Landscaping products firm buys 15-acre site from North Lincolnshire Council
Landscaping products supplier Talasey Ltd is acquiring a 15-acre site from North Lincolnshire Council on which to build a new warehouse and storage facility in Scunthorpe, creating 130 new jobs, on top of the 100 people already employed.
Founder and CEO Mark Wall said: “Having celebrated our 20th anniversary earlier this year, we are excited to be taking this next step in our journey creating a new warehouse and distribution centre on Normanby Enterprise Park in Scunthorpe.
“Talasey moved to Scunthorpe in 2022, from where we supply landscaping solutions including paving, composite decking and fencing products, into the UK builders merchant sector. This additional operating space will allow us to move forward with the next phase of our growth strategy, creating new jobs and opportunities for the area.
“We thank North Lincolnshire Council for their support and look forward to working with the team on this acquisition.”
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see companies like Talasey going from strength to strength here in North Lincolnshire, investing millions of pounds in the area and creating even more new job opportunities for residents on their doorstep.
“More businesses are choosing North Lincolnshire, with its can-do attitude and excellent transport links, as the ideal location to expand their operations. We look forward to working with Talasey to support their continued growth plans.”
Talasey’s state-of-the-art head office facility on Normanby Road now accommodates its training academy, which offers a range of interactive courses for everyone from landscape architects to college students and homeowners.
Small firms’ fall in confidence is disheartening, says FSB
Confidence levels amongst the UK’s small firms fell back into negative territory in the second quarter of this year, wiping out improvements made at the start of the year, according to the Federation of Small Businesses.
Tina McKenzie, FSB’s Policy Chair, said: “After a strong start to 2024, we were all hoping that the latest quarter would be just as positive for small businesses – if not more so. But sadly it was not to be.
“Small businesses are looking with trepidation at the Government’s forthcoming plans to change employment, which could both increase risk around small businesses employing people, and the costs when they do. The rise of labour costs will hold back economic growth, and points to the possibility of a contraction in small business job numbers, which would be terrible news for firms, for staff, for local communities and the national economy.
“Taxes and employment costs are already soaring for small employers. The Government should formally index the Employment Allowance to the rising living wage to help alleviate pressure on small firms and resolve the economic inactivity crisis. Every line in the Government’s employment plans must be checked for negative impact on growth and jobs.
“The construction sector’s woes, with the lowest confidence reading among the major sectors, underpins our calls for more support for small housebuilders, such as reforming the consumer infrastructure levy, so small building firms can access the finance they need. The Government’s 1.5 million homes target cannot be achieved without new policies to unlock the potential of small housebuilders.
“With reported revenues in the second quarter not matching the predictions small firms made at the start of the year, there are signs that the small business community found the going tough.
“We’re still waiting for action from the Government on the long-running sore point for small firms of late payment. This could be tackled by giving audit committees of large firms oversight of payment practices in their annual reports – something that would not cost the Government a penny, but which could help millions of small businesses’ cashflow improve significantly.
“Overall, the small business community is looking for reassurance from the Government that it is listening to their concerns, especially around tax and employment.
“The fall in confidence among small firms is disheartening, but need not become a self-fulfilling prophecy. With the right support, we know that small businesses can thrive and drive the economic growth that the Government has said is its priority.
“Now, as we head into the next quarter, we’re staring down the barrel at some tough challenges if we want to rebuild confidence.
“The riots have left small businesses picking up the pieces, so to turn this around, the Home Secretary needs to facilitate fair treatment of SMEs by the insurance industry. Additionally, the Government and police commissioners need to work together to clearly explain how small businesses can claim lost earnings under the Riot Compensation Act.”
FSB’s Small Business Index (SBI) for Q2 2024 saw the headline confidence reading tumble to -10.8 points, a fall of 16.3 points from Q1’s +5.5 points.
Construction was the least optimistic of the main sectors, with a score of -20.7 points. The wholesale and retail sector was not far behind, on -19.5 points, a tumble from the +2.1 points registered in the first quarter. Accommodation and food services businesses saw their score slip from -11.8 points in Q1 to -15.9 in the most recent survey, while manufacturing firms went from a healthy +19.2 points in Q1 – the most positive main sector in that report – to -12.7 points in Q2, the biggest sectoral swing between the two quarters.
Information and communication sector firms fell to -9.2 points from +7.1 in the previous quarter, while professional, scientific and technical businesses declined from +14.3 points in Q1 to -2.6 points in Q2, making them the least negative of the major sectors.
