Time Out: Dan Besau, founder and co-owner of Smart Repairs
It’s almost the weekend, and that means it’s time to put your feet up and wind down with a few fun, quick-fire questions. This ‘Time Out’ features Dan Besau, founder and co-owner of the Leeds-based Smart Repairs, the independent cosmetic vehicle repairer.
What is the first thing you do to get the weekend started?
If time permits, I love to go to Trenchers Restaurant in Whitby with all the family, where we enjoy the most wonderful fish and chips.
What is your hobby?
I spend a good deal of my time with my son Joseph and follow his passion for rugby, cricket and swimming. We also enjoy mountain biking together in Dalby Forest and the North Yorkshire Moors with our two dogs.
What is your favourite movie?
Reach for the Sky, starring Kenneth More as Second World War flying ace Douglas Bader. For some reason, this film always happened to be on television just before I was going back to boarding school. It gave me a lot of comfort. I also love the Spiderman, Superman and Ironman films.
If you hadn’t been successful at what you do, what would you be doing instead as a career?
I think I would have enjoyed farming – or any other career which allowed me to spend most of my time outdoors.
If you could have any superpower what would it be?
Permanent good health.
What is your favourite genre of music?
Anything from the 1980s, a golden age for popular music.
If you could travel to any moment in time where would you go?
I would like to go back to the 1920s to see what progress we’ve made during the past 100 years. Alternatively, I would like to revisit 1987 and tell the 16-year-old me that it’s fine not to know what you want to do and to go travelling. I would also visit the Midland Bank manager who told my mother “your son will end up in prison or become a millionaire” and tell him that I’ve done OK.
Grade II listed Otley building and former bar to be transformed into homes
A Grade II listed building in Otley town centre, that was home to former local institution, Korks Wine Bar, now has planning permission to be extended and transformed into seven town houses and apartments, and is for sale with estate agent, Dacre, Son & Hartley.
Planning permission for the scheme was granted this February and the properties will be made up of three sections. The principal building on Bondgate will be transformed into three units of varying sizes, with three further homes in a newly constructed element. An existing small barn will be converted to create a one bedroom property. There will also be six parking spaces, a communal bike store and garden areas.
Korks hosted live music events and served food and drink for more than 35 years before closing at the end of 2017.
Tim Usherwood, who heads up Dacre, Son & Hartley’s Otley office, said: “This is an exciting opportunity to convert a beautiful and well known building in the heart of Otley town centre into a selection of residences, with the largest offering 1,474 sq ft across three floors with a roof terrace.
“Once complete, the development will be full of character, and in a great location, with all of Otley’s shops, bars and restaurants on the doorstep, so it’s bound to be popular with homebuyers.”
Get ready to make new connections at the Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo
The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo will take place next week on Wednesday 27 April 2022, providing a prime opportunity for networking and business generation.
The free expo, for which Business Link is a proud partner, will take place at The Bentley Hotel, Lincoln, and is a well targeted event aimed at the Construction, Property, Business, Investment, Finance, Professional Services and related B2B markets.
Exhibitors include Aspbury Planning Ltd, Belvoir, Business Lincolnshire, BSP Consulting, Delta Simons, the Federation of Small Businesses, J Tomlinson, NatWest, Willmott Dixon, and YMD Boon, to name a few. See the full list of who is exhibiting here.
Opening at 9am, the expo will also host a workshop from Team Lincolnshire and Business Lincolnshire. Running from 10:15 – 11:45, it will demystify the procurement process and explore the potential which public sector contracts could bring to your business.
Team Lincolnshire ambassador Neal Wheatley, director and general manager of RG Carter Lincoln Limited, and Barry Taylor, regional director at Parker Technical Service, will be sharing insightful first-hand experiences on winning a major Lincolnshire County Council contract for the construction of the South Lincolnshire Food Enterprise Zone and how supporting the local economy is a core value within the RG Carter Supply Chain Commitment.
Sign up to the free workshop here.
As the exhibition closes, it will roll directly into an informal, open buffet style network lunch – tickets for the lunch are just £25 plus vat and can be ordered and paid for directly online. Spaces for the lunch are limited, so order as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Tina King, of Business Shows Group, said: “It’s been a long time in the making thanks to the pandemic, but we are finally nearly there, The Property & Business Investment Lincolnshire Expo is gearing up to be one of the best to date!”
To attend the event, register for free here.
Purchase tickets to the networking lunch here.
Meet more potential clients in one amazing cost effective day, than it would take months out on the road.
Doncaster engineers win second Queens’s Award for Industry
Yorkshire-based engineering business Haith has been awarded its second Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category.
Haith, which designs and builds vegetable handling equipment at its Doncaster factory, has been recognised for developing a unique and market-leading machine for emptying vegetable storage boxes – the Rota-Tip box tipping system.
