News: Routes shortlisted for potential Trans-Pennine tunnel

Five routes have been shortlisted for a potential Trans-Pennine tunnel that would address the journey times between Manchester and Sheffield. The Government has described the project as "the most ambitious road scheme undertaken in the UK in more than five decades."

Consultation work began in 2014 to explore the options for improving trans-Pennine road links between the Sheffield City Region and Greater Manchester. The Department of Transport (DfT) and stakeholders on both sides of the Pennines looked at the issue, seen as key to the economic fortunes of the North, with the DfT procuring a feasibility study to look at connectivity.

The Woodhead Pass corridor, with all of its problems, is the only real option for all vehicle classes. A tunnel could be a national first and almost halve journey times between the two cities.

The first report outlined the high level case for the Trans-Pennine tunnel road scheme and feasibility of constructing a new road link. Further studies examine the strategic options for the tunnel, to understand the viability, costs and deliverability of the scheme. Work has also been carried out on the strategic and economic case for the connection.

Five shortlisted routes join the M60 east of Manchester to the M1 north of Sheffield, with four options starting at the M67, and will see journeys cut by 30 minutes.

Transport for the North (TfN) - which brings together representatives from across the North - would like to see the journey times between Sheffield to Manchester, and Sheffield and Leeds, reduced to 30 minutes.

The tunnel could provide an economic boost to the two cities as well as the surrounding area. The link would help protect the environment by reducing traffic through the Peak District National Park, as well as support the Government's plan to build a Northern Powerhouse.

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The report said that it is at too early a stage in the design of the scheme to present robust analysis on any of the economic costs and benefits but initial modelling suggests that there could be the potential for significant benefits relating to reduced travel times, improvements in reliability and the potential to attract further inward investment.

Costs could run way into the billions for a scheme that "will include a tunnel (or series of tunnels) that could be longer than any road tunnel constructed in Europe to date."

John Cridland, Chairman of Transport for the North, said: "The study shows a tunnel beneath the Pennines would both boost the economy of the region, and potentially benefit the environment of the Peak District by reducing traffic in the national park.

"This is just one of the visionary projects Transport for the North is working on, as well as other schemes, such as Northern Powerhouse Rail [HS3], as we continue to develop a Transport & Investment Strategy to connect the North and transform its economy."

Martin McKervey, partner at Nabarro LLP and lead board member for transport at the Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), added: "This is very a positive step forward for the Trans Pennine Tunnel project which will be hugely beneficial for businesses in the Sheffield city region, boosting our economy and creating jobs.

"Business people and residents know that for our businesses to grow our great city regions must be better connected and improving travel times between Manchester and Sheffield City Region is critical to this.

"Leaders from the public and private sector in Sheffield City Region are working closely with Government and Transport for the North on this project. We believe that there is a very strong strategic case for taking this project forward as quickly as possible as it brings together two major cities as part of national ambitions to strengthen the North and rebalance the UK economy."

The study looks at potential indicative route options for a strategic link and identifies a shortlist of better performing options. One option would join the M60 between Denton/Hyde and Romily/Bredbury in the East with the M1 in the area of Junction 35 on the edge of the Rotherham border. This option would involve a 24 mile link with 16 miles of tunnels. It is one of the most expensive options put forward relative to the others - potentially 40% - 60% more expensive.

Most routes are in a central position on the M1, providing good access to Sheffield, Barnsley and Rotherham regeneration areas. One shortlisted option would join the M1 further north, so, whilst providing good access to Barnsley regeneration areas, they are further from Sheffield and Rotherham regeneration areas.

Peter Kennan, Chair of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce Transport Forum, and Partner at Hawsons Chartered Accountants, welcomed the study but added: "We still need to be convinced that Sheffield city centre would directly benefit without the addition of a new fast link road to the tunnel. A journey to the new route via Junction 33, 34 or 36 of the M1, with already severe congestion and major air quality issues at Meadowhall, would take not much less time than the present route over the A57 Snake Pass, despite all its numerous problems – and also involves considerably increased mileage with the Co2 and fuel use consequences that entails."

The next stage will provide a cost estimate for each option and consider the extent to which it offers synergy with rail and/or light-rail options. A proposed link connecting the M1 and the M18 through Barnsley and Doncaster is also discussed.

The study is part of the Government's next phase of road improvements, which will get underway from 2020. The current Road Investment Strategy period covers 2015 to 2020.

