News: Minister opens Rolls-Royce's £110m Rotherham facility

The most advanced turbine blade casting facility in the world has been officially opened in Rotherham.

Rolls-Royce, one of the most famous names in engineering throughout the world, welcomed Business Minister Matthew Hancock to the £110m Advanced Blade Casting Facility (ABCF) on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham yesterday to perform the ceremony.

When fully operational in 2017, the 14,000 sq m facility in Rotherham will employ 150 people and produce a specific portfolio of civil aerospace parts, such as turbine blades, using advanced manufacturing techniques and an increased level of automation.

The new foundry is used for Rolls-Royce's pioneering work in the manufacture of single crystal (SX) turbine blades. The advanced turbine blade castings are produced for the company's most modern, high-thrust engines. There are over 65 in every iconic Trent engine and 182 turbine blades in each Trent XWB engine.

With an initial capacity of 100,000 blades per year, this is set to increase to 200,000 when the pioneering manufacturing process has been proven.

Business Minister, Matthew Hancock (pictured top, left), said: "This new facility will house the most advanced blade casting facility in the world and is a truly remarkable feat of engineering. When operational, it will create 150 high skilled jobs and support the local economy.

"Our aerospace growth partnership has put in place a long-term industrial strategy for the whole aerospace industry and this investment by Rolls Royce in new technology and modern manufacturing processes is testament to the ongoing strength of this sector. Continuing to back leading companies like Rolls Royce, and supporting the UK's manufacturing sector is part of the government's long term economic plan."

Gareth Davies, executive vice president, Turbines at Rolls-Royce, said: "It was a great pleasure to welcome the Business Minister to open the most advanced blade casting facility in the world. Rolls-Royce is committed to investing in innovative technology and world-class facilities to help us deliver our record £73.7 billion order book.

"This facility will use ground-breaking manufacturing techniques to produce single crystal turbine blades for our Trent engines including the world's most efficient aero civil engine, the Trent XWB."

There are two types of turbine blade manufactured at the Rotherham facility: high pressure (HP) and intermediate pressure (IP) single crystal blades. Rolls-Royce has been working closely with the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) in Coventry (part of the government's High Value Manufacturing Catapult Centre along with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) in Rotherham) to develop and optimise the enabling technologies.


Rotherham was selected due to the AMP and the close links already forged with the AMRC on the site. It was also a condition of the government funded research (around £15m) that a location with a legacy of heavy industry was selected.

The factory operates more like a modern automotive factory, with greater integration and intelligence. With blades manufactured to tolerances of +/- 0.2mm, and from advanced alloys, measurement techniques at the ABCF are at the cutting edge. 3D structured light systems and computer tomography is being used to see inside the cast pieces to check that they are fit to fly.

The techniques have helped reduce the time it takes to manufacture a turbine blade by 50% while producing a step-change in component performance.

Paul Woodcock, director of planning, regeneration and culture at Rotherham Council, said: "Rolls-Royce brings another global, hi-tech, high-quality addition to Rotherham's Advanced Manufacturing base. We're delighted to have helped the company make this choice, which is a massive boost for the ambitious plans for Sheffield City Region, in which Rotherham is playing a truly significant role."

In 2012, Rolls-Royce secured planning permission for a 21,000 sq m "Project PoWeR" facility, also on the AMP, which is proposed for manufacturing and assembling power vessels for the next generation of nuclear power stations. A third 8,800 sq m building has outline planning permission.

Rolls-Royce website

Images: BIS / Twitter / BAM Construction / Rolls-Royce

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News: Kenny's new role at Rotherham Council

Julie Kenny CBE DL, chair and chief executive of growing Rotherham business, Pyronix Limited, has been brought in as a commissioner at troubled Rotherham Council.

Last August, a report into child sexual exploitation in Rotherham described how vulnerable children have been repeatedly failed by the council. The report led to the resignation as leader by Cllr. Roger Stone and two weeks after the publication, the resignation of chief executive, Martin Kimber.

A statutory inspection of Rotherham Council was undertaken at the request of the government by Louise Casey, a government official and director general of the Troubled Families board. It presented "a disturbing picture of a council failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people from harm" and a "complete failure of political and officer leadership in Rotherham."

The report concludes that Rotherham Council has failed its citizens, is failing to comply with the statutory best value duty and needs a fresh start.

As part of an intervention package announced by Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, commissioners have been appointed who will provide new leadership, taking over the roles of the current "wholly dysfunctional" cabinet, which promptly resigned when the report was published.

The commissioners will be led by Sir Derek Myers, the former joint Chief Executive of the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and Hammersmith and Fulham.

Sir Derek will be supported by Stella Manzie CBE, a former Chief Executive of Barking and Dagenham, Coventry, Redditch and West Berkshire councils, who will take on the role of Managing Director Commissioner responsible for the day to day running of all services until the Commissioners appoint a new permanent chief executive.

In addition Malcolm Newsam will remain in Rotherham as Children's Social Care Commissioner, having been nominated by the Local Government and Education Secretaries, and Mary Ney and Julie Kenny CBE will act as supporting Commissioners.

Based in Hellaby, Pyronix is an award-winning manufacturer with an extensive range of electronic security equipment for intruder alarms. Kenny is the major shareholder.

In other roles, Julie is helping to save Wentworth Woodhouse, chairing the governors at Maltby Academy, is a board member of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and a commissioner with UKCES, the partnership that aims to raise skill levels to help drive enterprise, create more and better jobs and economic growth.

Kenny was the chair of abolished regional development agency, Yorkshire Forward, and successfully wound down the operations when it was closed in 2012. She is also the former chair of the Small Business Council and is an honorary director of Barnsley and Rotherham Chamber of Commerce.

Named Vitalise Business Woman of the Year 2013 and Private Business Woman of the Year 2014, Julie carried out over 300 engagements during her term as High Sheriff of South Yorkshire which finished in April 2013. She was awarded a CBE in 2002 in recognition of her contribution to the Yorkshire and Humber's business and industry, and an Honorary Doctorate from Sheffield Hallam University in recognition of her "outstanding contribution to industry and to life in the region."

In 2010, Julie was selected as a Commissioner when the Government issued a direction intervention at Doncaster Council following an independent inspection report which raised serious concerns about the governance and performance of the council. The council's performance was seen to have materially improved, both politically and managerially, and the statutory corporate governance intervention was brought to an early close in 2014.

The Rotherham commissioners are set to exercise other functions of the council "where there can be no confidence in the council's ability to act responsibly." They will also have the functions of appointing the chief executive, chief finance officer and monitoring officer, and of nominating members to other bodies. Jan Ormondroyd took on the chief exec role in an interim capacity in December and the recruitment for a permanent successor has been halted.

The commissioners could be in place until 2019 with regular reviews and reports expected to result in a phased roll back of functions over the duration of the intervention.

Rotherham Council website

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News: Court ruling could cost region £50m

The decision by the Supreme Court to reject the appeals of local authorities battling the government over the way it decided how millions of EU money would be distributed could cost South Yorkshire £50m in funding to support jobs and economic growth.

In 2013, the government announced that the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (which includes South Yorkshire along with north Nottingham and north Derbyshire districts) can expect €203m for 2014 to 2020 as part of €6.2bn (£5.3bn) of EU Structural and Investment Funds to boost growth under a simplified "Growth Programme."

In the previous settlement, South Yorkshire received €410m. From 2014-2020 this will be cut to €180m.

Led by Rotherham Council, a legal challenge ended this week when the points of appeal were rejected by four votes to three in the Supreme Court, the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases.

