North Tyneside Focus - Invest North Tyneside

North
Thursday, January 28, 2016
Tyneside
Focus
In association with
16-page commercial supplement
3
THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
>>Kites at Whitley Bay by Trevor Ermel
A great place to live and
a great place for business
N
orth Tyneside is fast
becoming one of the most
dynamic and exciting places
in Britain to live, work, visit, study
and invest.
Massive transformation can be
seen everywhere and there’s a sense
of urgency, renewal and growth in its
towns, seafront, riverside and
business parks.
It is rapidly developing an enviable
reputation as a place with huge
ambitions and the place to be for
business. And it’s easy to see why this
is the case. The borough has more
than 50 business sites – including two
of the UK’s largest and most successful business parks, Cobalt and
Quorum – great transport links,
award-winning council expertise, a
highly skilled and reliable workforce
as well as an excellent quality of life
and support from a determined and
committed local leadership.
The population continues to grow
as people of all ages are attracted to
everything North Tyneside has to
offer. It has a perfect mix of coastal,
urban and rural living as well a
brilliant tourism and leisure programme including the flagship
Mouth of the Tyne Festival entertaining around 100,000 people a year and
providing a huge financial boost to
the local economy.
Prices for renting or buying a
property are lower than the national
average. New affordable family
housing and top-quality retirement
apartments are springing up as the
council is keeping to its promise to
provide 3,000 affordable homes,
including 900 apartments for older
residents, by 2025.
There are high aspirations and high
standards for children and young
people who can be assured of the
very best start in life. North
Tyneside’s first and primary schools
were recently named by Ofsted as the
best in the country for outstanding
results. Secondary schools continually receive national recognition for
their excellent work and good
practice while pupils consistently
achieve impressive GCSE and A-level
results with many going on to study
at top universities, take up apprenticeships and key roles in industry.
For young people looking to
embark on employment or training
the council works with partners,
schools and businesses providing a
range of initiatives including an
Apprentice Talent Pool, a bursary
scheme, the Apprentice Employer of
the Year Award and a quality
Apprentice Standard scheme.
North Tyneside’s superb coastline
is being completely regenerated as
the council invests in the future of
Whitley Bay with a £36m seafront
master plan. Old eyesores are being
demolished, beautiful views opened
up and a new commercial operator
has been appointed recently to
manage and run the iconic Spanish
City Dome following its restoration.
An application for planning
permission for a hotel and restaurant
has been submitted to the council by
a developer and it is expected that,
subject to planning permission being
granted, construction work will begin
later this year.
On the riverside at Wallsend a
£100m investment in the former
Swan Hunter shipyard site is
transforming the area into an
advanced manufacturing hub for
companies specialising in the
offshore industry.
Meanwhile the borough’s town
centres are also benefitting from
substantial investment making them
more attractive and vibrant.
In North Shields the Beacon Centre
in the heart of the town has been
completely renovated and is now
a bright, modern centre thanks
to a £500,000 investment by its
owners NewRiver Retail.
The company has also extensively
refurbished The Forum Shopping
Centre in Wallsend and has started
work on a new supermarket and
drive-through restaurant which
will create in excess of 100 new jobs
when open.
Elected Mayor Norma Redfearn
said: “North Tyneside has so much to
offer and it’s easy to see why we
continue to be the place of choice for
businesses, residents and visitors.
Although facing severe cuts in
government funding, we are
absolutely determined to drive our
vision forward and bring about
further economic prosperity and
jobs.”
4 THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
Partnering in
the community
MPS links up with Bailey Green School
O
VER the years Multi Packaging Solutions (MPS) has
supported many charities as
well as a number of community
projects.
General manager of MPS’s
maufacturing site in Killingworth,
North Tyneside, Vicky Brockley,
explains: “Ensuring we give
something back to the surrounding
area is a key business fundamental.”
During 2015, the Killingworth site
was looking for a long-term partner
– someone with who they could
develop a shared vision for the
future, which may have a sustained
impact on the community. It was
perfect timing when, in September
2015, Bailey Green Primary and
Nursery School, also in Killingworth, approached MPS with the
same goal.
After a meeting bwteen MPS and
Bailey Green’s headteacher Lisa
Taylor, it was clear that the vision
and aims between the two were
perfectly aligned and they have
since developed a unique business
partnership.
The partnership is intended to
develop business links in the
broadest sense and is very much a
two-way relationship. The goal for
MPS was to look at how they could
work on inspiring future generations and convincing them that
manufacturing in the North East is a
viable career option for them.
As the partnership developed it
became clear that this was a real
need as many children’s aspirations
were to be a professional footballer
or Britain’s ‘Next Top Model’. The
partnership aimed to show the
children that there’s so much more
on offer.
Initially, management and staff
worked together to draw up a plan
which would provide opportunities
for both sides. Staff and children
from MPS and Bailey Green have
already met and have attended
several events in both settings
including presentations on what
each do, familiarisation visits, a
choir at the school, Christmas
lunches and have even developed
a shared logo entitled ‘Growing
Together’.
This year will see the launch of
‘The Design Project’ where children
throughout the school will be
involved in planning, designing,
making and costing packaging,
working closely with MPS staff,
which involves many areas of the
primary curriculum such as maths,
art, IT, D&T, geography and English.
