University of York Student Centre reaches planning milestone
Plans for a new Student Centre at the University of York have been submitted for planning permission.
Co-designed by architectural firms ADP Architecture and O’Donnell + Tuomey, the new building is intended to offer an iconic new arrival point on Campus West.
The £35m building will be designed to the latest environmental, health and sustainability standards and will offer a variety of spaces, specifically designed for student use.
These will include events and flat floor spaces, collaborative study areas, studios for student radio and TV, as well as a new home for both the university’s student unions and frontline student support services. There will also be places to eat and drink and a rooftop garden.
It will be surrounded by landscaped gardens offering students spaces to sit and relax away from their studies.
It is hoped that, following the planning permission process, building work will begin in the spring of 2024, with students able to access, and use, the new facilities in the academic year 2025/26.
The building will be built largely from natural materials and renewable sources, including reconstituted stone with plans for solar panels, rooflights and solar controlled glazing. The centre will also reach high sustainability standards including ‘net zero carbon’ accredited by the UK Green Building Council.
Planning approval has already been granted for the demolition of some existing vacant buildings to make way for the new centre and this work will start later in the spring.
Professor Tracy Lightfoot, pro-vice-chancellor for Teaching, Learning and Students, at the University of York, said: “This is an important milestone in this project. In the last year we have spent a lot of time engaging and listening to our students to ensure that the plans truly reflect what they want, and need, from a building like this.
“The spaces have been adapted to fit their feedback and we will continue to do this throughout the rest of the process. Our iconic new Student Centre promises to be a fantastic asset to our students, the University and the local community.”
Helen O’Curry, director at ADP Architecture, said: “We are very proud to be working alongside the University of York and partnering with O’Donnell + Toumey to design and deliver this exciting project.
“The Student Centre is a key strategic intervention into the wonderful York campus landscape. Located between iconic structures on the campus, the centre creates a visible and welcoming gateway to the university, providing significant public realm and dedicated student facilities.
“The project has been a joy, with the whole design team working hard to deliver high aspirations for the University.”
John Tuomey, of O’Donnell and Tuomey, the design-lead architects, said: “The University of York Student Centre will be a singular structure, a flexible plan with interconnecting multifunctional spaces, with a south facing winter garden and a walled orchard garden on the roof.
“The architectural form, embodying principles of environmental responsibility, responds to the visual patterns of York Minster and is consistent with material characteristics of the University campus.”
“Game changing” renovation work to begin on Queen’s Mill in Castleford
Wakefield Council have awarded a £900,000 grant to Castleford Heritage Trust (CHT) so that they can begin renovation work at Queen’s Mill in Castleford.
The grant is part of a £23.9m allocation from the Government’s Town Fund, secured by Wakefield Council for the regeneration of Castleford town centre. This ‘Town Deal’ allows the council to deliver the first phase of its transformational regeneration programme which aims to realise the vision to rediscover Castleford as a distinctive riverside market town.
The mill is a building of local importance and a prominent reminder of Castleford’s industrial past. Although it is not a listed building, CHT believe it to be the world’s largest stone grinding flour mill, with flour still produced on site today.
The grant aims to ensure that Queen’s Mill can act as a key destination for the local community, facilitating events and functions, providing workspace and offering a unique home to businesses. This is an essential part of the council’s Castleford Riverside project which aims to make the most of the town’s river frontage.
Cllr Denise Jeffery, leader of Wakefield Council, said: “At present, the condition of this landmark building restricts its use. Through grant support we will change that, unlocking the building’s potential as a key community asset which sits in prime position alongside the town’s greatest natural asset – the River Aire.”
Lorna Malkin, Chief Executive of Castleford Heritage Trust, said: “We’re delighted to receive this funding, it’s a game changer and will allow us to take the Mill to the next level as a community destination.
“The Trust has been pleased to work with Wakefield Council over the past few years as they have developed the Town Deal programme, we fully support the exciting plans for both the riverside and the wider town and look forward to playing our part in making them a reality.”
Work is expected to start at Queen’s Mill this year (2023) and be completed in 2025.
Pubs to be offered free toolkit to encourage new ways of working
Research that will produce a ‘toolkit’ to help rural pub owners diversify their income through the provision of co-working spaces has begun, thanks to funding from the National Innovation Centre for Rural Enterprise.
A team of researchers at the University of Lincoln and Northumbria University will look at ways for rural pub owners to utilise post-pandemic ways of working, assessing the validity of co-working spaces in pubs as a new business model for income diversification.