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Yorkshire Euro MP Linda McAvan and Wentworth and Dearne MP John Healey have been campaigning with local authorities to challenge the Government's proposed cuts since Business Secretary Vince Cable announced his intentions in June 2013.

Linda McAvan MEP said: "To hear that three out of the seven Supreme Court Justices believed that South Yorkshire has lost out unfairly through a flawed allocation process, with one Justice describing the Government's cuts to South Yorkshire as "manifestly inappropriate" is galling."

The Labour members point to the court reports that one Lord changed his mind towards the end of the decision making process, demonstrating just how close the local authorities came to overturning the Government.

John Healey MP said: "Linda McAvan and I have led the campaign to protect South Yorkshire from these unfair and unjustifiable government cuts. We went to the European Commission in 2013 to make them aware of our concerns and have taken our case to government Ministers too.

"In the last weeks of this Parliament, the government have got away with doing damage to our region that will be felt years from now. They may have won on a point of law, but the government's decision to divert £50m of funding from our area to richer parts of the UK remains an outrage."

The European funding is a key part of delivering the ambitious Growth Plan developed by the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP). However, having submitted a strategy for how it intends to use the funding, the EU does not recognise LEPs, the government's drivers of economic development, as decision making bodies. Central government is likely to have the final say on how the money is spent, a situation described by Eric Pickles MP as a "dog's breakfast."

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News: Commissioners to decide on Magna loan

The final decision on whether the Council makes £350,000 available to support the operators of Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham is likely to be made by government-appointed commissioners.

Set in the former Templeborough steelworks, Magna is a family attraction with more than 100 hands-on exhibits. Millions of pounds have been invested in conference facilities at the centre which is operated by a charity, the Magna Trust.

In January, Rotherham Council's interim chief executive approved an immediate £100,000 loan after the Magna Trust identified a potential cash shortfall. The council's cabinet were also recently asked to approve a new loan facility of up to £250,000 to start on April 1 2015, taking the total available for the year to £350,000.

That decision was deferred pending an independent consultant being appointed to undertake a review of Magna's business, to help to strengthen the Magna business plan and to assess the future viability of Magna and to give some assurances moving forward. The decision was "called in" by opposition members for further scrutiny.

Issues to be examined by the independent consultants include the Magna Centre's current trading levels, the leisure and other events scheduled to take place at the Centre, as well as the method of structuring the company in the future.

The possible development of a hotel and restaurant is being considered as one means of trying to attract more investors to the business.

Opposition UKIP councillors stated that "there is no justification for this Council continuing to provide loans to the Magna Trust" and that there is no need to appoint an independent consultant as the study could be completed by the Council's own finance officers.

The call-in request was not supported and the cabinet's decision stands. The Magna Trust is set to work on its business plan and the council has the authority to commission independent consultants, at an expected cost of £15,000 - £20,000, to assess the plan. It could take three months before the assessment is completed but when the information about the business plan is available, the Government-appointed Commissioners to the Council will be asked to make a decision about it.

Following a government-commissioned report that deemed Rotherham Council "not fit for purpose," the commissioners set to take over the leadership and executive functions, could be announced this week.

Cllr. Emma Hoddinott, deputy leader at Rotherham Council said at the special meeting on the Magna issue: "This Council's involvement with the Magna Trust has lasted many years; it is now important that the Council obtains an independent opinion about the Magna Centre's future business opportunities. The independent consultants will provide expertise which is not available to the Council in-house. It is preferable that the Council seeks to get a fresh pair of eyes to study the Magna Trust's business plan."

The Trust has so far drawn down £75,000 of the £100,000 made available in January following a fire in an adjacent property that affected the business. In 2006, Rotherham Council provided a £300,000, 15-year long term loan, with £195,000 currently outstanding but a "payment holiday" has been in place since 2013.

In 2008, during the recession, the Council provided Magna with an unsecured one year working capital facility. This is reviewed annually by the Council's cabinet and a sum of £250,000 was agreed in March 2014. An additional unsecured £80,000 bridging loan facility was agreed in January 2014 which has not yet been repaid. The existing £250,000 council loan is set to be repaid, with outstanding interest of £6,250, on March 31 2015.

It is believed that were it not for the Council's financial support then Magna would have been forced to close.

Rotherham Council's finance manager told the meeting that there is £195,000 currently outstanding on the long term loan but reiterated that the council does not provide a direct subsidy to the Magna Trust - all financial support is in the form of loans, which the Magna Trust pays back with interest.

One issue for the Council is the fact that the loans are secured only against the offices fronting Sheffield Road, which are not worth as much as they once were. The issue of leases and a complex inter-creditor deed is also being addressed. Parties on the deed include the Big Lottery, DCLG, Yorkshire Forward, Lombard Property Facilities Limited, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.

The Council is one of three members of the Magna Trust, together with the Rotherham Chamber of Commerce and The Stadium Group, the developers of Meadowhall and Parkgate Shopping, brought in at the start to add weight to the Millennium Project.

Magna website

Images: Magna

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News: Cumulus at Venturefest

Cumulus Energy Storage (CES), a high-tech start-up based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, has been selected to pitch for a £50,000 prize at the 12th annual Venturefest Yorkshire conference next month.

Previously known as Wind Power Performance Ltd, and based in the AMP Technology Centre, Cumulus is developing prototype low-cost battery technology which can be developed commercially to cope with the rigours and requirements of the renewable industry.

Storing the electricity from intermittent energy sources such as wind and solar at source, or "grid level," is a key problem due to the mismatch between the availability of intermittent wind or sunshine and the changing demand for grid electricity. Cumulus has received a patent for its grid-level energy storage battery with 1MWh-100MWh storage capacity which it hopes to be the lowest cost battery technology in the world.

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Held at York Racecourse, Venturefest is a one-day, free entry event showcasing Yorkshire's most inspiring science, technology and innovative entrepreneurs. The largest event of its kind in the North of England, it aims is to present practical advice, ideas and funding options to innovative science, IP-creating, and technology oriented entrepreneurs and growing businesses.

The event's Investment Competition is organised by GrowthFunders and has attracted a record number of entries, not only from Yorkshire-based companies, but across the country. Eight finalists will pitch their business ideas in an attempt to secure a pot of prizes worth more than £50,000 that includes support from leading solicitors, HR experts and coaching and workshops from experts in raising finance.

Cumulus was one of 19 projects to secure funding from the latest round of the Government's Energy Entrepreneurs' Fund (EEF) that was established in 2012 to help bring a range of new and innovative low carbon products to market.

The Bi-Metal copper-zinc battery is based on existing industrial chemistry and architecture already used at a larger scale in mineral processing. The technology allows this to be used as a re-chargeable grid-storage battery, using inexpensive, recyclable materials.

Cumulus is on track to have a 20kWh battery grid-connected in June 2015 and is seeking additional finance to enable further product and business development.

The firm, which is based at the AMP and in San Francisco, was selected as one of the UK's most promising cleantech SMEs as part of the recent Clean & Cool Mission. This followed the first successful funding round which secured £250,000 from from investors as far ranging as Switzerland, Guernsey, London and Yorkshire.

Venturefest 2015 takes place on March 12.

Cumulus Energy Storage website
Venturefest website

Images: Cumulus

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News: LEP launches new skills website

Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has launched a new website to help local businesses to find the skills training they need to grow.

The website www.growththroughtraining.org.uk has been designed to put employers in touch with skills information which is tailored to their needs as quickly as possible. The website asks employers to input basic information about their company size and sector and then suggests suitable training providers, colleges or government initiatives to meet their needs.

