MEMBERS’ NEWS

Looking ahead

Some of you, hopefully, may be aware that I recently succeeded Suzanne Watson as President of Bradford Chamber of Commerce. I have been involved for many years in Chamber activities and yet I’m still surprised and honoured to be in this position. I hope I’m able to follow in the footsteps of many of my successors as we support our business community and grow the economy after what has been an unprecedented 18 months for so many people. At the risk of sounding like a regurgitated business strategy, ahead of me, I see opportunities and challenges for the Chamber, the wider business community and the Bradford District. As a business support organisation, we need to ensure that we move with the times to find the best possible measures, activities and connections that assist our members to not only survive but to also develop and grow as we emerge from the pandemic. In order that we can best represent members and lobby on their behalf, we also need to carefully monitor and track economic trends (as with our quarterly economic survey – a widelyaccepted crucial tool in this regard), and be aware of issues coming over the horizon. As a District, we need to reinforce and press home with regional and national stakeholders, the strengths of Bradford and the role it can and does play in a devolved and ‘levelled up’ economy. We in business, in particular, have a key role as ambassadors here; and, so, I’m looking forward to engaging with other business and civic leaders to both find out what they need from our organisation and to pass on any information about the local business community that I can. Victoria Wainwright President Bradford Chamber

BRADFORD NEWS

Bradford garden centre is first retail outlet for hand crafted Yorkshire furniture

A former PE teacher’s business has created hand crafted wooden products exclusively for a Bradford Garden Centre. Halifax business, Off the Grain has made bespoke solid wood planters and a companion bench exclusively for Tong Garden Centre. Off the Grain’s founder, Dom Walsh is excited about his company’s first retail listing: “Off the Grain was born out of a desire to create beautiful, hand crafted furniture that is unique, full of character, made to order and built to last. “The business has grown organically based on web based sales and word of mouth, but we’re excited to take Off the Grain to the next level with space in Tong, our first retail outlet, so that people can see the quality of our work first hand.” Tong’s Sundries Buyer, Phil Hemmings is pleased to welcome the new supplier to Tong: “We love to showcase great local producers and Off the Grain caught our eye after a visit to their workshop where we were impressed by the team’s care and attention to their craft and ethical approach to product sourcing and sustainability. “It’s good to be able to offer our customers something hand crafted, unique and custom made in Yorkshire.” In addition to the planters and companion bench, Off the Grain’s hand crafted oak table and bench sets will be on display for bespoke customer orders. Off the Grain employs 22 people at its workshop in Greetland. Tong Garden Centre occupies a 19 acre site in Tong village. It is one of Yorkshire’s biggest independent garden centres with 125,000 square feet of retail space and parking for up to 700 cars.

Opportunity Centre creates 30 paid placements

Employability, training and careers guidance service provider The Opportunity Centre, is to give 30 young people a chance to start their journey into employment through the government’s Kickstart scheme. The job creation scheme helps 16-25 year olds on universal credit secure a six-month paid work placement, in order to build skills and increase their employability prospects for their future career. As well as creating jobs, The Opportunity Centre will be providing wrap around employability support for all those on the Kickstart scheme. This will include action plans, relevant & industry recognised training, as well as CV building workshops. The Opportunity centre will offer roles across all aspects of its business, including the organisations social enterprise café The Canteen and Event space. Joe Grant, Catering and Hospitality Manager said: “Our organisation is committed to changing lives for the better through learning and work. Supporting the Kickstart scheme just seemed like a fantastic opportunity to continue our work to help bridge the gap between unemployment in sectors that are in desperate need for skilled workers.”

