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 

Grants available to breathe new life into historic buildings, reminds Focus Consultants

Focus Partner Heather Frecklington

Hundreds of neglected historic buildings across the East Midlands could qualify for special grants to help bring them back into life.

That’s the view of funding experts at Focus Consultants, which has successfully secured more than £953 million in various grants and funds for projects over the past 21 years.

Partner Heather Frecklington is reminding community organisations that Heritage Enterprise funding is available to help with some of the costs to repair derelict historic places, which could be the key to giving them productive new uses.

She is urging groups to look around their villages, towns and cities with a fresh pair of eyes and consider whether developments could become commercially viable if they received a cash injection via Heritage Enterprise, which is operated by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).

“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,” said Heather. “The cost of repairing a neglected historic building is often so high that restoration simply isn’t commercially viable. The aim of the Heritage Lottery Fund’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.”

Nottingham-based Focus, which also has branches in London and Leicester, and in Aubourn and Boston in Lincolnshire, has been involved in a number of successful Heritage Enterprise bids and is currently advising several clients on their applications.

“The fund is primarily for enterprising community organisations to help them rescue neglected historic buildings and sites and return them to a viable productive use,” said Heather. “It is designed to bridge the funding gap that prevents an historic asset in need of repair from being returned to a beneficial and commercial use. The case for grant funding will depend on there being a conservation deficit. This is where the existing value of a heritage asset plus the cost of bringing it back into use is greater than the value of the asset after development has been completed.”

Focus 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 

Time to move forward for British Horological Institute plan

A team of experts has been assembled to spearhead the creation of a national Centre for Horology at Upton Hall, near Newark.

Last October it was announced that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) had earmarked a £2.8 million grant for the BHI to develop a new centre of excellence to help train the next generation of clock and watchmakers in the UK.

The project – known as Saving Time - is the first phase of an £8.5 million masterplan that Nottingham-based funding, economic development and project management specialist Focus Consultants has developed for the site.

Now a team has been appointed to progress plans, produce a fully costed proposal, apply for planning permission, and submit a second round application to the HLF before the earmarked grant can be released.

“I am delighted that we have now appointed a team of experts to support the British Horological Institute as we move into the next phase of making our plans a reality,” said Dudley Giles, chief executive officer of the BHI. “Work on Saving Time is now in full swing.”

The team appointed by the BHI includes Focus Consultants as project manager, bid planner and quantity surveyor, Newark-based Guy Taylor Associates as architects, Newark-based William Saunders as civil and structural engineer, and Hertfordshire-based mechanical and electrical engineers SVM. Other members of the team are activity planners Oakmere Solutions Ltd based in Ipswich and Cambridge, access consultants Jane Toplis Associates, from Bath, fundraising consultants Judith Egerton and Nancy Chambers, from Gloucestershire, and Swinton-based exhibition designer PLB.

“This is the next stage in the process of securing the grant from the HLF,” said Focus partner Kevin Osbon. “Focus and architects Guy Taylor Associates have been involved in the long-term planning of the scheme right from the start and for around three years now, so we’re really pleased to be part of the team going forward, along with a number of other professionals who have expertise in developing exciting and innovative projects like the one being undertaken at Upton Hall.”

The realisation of the masterplan will eventually see the refurbishment of Upton Hall – a Grade II* listed building, which is included in the Heritage at Risk register kept by Historic England.

The BHI priority in the masterplan is training and education. This is to address the UK-wide shortage of horologists by creating new training and workshop facilities, allowing the BHI to double the number of students it trains over the coming years.

The facilities created during Saving Time include new clock and watch workshop spaces in a former stable block and glasshouse adjacent to Upton Hall. Saving Time will also include the refurbishment of the ground floor of the west wing of Upton Hall.

Focus, which also has offices in London, Leicester, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, 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.

For more information visit www.focus-consultants.com 

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

Arts restoration project completed by Focus Consultants

Watts Studios exterior, 2016, © David Grandorge

Heritage experts at Focus Consultants have played a key role in the opening to the public for the first time of the studios of an eminent Victorian artist and his designer wife.

The company supported a successful second round bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for £2.4million grant funding in support of the project at the home of G F and Mary Watts.

Watts Gallery Trust has now recreated G F Watts's studio and created a gallery dedicated to Mary Watts's work in the east wing of the Grade-II listed property Limnerslease in Compton, Surrey, which has just opened to the public for the first time.

As well as seeing where the couple worked, the public can also view some of their most famous paintings and sculptures, including The Court of Death (c. 1870-1902, Tate Britain), a huge painting that took G F Watts 32 years to complete. Watts’s last major work, it is displayed upon a recreation of the original pulley system designed by the artist to allow him to work upon the vast canvas in its entirety.