Nigel Brewster, managing partner of Brewster Pratap Recruitment Consultants and a board member of the LEP, said: "As a local business person, I understand that employers don't have time to spare to get to grips with the all the skills providers and courses on offer. However, thousands of local businesses in the Sheffield City Region know that they need a better skilled workforce to grow and want to get their staff the skills they need.

"This simple new website starts to address this by giving local businesses who find skills initiatives difficult or confusing faster access to information about training and apprenticeships that are appropriate to their business needs.

"The Sheffield City Region LEP is passionate about growing businesses and getting them the skills they need to compete nationally and internationally. This new website is just the start of this and we'll be rolling out more services later this year."

Skills, employment and education were key issues discussed at the recent LEP business conference held in Rotherham earlier this year where Nigel explained the desire for the skills system to become demand led and driven by what businesses actually need. He said: "Existing provision is good but it is often offered irrespective of your actual needs. It is about making it responsive, at a pace to match businesses and the economy, and understanding that it is the business that is the customer, not the person who is funding it.

"We are not trying a land grab of all skills funding. We are trying to influence how the millions in skills funding is spent in the Sheffield city region. We are doing it in a holistic way too by getting the two government departments, education and BIS, around the same table."

Examples of LEP skills initiatives include Skills Made Easy, Ambition SCR and the Skills Bank.

The LEP is working with the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) and the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) to host a series of skills events in the city region to give businesses advice about how they can grow their companies by taking advantage of the training and apprenticeship opportunities available.

Grow through training website
Sheffield City Region LEP website

Images: Sheffield City Region LEP

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News: WEC Group buys MTL

The WEC Group has completed a deal to bring steel engineering specialist MTL Group out of administration, saving 135 jobs in Rotherham.

Supplying international blue-chip customers such as Bombardier, Rheinmetall and BAE Systems, MTL uses state of the art equipment at the 300,000 sq ft modern manufacturing facility and boasts thirteen cutting machines, including laser, waterjet, flame cutting and high definition plasma. It operates the world's largest bevel laser which is 20m long.

John Sumpton and Hunter Kelly of EY's Restructuring team were appointed earlier this year as joint administrators after the Brinsworth firm encountered difficulties on a large overseas defence contract.

On appointment of the administrators, a total of 157 employees were made redundant and 146 employees were retained to assist with ongoing operations whilst a purchaser was sought.

The Lancashire-based WEC Group, which comprises 14 companies specialising in welding and fabrication, has now announced details of its acquisition. WEC has funded a partnership deal to acquire the business and certain assets of MTL which will make the group the largest laser cutting operation in the UK's fabrication and engineering sector. Turnover is now more than £35m and MTL Group currently has an order book of more than £20m.

Wayne Wild, group commercial director at WEC, said: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement which will save the jobs of more than 135 workers in South Yorkshire.

"The restructuring deal we have completed will see us work in partnership with MTL Group's previous directors and shareholders to grow and develop the business for the benefit of customers and staff.

"MTL Group is a really great fit for our business. The company has a great track record, working with big name customers and has an impressive order book, despite the problems it has had. We are looking forward to continuing to work with the current customer base whilst securing new orders."

Karl Stewart, sales director at MTL Group, said: "The synergy with WEC Group is very strong and this deal makes both businesses much stronger entities.

"It enhances our capabilities and capacity and that is a major advantage to all our customers.

"MTL Group has certain specialities that WEC hasn’t been involved in which can now be offered to their customers, including our large laser cutting and bending capabilities.

"And WEC Group has operations and areas of expertise that we haven’t been involved in, such as its new powder coating division. The additional capacity is another massive positive that comes out of this deal."

John Sumpton, joint administrator of MTL Group and executive director at EY, added: "We are pleased to have secured this deal for MTL Group, which safeguards the future of 135 employees and represents a strong strategic fit for WEC Group.

"The support of the business' loyal customer base was critical in enabling the company to continue trading, attract strong interest from a number of parties and, ultimately, deliver a rescue deal.

"A going concern sale represents the best outcome for the company's creditors."

As part of the deal, MTL Group's sales director Karl Stewart, finance director Howard Kellett and operations director Darren Bradley remain in the senior management team following the creation of the new partnership.

MTL Group website
WEC Group website

Images: WEC Group

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News: Supreme Court dismisses EU funding appeal

Local authorities battling the government over the way it decided how millions of EU funding was allocated have had their appeal dismissed by the Supreme Court.

The Supreme Court is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases and hears cases of the greatest public or constitutional importance affecting the whole population.

The case focused on the scope of the margin of discretion to be accorded to the Secretary of State, Vince Cable, in allocating EU structural funding and whether his allocation decisions in this case breached the EU principles of proportionality and equal treatment.

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In 2013, the government announced that the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (which includes South Yorkshire along with north Nottingham and north Derbyshire districts) can expect €203m for 2014 to 2020 as part of €6.2bn (£5.3bn) of EU Structural and Investment Funds to boost growth under a simplified "Growth Programme."

In the previous settlement, South Yorkshire received €410m. From 2014-2020 this will be cut to €180m.

The legal challenge focused on the appropriate treatment of the consequences of the former status of South Yorkshire as a "phasing in" region in the 2007-2013 funding period and that this allegedly gave rise to an unfair allocation for South Yorkshire, which is now classified as a "transition region" for 2014-2020.

By basing new allocations on just the final year, 2013, the government did not take into account extra sums of money that South Yorkshire and Merseyside had received earlier in the period. It appeared that the regions were getting an increase in EU funding when based on 2013's figures.

The High Court rejected these substantive grounds of challenge and said that the methodology adopted by the Secretary of State was lawful and rational. However, the Court quashed Ministers decisions after ruling they were unlawful as they had been taken in breach of the Public Sector Equality Duty under section 149 of the Equality Act 2010.

The Government only carried out an Equality Impact Assessment after the decision was taken to protect Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales from a cut of more than a five per cent. The decision meant that the Government had to reconsider its decision, taking into account proper equalities information.

Led by Rotherham Council, the authorities in South Yorkshire and Merseyside appealed against the High Court rejection. That appeal was dismissed in June when the judge decided that, due to the complex nature of the funding, Vince Cable should be afforded a wide margin of discretion and that the courts should not interfere.

The Court also refused permission to appeal but representatives escalated the case to the Supreme Court which granted permission to appeal. The case was heard in October 2014.

Today, Lord Sumption handed down the judgement that the points of appeal had been rejected by four votes to three. He explained that the Secretary of State was entitled to distribute funding to the four regions and also said that the decision to use 2013 as the baseline position for future allocations was "defensible" as the extra EU funding received by South Yorkshire and Merseyside was temporary and only provided on a transitional basis.

Lord Sumption added that courts are reluctant to interfere in decisions such as this and that they should be left to those in government like the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who are "politically responsible for their actions."

European programmes such as the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) have supported projects in Rotherham such as The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), the Nuclear AMRC, the redevelopment of Rotherham Railway Station, the Rotherham Renaissance Flood Alleviation Scheme, the award-winning enterprise education programme Rotherham Ready, and business support programmes for high growth companies and enterprising exporters.

Images: supremecourt.uk

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News: Profitable Crawshaw looks ahead

Crawshaws, the meat focused retailer is excited for its future plans under its new CEO and from its new Rotherham HQ.

The AIM-listed firm currently has 21 retail outlets throughout Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire and Humberside and recently moved onto Sandbeck Industrial Estate at Hellaby, occupying a 12,000 sq ft unit for the manufacture and distribution of specialist foods.

