Search begins for East Midlands fbe Awards winners 2015

Entries are now being invited for an awards scheme that highlights some of the best construction schemes across the East Midlands. 

The East Midlands fbe (Forum for the Built Environment) will be staging its annual awards event on 15^th October 2015 at the City Rooms in Leicester. Around 120 professionals from the construction, development and property sector in the East Midlands are expected to attend the East Midlands fbe’s sixth annual awards ceremony and dinner. 

MC for the evening will be BBC East Midlands political editor John Hess. 

Now the hunt has begun for worthy winners of the awards, which recognise and reward the scheme and the whole team behind it. 

Last year’s overall winner was The King Richard III Visitor Centre in Leicester, which also took the best Non-Residential Award. Best Refurbishment and Regeneration Award went to Castleward in Derby, which is being developed by Compendium Living. St James Gate, Anstey, in Leicestershire, received the Best Residential Award. 

This year the awards will feature the same three categories – Non-Residential, Residential, and Refurbishment and Regeneration. They are free to enter and are open to any schemes in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire that have been completed between October 2014 and September 2015.  Nominations can be made by anyone involved in the scheme, not just members of the fbe. 

The deadline for nominations is Friday 21^st August 2015. Entries will be judged by a select panel of construction professionals. 

East Midlands fbe regional chairman Jef Todd, development director at civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting, said: “Each year it becomes more difficult for the judges to choose the winners, which illustrates the very high standard of development in schemes over many sectors in the East Midlands, and we are looking forward to seeing the nominations that are put forward this year.” 

Tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the event are also now available by visiting http://www.fbeonline.co.uk/east-midlands/events/fbe-east-midlands-chairmans-dinner-and-awards-2015.htm 

The fbe is a national organisation, with branches across the UK and is the longest established networking group for the property, development and construction industries. Initially established in the East Midlands, as well as running the annual awards scheme, the organisation also organises a number of social and other events. It covers Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire. 

For more information about the fbe, the branch and to download a nomination form visit www.fbeonline.co.uk. Details about October’s awards night are in the events section.

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Contractor J Tomlinson completes multi-million pound redevelopment of Coventry Transport Museum

Construction company J Tomlinson has completed work on a £9.5 million redevelopment of Coventry Transport Museum and Old Grammar School. 

The museum, which houses hundreds of unique exhibits including the world’s fastest cars ThrustSSC and Thrust2, has been completely transformed following a 15-month redevelopment programme. 

Nottingham-based J Tomlinson’s role included £4 million of the work, which involved building two new extensions, structural and internal alterations, as well as external modifications. 

Twelve of the museum’s 14 galleries have been completely transformed, including the creation of a stunning all-new permanent World Land Speed Record Exhibition for ThrustSSC and Thrust2. 

The project has also involved the redevelopment of the museum’s neighbouring Grade 1 listed, 12th Century Old Grammar School, which has been brought back into public use as an exhibition, education and events space. 

Martin Gallagher, Construction Managing Director at J Tomlinson, said: “Coventry Transport Museum holds the largest publicly owned collection of British vehicles in the world, and J Tomlinson is proud to have been involved in this redevelopment scheme which has created a new home for them, and for the hundreds of other exhibits on display. 

“This is a world-class museum that showcases Coventry’s rich transport heritage. The adjacent Grade 1 listed, 12^th Century Grammar School is also a very special building, and we are very pleased to have given this a new lease of life as it opens the next chapter in its long and illustrious history. 

“J Tomlinson has completed the project on time and on budget, and we are delighted that the museum is now fully open again for the public to enjoy.” 

Coventry Transport Museum fully re-opened on Saturday 20^th June with a special event involving supercar stuntman Terry Grant, who is famous for holding over 20 stunt-related World Records, and petrolhead duo and presenters Harry Metcalfe and Amanda Stretton who showcased a Trailblazing Cars of the World tribute; including a Ferrari F40, Porsche 911, Jaguar C-type, original Range Rover and many more. 

Culture Coventry chief executive Gary Hall said: “Re-launching the museum is the culmination of seven years of hard work by the team. It marks yet another landmark for Coventry’s transport heritage, but also preserves its rich history. The museum provides a haven for visitors to immerse themselves in the past, present and future of Coventry’s transport legacy - capturing the imagination of visitors of all ages.  We are extremely grateful to the European Regional Development Fund, the Heritage Lottery Fund and all of the other organisations who have supported this project throughout.” 