In addition to helping to secure the grant, Nottingham-based Focus Consultants project managed the restoration scheme - part of a £4million project to secure and restore this important site in the arts world.

“This was the latest in a number of key arts and heritage restoration schemes that Focus Consultants has been proud to have played a role in, and we are delighted that the studios of artists G F Watts and Mary Watts are now open to the public to visit,” said Steven Fletcher, a Partner at Focus, which also has offices in London, Leicester and in Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire.

“The principal aims of the project included establishing a centre for heritage learning and research, showing the late 19^th Century domestic, social and working life of two leading Victorian artists, and to sustain the future of an artists’ village, to secure the long-term future of the Watts legacy and wider estate, and we were delighted to have brought our expertise to this development.”

Carole Souter, Chief Executive of HLF, said: “The opening up of Watts Studios is set to benefit the local community, making a serious contribution to Surrey’s tourist economy and helping create a sense of confidence and pride in what Compton can offer visitors both domestically and internationally.”

Perdita Hunt, Director of Watts Gallery – Artists’ Village, said: “We are grateful to HLF and to the Trusts, Foundations and many generous individuals who are enabling us to save this important part of our cultural heritage.”

Focus 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 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

To find out more about Watts Gallery Artists’ Village, visit www.wattsgallery.org.uk

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

World War One warship role for Focus Consultants

Heritage and exhibition specialists at Focus Consultants are part of the team restoring the only surviving ship from the World War One Gallipoli campaign so that it can be opened up to the public. 

HMS M.33 is one of Britain’s three surviving Royal Navy First World War warships and is currently in a dry dock in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, next to HMS Victory.   

With the help of Focus, the restoration project secured almost £1.8 million from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and now work has begun to bring the ship back to former glory and allow the public to tour her in 2015, in time for the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign she took part in. 

Focus, which has its headquarters in Nottingham and branches in London, Leicester, and in Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, has been appointed as cost consultant and CDM (construction, design and management) coordinator for the scheme. 

“This is the latest in a number of schemes that Focus is currently involved in around Portsmouth Historic Dockyard,” said Focus Associate Eleanor Clarke. “Working with Portsmouth Naval Base Property Trust and the International Boatbuilding Training College, we are project manager and quantity surveyor on a development to restore and refurbish Boathouse 4 and create a new £5.5 million Boatbuilding and Heritage Skills Training Centre. 

“We are delighted to have now been appointed on another scheme in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard. This project will bring HMS M.33 back to life and will enable visitors to go aboard this historic warship for the first time and explore the stories of those who fought on board.” 

M.33 - a floating gun platform built with the sole aim of hammering targets ashore – became surplus to requirements in the 1980s and was bought by Hampshire County Council in 1990. For nearly 20 years, the gunship has been slowly undergoing restoration work. 

But now the project is stepping up a gear with a £2.4m restoration which is being paid for by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and a Hampshire County Council grant to the National Museum of the Royal Navy. 

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £925 million of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.0 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country. 

It has worked on a range of high-profile projects in the arts, heritage and tourism sector, including some of the major museums across the UK, and important historical and ecclesiastical sites.

For more information about Focus Consultants visit www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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

Funding experts Focus Consultants assist in £11.5m Heritage Lottery Fund grant for National Army Museum

A team including East Midlands-based Focus Consultants has played a key role in confirming an £11.5million Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grant for the National Army Museum (NAM) in London. 

The company, which specialises in putting together funding bids and packages for arts, heritage, culture, leisure and regeneration projects, played a project management role in the successful application to the HLF. 

The grant will help fund the Museum’s ambitious Building for the Future project, which will enhance the Museum’s onsite, offsite and online elements. 

Focus has now been reappointed to deliver this project, which is due to complete in 2016. With its headquarters in Nottingham and offices in Leicester, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire, and in Holborn, London, Focus has been appointed as project manager, quantity surveyor, CDM coordinator and contract administrator for the improvements. 

“This is a significant appointment for Focus Consultants to help redevelop a national museum that is aspiring to raise its profile on the international stage,” said senior consultant Eleanor Clarke. “It’s the latest in a considerable number of important museum contracts that Focus has secured, and we are looking forward to continuing our involvement in such a high-profile project.” 

The Building for the Future project will focus on four key areas, looking to: 

·         Revolutionise the visitor experience. A major restructure of the building and overhaul of Museum displays will create a more welcoming and engaging experience. 

·         Improve conservation of and access to the Collection. Consisting of over a million items, the Collection will be housed in new, environmentally controlled stores. 

