Historic buildings could qualify for redevelopment grants, says funding expert Focus Consultants

The completion of Bridgford Hall

Funding experts at Focus Consultants are urging the owners of historic buildings to consider following in the footsteps of Bridgford Hall which has become the first completed project in the East Midlands to benefit from a Heritage Enterprise Grant.

Focus supported Rushcliffe Borough Council in its successful bid for a £1.5 million Heritage Enterprise Grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to redevelop the hall in West Bridgford near Nottingham. 

The Grade II listed building has recently reopened as a luxury aparthotel and civil wedding ceremony venue, following a £2.3 million redevelopment – making it the first Heritage Enterprise project to be completed in the East Midlands.

“The Bridgford Hall project is paving the way in the East Midlands by illustrating how Heritage Enterprise Grants are helping to breathe new life into old buildings,” said Focus partner Heather Frecklington. “The team at Focus has been involved in the project at Bridgford Hall from the early days and it’s always a proud moment when a scheme is successfully completed.

“This renovation aptly illustrates how a Heritage Enterprise grant can open a new chapter in the life of a building. We’re very proud to have helped to secure the Heritage Enterprise grant for his work – the first to be completed in the East Midlands. Since helping to secure the Heritage Enterprise grant for Bridgford Hall we’ve been involved in supporting other organisations across the UK with their bids and we are looking forward to seeing other schemes come to fruition in the future.

“We’d be delighted to offer funding advice to any organisations that are thinking of similar projects.”

For many property owners, owning a historic building requires a great deal of investment, firstly potentially restoring those buildings and secondly keeping them in good repair. The cost of repairing a neglected historic building is often so high that restoration is not commercially viable. The aim of the HLF’s Heritage Enterprise programme is to make such schemes possible by funding some of the repair costs with grants of £100,000 to £5 million available.

Since supporting Rushcliffe Borough Council with its Heritage Enterprise Grant bid, Focus has helped a number of other organisations with their applications including the University of Northampton Students’ Union, for its Engine Shed project, and Waltham Abbey Royal Gunpowder Mills Foundation Trust on proposals to bring many of the currently unused and listed buildings at the Royal Gunpowder Mills site at Waltham Abbey in Essex back into use.

“Hundreds of neglected historic buildings across the UK could qualify for special grants to help bring them back into life,” added Heather. “Funding experts at Focus have successfully secured millions of pounds in various grants and funds for projects over the past 23 years, and we’d be very pleased to talk to organisations that feel they could benefit from Heritage Enterprise Grants.”

Nottingham-based Focus, which also has branches in London, Leicester, and Boston in Lincolnshire, specialises in funding and economic development including area regeneration strategies, funding applications, economic impact appraisals, business plans, and research and evaluation. 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.

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 PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk 

Full Movement Method demos at Wellbeing & Beauty Fair

Therapists who practise the Full Movement Method to treat muscle and joint pain as well as immobility will be giving demonstrations at a Nottinghamshire Wellbeing & Beauty Fair.

The event, which takes place on Sunday 18th November, is the chance to find out more about the therapy, which has been used to help road accident victims, injured sportsmen and women, and others who are suffering pain.

It’s also the opportunity for therapists and those who currently work in the field to discover more about how to train in the Full Movement Method, which has a new course launching early in 2013.

Representatives from both the Full Movement Method training school and its sister organisation the Shanti Yoga School, which teaches yoga teachers, will be at the Wellbeing & Beauty Fair, which is free to attend and runs from 10am to 4pm at Carlton le Willows Academy, Gedling.

The event is due to feature a range of stalls focusing on skincare, nutrition and diet, relaxation, pamper sessions, therapies and treats.

Liz Thomas, who runs the FMM training school and Shanti Yoga School, will be on hand to give more information about how to train with both organisations and where to find a therapist or yoga teacher.

FMM was developed by the late Andy Thomas, from West Bridgford, Nottingham, and uses yoga postures as a diagnostic and treatment tool, alongside soft tissue techniques, deep tissue massage and joint mobilisations.

Andy, who died last year, trained many practitioners in the therapy. The next course in FMM starts in January and runs in Colwick.

Based at the Eco Centre at Home Farm, Screveton near Bingham, its sister organisation Shanti Yoga School offers yoga teacher training and continuous professional development courses, and its next course begins in February.

For more information about FMM visit the website at www.fullmovementmethod.co.uk

For further details about Shanti Yoga School, which has trained dozens of yoga teachers in Hatha Yoga since it was launched in 2003 and is accredited by Yoga Alliance as an approved Teacher Training School, visit www.shantiyogaschool.co.uk

Issued by Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Focus Consultants hires Perfect 10 PR

Nottingham company Perfect 10 PR has been appointed by Focus Consultants to handle the firm’s media relations. Run by Louise Duffield, Perfect 10 PR will be helping to raise the profile of Focus Consultants locally, regionally and nationally.