The team will produce a report outlining the potential for rural pubs to offer a place for home workers looking to adopt a suitable working space outside of the traditional office and, in turn, identify opportunities to support the maintenance, growth and resilience of rural pubs nationwide. They will work closely with local communities throughout the UK to gather information from landlords, co-workers and representatives from wider local communities.
Jane Deville, Research Fellow at the University of Lincoln, said: “We know that village pubs are a vital part of rural life and the Covid 19 pandemic led to many shutting down. At the same time, there are now many more people working remotely from home who need suitable spaces to work alongside others.
“Our research will explore whether there’s a business opportunity for rural pubs to innovate and offer co-working spaces as part of their service. Ultimately, we hope we can develop a pub ‘toolkit’ for rural pub owners, offering advice on setting up co-working spaces to help them diversify their income and ensure they are more resilient.”
Professor Jeremy Phillipson, said: “The rural economy is in a state of flux as it grapples with changes in working practices accelerated by the pandemic and the stark challenges of the cost-of-doing-nothing crisis.
“These projects will shed important light on how these contemporary issues are affecting rural enterprise, giving valuable insights that will help inform future policymaking and support for rural businesses.”
The toolkit will be available to rural pub owners, free of charge, from this summer.
OMS celebrate 25 years in business
25 years ago OMS started life as a consultancy business where founder, Clive Ormerod, could offer the skills he had acquired in the civil engineering and construction sector to businesses who needed to access his expertise.
A quarter of a century later OMS is celebrating, with Clive hosting a special lunch yesterday (15 March) acknowledging customers, partners, suppliers and those who’ve worked with OMS along the way to say thank you.
OMS said: “The loyalty of our clients is something we’re particularly gratified of, people who return year after year to us. And of course, the team, those who work on behalf of OMS, they’ve also ensured our continued success today.”
With the drive and passion of the Managing Director and the entire team, OMS has become the training and consultancy partner of choice here in the East Midlands (and further afield).
OMS added: “Like any company, there have been challenging times and OMS are no different, however we are extremely proud of the many accolades, accomplishments and the support which we have given our clients and the local community. We have developed our training and consultancy portfolio enormously and seamlessly adapted our offerings when difficult times have arisen, like a pandemic where face to face training and client site consultant visits was popped on hold!”
HISTORY OF OMS
1998 OMS commenced trading carrying out ISO 9001 consultancy work.
2001 Added Health and Safety consultancy to OMS portfolio.
2002 Re-located to East Midlands (from NW) and added health and safety training delivery to OMS portfolio.
2004 Gained approval to deliver Safety Pass Alliance (SPA) & IOSH training courses.
2005 Gained ISO 9001 certification through BSI and gained approval to deliver NEBOSH NGC training courses.
2007 Gained approval to deliver NEBOSH Fire Certificate training courses.
2008 Achieved ILM Training Centre status.
2009 Gained approval to deliver NEBOSH Construction Certificate training courses.
2010 Moved into current premises.
2011 Gained approval to deliver NEBOSH Environmental Certificate & Worksafe First Aid training courses. Gained City & Guilds training centre status.
2012 Added practical training area to existing premises to deliver work at height training and gained approval to deliver IPAF, PASMA, Ladder Association CITB & Site Safety Plus training courses.
2013 Gained approval to deliver UKATA training courses.
2014 Premises refurbished and two additional training rooms and reception area added.
2015 Gained ISO 14001 certification through BSI and became a CITB approved ITC Centre (touch screen test centre).
2017 Achieved CQA-IRCA Approved Training Partner status.
2018 Achieved CITB ATO status to allows OMS to process funding applications on behalf of customers.
2019 Achieved NEBOSH Gold status.
2020 Gained ISO 45001 Certification through Intertek.
2021 Gained approval to deliver NEBOSH Diploma training course.
2022 Gained approval to deliver Construction NVQs through City & Guilds.
Up to 450 jobs lost as Harrogate telemarketing company ceases trading
Harrogate-headquartered Amvoc, which also has offices in Leeds and Manchester, has entered administration.
Ceasing trading with immediate effect, up to 450 jobs have been lost.
According to Aticus Law, staff at the telemarketing company received an email at around 10pm on Tuesday night, informing them that all of the offices were closed with immediate effect and telling them not to turn up to work in the morning as they no longer had a job.
It is said that some staff who didn’t see the email turned up to work on Wednesday morning, but were unable to get in as the Amvoc offices were locked.
Aticus Law is now looking to help Amvoc staff by making a claim for a protective award, where they could claim compensation of up to 90 days’ pay.