Looking ahead to Q3, revenue expectations have significantly moderated, with over a third of small firms (34.7%) anticipating an increase in their takings, and three in ten (30.1%) preparing for a decrease.
Growth aspirations for the coming year were also more or less in line with Q1, with over half of small firms (54.1%) saying they expect to grow over the next 12 months (Q1: 52.4%), and over one in eight (13.3%) saying they expect to contract (Q1: 12.6%). The proportion expecting to grow is the highest reading on this measure since Q2 2021.
Small firms once again pointed to the domestic economy as the most commonly-cited barrier to growth, picked by three in five small businesses (60.5%) – but this is a slight fall from the 64.6% registered in Q1, and could indicate a very slender easing of fears about the economy. Consumer demand was selected as a barrier to growth by a similar percentage in Q2 (34.6%) as in Q1 (35.6%), although labour costs (up from 26.3% in Q1 to 28.5% in Q2) and the tax burden (up from 19.2% in Q1 to 22.2% in Q2) edged upwards as concerns.
Council leader to visit British steel bosses in China
North Lincolnshire Council leader Rob Waltham is set to lead a small delegation to China to meet British Steel’s owners in an attempt to protect the future of steelmaking in Scunthorpe.
British Steel’s owners, Jingye, have previously announced a £1.25bn development plan to create new green steel making facilities in Scunthorpe.
And, North Lincolnshire Council has pledged to develop 300 acres at the site to create new, green engineering and energy jobs, creating more opportunities for residents to access sustainable, high-paid jobs.
Cllr Waltham, leader of North Lincolnshire Council, said: “We have been working with British Steel and the previous Government across a number of years to protect steelmaking and livelihoods here in North Lincolnshire.
“We continue to work the new Government too and we are asking them to back our plan for the site and protect steelmaking and jobs locally.
“Whatever the plans are going forward, we have to protect the sovereign capability for blast furnace steel and create a new future for steelmaking at the same time, using taxpayers’ money to lose jobs is not acceptable.
“We are determined to protect and enhance this vital industry, which is the backbone of our local economy and essential to our national security.”
A small team of three people are to travel in September to the Shijiazhuang province and will hold meetings with senior officers, civic leaders and directors of the company.
Business wins food waste recycling tender with Lincolnshire County Council
BioteCH4 has secured a new contract with Lincolnshire County Council to recycle food waste from all districts within Lincolnshire.
BioteCH4, the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) operator, handled over 600,000 tonnes of food waste in 2023, producing power equivalent to the electricity used by over 30,000 homes for an entire year.
When food waste is disposed via Energy from Waste, the energy and nutrient benefits are not fully harnessed. By separately collecting food waste and recycling it through AD, these greenhouse gases are captured and converted into biogas and renewable energy, which is then injected into the national grid and the digestate by-product is recycled to land to help grow more food.
Following confirmation that all Councils must provide a weekly food waste collection from March 2026, Lincolnshire County Council has moved quickly, securing an in-county solution with BioteCH4 which will see up to 50,000 tonnes of food waste captured annually from homes and businesses across the county.
Starting in Autumn 2025, BioteCH4 will collect the food waste daily from a network of six transfer stations throughout the county for up to 9 years. BioteCH4 will use its experience to collaborate closely with the councils as they implement these food waste collections for the first time, ensuring a smooth rollout of services and maximising the amount of food waste recycled across the county.
Pamela Woolcock, Group Public Sector Lead for BioteCH4, said: “Although the Simpler Recycling journey has been long, we are nearing the finish line. We are thrilled to now be partnered with Lincolnshire County Council with a year to work on perfecting the implementation plans before we kick-off in September 2025.
“We’re delighted Lincolnshire have taken the step of introducing their food waste collections so soon and we’d urge other local authorities currently looking at their procurement to speak to operators and get the ball rolling as soon as is feasible. We’d welcome any questions, and our sites are open for visits to meet our team of experts.”
Chris Yorston, acting head of waste at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Having secured our treatment solution, we can now focus – with our district council partners and BioteCH4 – on designing, procuring, and implementing the other elements of our food waste collection service. We are looking forward to bringing all our knowledge and experience together to bring food waste recycling to households across the county.”
Major industrial and logistics scheme gets go-ahead at Ferrybridge Power Station site
Mountpark has secured planning permission from Wakefield Council for the redevelopment of The Coal Yard at Ferrybridge Power Station in West Yorkshire.
The hybrid application includes detailed planning permission for site infrastructure works and outline approval for up to 1.64 million sq ft of industrial and logistics space on the 110-acre site. Extensive highway improvements from the adjacent A162 into the development are also included within the scheme.