The aim is to show the children
how these subjects are used in real
life and are key skills in job roles. As
well as providing the children with
new ways of learning, the vision
also includes developing community links with staff from both
partnerships, working with parents
on a community project involving
developing the grounds in Bailey’s
Butterflies,
and raising
awareness of
possible employment opportunities.
Despite the two
environments being
significantly different there are also
so many similarities which can be
shared and learned from including;
staff development, coaching
mechanisms, communications,
visual displays, community support
and involvement, health and
well-being at
work to name but a
few.
It is intended to
cascade the sharing of
best practice to further
develop the partnership and
cement teamwork. Both partners
are determined that the partnership
will be sustainable in order to
maximise relationships and
aspirations within two very different
working environments and within
the wider community.
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THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
Innovative
solutions
scoop firm
the double
M
ULTI Packaging Solutions
(MPS) Newcastle recently
won two prestigious local
business awards scooping North
Tyneside Business of the Year as well
as winning the category for Innovation.
The North Tyneside Business
Awards, now in its 18th year, presents
just seven annual awards to the most
outstanding businesses within the
region. As MPS were up against such
stiff competition then what is it that
sets them apart?
MPS have been in the region for 90
years and have a passion for keeping
jobs, skills and manufacturing in the
North East. Starting as Cut Out
Cartons Limited in 1926, in Shields
Road, Newcastle, the company has
undergone many a change in
ownership, names (Reed Paper
Group, Field Sons and Co, Field Packaging, Chesapeake) and locations
before finally settling in Station Road,
Killingworth, 52 years ago.
The site at Killingworth designs,
creates and manufactures high
quality printed packaging solutions
for many of the world’s most
prestigious brands including Nestle,
Cadburys, Mars, Lindt, Walkers,
Marks and Spencer, Twinings,
Tetley’s, Body Shop to mention just a
few. In order to service customers to
>>A small range of completed designs
the highest standards MPS are able
to offer conceptual designs, samples,
illustration as well as multi-lingual
artwork generation – given that many
of the customers ship their products
worldwide (the furthest one being
Nestle to New Zealand).
The site at Killingworth employs in
excess of 250 people with a turnover
close to £50m. In addition to this, due
to some of the seasonality of the
customer base the site also offers
temporary employment to the region
of around 50 jobs.
Knowing however how difficult it
can be regionally to find permanent
employment MPS always ensures
that should anyone leave or retire
then a permanent role is offered to a
temporary worker who has proved
they are capable to doing the job.
Over 2015, 14 people have secured
permanent employment on site.
Vicky Brockley, general manager
for the site comments: “What makes
us different at Killingworth is our
workforce. Despite the huge amount
of change the site has been through,
and continues to go through, the
workforce always look to support
new ways of working and look at
how we can do things differently.
“When I joined the site in March
2014 I recognised the huge
potential of the people and set the
>>Lynsey Coan of Customer Services
holding the North Tyneside Business
Awards Business of the Year trophy
surrounded by members of the Multi
Packaging Solutions team
>>MPS provide full
design facilities
from initial concept
goal that we should become ‘the site
where others come to learn’. Over the
past year we have hosted many visits
from the UK, Europe and the US with
indeed people coming to learn how
things can be different.
“None of these visits would mean
anything if it wasn’t for the people on
site and their ability to adapt to
change and continue to drive the
benchmark on performance. I could
not be more proud of them and the
award of North Tyneside Business of
the Year was a testament to all their
hard work.”
As for the award for Innovation,
this was presented for a huge
project completed on site
making massive differences
to our customer supply
chains and was headed up by
Linda Nelson, finance &
commercial director.
Linda said: “The award
reflects the tremendous work
achieved by the customer
services and purchasing teams
to streamline our supply chain.
The awards are an absolute
credit to our employees and
reflect their skill, dedication
and loyalty.”
MPS are part of a global
operation having nearly 60
locations in Europe, North
America and Asia. In the UK,
MPS has a number of sites
supplying printed folding
cartons, tubes, rigid boxes and
self-adhesive labels to customers in
the food, drink, personal care and
pharmaceutical sectors.
Given the size of the group, it is a
great achievement locally to know
that the site in Killingworth is one of
the largest factories within the group
and hugely important. On October 22
2015, MPS became a publically listed
company on the New York Stock
Market, further assuring the groups
commitment to investing in business
and sales growth.
Over the past five years £20m has
been invested in the site, bringing
jobs to the area and securing
permanent employment for those
within the area.
Plans are now being presented for
further investment in 2016 in new
technologies that again helps secure
the site, secures MPS at the forefront
of the industry and equally as
important, continues to look to
secure jobs in the region.
6 NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
North
Tyneside
has so
much
to offer
THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
N
orth Tyneside is making the
most of its strengths and is
continuing to grow and
prosper despite very challenging
times.
A Great Place
for Business
>>A surfer at Longsands
North Tyneside is home to more
than 50 business sites – including
Cobalt and Quorum Business Parks
offering sustainable, well designed,
flexible and accessible working
environments which will appeal to
companies and help to attract staff.
Cobalt Business Park, the largest
and most successful office park in
the UK, is now 88% occupied and
home to more than 14,000 employees. It is the location of choice for
national and global organisations
including Procter & Gamble,
Accenture, Hewlett Packard, Perfect
Image, Utilitywise, G4S, ENGIE, EE,
Santander and Siemens.
