News: AMP firms up for cleantech awards

Xeros and Iceotope, two innovative businesses based on the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) in Rotherham have both made the shortlist at the 2014 New Energy & Cleantech Awards.

The awards, now in their seventh year, recognise those who play a pivotal role in the process and shaping of the future green energy and cleantech industries: companies, entrepreneurs, investors and specialist advisers.

Xeros is a Leeds University spin-out that has developed a patented system using a unique method of special polymer beads rather than the usual large amounts of fresh water to clean clothes. Recently admitted to AIM, Xeros is commercialising the system which uses at least 70% less water, up to 50% less energy and approximately 50% less detergent.

Xeros is in with a chance of winning University Spin-out of the Year later this month.

In the US, a key target market for Xeros, the system has also been named as an award finalist in the Energy/Sustainability category by the internationally renowned Edison Awards, inspired by Thomas Edison's persistence and inventiveness, recognising innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy.

Edison Award nominees are judged by more than 3,000 senior business executives and academics from across America whose votes acknowledge the finalists' success in meeting the award's stringent criteria of quality.

Iceotope has been working with the University of Leeds to develop a new system that reduces the power consumed in data centres by using liquid rather than air to provide cooling, eliminating the need for power-hungry fans.

The patented approach sees components encapsulated in 3M Novec, an inert and environmentally sound coolant and the system uses just 80 watts of power to harvest the heat from up to 20 kilowatts of ICT use where it can also be reused for heating.

Iceotope is shortlisted in the Deal of the Year category at the 2014 New Energy & Cleantech Awards for the recent $10m round of fundraising to help further commercialise its innovative cooling solutions.

The DCS Awards, specific to the data centre industry, has also recognised Iceotope's potential, shortlisting it in the Datacentre Power and Cooling product of the Year category.

Xeros website
Iceotope website

Images: Xeros

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News: FreeBee rides again

FreeBee, the popular free bus service between Rotherham town centre and Parkgate is set to continue for at least the next two years thanks to investment by the owners of Parkgate Shopping.

The free service ran every 12 minutes from 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday between the main retail areas of Parkgate Shopping and Rotherham town centre, whilst also running around the town linking areas such as the council offices on Main Street, Rotherham Leisure Complex, the markets and the bus station. It has carried an estimated two and half million passengers since the environmentally friendly Euro V bus made its first trip from Rotherham Interchange to Parkgate in October 2009.

Under proposals put forward by South Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (SYPTE) and South Yorkshire Integrated Transport Authority as they aim to make savings of around 10% to their annual budget, the two FreeBee bus services in Sheffield and Rotherham centres, which are funded by public subsidy, would be discontinued from the end of April.

Now, the owners of Parkgate Shopping, Hercules Unit Trust, of which British Land is the major shareholder, has put forward £236,000 for the next two years, prior to the opening in 2016 of the Tram-Train service between Sheffield and Parkgate.

The free service, which will now comprise of just one bus, will operate every 20 minutes from 28 April between Rotherham Interchange and Parkgate only, via St Ann's Leisure Centre.

Denis Copeland, manager at Parkgate Shopping, said: "When we launched the free service in 2009 alongside the SYPTE we were not only responding to a demand from shoppers and employees, but creating a sustainable alternative for the many people who want to combine trips to Parkgate with a visit to the town centre.

"The popularity of the service has exceeded all our expectations and confirmed the value of the strong link between ourselves and the town centre. We are delighted to be able to maintain the connection into the future as a valuable free service, and thank all our partners who have helped us to retain this sustainable transport initiative."

The bus will continue to be run by family owned Powells Bus Company, who operate from a purpose built depot on Hellaby Industrial Estate with a 45 strong workforce. Managing Director, Ian Powell, said: "We were delighted to have been retained on this very successful service as it has proved to be by far the most popular route that we serve in the region."

