London church appointment for Focus Consultants

St Marylebone Church

Focus Consultants has been appointed to project manage a plan for a major restoration at one of London’s historic churches.

The Parish Church of St Marylebone, home to the internationally respected Healing and Counselling Centre and innovative NHS Marylebone Health Centre, has been awarded initial support of £700,000 from The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to develop proposals for the £8.6m restoration of the church and the renewal of community facilities. 

The historical Grade I listed London landmark has appointed Focus Consultants as project directors and project managers.  

The scheme is set to include new building work adjoined to the current structure to include a welcome and reception area, additional exhibition space and a café for visitors. In addition to this, extensive repairs and conservation efforts are expected to take place on the existing building. 

Focus Consultants partner Ellie Clarke said: “St Marylebone Church is an important building in London and the team at Focus is very pleased to have been appointed to help with the development in the next chapter of its history.

“We have significant experience of working on such projects and are looking forward to project managing these inspiring proposals.”

Constructed in 1817, the Anglican church located on the Marylebone Road is the third building used for the parish church in the borough’s 900-year-old history. The present church was the venue for the wedding of Robert Browning to Elizabeth Barrett and the baptism of Charles Dickens’ son. In the 1980s, the Parish took a huge leap in converting the unusable crypts of the church to create a range of complementary facilities for community uses.  

The Rector of St Marylebone, The Revd Canon Stephen Evans, commented: “The regeneration will allow the parish to become a Community Hub which will tell the story of St Marylebone "the great city north of Oxford Street".

The Rector and Parochial Church Council will be partnering the Church Army’s Marylebone Project in providing a Community Café, staffed by women who would otherwise be homeless, Vital Regeneration, an innovative community enterprise project based in Church Street, one of Westminster’s most deprived areas, working with local young people who are not in employment or education, the Building Crafts College in Stratford (which was founded in and had its premises in Marylebone for nearly 100 years) and a host of other individuals and agencies. 

The Changing Lives project will lead to a more sustainable future for the church - creating a vibrant, welcoming hub and enabling visitors to learn more about the heritage of the church and the wider Marylebone area. 

The Focus team is currently working to develop the bid ready for submission to the HLF in Summer 2018. The project is expected to be completed in 2020. 

Focus, which is based in Nottingham, has offices in London, Leicester and Boston in Lincolnshire. This project is being led by the London office. The company has, since 1994, secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

It also offers a range of services to the property and construction industry, including building surveying, quantity surveying, project management, and sustainable development support.

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

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

Focus Consultants’ role with Waterloo Housing Group continues

Old Leake project. Photo courtesy HWD Architecture 

Work has begun on site to build 22 new affordable homes in Lincolnshire – the latest project that Focus Consultants has undertaken for Waterloo Housing Group.

The team in the Boston office of Focus Consultants has been appointed to carry out a multi-disciplinary construction consultancy role on the development in Church Road in Old Leake.

It follows the completion ahead of schedule earlier this year of Phase Two of Broadfield Lane, Boston, when Focus Consultants acted as employer’s agent, principal designer, client CDM advisor and party wall surveyor on a scheme to build 123 houses for Waterloo Housing Group.

Also completed recently was a scheme for Waterloo Housing to provide 26 houses and apartments at Tytton Lane, Boston. Meanwhile, work is continuing on a project that Focus is also involved in to build 32 homes off Toot Lane, Boston, for the housing association.

“This latest appointment at Old Leake continues our ongoing relationship with Waterloo Housing Group and ESHA, helping to deliver a range of housing projects in the Lincolnshire area over a number of years,” said Trevor Newton, Partner in the Boston office of Focus.

“We were delighted with the completion ahead of schedule earlier this year of the second phase of a Waterloo Housing Group development, in Broadfield Lane, Boston, where Focus also had a multi-disciplinary role.

“As a company, Focus offers a range of building consultancy services from design, building surveying and quantity surveying through to project management, and we are very pleased that we have been able to support Waterloo Housing Group on so many projects.”