The park’s developer Highbridge is
also behind Indigo Park, at Sandy
Lane, close to the A1. Once
complete, the 82-acre site will
provide bespoke manufacturing and
distribution space and has the
potential to generate more than
1,000 jobs.
Quorum Business Park in
Longbenton offers one of the most
attractive location packages in the
country. More than 5,000 people
work there and the park is 65%
occupied by companies including
Tesco Bank, Balfour Beatty, Insurethebox and Home Group.
At Wallsend, the former Swan
Hunter shipyard site is benefitting
from a £100m investment to become
an advanced manufacturing hub for
the offshore industry.
The council has appointed Kier
7
THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
>>Cobalt Business Park is the
largest and most successful
office park in the UK. Right,
the former Swan Hunter
shipyard site is benefiting
from a £100m investment
Property as its development partner
for this strategically important
34-acre site which features a fully
operational quay; heavy-load lay
down areas and infrastructure well
suited to the demands of the
offshore industry. Major works have
included quay edge improvements
and dredging to allow larger vessels
to berth as well as installing new
utility supplies to the whole site,
building new access roads and
upgrading existing ones.
There are also plans to build
industrial units and office space to
meet the needs of individual
occupiers and, once complete, the
development will bring thousands of
new jobs to Wallsend and the wider
area.
North Tyneside’s award-winning
Business Factory offers a fantastic
range of help and advice for
start-ups and fledgling businesses
looking to locate in the borough. The
Council’s Annual Business Awards
celebrate the huge contribution that
businesses make to the local
economy.
The “North Tyneside Business of
the Year” award for 2015 went to
Multi Packaging Solutions who have
been established in North Tyneside
for over 50 years and have made a
significant contribution to the
borough, employing more than 320
people.
The borough has also attracted
a whole new generation of entrepreneurs and was named among the
top five fastest growing tech clusters
in the UK recently, according to
a recent report by KPMG.
A Great Place to Live
North Tyneside continues to be
one of the most sought-after places
to live in the region with luxurious
riverside and coastal apartments,
family homes, bungalows and
retirement properties.
The council’s draft local plan,
currently being consulted upon,
suggests that more than 15,000 extra
homes could be built by 2032 to
meet demand.
The council has also promised to
provide 3,000 extra affordable
homes within 10 years for families,
first-time buyers, elderly and
vulnerable residents and for those
on low incomes.
It is also investing in its North
Tyneside Living project to create 920
modern and luxurious retirement
apartments for the over-60s to rent
within 26 state-of-the-art complexes.
A Great Place
to get around
North Tyneside is exceptionally
well connected with excellent Metro
and bus services, an extensive road
network and the second Tyne
Tunnel. The Port of Tyne International Passenger Terminal in North
Shields attracts hundreds of
thousands of ferry and cruise
passengers each year and Newcastle
International Airport is only a few
miles away.
Millions of pounds are being
invested by the council to improve
journey times and make roads safer
for drivers, pedestrians and cyclists
on busy routes at the Coast Road
and Silverlink.
A new cycling strategy is
encouraging more people to get
on their bikes and there are dedicated cycle routes throughout the
borough as well as more than
30 miles of Waggonway routes
used by cyclists.
A Great Place
for Leisure
North Tyneside is a diverse mix of
coastal, rural and urban areas where
cosmopolitan life meets natural
beauty, history and heritage.
Each year millions of visitors flock
to the borough to enjoy all it has to
offer from surfing and sandcastles
on its stunning coastline with Blue
Flag beaches or picnics and parties
at award-winning parks and green
open spaces.
There are opportunities to step
back in time at museums and
attractions, uncover a bargain in the
markets and shops or take in a show
at the Playhouse Whitley Bay. And
when a rest is called for there are
many superb places to eat or enjoy a
welcome drink.
The borough also has five fantastic
state-of-the-art leisure sites boasting
top class gym equipment with
almost 200 fitness classes and four
large indoor swimming pools.
A Great Future
Ahead
With so many plans and ambitions, the pace of regeneration is
moving fast and change can be seen
everywhere. Eyesores are being
demolished, new buildings opened
and beautiful historical buildings
sympathetically restored to their
former glory.
In Wallsend town centre, millions
of pounds have been spent by centre
owners New River Retail to modernise the high street and Forum
Shopping Centre, as well to create a
new supermarket and drive-through
restaurant.
These improvements have
increased the Forum’s appeal and
latest figures show that many more
people are now choosing to shop
there with the centre’s footfall
increasing by a third in two years.
New River Retail has also made
considerable investment to transform the Beacon Shopping Centre in
North Shields.
Meanwhile the long-term future of
the coast as a major visitor attraction
is assured thanks to the Council’s
ambitious £36million Seafront
Master Plan to completely regenerate the area, restore the Spanish City
Dome and breathe life back into
Whitley Bay.
Buildings are coming down,
wonderful sea views opened up and
the Dome sympathetically transformed into a modern, vibrant and
exciting destination venue, heralding the start of a fantastic new future
for the area.
