Work begins on new community centre with Focus Consultants as project manager

New Community project in Lincolnshire with Focus

Work is now underway on building a new community centre in Lincolnshire village Mareham le Fen, which will replace a 100-year-old tin and timber hall.

Focus Consultants is project managing the scheme, having earlier supported the Village Hall Management Committee in securing a grant of just over £500,000 from The Big Lottery Fund. Other main funders include WREN, a not-for-profit grant-giving business, who donated £50,000, and Lindsey Action Zone.

The committee has raised further funds through community events and donations to cover the overall £800,000 cost of the project for the new multi-purpose building, which will serve the residents of Mareham le Fen, situated between Horncastle and Boston, as well as the surrounding parishes. 

Long-standing community member John Ellwood was given the honour of cutting the first sod. He was accompanied by pupils of Mareham Le Fen Church of England Primary School along with their headteacher Avril Moore.

Graham Beacham, chairman of Mareham le Fen Village Hall and Memorial Lawn Management Committee, said: “This is a great day. It’s so good to see the start of a new centre for the community. It has been quite a journey, but with the support of so many, success has been achieved.” 

Focus Consultants building surveyor Chris Smith, who grew up in the village and played a key role in helping to secure the Big Lottery Grant and in taking the project forward, said: “A new community building for Mareham le Fen is long overdue and I am delighted to have played a part in getting the scheme to where it is now, with a start on site.

“Focus is project managing the development and I am looking forward to seeing the building taking shape over the next few weeks and months.”

Local company Taylor Pearson has been contracted to carry out the building work, which is due to be completed in November 2017. The Boston office of Focus Consultants is handling the project management side of the scheme.

Additional funders who are supporting the building include Lincolnshire County Council, East Lindsey District Council, Garfield Weston Foundation, Trusthouse Charitable Foundation, Bernard Sunley Charitable Foundation and Lincolnshire Co-op Community Champions.

Focus, which has its headquarters in Nottingham and other offices in London, Leicester, and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, 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

Nottingham Hospitals Charity to benefit after J Tomlinson triumphs at golf day

J Tomlinson and Andersen James present cheque to Nottingham Hospitals Charity 

J Tomlinson’s adopted charity has received a boost after the firm won the inaugural Andersen James Group Annual Charity Golf Day. 

Held on the prestigious, world-famous Brabazon course at The Belfry, the J Tomlinson team held off stiff competition from the construction industry's golfing fraternity to take home the winner's trophy and the chance to hand over the donations from the day to the charity of their choice.

The Nottingham-based company opted to support Nottingham Hospitals Charity and when specialist construction sector recruitment company Andersen James Group kindly doubled donations made on the day, it ensured that the charity received a cheque for £1,060. 

J Tomlinson CEO, Mark Davis, said: “We have recently chosen to support Nottingham Hospitals Charity as part of our commitment to investing back in our community. J Tomlinson has been an established company in Nottingham for decades and many of our staff and their loved ones have been cared for at Nottingham’s hospitals.

“We are delighted to be supporting the charity which directly supports the Nottingham University Hospitals (NUH) research programmes, initiating local medical research, which can have worldwide implications for health, and we’ve got things off to a flying start by triumphing in a charity golf day.”

Andrew Hooker, Director at Andersen James Group, said: “Andersen James were delighted to be able to host what we hope is the first of many events to raise valuable funds for a variety of charities. Myself and co-Director James Leighton are privileged to host such a fun event at a fantastic venue and would like to thank all participants who took the time to take part. Congratulations to the winning team at J Tomlinson for their victory and we hope that the funds go some way in supporting the fantastic efforts by all at Nottingham Hospitals Charity.” 

Barbara Cathcart, Chief Executive of Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: “We are delighted that J Tomlinson have opted to support us as their chosen charity and it is great news that they won the golf day which enabled them to make a contribution to enhance care for patients and invest in local research at Nottingham’s hospitals.” 

J Tomlinson, based at Lilac Grove, Beeston, provides a range of integrated building solutions including construction, refurbishment, repairs and maintenance, mechanical and electrical engineering (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

The photo shows, left to right, Nigel Gregory, Development Director Nottingham Hospitals Charity, Jo Walker, Fundraising Champion at J Tomlinson, Mark Davis, CEO at J Tomlinson, Cat Craven, Fundraising Champion at J Tomlinson, Andrew Hooker, Director, Andersen James,  and Joanne Benbow, Fundraiser, Nottingham Hospitals Charity.

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