Crawshaw believe that the space at the new site will give it additional capacity and is better located, leading to a more productive and efficient operation. The new site will provide Crawshaw with capacity to cater for 60 retail locations and also includes a factory shop.

Following a Christmas trading period that was in line with management expectations, Crawshaws gave an update to the stock exchange this week. It said that like for like sales for the financial year ending January 2015 were up 5%, building further on the increase of 11% in the previous year.

As gross margin for the nine weeks to December 28 showed a further improvement of 1% over the prior year, the company's cash margin is increasing year on year. Crawshaw now expects the out turn for the full year to end January 2015 to be materially higher than the current market forecast. This comes despite making some investment in the growth plan and opening new stores, and now means that investment in its growth plan will accelerate further in the year to January 2016 as planned.

Richard Rose, chairman of Crawshaw, said: "Our average spend continues to increase reflecting the excellent quality and value we offer. All our stores are profitable and we are excited about the planned shop openings in the near future plus the arrival of our new CEO in the next week."

The new appointment is Noel Collett, formerly Lidl's chief operating officer for the UK business, as the chief executive officer as Crawshaws heads towards its ambitious target of 200 shops within eight years. Last year it announced details of the placing of new shares in a bid to raise nearly £9m to support the acceleration of its store opening programme.

Established in 1954, the firm has been trading on the stock market since 2004. It was acquired by Felix Group plc in 2008. Peel Hunt LLP were recently appointed as corporate finance advisers.

Crawshaw website

Images: Crawshaws

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News: Pub plans provide boost

Leading brownfield developer, St Paul's Developments has welcomed the news that work has started on a new Hungry Horse pub restaurant at its Phoenix Riverside scheme at Templeborough in Rotherham.

Rothbiz reported first that Greene King, the country's leading pub retailer and brewer, was planning a new pub restaurant on the site where plans for a hotel and restaurant have previously been refused.

The Rotherham application gained planning permission last month for the erection of a 9,000 sq ft single unit for use as a 200-cover family restaurant / public house. The plans, drawn up by Walsingham Planning and JDA Architects, also include car parking and landscaping works and a children's play area. In addition, a manager's flat and assistant manager's flat is proposed on the first floor of the development.

Plans state that the proposed restaurant / public house will create 60 new jobs (20 full-time and 40 part-time positions). Greene King has a strong partnership with Jobcentre Plus and in association with them, looks to recruit staff to the premises from the local area around the site with a particular focus on the long term unemployed.

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Greene King has purchased 1.5 acres of land with prime frontage on to Sheffield Road from St Paul's Developments at its six acre, 26,000 sq ft Phoenix Riverside business park which is close to Rotherham town centre and Junction 34 of the M1. Existing occupiers at Phoenix Riverside include St Paul's themselves plus the Royal Mencap Society, Rotherham Council and In-Tend Ltd, leaving just Unit 2 available with office suites from 4,250 sq ft to 8,500 sq ft.

In 2013, Rotherham Council's planning board agreed that Whitbread's plans for a 80-bed Premier Inn hotel and restaurant at the same Templeborough site should be refused, with planners considering a number of sites, including a site currently used for car parking at New York Stadium, are preferable sites for a hotel in planning terms.

Recruitment is underway and work has now started on site, with the opening of the new Hungry Horse pub set for summer 2015. The brand was established in 1995 and now has 220 sites nationally where the focus is on providing a family friendly restaurant and public house where the majority of customers will dine rather than visit solely for a drink.

David Newton, managing director of St Paul's Developments, said; "We are delighted to welcome the Hungry Horse pub to our headquarter site at Phoenix Riverside. The creation of 60 new jobs by a leading national chain will provide a welcome boost to the local Rotherham economy and provide a really valuable amenity for businesses and residents in the area."

Marc McGuigan, business unit director for Hungry Horse, added: "It is always exciting when we build a new pub, and we are particularly looking forward to being an integral part of this new development, an ideal location for our family-friendly pub. Hungry Horse pubs are known for serving a wide choice of food and drink at outstanding prices, in modern and comfortable surroundings.

"It is good news all round for Rotherham with the creation of 60 full and part time local jobs at the pub."

Greene King website
St Paul's Developments website

Images: Greene King

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News: Rotherham retail apprentice shortlisted for national award

An apprentice who went from Saturday girl to managing her own store in little over a year is at the House of Commons this week, nominated for a national award.

Jenna Unwin, who lives in Rotherham, started her apprenticeship in September 2013 at the Whistle Stop Sweet Shop in the Imperial Buildings in Rotherham town centre.

Opened in 2010 selling sweets and sweet gifts, the sweet boutique expanded to larger neighbouring premises in 2013 to allow for the development of its Temperance Bar - selling traditional non-alcoholic sarsaparilla and cordials along with other fruit and sweet-based drinks.

Halfway through 17-year-old Jenna's training in Level 2 Retail Skills Diploma; Kara and Tony Chapman, the owners of the Whistle Stop Sweet Shop, were so impressed that they began to discuss the possibility of her managing her own store. In June 2014, they began to plan the new store and found the ideal location in the entrance to Orchard Square in Sheffield City Centre with Jenna involved every step of the way.

The new store opened in October when Jenna was promoted to store manager. And now she manages her own apprentice.

Jenna has now been shortlisted for a prestigious award from People 1st; the skills and workforce development charity for employers in the hospitality, tourism, leisure, travel, passenger transport and retail industries after being nominated by her tutor Jayne Wills at The Source Skills Academy.

Based at Meadowhall, The Source Skills Academy is a flagship centre providing state of the art training and development facilities with a focus on the retail and service sector. A Rotherham base opened on the High Street in 2011 with support from Rotherham Council and the Skills Funding Agency.

Keen to continue expanding on her knowledge, Jenna is hoping to study for a Level 3 Retail Management qualification with The Source to improve her strength as a manager.

Jayne Wills, tutor at The Source Skills Academy, said: "Jenna continuously astounds me with her knowledge and enthusiasm for retail. Jenna's maturity is so refreshing; she is a very caring person and she really looks after her staff. She is a very bright young woman and I look forward to following her career as I know she will go far."

Jenna Unwin, manager of the Whistle Stop Sweet Shop in Sheffield, said: "I was so excited when I received the email saying I'd been nominated and was invited to The House of Commons. I'm really enjoying my role at the new store and this news is the icing on the cake."

Kara Chapman, owner of the Whistle Stop Sweet Shop, added: "We're so proud of Jenna and she thoroughly deserves this award. Jenna is such a valuable member of the team - if Jenna sets her mind on achieving something; there is no stopping her. I'm sure she has a great career ahead of her and this award would be a fantastic accolade."

Whistle Stop Sweet Shop website
The Source website

Images: The Source

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News: New £4m production facility for JELD-WEN

JELD-WEN, the leading manufacturing company has invested almost £4m in its Woodhouse Mill production facilities to meet increased product demand.

JELD-WEN is one of the world's leading manufacturers and distributors of quality timber windows, external and internal doors, patio doors and stairs. The Retford Road site, which is one of the biggest employers in the area with over 400 members of staff, operates as the UK head office and also houses a door manufacturing site - producing almost two million doors per year for UK distribution.

Sir Kevin Barron, the MP for the Rother Valley, was on hand to officially open the new facility as the factory sits within in his constituency, and in the Rotherham borough.

The MP was given a tour of the factory by managing director, Mike Ward and Richard Dolben, general manager for the site, meeting members of the workforce, visiting the new welfare facilities and enjoying a demonstration of the equipment that is vital to producing the business' premium timber doors.

