NEW OPENINGS

from InSolihull Magazine - Summer 2020

Instagrammable Solihull

Solihull NEW OPENINGS

Play Lane

Mell Square is proud to welcome, Play Lane, a children’s role play centre and café coming soon to Drury Lane.

Play Lane comprises of eight role play areas including a police station, fire truck, supermarket, vets, pizzeria, building site, garden and even a boutique clothes store where children can enjoy playing dress-up.

With a team of fully qualified childcare staff, all of whom are DBS checked and first aid trained, you can be assured that your children are in safe hands. Offering both ‘stay and play’ and ‘drop off to shop’ sessions, the Play Lane team will be on-site to support children with their learn through play experience.

For hungry little ‘uns or for parents who fancy a coffee and a catch-up whilst their children play, you’ll enjoy Play Lane’s on-site café. Here you’ll discover a range of tasty food and drink made fresh by its in-house chef.

Keep up-to-date with the latest news and opening information by following ‘Play Lane’ on Facebook or visit www.mellsquare-shopping.com.

Play Lane

Solihull-based shopping centre, Mell Square, is proud to welcome new gourmet delicatessen, Tastes of Britain, which specialises in craft gin and spirits, as well as British deli produce including artisan cheeses, quality charcuterie, and other deli favourites.

This family-run business, owned by Solihull residents Paul Venner and Alexandra Halasz, will be offering same-day contactless delivery options to the Solihull area. On Friday 12th June, Tastes of Britain opened their doors to their first bricks and mortar store on Mill Lane in Solihull town centre (previously EE).

Working with independent producers throughout the British Isles, Tastes of Britain will be supplying Solihull with gourmet deli items including traditional and artisan cheeses, fresh bakery, and charcuterie. Luxury hampers and cheese celebration cakes, with vegan and gluten free options will also be available. Its offering also includes a range of over 150 small batch craft gins and spirits from independent British distilleries, comprised of award-winning dry and flavoured gins, liqueurs, vodkas, rums, and guest whiskies, with the opportunity to try before you buy in-store.

Tastes of Britain co-founder, Paul Venner, said: “Alex and I are really looking forward to taking your senses on a journey around the British Isles. We are on a mission to help people find their favourite tastes and we believe that Mell Square is the perfect place to do exactly that. We are also very proud to be creating new employment opportunities in the area. We obviously opened during very challenging times but have put in place robust health and safety measures to ensure our customers and staff are safe.

“Quality and variety are at the core of everything we do, so we are really excited to introduce our award-winning cheeses and unique collection of craft gins and spirits – both of which you can sample in store. When it is safe to do so, we will be partnering with distilleries and dairies to run regular themed tasting events, which will give the people of Solihull the opportunity to learn about, and experience, the wide range of exceptional products on offer.”

Rob Hemus, asset director at IM Properties, owners of Mell Square said: “We are delighted to introduce another new independent business to Mell Square, and are excited for people to sample what Tastes of Britain has to offer. I’m sure the delivery service will also be well-received locally during the on-going COVID-19 situation. It’s really positive to welcome a new retailer to the scheme during these challenging times and is a testament to the ongoing appeal of Mell Square and Solihull town centre as a whole.”

Tastes of Britain’s delivery service is available nationwide, with same day delivery options available to Solihull postal codes B90 to B94 when ordered before 2pm.

For more information, visit www.tastesofbritain.com or follow @tastesofbritain2020 on Instagram

SOLIHULL BID EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2020 UPDATE

For the last five years, outstanding employees and innovative companies have been given their moment in the spotlight at the Solihull BID Excellence Awards.

The awards evening was due to take place on Friday 20th November 2020 at voco St John’s Solihull hotel but due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it was unfortunately postponed. We are excited to announce that the big town centre event has now been rescheduled and will go ahead on Friday, 26th March 2021, still at voco St John’s Solihull.

Last year’s awards were sponsored by Mell Square, Touchwood, Solihull College & University Centre, Phoebus Software, BNP Paribas Personal Finance and Solihull Observer.

The annual event shines a light on the up-and-coming Solihull town centre employees and businesses leading innovation, customer service and training. We have moved the date to focus on our support of the re-emerging town centre and its businesses and give them the opportunity to re-open and adapt to the ‘new normal’.

For this one-off Spring awards, the categories have been modified to include some additional focus on those businesses and employees that went the extra mile and adapted their services to support the local community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new category line-up includes: Outstanding Innovation & Resilience, Best Customer Service, Outstanding Team, Outstanding Employee, Best Community Project, and Outstanding Local Hero / Key Worker.

The awards can only be entered by employees and businesses from within Solihull town centre. The Local Hero / Key Worker award, however, is open to anyone local.

Melanie Palmer, Chief Executive of Solihull BID, said: “The Solihull

BID Excellence Awards are

“With all that the region has been through, there has never been a better opportunity to celebrate the successes that have shone through the crisis. “It will be wonderful to have the town centre community back celebrating together again.”

The judges for last year’s Excellence Awards included Solihull College & University Centre Principal, John Callaghan, Eileen Schofield of Schofield & Associates, Director, EY, Paul Brown, Chief Executive of the Association of Town & City Management, Ojay McDonald, Northfield BID Town Centre Manager, Marcia Greenwood and HM Deputy Lieutenant for the West Midlands, David Bradnock. Businesses will be able to apply from Tuesday, September 1st, 2020. They can apply on www.solihullbid.co.uk/awards, or by filling in an application form and emailing it to info@solihullbid. co.uk or posting it to Solihull BID, 618 Warwick Road, Solihull, B91 1AA.