The Old Leake scheme, led by Waterloo Housing Group and ESHA Developments, will create a range of one, two, three and four bedroom houses, all available for rent or shared ownership. The project is being funded by the Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise partnership.

The village of Old Leake is situated approximately eight miles from the market town of Boston in Lincolnshire. The site was formerly occupied by a caravan and car park for the adjacent White Hart public house. The development includes the demolition of part of the pub which was remodelled to facilitate access for the new road.

The new homes have been designed to provide spacious modern accommodation and a range of parking options. In keeping with the area’s aesthetics, including a Grade I Listed church, the homes have been carefully designed to blend into the central village location. The housing development is due to be completed in March 2018. 

Nottingham-based Focus, which, as well as an office in Boston, also has branches in London and Leicester, offers a range of services in funding and economic development, project management, sustainable development and building surveying.

Since 1994 Focus has also secured for clients more than £953 million of grants for projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

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

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

East Midlands fbe Awards 2017 launched

2016 fbe awards winner GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratory

Nominations are now being invited for the annual East Midlands fbe Awards which recognise and reward the teams behind some of the best construction projects in the region.

Returning for a second year is the Best Rising Star category, which will shine the light on the construction and development sector’s most promising young professionals.

Entries for the awards are expected from across Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. 

The categories include Regeneration, Residential, and Non-Residential developments, along with Rising Star of the Year. The winners of the first three categories will automatically form the shortlist for the Overall East Midlands Scheme & Team Award.

Free to enter, the awards will be presented at an event run by the East Midlands fbe (Forum for the Built Environment) on 12th October 2017 at the City Rooms in Leicester. Around 150 professionals from the construction, development and property sector in the region are expected to attend the ceremony, which last year sold out in advance.

“The East Midlands fbe Chairman’s Dinner & Awards night is a popular date on the calendar of the region’s construction sector,” said Eddie Mewies, regional chairman of the East Midlands fbe and MD of M-EC Consulting Development Engineers.

“The awards are the chance to recognise and celebrate some of the region’s top projects, as well as the teams who are behind them. We are pleased that once again we will have a category for the Best Rising Star, so that we can shine a light on those young people who are showing outstanding achievements in their field and celebrate the next generation of leaders and influencers in the East Midlands construction sector.”

As well as entries now being open, sponsorship opportunities are also available for the event.

Details about the awards and entry forms, as well as sponsorship opportunities and tickets for the awards ceremony, are available from http://www.fbeonline.co.uk/east-midlands/events/fbe-east-midlands-chairmans-dinner-and-awards-2017.htm or by contacting Mary Daw on 07883 033552.

The deadline for award nominations is Friday 1^st September 2017.

Last year’s overall winner was the GlaxoSmithKline Carbon Neutral Laboratories for Sustainable Chemistry at the University of Nottingham, a building unique in the UK in its design and focus on ‘green chemistry’, which was nominated by Morgan Sindall.

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. As well as running the annual awards scheme, the East Midlands branch also organises a number of social and other events. The East Midlands branch covers Leicestershire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

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

J Tomlinson starts work on Midlands industrial and warehouse scheme

The Steelpark Trading Estate, Wednesfield

J Tomlinson has begun construction of a multimillion-pound speculative development of a range of industrial and warehouse units at a key Midlands site.

Commercial property company Goold Estates expects the scheme of about 70,000 sq ft of units at Steelpark Trading Estate, Wednesfield, in the West Midlands to attract significant investment and generate dozens of new jobs.

Managing director (construction) of Nottingham-based J Tomlinson, Martin Gallagher, said: “We are very pleased to be involved in this speculative development. As a company, J Tomlinson has wide experience of designing and constructing industrial and warehouse units across the Midlands for a range of clients. We are delighted to be working with Goold Estates for the first time.