The council has recently selected
Kymel Trading Limited – which
already operates, among others, the
well-established Wynyard Hall in
Teesside – to manage and run the
historic Grade II Listed building
following its restoration. The
company has a fantastic track record
of working with heritage assets
including Grade II listed buildings
and has a strong reputation for
quality.
Its proposals are set to bring at
least 75 new jobs when the Dome
opens to the public, rising to more
than 100 once the venue is fully
operational.
The jobs boost alone is expected
to bring more than £1m annually
into North Tyneside’s economy.
Work to restore the Dome ready
for opening is also expected to
generate around 50 temporary
construction jobs.
As part of the agreement, the
company will offer training opportunities for local people as well as the
potential to qualify for higher
education courses in catering,
leisure management and more. Staff
will be encouraged to take up
training opportunities and escalate
their learning the longer they stay
with the company, and all employment, training and apprenticeship
opportunities will be advertised as
part of the Generation North East
(GENE) scheme.
The confirmation of an operator
and plans meant North Tyneside
Council submitted its Stage Two bid
to the Heritage Lottery Fund for the
Dome’s restoration. Subject to
Heritage Lottery Fund approval,
work is expected to start on the
Spanish City Dome by early summer
and take between 12 and 15 months
to complete.
Plans are also moving forward for
the separate development of a hotel
and restaurant next door to the
Dome. An application for planning
permission for the scheme has been
submitted to North Tyneside
Council by a developer and it is
expected that, subject to planning
permission being granted, construction work will begin later this year.
The combination of the restored
Spanish City Dome and the new
hotel and restaurant is expected to
substantially increase the number of
visitors to Whitley Bay’s seafront and
increase the potential for overnight
stays.
The council is confident that, once
complete, the Spanish City Dome
will become one of the ultimate
entertainment spaces in the North
East contributing to the renaissance
of not only Whitley Bay and the
coast but to the whole of North
Tyneside.
Cofely GDF SUEZ is now
Energy & Services
are now one solution
ENGIE
logotype_gradient_WHITE
14/04/2015
24, rue Salomon de Rothschild - 92288 Suresnes - FRANCE
Tél. : +33 (0)1 57 32 87 00 / Fax : +33 (0)1 57 32 87 87
Web : www.carrenoir.com
RÉFÉRENCES COULEUR
WHITE
Zone de protection 1
Zone de protection 2
Zone de protection 3
Tomorrow’s businesses demand much more.
That’s why ENGIE is shaping a new kind of
energy and services company. One built on
intelligent customer-led solutions, digital insight
and proven people skills to deliver a more
efficient and sustainable future.
engie.co.uk
By people for people
9
THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
Investing in North Tyneside
E
NGIE, formely GDF SUEZ, is
one of the UK’s leading energy
and services providers with
major regional operations and
commitments in the north-east.
The ENGIE group generated
revenues of £3.7bn in the UK in 2014
and is one of the UK’s largest
international employers with 20,000
staff, operating at more than 14,000
public and private sector sites.
This includes its Cofely business
services partnership with North
Tyneside Council (Cofely has since
rebranded to ENGIE), and the Shared
Service Centre on Quorum Business
Park, which opened in November
2014, and provides customer support
and internal services to all of ENGIE’s
UK locations.
In total more than 500 staff are
based in the region with plans to
grow the number over the coming
months.
ENGIE’s UK strategy is focused on
three key principles:
■■ Innovation in new technology and
customer-led solutions
■■ Integration of energy expertise
with the delivery of services
■■ Investment in critical energy
infrastructure
Invest, integrate, innovate
This tripartite approach of
innovating, integrating and investing
has been the hallmark of the work
with North Tyneside Council.
ENGIE has introduced cutting
edge innovations in new technology
to improve services for local citizens.
It has integrated upskilling staff with
delivering better customer service for
all members of the local community,
especially its most vulnerable. It is
also investing in North Tyneside over
the long-term (ENGIE signed a
10-year agreement with North
Tyneside Council in 2012) because
that way it can deliver sustainable
savings totalling £33.8m.
Focus on benefits to citizens
ENGIE is resolutely customer-led.
Two years ago, the authority
published its Our North Tyneside
Council plan, created in response to
listening to residents, which made
improving customer service a
priority.
Since then ENGIE has been
focused on improving service access
>>The ENGIE Shared Service Centre
>>Citizens being served in a Customer First Centre
and availability, and speeding up
response times for customers. To
achieve these goals, it launched an
upgraded website for the Council,
(my.northtyneside.gov.uk), introduced online services, and automated back office processes, using the
latest robotic process automation
technology.
Throughout, it held consultations
with residents’ panel and youth
Council members, as well as talks
with councillors, and council and
ENGIE staff to make sure it remain
customer-oriented.
Use technology to improve services
Robotic process automation was
initially implemented within the
benefits and then revenues service to
help improve quality and consistency. Benefits customers are often
among the most vulnerable and
financially disadvantaged members
of society and by simplifying
claiming and streamlining assessment, we could ensure customers
received their payments promptly.
ENGIE combined robotic process
automation with online form
completion – a first for a UK local
authority – so citizens could apply for
benefits at a time and place convenient to them. It also incorporated
verification software to make sure
customers submitted the right
evidence with their benefit application.
This has dramatically cut down
timescales for the assessment
process. The assessment process for
well over half of all new benefits
claims can now begin within 24
hours of being submitted.
