Barclays plans to close more branches in the year ahead
Barclays will close its branches in Scunthorpe and Beverley within 24 hours of each other next March, a week after the shutters go up on the Grimsby branch.
The closures are part of a long-running series of closures as the face of ‘high street’ banking changes for ever.
Barclays says: “Lots of people are choosing to bank differently these days, which means not as many are using branches.
“The decision to close a branch is never easy and we appreciate it might not be welcome news, but we’ll make sure customers still have access to our banking services. We’ll be available to help and talk to you about managing your money at many locations across the UK.”
Closures have been ongoing for years across the region; Barton went in 2018; Bedale, Bridlington, and Thirsk went earlier this year amongst a raft of others nationwide.
Cranswick named best ‘Large Corporate’ at The Yorkshires
Hessle-based Cranswick has been named ‘Large Corporate’ of the year at ‘The Yorkshires’ business awards, .
Organised by the Yorkshire Children’s Charity, the awards recognise businesses that have made significant strides over the past year and support the important work the charity does helping disadvantaged and vulnerable children across the region.
CEO Adam Couch and Chief Financial Officer Mark Bottomley attended the ceremony to collect the award, which was sponsored by Leeds Beckett University.
Go-ahead given for Leeds Kirkgate Market hotel
The regeneration of the area around Leeds Kirkgate Market is set to take another stride forward after plans for a new hotel and gym were given the green light.
Leeds City Council submitted a planning application in August for the scheme on the George Street side of the Grade I listed market building. And yesterday (Thursday, November 30) the application won unanimous support at a meeting of the council’s city plans panel.
The decision means that construction work should start next year on the scheme, with the council having already agreed a pre-let lease with hotel operator Premier Inn.
The development will include a council-run public gym, delivering improved access to top-class health and fitness facilities for people living and working in the city centre.
The transformation of the George Street site will, it is hoped, provide another notable success story for an area that has undergone significant and positive changes in recent years and is today home to landmarks such as the Victoria Gate retail destination, the refurbished Leeds Playhouse and Leeds City College’s Quarry Hill campus.
The scheme has also been designed to drive additional footfall to the market, where business has already been boosted by a multi-million pound investment programme.
Councillor Jonathan Pryor, Leeds City Council’s deputy leader and executive member for economy, culture and education, said: “The plans panel’s support for the George Street scheme represents another important milestone in the regeneration of the area around Leeds Kirkgate Market and beyond.
“Leeds city centre is already a vibrant, attractive place to visit, but we want to make it even better – and the new hotel will help us achieve that aim, providing a stylish linking point between Vicar Lane, the Eastgate roundabout and Quarry Hill.
“The scheme also underlines our commitment to ensuring the market retains its position as one of the jewels in the city’s retail crown.”
Paul Smith, acquisitions manager for Premier Inn owner Whitbread, said: “We are extremely proud to have been named as the operator of the George Street hotel.
“The location ticks so many boxes for Premier Inn customers and I know our guests will give a lot back to the area once we are open.
“Following yesterday’s meeting, we will continue to work closely with the council’s team to construct the new hotel and deliver another superb location for our guests in the city centre.”
The site earmarked for the six-storey development is owned by the council and is currently occupied by a number of vacant low-rise shop units.
The hotel will fill the top five floors of the new building with 143 rooms as well as a bar and restaurant for guests.
The ground floor, meanwhile, will feature a range of commercial units and the council-run gym.
The hotel will create approximately 50 new full and part-time jobs locally once operational, with around 80 jobs being supported during construction.
The power of local business networks and initiatives
In reflecting on the trials and triumphs of the past year, the role of collaboration and interconnected networks among local businesses in Greater Lincolnshire and Rutland becomes abundantly clear. These collaborations redefine competition, fostering growth, resource-sharing, and resilience in the face of challenges.
The synergy among businesses within local networks serves as a catalyst for growth, offering entrepreneurs a platform to exchange insights, best practices, and innovative ideas. This collaborative spirit not only propels individual businesses forward but also contributes to the overall economic development of the region.
Resource Sharing for Collective Success
A distinctive feature of local business networks is their ability to establish relationships where resources are shared for collective success. From fledgling start-ups to well-established enterprises, businesses in the region recognise the strength found in unity. Whether through sharing expertise, pooling marketing resources, or participating in community events, this collaborative approach amplifies the impact of each business involved.
The Business Lincolnshire website supports these collaborative efforts, offering a plethora of resources for local businesses. Online webinars, podcasts, and downloadable fact sheets provide avenues for skill enhancement and continuous learning, fostering an environment where businesses can thrive.