“Our presence in the West Midlands has gone from strength to strength, supported by our growing office in Canwell, near Sutton Coldfield, and we are looking forward to continuing our relationship with existing clients in the region and also developing relationships with new clients like Goold Estates – helping them to create first-class developments.”   

The Steelpark Trading Estate development is expected to reach practical completion early in 2018.

Dominic Goold, managing director of Walsall-based Goold Estates, said: “It is great to see construction underway. We are looking forward to delivering a high-quality development, which will attract investment and jobs to the region.

“The Steelpark site, which is adjacent to the Tata Steel Automotive Service Centre, has been vacant and available for development for many years. We acquired it in September last year and we’ve acted quickly to secure planning consent and get the development underway. 

“All of the units are being built speculatively, for sale or lease, because we are confident there is a strong demand in the market. These will be high quality industrial units in a sought-after location with excellent access to the motorway network, being just 4.6 miles west of J10 M6 and four miles south of J1 M54.”

Finance Birmingham has arranged speculative development finance to help fund the project through the West Midlands Combined Authority Collective Investment Fund CIF. 

Councillor John Reynolds, City of Wolverhampton Council Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “There is £3.7 billion of investment on site or in the pipeline in the City of Wolverhampton and this is another boost for our regeneration plans.

“The Steelpark Trading Estate development will bring back to life a site that has been redundant for many years, while at the same time protect wildlife in the area. It shows there is confidence in investing in Wolverhampton and most importantly it will bring dozens of jobs to the city.”

J Tomlinson, which last year opened a new West Midlands headquarters at Canwell after experiencing expansion in the region, provides a range of integrated building solutions including construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical services (M&E), and facilities management.  It operates across the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire.

For more information about J Tomlinson, visit www.jtomlinson.co.uk

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

Focus Consultants awarded position on key national framework

Heather Frecklington at Focus Consultants

Focus Consultants has been appointed on a major national framework to supply consultancy services in leisure, culture and tourism, as well as asset management and delivery.

The position on the ESPO 664-17 framework will run until April 2019 with an option to extend for a further two years until April 2021.

It means that public-sector clients, registered charities and social housing providers in the UK can procure services from Focus in the knowledge that the procurement process has already been carried out in a professional manner, avoiding the need for a full tender process when searching for suppliers - saving them time and money.

The ESPO 664-17 framework is the eighth framework that Focus is currently appointed on.

“As well as working in the private sector, the teams at Focus Consultants work extensively across the public sector – providing specialist services to councils, charities and other organisations,” said Focus partner Heather Frecklington.

“Our services are unique – ranging from funding support, feasibility studies, commercial reviews and economic development through to evaluations, maintenance, management and delivery, and rationalisation and remodelling – and we have worked with a huge range of clients from internationally known museums and high-profile UK arts organisations through to local councils and small heritage projects.

“The appointment on the ESPO framework means that it is easier for clients to procure our services in the field of leisure, culture and tourism, as well as in asset management and delivery, and allows Focus, as a company, to potentially reach out to a wider client base.

“We are delighted to have been appointed to this framework – the eighth that we are now on – as it recognises and confirms our skills and professional services in these areas, and is an endorsement of our expertise.”

Focus Consultants is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and has offices in London, Leicester and Boston in Lincolnshire.

It specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK. Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £953 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.3 billion of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful companies of its kind.

The firm has worked with many well-known organisations including the V&A Museum, the Science Museum and the National Army Museum. It is currently project managing the £44million Devonshire Quarter redevelopment scheme in Eastbourne.

In the East Midlands, the company has played a role in a number of high-profile projects such as the Sky Mirror in Nottingham and the Curve in Leicester, and is involved currently in the refurbishment of the Theatre Royal and Royal Concert Hall in Nottingham and was a member of the team redeveloping the newly re-opened Bridgford Hall near Nottingham- the first completed project in the East Midlands to benefit from a Heritage Enterprise Grant.