Enhance the skills of staff
Introduction of the new technology
is being supported by advice and
assistance from the customer service
teams. For example, trained advisors
in the customer service centres are
helping claimants complete the new
online claim form and, if necessary,
will make home visits using mobile
technology to complete the claim.
Upskilling staff is fundamental.
When ENGIE launched robotic
automation within the revenues
service (to process online council tax
direct debit applications), this was
engineered by its own team and all
future automation projects will be
managed using in-house expertise.
It is developing staff customer
service skills too, supported by the
Institute of Customer Service. It is
also conducting wider training to
>>Wallsend Customer First Centre
help citizens to get online and to
support the vulnerable. For instance,
70 staff recently completed dementia
awareness training.
Achieve returns on investment
By being customer-focused, ENGIE
has delivered tangible results:
■■ Website traffic has grown 39%
since its launch in October 2014
■■ Processing times new claims for
benefits has reduced by 44%
■■ Around 87% of new claims for
benefits are now made online
Wilfrid Petrie, CEO ENGIE UK &
Ireland underlines the values: “As a
long-term, committed partner for the
UK, ENGIE will bring its in-depth
knowledge, experience and a more
customer-led approach to lead the
UK’s transition towards a more
secure and sustainable future.”
10 THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
north TYNESIDE FOCUS
>>Hospitality
and catering
apprenticeships
at TyneMet
College
Advance your workforce with
TyneMet College apprenticeships
T
With its state of the art
office space, two Enterprise
Zone sites, superb transport
links, competitive wages,
low operating costs and an
excellent quality of life, there
are so many reasons why
North Tyneside is great for
business.
For more information about locating
your business to North Tyneside,
contact:
Business and Enterprise Team
North Tyneside Council, Quadrant,
Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside,
United Kingdom, NE27 0BY.
Telephone: +44 (0) 191 643 6409
Email: business@northtyneside.gov.uk
Web: www.investnorthtyneside.co.uk
Twitter: @investnorthtyne
The Business and Enterprise Team offers
an extensive range of support services
including:
• Relocation – we can help to identify
commercial properties of all sizes,
provide demographics and support
recruitment and training requirements.
• Start up – we can offer a comprehensive
programme of business start-up support
including training, business planning, ideas
generation assistance and advice.
• Business growth – we can support your
businesses to grow and thrive, by offering
business advice, access to tendering
opportunities, property searches and
workforce development.
• Networking – we can introduce your
business to a range of regional and
national providers including North
Tyneside Business Forum, Generation
North East, UK Trade and Investment
and North East Local Enterprise
Partnership.
here has never been a better
time for employers to take on an
apprentice. TyneMet College has
developed a highly successful apprenticeship programme, uniquely tailored
to employer needs.
TyneMet offers business support
through high quality training programmes, apprenticeships and practical
advice to identify and fill skills gaps and
planning for future workforce requirements. The college is leading the drive
to encourage employers to empower
their workforce with bespoke training
and apprenticeships. All of these
training courses can be adapted to meet
the specific needs of a particular group
or department within the business, or to
focus upon a specific
issue in order to
reach operational
objectives by linking
training directly to
the company’s
strategy. The College
works with hundreds
of small and large
organisations to
deliver cost effective
training solutions
across Newcastle, the North East and
the UK. Head of Apprenticeships at
Tyne Metropolitan College, Pat Blyth, is
keen for employers to embrace
apprenticeships. She said: “At TyneMet,
we are part of an apprenticeship
revolution – we understand the
importance of matching an individual’s
skills and interests to the needs of
employers. The college continues to
make strategic advances to proactively
establish strong relationships with
employers, with the aim of developing a
highly trained workforce who benefit
from relevant and quality qualifications
in industry related fields.”
Pat added: “As North Tyneside’s
largest vocational provider, we have
watched the market place transform
over the years – apprenticeships are an
essential part of our economy, deliver-
ing the skills and expertise for a fluid job
market whilst providing vibrant, career
building opportunities for individuals.
We value a hands on approach at
TyneMet and work with employers to
design suitable bespoke training
programmes which offer them an
excellent route to nurturing talent,
energising staff and shaping a workforce
that works for them.”
TyneMet’s apprenticeship success is
recognised at at North Tyneside
Councils Lakeside Leisure Centre.
Assistant Manager Claire Tennant
explains: “Working with Tyne Metropolitan College to fill our apprenticeships has been a very positive process.
Apprentices learn the skills they need
for the job market and gain a great
qualification nationally recognised in
the sport and fitness industry.”
TyneMet offer more than 40 different
types of relevant and high quality
apprenticeships including higher level
skills programmes at Levels 4 and 5
(equivalent of degree level study) –
offering viable opportunities in sectors
from engineering to business administration aimed at supporting wider
economic growth. The TyneMet
Business Development team take a
holistic approach to apprenticeship –
matching the right candidates to the
right position, which ensures requirements for both apprentice and business
are met. To find out more, call 0191 229
5179, email business@tynemet.ac.uk or
visit the dedicated employers’ website:
employers.tynemet.ac.uk
11
THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
>>Making a difference: Capita has been carrying out culvert repairs in the Wellfield area
C
apita is working with North
Tyneside Council to reduce the
risk of flooding across North
Tyneside.
