2. Chamberlink May 27-50.qxp_Chamberlink 29/04/2021 09:41 Page 40
Solihull All the latest news, advice and events for the Solihull business community Contact: Samantha Frampton T: 0121 678 7488
Enthusiasm: Solihull pupils get active during rehearsals
Sixth form students take to the stage Aspiring young thespians at Solihull Sixth Form College have been sharpening up their acting skills, by taking part in a play as part of the National Theatre Connections Festival. The students have been tasked with performing the play ‘Look Up’ by Andrew Muir, which has been written specifically for The National Theatre. Pupils are responsible for all aspects of production from costume design to performing. The play explores a world free from adult intervention, supervision and protection. It tells the story of nine young people, as they create new rules for what they hope will be a brighter future. Rehearsals have been held via Microsoft Teams during lockdown, and started in person rehearsals in March. The group will perform a ‘Home Performance’, which will be watched by a mentor director from The National Theatre and be given guidance and support to refine their production in preparation for the festival. Students will work with Nottingham Playhouse as part of the festival and will have the opportunity to present their work on a professional stage and participate in workshops provided by the theatre during May half-term. Nadia Kouhi, drama teacher at the college, said: “The National Theatre Connections Festival is a fantastic project to be involved with and I'm so pleased we have been able to continue this despite lockdown. “It has been great to see the students developing their ideas and they really enjoyed the Zoom workshop with Andrew Muir, which gave them so many ideas. “Now that college has reopened the students are able fine tune their performance with weekly rehearsals. I can't wait to see the finished product.”
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Staff at Bear Grylls Adventure have held an extraordinary meeting 65ft in the air, while finalising plans for reopening. The informal meeting was on the attraction’s high ropes course, which reopened in April to
thrill-seeking visitors. The course has some 36 obstacles, including rope bridges and rolling logs. Other activities at the attraction are due to reopen on 20 May.
Office market is resilient, says report assess the long-term trends of this market, including Greater Birmingham’s popular out-oftown office locations, occupier behaviours and sectoral analysis. John Bryce, director of KWB, said: “The Solihull commercial property market has shown remarkable resilience over the past decade, at times defying downward trends of the wider office market and the economy at large. This makes it an excellent investment opportunity for developers and those wanting to put their capital into commercial property.
Remarkable resilience in office market: John Bryce
Solihull’s office market is highly resilient, attracts a diverse range of sectors, and is one of few office locations in Greater Birmingham that offers businesses space they need to grow, according to a new report from KWB. The findings have been revealed in a new report, Solihull & M42 office market insights for 2021, published by commercial property specialists KWB, which features six years of research on the Solihull and M42 office market. The report contains a variety of advice for investors, developers and landlords on this area’s office market. With this report, KWB has used its research spanning a six-year period from 2015 to 2020 to
‘The Solihull commercial property market has shown remarkable resilience’ “The statistics show that the area routinely achieves a sustainable level of annual office takeup of around 320,000 sq ft. This report demonstrates that, despite 2020, Solihull and the M42 corridor still hold the same potential they’ve demonstrated in previous years. “We’ve included a range of information indicating what’s likely to happen this year as the lockdown eases and companies return to their offices. It’s going to be less ‘me space’ and more ‘we space’. “We do expect to see some businesses reducing their office footprint. And this will create welcome opportunities for occupiers that have been seeking space in the area for a long time.”