J Tomlinson, which is based in Lilac Grove, Beeston, near Nottingham, and operates mainly throughout the East and West Midlands, provides a range of services including construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy efficiency, fit out and facilities management. 

Coventry Transport Museum’s redevelopment project was funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, Garfield Weston, as well as Biffa Award and WREN via the Landfill Communities Fund, and Arts Council England.

For more information visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

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BSP Consulting reveals upturn in private housing projects

Civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting is reporting a major increase in inquiries about new housing developments – signalling what it believes is a significant upturn in private house building. 

The Nottingham-based company has been approached to assist with the design of plans for more than 6,000 new private homes across the region and beyond since the start of 2015. 

The proposed developments range from large-scale schemes featuring hundreds of houses to bespoke individual projects of ten or 20 homes. 

The trend marks a 40% increase on the same period last year, said business development director Jef Todd. 

“The demand for civil and structural engineering skills is very often a barometer of how trends are going in the construction sector, as we tend to get involved in the process at an early stage, and we have noticed a sharp increase in the number of inquiries we have received in our East Midlands offices for work connected to private housing developments,” said Jef. 

“Since the start of this year, we have been approached to assist with proposals for 6,000 new private homes in areas from Lincolnshire in the east up to County Durham in the north and down to Northamptonshire. Some are being planned and built by multi-national developers, while others are due to be constructed by smaller companies. 

“There is a recognised shortage of housing and the trend that we are experiencing is not only welcome news for the construction sector generally, it is also good news for those individuals and families who are looking for private homes to buy.” 

BSP Consulting, which is based at Oxford Street, Nottingham, and also has offices at Pride Park, Derby, De Montfort Street, Leicester, and Solly Street, Sheffield, provides civil, structural, traffic, transportation, geotechnical and environmental engineering services across the construction industry in all sectors. 

Its pre-planning work includes site feasibility studies, flood risk assessments, transport and travel plans, design of infrastructure, such as roads and drainage, as well as design work on homes and buildings. 

The company is involved in a number of key East Midlands housing schemes currently, including regeneration schemes Castleward in Derby and Cotgrave Colliery in Nottinghamshire.

Earlier this month, data released by Barbour ABI showed that the number of contracts awarded for new build residential units has been strong so far in 2015, with the comparative figures for the first four months of this year showing a 32% rise from the corresponding months of 2014. 

Barbour ABI is one of the chosen providers of construction data for the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and the Government, and has a reputation for being a leading provider of construction intelligence services. 

For more information visit www.bsp-consulting.co.uk

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J Tomlinson continues expansion with appointment on four West Midlands contracts

Contractor J Tomlinson has won four key West Midlands contracts worth potentially more than £25 million. 

The company has been appointed to a four-year framework contract by Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police covering servicing, maintenance, reactive repairs and minor works. The award has a potential value of up to £9.1 million over the lifetime of the agreement. 

The firm has also won a five-year contract worth £10 million to replace kitchens and bathrooms in around 1,600 properties in Birmingham, Coventry, Stoke, Walsall and Wolverhampton for housing organisation Midland Heart. 

In addition, J Tomlinson has recently been appointed on two contracts in Sutton Coldfield on the old Sutton Coldfield Conservative Club site. The first is a new 65-bed care home on the site of the old Conservative Club building for Hamberley Development and the second is a new building for Sutton Coldfield Conservative Club at the rear of the site. The new building is also the home of Boldmere Tennis Club and Boldmere Bowls Club. Both contracts are being constructed concurrently on the same site with a combined value of approximately £6 million. 

The company now plans to open a new depot in the West Midlands and expects the contracts to secure employment for around 100 local sub-contractors as work gets underway. They represent a major development for J Tomlinson as a significant provider within the West Midlands region and contributor to the local economy. 

Mark Davis, CEO at J Tomlinson, said: “I am very pleased to announce these latest appointments for J Tomlinson in the West Midlands, a region in which we have worked for many years and where we have a growing reputation. 

“Recently J Tomlinson was proud to have been named in Deloitte’s Businesses Leading Britain 2014 report, which provides insights into the UK’s 1,000 fastest-growing businesses with annual revenues between £30 million and £1 billion. These West Midlands contracts represent significant appointments for us as we continue our expansion, and cement our position as a key player.” 

The Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police framework will be managed by the innovative Place Partnership from September 2015. This pioneering venture brings together six core partners - Hereford & Worcester Fire and Rescue Service, Redditch Borough Council, Worcester City Council and Worcestershire County Council, alongside Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police to develop a single estate function across the public sector organisations. The collaboration will drive service integration, customer service delivery and operational efficiency to support frontline services. 

The contracts for both Midland Heart and Warwickshire Police and West Mercia Police have just begun, while work has recently got underway on site for the new nursing home and pavilion in Jockey Road, Sutton Coldfield. 

J Tomlinson, which offers services in construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering, energy efficiency, renewables, fit out and facilities management, is based in Lilac Grove, Beeston, near Nottingham, and has depots across the East and West Midlands.

For more information visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Croots Farm Shop a finalist in the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015

Derbyshire-based Croots Farm Shop has won a place in the final of the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015. 

The Duffield farm shop’s Bakewell tart was named as one of ten short-listed products in the sweet bake category of the awards, run by Great British Food Magazine. 

Owner Steve Croot said: “We are thrilled that our Bakewell tart has been selected as a finalist in the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards. 

“We receive great feedback from our customers about how much they love our home-produced Bakewell tart, and to be chosen for the shortlist of an award in a national magazine is amazing. We sell about 50 Bakewell tarts a week – and the number is growing all the time. They’re very popular. It’s really good to be flying the flag for Derbyshire food on the national stage too.”  

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, opened seven years ago and sells a range of home-produced items, including sausages and meat products, pies, ready meals and flavoured oils. 

It has won a wide range of awards for its products, and last year Steve Croot was named as the Derbyshire Food Hero. 

Tom Shingler, deputy editor of Great British Food Magazine, said of the awards: “We had a record-breaking 353 entries from 242 companies, making this the biggest awards yet. For us, provenance was a priority.” 

Winners of the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015 will be announced on 29^th June 2015. 

Croots Farm Shop and Shires Eatery employs a 32-strong workforce. 

Croots Farm Shop is open Monday to Saturday from 9am to 5pm (Shires Eatery until 4.30pm) and from 10am to 4pm on Sundays. Croots runs Fresh Fish Thursdays between 9am and 1pm on Thursdays.

For more information visit www.croots.co.uk 

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Haughton Honey a finalist in the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015

Cheshire-based Haughton Honey has won a place in the final of the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015. 

The honey was named as one of ten short-listed products in the sweet preserves category of the awards, run by Great British Food Magazine. 

Bee farmer Cris Reeves, who launched Haughton Honey last year, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have been selected as a finalist in the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards. 

“We receive great feedback from our customers about how much they love Haughton Honey, but to be chosen for the shortlist of an award in a national magazine is just amazing. It’s great exposure for the brand, and comes as we prepare to celebrate our first birthday.”   

Made by English bees and bottled by Haughton Honey, which is based at Radmore Farm, Haughton, in Cheshire, the brand is probably the most unadulterated honey that you can buy, added Cris. 

Featuring traces of dandelion, chestnut, lime, blackberry, clover and other wildflowers, Haughton Honey is cold extracted to protect the natural enzymes and proteins that make English honey so tasty. 

Five pence from the sale of each jar of Haughton Honey is donated to the Bumblebee Conservation Trust to help protect bumblebees, and preserve and restore their habitats. It is vegetarian friendly and is 100% natural and pure. 

Tom Shingler, deputy editor of Great British Food Magazine, said of the awards: “We had a record-breaking 353 entries from 242 companies, making this the biggest awards yet. For us, provenance was a priority.” 

Cris, who has been a bee farmer for more than ten years, owns 300 hives. He is supplementing his supply of honey from apiaries all run by experienced bee farmers, and now has more than 1,600 hives in the cooperative, stretching across the North West and the Midlands, including Cheshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire. 

Haughton Honey is sold in more than 60 stores, as well as being available direct to customers via its website www.haughtonhoney.com Stockists include Walter Smith Fine Food at Bridgemere Garden World near Nantwich in Cheshire, reputedly the largest garden centre in Europe, the Gift Shop at Chester Cathedral, Tatton Park shop, Amaranth Wellbeing in Bramhall, a health and wellbeing retailer that recently won Best Independent Retailer of The Year in the Natural & Organic Awards, and Cheerbrook Farm Shop, the multi-award winning farm shop situated outside of Nantwich. 

“We’re so excited with the news that our honey has been chosen as a finalist in such a high-profile awards scheme, and would really like to thank our customers and our stockists, who have been really supportive of Haughton Honey,” added Cris. 

