Scientific research into the development of new cancer treatments across the UK is vital, with accurate new medicines and therapies, such as immuno‐oncology, being introduced to help ensure an increase in survival rates among patients. In line with the developments, new cancer care centres are being opened to provide these
GHD, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, is pleased to announce that it has been appointed by Transport for London (TfL) as its Traffic Engineering Support Partner to support the delivery of feasibility and concept design packages for projects within its Roads, Streets and Places department’s cycling portfolio. Notably,
Momentum Group launches ‘Rebound’ support service to help businesses as they face perfect storm of Brexit and Covid New statistics published by HRMC reveal that a total of £175 million was paid out to UK construction firms in research and development (R&D) Tax Credits, up a whopping 94 per cent
The Apartment Group (TAG), a North East leisure operator, has expanded its portfolio with the purchase of two County Durham hotels through specialist business property adviser Christie & Co. The two purchases joining The Apartment Group’s portfolio of hotels, restaurants, bars and wedding venues located across the North East of
Arthur McKay, a leading building support services provider in the UK and an Atalian Servest company, has appointed Steve Wallbanks as Managing Director to spearhead growth. With more than 30 years’ experience in the FM industry, Steve will be responsible for steering the strategic direction of the company and expanding
Scientific research into the development of new cancer treatments across the UK is vital, with accurate new medicines and therapies, such as immuno‐oncology, being introduced to help ensure an increase in survival rates among patients. In line with the developments, new cancer care centres are being opened to provide these bespoke treatments for patients. Building Design Partnership (BDP), an international architecture firm, was appointed to design a new 11-storey cancer centre in the heart of Liverpool – the city’s first dedicated cancer hospital that comes as part of a £162 million investment in cancer centres in the region. With cleanliness, hygiene and inclusive design in mind, BDP turned to PPG Architectural Coatings to provide a Johnstone’s Trade paint specification for Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool. Ensured durability The new cancer centre has been designed to complement the existing Clatterbridge centres in Wirral and Aintree. It incorporates state-of-the-art facilities for radiotherapy, chemotherapy, diagnostics and imaging, outpatients, daycase treatments, bone marrow transplant, a Teenage & Young Adult Unit, clinical therapies, and a wide range of cancer information and support services. The centre will care for a total population of around 2.4 million people from across Merseyside, Chester and further areas, as well as carry out clinical trials of new cancer treatments. In an environment where cleaning, sanitation and hygiene practices are of the highest importance, BDP needed to provide a coatings solution that could be thoroughly cleaned regularly, while retaining a high-quality finish and colour. On the recommendation of the project’s main contractor, Laing O’Rourke, BDP specified a range of Johnstone’s Trade paints including Acrylic Durable Matt. Acrylic Durable Matt is a premium emulsion, designed to provide a tough, durable finish. With a Class 1 Scrub Rating, it is ideal for high traffic areas that need regular cleaning – such as healthcare environments. The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre provides specialist chemotherapy and other drug therapies and services so, when it came to specifying paints, it was critical that BDP provided a durable solution with hygiene and quality in mind. As the building will be home to a high number of vulnerable patients and need to be extremely clean at all times, it was crucial that the paint chosen could withstand regular wear and be cleaned and scrubbed regularly, without compromising on quality or colour. For BDP, Acrylic Durable Matt was the perfect solution. Johnstone’s Trade Microbarr Anti Bacterial Acrylic Matt was also used in the Brachytherapy Suite, and HDR and Anaesthetic rooms. Formulated using Silver Ion technology, the coating is a suitable choice for healthcare settings like Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool as it to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria and infections, while having a tough, easily washable finish. Aesthetically pleasing design Another consideration throughout the cancer centre was design and colour. BDP proposed a colour scheme that tied the building and departments together, starting with the referencing of one of The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust’s corporate colours at the main entrance levels. BDP wanted to create an environment that was inclusive for all patients, visitors and staff within the centre, taking into account dementia-friendly design while also matching the Trust’s colours – the output of their design needed to be the perfect balance. PPG helped them to do this with its colour-matching service. They worked in collaboration and consulted with dementia specialists to develop the colour scheme, to ensure the design took into account their needs as well as looking good. BDP used the bold Trust colours in the reception areas within the building, and worked with PPG to create tonal variations that were used throughout the corridors and rooms on each floor. Each floor had its own colour identity from the PPG Voice of Colour collection. A calming range of blues such as Mystic Iris and Ocean Skies were included within the inpatients ward, contrasting with bright, bold greens such as Be Spontaneous and Funky Frog in the reception area. Mike Lee, specification development manager at PPG, said: “We’ve worked with BDP on the design and development of Clatterbridge Cancer Centre – Liverpool since they were first appointed and we’ve really seen the building come to life. The centre will be vital in providing care for cancer patients and research into new treatments, and its design has been centred around ensuring patients and staff have a clean, comfortable and visually appealing environment. The finished interior looks great and our Johnstone’s Trade products will ensure the building is protected for many years to come.” For more information about Johnstone’s Trade, visit: www.johnstonestrade.com.
