Felling protected tree costs Goole property developer more than £6,000
A Goole property developer must pay £6,119 after being found guilty of unlawfully removing a mature cherry tree protected by a Tree Preservation Order.
David Wilcock appeared at Beverley Magistrates Court charged with cutting down and destroying a tree specified in Schedule 1 of Tree Preservation Order (Old Goole No. 3) 2008, contrary to section 210 (1) of the Town and Country Planning Act.
He pleaded guilty and ordered to pay a total of £6,119, made up of a £4,000 fine, £719 costs, and a £1,600 victim surcharge.
The Magistrate noted that this was a serious measure and hoped that the fine will be a signal to others to avoid undertaking similar actions.
The case was brought by the East Riding of Yorkshire Council’s Planning Enforcement team after a report from a member of the public.
Many trees in the East Riding are protected by Tree Preservation Orders, or by their presence within a Conservation Area. It is a criminal offence to cut down, uproot, lop, top or prune, or otherwise wilfully damage or destroy a protected tree without permission from the council.
Councillor Gary McMaster, cabinet member for planning, housing and infrastructure, at East Riding of Yorkshire Council, said: “Trees provide numerous benefits to local communities, enhancing the lived environment, and reducing air and noise pollution. They are also vital for biodiversity, providing habitats for insects, birds and other wildlife.
“The council takes protection of trees seriously and takes robust action where illegal behaviour occurs.”
Rotherham-based land regenerator opens woodland creation scheme
Rotherham-based Harworth Group has opened the Chevington North Woodland Creation Scheme, a natural space it says represents a major milestone in its commitment to sustainability and environmental stewardship.
The plantation, in Northumberland, covers 200 acres and is home to a 108,000 newly-planted trees to enhance biodiversity and create a haven for wildlife and the local community.
Chris Warren, Director of Natural Resources at Harworth, said: ” The opening of Chevington North is an example of how Harworth regenerates land for the benefit of communities and the environment. The woodland will create a beautiful space for the local community to enjoy whilst also supporting environmental sustainability.” Chevington North has an even split of native and evergreen trees, with the project also delivering habitat creation adjacent to the existing stream on the site and public access via an extensive network of permissive footpaths. Harworth secured grants from the Forestry Commission’s Woodland Creation Planning Grant (WCPG) and England Woodland Creation Offer (EWCO) to support the delivery of the project. The tree-planting initiative is part of Harworth’s ongoing efforts to transform former industrial sites into vibrant spaces that benefit both nature and people, and this is just one example of the steps Harworth is taking to deliver its Net Zero Pathway and achieve its ambition to become operationally Net Zero by 2030.Mindtech raises over £4m to power the future of computer vision training
Mindtech Global, the Sheffield-based company developing synthetic data to train AI vision systems, has secured £4.4m in a funding round led by Edge and including Mercia Ventures, which was investing from its own funds and the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
The latest funding round will enable the company to further develop its technology, accelerate its presence in key markets including Japan, the US and Europe and continue its partnerships with industry leaders.
Mindtech solves a key challenge for AI developers – how to source sufficient images and datasets to train computer vision systems to identify humans or objects in different settings and recognise small but significant differences.
Its Chameleon platform uses games technology to create a virtual world and generate a diverse range of realistic images – for example with different backgrounds and objects, people with different ethnicities and at varying times of day or night.
Chameleon reduces costs and development time, while ensuring companies have legal ownership of data and comply with privacy laws. The use of diverse images also avoids creating bias within AI systems. Mindtech’s latest platform, Dolphin, analyses a company’s current training database and identifies issues such as bias, lack of diversity and sparsity of training data.
Mindtech originated from an idea from a group of industry veterans including Sir Hossein Yassaie, former CEO of chip manufacturer Imagination Technologies. The company now has a team of around 25 people and its technology is used in sectors including retail, healthcare, transportation and robotics.
The latest investment comes at a pivotal time. Analyst Gartner forecasts that by 2025, synthetic data will account for the majority of data used in AI training due to growing concerns about data scarcity.
Steve Harris, CEO of Mindtech, added: “This investment marks a pivotal moment for our company. With this support, we’re able to advance our technology and meet the growing demand for robust AI vision solutions across sectors.”