The Sheffield City Region LEP is looking ahead further with a potential £75m+ large transport scheme on Pan Northern Connectivity - a new Trans-Pennine through route linking the SCR with Manchester and the Humber ports.

Transport for the North website

Images: Transport for the North

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News: Nuclear supply chain still waiting on Hinkley go-ahead

The Nuclear AMRC has welcomed the news that EDF has confirmed it is ready to invest in two new nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset. But the Government is reviewing the billion pound project that it previously called "a milestone in our efforts to reduce emissions and to meet our climate change commitments in the most cost-effective way."

With state of the art facilities on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham, the £25m Nuclear AMRC is a joint initiative with industry, The University of Sheffield and The University of Manchester's Dalton Nuclear Institute, and is designed to help build and enhance the UK's civil nuclear new build industry.

The two Areva EPR reactors at Hinkley Point C (HPC) will strengthen EDF's presence in the UK, where its subsidiary EDF Energy already operates 15 nuclear reactors and is the UK's largest electricity supplier by volume. With a combined capacity of 3.2GW, the two HPC EPRs will provide around seven per cent of the UK's electricity demand.

The first concrete at HPC is scheduled for mid-2019, coinciding with the scheduled start-up of the EPR at Flamanville at the end of 2018. EDF says the first HPC reactor will generate electricity from the mid-2020s.

In 2015, China General Nuclear Power Corporation (CGN) said it would invest £6 billion for a 33.5% stake in the project. EDF retains the remaining 66.5% of the project. The French group said it intends to bring other investors into the project, but will retain a majority stake.

EDF estimates the construction cost of Hinkley Point C at £18 billion. It expects UK companies to be awarded contracts worth more than 60%of the project's construction value.

Around £1.5 billion worth of contracts were provisionally placed with UK companies ahead of the final investment decision.

The Nuclear AMRC works with UK manufacturers along the supply chain to help them become more competitive, including focused supplier development support through the Fit For Nuclear and Civil Nuclear Sharing in Growth programmes.

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Mike Tynan, chief executive officer of the Nuclear AMRC, said: "The Nuclear AMRC welcomes the decision by EDF to move forward with its project at Hinkley Point C. This is a landmark decision for the UK civil nuclear industry and one that shows confidence in the UK's ability to deliver a major infrastructure project for the civil nuclear industry.

"EDF has led the way in the drive for new nuclear power in the UK: it was the first through GDA, site licence, planning consents, and electricity price deals, and is now the first to FID. The Nuclear AMRC has supported EDF's supplier development programmes in its journey for UK EPR deployment, and we will continue to provide every assistance to the Hinkley Point C project as it moves through construction, installation, testing, commissioning and commercial operation.

"The project at Hinkley Point in Somerset will create thousands of long-term jobs in the nuclear industry, engage a wide range of UK suppliers, and deliver much-needed replacement nuclear generating capacity for decades to come."

Following the vote, the UK government announced that it is reviewing its support for the project and will make a decision in early autumn.

Richard Wright, executive director at Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: "We absolutely agree that a secure energy supply is critical to the future success of the UK and that must involve new nuclear capacity. But, there are a number of reasons why we are very nervous about the Hinkley Point solution.

"Nearly all of the critical parts of the nuclear reactor, and some of the others in planning, will be made abroad which is not good for long term jobs in the UK, nor for our balance of payments. The high strike price almost guarantees much higher energy costs in the future and this will not be good for all our businesses as they try to build competitiveness in a world economy."

The Nuclear AMRC is also working on research projects and manufacturing studies with the likes of Westinghouse, NuScale and Rolls-Royce on the future deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) in the UK. SMRs promise to be much more affordable in the UK than the large scale reactors planned for projects like Hinkley Point C, which has struggled to secure investors and has had strike prices inflated by the expense of financing the multi billion pound project.

Wright added: "A lot of work has been done on smaller modular nuclear reactors, much of it locally at the AMRC between Sheffield and Rotherham, and we believe these, in combination with wind, solar and tidal power, should be seriously considered. They have many advantages. They can be made in the UK, they have much better cash flow implications for the country, they do not need as much investment in our energy distribution infrastructure, and the costs and ease of future decommissioning are less."

Nuclear AMRC website

Images: EDF Energy

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News: Sheffield City Region would prefer not to have a mayor

There was a general view that the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority would prefer to operate the combined authority model, without a city region mayor.

