< PreviousHumber Cluster Plan secures £1.7m in government funding The Humber Cluster Plan, a comprehensive plan for decarbonisation in the region, has secured £1.7 million in government funding. The Plan will show how the Humber cluster can achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2040, potentially making it the first in the world to do so. This joint bid by the Humber Local Enterprise Partnership and CATCH also involves eight private sector partner organisations and was submitted to Innovate UK as part of the Government’s Industrial Decarbonisation Challenge Fund scheme, part of the £350 million green recovery package announced by the Prime Minister back in July 2020. The project, totalling £2.6 million, will move the Humber closer to achieving large-scale decarbonisation, with businesses across the Humber working to find effective and lasting solutions for the region. The eight partner organisations supporting the Humber Cluster Plan are: British Steel, Centrica, Drax, Equinor, National Grid Ventures, Phillips 66, SSE Thermal and VPI Immingham. They include the strategically important refining and steel sectors, as well as major energy producers and low carbon infrastructure providers. A wider group of businesses will be involved in developing the plan, with all energy-intensive industries in the Humber invited to take part. “This is a significant opportunity to achieve industrial decarbonisation at a large scale in our region, which has the potential to protect important jobs while helping us to achieve our Net Zero ambitions by 2040,” said Stephen Parnaby, Chair of the Humber LEP. “This successful outcome has only been possible with the support of our industry partners, who have illustrated there is a huge appetite in the Humber to innovate, collaborate and strive for solutions to create a cleaner, greener future for our vital industries.” NEWS Ambitious economic recovery plan unveiled for West Yorkshire The Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) have set out a COVID-19 recovery plan which, it said, aims to wipe and social and economic inequality in West Yorkshire and deliver a £7 billion boost to the economy. At a recent LEP meeting, board members agreed to implement two new frameworks that will guide future activity and tackle some of the most urgent long-term challenges facing the region, to create a regional economy where everyone can share in the benefits of the recovery. The Inclusive Growth and Innovation Frameworks have been developed by the LEP and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to promote well-being, skills, digital and transport connectivity and foster a culture of innovation with the long-term aspiration of eliminating economic and social disparities in the region. They will build on the strength of the region’s diverse communities, make better use of untapped social and physical assets such as community groups and derelict buildings that can be transformed, work closely with third sector organisations and create an environment where innovation and new businesses can flourish. Roger Marsh OBE DL, chair of the LEP and the NP11 group of northern local enterprise partnerships, said: “The effect of COVID-19 has been devastating for so many people and businesses in our region. It has redoubled our commitment to making sure everyone can find the right skills and training to help them get on in life and make ours a productive economy that works for everyone. “For all of West Yorkshire’s success over the past decade in creating more and better jobs, we still have too many disadvantaged communities, for whom we need concerted action on skills, transport and other obstacles to achieving the standard of living we want to see for all.” © Shutterstock/Olivier Le Moal 10 Business Link www.blmforum.net 06-11.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 10:55 Page 5www.blmforum.net Business Link 11 NEWS Quality print solutions for 40 years Lincoln Print & Copy Centre has been providing the best print solutions for customers in the Lincoln area for 40 years. Aiming to provide the service and advice customers need torun and promote their businesses and organisations. With experienced and friendly staff, a modern range ofequipment they can adapt to suit each customer’s requirements. Offering a same day service on many items, customers can getthe rapid response required. Whether you need a straight forward print, copy or scanning service or something more complicated involving design or print finishing, discuss it with the staff at Lincoln Print & Copy Centre and you can be sure a solution will be found. Products include business cards and business stationary,leaflets and brochures, carbonless pads, architectural drawings; posters; and Ordnance Survey Map Data Centre, providing maps for planning applications, historic & area maps from the Ordnance Survey archive. BUSINESS LINCOLNSHIRE Got webinar fatigue? Boost your skills with these online masterclasses instead Want to boost your skills in 2021 but can’t stand the thought of yet