The manufacturer has enjoyed sales growth during 2014 and has met the increased product demand by investing almost £4m in its production facilities. A new veneer line has been installed in addition to state-of-the-art packaging equipment and a £3m hot-press line to give a competitive advantage with cutting-edge manufacturing processes.

JELD-WEN has also invested heavily in the welfare of its workforce by upgrading its canteen and changing rooms. While health and safety for workers remains a priority, JELD-WEN is also keen to develop its staff, bringing in continuous improvement managers to support workers and a "lean" manufacturing philosophy to maximise productivity and minimise waste.

Mike Ward, managing director at JELD-WEN (pictured, centre), said: "We're proud to be one of the biggest employers in Sheffield and are keen to invest in our people to help our business to thrive. The last few years of the recession have taken their toll on the construction industry but we have enjoyed a strong 2014 and the industry forecast for 2015 looks positive.

"The investments in our people and production facility mark a new chapter as we look to meet demand and cement our position as a leading and innovative manufacturer of premium doors."

JELD-WEN has its global headquarters in Oregan, USA and has approximately 20,000 employees across more than 100 locations in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Australia, with an estimated $3.5 billion in revenues. In the UK, JELD-WEN has approximately 1,200 staff across five sites that produce and distribute doors, windows, patio doors and stairs.

JELD-WEN website

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News: New waste treatment facility opening in Rotherham

The multi-million pound waste treatment facility being built at Manvers, Rotherham will accept its first waste this week.

The development at Brookfield's Park is designed to create material suitable for recovery and recycling and includes Mechanical Biological Treatment (MBT) and Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facilities.

The facility will treat leftover household waste from Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham and turn it into a valuable resource rather than send it to landfill.

Waste from all three councils will start being delivered to the facility at Bolton Road at the rate of approximately 200 tonnes a day. Over the next six weeks, deliveries will increase to around 1,000 tonnes a day.

Over the next 25 years, up to 250,000 tonnes of leftover waste a year from 340,000 households will be treated.

Shanks Group plc, one of Europe's leading waste management businesses, joined in partnership with SSE (Scottish and Southern Energy plc) to progress plans to use three sites to treat waste including the new facility at Manvers.

The three councils secured £77m through the Private Finance Initiative for the scheme and 3SE has signed a 25 year contract worth in excess of £750m with the councils for the treatment of black bag waste. Constructed by Balfour Beatty, more than 40 new jobs have been created at the Dearne Valley operation which is on schedule to be fully operational in July 2015.

The MBT facility will maximise recycling by extracting any overlooked plastic, steel, aluminium, glass and aggregate from residents' black or grey bins. The remaining material will be either sent as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) to the new multi-fuel generator at SSE's Ferrybridge Power Station for energy production, or used on site in the Anaerobic Digestion (AD) facility to produce electricity and a form of compost for land remediation. Once fully operational, the site will lead to savings equivalent to 114,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.

Colin Fletcher, contracts director at Shanks, said: "Taking our first waste is a major milestone in this exciting new development which will revolutionise the treatment of leftover household waste from Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham. The team is in place and we are looking forward to making more from waste in the area."

Beth Clarke, manager at the BDR Waste Partnership, which was set up more than ten years ago to jointly manage waste generated in the three boroughs, said: "This facility will increase recycling, reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill, make energy from waste and create new jobs. At the same time we will be stepping up our campaign to encourage residents to recycle even more of what they throw away each day."

BDR Waste Partnership website

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News: Rotherham town centre masterplan under review

The town centre masterplan for Rotherham is to be reviewed following the adoption of the Rotherham Growth Plan, the strategic economic plan for the borough that has recently been out for consultation.

As part of Rotherham's Renaissance programme, a broad 25 year vision for the town centre and adjoining areas was identified by the community, businesses and the Council. Ten goals for Rotherham town centre were identified and in 2005 a masterplan produced – the Strategic Development Framework. In 2008 the masterplan was updated and approved by the Council as an Interim Planning Statement.

A number of retail and leisure studies have been carried out to assist in planning and regeneration decision making.

The final draft of the Sites and Policies document was published in October as the council finalises its local plan. The principal town centre in planning terms, amendments were proposed to extend the town centre boundary north to include the new 10,000 sq m Tesco and car park at Walker Place, and existing car park at Drummond Street, to better define the area where retail development is concentrated.

Since the 2005 masterplan was published, the Rotherham Renaissance initiative, that was forecast to attract £2 billion of investment, saw a number of high profile projects completed including the new housing developments as part of the Westgate Demonstrator project, the new £12m railway station, the £14m flood alleviation scheme, the new £60m civic offices and £20m stadium on the Guest and Chrimes site and £40m Tesco across town. Despite the government pulling the plug on a planned large scale redevelopment, Rotherham College has invested around £18m in the last four years improving campus facilities.

Following the economic downturn and reductions in government funding, the private sector has significantly reigned in developments in areas like Rotherham where investment often doesn't add up to profit. Without access to government and European funding, the council has not been able to have as big as an influence in kickstarting or part-financing projects and instead has decided to sell off assets such as Westgate Chambers and the site of the former Doncaster Gate hospital.

One project given significant financial backing from the council is the heritage-led regeneration of listed buildings on the High Street where the work of local businessman, Chris Hamby is set to be revealed soon. £5m loans were also made available by the council for RCAT and Rotherham United.

Securing government money, and money from British Land, the council has continued its financial support for new and expanding retailers with a focus on creating a different and vibrant retail offer by supporting independent traders. Rotherham is a "Portas Pilot" using government and private sector funding to support retail which has helped to reduce vacancy rates, boost footfall and increase shopper satisfaction.

Potential future projects already being discussed for the town centre include a long-running hope for a town centre cinema; a public sector office hub on Forge Island; a potential University Campus as part of the Rotherham College site; a redeveloped markets complex; a potential redevelopment of the bus station; and potential retail developments on the current car park on Drummond Street and the site out of the outdoor market.

On the edge of the town centre, the large area of land at New York, which includes Riverside House, New York Stadium, the former Guest & Chrimes foundry, a former nightclub and vacant land used for parking, is being put forward for a mix of uses with the area "considered to be suitable for B1 office and hotel uses given its gateway location and proximity to Rotherham town centre and public transport interchanges. It is also considered suitable for assembly and leisure uses [which includes cinemas] given its location, existing uses and proximity to Rotherham town centre."

Rotherham town centre website

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News: CVA agreed at Manor F1

Creditors of the Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited, trading as the Marussia F1 Team, have agreed to enter into a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) that would enable the company to exit administration and secure investment.

FRP Advisory LLP were appointed joint administrators at the end of October to the F1 team that began life as Manor Grand Prix in Dinnington, Rotherham, after it was unable to bring new investment to secure its long term future.

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Without further financial backing from Marussia's owner, the company ceased trading in October, resulting in 200 redundancies. The remnants of the team have been working hard to get the team going again, having secured a spot on the provisional entry list for the 2015 championship and still harbouring the potential £30m in prize money due to its progress on the track last season.

The main creditors of Manor Grand Prix Racing Limited are Lloyd's, who invested in the fledgling team, and Ferrari, the team's supplier in 2014.

Geoff Rowley, joint administrator and partner at FRP Advisory, said: "We are pleased that the financial restructuring of the Company has been progressed after creditor approval of the CVA.

"With new investment and a continuity of the respected management, the business has the ideal platform from which it can accelerate the operational rebuilding already underway to get a team back racing.

"It has been a long process and we would like to thank everyone involved to reach this milestone.

"We shall complete our statutory duties as administrators with the necessary filings needed in order to formally exit the Company from administration over the next few days."