In May, the combined authority in the Sheffield city region held "informal discussions" regarding the possibility of an elected metro mayor. It followed comments from the Chancellor who expressed that he wasn't imposing a mayor on anyone but added that if the regions wanted to be part of the "new revolution in city government" they would need to have one.

The region has now submitted an "ambitious set of proposals" in a bid to take on further funding and power from central government and has said that any deal to introduce a "metro mayor" will only be accepted if it does not disrupt private and public sector partnership arrangements which are already in place.

Campaign group, Sheffield for Democracy have been pressing the issue and minutes show that when asked at August's meeting if it would accept a directly elected mayor, the Sheffield City Region Combined Authority responded: "There is a general view that the Authority would prefer to operate the Combined Authority Model, without a City Region Mayor. However, this will be subject to Government Ministers' approval, and Ministers have been clear that they expect devolution will be in return for a directly elected Metro Mayor."

If the combined authority did agree to a City Region Mayor in return for more powers then there would be some sort of consultation with the public and with the region's businesses. There is unlikely to be a referendum.

The Sheffield Mayoral referendum in 2012 returned a no vote and the devolution deals done between the Sheffield and the government have been done without agreeing to an elected mayor for the whole city region.

Cllr Leigh Bramall, deputy leader of Sheffield City Council, has previously stated, that "in principle" the Council was opposed to imposed elected mayors, but that it was not being ruled out and that it would depend on how good the deal was and whether they felt they could deal with the consequences.

Sheffield Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the progress of Sheffield City Region's devolution proposals and said that it does not object in principle to an elected mayor - providing it leads to rationalisation of support services across the region and the driving out of the cost of management.

Richard Wright, executive director of Sheffield Chamber, said: "We welcome the thrust of devolution, but only if Sheffield City Region is brave enough to do things differently. We should expect that we can make better local decisions about how we spend money to deliver best economic return, as opposed to it being given via national programmes.

"However, we will have to do things differently and take a more dynamic and entrepreneurial approach to how we spend the money. We can’t be locked in to, and hampered by, processes in the way we have previously.

"My experience in business in the 80s and 90s – when manufacturing had to absorb some massive internationally-driven challenges – was that you had to implement some big changes.

"That in turn meant you did things fundamentally differently. Those who didn't embrace the change didn't survive.

"Look at the pressure on further education, for instance. If further education is being asked to look to take on a broader, more regional approach, why not local government, too?"

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News: Global Manufacturing Festival returns to Rotherham for 2014

The Global Manufacturing Festival (GMF) 2014 will take place at the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham on June 24 - 25 and is set to be part of the massive International Festival for Business (IFB).

The Global Manufacturing Festival has been running since 2011 and has grown in popularity each year with some of the world's biggest manufacturing and engineering companies attending. It was held for the first time at the AMP last year and will return with a trade show and conference, keynote speakers, workshops and 150 exhibitors set to form proceedings.

The festival is being organised by Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, the University of Sheffield AMRC with Boeing and Marketing Sheffield.

IFB is an ambitious programme of global business events running throughout June and July 2014. With government backing, it is set to be the largest international business event in the world in 2014, and the largest business event in the UK for over a decade. It aims to be global, entrepreneurial and accelerate the growth of UK business into international markets.

Richard Wright, executive director of Sheffield Chamber of Commerce, said: "Linking the Global Manufacturing Festival with the IFB will give a world-wide accreditation to the importance of the event.

"Our vision is it to make the GMF the premier national high technology, high quality and high added value manufacturing festival that sells UK industry to the world, and we are delighted to team up with the IFB in 2014.

"#GMF2014 has been specifically designed to help SMEs understand the high performance materials supply chains for a broad range of high growth market sectors, such as aerospace, automotive, energy and oil and gas. It will help them access those markets and offer advice on where to focus investments to gain future business."

Taking place, mainly in Liverpool, the IFB will focus on key areas of commerce that are transforming the business landscape of Britain and beyond, including manufacturing, science & technology; maritime, logistics & energy; knowledge, professional & financial services; higher & further education & research; low carbon & renewables; cities, enterprise & urban business; knowledge, creative & digital and, of course, the multi-million pound business of sport.

Speaking at a recent launch event, Lord Green, Minister for Trade & Investment, said that the: "IFB gives us a wonderful opportunity to showcase the whole of business and the opportunities for investment in Britain" and described the festival as a very important statement for Britain, that will "redefine the great North-South divide".