First manufactured in 2011, Haith’s Rota-Tip Up-Eject is used at the start of food processing lines and produce grading systems to transfer fresh vegetables onto washing, sizing and packing lines.
The Rota-Tip Up-Eject is the second Haith machine to receive a Queen’s Award for Enterprise for Innovation. The company’s Root Veg Polisher was recognised in 2010.
Says Duane Hill, Haith’s MD: “Haith was established in 1964 by the late George Geoffrey Haith, who, as a very talented engineer, always tried to find a way to help his farming customers to do things more effectively. He was a fantastic problem-solver and a great innovator. These traits have been an integral part of the business ever since and have formed the foundations of the company’s growth. Today, our company is renowned around the globe for our innovative vegetable handling systems.
“Today’s recognition is excellent news for our team, a reward for their hard work, and a testimony to our customers who involve us in their businesses and trust us to develop solutions to enhance their business. Everyone at Haith is very proud to be recognised by the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for a second time.”
Haith’s Rota-Tip Up-Eject was designed at the request of food packers and processors who experienced oil leaks, high energy use and instability when using traditional hydraulic box tipplers. Haith innovated the design by replacing the hydraulic motors with all-electric drives, which use less power and prevent oil leaks. Haith also developed a new, safer, and more effective rotating system that can handle larger box volumes than older designs.
Incorporated as a limited company in 1964, Tickhill Engineering, which trades as Haith, is one of the world’s leading designers and manufacturers of vegetable handling equipment. The company employs more than 120 people in Armthorpe, near Doncaster, who design and manufacture a comprehensive range of vegetable handling machines, spanning grading, washing, bulk handling, weighing, pre-pack systems and water treatment solutions. Haith’s machines are relied upon by some of the world’s largest food producers and packing companies, along with farmers of all sizes in the UK and overseas.
South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership to receive £9.3m Government funding to level up
The South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership are to receive £9.3 million from the Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund to help level up the community by building pride in place and increase life chances across the UK.
Following Brexit, the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) invests in local communities by helping to regenerate communities, tackle economic decline, and reverse geographical inequalities – with areas in greater need receiving more support.
It is designed to match previous long-term European Union structural funding while handing decision-making powers on how the money is spent to councils instead of regional agencies. The new funding covers the next three years. This aligns with Levelling Up White Paper missions, one being “By 2030, pride in place, such as people’s satisfaction with the place they live and engagement in local culture and community, will have risen in every area of the UK, with the gap between the top performing and other areas closing.”
Council leaders have welcomed the news that as part of the overall £2.6 billion levelling up, funding has been awarded to their areas. Boston Borough Council is to receive £2.2m, East Lindsey District Council £4.4m and South Holland District Council £2.7m.
Councillor Paul Skinner, Leader of Boston Borough Council, Councillor Craig Leyland, Leader of East Lindsey District Council and Councillor Gary Porter, Leader of South Holland District Council, said: “We are incredibly pleased to have been awarded this funding and be given the opportunity to work innovatively at a local level with other public and voluntary organisations, businesses, wider stakeholder partners and local people to ensure this is spent in ways to boost our local economies for the benefit of all our communities.
“The three key areas for us are communities and place, supporting local businesses and people and skills. Our aims for the funds is to allow us to help boost productivity and therefore pay, jobs and living standards by helping to grow the private sector, spread opportunities and improve public services, restore a sense of community, local pride and belonging, and empower local leaders and communities.”
The partnership awaits further guidance to be issued in Summer 2022.
North and West Yorkshire-based property search company awarded with bespoke property search portal licence
Local property search provider, X-Press Legal Services North and West Yorkshire has recently been awarded a National Land Information Service (NLIS) channel licence – a government approved and regulated, electronic land and property searches portal, the only one of its kind in the property searches market.
The new license gives the company, owned by Robert Moore, direct access to authoritative conveyancing search data, direct from every local authority in England and Wales, the Coal Authority and HM Land Registry.
This means that X-Press Legal Services is connected to the safest, most secure data hub in the land and property search information market, and is able to offer their conveyancing clients the highest standards of electronic property search accessibility available on the market today, as well as peace of mind.
Robert’s business partners with law firms across Yorkshire to produce thousands of property search reports each year. Their clients will now have their LLC1 search ordering process future proofed as NLIS has developed a seamless LLC1 integration link to HMLR, so both Local Authority and HMLR searches can be accessed securely 24/7 via the data hub.
NLIS Hub Director Nick Dyoss commented: “I look forward to a long-term successful partnership with X-Press Legal. NLIS continues to grow year on year and is an essential part of our national data infrastructure, delivering trusted, authoritative searches to thousands of conveyancing solicitors and homebuyers.”