another webinar? Allow Business Lincolnshire’s online masterclasses to restore your zest for learning! Expand your knowledge in everything from social media to cloud-computing and e-commerce this springtime with these expert-led virtual workshops, broken down into a few short sessions to fit around your real-life. Limited to a select number of participants, our masterclasses are interactive with first-hand guidance from a business pro. You’ll not only have the opportunity to ask questions, but to work on in-lesson tasks and optional homework to ensure you’re taking it all in. The best part? The whole package is fully-funded at no cost to you! Dates for spring 2021: Using Instagram to Showcase Your Business - March 2nd eBay Seller Masterclass with Prabhat Shah – March 3rd, 10th and 17th The Complete Marketing Plan – March 9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th Digitally Enabled Home – March 11th Internet of Everything – March 18th Cloud-Based Computing – March 25th Emerging and Disruptive Technologies – April 1st E-Commerce Systems – April 22nd Big Data for SMEs – April 29th Cloud Accounting – May 6th To book your spot, visit: www.businesslincolnshire.com/events © Shutterstock/Alexander Supertramp Keyland appointed as sole land broker on new framework Keyland Developments, the property trading arm of Kelda Group and sister-company to Yorkshire Water, has been appointed as the sole Land Broker on a new land brokerage and advisory framework designed to maximise the value and support development of surplus land across the country. The Landsolve 2.0 Framework has been launched by EN:Procure, the specialist procurement arm of social housing consortium Efficiency North Holdings, to provide high-quality Land Brokerage and Advisory services to assist in generating capital and maximising the value of land for the benefit of the public and charitable sector and/or supporting the development of surplus land assets with the aim of delivering social infrastructure or other public policy objectives on a UK wide basis. Keyland has secured the coveted Land Brokerage position on the framework and was appointed alongside Land Advisors; Arcadis Consulting (UK) Limited, Aspinall Verdi Limited, BNP Paribas Real Estate Advisory & Property Management UK Limited, Edward Architectural Services Limited and GenR8 Developments LLP. 06-11.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 10:55 Page 612 Business Link www.blmforum.net COMMERCIAL PROPERTY No signs of stopping With demand for industrial and logistics units showing no signs of slowing down in 2021, Yorkshire remains a key location for the sector. Companies across the country are clamouring for more industrial and logistics space after a year of strong e- commerce growth. This is no different in Yorkshire, which in 2020 saw its best ever year for take up – 220 per cent above figures seen ten years ago, according to Savills. Whilst witnessing countless lettings and acquisitions, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire are also currently home to numerous new and progressing developments looking to meet demand and combat a lack of availability. Certainly a significant issue, particularly in Yorkshire, Colliers International states low availability of large distribution warehouses (100,000 sq ft +) has brought the Yorkshire industrial market to a crunch point which will result in higher prime rents in 2021. Just looking at the past couple of months, major steps forward can be seen at a number of developments. In December Trebor Development and Hillwood revealed that the construction of a 411,470 sq ft speculative industrial unit in Doncaster had completed. The building provides a distribution or manufacturing unit with large yards on either side, thirty-eight loading doors and extensive lorry parking for 75 HGV spaces, located on a 25-acre site. The building also includes offices, electric vehicle charging stations and car parking for up to 317 vehicles. The investment by Trebor/Hillwood of over £40 million, delivers one of few immediately available largescale industrial developments in the North of England. In the process of creating new space, No signs of stopping 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 09:52 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 13 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY 15 Á St. Modwen, Lincoln St. Modwen is delivering a further four industrial and logistics units, scaling more than 123,000 sq ft, at its site in Lincoln. Steelworks have been erected on the speculative units – ranging from 16,000 sq ft to 52,000 sq ft – and construction is expected to be completed by July 2021. Build to suit opportunities will also be available across the remainder of the site up to 410,000 sq ft. The latest builds are part of the third phase of development at the seventy-acre site, which is already home to occupiers including DHL Parcel (UK) Limited, Deutsche Post DHL, NIC Ice, and George H Kime & Co Ltd. Planning applications for phases four to seven have also been submitted, which