Following the Thunder Thursday
major storm in 2012, North Tyneside
Surface Water and Drainage Partnership was formed to bring together a
range of organisations to improve
how the borough prepares for and
deals with future flooding.
These included North Tyneside
Council, Capita, Northumbrian
Water, the Environment Agency and
emergency services.
The council committed to investing
£4.5million to help reduce the
flooding risk in North Tyneside. Since
then, on its behalf, Capita has been
investigating flooding issues,
developing solutions and managing
the construction of flood alleviation
schemes.
Capita prioritised a programme of
around 40 major improvement
schemes. As well drawing upon the
expertise of flood engineers, a
specialist land advisory team has
supported negotiations with
landowners.
So far more than 25 schemes,
worth £2.8m, have been completed,
increasing the flood protection for
hundreds of homes, including
168 homes that suffered from
internal flooding. Next year a further
148 properties that flooded will
benefit from planned projects.
Among the locations of flood
alleviation schemes are Dudley,
Monkseaton and Shiremoor.
Improvements in the Dudley area
involved the diversion of a major
watercourse away from a low lying
area of the village that had flooded
on several occasions.
A new culvert, with four times the
capacity of the previous one, has
been introduced to carry the majority
of water away from the village to the
Seaton Burn. Improved highway
drains on Green Lane now connect
into the new culvert, further reducing
the volume of surface water entering
the old culvert and consequently
greatly reducing the risk of flooding
in the local area. Meanwhile, work is
underway to reduce the risk of
flooding in Monkseaton, an area that
Reducing the risk of
flooding across borough
>>Water, water everywhere: Earsdon Road and the entrance to Wellfield after Thunder Thursday
has flooded badly in the past during
heavy rainfall. The main cause of the
problem has been excessive water
runoff from agricultural fields. A
number of interlinked schemes have
been developed to tackle the
problem. Works to date have
included the improvement of
drainage ditches and the installation
of raised earth mounds to protect
at-risk properties. In spring 2016, a
series of storage basins will be
constructed to the west of Monkseaton that can hold 10,000m3 of surface
water.
The Shiremoor area has suffered
flooding for more than a decade.
Although a number of alleviation
schemes have been introduced, there
are still several schemes to be carried
out to further increase levels of
protection to residents.
Surface water runoff has led to
capacity problems in the combined
sewer network. The solution is to
remove the water from the sewers
and divert it into a culverted stream
running from the north west of
Shiremoor, through Wellfield and
into the Brierdene. Using the spare
capacity in this culvert reduces the
risk of foul sewer flooding.
The culvert has been the focus of
major improvements, totalling 13
separate schemes over its length. In
2015, £435,000 was spent on culvert
improvements and connecting
drainage systems, with a further
£320,000 worth of improvements
planned for 2016.
In addition to flood alleviation
schemes, Capita has worked with the
council to develop an operational
Flood Action Plan.
This identifies a tailored advance
response for priority sites where
properties or vital highway infrastructure is potentially at risk of
flooding. As soon as the areas are
identified as being at risk from severe
rainfall, dedicated resources are sent
to the area to install emergency
protection measures.
North Tyneside property owners
who have experienced flooding, but
have not previously contacted the
Surface Water Team are encouraged
to get in touch. This will help the
team to better understand what may
need to be done to reduce the risk of
flooding in the local area,
email:surfacewatermanagement@
northtyneside.gov.uk
Capita’s property and infrastructure business (formerly Capita
Symonds) is one of the UK’s leading
multidisciplinary consultancies
providing a range of design, project
delivery, infrastructure, real estate
and business transformation
services.
With 4,200 staff in more than 40 UK
offices, Capita work across a variety
of sectors including housing, central
and local government, commercial
property, defence, education,
healthcare, utilities, and transport.
Further information can be found at
www.capitaproperty.co.uk. In November 2012 Capita entered
into a partnership with North
Tyneside Council to deliver a range
of technical services: engineering;
property; planning; building control
and public protection.
As a company, Capita is committed
to not only improving council
services throughout the partnership,
but also investing in the North East,
creating further jobs and apprenticeships by developing North Tyneside
as a centre of excellence for Capita
both regionally and nationally.
STOP
Capita delivers design, infrastructure, management, real estate and
outsourcing solutions on a local, national and international scale.
We do much more than simply deliver projects;
we help our clients to transform and modernise
their businesses, combining our Local Government
expertise with ICT and business process reengineering to enable them to reduce costs, improve
quality and enhance customer service.
Quadrant East, The Silverlink North,
Cobalt Business Park, North Tyneside, NE27 0BY
T: 0191 643 4819
capita.co.uk/property
In November 2012, Capita entered into a 15year partnership with North Tyneside Council to
deliver a range of technical services. Following
this multi-million pound investment, Capita is
now the largest consultancy service provider in
the North East employing over 450 construction
and service professionals.
13
THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 north TYNESIDE FOCUS
Next-generation
document
management
system delivers
real value
N
orth Tyneside document
management solutions
provider Datatron are forging
the way ahead with a next-generation
hybrid services product that delivers
a professionally managed document
library, at a fraction of the cost of
traditional on-site services.
Professionally archived data
provides an effective means to store
and retrieve business information
quickly and with precision. But while
the availability of legacy documentation is invaluable to businesses, even
a carefully orchestrated system can
incur large logistical and financial
burdens.