To ensure that all their clients receive the best possible service, X-Press continues to invest heavily in the latest technologies.
Robert Moore comments: “We are pleased to have been awarded an NLIS licence, keeping us one step ahead in this fast-moving digital search landscape. We have a reputation for acquiring cutting-edge technology solution for our conveyancing clients, making their jobs easier whilst providing invaluable support.”
New Care appoints Lincolnshire’s Kerry Smith as regional manager
Kerry Smith, from Lincolnshire, has been appointed by New Care as regional manager.
Responsible for supporting the leading care home operator in the Yorkshire and East Midlands regions, Kerry joins the senior management team and will work with New Care’s individual home managers to maintain the highest operational and quality standards and ensure exceptional person-centred care is delivered to all residents.
She will also play a key role in the commissioning of new homes as the company expands, supporting the opening of new homes in Adel later this month and Guiseley in Leeds early next year.
Highly experienced, Kerry has worked in healthcare for more than 30 years starting out as a student nurse in 1988, working in care homes specifically since 1994 and in the management of care homes since 2006. Prior to joining New Care, she held regional management positions for other care home brands and also worked for a not-for-profit operator.
Having worked with New Care’s chief operating officer Cath Fairhurst and other key members of the management team previously, Kerry already knew a great deal about New Care and was attracted to the company culture and industry reputation for looking after its residents and employees.
She said: “I’m delighted to join New Care and am looking forward to working with like-minded people to deliver personal care that enhances the wellbeing and daily lives of each one of our residents and supporting the management team to ensure our brand values and high standards are maintained as we expand into new geographical areas. It’s such an exciting time for New Care and I am pleased to be a part of it.”
Chief operating officer Cath Fairhurst added: “Kerry is the perfect choice for this role and I’m confident that she will provide an invaluable support as we grow, helping to maintain our high standards and reputation as we expand and ultimately help us achieve outstanding ratings from the CQC and local authorities as we move into new areas. It’s great to have her as part of the team.”
Age 53, Kerry has been a Registered General Nurse since 1991 and holds a BA (Hons) in Dementia Studies. She lives in Lincolnshire and has been married to her retired RAF Squadron Leader husband for 30 years with whom she has two adult sons. When not working, she enjoys running, walking her 18 month old Springer Spaniel and spending time with family and friends.
Emerald Airlines and Leeds Bradford Airport celebrate inaugural flight between Leeds And Dublin
LBA (Leeds Bradford Airport) and Emerald Airlines, exclusive operator of Aer Lingus Regional, celebrate the inaugural flight between Leeds and Dublin, further increasing connectivity between both regions.
With fares starting at £34.99*, passengers travelling between LBA and the Irish capital now have the pick of up to two flights daily. The new route will increase onward connectivity from LBA to North America, allowing passengers pre-clearance of US Immigration at Dublin Airport. Passengers arriving into North America from Dublin — New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington D.C., Philadelphia and Toronto — will be treated like a domestic passenger, skipping any lengthy immigration queues stateside.
The new connection from Leeds, Yorkshire to Dublin, was celebrated by Aer Lingus Regional, LBA staff and passengers yesterday, with a celebratory cake and balloons presented to mark the occasion.
Nicola McMullen, Aviation Director at Leeds Bradford Airport, said: “As passenger levels return to normal, the connection between LBA and Dublin remains an important one for our region, with many passengers travelling for both business and leisure. The route will provide a valuable connection to the US and Canada with pre-clearance, meaning passengers can travel through immigration smoothly. We’re delighted that we were able to celebrate this new route with our colleagues at Emerald Airlines and look forward to welcoming passengers to LBA.”
Commenting on the announcement, Ciarán Smith, Head of Commercial at Emerald Airlines said: “We are delighted to be commencing our services between Leeds Bradford and Dublin.
We recognise the vital importance of regional air connectivity and the key role that this air link to Dublin provides for business, tourism and leisure travel.
In addition, we’re excited to add additional capacity to our existing service from Leeds to Belfast City from Mid-May, and I am sure this additional capacity will prove popular for business customers. In particular, the new morning and afternoon flight facilitates day return options.
We look forward to working with our partners in Leeds Bradford Airport to ensure that these route continues to be a success.”
Next gen materials to boost UK manufacturing set to be produced by new Sheffield research centre
The next generation of materials to meet the needs of UK manufacturing are set to be developed by a new state-of-the-art research centre that has now officially opened.
The Royce Discovery Centre, part of the Henry Royce Institute at the University of Sheffield, will give UK manufacturers across all sectors access to the expertise and facilities needed to discover new materials and develop more resource-efficient processes to meet their business needs.