Applications close on Friday, January 22nd, 2021. This will be followed by an application sift and the shortlisted will then attend an interview with the independent panel of judges.

HITIO AT HOME

With the uncertainty surrounding gyms re-opening, we wanted to give you something to look forward to and let you into a little secret. Successful Norwegian gym and martial arts franchise, HITIO Gym, has announced it will be launching a brand new gym in Solihull.

HITIO Gym Solihull has a versatile offering for fitness consumers that combines a dedicated gym floor, with private studios for fitness as well as a selection of martial arts classes.

The brand’s offering has allowed it to become one of the largest fitness chains in Norway, with 30+ clubs nationwide and a large pipeline for international expansion this year.

HITIO Gym Solihull is supporting a new fitness culture in the UK and they want the whole family to be a part of it.

The gym’s membership model is tailored for all fitness needs and also encourages the whole family to get active. With martial arts classes from ages 5+ (all abilities), a separated and dedicated gym floor (Strength, Cardio and functional) as well as an all encompassing fitness class timetable, there is something for everyone.

We thought this would be the perfect time to speak to Jamie Murphy, Head of Product for HITIO Gym UK and gain some tips on how to keep fit at home until the gyms open.

Meet Jamie:

My name is Jamie Murphy and I am the Head of Product for HITIO Gym UK as well as a franchisee and I’m very excited to bring HITIO Gym to Solihull.

I started Martial Arts when I was eleven with my three younger sisters so for me Martial Arts has always been a family event. I had a successful competitive career in Karate winning various regional, national and international titles in several weight classes.

Once I started training more seriously I realised my passion wasn’t just for Karate it was a passion for health and fitness. The more I trained the happier I was and the lessons I have taken from my training have carried over into all walks of my life.

I’m incredibly excited to be able to provide a state of the art gym space for families to come and train and to be able to also accomodate martial arts is a dream come true for me. I can’t wait to open and welcome everyone with a free class at Hitio Solihull.

Lesson Plan for Martial Arts style fitness classes

THE PROGRAM

For the wonderful Solihull residents I have put together a martial arts based fitness workout that anyone can do. Now more than ever it is so important that we look after our health and try to stay as active as we can. Exercise is vital for our mental and physical wellbeing. The NHS guideline for adults suggests we should all try to be active every day and aim to achieve at least 150 minutes of physical activity over a week through a variety of activities.

BASIC STRUCTURE

1. 2. 3. 5 minutes warm up light stretching 5x 3 minute rounds / 1x minute rest in between each round 5 minute cool down

YOUR STANCE

If you are right handed stand with your left leg in front in Orthodox stance, if you are left handed stand with your right leg in front in a Southpaw stance.

Lunge Punching

Jab/Cross

Front Kicking

Wall Sit Hold

ROUND 1

Jab/Cross (Gradually increasing the speed) - 2 minutes Push ups - 1 minute Rest - 1 minute

Round 2 Building off of Round 1 we do the same but with legs. Alternating front kicks

Front kicking - 2 minutes Standing squats -1 minute Rest - 1 minute

Round 3

Jab, Cross, front kick - 2

minutes

Flutter kicks - 1 minute Rest - 1 minute

Round 4

Lunge punching, alternating legs & arms on every punch -

minutes

Wall sit hold - 1 minute Rest - 1 minute

Round 5 Speed challenge

How many punches can you throw in 3 minutes and keep pushing until the buzzer sounds. Move around as you’re punching but be mindful of space and focus on the technique and still get full extension on your punches - 3

minutes

Cool Down

Light stretching focusing on the key areas worked in the workout, back, legs, and arms.

MAKING SOLIHULL SAFE AND PLAYFUL, WHILE SUPPORTING THE NHS

Solihull Business Improvement District is providing a family fun ‘Safari’, a high street storytrail, to engage with our communities, support the NHS and give families a safe reason to return to the High Street.

Launched on Saturday 4th July, families and households in Solihull are invited to search the town centre for 10 cute and colourful Monster Heroes. Using smartphones, the Safari allows you to learn each of the Monster Heroes names, their story, and superpowers. Once all 10 Monster Heroes are found, a free e-book, that tells the story of their first team-up, will be unlocked.

The Safari works by utilising contactless NFC technology and QR codes, without the need for players to download or sign up to anything, they simply need to tap or scan, using their phone’s camera, to play. The Safari aims to bring fun back to our high streets and demonstrates an effective opportunity to entertain shoppers and their families. A clever way to help increase visitor footfall within a safe environment.

Over 100 BIDs and councils across the UK are taking part in the MonsterHero Safari project, which has been sponsored by Wild in Art, with the aim of raising over £100k for NHS Charities Together. In times of great stress, this project aims to provide the local community with a memorable high street experience that will bring a smile to the community of Solihull.

Melanie Palmer, Chief Executive of Solihull BID, said: “We are

delighted to join forces with Wild In Art again to engage safely with our younger visitors and their families, in line with our aim to ‘keep smiling through the crisis’.

“This is a perfect example of utilising safe digital activity whilst raising funds for our own heroes out there on the NHS front line. Solihull is open for business and offers a safe and well managed environment for all.”

Coordinating the national project is Martin Blackwell, former CEO of ATCM and the Charity Retail Association, who said: “When I heard about the concept it just resonated with me and I knew I had to support it. I loved the idea of heroes; the idea of a “safari on the high street”! I just thought, if something fun like this can help make families feel good about going back out onto the High Street and raise money for such a worthy cause then let’s go for it.”