Fiona Dent, General Partner at Edge, said: “We are delighted to back Mindtech’s vision. Their ethical, GDPR-compliant, synthetic data platform solves the global data scarcity issue highlighted by Gartner, enabling the promise of AI vision to be realised 10x faster than before.”
Ashwin Kumaraswamy of Mercia Ventures said: “The world is on the verge of a major shift in uptake of AI in computer vision. However, there is a lack of datasets for real-world scenarios and for all eventualities, as they are hard to come by and aren’t GDPR compliant.
“Mindtech is a leader in this emerging market and enables machines to be trained on synthetic datasets that are highly realistic, therefore it has the potential to be a key building block of vision AI infrastructure.”
Yorkshire administrations fall but economic fragility persists as construction and manufacturing lead insolvency cases
The number of companies in Yorkshire filing for administration during the first nine months of the year has fallen by nearly a quarter, according to figures from Interpath Advisory. However, construction and manufacturing have faced a challenging year.
Analysis of notices in The Gazette shows there have been 75 administrations across Yorkshire in the first nine months of 2024, representing a fall of 22.9% when compared to last year’s figures (Q1 – Q3 2023: 97). For Q3 2024, the figures showed that administrations have fallen when compared to the same period last year, dropping from 35 to 27 administrations.
The figures also reveal that there remains fragility in the economy in certain sectors. The most impacted sectors in Yorkshire have been building & construction with 13 cases and industrial manufacturing (12 cases) between Q1 and Q3 2024, in line with national trends.
Nationally, there were 1,016 administrations across the UK between January and September 2024, in line with the corresponding figures for last year (January to September 2023 1,013 administrations).
The building & construction sector has been the most impacted by administrations nationally since the start of the year with 147 cases, followed by business services (130 administrations), industrial manufacturing (119 administrations) and retail (93 administrations). Together these sectors account for almost half (48.3%) of total administrations in the UK economy.
Commenting on the figures, James Clark, Managing Director and Head of the Yorkshire team at Interpath Advisory, said: “Yorkshire has bucked the national trend and seen cases fall, which is encouraging and pays testament to the resilience of our business community – in particular, retail and casual dining has fared much better than expected and has surprised a number of commentators with its resilience, but there are still real areas of distress in the economy, not least in construction and manufacturing, which have both suffered.
“Both have battled with a sustained price inflation and for construction businesses, they’ve had to square that with the prevalence of fixed price contracts that have tipped many into insolvency.
“We are also seeing a number of clients reach out for assistance dealing with issues under the relatively new Building Safety Act – another issue creating turbulent conditions for the construction sector as enforcement of remedial works takes centre stage, putting further strain on cash flow.
“Looking ahead, we expect administrations to be near to last year’s figures come December as some businesses struggle to respond to market conditions, but also as others find the pressure of growth too much to bear. At this point, it will be interesting to see whether the retail sector continues to weather the storm.
“Whatever position they are in, business leaders will be looking to the Budget at the end of this month for some stability and visibility so they can make better, more informed decisions to guide their organisations solvently through this fragile economic period.”
Wykeland and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust partner to put nature at heart of projects
Developer Wykeland Group and Yorkshire Wildlife Trust have announced a framework agreement to create developments in which people and nature thrive together.
The agreement builds on more than a decade of successful collaboration between the two organisations and aims to ensure commercially successful development and ecological enhancement go hand in hand.
The innovative Ecology and Biodiversity Framework Agreement commits the two organisations to work together constructively to create and nurture wildlife and natural habitats alongside the delivery of sustainable, commercially-viable developments.
The agreement with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust commits Wykeland to embedding ecological principles across the company’s entire portfolio of developments.
Representatives from Hull-based Wykeland and the Trust came together for an event at Wykeland’s Bridgehead business park in Hessle, East Yorkshire, to celebrate over a decade of partnership between the organisations, introduce the new agreement and formally sign it.
Wykeland and the Trust have worked closely together since 2013 to demonstrate how commercial development and environmental stewardship delivers better outcomes for both wildlife and people.
A flagship project from their collaboration has been a 1km nature trail at Bridgehead, near the Humber Bridge, designed and created by Wykeland, working in partnership with the Trust. The Trust manages the pathway and its surrounding natural habitat on behalf of Wykeland.