Overcoming Challenges through Support and Upskilling
The challenges of the past year, from the cost-of-living crisis to global unrest, underscored the importance of local business networks and initiatives in providing support and upskilling opportunities. Shared experiences within these became valuable resources, offering insights and solutions to navigate disruptions in supply chains, changing consumer behaviours, and rising energy costs.
Business Lincolnshire’s tailored, fully funded support programmes such as Your Business Boost, the Scale-Up Programme, the Manufacturing Support Programme, Low Carbon Lincolnshire and the Start-Up Academy play a crucial role in aiding local businesses. The Local Business and Supplier Directory further encourages local businesses to collaborate with and utilise local talent, which is essential in helping the region to prosper.
The Future of Business Support
The significance of local business networks is poised to grow. The evolving business landscape, with its challenges and uncertainties, makes collaboration more critical than ever. Business leaders, recognising the power of support, are well-positioned to leverage these networks to navigate economic shifts, embrace innovation, and collectively shape a prosperous future.
Business Lincolnshire offers an array of resources, events, networks, and support programmes designed to help local businesses. By utilising these resources, businesses not only contribute to their individual growth but also play a key role in the prosperity of the regional economy. As we approach 2024, businesses are encouraged to connect with Business Lincolnshire’s Advisers to access fully funded, tailored support to position themselves for success in the coming year. Contact them today via the website www.businesslincolnshire.com or call 01522 782067.
Leeds’ SOYO neighbourhood hits major milestone with dual approval for final phase
Caddick Group’s SOYO development at the heart of Leeds’ cultural quarter has secured planning approval for the final phase of the new neighbourhood from Leeds City Council’s City Plans Panel.
Following a period of public consultation, Blocks A and D have won dual approval from the local authority, marking a major step forward for this transformative project.
Designed with sustainability front of mind, SOYO blocks A and D will bring student accommodation to the city centre. Both blocks will be comprised of a mix of studio and cluster flats, with the overall design complementing the rest of the new neighbourhood. Block A will bring 360 student units to the neighbourhood, adding to the 291 units due to be delivered at Block D.
SOYO began construction in 2019, bringing in a new mixed-use development to the Quarry Hill area, creating a new neighbourhood at the heart of Leeds’ cultural quarter. The first two buildings, Moda New York Square, opened in 2022, comprising 551 studios and apartments. The latest buildings, Madison East and Mercer West for Hestia, are due to open to residents in the New Year.
Alistair Smith, Associate Director at Caddick Developments, said: “We are pleased to receive approval on both Blocks A and D from Leeds City Council. With this, we can now progress the final phase of SOYO and complete this exemplar development that has already brought significant jobs and investment to the city.
“The consultation phase was very positive, and we received great responses to our proposals for both blocks which helped inform the final presentation of the plans to Leeds councillors. Through our ongoing collaboration with the local community and surrounding cultural institutions, we are already seeing the positive change that SOYO is bringing to this area of Leeds, cementing its status as an exemplar regeneration story for the city.”
Once completed, residents at Blocks A and D will benefit from a range of amenities such as a 24hr gym, keyfob secure entry, study and collaboration spaces, and roof-top gardens. The final phase of the development will also see the ambitious landscaping plans completed, creating one of the largest landscaped spaces in Leeds.
The blocks will meet a high standard of sustainability. Once consented, it’s intended that the development will be connected to the Leeds district heating network, and will help meet the council’s objective of making the city carbon neutral by 2030. The buildings will be designed to consume low amounts of energy when low on use, utilising low carbon technologies, LED lighting and low water consumption in the operation phase.
The project team includes ID Planning, Box Clever, DLG Architects, Fuse Architects, Re-Form Landscape Architecture, Roscoe, Tate Consulting, Richard Boothroyd and Associates, Fore Consulting, Jensen Hughes, Jameson Acoustics, Stroma Building Control, Ridge and Partners and Carbon-Climate-Certified.
Humber Freeport appoints permanent CEO
Humber Freeport has appointed Simon Green as permanent CEO and announced its Board line-up.
Mr Green has served as Humber Freeport’s Interim CEO since April, steering the organisation through a successful launch period which has already seen major inward investments secured.
He has now been appointed Humber Freeport’s permanent CEO, leading the delivery of the company’s work to attract significant investment and its core workstreams of innovation, decarbonisation and skills.
The Humber Freeport Company has also confirmed the membership of its Board, featuring prominent figures from the private and public sectors.
Humber Freeport Chair Simon Bird said: “The announcement of Simon as our permanent CEO, together with confirmation of our Board membership, marks another key step forward for Humber Freeport.
“Simon has steered the organisation’s development successfully over the past few months. His permanent appointment recognises the excellent progress that has been made in that time and the considerable experience and expertise he brings to the role.
“We’re also delighted to have brought together an excellent Board, made up of highly-respected private and public sector leaders who have the collective skills, knowledge and passion to support our ambitions.