With five offices in Nottingham, Leicester, Lincoln, Boston and London, Focus Consultants has secured £730 million of grant assistance, and delivered more than £980million of projects and programmes since 1994. The company specialises in regeneration, project management and construction and property services.

“Focus Consultants works on some really exciting projects across the UK and I am looking forward to providing PR support for the business,” said Louise Duffield.

Steven Fletcher, partner at Focus Consultants, said: “Perfect 10 PR has experience of working in our sector and came highly recommended.”

Perfect 10 PR, based in West Bridgford, works with clients across a number of sectors, but predominantly in food and drink and construction.

Visit www.perfect10pr.co.uk or www.focus-consultants.co.uk

Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR retained to support Shanti Yoga School and the Full Movement Training School

Nottinghamshire-based Shanti Yoga School and the Full Movement Training School have retained the services of Perfect 10 PR to handle their public relations operations.

Perfect 10 PR will provide public relations advice and consultancy for both organisations…helping them to raise their profiles within the East Midlands and beyond.

Both organisations were founded by therapist and yoga teacher Andy Thomas, from West Bridgford, who died in March 2011. His family and students have vowed that Andy’s legacy will continue, and have re-launched both groups.

The Full Movement Training School, based at the premises of the PDW Group in Colwick, Nottingham, provides teaching in the Full Movement Method - a unique therapy devised by Andy, which resolves muscle and joint pains, immobility and malfunction.

Andy trained therapists locally, nationally and abroad to practise FMM, and students have gone on to open FMM clinics in Bournemouth, Sheffield and elsewhere.

Shanti Yoga School, with a new home at Shackerdale Farm, Car Colston, near Bingham, has trained dozens of yoga teachers in Hatha Yoga. The core postures in yoga are at the heart of initial diagnosis for FMM.

Liz Thomas, Andy’s wife and a director of both organisations, said: “Perfect 10 PR provided PR support to both Shanti Yoga School and the Full Movement Training School previously, and we are very pleased to have retained their services as we go forward in the next chapter of the lives of both organisations following the loss of Andy.

“Andy was an inspirational teacher, both of yoga teachers and of his unique therapy FMM, and we value the support that Perfect 10 PR can give us as we build on Andy’s legacy and continue to teach yoga teachers and FMM practitioners.”

Louise Duffield, who runs West Bridgford-based Perfect 10 PR, said: “I am delighted to once again work with Shanti Yoga School and the Full Movement Method Training School.”

www.shantiyogaschool.co.uk

www.fullmovementmethod.co.uk

Nottingham PR company Perfect 10 PR www.perfect10pr.co.uk

Alternative therapy centre launched in Radcliffe-on-Trent

A new alternative therapy centre based on a treatment pioneered in Nottinghamshire has opened in Radcliffe-on-Trent.


The clinic specialises in the Full Movement Method – a unique way of resolving muscle and joint pains, immobility and malfunction developed by West Bridgford therapist Andy Thomas.

Andy has trained therapists locally, nationally and abroad to practise the Full Movement Method, and students have gone on to open FMM clinics in Bournemouth, Sheffield and elsewhere.

But the clinic in Radcliffe-on-Trent is the first to be set up jointly in Nottinghamshire by the next generation of FMM practitioners.

It is based at The Beauty Spot, Main Road, Radcliffe-on-Trent, and will be run by practitioners Maria Bilous, from Radcliffe-on-Trent, and husband and wife Kevin and Karen Green, from Newton.

All three learnt to become FMM practitioners after suffering injuries and finding that other treatments didn’t cure their problems.

Kevin, 51, a policeman with Nottinghamshire Police for 25 years before leaving two years ago to become a full-time FMM practitioner and yoga teacher, injured his back in a motorbike accident. Wife Karen suffered a neck injury in a car crash, while Maria had severe tennis elbow.

“All of us discovered the Full Movement Method as a result of having treatment, so we know it works,” said Karen, 54, who is also a sports injury therapist, a clinical hypnotherapist and a yoga teacher. “Our experiences inspired us to train in the method and to become practitioners. We have all been practising independently for some time but now we are delighted to be opening a clinic together based on the Full Movement Method at The Beauty Spot in Radcliffe.”

Maria, 48, who is also a yoga teacher, said; “We really feel we can help people get rid of certain pain that they may have had for years. It works wonders.”

The launch of the alternative therapy clinic marks an expansion in the treatments offered at The Beauty Spot, which has been run by beautician Michelle Revill for the past 20 years and opened on its current site four years ago.