The regeneration of the former Coal Yard site is expected to create upwards of 2,000 jobs as Brett Huxley, development director for Mountpark (UK & Ireland) explains: “This decision is the next step towards delivering a new future to this iconic site.
“Mountpark Ferrybridge represents one of the largest job creation projects in West Yorkshire in recent years, and we hope to attract significant inward investment by creating a high quality industrial and logistics campus for our occupiers.
“The project will generate a vast array of job opportunities for local people, bringing industry and economic prosperity back to Ferrybridge.”
Mountpark Ferrybridge will cater for requirements from 40,000 sq ft to 640,000 sq ft. Mountpark’s plans also retain the existing railway sidings that bound the scheme with enhanced landscaping, footpaths and cycleways reconnecting Ferrybridge with the local community.
Mountpark’s joint agents on the scheme are Carter Towler and JLL. The wider project team includes Oxalis Planning, SMR Architects, Markides Associates and Hydrock+CPD.
Abbeydale nursery proves apprenticeship funding is child’s play
Abbeydale Cottage Nursery is one of the first businesses in South Yorkshire to benefit from the South Yorkshire-wide Apprenticeship Levy Matchmaking scheme.
Based on Abbeydale Road South in Dore, the nursery employs 33 staff and looks after almost 160 children under four.
The matchmaking service enables larger employers to pledge their unspent Apprenticeship Levy funding to support smaller to medium sized businesses.
Small businesses usually have to make a contribution towards the training costs of apprentices, but if their application to the matchmaking service is successful, that cost is waived.
Emily Steele, Manager at Abbeydale Cottage Nursery, said: “This is an amazing and priceless opportunity to get apprenticeship training for free and incredibly valueable for our business. Given the significant demand for nursery places and the need to retain skilled staff, it was a no brainer – we couldn’t not apply to the fund.
“We run a busy and popular nursery. It is vital that we invest in our staff to develop and retain them, which in turn helps us to provide the best service for our customers.
“There are so many advantages to training apprentices. They bring fresh, new ideas and we can mould their training to suit our business skills needs. The fact that apprentices learn in the workplace really helps with the development of their knowledge and skills. There is no substitute for learning on the job.
“The process of applying to the Apprenticeship Levy Matchmaking Service was really straightforward and I would encourage any other small businesses to consider it.”
Keith Richardson, Manager, South Yorkshire Apprenticeship Hub, said: “We are committed to building the skills that South Yorkshire needs by ensuring that smaller employers get the support to grow their businesses.
“Scores of businesses and apprentices are benefitting from the hub including the transfer of levy funding to SMEs to support apprenticeship training costs.
“Apprenticeships are a great way to invest in the future of your organisation and we would encourage more businesses to get in touch and find out more.”
£60m set for West Yorkshire skills courses
West Yorkshire’s colleges, councils and education providers are primed to deliver over £60 million of training courses from September, funded through the devolved Adult Skills Fund.
The funding will help deliver a huge variety of courses catering for both school leavers and adult learners of all ages from across the region.
The announcement came as students collect their GCSE results (22 August), with regional Mayor Tracy Brabin promising that “regardless of grade, you can find your future here in West Yorkshire.”
With devolved responsibility over adult skills, Mayor Brabin has vowed to support people with basic skills like English and Maths, while also supporting people with more advanced technical education, helping them secure well-paid jobs in growing industries such as the green, digital and creative sectors.
Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “To anyone collecting a result, finding their first job or looking for better-paid work, my message is simple – you can find your future here in West Yorkshire.
“Because of devolution, we and our partners can equip you with the skills you need to succeed, with a laser focus on helping you secure a real, well-paid job in the local labour market.
“For our economy to succeed and thrive, we need everyone in it to succeed and thrive. That’s why we’re building a region of learning and creativity, where everyone can fulfil their potential.”
The multi-million pound investment follows a high-profile manifesto pledge to “build a region of learning and creativity,” with almost £50 million divided up between the region’s colleges, almost £7 million between the five district councils, and over £4 million between specialist training providers.
This £4.5 million of targeted contracts will tackle the specific labour shortages facing the region, with a focus on much-needed training for essential jobs including bus drivers, construction engineers and healthcare workers. To date, over 150 new bus drivers and over 400 new telecoms engineers have been trained and employed through targeted funds.
A recently withdrawn procurement will also be repurposed and sharpened, to provide a further £7 million to fill any emerging gaps in adult skills provision from January 2025.