Winners of the Great British Food Farm Produce Awards 2015 will be announced on 29^th June 2015. 

For more details visit www.haughtonhoney.com

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

J Tomlinson installs latest energy efficiency measures at Eggleston Steel in Derby

Eggleston Steel, one of Derby’s oldest companies, has invested in some of the very latest energy efficiency technology as part of an ongoing investment of almost £2.5 million. 

The company has recently completed the installation of energy generating solar panels on the roof of its premises. At the same time, it has fitted energy saving LED lighting across its administration block and two factories. 

Integrated building solutions contractor J Tomlinson has just completed installation of the two projects, which are designed to make the company more energy efficient and save on energy costs. 

Eggleston Steel managing director Richard Hewitt said: “We have quite a high energy usage and decided that now was the time to become more environmentally friendly. The installation of the solar panels and the LED lighting by J Tomlinson aims to ease our impact on the environment. At the same time, it should reduce our energy bills considerably.” 

The company replaced 90 light units with LED fittings and has installed 288 solar panels in a £156,000 investment at its site at Centurion Way Business Park, Alfreton Road, Derby. The project involved removing existing fluorescent lighting, which has high energy consumption, in the two-storey office, and high bay lighting to the two warehouses, creating a brighter environment, as well as adding PV (photovoltaic) panels to the roof. 

Project managed and fitted by Beeston-based J Tomlinson, the measures should save the firm around £500,000 in electricity bills over the next 20 years, as well as achieving a carbon saving of about 40 tonnes over the same period. The alterations to the lighting alone are expected to halve energy bills and carbon production. At the same time, the solar panels will produce an additional income stream for the next 20 years via receipt of a feed-in-tariff for the electricity generated. 

David Adams, chairman of J Tomlinson, said: “As an established East Midlands company, J Tomlinson felt privileged to work with another long-standing firm from the area and to support them in their investment in 21^st Century energy efficient technologies. 

“An increasing number of companies and organisations are recognising the environmental and cost-saving benefits of installing items like LED lighting and solar panels, and we were delighted to have been appointed by Eggleston Steel to carry out this work, which should benefit the firm significantly in the future. 

“The new LED fittings are so much more efficient with their energy consumption and, as a result of the way they produce the light, it meant our team was able to reduce energy costs further by installing fewer fittings than were removed. To aid the energy savings even more, we installed LED fittings that have daylight dimming and presence detection. This means that should areas of the warehouse become well lit by natural light or have not been in use for 30 minutes, they will dim themselves down or turn off accordingly.” 

Eggleston Steel, which was founded in 1809, starting life as part of Joseph E Hunt’s Ironmongers. The latest measures are part of a package of investments and follow last year’s £620,000 investment in the most advanced laser profiling machine in the UK. The total of £850,000 included two new bandsaw machines and were ordered with the guidance of Lloyds Asset Finance and the Regional Growth Fund, which chipped in with £120,000. The firm expects to shortly add another laser machine to its range by the end of August. It also plans to extend its factory within the next ten months in a further significant investment. 

This has contributed to Eggleston Steel creating 12 new jobs over the past year, bringing its workforce to 54 staff. 

The company, which stocks, processes and supplies a wide range of mild steels and non-ferrous metals, operates mainly within a 45-mile radius of Derby, supplying a range of customers from engineers and fabricators to DIYers. The energy efficiency measures were a key part of planning the future for the company and should help the firm to achieve ISO 14001 for its environmental credentials, said Richard Hewitt. 

“Our warehouse is open 22 of 24 hours a day and the lights are on almost continually, apart from in the summer months. We realised there were efficiencies to be made, as well as reductions to our carbon footprint,” said Richard. “The team at J Tomlinson project managed the whole scheme, were helpful and knowledgeable, and I would certainly recommend them to other companies that are looking to do something similar.” 

The project is the latest installation of its kind carried out by energy efficiency experts at J Tomlinson, which is based at Beeston, near Nottingham. The privately owned company founded in the 1950s has considerable expertise in the field of PV panels, having fitted more than 40,000 panels over the past four years on a range of buildings including schools, offices, social housing, sheltered housing and private homes.  

Recently J Tomlinson was named in Deloitte’s Businesses Leading Britain 2014 report, which provides insights into the UK’s 1,000 fastest-growing businesses with annual revenues between £30 million and £1 billion. 

The firm has a substantial heritage and wealth of experience in delivering integrated building solutions tailored to both public and private sector clients.