·      Establish an ongoing programme of learning and outreach. Deliver an extensive programme of outreach across the country, opening up the Collection to over half a million people during 2014-16. This will be made possible through a range of partnerships including the pre-existing national network of 136 regimental military museums. 

·       Embed new working models of service delivery and public engagement. The project will enable NAM to redesign the way it works to become more audience focused and commercially sustainable. 

The £11.5 million HLF grant makes up half of the total project cost of £23.25 million. The remainder has been raised through the fundraising efforts of the museum and its supporters. 

Janice Murray, the director general of the National Army Museum, said: "We are delighted to have secured this major grant, and have already made steps towards implementing this hugely exciting project. Thanks to the help of the HLF, we will be able to enhance the museum's unique offering for our ever-growing audiences, ensuring we showcase and make available our outstanding Collection all over the country." 

Focus Consultants, which has assisted in applications for more than £925million of grants for clients over the past 20 years, is working alongside BDP, who are leading the design team for the project and Event who are the exhibition designers.

For more information about Focus Consultants visit www.focus-consultants.com

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

Nottingham Castle Success for Focus

Focus Consultants has played a key role in securing a major grant for the redevelopment of Nottingham Castle. The Heritage Lottery Fund announced that it has awarded Nottingham Castle with a First Round Pass of almost £13m to help transform Nottingham Castle and bring to life 1,000 years of history.

Focus Consultants has been working with Nottingham Castle Trust over the last two years to help formulate their ambitions for the Castle as a world class heritage attraction and to help raise the profile of Nottingham. Focus was the lead consultant working on the bid, providing project management, bid writing, business planning and cost advice services to Nottingham City Council to develop the successful bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The total project costs are around £24m and the HLF’s investment will help ensure the Castle’s heritage is brought to life as well as opening up a unique set of caves beneath the site. The project is part of exciting and ambitious plans to regenerate the city as a whole and put it firmly back on the tourist map.

It is the latest high-profile heritage scheme for Focus Consultants, whose head office is at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, with offices in Holborn in London, Leicester, Boston and Aubourn in Lincolnshire.

“The team at Focus Consultants are proud to have been involved in such a prestigious and exciting project, which will make Nottingham Castle a world class heritage attraction and we are delighted that the bid to the Heritage Lottery Fund has been successful” said Focus Consultants partner Steven Fletcher.

Work will now take place to develop the project plans in detail before a final application is submitted to Heritage Lottery Fund in Autumn 2015.

Focus, which is celebrating its 20^th anniversary during 2014, offers a range of services in the heritage and development sector, including funding and economic development, regeneration expertise, energy consultancy and chartered surveying services.

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has helped to secure more than £925m of grant assistance for a range of projects and businesses across the UK and delivered more than £1.0 billion worth of projects and programmes – making it one of the most successful businesses of its kind in the country.

It has worked on a range of high-profile projects in the arts, heritage and tourism sector, including some of the major museums across the UK, and important historical and ecclesiastical sites.

For further information, visit www.focus-consultants.com

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

Focus Consultants and architects Purcell to host seminar in Nottingham on funding opportunities for cultural projects

Unlocking Opportunities for Arts & Heritage Projects Seminar

Nottingham-based Focus Consultants and architects Purcell are hosting a free half day seminar open to anyone involved in arts, heritage and conservation projects. The afternoon event will take place on 11^th February at Nottingham Council House.

The seminar will provide informed guidance on how to unlock, manage and implement funding to deliver best value. Guest speakers include Service Manager for Museums and Galleries at Nottingham City Council, Ron Inglis, Focus Consultants partner, Kevin Osbon and Niall Phillips, Head of Design at Purcell.  

Kevin will talk about the Focus approach to securing funding for cultural and heritage projects, using a series of case studies to demonstrate the range of grant funding available in the sector. The company has helped with funding bids for a number of key projects in Nottingham including the Playhouse Sky Mirror, Broadway Media Centre and the New Art Exchange.

Ron will discuss the key opportunities, challenges and obstacles faced by a client when applying for and receiving Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) grants.

Niall will review creative ways of maximising the value of assets to assist towards resourcing projects and their future operation.

The seminar starts at 14:45pm ending with networking and canapés from 18.00pm.

Focus Consultants is based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, with offices in Leicester, Holborn, Boston and near Lincoln. Purcell opened its Nottingham studio last year and has regional studios across the UK.

Purcell is working on number of schemes in the area, providing funding advice, heritage consultancy and architectural services. Most recently, the practice prepared a Conservation Management Plan for the Malt Cross which contributed to its successful HLF bid.

Pre-booking is essential. For further information please contact Saneeta Mandil on 020 7397 7171 or email: events@purcelluk.com

www.focus-consultants.co.uk       @FocusLLP

www.purcelluk.com       @Purcelluk

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

Focus Consultants provides the foundations for a new village hall

A Lincolnshire village is looking forward to building a new community centre after East Midlands-based Focus Consultants helped the parish council to secure funding for the scheme.

