risk.
Aon has promoted Jonathan Harrison to head of sales for Advisory UK. With a career spanning 15 years, most recently as a client management director, Jonathan will draw on his vast insurance experience to lead the sales strategy across the UK for Aon’s mid-market and SME client division.
David Westcott, who has 15 years’ industry experience, is promoted to client management director and will oversee a team of client directors and account executives. He will also be responsible for business development for Aon’s Leeds and Harrogate offices.
Holly Copsey is promoted to client service director, Adam Wilson to client director, and Sara Wilkinson to client service manager. In her new role, Holly will oversee broking on new business, support business development, and allocate resources to new enquiries. In addition, she will be involved with mergers, acquisitions and transaction solutions.
Both Adam and Sara will service their respective book of clients. In addition, Adam will contribute to business development and support wider Aon functions. In her new role, Sara is now responsible for overseeing a team of eight brokers, which involves dealing with all aspects of development and training, being a day-to-day referral point for technical or market queries and managing workload allocation.
Tracey Threlfall, UK head of advisory at Aon, said: “Employees are front and centre at Aon and each one is provided with a progressive career path, structured training, and a flexible and inclusive working environment. These well-deserved promotions are testament to the hard work and dedication given to helping their clients make better decisions. It is great to see the advisory division in Leeds continue to go from strength to strength.”
Sara Wilkinson, client service manager in Aon advisory, said: “Aon is extremely supportive of any employee wishing to further their career, providing resources and structured training for the specific roles and business divisions in which you are interested. I was thrilled to receive the promotion and have found it both rewarding and challenging in equal measure!”