“I am absolutely delighted that Kevin, Karen and Maria have opened a clinic to practise the Full Movement Method at The Beauty Spot,” she said. “Their services will complement the beauty and chiropody treatments we already offer, and I hope that additional alternative therapists may come on board as the clinic grows.”

The Full Movement Method centres on a unique blend of ancient art, modern mobilisation techniques and deep bodywork, explained Andy Thomas, who has a patent on the treatment.

“Each sufferer is unique and requires a solution particular to him or her,” said Andy. “FMM does not provide a formula or a prescription – each solution is tailor-made to suit not just the condition but the circumstances and capabilities of the individual.”

Patients suffering pain as a result of sports injuries or road accidents are those most frequently treated by the FMM. Andy has treated thousands of people over more than 25 years, and claims a 95% success rate.

“I am very pleased that Kevin, Karen and Maria have launched their clinic at The Beauty Spot,” said Andy. “Their venture marks the start of what I believe will be a new generation of FMM clinics in Nottinghamshire.”

For more information about the clinic at The Beauty Spot call Andy Thomas on 0115

9141422 or Maria Bilous on 07773 780903.

West Bridgford Summer Gathering Returns

A popular West Bridgford event that focuses on sustainable living is set to return next month.

The West Bridgford Summer Gathering is being staged for a fourth year on Saturday May 15th to encourage residents to ‘spoil themselves and their loved ones, not the earth’.

The event will feature free lifestyle, health and beauty advice, money-saving tips, all-day entertainment, and local food stalls, as well as an opportunity to discover more about sustainable living.

Experts on energy saving, eco building, environmentally-friendly clothing and accessories, complementary therapies and green transport options will be on hand to share their expertise and offer tips.

Organiser Claudia Cole, who has run a stall at the previous three West Bridgford Summer Gathering events selling bags, said: “The West Bridgford Summer Gathering has become a firm favourite on the calendar since it was launched in 2007. It’s a real community event, and this year’s gathering looks like being just as popular.

“It’s the perfect place for people to find out more about how they can make little changes in their lives which could have a big impact on the environment, while at the same time celebrating the great strides that have been made locally in sustainable living.”

The West Bridgford Summer Gathering runs from 10am to 4pm in West Bridgford Park.

Activities on offer include drumming, sushi making for children, face painting, laser tagging for the whole family, maypole dancing, games and music and dance for the under 5s.

There will also be stalls dedicated to crafts, eco information, food, health and charities.

Visitors to the West Bridgford Summer Gathering are being encouraged to walk, cycle or use public transport.

For more information visit http://www.wbsummergathering.co.uk/

Yoga course kicks off in the New Year

A Nottinghamshire yoga school has begun recruiting for its next teaching course, which starts in January.

Shanti Yoga School has trained around 40 yoga teachers since it was launched six years ago.

The yoga is based on the Full Movement Method – a unique approach that’s been developed and pioneered by Nottinghamshire yoga teacher and therapist Andy Thomas, 64.

Andy, from West Bridgford, also uses the Full Movement Method as a basis for treating patients for muscle and joint pain, including international sportsmen and women, musicians, and actors, as well as accident victims.

The latest teaching course is due to start in the New Year for anyone interested in learning the method, with tuition taking place at Colwick Quays Business Park, Colwick.

Full details of costs, dates, start times and venue are at http://www.shantiyogaschool.com/

Yoga book by Nottingham author raises money for African children

Nottingham yoga expert Andy Thomas is helping to raise money for children in Kenya with his latest book Yoga. How and Why it Works.

Proceeds from Andy’s book will go to the Calvary Zion Children's Home in Mombassa, which is building a new, more comfortable home for abandoned or orphaned youngsters.

Andy, 64, is the founder of the Nottinghamshire-based Shanti Yoga School, which has trained dozens of yoga teachers since it was launched six years ago and now runs courses in West Bridgford and Colwick. From yoga, Andy has condensed or distilled the full movement method of therapy which is also taught.

The therapist has written three previous books, Message in the Body, Deep Yoga and Deep Yoga, Deep Healing, which have so far helped to raise nearly £2,000 for the Kenyan children’s home.

His fourth book Yoga. How and Why it Works is a detailed examination of the reason for the effectiveness of yoga as a system of physical, mental and spiritual cultivation.

“Yoga. How and Why it Works is ideal for the serious yoga practitioner, the serious interested student and the teacher,” said Andy, who lives in West Bridgford and who has also used the Full Movement Method as a basis for treating thousands of patients for muscle and joint pain, including international sportsmen and women, musicians, and actors, as well as accident victims.

“I am really pleased that sales of my new book will continue to help orphaned and abandoned kids living at the children’s home in Mombassa.”

Yoga. How and Why it Works is published by Arima Publishing and is available from Amazon priced £9.95.

Visit http://www.shantiyogaschool.com/