TF Automation build laser marker for medical devices Eddisons invests in new talent with three student placements Christeyns UK ups green credentials with new Project Terra

TF Automation have just completed the build of a repeat machine of one produced some 15 years ago for Intersurgical’s plant in Lithuania. Intersurgical is a global designer, manufacturer and supplier of a wide range of high-quality medical devices for respiratory support. The new machine was required because of an increase in demand for these types of products in relation to the COVID pandemic. TF Automation worked effectively and quickly with the team at Intersurgical and were able to re-create the existing machine, which incidentally is still in use to support the demand. Property consultant Eddisons has appointed three placement-year students from the BSc building surveying courses at Sheffield Hallam and Northumbria universities. Third-year students Samuel Pearson, George Greenwood-Bartlett and Eleanor Kent, have joined the firm’s growing building and project consultancy team. The triple hire marks continued expansion for Eddisons’ student placement programme, which until 2019 had appointed one building surveying student each year to work with the firm for 12 months, before returning to university to complete the final year of their degree. Already known for its green credentials, hygiene chemical and engineering specialist Christeyns UK is driving the company’s environmental agenda from Board level down. Christeyns has invested significantly into developing efficient laundry systems, incorporating both equipment and chemicals, and is guided by the 2030 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. At its own facilities, the newly introduced Terra Project (meaning earth) looks into every aspect of Christeyns business across all its UK sites, in relation to sustainability and the environment.

New website for all your members news and offers yorkshire-business.com

Constant change

I am thrilled to have been elected in July as the 78th president of Leeds Chamber of Commerce as we celebrate 170 years supporting and representing the region’s business community. I want to thank my predecessor Amanda Beresford for her passion and commitment in representing the Leeds business community over the last two years. The last fifteen months have been the most challenging in peace time and Amanda has played a vital role in ensuring the business voice has been heard by regional and national policy makers as firms sought to adapt and survive. History has shown that crises bring out the best in all of us, and we have seen first-hand throughout the pandemic the increased levels of collaboration across the public and private sectors. The innovation and agility demonstrated by firms to be able to trade against a backdrop of crippling uncertainty and volatility, as the virus and the Government’s response to it evolved has been a source of great pride. Covid has changed the way organisations work, perhaps forever, and looking forward I want to continue to build on our activities as our economy starts to recover. Whilst Covid will undoubtedly be with us through the years to come we must also look to develop solutions to ensure climate challenges are addressed. Supporting the de-carbonisation of buildings and transport will be on my agenda, as will the development of support and advice to help firms move to a future net-zero economy. We must also remember that Covid has had a huge impact on education and opportunities for young people and the Chamber will look to play its part in ensuring future generations have access to learn about career opportunities and the skills needed to develop fulfilling careers for themselves. Aligned to this I have nominated the NSPCC as my charity of the year. I look forward to working with all of you over the course of my presidency and hope to see as many of you as possible at future Chamber events. Mike Briffett President Leeds Chamber

LEEDS NEWS

Consilia Legal welcomes trio of new recruits

A spike in new client wins and a focus on growing the business has led to a recruitment drive at Yorkshire-based law firm, Consilia Legal. To bolster the Family Law team, Sophie Arrowsmith and Sandeep Sandhu have been appointed as Associate Solicitors. Joining from Lupton Fawcett LLP, Sophie said, “I am thrilled to have joined such a forward-thinking firm of like-minded lawyers. Consilia Legal put the client first and work pragmatically to encourage alternative dispute resolution. Having worked in the family law sector for many years, I had heard of the firm’s positive reputation, which I’ve now seen first-hand and couldn’t be happier to be a part of.” Sandeep Sandhu added: “I am delighted to join Consilia Legal, especially at time when the firm is going through an exciting phase. The client testimonials prove that the firm is passionate about client care, which is something that is very important to me. The firm has embraced new technology which means that we can extend our services.” Strengthening the Employment Law team and helping to manage an influx of new cases, Laura Huntington has been appointment as a Paralegal at the firm. Having previously worked at Addleshaw Goddard LLP, Laura is studying for her CILEx qualification and is working towards becoming a Chartered Legal Executive. Speaking on behalf of the new appointments, Marie Walsh, Co-Director, Employment Solicitor and Mediator at Consilia Legal said, “We’ve reached a pinnacle point in the business where we need to invest in people to ensure we can maintain our high standards of client care now and in the future. Ensuring we have the right people on board to deliver the very best results for our growing client base is paramount. Whilst having only worked at the firm for a short time, the new recruits have all immersed themselves into our company culture and fit perfectly with our values centred around looking after our clients. We are delighted to have three talented women join our expanding team of professional and passionate people.”