Global Manufacturing Festival website

Images: Global Manufacturing Festival

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News: Martek director to stand up for charity

Steve Coulson, sales director at Martek Marine in Rotherham, is swapping his suit for the stage as he prepares to perform a stand-up comedy routine at a unique fundraising event.

Steve is one of ten personalities from well-known organisations in the Sheffield city region taking in part in the Funny Business event that is being organised in association with the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) to raise money for Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity.

The participants will soon begin training with top Sheffield comic, Alfie Moore and the training will culminate with the comedy hopefuls performing live on stage at Sheffield City Hall on November 7.

One of the co-founders of Manvers-based Martek Marine, Coulson is more at home supplying safety and environmental monitoring systems to the global shipping industry. He said: "I wanted to do something that was well outside of my comfort zone - and this definitely is!"

Funds raised will contribute to the Cancer Charity's "Do Your Bit" campaign, which is raising funds for a new, state-of-the-art Cancer Research and Treatment Suite at Weston Park Hospital.

This new facility will give more patients access to a wider range of cutting-edge cancer treatments, as well as enabling significant development of the hospital's ground-breaking programme of clinical trials.

Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity needs to raise £1.5m this year in order to fund pioneering cancer research and to help improve the treatments and care for people living with cancer.

Weston Park Hospital provides care for cancer patients from across the region, which means that patients from Sheffield, Rotherham, Barnsley, Doncaster, Worksop, Chesterfield, and beyond benefit from donations made to the charity.

Tina Harrison, acting deputy director at Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity, said: "It's just brilliant to see incredibly busy people who are at the very top of their game make time to get involved in this unique fundraising event. They are all used to high pressure roles, but Funny Business will see them completely outside of their comfort zones so it should be an interesting and enjoyable night for all!"

Weston Park Hospital Cancer Charity website
Steve's Just Giving page
Martek Marine website

Images: Weston Park Cancer Charity

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News: Richard delighted at Queen's New Year honour

Richard Wright of Rotherham company, Inertius has been awarded the MBE for services to manufacturing industry.

Richard from Woodsetts, Rotherham was given the accolade in the Queen's New Year honours list.

The 53-year-old former Sheffield Chamber of Commerce President has and continues to play an important role in South Yorkshire business, especially the manufacturing sector.

Richard is leading on Yorkshire Forward's strategy in advanced engineering and materials industry, is chief executive of Inertius based at the Advanced Manufacturing Park in Rotherham, Chair of the Core City Chamber group – a national organisation which brings together key Chambers from around the country - and continues to be a member of the Sheffield Chamber board.

Richard said he was: "surprised, but very pleased."

He added: "Since the announcement I have been contacted by a number of people from across the South Yorkshire business community to pass on their congratulations, which has been very nice and supportive."

Nigel Tomlinson chief executive of Sheffield Chamber said: "We are delighted that Richard's hard work and endeavour has been recognised with this honour.

"He has played an important role in Sheffield business for a number of years now, before, during and after his role as President of the Chamber. Richard continues to be an influential figure in a wide range of issues to support economic growth for the region."

Inertius is developing an inert anode that will replace the currently used carbon anodes and eliminate the release of carbon dioxide during the refining of aluminium.

Inertius website
Rotherham

Images: Sheffield Chamber

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News: Chamber appointment for Debra

Sheffield Chamber of Commerce has appointed Debra Foster as Contracts Development Manager. Debra, of Old Ravenfield in Rotherham, will be responsible for managing and obtaining key public funded contracts and commercial contracts for the Chamber. Debra arrives from after spending the last ten years at the Rotherham-based Music Factory Entertainment Group, where her final position was Director of Business Development. Debra said: "This is a great development opportunity and I am looking forward to handling key accounts and searching for new funding opportunities that will fit with the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce's wide portfolio of services."
Sheffield Chamber website
The Music Factory website

Rotherham

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News: Funding uncertainty for South Yorkshire International Trade Centre

The uncertainty of the new Business Link contracts through Yorkshire Forward have led the Sheffield Chamber of Commerce to state that 23 jobs are under threat at the South Yorkshire International Trade Centre. Yorkshire Forward previously channelled funding to Business Link South Yorkshire, which then used SYITC as a sub-contractor but it would be against EU rules for Yorkshire Forward to fund the centre directly. Sheffield Chamber is looking to retain the brand and seek to deliver services for businesses. The next SYITC event taking place in Rotherham is a "Trade Secrets" Export clinic on February 21.
SYITC website
The Star article
Rotherham

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