Pre-season testing means that plenty of rumours and reports are flying around the F1 paddock. This includes reports that former Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King is set to invest in the team. King's son, Jordan recently secured a seat in GP2 with Spanish team Racing Engineering.

Other reports are that Ferrari, owed £13m from the collapse of the previous team, have verbally agreed to supply engines for the new incarnation. Other rumours include Manor becoming a "second" team to one of the sport's big boys and it is also being reported that teams are supportive of Manor F1 returning to the sport. Positive comments have come from the likes of Christian Horner, team principal of Red Bull, but Force India's Bob Fernley was reportedly critical of the team's attempts to make the grid.

Manor F1 Team website

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News: Free driver training for businesses

Businesses across South Yorkshire are being urged to take up the opportunity to reduce costs, lower emissions and drive safer as part of a government-backed project.

The Eco-Business Driving scheme, which is part of government's Local Sustainable Transport Fund programme, is designed to help businesses reduce their vehicle fuel and maintenance costs, and improve general wear and tear and collision rates through driver education and organisational support. It is aimed ensuring businesses are satisfying their legal obligations in the health and safety and duty of care of their staff.

The scheme is open to small and medium enterprises (SMEs), larger companies and organisations across South Yorkshire. Participating businesses are assigned a specialist advisor who will develop a tailored Eco-Safe plan. Through group discussions and in-car driving sessions, the plans help businesses to develop policies and practices to minimise costs and maximise safety whilst driving for work.

Inmotion! is hosting an Eco-Business Driving breakfast seminar at Tankersley Manor in Barnsley on Thursday February 26. As part of the support package on offer to local businesses, South Yorkshire Safer Roads Partnership are also running a series of "Safer Driving at Work" taster sessions at the Lifewise Centre on Hellaby Industrial Estate in Rotherham.

The Safer Driving at Work sessions have been developed for companies with a fleet of drivers. The course is aimed at improving company policies, using real-life scenarios to demonstrate the implications and consequences for businesses, employees and their friends and family if things go wrong.

Ian Edwards from Doncaster-based eDriving Solutions, who deliver the Eco-Business Driving programme on behalf of the Inmotion! partnership, said: "We've had a fantastic response from nearly 2,000 drivers from South Yorkshire businesses who've taken part over the past 18 months. Sparing just a couple of hours to learn how our free Eco-Business Driving scheme can benefit your workplace will be one of the most rewarding things you can do this year."

Joanne Wehrle, the South Yorkshire Safer Roads education manager, added: "Our Safer Driving at Work sessions reinforce the need for organisations to have robust policies and procedures in place if they have people who are driving for work. These sessions look at the consequences for businesses and their drivers, and the impact that this could have on everyone involved, if something did go wrong and a serious or fatal road traffic collision did occur."

Eco-Business Driving scheme website

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News: Rotherham Council puts forward budget proposals

Rotherham Council has put forward budget proposals for the next financial year as it waits for the prospect of Government-appointed commissioners taking over all of its executive functions.


On the back of a government report that concluded that Rotherham Council has failed its citizens, is failing to comply with the statutory best value duty and needs a fresh start, Eric Pickles, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, announced details of an intervention package in the House of Commons.

In the immediate term Pickles said that he was minded to appoint commissioners who will provide new leadership, taking over the roles of the current "wholly dysfunctional" cabinet, which promptly announced intentions to "resign our positions as soon as transitional arrangements can be put in place."

The council's budget has been published today as government Commissioners have yet to be appointed and the Council has a legal duty to publish a budget. If Commissioners are not in post by Thursday February 26, the Budget proposals will be moved by the Council's Cabinet. The final decision still remains with Full Council on March 4, but may be subject to further recommendations or amendments.

The budget addresses £23m of cuts with headline-grabbing savings made by cutting the cost of councillors, scrapping the Imagination Library free book scheme and reducing the funding to City Learning Centres.

A 1.95% increase in Council Tax is being proposed to prop up the total revenue budget of £203.554m.

The council has agreed to continue to focus and deliver on business and jobs growth to meet its priority of getting people into work and getting work to pay. Services are set to remain that stimulate the local economy and help local people into work.

In light of damning reports that described how vulnerable children have been repeatedly failed by the council and that painted "a disturbing picture of a council failing in its duty to protect vulnerable children and young people from harm," the Children's Safeguarding budget is set to be ring-fenced and an additional £824,000 put into Children's Services budgets.

A "Transformation Reserve" of around £11m will initially be utilised to meet the likely significant additional costs and potential liabilities resulting from the Jay and Casey reports.

The budget proposals also include an extra £200,000 investment in street cleansing services across the borough. Separately, the proposed capital budget allocates an additional investment of £5m to improve the Borough's roads and fix pot holes over the next two years.

For the Environment & Development Services directorate, savings put forward include remodelling waste PFI costs, the loss of posts in the planning department, ceasing the annual subscriptions to tourist agency, Welcome to Yorkshire, and raising income by disposing of council buildings and other assets.

Cllr. Chris Read, appointed Leader of the ruling Labour Group this week, said: "This is the next stage in bringing change to Rotherham Council. We continue to face big cuts to council budgets made by the Tory-led government, but we have been listening carefully to the views of local residents. We are making good on our commitment to bolster and improve Children's Services after the Jay and Casey Reports, and to provide stable funding for the long term support that victims and survivors of child sexual exploitation need.

"We have heard directly the concerns of residents about littering and the state of the roads, so these areas will also see additional investment. I'm particularly pleased that because of the decisions we are proposing, there should be no net job losses at the council as a result of these proposals."

Rotherham Council website

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News: Parkgate Shopping on sale - reports

Property Week reports that leading retail destination, Parkgate Shopping in Rotherham, has been put up for sale by its owners.

Owned by Hercules Unit Trust (HUT), which is advised by British Land and managed by Schroders, Parkgate Shopping is one of the largest retail parks in the UK, home to over 40 shops, it is valued at over £100m to the trust via a subsidiary, the Rotherham Unit Trust.

Writing in the national property magazine, Richard Williams reports that Hercules has appointed agents at CBRE to market a £300m portfolio comprising almost 1m sq ft across four secondary out-of-town retail parks in the UK. The largest retail park in the portfolio is Parkgate Shopping, which is 575,000 sq ft.

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In 1987, Parkgate Retail World opened as part of the regeneration of large areas of reclaimed land formerly occupied by the Park Gate Iron and Steel Co. The park has grown and is currently 100% let with recent openings by Poundland and Wilkinson, who have both taken ten year leases. Attracting over nine million visitors a year, it was ranked as the fifth best retail park in the UK by retail consultancy, Javelin Group in its latest VENUESCORE report which assesses the UK's leading 3,000+ commercial venues.

The Hercules Unit Trust is a Jersey-based property unit trust that owns and manages 19 retail warehouse and shopping parks, providing around 4.5 million sq ft and is worth around £1.5 billion.

Unit trusts are collective funds that allow private investors to pool their money in a single fund that is then managed by professional fund managers, thus spreading their risk across a range of investments. Returns are created by rental income and property sales made in response to changing market conditions.

HUT acquired Parkgate in a £260m deal from developers, the Stadium Group in 2005, representing an equivalent yield of 5.25%. As part of the same transaction, Stadium acquired Newport Retail Park from Hercules for £60m.

In 2014, British Land agreed to purchase £41m of additional units in Hercules, taking British Land's share to 54.2%, which meant that the trust would become a subsidiary of British Land.