GHD, one of the world’s leading professional services companies, is pleased to announce that it has been appointed by Transport for London (TfL) as its Traffic Engineering Support Partner to support the delivery of feasibility and concept design packages for projects within its Roads, Streets and Places department’s cycling portfolio. Notably, GHD will help develop the feasibility design for Cycle Future Route 15 (CFR 15), which will link Streatham to Oval and is one of 25 routes identified by TfL as having the highest potential demand for cycling in London. CFR 15 is part of TfL’s Healthy Streets Approach, a system of policies and strategies to deliver a healthier, more inclusive city where people choose to walk, cycle and use public transport, in line with the Mayor’s Transport Strategy. Work has been accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic as part of TfL’s new Streetspace for London programme, which aims to create more space for people to safely walk or cycle as London emerges from the coronavirus lockdown, in order to avoid a car-based recovery. Following a competitive tender process, GHD was appointed to TfL’s four-year Traffic Engineering Support Partner Framework on account of its specialist sector experience, which includes developing financially viable multi-modal road design solutions, road and traffic safety, and traffic modelling. As TfL’s exclusive Traffic Engineering Support Partner, GHD has mobilised quickly on the project and will provide dedicated resource over the next four years. The GHD team has been assembled from across the company’s global network and is centered around TfL’s specific requirements. A combined TfL and GHD team have recently worked on designs for the A23 Streatham Hill Healthy Streets scheme, where the primary objective is to bring about a ‘step change’ in the street design and public realm quality. This is mainly being achieved by enabling informal pedestrian crossings to help improve accessibility, while also providing cycling infrastructure and addressing vehicles’ speed. Working in collaboration with Lambeth Council, TfL and GHD prepared multiple preliminary and feasibility designs to achieve this along a 1km stretch of the A23 Streatham Hill. Special considerations were given to mitigating the impact of the scheme on bus journey times and ensuring that the design of the crossings was inclusive for mobility and visually impaired users. The TfL and GHD team will now develop CFR 15 feasibility designs between Oval Station and Pendennis Road in Streatham over the next six months to April 2021. The team will also design temporary cycle lanes that will be instated along the entire length of CFR 15 to encourage more walking and cycling in the current COVID-19 environment. GHD has a long and successful track record of working with TfL, having previously been awarded contracts under its Transport Planning & Impact Monitoring, Engineering, and Project Management Frameworks. Craig Adams, TfL Client Account Director and Traffic Engineering Team Leader at GHD, said: “We are delighted to be supporting TfL’s design team once again, as work on Cycle Future Route 15 kicks off at an accelerated pace on account of the COVID-19 pandemic. This route will be an important addition to London’s cycling infrastructure, which is playing a more vital role than ever before on account of social distancing requirements on the public transport network. It has never been more important to get Londoners out walking and cycling, and the Healthy Streets Approach is key to making this happen by improving the experience of being on London’s streets. We look forward to supporting TfL once again as it works to make the capital’s streets safer and more pleasant, with reduced pollution and enhanced accessibility, for the benefit of the wider London community.” With regards to the A23 Streatham Hill Healthy Streets scheme designs, Kieran Hutley, TfL’s Principal Sponsor, Lambeth – Network Sponsorship – Investment Delivery Planning, said: “Will Norman, the Mayor of London’s Walking & Cycling Commissioner, was very impressed that the combined TfL and GHD team had managed to reduce the bus journey time delays, as well as design a scheme with segregated cycle facilities and straight-across pedestrian crossings, achieving the TfL Healthy Streets objectives.”