Pictured left to right, David Adams, J Tomlinson, executive chairman, and Richard Hewitt, managing director of Eggleston Steel.

www.jtomlinson.co.uk

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Nottingham-based Focus Consultants finds Richard lll effect brought almost £60 million to Leicester

An independent assessment carried out by Nottingham-based Focus Consultants found that the discovery of King Richard lll brought in more than £59 million to Leicester’s economy, from the time of the discovery to the reinterment. 

The company, based at Phoenix Business Park, discovered that the event proved to be the catalyst for increasing visitor numbers, the launching of new businesses, job creation and higher hotel occupancy. 

Associate at Focus, Heather Frecklington, said: “This was a unique event in history. As experts in economic impact appraisals, Focus Consultants was very pleased to be commissioned to be a part of the team that looked at the effect the discovery of the remains of King Richard lll had on the city of Leicester. 

“The effects were felt widely on the economy in many ways, including creating jobs and bringing in income.” 

Leicester City Council appointed Focus Consultants to carry out an economic impact assessment of the discovery on the tourism and visitor economy. Focus looked at the period from September 2012 to March 20th 2015, leaving out the time of the reinterment which they say would have an unprecedented impact on the city, unlikely to ever be repeated. 

Focus analysed a range of indicators including the number of retail businesses established in the city compared to the region; the growth of accommodation and food services; visits to other local attractions including city museums and heritage sites; and hotel occupancy. This was in addition to looking at the King Richard lll attractions in the city. 

They calculated that the additional visitors attracted to Leicester as a result of King Richard lll was more than 600,000. They found this had resulted in an increased visitor spend of more than £54.5 million. 

Leicester City Mayor Peter Soulsby said: “The discovery of King Richard lll and his subsequent reinterment has had a greater impact on the city than we could ever have anticipated. 

“There is no doubt that we are welcoming more visitors to the city than ever before, and judging by the increased number of visits to our museums and heritage sites they are finding out about the rest of our rich history and not just Richard lll.” 

Focus found that around 1,000 full-time equivalent jobs could have been created in the city as a result of the discovery. This is based on a formula developed by Deloitte and Oxford Economics, which states that for every £54,000 spent in the local economy, one new job is created. 

They also looked at the value of volunteering to the economy, establishing that more than 8,000 hours worth of volunteering were given, equating to a value of approximately £144,000. 

Further calculations using similar data were carried out by the city council to estimate the impact of the reinterment activities. Officers calculated that this period of activity had generated an additional £4.5 million for the city’s economy. 

Additional figures provided by the University of Leicester estimate that the value of media coverage obtained was £12 million (equivalent advertising value), with 366 million people around the globe given the opportunity to see coverage of the discovery and reinterment. 

Focus Consultants, which also has offices in Leicester, Holborn in London, and in Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, offers a range of funding and economic development services including area regeneration strategies, funding applications, economic impact appraisals, business plans, and research and evaluation.

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Press release issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk  

Investors in Education Award for Focus Consultants

Focus Consultants has been presented with a special award for its commitment to providing quality work experience to young people. 

The company’s Boston office was handed the Investors in Education Award after being nominated by Boston Grammar School for offering an individual programme to one of its students. 

Focus Consultants, which specialises in project management, construction and property services, and regeneration, received the certificate at an event organised by The EBP at Belton Woods Hotel, near Grantham. 

The EBP has worked with schools and colleges, local authorities, charities, social enterprises and private sector organisations to provide a range of coordinated employability skills development services to more than 1 million young people in the area since 2001. 

It was the second time that Focus Consultants has been presented with an Investors in Education Award, and follows a similar accolade received in 2012. 

This time it was in recognition of the tailored work experience opportunities it provided to a 15-year-old boy interested in design. 

A school representative said: “This company gave the student the full package in relation to work.  CV and interview skills, along with a mock task for the week.  Very supportive.” 

Partner at Focus Consultants’ Lincolnshire offices, Trevor Newton, said: “Work experience is an important part of a young person’s development, and the team at Focus is proud to support the younger generation with valuable and insightful work experience opportunities.  We are delighted that our commitment has been recognised with a second Investors in Education Award.” 

Focus, which has its head office in Nottingham and branches at Endeavour Park in Boston, Aubourn near Lincoln, Leicester and at Holborn in London, was one of over 70 businesses nominated by over 50 schools in Lincolnshire and Rutland to receive the award from more than 4,000 organisations who hosted work experience students in 2013/2014.

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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