ESPO (Eastern Shires Purchasing Organisation), based in Leicestershire, is a public sector owned organisation committed to helping customers achieve the best results by practice in procurement, sourcing, supply chain partner support and management and contract management. The 664-17 framework is fully compliant with UK/OJEU procurement legislation, where all providers listed are assessed prior to being accepted onto the framework.

For more information, please visit www.focus-consultants.com

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

Central Foods celebrates its 21st birthday by being named in top 100

Central Foods receives award from Grant Thornton

Frozen food distributor Central Foods has been named as one of the top 100 performing businesses in Northamptonshire for the first time.

The firm, which this year is celebrating its 21^st anniversary, has been awarded a place in the Grant Thornton Northamptonshire Ltd Top 100 Companies for 2017 report.

“Central Foods has previously been named in the top 200 companies in Northamptonshire on a number of occasions, but this is the first year that we have been included in the top 100 – reflecting our continued growth and development as a business,” said managing director Gordon Lauder, who runs Central Foods with wife Alison.

“Now in its fifth year, the Grant Thornton report has become a key event in the county’s business calendar and the team at Central Foods is delighted that we have now, for the first time, progressed into the top 100.

“Our company was founded in Northamptonshire 21 years ago and began its life, as many do, in a very small-scale way from our home. We are very pleased and proud to have steadily grown the business to become the significant contributor to the local economy that it is today.

“Our committed, hard-working staff ensure they go over and above what is required to service customers’ requirements and this has undoubtedly been a factor in our growth and success, and I’d like to thank them for their support.”

Central Foods, based at Collingtree near Northampton, is one of the UK’s leading frozen food distributors, supplying more than 220 independent wholesalers, as well as larger national and regional wholesalers. It also supplies to foodservice caterers across the entire foodservice industry, including pubs, hotels, restaurants, staff canteens, schools, hospitals, coffee shops, football grounds and universities.

Offering a one-stop shop to the foodservice sector, Central Foods sources products from around the world and the UK, supplying more than 400 different lines, ranging from meat, bakery items and canapés through to buffet products, desserts and puddings.

Grant Thornton director Mike Hughes said: “We are pleased to announce that Central Foods Limited is featured in the Northamptonshire Ltd Top 100 Companies for 2017.

“According to the Northamptonshire Ltd Report, businesses in the county are performing strongly in terms of growth compared to the rest of the UK and this is set to continue. The report, conducted by Grant Thornton, analyses the financial performance of the county’s leading privately owned companies in the county.”

Mike, along with Grant Thornton associate director David Stone, recently presented an award to Central Foods to mark the company’s achievement.

Northamptonshire Ltd is compiled using the most recent publicly available accounts (as at April 2017) of the county’s 100 largest privately owned companies based on turnover and with their principal trading address in Northamptonshire. It encompasses companies with revenues of around £12 million to more than £600 million.

The report identifies the three top sectors in the county by turnover as food, drink and leisure, automotive and motor retail, and industrial and manufacturing.

For more details about Central Foods, visit www.centralfoods.co.uk

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

BSP Consulting appointed on world-class adventure resort

CGI of Afan Valley Adventure Resort in South Wales

East Midlands-based civil and structural engineering firm BSP Consulting has been appointed to work on a spectacular new multi-million pound adventure resort which is set to take the UK leisure industry by storm.

Afan Valley Adventure Resort in South Wales will be the first development of its kind in the UK and will be home to a staggering wealth of adrenaline-fuelled indoor and outdoor activities.

Set over 500 acres of forests and rolling hills in Afan Valley, the resort is the brainchild of Gavin Woodhouse, chairman of Northern Powerhouse Developments and Peter Moore OBE – the man who first brought Center Parcs to the UK and who helped turn round the fortunes of Alton Towers.

The Bear Grylls Survival Academy, which will feature a series of tough challenges and endurance courses designed by the top TV survival expert, has already signed up as one of the resort’s big attractions.