Momentum Group launches ‘Rebound’ support service to help businesses as they face perfect storm of Brexit and Covid New statistics published by HRMC reveal that a total of £175 million was paid out to UK construction firms in research and development (R&D) Tax Credits, up a whopping 94 per cent from £90 million according to statistics released this time last year. The number of claims has also jumped from 1,790 to 3,055, an increase of 71 per cent, but still only represents 6% of all claims across the scheme. The figures were released as R&D Tax Credit specialists, The Momentum Group launched its ‘Rebound’ support service which aims to assist businesses by maximising their uptake of all available grants and R&D tax benefits offered by the UK government. Commenting on the latest statistics, Tom Verner, MD of The Momentum Group said; “These new figures for the construction industry are very welcome and reflect increased innovation specifically in areas such as the reduction of firms’ carbon footprint. “However, the industry still only represents 6% of claims across the scheme and we believe there are still a great many innovative construction companies missing out on potentially tens of thousands of pounds in R&D Tax Credits. The ‘Manufacturing’, ‘Professional, Scientific and Technical’, and ‘Information and Communication’ sectors continued to have the greatest volume of claims, making up a total of 66% and 71% of the total monetary amount claimed for 2018-19.” Mr Verner added; “The launch of our Rebound support service comes in response to the dual challenge for businesses operating under the looming threat of a no-trade deal Brexit and an ongoing global pandemic. We are all in this together and at Momentum we have been offering, and will continue to offer, free claims advice to companies during these pressured times. “We believe in the ‘bouncebackability’ of businesses across the UK. That word was first coined by Crystal Palace manager, Iain Dowie when describing how his team went from the fringes of relegation to being promoted and I am confident Momentum can help businesses look to a brighter future after the unparalleled difficulties of 2020.” To further underline the commitment to research and development support, at the last budget Chancellor, Rishi Sunak pledged to increase spending on overall R&D to £22billion per year by 2024-25. Mr Verner said; “Between the £38billion spent by the Government on Bounce Back loans for businesses affected by the Covid pandemic, and the potential tax relief that can be claimed in R&D, there is so much support for businesses out there but awareness and understanding of the latter remains stubbornly poor.” “But often in uncertain times, businesses are driven to be more innovative and this work can qualify for R&D Tax Credits. 2020 has been an incredibly difficult year for business with Covid-19 generating great uncertainty and it is likely the monetary value of claims will be lower in the next period due to issues such as staff being on furlough. However, in our view, it is vital that companies thoroughly examine their R&D activities now to ensure all opportunities for support are explored.” “For example, a number of companies joined the fight against Covid-19 by switching production to make medical items, PPE and hand sanitiser. This work will have required a degree of R&D and it is right these companies receive the financial support they are entitled to. “In addition, the government has committed to processing claims within 28 days, meaning successful claims could have an immediate positive impact on balance sheets at a time when cash flow is critical. “Momentum can help, we recognise that businesses will know their own sectors inside out but often struggle when it comes to understanding what qualifies for R&D Tax Credit claims. “Our Rebound support service aims to work directly with companies to conduct strategic reviews of their business before putting strategies in place to identify wide-ranging R&D and innovation opportunities.” To learn more about R&D Tax Credits available to companies and to calculate how much you could receive visit: https://www.momentumgroupni.com/
The Apartment Group (TAG), a North East leisure operator, has expanded its portfolio with the purchase of two County Durham hotels through specialist business property adviser Christie & Co. The two purchases joining The Apartment Group’s portfolio of hotels, restaurants, bars and wedding venues located across the North East of England are Whitworth Hall Hotel & Deer Park and Jersey Farm Country Hotel. For the future, the company plans to invest millions of pounds at both sites. Whitworth Hall & Deer Park is a grade II-listed mansion that dates back to the 17th century. Meanwhile, the Jersey Farm Hotel, located just outside of Barnard Castle, will be renamed as Runa Farm. “It is our plan to create an individual and special destination for boho, honest and earthy experiences, with the farm and its produce at the very heart. As well as laid-back and luxurious standout bedrooms and suites, you will also find cool glamping at Runa Farm, courtesy of the fabulous shepherd’s huts and pig houses, intended for guests looking to spend time learning about nature, life on the farm and each other,” said Chief operating officer Debrah Dhugga. “Our plans for Whitworth Hall are completely different to Runa Farm. Where Runa Farm will be luxurious boho and earthy, Whitworth will be an excess of opulence, sophistication and glamour, with a Chapel, ballroom, and bedroom suites like nothing else in the UK.” The sales were completed by Mark Worley, director at Christie & Co. “The sales point to the healthy demand for hospitality businesses in the north east region at present, particularly those which are able to host weddings, and which are reliant on leisure-based trade. The foreign travel restrictions imposed upon us all, have benefitted the domestic pub and hotel industry and as wedding income has been pushed into next year and beyond, hospitality buyers can now see the financial appeal of purchasing this type of business,” commented Mark. Runa Farm will be open at the end of 2020, with Whitworth Hall following on in early 2021.
Arthur McKay, a leading building support services provider in the UK and an Atalian Servest company, has appointed Steve Wallbanks as Managing Director to spearhead growth. With more than 30 years’ experience in the FM industry, Steve will be responsible for steering the strategic direction of the company and expanding the its service offerings. He brings a wealth of knowledge and technical expertise that will be fundamental in improving service quality. Steve joins Arthur McKay following his role as Integration Director UK, US & Asia at parent company Atalian Servest for the last two years. Prior to this he worked for Servest SA, in Johannesburg, as CEO South Africa & Africa Business. Steve Wallbanks said: “I’m pleased to be joining the Arthur McKay team and I am excited about heading up this growing business. Having worked with Atalian Servest for the last two years I have a clear understanding of the proposed development initiatives for Arthur McKay and I’m proud to be driving these forward with the rest of the team.” Commenting on Steves’ appointment, Daniel Dickson, CEO UK & Ireland, Atalian Servest said: “Steve brings with him the expertise to really drive forward new projects for Arthur McKay, challenging traditional service approaches to enhance customer experience in the process. I know Steve and his team will continue to deliver the highest standards of operation that the company is known for.”