Professional data management
requires a lot of space and resource.
In the North East, prime rents exceed
£22 per square foot, and with out of
town rents costing an average of £16
per square foot, the market is still set
to rise (Office Market Pulse Report of
November 2015).
Add to that a library clerk costing
around £16,500pa, and the annual
outlay required for on-site records
management presents a challenge for
many businesses and organisations.
Datatron have now brought to the
market a business service that deals
with this costly issue. The Hybrid
DMS delivers a low-revenue
professional records management
solution with an innovative process
of archiving and distribution,
allowing the management and
workflow of documents anywhere.
Managing director David Popay
explains: “Our service allows you to
benefit from the low revenue cost of
traditional records management of
your valuable business information
coupled with the power of digital
retrieval and distribution.” All
provided by one of the UK’s leading
document management organisations.
Savings with the innovative service
are considerable, with the average
on-site cost of safely storing and
managing 100 archive boxes being
over £5,000 (based on 86 square foot
of racked space and a clerk’s wages
factored together). The Hybrid
service delivers the same volume for
>>Datatron’s purpose-built
headquarters on the Orion
Business Park
under £600.00 per year, a saving of
nearly 90%.
The system also provides a tight
layer of security and control over
distribution through its intelligent
architecture.
“Our service doesn’t just email
PDFs to you which will quickly
become uncontrolled and duplicated
by staff,” explains David. “Your hard
copy is digitised and added to our
securely-hosted DM system, and
work-flowed to the recipient. This
creates a controlled digital version
with automatic revision history and a
full audit trail.”
This smart approach differentiates
Datatron’s system from other records
management services by delivering
Where information evolves
anywhere access to your legacy documents from PC and mobile devices
while also providing a secure audit
trail throughout each document’s
lifecycle.
“Once documents are hosted,
there’s no need to pay for ongoing
physical storage as its always
available online,” adds David. “With a
full audit trail, revision history and
the tools to manage, update and
share, our clients have the benefit of
a low revenue Records Management
Service with the power of an
Enterprise Document Management
system at their fingertips”.
To find out more, visit www.
datatron.co.uk/hybrid or call 0800
328 9931.
www.datatron.co.uk
0800 328 9931
Access your entire document
library, from anywhere.
Say hello to the low-cost professional document archiving solution with a
truly innovative management and distribution system that allows you to
store and search your files online, anytime, anywhere in the world.
With a full audit trail, revision history and the tools to manage, update and share,
Datatron’s Hybrid Document Management Service gives you the benefit of a low
revenue Records Management Service with the power of an Enterprise Document
Management system at your fingertips.
Find out more at www.datatron.co.uk/hybrid
Datatron Document Image Archiving Ltd. Unit 6 Mercury, Orion Business Park, North Shields, NE29 7SN | Company Reg No. 03205346 | T: +44-191-272-8466 F: +44-191-272-8455
14 THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016
NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
Owen Pugh strengthens foothold in North Tyneside
A
NORTH EAST civil engineering firm with a 70-year history
is continuing to increase its
presence in North Tyneside – and
across the region.
The Owen Pugh Group is now
largely recognised as one of the most
successful construction businesses in
the North East, employing more than
420 staff across five sites including at
its two facilities in Dudley, North
Tyneside –home of the company
headquarters and its construction
training division.
Undertaking work across the full
civil engineering spectrum – earth
moving and demolition, drainage
and groundworks, quarrying, inert
waste and drain clearing, and CCTV
surveys, the company has local
authorities, utility firms, private
developers and industrial facilities
among its clients.
Owen Pugh has completed a raft
of business in its North Tyneside
heartland in recent years, predominantly on local authority schemes,
something which the business plans
to further expand upon in 2016.
The company’s recent bank of work
in the borough includes a lucrative
£400,000 contract to extend on-site
parking facilities at Quorum Business
Park.
Acting as principal contractor,
Owen Pugh Construction is nearing
completion of the scheme to create
1.2 acres of extra car parking incorporating 165 additional spaces.
The extension has been brought
>>Lee
Buchanan,
operations
manager at
Owen Pugh,
right, and
Fergus Trim,
director of
Broadoak
Asset
Management
on the site of
the new car
park
about by the relocation of bakery
giant Greggs.
Commenting on the contract,
which was awarded by Broadoak
Asset Management who run Quorum
Business Park on behalf of its owners,
Lee Buchanan, operations manager
at Owen Pugh Construction, said:
“We are thrilled to be working on this
project to improve and extend
parking facilities at one of the North
East’s premier business parks.
“With a team of highly skilled
operatives on board, we’ve carried
out work on similar projects before
and we’re well placed to complete
the work on time and within budget.”
In addition, the company’s
construction arm has also embarked
on a project to breathe new life into
the former Swan Hunter shipyard in
Wallsend, with the main focus of the
work being the installation of a new
central access road.
This follows on from the recent
completion of the restoration of
Quorum Business Park and work at
the Swan Hunter yard, providing
sustainable jobs and careers for local
people in the process.
“We will continue to maximise
opportunities here in our heartland
while expanding the brand across the
North East and beyond.”
With an ever-growing presence
across the North East, Owen Pugh
continues to defy the construction
industry turbulence and recently
announced a strong set of figures in
its latest annual results.