David Young, deputy interim director general at the SYPTE, added: "We are pleased the FreeBee service is able to continue to operate between Rotherham Interchange and Parkgate, and welcome the private sector investment in public bus services at this time of ongoing austerity. Maintaining this popular service will help to continue to connect people to employment and leisure activities in Rotherham, and goes some way to reducing the customer impact as a result of government cuts."

Parkgate Shopping website

Images: Thomas Cousins via Wikimedia Commons

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News: Badger sets the pace on Planet X

When Rotherham-based Planet X, the second biggest bike assembler in the UK, was called upon by the organisers of the Yorkshire Grand Départ of the Tour de France to supply some Yorkshire bikes for a press event, little did they know that they would end up being ridden by Bernard Hinault, the five time winner of the historic cycle race.

With headquarters and warehousing at Templeborough, Planet X is still run by riders, for riders, and whilst not officially involved, it has been gearing up for the largest and most watched annual sporting event in the world taking place on its doorstep.

The Grand Départ is the opening of the race of the Tour de France and is regularly held outside France to promote the event and the sport of cycling. Two stages will take place in Yorkshire in July, taking in spectacular cities and countryside between Leeds and Harrogate in Stage 1 and York to Sheffield in Stage 2.

It is conservatively estimated that the economic impact of hosting the Grand Départ will be worth approximately £100m to the Yorkshire economy.

To mark 100 days before the start of the Grand Départ, organisers descended on Cragg Vale, England's longest continuous uphill climb, which will feature on Stage 2 of the race.

Bernard Hinault was invited along as five times Tour de France winner and 28 time stage winner. He is one of only five men to have won all of the grand tours, and the only man ever to have won each tour more than once.

After taking interviews with the world's media, Hinault, nicknamed Le Blaireau - The Badger, was presented with his Planet X "Mondo" bike. The model is one of Planet X's most advanced road frames available and combines a pro-level carbon frame with an accessible price.

A spokesperson from Planet X explained: "The original idea had been to gather a few local cyclists for a bit of a group ride up to the top, make it look good for the cameras. But since the word had got out the event had grown beyond all proportions and there were as many as 100 riding up the hill in a group. Hinault was cruising on the Mondo, making it look easy. The police had to close the road off, the media were all scrapping for the best shots and everyone was just trying to keep up.

"All in all it was an incredible day. When you consider that we didn't really know what was about to happen it was truly a bizarre experience to find ourselves at the centre of such a massive media event. Hinault had that aura that all great sportspeople do and was undoubtedly the centre of attention.

"But the most powerful aspect of the day and the thing that I'll take away from it was the excitement and enthusiasm for the Tour. Here we had people from all walks of life from four years old to their late eighties, all of them so excited just to be there. There may still be 100 days to go until the Tour kicks off, but if this was anything to go by, the event is going to be massive, and a huge amount of fun."

On a previous visit to the county, Hinault said: "The passion for the Tour is fantastic. The enthusiasm here is fabulous. You can sense that people really want Le Tour to come to Yorkshire and are determined to show the whole world what Yorkshire stands for."

Bernard Hinault is pictured leading the pack alongside Rotherham cycling professionals Dean and Russell Downing, who are ambassadors for the Yorkshire Grand Départ of the Tour de France.

Planet X website
Le Tour Yorkshire website

Images: Planet X

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News: LEP submit final Growth Plan to Government

The Sheffield City Region Local Enterprise Partnership has submitted to Government its final Strategic Economic Plan which has set an ambitious target of creating 70,000 new jobs in the Sheffield City Region (SCR) by 2023.


The Government's new model of local economic growth centres around Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs), a collaboration between businesses and the local authorities that are placed at the heart of growth in the regions. In response to the Heseltine Review, the Government has charged LEPs with putting together local growth plans that will be the basis on which the Government negotiates deals with each LEP for new levers, resources, funding and flexibility over them.

In the future, LEPs will then be able to bid into a single pot of funding to support their plans.