“These are exciting times for the Humber, as we look to maximise the region’s huge potential and attract transformative inward investment driving economic growth and job creation.”
Mr Green moves permanently to his role at Humber Freeport from North Lincolnshire Council, where he served as its Deputy Chief Executive.
He has over 30 years’ experience in development and corporate governance, having worked for public and private sector organisations in the North, Midlands and abroad.
Throughout his career, Mr Green has overseen major projects, including in the fields of housing, transport, energy and higher education.
More recently, he has taken on corporate culture and governance roles and throughout his career has striven to build alignment and partnership working as the bedrock of achievement.
Alongside the announcement of Mr Green as permanent CEO, Humber Freeport has confirmed the membership of the freeport Board.
Headed by Chair Simon Bird, who is also Humber director at Associated British Ports (ABP), the Board is made up of representatives from some of the region’s most important and influential organisations.
In addition to Mr Bird and Mr Green, the Board members are:
· Jo Barnes, Managing Director, Sewell Estates.
· Carolina Borgstrom, Director of Economy, Environment and Infrastructure, North East Lincolnshire Council.
· Alex Codd, Assistant Director, Economic Development and Regeneration, Hull City Council.
· Professor Neal Juster, Vice Chancellor, University of Lincoln.
· Alan Menzies, Executive Director of Planning and Economic Regeneration and Acting Chief Executive, East Riding of Yorkshire Council.
· Stephen Parnaby OBE, Deputy Chair, Hull and East Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership.
· Patrick Pogue, Group Director, Growth and Innovation, px Group.
· Marcus Walker, Development Director, Able UK.
Further private sector appointments to the Board are expected to be announced soon.
Mr Green said: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to build on the strong foundations which have already been laid by Humber Freeport in securing significant inward investment and shaping the skills, decarbonisation and innovation agendas.
“The Humber has a compelling role to play in UK plc, driving economic growth as a global gateway for trade and investment, and leading the drive for industrial decarbonisation.
“Working closely with our Chair and Board members, and with regional partners, I’m looking forward to continuing to harness the benefits of freeport status to unlock new opportunities for investment and growth.”
Bradford taxi trade offered £4m to support transition to electric vehicles
Clean Air Zone grant funding of £4.1m is now available for Bradford’s licenced taxi trade to help with running costs for fully electric hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle.
Applicants can choose to purchase or take out a long-term lease (minimum 2 years lease at time the grant agreement is signed and returned) to be eligible for the grant.
There are currently 200,000 electric vehicle movements per month in Bradford district, these grants will support the Bradford taxi trade to also make the change to full electric vehicles.
The Bradford taxi trade has been extremely proactive in upgrading vehicles to Clean Air Zone standards, and has become the cleanest fleet in the country with 99% of the 4,800 licensed taxi and private hire trade meeting the Bradford CAZ standard.
Owners of electric vehicles can see savings in fuel costs as well as lower servicing and maintenance costs. These are on top of the driver health benefits of in-vehicle pollution reduction, respiratory health improvements and also a reduction in noise.
The applications process is now live for Bradford licensed vehicle proprietors. The grant will be increased for non-Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles from £6,000 over two years up to £10,000 over two years which brings it into line with the Hackney Carriage and Wheelchair Accessible Private Hire Vehicle EV grants.
Cllr Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “We recognise that there is a desire from the taxi trade to switch to fully electric vehicles. We want to further support the taxi trade by offering up to £10,000 per vehicle in grant funding to assist proprietors with the running costs of a fully electric Hackney Carriage or Private Hire Vehicle. This is the highest grant of this type in the UK.”
More information from the Clean Air Zone team on 01274 435533
Keepmoat starts work on next phase East Hull redevelopment
The start of the second development phase on Preston Road in East Hull signals a new major milestone in Hull’s 15-year city-wide housing regeneration programme.
The redevelopment of the Preston Road site is being carried out by Hull City Council’s long term, strategic development partnership KSHP, a consortium of housebuilders including Keepmoat, Strata Homes, Home Group, and Priority Space.
The scheme is being supported by the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership’s allocation of the Local Growth Fund, part of the Government’s commitment to the Northern Powerhouse.
The entire site will deliver over 500 new homes to replace the 514 no longer fit for purpose homes which are being demolished. Strata are presently on site building 242 new homes as part of the first phase.
Keepmoat Homes, is delivering the next phase, with 168 new homes in the pipeline, of which a proportion will be social housing for rent and low-cost ownership.
A further 340 properties in the area have been refurbished, including energy efficiency improvement work.
There’s also new infrastructure and extensive landscaping with the creation of new greenspaces to create a greener, more attractive local environment.
Throughout the building phases, the partnership is committed to creating training and apprenticeship opportunities as well as new jobs throughout the supply chain.