Funding secured to help eco-friendly timber treatment plant double capacity
A Hull-based company that is the first in Britain to offer eco-friendly fire-retardant timber treatment is set to double its capacity with the help of a £100,000 loan from NPIF – Mercia Debt Finance, which is managed by Mercia and is part of the Northern Powerhouse Investment Fund.
The funding will enable WJ Fire Retardant to meet growing demand by installing additional kilns and boosting production at its plant in Kirkburn, near Driffield, where timber is treated using its FireWright process and supplied for use in UK and overseas construction projects.
The business is the latest addition to the WJ Group, which is led by local entrepreneur Mark Eggleston. He founded his first business in 2007 to supply timber components to the caravan industry. Two years later, after spotting a gap in the market, he opened a preservative treatment plant at the Port of Hull before launching a second facility in Rochester, Kent.
More recently the group has developed a range of innovative products including anti-slip decking solutions and lightweight ‘i-beam’ products for caravans. The business secured a £200,000 NPIF loan two years ago to help it establish its current premises in Kirkburn. The group now employs over 70 staff between Hull and Kirkburn, with a further six in Kent. Since 2019 it has doubled its turnover and is on course to double again in the five years ahead.
Danny Bullement, the company’s finance manager, said: “The new fire treatment arm has really taken off, to the point where the existing facilities are no longer sufficient. As the kilning process can take 12 to 24 days, we began to experience bottlenecks in production. The latest funding will enable us to double capacity and keep up with increasing demand.”
Gary Whitaker of Mercia said: “WJ Group is a real success story. Over the past 15 years it has repeatedly identified new opportunities and introduced new products and services, with the latest being set up in response to growing concerns over fire safety in buildings. We are pleased to be able to support the group for a second time to enable it to continue its expansion.”
Paul Grace of YB Financial Advisory, who provided fundraising advice to the company, said: “We are delighted to have worked with WJ Fire Retardant and Mercia on this transaction to provide funding to enable the company to continue its very impressive growth over recent years. We have worked with WJ Group for a number of years and are delighted to partner with them.”
Hessle food firm recognised for commitment to tackling climate change
Food firm Cranswick from Hessle has been named on the CDP 2022 Supplier Engagement Leaderboard for the second consecutive year.
This recognition from CDP – a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities and regions to manage their environmental impacts – reflects Cranswick’s commitment to tackling the climate crisis through an integrated approach, working with suppliers to take action, measure and reduce climate risk within the supply chain.
Working collaboratively across the total supply chain is a critical part of achieving Cranswick’s Science Based Targets as the business transforms to halve emissions by 2030 and reach Net Zero by 2040.
Sonya Bhonsle, Global Head of Value Chains at CDP, said: “Environmental action is not happening at the speed, scale and scope required to limit global temperature rises to 1.5 degrees, with many companies still not acknowledging that their impact on the environment extends far beyond their operations and that of climate change.
“COP 15 couldn’t have been clearer in the call to action on corporate reporting on nature. If a company is not preparing for future regulations on nature in the supply chain, they are open to a wide range of risks and could also be missing out on the opportunities that safeguarding nature will bring. Quite simply, if a company wants to be in business in the future, they need to start embedding nature into the way that they buy and collaborating with suppliers to drive action in the supply chain.
“Therefore, we need to see environmental leadership from companies right now by tackling their impacts on climate change and nature together, working with their suppliers in an integrated way that includes nature as standard, and incentivising this engagement within their organization.”
Cranswick’s Supplier Engagement Rating (SER) places it in the top 8% of companies assessed and is driven by strong supplier engagement practices, the scope of Cranswick’s climate targets, detailed reporting and demonstration of sustainability embedded within the organisation.
RSM names Mark Edeson at Tax Director
Audit, tax and consulting firm RSM has appointed Mark Edeson as tax director based at RSM in Hull, from where he’ll act for a range of local, regional and national clients.
Mark, a qualified chartered tax advisor, joins RSM from EY, where he spent over 20 years working with a large portfolio of approximately 150 local, national and international clients, including private equity-backed and listed businesses. At RSM, Mark will be advising businesses across a broad range of sectors, including food and drink and manufacturing.
Mark’s appointment in RSM’s Hull office follows significant local and regional investment, with the firm appointing Hull-based Richard Hall as its first national head of sustainability in February 2022. In addition, RSM also recruited a record number of trainees in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2022, taking on 54 students, graduates and school leavers across all service lines.
Mark said: “After spending almost 24 years at EY in Hull, I’m looking forward to a new challenge and working with the largest accountancy firm in the city.”