Blooming marvellous

A 21-year-old university student, who started her floral business during lockdown, has moved into a state-of-the-art studio at the awardwinning Sunny Bank Mills in Farsley. Amelia Harker’s flourishing Pampas & Bloom, which specialises in sourcing and selling pampas grass and dried flowers, has moved into the recently refurbished Mending Rooms at the mill complex. Amelia, who is studying Product and Furniture Design at Kingston University in London, decided to launch Pampas & Bloom during lockdown because she had time on her hands,and was studying online. “I started sourcing and selling bunches of natural hand-tied dried flowers online from home and soon, to my astonishment, my bedroom was overflowing with flowers. “So we started looking for business premises in the Leeds area and Sunny Bank Mills fitted the bill perfectly. It is a stunning environment, a beautifully refurbished old mill, full of creative businesses. My studio in the historic Mending Rooms is absolutely gorgeous, light, airy and spacious, while our landlords have been incredibly helpful and supportive. William Gaunt, co-managing director said: “Altogether there are now 75 companies with more than 350 employees on site.”

Lupton Fawcett secures STEP accreditation Leeds-based Pegasus takes flight with new factory in China CitiPark Merrion Centre awarded Park Mark Plus

Yorkshire law firm Lupton Fawcett has achieved Platinum Employer Partner accreditation for the second time from STEP – the worldwide body for professionals specialising in private client work. STEP members are lawyers, accountants, financial advisors and other professionals. The organisation has more than 20,000 members around the world. Platinum Employer Partner accreditation is the highest level awarded by STEP within its Employer Partnership Programme and is for three years. The Programme accredits trust and estate businesses’ learning and development provision. Pegasus China has invested in brandnew, state-of-the-art towelling manufacturing premises in Nantong in the south east of the province of Jiangsu. The smart new premises will enable the Pegasus Group to continue its rapid expansion programme, working very closely with the UK’s largest laundries and hotels through its flourishing Pegasus Textiles division. Pegasus Textiles will now be able to meet the increased demands of the hospitality industry, following the easing of Covid-19 restrictions in the UK. These exciting plans also include an increased product offering for Pegasus Homeware, as it expands further into the retail market in the coming months and years. Leading car parking operator, CitiPark’s Leeds Merrion Centre and first direct arena branch has been the first Multi Storey car park in the North of the country to receive the new and elite Park Mark Plus status by the British Parking Association (BPA). Following the BPA’s well-regarded Safer Parking scheme and Park Mark award, the new Park Mark Plus award recognises only the highest-quality car parks, with the award assessing a range of criteria including services, operations, design and build. To qualify for the award, car park’s must already have the BPA’s Park Mark award and meet the Disability Parking Accreditation criteria.

New website for all your members news and offers yorkshire-business.com

Challenging climate

The opportunity to represent and bring together our community of fantastic businesses, spanning many and all sectors, is one I relish. My presidency begins following a period unlike any other in recent memory; with Covid reshaping the way we live and work. Given the challenges faced through these obstacles, I’d like to put on record my sincere gratitude for those in our local authorities and Local Enterprise Partnership who have done a wonderful job in supporting regional businesses. But it is now more important than ever to continue to support businesses, creating an environment that is conducive to recovery and maximising their potential. As we begin to look forward we must tackle the regional issues that have taken second place. The issue of climate change has surged to the fore, not least with Britain hosting COP26, bringing our national credentials into the spotlight. North Yorkshire, along with being a beautiful part of our country, is also home to many emerging green-tech innovations. The potential for our region to be a world-leading powerhouse in this sector should be celebrated, especially as the issue of sustainability becomes more prevalent with the influx of younger, more environmentally-conscious consumers and entrepreneurs. Ensuring these companies, and indeed companies spanning all sectors, size and areas, have access to employees who have the greatest quality skills must now also return as a primary objective. Plugging the skills gap is essential to meeting our shared goal of making York and North Yorkshire the best place it can be to not only work, but live and prosper. As Chamber President, I will continue to ensure your views are heard and accounted for by the organisations we work with, and very much look forward to working with our members over this period. Laurence Beardmore President York & North Yorkshire Chamber