British Land is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the UK and owns and manages a portfolio of commercial property worth £17.1 billion. This includes Meadowhall shopping centre in Sheffield, which it owns alongside Norwegian sovereign wealth fund Norges.

Parkgate Shopping website

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News: Tata Steel search for new apprentices

Tata Steel is once again starting its annual search for bright, talented and passionate young people to join its prestigious apprenticeship scheme.

Apprentice and graduate recruitment restarted for Tata Steel in South Yorkshire in 2010 following large scale restructuring in 2009. Over 2,000 people are employed by the Indian-owned company in South Yorkshire where sites like Stocksbridge and Aldwarke in Rotherham, focus on exceptional high-value products and sectors.

Apprentices at Tata Steel speciality steels in South Yorkshire get on-the-job training equipping them with the skills to make a real impact at one of the UK's largest manufacturers. Recruitment is underway for apprentices across engineering and technical disciplines as part of the Indian-owned steelmaker's strategy to deliver a sustainable future for the steel industry in South Yorkshire.

Mick Hood, HR director at Tata Steel, said: "At Tata Steel we understand the importance of investing in programmes which allow us to recruit and train the best people for the future success of the business.

"Apprentices who join Tata Steel speciality steels will be helping to create some of the most advanced safety-critical steels in the world supplying high-tech sectors like aerospace and automotive. The apprentices are an important part of ensuring that we have the essential skills we need for the future."

A state-of-the-art engineering training centre at its Stocksbridge site was extended in 2012. Converted from a disused workshop, the centre enables the company to train in-house and equip the apprentices with the specialist skills essential to meet the current and future needs of this industry.

Tata Steel Speciality Steels was named as the Large Employer of the Year at the regional final of the National Apprenticeship Awards 2014 and was recognised in The City & Guilds Top 100 Apprenticeship Employer list 2014. Always in demand, the scheme has seen retention increase to 98% in the last five years.

The Apprenticeship Programme lasts for three years and to be eligible individuals must have achieved, or be expecting to achieve, at least five GCSEs at grade C or above including English, maths and a science subject.

Mick added: "We are looking for individuals who have innovative minds and skills that go beyond just pure academic ability – people who can really help to make a difference to this business."

Tata Steel Careers website

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News: University's Energy 2050 initiative

Advanced manufacturing, nuclear manufacturing, healthcare technologies, the digital creative sector - now the University of Sheffield is targeting research into the wider energy sector - a move which could lead to another national demonstration facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham.

The University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing moved into a purpose-built facility in 2004 as the anchor tenant on AMP. Its focus is on advanced machining and materials research for aerospace and other high-value manufacturing sectors. It is a partnership between industry and academia, which has become a model for research centres worldwide.

A focus for the UK's nuclear supply chain, the Nuclear AMRC took possession of its multimillion pound facility on the AMP in October 2011. In 2013, the university secured funding to develop the model into new areas – healthcare technologies and the creative and digital sectors. Based in the Design, Prototyping & Testing Centre on the AMP, the Medical AMRC ensures the results of internationally significant research are developed into products and brought to market quickly and cost effectively.

Now the University of Sheffield has set its sights on tackling the world's greatest energy challenges by bringing together university research, industry innovation and government policy.

More than 40 new leading academic energy researchers will significantly expand the University's existing expertise in energy research as part of the Energy 2050 initiative – a world-leading hub of excellence set up to address the "trilemma" of making energy more affordable, secure and sustainable.

The UK is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by at least 80 per cent by 2050, but that target will only be achieved by transforming the way energy is supplied and used. Energy 2050 will explore how the country can move to a secure, affordable low-carbon energy system by this date.

Professor Sir Keith Burnett, vice-chancellor at the University of Sheffield, said: "The University of Sheffield is very fortunate to have attracted this key group of international scholars in such a vital area. The team is rightly ambitious to make a real impact in energy research and innovation, with application here in the UK and around the world.

"Our aim is simple - to bring together this superb expertise with our powerful existing capability, to be the place government and industry from around the world know they will find a complete energy capability."

With the multi-disciplinary energy research team put in place, future plans include creating a national demonstration facility at the AMP. Going beyond traditional university research activities, Energy 2050 will also use expertise from the AMRC to help de-risk investment in innovative energy technologies through national testing facilities, from proof-of-concept to staged scale-up.

Jon Price, University Director of Energy Innovation, who is leading Energy 2050, explained: "Our first step is to build our talent pool of resources, by expanding our team of experienced academics with a strong track record in developing industrial relations, combining with our existing resource strengths in science, engineering and social sciences, supported by senior resources from industry and seconded civil servants we are able to have a unique energy team.

"We will now be defining our plans for a national demonstration facility at the Advanced Manufacturing Park. Key to success, given the scale of the global energy challenge, will be a national facility that will enable us to work collaboratively together with research groups industry and international government agencies, pushing the boundaries of innovation and technology. This will help de-risk the investment grade levels of finance required from industry and governments around the world which will in turn allow us to make a major influence on our future energy security, affordability and sustainability."

University of Sheffield website
AMRC website

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News: Harworth Estates performs well in second year

Rotherham-based Harworth Estates, one of the largest property and regeneration companies across the North of England and the Midlands, continued to trade well in its second year of trading as an independent property development company.

Reporting its financial results for the year ended December 31, the company, which is based on its own flagship Waverley development, enjoyed a profit before tax of £20.9m, mainly due to asset sales. By regenerating former coalfields and brownfield land, net assets increased to £249m from £235m in 2013, on a property portfolio value of £290m, up from £277m in 2013.

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Recovery plans for Doncaster-based UK Coal were put in place in May 2011 when the group reported a £124.6m loss and had a £450m pension deficit. The subsequent restructure in 2012 saw the new company, Coalfield Resources, focus on targeting the realisation of its property assets through the Harworth Estates Property Group Limited.

The restructure saw Coalfield Resources own 24.9% of Harworth Estates, with 75.1% having passed to the Pension Funds in return for a £30m cash injection and their support to the mining division. A year later, administrators were called in for its struggling mining division.

Now heads of terms have been agreed for Coalfield Resources to acquire the remaining 75.1% shareholding in Harworth Estates from the Pension Protection Fund (PPF). The deal, worth around £150m, was announced in November.

The report said that Harworth Estates has benefited from improved confidence in the housing market across the North and the Midlands. Highlights include the deals at Waverley for further housing and commercial development, commercial sales at its Logistics North development near Bolton, and residential sales at its Prince of Wales and Rossington sites. Preparations are also being made to realise the assets at the Harworth Colliery site and a recently purchased site at Skelton Grange power station site in Leeds.

The board of Coalfield Resources believes that Harworth Estates has significant opportunities to create further value from its land portfolio of approximately 27,000 acres and specialist brownfield remediation and development skills. Its strength in the regions of in Yorkshire, the North East and the East Midlands also provides scope for further growth as these regional economies strengthen.

Jonson Cox, chairman of Coalfield Resources, said: "We have made good progress in growing the asset value of Harworth Estates, which continued to perform well in its second year of trading as a specialist brownfield investment property development company.

"We have also announced the proposed acquisition for a total consideration of approximately £150m. This acquisition would give a strong platform for growing Harworth. We will continue to work with the PPF to deliver the transaction which is proceeding to plan.

"We continue to see good interest in the property sector. Harworth Estates is a beneficiary of this through the increased demand and improved prices for commercial and residential land. This can be seen in both the valuation gains achieved and also the disposals made.

"The board is confident of the ability of our underlying asset, Harworth Estates, to deliver and grow shareholder value from the redevelopment of the former coalfields and other former industrial sites."