will see St. Modwen deliver an additional 460,463 sq ft of warehouse space at the site. Moreover, Barmston Developments, a subsidiary of Wilton Developments, has appointed Stainforth Construction to deliver the final plot on the Enterprise 36 industrial park in Tankersley, South Yorkshire - a four-unit development. The contractor will deliver an 80,500 sq ft HQ building for an undisclosed occupier. Presenting smaller units, construction commenced in January on a new phase at Stirlin’s Leafbridge Business Park in Hykeham, a forty-four-acre commercial development. The 6,000 sq ft building will form the final phase of existing units on the development within Freya Court, which are now all sold subject to contract and occupied by various businesses. The latest phase, expected to be completed in Summer 2021, will offer four industrial units with the potential to support up to 16 new jobs. Each unit will measure approximately 1,509 sq ft - with larger requirements met by combining two units - and include dedicated parking. The acquisition of industrial property continues to be healthy in the region also. Cabot Properties for example recently acquired a 96,000 sq ft distribution warehouse with vacant possession and simultaneously 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 09:53 Page 2Armstrong house Armstrong House, Armstrong Street, Grimsby DN31 2QE Tel: (01472) 310301 • Email: s.fisher@blmgroup.co.uk Superb Location - - Close to the ports of Grimsby & Immingham - Great motorway links - Close to the town centre Secure off street parking High speed internet availability Easy in/out terms A range of affordable office sizes 3 3 3 3 3 Last remaining office suites Prime location in Grimsby Offering a prime position in Grimsby, Armstrong House on Armstrong Street is ideally located. Close to the ports of Grimsby and Immingham, motorway links and the town centre, off-street parking is also available for all staff and visitors, meaning it’s convenient too. Our spacious, welcoming offices are located on the ground floor and are both secure and CCTV-monitored, giving you the ultimate peace of mind. At Armstrong House, the flexible in/out terms of contract mean confidence when it comes to affordability and with a range of office sizes there are opportunities for all types of business. If you require virtual office services, prices start from just £15 per month. For more information, or to discuss your office requirements call 01472 310301. 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 09:53 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 15 COMMERCIAL PROPERTY completed a new ten-year lease on the building to Ancient Wisdom. The property is located on Shepcote Business Park, a short drive from the centre of Sheffield. Remaining in the steel city, at the end of 2020, Total Developments acquired an 11-acre site known as Total Park, which will be speculatively built for Q3 2021. Total Park comprises a four-unit scheme and will offer a series of new build industrial/warehouse units creating up to 250 jobs. Furthermore, Harworth Group has sold the first plot of development land at the former Kellingley Colliery in North Yorkshire to CRT Property Developments Ltd, a subsidiary of The Coalfields Regeneration Trust, as part of the site’s long-term regeneration programme. CRT is planning to build small industrial units totalling 39,000 sq ft on the acquired 3.04 acres. Construction of the units is expected to begin in April 2021, with completion scheduled for September 2021. The deal forms a central part of Harworth’s wider redevelopment of the 151-acre former Colliery site into Konect – 1.45m sq ft of consented manufacturing and distribution space. Meanwhile, several key lettings announced in January alone illustrate the attractiveness of the region’s industrial properties, such as Co-op Group’s twenty-year pre-let of the final unit - measuring 17,500 sq ft - at Towngate Link, at Cross Green Industrial Estate in Leeds. In addition, Deltec International Couriers Ltd, which trades as Skynet Worldwide, has let a 13,600 sq ft depot at South Kirby Business Park, in the Wakefield Enterprise Zone, signing a nine-year lease. Following this, in Doncaster, Stoneacre Motor Group, secured a space at St. Modwen’s twenty- seven-acre industrial and logistics development. The dealership group has signed a 15-year lease for 65,100 sq ft of refurbished space, which will act as a new Parts and Logistic Hub. Cross Green Industrial Estate Kellingley Colliery 12-15.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 09:53 Page 416 Business Link www.blmforum.net ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT Innovation through strife 16-20.