YORK & NORTH YORKSHIRE NEWS

York Handmade nominated for four awards at brick Oscars

The York Handmade Brick Company, one of the leading independent brickmakers in the country, has been nominated in a number of categories in the prestigious 2021 Brick Awards. York Handmade, based at Alne, near Easingwold, in North Yorkshire, is up for the awards following the company’s acclaimed role in the new library at Magdalene College, Cambridge; the restoration St Albans Cathedral in Hertfordshire; and the brand-new Valentine House at Allostock in Cheshire. Magdalene College is nominated in the Education category, while St Albans Cathedral is shortlisted in both the Craftsmanship and Public categories and Valentine House is in line for the Individual Housing Development award. These national awards will be presented at a glittering ceremony at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in the heart of London’s West End on Wednesday November 10. Run by the Brick Development Association in conjunction with Building magazine, they are the brick industry’s Oscars. York Handmade Chairman David Armitage said: “We are particularly proud to be involved in these three fantastic projects this year, all of which have been shortlisted in the Brick Awards. “Huge thanks are due to the management team and employees at York Handmade for their imagination, enterprise and hard work, which all combined to make these projects so successful and so memorable. “It is vitally important to stress that our three shortlisted entries are completely different jobs in design and execution, graphically illustrating our ability to work in a wide variety of colours and styles. We believe we can tackle any brickwork project successfully

University supports inspirational awards

York St John University is once again backing an inspirational awards scheme to celebrate the achievements of young Asians in Yorkshire. Professor Karen Bryan, Vice Chancellor of York St John University, said: “We celebrate diversity and take pride in our dedication to providing equal opportunity to students from all backgrounds. The Yorkshire Asian Young Achievers Awards – known as The YAYAs – launched for the second year on June 17, after an incredibly successful first event last year. The awards are open to any young person of South Asian heritage (Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi etc.) who was born in, or lives and works in, Yorkshire. York St John University are the headline partners for the YAYAs, which are being organised by the Bradfordbased QED Foundation. Rob Hickey, Chief Operating Officer at York St John University, said: “These awards highlight examples of personal endeavour, selfless determination and breaking barriers; qualities which we value and look to replicate.” Dr Mohammed Ali OBE, Chief Executive of QED, said: “Yorkshire has more than 600,000 BME residents. We had humbling and life-affirming stories of people overcoming the odds to carve their way in life and we feel enormously proud of all those who entered. They were all truly inspirational.”

Recognition for York law firm in leading industry guide Cheer for charities as Rollits resumes annual golf day A year of excellent performance and well positioned for 2022

The York office of Andrew Jackson Solicitors LLP announces that Chambers & Partners, one of the leading industry guides to UK law firms, has ranked its private client practice for the fifth consecutive year. Mark Pearson-Kendall, Managing Partner, said: “The Chambers’ rankings and feedback always matter to us, as they are based on objective research and interviews with our clients, which provide us with a clear picture of how we are performing. The aim across the whole firm is to provide exceptional legal services built around our clients’ needs.” Two of the region’s major charities breathed a sigh of relief as businesses provided a fundraising boost by taking to the golf course for the first time in nearly two years. Dove House Hospice and Muscular Dystrophy UK expect to receive a significant cash injection from the proceeds of the Rollits’ Charity Golf Day which took place at Brough Golf Club and attracted 20 teams from the firm, its clients and contacts. The charities voiced their appreciation for the support of participants and for the businesses which sponsored prizes and each of the 18 holes. Barratt Developments PLC have seen continued strong demand for our high quality, energy efficient homes on welldesigned developments, enabling us to deliver 17,243 home completions this year. We enter the new financial year in a strong position and remain focussed on our medium term targets, including delivering 20,000 homes a year. David Thomas, Chief Executive, said: “It is thanks to the hard work, resilience and flexibility of our employees and sub-contractors that we made such excellent progress this year, whilst maintaining our high standards of quality and service.”

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