Based in a new building in the heart of the University’s world renowned Faculty of Engineering, the centre will enable manufacturers to harness Sheffield’s R&D capabilities to develop new materials for new technologies and test them before investing further capital and implementing them into their operations.
The facility will address a gap in UK innovation by reducing both the cost and timescale of translating discoveries of advanced materials to new products and technologies.
Research at the Royce Discovery Centre is already using new materials to develop the next generation of medical implants, improve the lightweight structures needed for electric vehicle parts, develop the components needed to store green hydrogen energy and evolve nuclear fusion reactors.
The facility will become a leading national centre for advanced metals processing in the UK and can help manufacturers of all sizes nationally and throughout the South Yorkshire region. It also will train the next generation of materials scientists at the University of Sheffield who are critical to ensuring the UK’s long-term innovation in materials discovery and closing the skills gap.
Professor Martin Jackson, Professor of Advanced Metals Processing at the University of Sheffield and research lead at the new Royce Discovery Centre, said: “We are excited to announce the launch of our new state-of-the-art research centre, the Royce Discovery Centre. Our new facility will help accelerate university and industry ideas through to an industry production scale, in order to meet global challenges.
“We’re already assisting in the development of new UK supply chains in sectors ranging from space components to electric car parts from recycled aerospace waste. The unique facilities will also accelerate the development of multi-material and functionality-graded components in emerging sectors, enabling the UK to pioneer next generation advanced metals processing technologies.”
With the centre based in Sheffield, manufacturers can work with the Royce Discovery Centre on early-stage research in materials discovery and processing, then collaborate with the Royce Translational Centre at the University of Sheffield Innovation District to commercialise them.
Professor David Knowles, Chief Executive Officer of the Henry Royce Institute, said: “The University of Sheffield is a Royce founding Partner, with world leading prowess in materials science and metallurgy. The exciting research being undertaken at its new Royce Discovery Centre further supports Royce’s vision to develop advanced materials for a sustainable society.
“The Discovery Centre will transform aspects of Royce’s research capabilities in the Advanced Metals Processing research area. It will build on the UK’s strength in metals processing and provide academia and industry with the advanced facilities and technical support they need to deliver both innovative processing technologies and novel alloy development.”
The Royce Discovery Centre is based in a new building named after Harry Brearley, the man who discovered stainless steel, and has the very latest in world class equipment provided by the Henry Royce Institute for Advanced Materials, alongside specialist equipment already based at the University in its Department of Materials Science and Engineering – one of the UK’s most renowned teaching and research centres in materials science.
Professor Serena Cussen, Head of the University of Sheffield’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering, said: “The city of Sheffield was the birthplace of stainless steel, so it’s fitting that with the new Royce Discovery Centre the city will play a huge role in the future of metals and next generation of sustainable materials.
“Discovering new materials is vital to so many industries throughout the UK as we look to become more sustainable and reduce our carbon footprint. Materials Science and Engineering is at the heart of new low-carbon technologies and the future energy systems that our ambition of reaching net zero relies on. I’m delighted to see this facility open at the University and am excited for the pivotal role it will play in guiding us to net zero.”
For students, the Royce Discovery Centre has already helped to enhance an industrial training programme in aerospace materials that the University of Sheffield runs in collaboration with Rolls-Royce. The programme gives students experience of industrial-relevant projects while giving Rolls-Royce the opportunity to investigate questions around materials and materials discovery.
Yorkshire Country Properties secures funding for two housing projects
Bespoke housebuilder Yorkshire Country Properties (YCP) has secured £13.42 million funding from Paragon Development Finance for its continued growth plans across Yorkshire.
This funding will enable the delivery of 86 homes across two housing projects in Denby Dale and a second phase of homes at Shepley.
The Holme Valley headquartered firm currently has four new home projects under way and has ambitious growth plans to scale up across Yorkshire, following a partnership signed in 2021 with one of the UK’s largest privately owned property businesses, Dominvs Group.
Stewart Brown, Managing Director of Yorkshire Country Properties, said: “This funding deal with Paragon will allow us to deliver these new homes and continue our expansion plans across Yorkshire. The first phase of our Shepley project has been a big success, and we are excited and confident to move forward with the second phase. Denby Dale is a superb site, in a great location and we look forward to commencing construction works shortly.”
Mick Howard, Paragon Development Finance relationship director, said: “We’re very excited to help Yorkshire Country Properties deliver their bespoke and high quality homes on both these two brilliant sites. We’ve been very impressed with the ambitious plans the company has and expect to work with the firm on future pipeline sites too.”
The second phase of new homes in Shepley is expected to be completed in 2023/4 and the Denby Dale homes should be ready in 2024/5.
