Tourism businesses across North Yorkshire are being invited to take part in consultations leading to creation of a Destination Management Plan for the region.
Authorities are launching an open discussion about priorities, vision and aspirations for the future: what will work and what needs to happen, visitor economy/destination strengths, challenges and opportunities and what you think needs to happen in the future and how do you see yourselves and services involved in a) the process and b) the implementation.
These sessions are a mixture of in person and online:
17th May – The Old Deanery, Ripon – 11:00 – 13:00
17th May – Skipton Castle, 15:00 – 17:00
18th May – Scarborough Rugby Club – 11:00 – 13:00
23rd May – Online – 17:30 – 19:00
25th May – Online – 12:00 – 13:30
Attendance at these events is free, but firms are asked to register via Eventbrite for further details and confirmation of attendance – https://www.eventbrite.com/cc/north-yorkshire-destination-management-plan-2137459.
In addition to the stakeholder sessions the North and West Yorkshire Chamber of Commerce undertaking a product audit of North Yorkshire’s visitor economy to better understand the views of industry, asking questions around the quality, quantity and distinctiveness of various aspects of the destination.
A spokesman said: “This survey will ask about accommodation, attractions and experiences, food and drink, festivals and events, heritage and culture, landscape and countryside, towns and villages, access and transportation and visitor services. We also want to gauge your views on what is prospering or holding back the development of the destination and understand some of the key priorities you feel should be taken forward.” Complete the survey at https://cvent.me/YB2V7D.
Companies in our region are to share in more than £24m from the government to reduce their energy costs and cut carbon emissions.
Ardagh Glass in Doncaster is receiving £1.7 million for their Doncaster Efficient Furnace Project, which will develop a brand-new container glass production furnace at the facility.
Mitsubishi Chemicals UK in Hull is receiving over £3.1m to install state-of-the-art technology which will combust waste gas to generate energy.
Naylor Industries in Barnsley, a specialist clay pipe manufacturer, is receiving over £73,100 to explore re-using waste heat from the exhaust gases of their kilns, to make their manufacturing process more energy efficient.
Wienerberger Limited in Doncaster is receiving over £220,000 to install a more efficient energy and heat recovery system, including an electric heat pump, to replace gas oil and generate no carbon emissions at their concrete roof tile factories.
The money will be used to help clean up their manufacturing processes and improve their energy efficiency, and will come from the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund designed to support businesses using high amounts of energy to reduce their fossil fuel using innovative low-carbon technologies. This will help companies save on their energy costs, which in turn will safeguard British jobs and help grow the economy – one of the government’s five priorities.
Greg Methven, UK Operations Director at Ardagh Glass said: “Our Efficient Furnace project will improve efficiency at the facility while reducing its carbon footprint. The grant support provided has been a key enabler in upgrading the project from a standard cross-fired furnace to more energy efficient end-fired furnace technology.”
Minister for Energy Efficiency Lord Callanan said: “We are leading the world in reaching net zero, having cut emissions by over 44% since 1990 – but to keep up this progress and achieve our green goals, we’ve got to transform our industrial sectors, as some of the industries most critical to our economy are also those with the highest emissions.
“We’re backing them with government funding to use the latest technologies to cut their emissions and their reliance on fossil fuels – helping to future-proof these industries as we grow our green economy.”
Doncaster Chamber is touting the associated benefits for South Yorkshire businesses that result from the bilateral trade agreements with both New Zealand and Australia that come into force soon
The provisions of the deals include lifting of tariffs on all UK good exports in both Australia and New Zealand, as well as the cutting of red tape for digital trade and modified rules that will make it easier for British professionals to live and work in either of the two countries.
Dan Fell, Chief Exec of Doncaster Chamber, said: “These deals are a positive step forwards for our economy and Global Britain; our exporters in particular should be very excited, as they stand to gain a lot.
“As a Chamber of Commerce, we always encourage local businesses to expand their trade overseas, so long as it is viable for them. With the domestic market facing challenges, now might be the perfect time for beginners to make that jump.
“Indeed, with the removal of tariffs, simplified customs procedures and no language barriers, Australia and New Zealand — despite being on the other side of the globe — could be the ideal markets for those who want to get into exporting.