Over the past academic year, over 40,000 learners were supported through funding from the West Yorkshire Mayor, helping to deliver thousands of vital jobs in the local labour market. Of those supported, there was a higher proportion of young learners, ethnic minority learners and disabled learners on the previous year.
Homebuilders’ golf day raises £11,000 for charity
A golf day arranged by Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West has raised £11,000 for its charity of the year, Candlelighters, which supports families affected by childhood cancer.
Almost 80 golfers, including Barratt and David Wilson Homes’ employees and sub-contractors, took part in the tournament at Garforth Golf Club in Leeds.
Iain Blackwood Hobbs, Partnerships Executive at Candlelighters, said: “Thank you so much to Barratt Homes Yorkshire West for organising another incredible golf day for Candlelighters. The £11,000 raised on the Golf Day allows Candlelighters to continue providing vital, practical, emotional, and financial support to so many families in Yorkshire who are sadly affected by childhood cancer.
“We can’t thank the Yorkshire West Team enough for their support over the past six years and for doing so much in this successful partnership.”
Gavin Birch, MD at Barratt and David Wilson Homes Yorkshire West, said: “We’d like to thank everyone who participated in our annual golf day for another year. This day helps to support such a great cause and we hope everyone involved had a good day.”
Doncaster Chamber calls for shake-up in careers advice offered to school leavers
Doncaster Chamber believes a step change in both quality and quantity of careers advice for school leavers, and the number of private sector representatives involved in education governance.
Proposals to improve Doncaster‘s performance in both of these areas are included in the Chamber’s recently published Manifesto – Doncaster ’35: A Manifesto for a Winning City.
Congratulating those who’d received their results this week, Chamber CEO Dan Fell said “Last week, data was published showing that Doncaster is the best performing town or city in Yorkshire when it comes to the growth of our business stock. This, along with pending news about a new operator for our re-opening airport and the investment of flagships businesses such as Hybrid Air Vehicles into our city, shows that Doncaster is on the up.
“I would therefore strongly encourage young people receiving their GCSE and A-Level results to look at local training and employment opportunities and to seriously consider pursuing a career in Doncaster’s increasingly vibrant business community.
“However, despite many years of concerted effort by many talented people and organisations, we still hear too much dissatisfaction from employers about the way their industry or sector is promoted to young people, and too many employers fear that a hopeful message about Doncaster’s economy is not getting through to young people.
“That is why we have called, in our recently published manifesto, for a shake-up of careers advice in this country and for careers to have increased prevalence in the way schools are assessed by organisations like Ofsted.
“To help embed a demand-led approach to skills within our local education community, we are also encouraging more business leaders to put themselves forward for education governance roles. Being a school governor is a great way to use your skills to enhance peoples’ lives and to help ensure that the curriculum aligns with the needs of your sector. Many talented young people will be celebrating today, by closer aligning the education and business communities, we can ensure as many of those young people access exciting careers as locally as possible.”
University of Bradford has Small Business Charter extended for five years
The University of Bradford’s School of Management has been recognised for its work with small businesses by having its Small Business Charter renewed for a further five years.
Professor Sankar Sivarajah, Dean of the School of Management at the University of Bradford, said: “The five-year award is a testament to the growth and development of our engagement with entrepreneurs and small businesses within the region over the past few years, as well as the ongoing strength of the School’s business and community engagement offer.”
Tim Rogers, CEO of Bradford district-based firm Future Transformation, said: “With access to students, research and innovation the University of Bradford School of Management proves a vital resource for SMEs like mine and the wider business community locally, regionally and nationally to grow sustainably and increase our skills resulting in a strong and stable economy.” Flora Hamilton, Executive Director of the Small Business Charter and CEO of the Chartered Association of Business Schools, said: “We congratulate the University of Bradford School of Management for retaining their SBC status. “It is fantastic to see that the school has built upon the foundations of its initial application and continues to demonstrate impact in supporting small businesses and student entrepreneurs in their local economy. “We look forward to seeing the ongoing impacts of their work deliver for their regional economy.”
Professor David Spicer, Director of Business and Community Engagement at the University of Bradford, said: “As a civic institution our engagement with, and support for, the local community is a key tenant of our work.
“Our SBC award reinforces the importance of those links and recognises the value we create for businesses and entrepreneurs in the city and University.
“The five-year accreditation achieved this time is testament to the School’s team in extending our work in this regard.”
The School has been recognised for its contributions in three categories: Support for Growth of Small Businesses, Stakeholder Engagement to Support Growth, and Encouraging Student Enterprise and Entrepreneurship.