Wykeland has also worked with community volunteering charity, The Conservation Volunteers, as well as local primary schools to create the Jubilee Woodland, which features 1,200 trees and borders Wykeland’s Melton West business park in East Yorkshire.
A major element of the new agreement is the integration of the Trust’s expertise at the earliest stages of Wykeland’s design and development processes, as a constructive and critical friend.
Wykeland will actively involve the Trust from the initial planning and design phases, ensuring that ecological considerations are prioritised in new and existing projects, including developments such as Bridgehead, Melton West, the Fruit Market urban village in Hull, and Europarc in Grimsby.
Wykeland Managing Director Dominic Gibbons said: “We’re delighted to be continuing our work with Yorkshire Wildlife Trust to enhance not just our future developments, but also our existing ones.
“We’re committed to ensuring all our developments benefit the businesses that occupy them, and the people who work in and use them, as well as enriching the natural environment.
“This new agreement builds on the great work we’ve done with the Trust over the past 10 years. It commits our team and the Trust to work even more closely together across our entire portfolio to create commercially successful and attractive places where both people and nature thrive.”
Yorkshire Wildlife Trust is a charity dedicated to conserving, protecting and restoring wildlife and wild places in Yorkshire. It looks after more than 100 nature reserves across Yorkshire and is involved in hundreds of other conservation-related projects.
The Trust’s Chief Executive Officer, Rachael Bice, said: “Driving better outcomes for wildlife in new development is critical and possible, even when there is pressure for strong economic growth and more homes.
“The relationship we have built with Wykeland shows solutions can be found for ecologically sensitive development when professionals bring together their different perspectives, that benefit wildlife and create attractive, healthier places where people want to live and work.”
Prime Leeds industrial unit sells in £8.74m deal
A prime, last-mile distribution warehouse that spans more than 100,000 sq ft just outside Leeds city centre has sold in an £8.74m investment deal.
Unit 3 on Benyon Park Way, which is off Lowfields Road and close to Gelderd Road, has been sold by Alt, an online platform for investing in UK warehousing, and Inflection Real Estate to an institutional investor.
Alt and Inflection were advised by Leeds property consultancy, GV&Co’s investment division and Southsea Capital acted for the buyer. The sale reflects a net initial yield of 6.75%.
The building offers 105,768 sq ft of space, which includes more than 7,000 sq ft of office accommodation spread over two storeys. It sits in a large and fully secure site extending to 5.25 acres and is 1.5 miles from Leeds city centre and less than a mile from the M621.
The whole site is let to Encon, the independent distributor of insulation materials, interior building products, fire protection and roofing materials. The company has occupied the building since 2008 and has a lease until 2028.
Daniel Walker, from GV&Co, said: “After embarking on a successful asset management strategy, we’re delighted to achieve this sale for our client, which reinforces how much demand there is in the market for prime, last-mile industrial premises in Leeds.”
Oliver d’Souza, from Southsea Capital, added: “The investment is a great acquisition for my client. The location supports the buyer’s wider strategy of acquiring high quality and well-connected assets in key cities throughout the UK.”
Ben Cassey, from Inflection Real Estate, added: “In challenging market conditions we pushed on the rent materially at the rent review and secured an institutional exit that delivered returns of circa 25% internal rate of return (IRR) to our investors. We continue to look for well-located, under-rented logistics opportunities in partnership with Alt.”
Four Yorkshire businesses make shortlist for UK Employee Ownership Awards 2024
The eoa has shared the list of businesses shortlisted in the UK Employee Ownership Awards, including four Yorkshire-based firms.
The awards celebrate the achievements of businesses that truly deliver people power. They recognise businesses and individuals who drive effective employee ownership (EO) practices and empower employee owners to unlock Great EO impacts.
Ranging from SMEs to larger firms and across niche manufacturing, heating, renewable or electrical specialists, care, PR, law, and farming, these shortlisted businesses have one thing in common – their business model and governance supports employees to have a stake and a say in the business.
James de le Vingne, Chief Executive of the eoa, said: “The calibre of applications show the remarkable accomplishments of employee owned businesses at various stages of EO from regions and industries across the UK.
“These proudly employee owned businesses are leading the way in developing Great EO practices, delivering increased employee wellbeing and business performance, and contributing to People Powered Growth in the UK.”