The LEP's plan specifically asks Government for:

- £155m over the next six years to fund priority infrastructure and transport projects funded through the Sheffield City Region Investment Fund, in addition to the £62m devolved major transport scheme funding already secured for that period

- £38m over the next six years for wider skills programme including a "Skills Bank" to enable businesses to access a range of training and skills options, making it easier for businesses to take on apprentices and graduates and upskill their workforce

- £25m over the next two years to fund better further education and specialist training provision, including upgrades to existing facilities and creating cutting edge academies, including a Glass Academy, a Nuclear Elite College and Rail Engineering Academy

- £21m for 2015/16 to fund a Growth Hub which will offer intensive business support including support for start-ups, business finance, export advice, innovation and attracting inward investment into the City Region

- £500,000 for 2015/16 for a comprehensive HS2 connectivity package which will ensure the benefits of high speed rail are maximised across the City Region

- £11m per year up to 2021 from the Local Sustainable Transport Fund

- Ambitious investment to accelerate house building

James Newman, chairman of the Sheffield City Region LEP, said: "Our Strategic Economic Plan is a ten year strategy to grow the Sheffield City Region's economy. It is based on creating more private sector jobs by ensuring our businesses are encouraged and incentivised to grow.

"We believe that by Government devolving more funding and powers to local business and political leaders, better decisions, better value for money and more effective delivery will be achieved than by relying on national schemes created by and managed from Whitehall.

"Local decisions, made by local people will bring local benefits – which is at the heart of the LEP's vision."

Barnsley Chief Executive Diana Terris, the joint Chair of the LEP Strategic Economic Plan Steering Group, added: "Our Plan asks Government to hand over the powers and funds to enable the Sheffield City Region to make improvements to skills, housing, transport and to create more and better jobs for the Sheffield City Region’s 1.8 million residents.

"The LEP is very confident that Government will recognise this as an opportunity to realise the economic potential of the Sheffield City Region and enable us to contribute much more to the strength and resilience of the UK economy.

"Through our Plan, the Sheffield City Region is asking Government to support us as we need to compete in global and national markets. Our Plan will ensure that the benefits can be felt by all parts of the Sheffield City Region, both urban and rural.

"Both the public and private sectors have identified what is needed to accelerate economic growth and create new jobs, and this Plan outlines our shared vision."

Sheffield City Region LEP website

Images: Sheffield City Region LEP

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News: Aston Hotel rebranded

The £5.7m Aston Hotel Sheffield/Rotherham has become the Mercure Sheffield Parkway hotel after Accor entered into a franchise agreement with Dominvs Hospitality.

With 78 bedrooms, the hotel is on the part of the Sheffield Business Park that is just inside the Rotherham border. Built by the London asset management firm and opened in 2008, the hotel will be the first Accor branded hotel in the Dominvs Hospitality portfolio, being of strategic importance for the group's expansion into the hospitality sector.

The contemporary mid-market hotel also offers an all-day dining restaurant, Starbucks, lobby lounge, conference and event facilities.

Andrea Hippsley, general manager of hotel, said: "We are extremely excited with the decision to re-brand our Aston Hotel. The Mercure brand will complement our hotel design, service offering and leading location within the Sheffield region."

Preet Ahluwalia, director of Dominvs Group, added: "The decision to re-brand our Sheffield Hotel was influenced by our experience gained from the re-branding of our Aston Darlington Hotel. We see a great opportunity to maximise the performance of our hotel in Sheffield as a Mercure hotel, due to the strength of the Accor distribution system and strong brand identity."

Sheffield Parkway hotel joins a network of 74 Mercure hotels in the UK and 758 Mercure hotels worldwide. An awarding-winning brand, it was deemed, "The Best Midscale Hotel Group" by the British Travel Awards 2013 and the Business Travel Awards 2014, proving its popularity to consumers and the business community.

Thomas Dubaere, chief operating officer Hotel Services at Accor UK & Ireland, said: "We are very pleased to welcome the Mercure Sheffield Parkway hotel into the rapidly growing Accor network. The signing of this hotel is proof of the confidence in our Hotel Services offer as brand franchisor and proves that independent hotels are attracted to the strength of our distribution services and brands."

Aston Hotels website

Images: Dominvs Hospitality

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