Engineers at BSP Consulting, which has its headquarters in Nottingham and branches in Derby, Leicester and Sheffield, have been appointed to undertake the flood risk assessment and drainage strategy for the development, which is currently going through the pre-planning stages. Earlier the company handled the geotechnical phase one desk study.

“Afan Valley Adventure Resort is a really exciting new adventure and leisure park which will be home to a selection of world-class adventure facilities,” said BSP Consulting associate Tim Wilson.  “As a company, BSP Consulting has worked on major leisure parks previously but we’re thrilled to be playing a role in this development, which is a pioneering concept for the UK leisure industry.

“Flood risk assessments and drainage strategies are pre-planning necessities for any scheme over one hectare in size and/or schemes within a flood zone two or three, with each site having a unique set of circumstances that need thorough investigation to satisfy planning conditions. BSP Consulting has vast experience in this field, and we are delighted that our expertise is being used to help take this significant scheme forward to the next stage of its development.”

In addition to the Bear Grylls Survival Academy experience, the all-weather, all-year-round resort will also be home to three outdoor ski slopes, forest-based zip wires and tree-top adventures, bike trails, an Xtreme sport centre, a state-of-the-art aqua park, indoor trampolining, relaxing spas and a central plaza featuring a wealth of bars and restaurants.

Expected to be opening in the summer of 2018, the development will also include a 100-bedroom hotel and 500 luxury lodges.

BSP is working closely on the project with chartered town planners and urban designers Nineteen47, which has offices in Castle Donington and York.

BSP Consulting, which has its head office in Oxford Street, Nottingham, provides a comprehensive range of consultancy services in civil, structural, geotechnical, transportation and environmental engineering to all sectors of the construction community, from architects, project managers and contractors to developers and estate agents. It was founded in 1999 and operates across the UK.

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

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

Sweet taste of success for Croots Farm Shop in national food awards

Steve Croot ahead of the Great British Food Awards 2017

Popular Derbyshire farm shop Croots has received national recognition for two of its home-made products after being named a finalist in two categories of the Great British Food Awards 2017.

Two years ago, the farm shop won top bake for its Derbyshire Bakewell Tart in the awards run by Great British Food magazine. And last year its home-made Derbyshire Pasty was highly commended in the same awards.

Now another of the tasty bakes from Croots has been singled out for success, with Croots Lemon Tart selected as a finalist in this year’s sweet baked category. Also named as a finalist in the awards is Croots Lemon Rapeseed Oil.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to hear that the Croots Lemon Tart and the Croots Rapeseed Oil have been shortlisted in the national awards organised by Great British Food magazine,” said Steve Croot, who runs Croots Farm Shop and Café at Wirksworth Road, Duffield, with his wife Kay.

“Our home-baked and home-made products are a really popular part of the range of food and drink that we offer, and both the Lemon Tart and the Lemon Rapeseed Oil are big favourites with our customers. It was great news for us when our Derbyshire Bakewell Tart won the title of best sweet bake in the magazine’s award two years ago and we are so happy that other products have now hit the spot in the initial round of judging and made it onto the shortlist for this year’s awards.”

Croots Farm Shop, which opened nine years ago, at Farnah House Farm, has won scores of awards for its products, including sausages, meat products, and bakery items. Earlier this month (June), it picked up the People’s Choice Award for Family Business of the Year in the Midlands, at an awards ceremony run by Family Business United.

“We have a very talented team at Croots, some of whom have been with us since the start of our journey, and our success in the awards we enter is very much down to them,” added Steve.

Editor of Great British Food, Natasha Lovell-Smith, said in a note to Croots: “We had a lot of great entries this year, so you should be very proud!” 

Judges for the national magazine, a monthly magazine dedicated to celebrating the wonderful quality and diversity of British produce, are now busy picking the winners of the competition, which will be announced later this summer.

Croots Farm Shop, based at Farnah House Farm, Wirksworth Road, 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 http://www.croots.co.uk Find Croots on Twitter @crootsfarm_shop or on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Croots-Farm-Shop

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