Hull City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Housing Councillor Drake-Davis said: “The housing-led regeneration in Hull is one of the most ambitious nationwide.
“Decent homes are vital to people’s health and wellbeing. We want our residents to live in well-built quality houses in attractive neighbourhoods, which meet their needs and, hopefully, their aspirations too.
“As well as proving new homes, the commitment by the partnership to providing local jobs for local people is already making a significant contribution to the sustainability of our regeneration areas.”
Daniel Crew, Regional MD at Keepmoat, Yorkshire East added: “We’re thrilled to be continuing delivery under the Hull city-wide partnership to deliver quality, sustainable homes for the latest phase in this historic Hull regeneration project.
“More than 70% of Keepmoat developments are on former brownfield land, so we’re excited to get started on site and breathe new life into this former residential area.
“We’re also working with the Environment Agency to create a nature trail along Holderness Drain, where one of our urban nursery projects will grow plants, shrubs and trees that will then be planted along the path to create a butterfly haven.”
Hull Trains named ‘best in class’ for second successive year
For the second consecutive year Hull Trains has been named ‘best in class’ at an awards ceremony to recognise the most reliable train fleets in the railway industry.
The Golden Spanners is an event at which the rolling stock sector meets to celebrate improvements in train maintenance practices and reliability.
Organised by trade publication Modern Railways, the event recognises the best in rolling stock maintenance and practices, paying tribute to those companies making the greatest strides in train reliability on behalf of passengers.
Three categories of trophy are awarded: Gold for best in class, Silver for most improved over the last year, and Bronze for the lowest impact on the customer of failures.
Hull Trains was awarded a Gold – the highest=possible accolade – in the 2nd Generation new inter-city train fleet category. The local, open-access operator was awarded the same accolade in 2022.
Figures are calculated using the measure of Miles per Technical Incident (MTIN) on a Moving Annual Average basis, with a TIN being recorded where a train is stopped for three minutes or more due to a fleet issue. Train types are broken down into categories based on age and type.
Martijn Gilbert, Managing Director of Hull Trains, said: “Our £60m investment in a state of the art bi-mode Hitachi train fleet continues to go from strength to strength in delivering improvements for our customers, as well as the environment . Hull Trains has consistently delivered for our customers. Prior to last year’s success at the Golden Spanners, we had not been recognised since 2016. So, to win a Gold Award two years running is testament to the great work of our fleet team colleagues and our train manufacture and maintenance partner, Hitachi, which enables us to deliver the dependable service that people have come to expect from Hull Trains.
“The strong performance of our train fleet is also a key ingredient in the recent news that we are currently England’s most reliable train operator.”
Jim Brewin, Chief Director UK & Ireland at Hitachi Rail, said: “We share these awards and success with our customers because their day-to-day collaboration is essential to ensuring that we break new records in reliability together.
“A huge congratulations to our maintenance teams, whose ‘always improve’ mindset puts them at the forefront of our digital maintenance transformation, which is setting the industry benchmark in reliability. Our digital solutions are part of Hitachi Rail’s wider investment in the UK which is delivering over £640 million benefit to the British economy in 2023.”
Environment Secretary promises to be on the side of rural businesses
Environment Secretary Steve Barclay has used his first major speech to set out his commitment to backing British farmers and being on the side of rural businesses.
In a speech at the Country Land and Business Association conference he set out his vision for an innovative and productive agriculture sector, supporting the sector to continue to develop into a more sustainable and profitable industry.
Almost £45 million in competitions and grants are set to open in the coming weeks as part of the Government’s £168 million investment this year to support farmers to foster innovation, boost productivity and improve animal welfare.
This includes an initial £30 million on offer in the second round of the Improving Farming Productivity Grant, providing capital grants of £25,000 – £500,000 towards robotic and automatic equipment, with further funding potentially available depending on levels of interest. For the first time, it will also fund grants of between £15,000 and £100,000 towards solar equipment which can be fitted on rooftops and float on irrigation reservoirs, helping increase energy resilience and take-up of renewable energy generation on farms.
Almost £8 million will also be available in the third round of the Large R&D Partnership, a competition specifically designed to boost industrial research and experimental development projects, and a further £850,000 through the Research Starter Round 4 competition to identify and accelerate new agricultural solutions, funding growers or foresters who have bold, ambitious, early-stage ideas.
By enabling some of the UK’s most promising innovation and research initiatives to get off the ground, this funding will not only see our farmers become more efficient and productive, but will also equip them with the knowledge and tools to maintain our high degree of food security.
He said: “My pledge to you is that this government will always back British farmers who produce some of the highest quality food in the world, contribute billions to our economy, and to whom we all owe a debt of gratitude for taking care of our countryside.”