Since the year end, Harworth's debt has been refinanced, on substantially improved terms. A new £65m, five year bank facility (£60m revolving credit facility and £5m bond facility) was secured with Royal Bank of Scotland last week which paid off existing bank facilities and should allow more financing flexibility to Harworth Estates.

A number of board changes are also set to be made. On completion of the proposed acquisition, Owen Michaelson, the chief executive and Michael Richardson, the finance director of Harworth Estates are set to join the board of Coalfield Resources.

Harworth Estates website

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News: Record interest in Sheffield city region at MIPIM 2015

The Sheffield City Region (SCR) will again be showcasing its key development sites to the global investment community at MIPIM - the world's premier real estate event.

Held annually in Cannes, MIPIM is the world's property market and brings together the most influential players from all international property sectors - office, residential, retail, healthcare, sport, logistics and industrial. It attracts 20,000 visitors including 4,300 investors and 3,000 CEOs.

Last year, the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) responded to calls from the private sector and committed an initial fund to kick-start MIPIM campaign. This year, private sector support for the city region's presence at MIPIM has reached record levels as growing numbers of top businesses join the mission, further underlining its significant business potential.

The 2015 delegation is made up of top business names from across the area: ARUP, Curtins Consulting, Extra, Sheffield Business Park, Peel Logistics, Verdion, Nabarro, Harworth Estates, HLM Architects, University of Sheffield, Bond Bryan, Irwin Mitchell, Henry Boot and CTP. These businesses will be supported by public sector representatives whose attendance will show investors the strength and importance of local public-private partnership working.

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This year, Sheffield City Region has joined forces with Leeds City Region, in order to demonstrate the connected ambition of both regions.

James Newman, chairman of Sheffield City Region LEP, said: "In such a highly competitive market place, working together and having a connected ambition can only strengthen our proposition. Our focus for MIPIM 2015 is to build upon the success our city regions experienced at MIPIM UK in October and to showcase the economic potential we both have."

The delegates will have plenty to shout about, not least the ambitious plans to create an Innovation District, Europe's largest research-led advanced manufacturing cluster, centred around the Sheffield-Rotherham corridor, which is already home to the AMRC and the wider Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) at Waverley.

Inward investment can also be highlighted, such as the £4.2m technical centre being built on the AMP to provide more space for high technology start-up companies and the decision by Korean boiler manufacturer KD Navien to locate its new UK headquarters in Rotherham, creating 100 jobs.

Martin McKervey, partner at Nabarro and board member of the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, said: "The business for property in Sheffield City Region is buoyant and the level of interest in our offer is very high.

"This year's programme of activity for the festival is bigger and better than ever before – we are confident in what we have to offer and in our ability to engage with an international audience. This tight schedule of seminars, events and pre-arranged meetings has been designed tell investors about the incredible depth and breadth of opportunity available in Sheffield City Region."

Sheffield City Region LEP website

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News: Research success looming at AMRC

Composite experts at the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) with Boeing in Rotherham, are hoping to shed some light on the technology’s "dark arts" with the help of some traditional Yorkshire skills.

Based in a dedicated extension to the AMRC Factory of the Future on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP), the composites centre extends the AMRC's expertise in metals production into the new generation of carbon fibre composite materials. These composite materials are increasingly used in aerospace, marine, automotive and other high-value industries for their combination of light weight and high strength but they are often difficult to manufacture.

The Composite Centre has recently invested £150,000 in an FT Dornier Rapier Loom, especially designed to weave composites without the risk of the highly electrically conductive carbon fibres causing it to short circuit.

Using the same advanced methods of weaving fabrics and yarns, experts will be to design and weave their own material having previously been limited to using commercially available woven reinforcing materials.

The new capability means the centre will be able to push the boundaries of processes like Resin Transfer Moulding, where components are made by injecting resin into a mould into which dry fibre has been laid down.

Dr Jody Turner, who specialises in novel materials and processes at the AMRC Composits Centre (pictured, right), said: "Resin Transfer Moulding (RTM) is a bit of a "dark art." RTM is supposed to be a very rapid and highly production orientated process, but getting it right can involve trial and error. Sometimes the resin doesn't penetrate all of the material and parts of the component are left completely dry, which makes it useless.

"We plan to carry out research that will help us to understand more about what happens during RTM injection and why results can be so erratic."

Composite Centre researchers have already been studying how resin flows through fabrics made from carbon fibre and found the resin flow through the fabric isn't symmetrical, despite the weave pattern being perfectly symmetrical. They believe this may be a result of slightly differing yarn tensions within the fabric.

Now they hope to increase their knowledge by experimenting with different tensions for the warp – the long continuous threads – and the weft – the thread that is fed across the loom between the warp threads to create the woven material.

Turner added: "If we can control warp and weft tension we might be able to influence resin flow. We also want to push the machine to the limit of its capabilities. For example, it isn't designed to produce three dimensional structures, but we are hoping to create structures like pockets and flaps."

If the researchers are successful, they could be able to weave materials that could be opened up to form a series of boxes or a honeycomb structure that would give the completed composite component additional strength.

AMRC website

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News: Hargreaves confident despite market conditions

Mining and logistics firm Hargreaves Services, has seen profits fall in "unprecedented" market conditions and incurred losses associated with the discontinued operations at Maltby Colliery in Rotherham.

Reporting its financial results for the six months to November 30, revenues at the Durham group dropped 23.7% to £351.2m. Underlying pre-tax profit was down 28.8 per cent to £20.3m. Hargreaves said that it had faced a number of significant challenges arising from the well documented weakness in the coal price and turmoil in coal and coke markets.

The board of Hargreaves said that it was still confident in continuing overall profit and cash generation even through this difficult period.

The 500 acre colliery at Maltby was mined for over 100 years until geological conditions could not be overcome and underground operations ceased in 2013.

Regarding Maltby, the report said: "The loss of £1.1m for the period from discontinued operations largely related to costs incurred at Maltby Colliery as part of the overall restoration programme. As previously reported, the mine shafts have been filled and capped and the Group has now received formal certification that this has been completed.

"The process to sell the underground equipment continues; there have been a number of enquiries and a further £1.7m of realisations have been achieved during the period leaving a net residual book value to recover of £5m. The Group remains confident of achieving in excess of book value for the assets but notes that low commodity prices have further depressed the mining equipment markets."

The future restoration scheme is "subject to some uncertainty" as the underground workings came to a premature end. Hargreaves had planned to import 675,000 tonnes of mine runoff fines, known as MRF, from nearby Hatfield Colliery and deposited in the current lagoon at Maltby. MRF is a fine slurry-like material which is formed during the washing and reclamation of coal fines (tiny coal particles).

Up until the end of October 2014, a total of approximately 400,000 tonnes of MRF had already been deposited at Maltby but members of the planning board refused the planning application for the importation of material. After the decision was made in December, enforcement action was authorised, and the operators were ordered to stop importing MRF to the site. Hargreaves is appealing against enforcement action authorised by Rotherham Council.

The immediate future of the site is as Maltby Energy Park, with operator Alkane Energy generating energy from the coal mine methane assets for an estimated period of up to 15 years.

Egdon Resources, a leading player in shale gas exploration, recently acquired the interest in the current licence to explore for the controversial energy source at Maltby.

In the final draft of the borough's Sites and Policies document the majority of the 200 hectare site is earmarked to remain in the green belt. A pocket of development, which includes the pit yard, associated buildings and access, is not considered suitable for a business park with offices or industrial units but instead used for "for waste and energy activities."

Hargreaves website

Images: Hargreaves Logistics

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