Martin Camp, Head of Business Development and Growth at Howden, said: “We’re delighted to support the UK Employee Ownership Awards 2024, celebrating the Great EO results delivered by employee owners and businesses that fully leverage their EO approach, roles, and actions.
“These submissions bring to life how individuals and businesses are delivering and evolving employee ownership to support better livelihood outcomes for employees, as well as more innovation and growth.”
Shortlisted Businesses
‘EO Transition of the Year’
Shortlisted:
- Aspect – strategic communication consultancy based in Scotland.
- Blue Flame – heating, renewable and electrical business based in Cornwall
- Ignis – consumer/B2B comms and marketing agency based in London
- Wildfire PR – PR and Tech PR agency based in London.
- JP Hildreth – Consultants in engineering projects for manufacturing excellence, Chesham
- NEL technologies – Specialist in Flexible Heaters and Thermal Management Solutions, Newcastle
- Nikwax – High performance outdoor wear solutions, Wadhurst, East Sussex
- Principle Cleaning – Commercial Cleaning of landmark properties, London
- Sewell Group – estates, Investment, construction, consultancy, data and facilities, based in Hull
- Solarsense – solar panels and other renewable technologies, based in Clevedon
- Answer Digital – digital consultancy, based in Leeds
- Gripple – manufacturer of wire tensioning, based in Sheffield
- Ison Harrison – Solicitors, Leeds
- Quintessa – technical and strategic consultancy, Warrington
- Riverford Organics – arming and food distribution, Devon
- Shaw Healthcare, care provider across the UK, Cardiff
- Tracey Calderwood of 1:1 Diet by Cambridge Weight Plan
- Harvey Hancock of Gripple
- Matrix Booking – Jade Loftus
- Riverford – Ed Scott
- Seetec – Ann-Marie Conway
Leeds cybersecurity company secures six-figure loan to support growth
A Leeds cybersecurity company has secured a six-figure loan from NPIF II – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia as part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund II (NPIF II).
Xentra provides a full range of digital security solutions to clients including Leeds United FC, Leeds Bradford Airport, local councils, schools and NHS bodies. It is the third cyber venture from entrepreneur Henry Doyle, who previously co-founded both Altinet, the Leeds-based business that was sold to Arrow in 2020, and cyber training specialist Boxphish.
He acquired a majority stake in Xentra in January from the founder Marc Fairclough, who is now Chief Operating Officer. Since then they have led a growth drive, increasing the number of employees from two to 14 and winning a raft of high-profile clients.
The team now plans to double the size of the business within the next 12 months. The funding will provide additional working capital to support its growth and create four to five new jobs by the end of this year.
Xentra assesses clients’ needs and recommends the right solutions to help them secure their networks and meet standards such as ISO 27001. It provides managed services ranging from 24-hour monitoring to firewalls, email security and storage and is a specialist in safeguarding, supporting schools and colleges with a total of around 125,000 pupils.
Henry Doyle, CEO of Xentra, said: “As cyber risks increase, every organisation needs security but with so many different technologies and new threats emerging all the time, building the right infrastructure is a team game. Our experts help clients choose the right solutions and create a safe working or learning environment. The funding will help us deliver our customer acquisition strategy and continue our rapid expansion.”
David Wright of Mercia Debt added: “Xentra is a one-stop shop for all of an organisation’s cybersecurity needs. Henry has done a remarkable job to achieve such rapid growth in a matter of months and has built a strong management team. The NPIF II funding will provide the working capital they need to take the business forward.”
UK Infrastructure Bank becomes the National Wealth Fund
The UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB) is becoming the National Wealth Fund (NWF), as announced by the Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, at the International Investment summit in London.
The new NWF will expand UKIB’s remit beyond infrastructure in support of the Government’s industrial strategy, building on its success over the last three years. With additional financial capacity and an enhanced risk budget, the NWF will be capitalised with £27.8bn to catalyse private investment in the market.
From its HQ in Leeds, the NWF will expand its team, securing additional sector expertise to support its new remit. Alongside boosting its private sector investments, it will continue to provide commercial and financial advisory services and lending to local authorities, strengthening its partnerships with Mayors to support the Government’s growth ambitions.