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 11:18 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 17 ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT © Shutterstock/ Gorodenkof f It goes without saying that business is not in a good place right now. The economy is expected to shrink drastically, remaining at a contraction of four per cent even by 2025, and many business owners in the region are expecting to not see signs of recovery at all until mid-2022. Asking for companies to focus on innovating new technology at this time may seem ridiculous, and yet we are living in a world that is at this very moment changing and adapting. If engineering does not change with it, it may well be left behind. Or more realistically, those companies who do not embrace it will be overtaken by those who do. The possible applications for Artificial Intelligence in engineering are being explored in a joint venture by the University of Sheffield and the Alan Turing Institute. AI may seem like something rooted firmly in the future or science fiction, but AI learning has been used in other industries already and identifying where it can be utilised in 18 Á It can be hard to talk about innovation when COVID, Brexit and lockdowns are causing problems across the region, but businesses must continue to adapt and innovate, and engineering will always be at the forefront of that. 16-20.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 11:18 Page 218 Business Link www.blmforum.net ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT engineering and manufacturing would mean great strides in the field. In the long run there may well be fears of job losses thanks to this, but here and now with lockdown and COVID, removing the human element where it can be may be the safest thing possible. This could be especially useful if AI could take over some jobs that have been notoriously difficult to fill of late due to the lack of engineers in the market. The skills shortage has long been a problem for engineers of all kinds; design, civil and technical. Universities have in the past been pushing for more engineering students, but universities have also been hard hit by COVID-19 owing to the high levels of students living in confined conditions, and the difficulties adapting to online or digital classrooms. These changes within our region are a prime opportunity for the engineering sector, but the long term must be kept in mind as much as the short. The country may be facing a crisis now but the engineering sector is going to continue through its own crisis – though fortunately existing engineers, in their high demand, will be more than safe. Though it may seem a benign problem; that the industry has more work than workers, this will become a serious problem in the future that might lead to less new investment being made in the country. Many are now looking toward the possibility of in-house training to tackle the issue. Why wait for graduates who North Lincs Engineering Ltd We specialise in the Supply, Installation and Reconditioning of Industrial and Marine Diesel Engines and Generating Sets. Our team of Service Engineers can Repair, Maintain or Commission Land based or Marine Installations Worldwide. Tel: 01507 328787 • Email: mark@northlincseng.co.uk • Website: www.northlincseng.co.uk INDUSTRIAL & MARINE DIESEL ENGINES & GENERATING EQUIPMENT 16-20.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 11:18 Page 3Tel: 01482 325676 • Email: sales@kingston-engineering.co.uk • www.kingston-engineering.co.uk Kingston Engineering are specialists in precision engineering, based in Hull. As one of the region’s leading companies in their sector, Kingston Engineering can provide specialised power screw products, specialist leadscrew and ex-stock power nuts and screws. In addition, they can provide expertise and guidance in factory and production machinery installation, commissioning, maintenance and repair. www.blmforum.net Business Link 19 ENGINEERING SPOTLIGHT might not choose your company, when one can work on already loyal and paid employees who are more likely to stay if up-skilled and invested in. Keeping talent in the company, as it were, can also help to offset the rather seasonal nature of recruiting graduates, while also giving people a greater sense of self-worth. Of course, it does require a longer investment in terms of both capital and time, so a short term solution must be found as well. For many, this is outsourcing their engineering needs to other companies, especially those with intense experience in a given field. With engineers already being a hot commodity, it’s understandable that many of the best have chosen to set up and join their own agencies, offering their skills on a temporary basis. Automation is one of the best ways to make savings in a manufacturing environment. Repetitive, time- consuming tasks that were traditionally carried out by factory operatives can now be completed quickly and efficiently by machines. As such, factory automation makes it much easier to meet large supply demands. It makes sound business sense to invest in the latest automated solutions, which in turn drives development in the components industry. The two go hand in hand. In a similar way, allergen management is now a major concern for many companies, particularly those in food and © Shutterstock guruXOX 20 Á 16-20.qxp_Layout 1 05/02/2021 11:19 Page 4Next >