The Focus team worked with Heydour Parish Council to secure £458,133 funding from the Big Lottery Fund.

The money will allow the village to tear down the existing World War One officers’ mess hut and replace it with a modern and versatile community facility.

The new Heydour village hall will provide a local place for older residents to access cultural, health and social support and clubs whilst providing a base for activities for the whole community, especially children and young people.

Around 350 local people from Heydour, Aisby and Oasby, which are between Sleaford and Grantham, in Lincolnshire, are expected to use the new hall.

“The team at Focus Consultants is delighted to hear that funding has been granted from the National Lottery for this new community facility and that development can now begin,” said Karl Marriott, a partner at Focus.

“The original hut is believed to have been liberated from Belton Park Machine Gun Corp and relocated to Aisby in Heydour parish in 1922. Our consultants and surveyors worked with Heydour Parish Council to secure the funding which will now allow the village to realise its dream of a new and replacement community facility which can serve its needs in the 21st Century.”

The new hall will be built on the site of the original building and will include a large and flexible multi-use hall, a meeting room, storage facilities, kitchen, bar/server area and changing areas for events and outdoor sports.

WiFi and internet access will also be provided for residents, business users and local groups … opening up online facilities to the whole community.

Focus Consultants’ senior consultant Heather Frecklington, senior building surveyor James Baker, senior quantity surveyor Sean Smith and assistant quantity surveyor Will Morris provided funding and construction services and were instrumental in achieving funding success.

Norman Hatcliff, chair of Heydour Parish Hall Management Committee, said: “The new hall for Heydour will be a wonderful legacy for our community, our community’s children and the generations that follow.”

The total cost of the scheme is almost £750,000.

Focus Consultants, based at Phoenix Business Park, Nottingham, and with offices at Endeavour Park, Boston, Princess Road East, Leicester, Aubourn, Lincoln, and Holborn, London, specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK.

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has secured over £800 million of grant assistance, and delivered more than £1 billion of projects and programmes - including enterprise support, innovation, culture, health, regeneration, affordable homes and energy carbon sustainability projects.

www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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

Regional Growth Fund – an opportunity for the East Midlands

Now is a crucial time to act if the East Midlands is to put in bids for a share of the government’s Regional Growth Fund.

That’s the message from Elly Fletcher, associate at leading economic development firm, Focus Consultants.

The North West and North East of the UK swept up in the first two funding rounds of the RGF, with cities like Liverpool and Leeds attracting multimillion pound investments.

Now, with the opening of the third bidding round and a further £1b of funding available, the East Midlands is hoping to take its share of the cash.

“RGF offers big money - £1m minimum investments into projects that promise, first and foremost, to create jobs,” said Elly. “In fact it’s all about jobs and money – the more private sector jobs and investment the better for RGF. Government wants to see the private sector mobilising itself to create ‘economic growth and sustainable employment’. “

Focus Consultants, which has offices in Leicester, Nottingham, Lincoln, Boston and London, has an economic development and funding team that works to secure grants for projects.

Elly believes there are a number of issues that businesses and partnership teams bidding for the latest RGF funding should consider to maximise the current opportunity.

“Projects that can show a direct and positive impact on the local economy will stand the best chance with the government panel,” she said. “If you can demonstrate that your project will create lots of jobs and act as a catalyst to attract significant private sector investment, you will certainly be in a good place.

“RGF is all about local economic growth, so it is important bids demonstrate and react to the specific needs of the local area. Bids should be framed around a case for support - why is RGF needed here? Think local and consider the future impacts.

“RGF funding needs to be committed and spent by 2015 so if you have a project ready to go that you think fits the fund criteria and is in an advanced state of development, you could have a strong chance of success. It’s important to be realistic, however. Yes, this is a big pot of cash but projects must bring with them large sums of private sector investment – ideally a 6:1 ratio. Don’t invest time and energy in putting a bid together if you can see no route through to the private sector match.”

But with the deadline of June 13th for bids fast approaching, businesses and partnerships in the East Midlands are being urged to act now.

“In today’s economic climes, with economic development funds few and far between, RGF is without doubt an opportunity to be taken seriously,” said Elly.

Focus Consultants specialises in creative approaches to securing funding packages and delivering high quality projects across the UK.

Since its creation in 1994, Focus has secured over £800 million of grant assistance, and delivered more than £1b of projects and programmes - including enterprise support, innovation, culture, health, regeneration, affordable homes and energy carbon sustainability projects.

www.focus-consultants.co.uk

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