Andy Capes, office managing partner in RSM’s Hull office, said: “Mark’s appointment reflects our continued investment in Hull and the Humber to provide an expert service to our local, regional and national clients. Mark brings with him a wealth of experience and I look forward to seeing how our tax offering evolves as a result of his appointment.’
He added: “As the only remaining national accountancy firm with an office in Hull, we are committed to the Humber region and recognise our responsibility to support local businesses which are essential to the region’s economic growth. We are also focused on employing people locally; providing accessible work opportunities, investing in their development and empowering them to shape a long and rewarding career at RSM.”
Major steps taken in Grimsby’s Freshney Place development
Two major signings have brought the new Freshney Place leisure development closer with Parkway Cinemas signing a lease to develop a five-screen cinema and Morgan Sindall Construction being elected for the next stage of the build.
Richard Parkes, director of Parkway Cinemas, said that whilst internet shopping had seen a change in buying habits and how town centre is used, it was still evident that people wanted to get together socially, and cinemas were benefitting from that.
“The new Grimsby cinema will be very different to the one we have in Cleethorpes. There is more than one type and style of restaurant, more than just one type of pub – cinemas are the same. A town centre cinema will have a different feel and style to a big seafront cinema, even if they’re offering the same sorts of films. It’ll be a different experience.
“We’re really pleased to be able to get this over the line, and look forward to working on creating something special for the people of Grimsby.”
Morgan Sindall Construction was selected from a national framework of suppliers to deliver the next phase of the leisure scheme. The construction team will work with the Council to finalise the build plans over the coming months.
In the summer, once the plans have been approved, the company will continue to work on the scheme, starting with the demolition of the existing frontage of the former BHS unit, and Flottergate Mall at Freshney Place, creating a new market hall for Top Town Market and then constructing the leisure scheme.
Ben Hall, Morgan Sindall Construction’s Area Director, said: “We believe this project will be a real game-changer for Grimsby and will breathe new life into the shopping centre. Throughout the build programme, we will deploy our Intelligent Solutions approach, which sees us utilise cutting edge technology to create unique, sustainable and inspiring places for our customers.
“We are also looking forward to bringing employment opportunities to local people, and in working with local schools and colleges to introduce young people to the construction industry.”
Cllr Philip Jackson, leader of the Council, said: “This is a time of real rejuvenation for the town centre, with the schemes from the Town Centre Masterplan being delivered – not just Freshney Place and the associated market and leisure development, but the other schemes like Riverhead, alongside the creative and heritage elements.
“We’ve seen from Freshney Place that the footfall is increasing, with shoppers coming to purchase rather than browse, and most of the units in the centre are now occupied.
“The work that we are doing will hopefully encourage people to use the town centre more, to make it a thriving heart of our borough and reverse the long-term decline of years gone by.”
Construction firms get free advice about flood prevention
The Flood Innovation Centre is offering free support to help Lincolnshire and Yorkshire construction businesses to navigate next year’s building regs changes.
The introduction of the new legislation was one of the key recommendations of a Defra review for the implementation of Schedule 3 to The Flood and Water Management Act 2010. The review recognised the important role that nature-based drainage solutions play in draining land, protecting against surface water and sewer flooding, and reducing storm overflow discharges, as well as harvesting water at the same time as enhancing local biodiversity and amenity. It concluded we: ‘must increase the use of these alternative solutions to improve drainage, particularly in urban areas’, where drainage systems can become overwhelmed, causing surface water flooding. DEFRA will shortly be consulting on how to implement the new policy in preparation for sustainable drainage systems becoming mandatory in new developments from next year. Anton James, Project Manager at the Flood Innovation Centre, said: “I’m sure many developers and construction firms will want to know more about sustainable drainage systems and understand what this new piece of legislation will mean in practice. “They certainly have nothing to fear from the changes. In fact, they’ll undoubtedly find that it saves them money as a result of what’s known as Biodiversity Net Gain, which is something all local authorities are required to address. “Here at the Flood Innovation Centre, our team of experts are funded to work with eligible businesses in Hull, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and South Yorkshire, as well as several other areas of the country. We can help developers and construction firms to understand the principles of sustainable drainage systems, as well as how and where to apply them. We know from speaking to our contacts within the construction sector that a growing number of developers are keen to address climate change and help protect our environment.” He said sustainable drainage systems were a very important part of the solution and the new legislation was a positive step forwards in helping to make our communities more resilient in the face of climate change, as well as making our rivers cleaner and boosting biodiversity. We’d encourage any developers with questions or concerns to get in touch so that we can help them to prepare.”