In the 12 months to March 31 2015,
Owen Pugh Group grew operating
profit by 17% to £792,000, while
turnover rose 5% to £39.3 million.
The company has also been
recognised within the Fastest 50, an
initiative run by Ward Hadaway
which highlights and celebrates the
achievements of fast-growing,
profitable companies in the North
East.
The scope of work delivered by
Owen Pugh varies from road and
Northumberland Park and the Public bridge construction, ports, harbours
Realm contract at Clifford’s Fort, both and sea defences, industrial facilities
in North Shields, together with
and office parks to urban renewal
demolition of the High Point Hotel in and environmental improvements,
readiness for new development all
land reclamation, remediation and
ultimately for North Tyneside.
environmentally sensitive schemes. Robin Armstrong, group logistics
In addition to its two Dudley
director at Owen Pugh, said: “Over
premises, Owen Pugh also operates
the past 12 months Owen Pugh has
from Blaydon, Middlesbrough and
continued to be a major contractor in Marsden Quarry near Sunderland.
North Tyneside, having had the
To find out more about the Owen
chance to work on some really
Pugh Group, visit www.owenpugh.
significant projects including
com
LEADERS IN:
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DRAINAGE
CIVIL ENGINEERING
AGGREGATES
TRAINING
BUSINESS SERVICES
DEMOLITION
EARTH MOVING
PLANT HIRE
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Civil Engineering.
New look. Same company.
Leading the way in civil engineering throughout the North East.
www.owenpugh.com
15
THE JOURNAL THURSDAY, JANUARY 28, 2016 NORTH TYNESIDE FOCUS
School’s helping to put region on global map
>>Northumbria School of English students on an outing to St Mary’s Lighthouse, Whitley Bay
O
NE small business in North
Tyneside has been quietly
working hard to promote the
region overseas and to enhance the
diversity of a small seaside town.
Northumbria School of English is
an independent family-run school
for international students, specialising in university preparation and
summer schools for young learners
and teenagers.
Based in Whitley Bay and accredited by the British Council, the school
was established by Christine Goodwin,
and took its first student in September
2008. Since then more than 2,000
students from more than 60 different
countries have attended courses,
establishing strong links with the
region and friendships with local
people.
Marketing overseas to international agents, school and group leaders,
parents and students themselves, is a
vital part of the work of the school
and potential customers will choose
not only the course and the school
but the location too.
Efforts in promoting Whitley Bay
and the region abroad earned the
school a North Tyneside Business
Award in the category Putting North
Tyneside on the Map in December.
The school makes a substantial
contribution to the local economy,
providing jobs for local teachers and
support staff, generating income to
local families who provide accommodation for students, and employ-
ing local coach companies to transport
groups of students to the innumerable
attractions of the region as part of the
very important social programme.
Summer is the busiest time, when
large groups of youngsters come to
stay. The emphasis is always on high
quality teaching and learning but
there is also time for fun. Geordie
lessons, wacky races on the beach
and broomstick training lessons at
Alnwick Castle are very popular.
The programme offers a mix of
cultural visits, excursions, sports and
challenges, and the region is a very
special part of what the school offers
– and once students discover it, they
value the safety and security, the
friendliness of the local people
including the welcoming host
families, the landscape and beaches
and many return again and again.
The links and friendships that are
formed with the school, the town and
the local families will endure into the
future.
Metnor invests in borough
METNOR Group, one of North
Tyneside’s longest established
businesses, is looking forward to
another successful year in 2016 as it
continues to expand its presence in
the borough.
Metnor can trace its roots back to
the early 1960s. It originally operated
in the shipbuilding industry from
premises in Hadrian Road, Wallsend,
but moved to its current premises on
the Camperdown Industrial Estate in
Killingworth in 1993 when it
acquired the business of Norstead
Mechanical and Electrical Contractors.
The group’s business has grown
and changed dramatically in the
intervening years and it now
operates both locally and nationally
in the construction, mechanical and
electrical engineering and property
sectors – but its roots remain firmly
in North Tyneside with many of its
staff hailing from the area.
The group’s property investment
division has recently increased its
North Tyneside presence with the
acquisition of Balliol House and
Victory House on the Balliol Business
Park, Longbenton and is actively
looking to make further investments
in the region. The group’s other
businesses are more widespread and
are well placed to deliver a strong
performance in 2016. Metnor
Construction has an order book in
excess of £50m, including student
accommodation buildings in
Newcastle and Kingston upon
Thames, and care home projects in
Edinburgh and Surrey.
Norstead has an order book in
excess of £20m and is currently on
site undertaking mechanical and
electrical installations at various
hospital and pharmaceutical
facilities throughout the country as it
continues its growth in these sectors.
The group’s subsidiary in Great
Yarmouth, which supplies specialist
hydrostatic pressure testing equipment predominantly to the oil and
gas industry, is being affected – along
with the rest of the oil and gas sector
– by the current low oil price, but is
continuing to adapt to the changing
circumstances.
The Metnor group’s headquarters
are at Metnor House, Mylord
Crescent, Camperdown Industrial
Estate, Killingworth. For further
information about the group, visit
www.metnor.co.uk
>>Metnor’s recently-completed Rosedale Court student accommodation in Newcastle