The new organisation will also take on a more sophisticated partnership role with Government departments, bringing investment expertise and policymaking closer together, to accelerate policy development which supports and grows the market.
The NWF will continue to make private sector investments against a clear set of principles, with a focus on crowding in private finance to sectors and technologies which are critical to the UK’s clean energy and growth ambitions. The government will set out further details of the NWF’s role in delivering the Industrial Strategy in a statement of strategic priorities, as well as reviewing the organisation’s success metrics, before the next financial year.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves said: “Today’s announcements are the first step in delivering on this government’s central mission to secure sustainable growth, rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”
John Flint, CEO at the National Wealth Fund, said: “It is a huge privilege to be entrusted with the responsibility of leading the National Wealth Fund.
“Building on the strong foundations we have laid as UKIB, we will hit the ground running, using sector insight and investment expertise that the market knows and trusts to unlock billions of pounds of private finance for projects across the UK.
“With additional capital to deploy against a bigger mandate, we stand ready to help the market invest with confidence, in support of the Government’s growth ambitions.”
Councillor James Lewis, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “We’re pleased to hear the announcement by Chancellor Rt Hon Rachel Reeves MP of the new steps for the National Wealth Fund and its headquarters in Leeds.
“Leeds is the UK’s second largest city for financial services, and a major hub for related professional services, and this latest announcement further reinforces the city’s progress and influence as we continue to attract major players such as the UK Infrastructure Bank, Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority who have all chosen to locate their major UK hubs in our city.
“These developments create exciting opportunities for local people, offering a wealth of new jobs and career paths. We have huge strengths in this area and offer a wealth of expertise underpinned by strong regional, national and international partnerships and a diverse range of businesses which puts us in a great position to support this initiative.”
Ground broken on café as part of £7.4m improvements at Rother Valley Country Park
Rotherham Council’s Deputy Leader, Cllr David Sheppard joined partners Kier Construction Ltd. to officially break ground on the site of a new café at Rother Valley Country Park this month.
The works are part of a series of £7.4m improvements at the park which will boast a waterfront development, housing a new 150-seater eatery and indoor function space with views extending over the lake.
The new development will also include external landscaping with an area for play outside the café for younger visitors. In addition, visitors will also benefit from new car parking facilities to the East of the lake, which will greatly improve accessibility and visitor experience.
The improvements at the popular country park are part of wider aims to build a thriving leisure offer and visitor economy in Rotherham.
Rotherham Council secured almost £20m from the government’s Levelling Up Fund to create new jobs and celebrate the hidden gems and green spaces that are unique to Rotherham’s heritage, transforming Rotherham into a major leisure destination.
Cllr Sheppard, who is also Cabinet Member for Social Inclusion and Neighbourhood Working, said: “The Council aims to grow Rotherham’s leisure economy by making the most of our unique assets and green spaces and investing in training to support jobs in this sector.
“Rother Valley Country Park is a landmark visitor attraction here in Rotherham, enjoyed by thousands of visitors from across the borough and all over the UK each year. I’m delighted work has started and I’m very much looking forward to seeing these improvements take shape, and eventually make what is a great day out even better.”
The improvements follow extensive public consultation, with people invited to give their views on the changes which would bring the greatest benefit to visitors of the park.
The partnership with Kier Construction will also build on the Council’s work on social value to promote local employment through council spending. Throughout the works the South Yorkshire based builders have committed to employing 18 local people on the project.
Dan Doherty, regional director for Kier Construction North and Scotland, said: “We are delighted to be delivering improvements to the facilities at Rother Valley Country Park. The new Visitor Centre will provide a fantastic space for local communities to come together to explore and enjoy the great outdoors, enhancing the overall experience for everyone who visits.”
In addition to the plans for Rother Valley, the Levelling Up funding secured by Rotherham Council is being used to transform part of Wentworth Woodhouse Grade I listed stable block to include a new commercial kitchen, café and events space, whilst Magna has benefited from exhibition upgrades and an improved visitor experience. Thrybergh Country Park will use the funding to refurbish its current café.
These investments will be underpinned by a skills package which will see the creation of Skills Street at Gulliver’s Valley Resort and a new incubator space at the former Maltby Grammar School which has now reached completion.