“Of course, we recognise that international trade can be highly intimidating for newcomers, on account of the challenges involved in meeting customers, developing overseas distribution networks and complex documentation. That’s why we have a team of expert professionals and strategic partners on hand to help you navigate such complexities and to support you throughout the entire journey.
“This is a positive Free Trade Agreement that signals this country’s commitment to supporting international traders and Brand Britain. There is now a chance for businesses to seize this opportunity to expand their overseas markets. The Chamber is a reliable partner to both business and government when it comes to promoting international trade. We are primed and ready to help companies take advantage of this new opportunity.”
Doncaster Chamber’s international trade services encompass everything from customs declarations, right through to relevant training and export documentation.
Patients will be able to contact their general practice more easily and quickly – and find out exactly how their request will be handled on the day they call – as part of a major multi-million pound overhaul of primary care, the government and NHS will announce this week.
Practices across the UK will also be given £240 million this year to embrace the latest technology, replacing old analogue phones with modern systems so patients never get engaged tones and easy to use online tools to ensure patients get the care they need as soon as possible.
This will mean when patients contact their practice online or over the phone, they will know on the day they make contact how their query will be managed, rather than being told to call back later. If their need is urgent, they will be assessed and given appointments on the same day. If it is not urgent, appointments should be offered within two weeks, or patients will be referred to NHS 111 or a local pharmacy.
Primary care is the way most people access the NHS, and the government is committed to modernising the way patients contact their GP surgery – improving satisfaction and delivering on the Prime Minister’s promise to cut waiting lists.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay will announce a major expansion of the role of receptionists to become expert “care navigators” – whose job it is to gather information, to make sure patients are directed to the most suitable healthcare professional and to simplify and streamline the process.
Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay said: “We are already making real progress with 10% more GP appointments happening every month compared to before the pandemic. I want to make sure people receive the right support when they contact their general practice and bring an end to the 8am scramble for appointments.
“To do this we are improving technology and reducing bureaucracy, increasing staffing and changing the way primary care services are provided, which are all helping to deliver on the government’s promise to cut waiting lists.”
Minister for Health Neil O’Brien said: “Where GPs have already moved over to these new technologies we see they free up the phones, making it much easier for people to get through to their general practice team.
“As well as being more convenient for patients, these really easy to use digital tools allow a lot of patients to get the help they need without ever needing to go in for an appointment, which will help cut waiting lists.
“Investing £240 million in these modern tools and the help GPs need to move onto them will make things more convenient for patients, but also make the workload more manageable for general practice teams.”
An average sized practice of 10,000 patients often receives more than 100 calls in the first hour every Monday.
With advanced digital telephony, rather than an engaged tone patients will receive a queue position, a call back option and their call can be directly routed to the right professional. The phone system will also be integrated with the clinical systems so practice staff can quickly identify patients and their information from phone numbers.
Practices that have invested in modern online booking and messaging systems find they help free up phones for those who prefer to call, while giving patients a convenient way to get the help they need.
As well as helping patients to make contact the government is supporting staff in dealing with the calls. Working with NHS England the government will fund 6,500 care navigator training places – that is one member of staff per practice who can then pass on the training to colleagues.
Care navigators will help assess, prioritise, respond and assist. They can help make sure those who want to see a named GP or preferred member of staff can do while those who are happy to see a duty doctor can also do so.
Care navigators will direct patients to other professionals within the general practice or other medical professionals such as community pharmacists who can best meet the needs of the patients. Successful care navigation can help direct 40% of requests more effectively and speeds up appointments for those who need them.
Lincolnshire construction company Lindum has secured a place as one of 93 companies on the second iteration of Pagabo’s Refit and Refurbishment framework.
The total value of the framework, within which public sector organisations across the UK secure appropriate contractors, will run for another four years, and means Lindum can continue to offer its public sector clients a direct and compliant route on specific refit and refurbishment projects.
Lindum will feature on four of the five lots available, with values ranging from £50k to £15 million, in Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire, East Anglia, Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Rutland.
Jonathan Parker, Pagabo Head of Construction said: “It is fantastic news that we have appointed over 90 suppliers to the second generation of our Refit and Refurbishment Framework.
“It is also fantastic to see that a number of suppliers have been successful from the previous framework, such as Lindum, so that we can continue to work closely with contractors to provide a collaborative, compliant, and reliable procurement method for the public sector.
“We are very excited to see this framework and Lindum thrive with the increased value lots providing ample choice for clients, ensuring the generation of maximum positive social impact for communities in which schemes will be delivered.
Matthew Jones, Lindum Group Framework Manager said: “The communities in which we work are also the communities in which our staff live, meaning maximising social value is a priority for us. To be able to continue working with a framework provider that shares this drive is a huge boost for us.
“With the huge increase in energy prices and adoption of hybrid working practices, we expect this framework to become very popular for our clients who may be rethinking how best to utilise their estate. The increase in lot value means we can assist with a much wider range of refit and refurbishment projects, helping us to work more strategically with clients on larger pipelines of works.”
Data consultancy, The Data City has secured a six-figure project with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and Cambridge Econometrics to map high-potential business clusters around the UK.
The work will help DSIT drive the growth of the UK economy and support the government’s Growth Plan. The project sees expert analysts from Leeds-based The Data City working closely with both organisations to explore science, technology, research & innovation cluster formation and performance. It involves identifying groups of businesses with a high potential for growth and sharing characteristics that can be defined as a cluster.
The Data City is successfully mapping the UK’s emerging economy, providing researchers, policymakers and investors with real-time data on dynamic sectors and the companies within them.
The primary focus of the multi-stage study is to identify groups of firms that meet the different criteria and can be considered ‘true’ clusters. The project involves collecting, processing and analysing four primary datasets before data processing and analysis.
The team will then identify groups of firms based on their patterns of activity and location. The work will be undertaken through network analysis of the UKRI and Patent and Academic Activity Datasets. Both databases will then be linked, and a complete list of clusters will be finalised.
As registered secure data users, Cambridge Econometrics will process all secure microdata and ensure non-disclosive before sharing it with other partners.
Once the data has been collected, processed and checked, it will be used to produce the final report, added to the cluster database, and built into an interactive website created by The Data City.
The Data City is a data-as-a-service company providing unique, real-time industrial data on the most dynamic emerging economic sectors. Delivered by a cutting-edge AI, The Data City’s platform combines all the data needed in one place, from open data sets and website text to company financials and investment data, allowing users to make impactful discoveries in minutes.
The Data City team has spent the last seven years working with industry bodies, academic and sector experts and government departments to build an extensive library of new economy sector classifications that, once classified, are made available to all of its customers.
Alex Craven, CEO of The Data City, said: “It is a testament to the hard work of our team that we can work in partnership with leading organisations to play an important part in the UK’s Growth Plan.
“The innovative approach we have proposed will prove more effective in identifying a wider selection of clusters of different types than any single approach would be capable of, leading to a much more comprehensive and detailed picture of the UK cluster landscape that will ensure that support is targeted to companies with great potential for growth and job creation.”
The sister of a man killed while unloading a lorry trailer has spoken of the devastating impact her brother’s death has had on their family.
Anthony Clark, 51, from Darlington worked for GCS Johnson Limited, a trucking company based in North Yorkshire.
On 17 August 2018 the father-of-two was helping move a large piece of machinery from one trailer to another at the GCS Johnson depot at Barton Quarry industrial estate in Richmond.
As a team of workers were moving the piece of machinery, it fell from the bed of the vehicle trailer and hit Anthony killing him instantly.
Anthony, a grandfather of two and an avid Sunderland fan, had recently got engaged to his fiancé Marie. On the day of his funeral, he was due to leave on a cruise with Marie.
An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that when the workers were transferring the load for shipment, the machinery was in two parts and the smaller section fell free during the lifting operation. This caused the part of machinery to strike Anthony resulting in immediate fatal injuries.
On 3 May 2023 at Leeds Magistrates’ Court, GCS Johnson Limited of Barton Park, Barton, Richmond, North Yorkshire pleaded guilty to breaching Section 2 (1) of the Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The company was fined £140,000 and ordered to pay £18,355.07 in costs.
Anthony had an older brother, Graham, and sister Elaine.
Elaine Clark said: “Today’s verdict will not bring our Anthony back. He absolutely should not have died at work that day. He should still be here but he’s not. And that leaves a huge void in all our lives that nothing will ever replace.
“Mum has lost her son. Marie has lost her fiancé. Graham and I don’t have our baby brother anymore. His daughters don’t have their dad. His grandchildren will never get to know their Grandad.
“None of us get to see his smile. None of us get to hear him laugh. He doesn’t get to ride his scooter with his mates. Or go to watch Sunderland every week. He will never get old like the rest of us.
“Nearly five years on, family events that should be joyous occasions are tainted by our Anthony not being there. And that will never change. I can only repeat, he absolutely should not have died at work that day.”
After the hearing, HSE inspector Julian Franklin said: “You can tell from the moving tribute from Anthony’s sister, Elaine, how popular he was and the severe impact his death has had on the family.
“If the load had been examined carefully prior to the lift being carried out, the team would have identified that it was in two pieces. As it was, the lifting method used was not suitable for a load of that size and shape, and a lifting plan should have been prepared.
“This terrible incident could so easily have been avoided by simply implementing the correct control measures and safe working practices.”
Sheffield-based WANdisco, the data activation platform, has revealed that it is undertaking a reorganisation and review process that will reduce the company’s global headcount by approximately 30%.
The proposed actions are across all areas of the company’s operational and geographic footprint, with the individuals impacted being consulted in accordance with local law with the provision of support and information on next steps.
WANdisco says it has conducted a detailed review of the business which has “indicated the need for difficult but necessary changes to the company’s size in order to position the company for long-term growth and success.”
The news comes after scandal hit the business recently, in which “significant, sophisticated and potentially fraudulent irregularities with regard to received purchase orders and related revenue and bookings, as represented by one senior sales employee” were discovered. Trading in WANdisco’s shares were subsequently suspended back in March.
Kenneth Lever, executive chairman of WANdisco plc, said: “The proposal to reduce the company’s overall headcount was considered at great length. Regrettably, the proposed action is a necessary step to responsibly position WANdisco for long-term growth.
“We are working through the process as sensitively and supportively as we can, providing those directly impacted with as much information and support as possible and at all times in full compliance with local law.”
Glencar has been appointed by Maersk, the Danish shipping and logistics company, to undertake comprehensive fit-out works at Mammoth 602, a 602,000 sq ft warehouse development situated at GLP’s G-Park Doncaster development that it has recently occupied.
The £12m project will comprise of the fit out of the existing office areas to category A standard, warehouse high level services and minor external works alterations. Warehouse area fit-out includes lighting, sprinklers including works associated, frost protection, fire alarm and small power.
Works started at the beginning of February are expected to be complete at end of the September 2023.
Tom Kearsley, Glencar operations director, said: “Mammoth 602 is an incredible development and the largest such fit-out project Glencar have been awarded to date so we are suitably delighted.
“The specialist knowledge and expertise we have built our name on within the Industrial & Logistics lends itself perfectly to support the needs of a growing number of occupiers requiring specialist fit-out and enabling works. We look forward to expanding our offering in the face of increasing demand.
“We also look forward to working with the team at Maersk and delivering to their exacting needs.”
A spokesperson from Maersk said: “Mammoth 602 is a strong example of GLP’s commitment to sustainability across its developments. It is GLP’s third building to be net zero carbon for construction, in line with the UKGBC framework, and is part of the Planet Mark accreditation scheme which helps to further reduce the carbon footprint for the occupier.”
Legal & General is to stop production at its Yorkshire modular housing facility, seeing around 450 jobs affected.
Reports from Sky News indicate that the company is proposing to reduce business activity and cease new modular production at its Selby site following a lack of demand.
Existing orders will be completed to ensure delivery.
The COVID-19 pandemic and planning delays are said to be the main reasons why the facility has been unable to deliver the number of orders needed to become profitable.
The business is commencing consultation with employees around making most modular homes roles redundant.
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