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Transport for the North wins prestigious CIHT Transport Planning Award

Transport

Sam Whitear

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23/06/2020

Transport for the North wins prestigious CIHT Transport Planning Award

Transport for the North has scooped a prestigious industry award after setting out a 30-year vision for investment in the region.

The statutory, sub-national transport body took home the Transport Planning Award at the 2020 CIHT Awards for its Strategic Transport Plan (STP).

The STP, published in February 2019, sets out a vison for the North where world-class transport supports sustainable economic growth, excellent quality of life and improved opportunities for all. Drawn up and agreed by civic and business leaders, it sets out how the economy can be ‘levelled up’ through a pipeline of coordinated investments.

It details how sustained, pan-Northern investment in transport infrastructure can support transformational economic growth and provide opportunities for the region’s people and businesses for generations to come.

Judges commented that the entry was “An outstanding project with a clear vison to provide a strategic travel plan for a complex area. The scheme was grounded in engagement and produced a good evidence base with clear benefits to society.”

Barry White, Chief Executive of Transport for the North, said:

“On behalf of the North’s people and businesses we’re delighted to receive the CIHT Transport Planning Award.

“The Strategic Transport Plan represents the first time that political and business leaders from across the North have come together to outline a shared vision for the future of our region – it is a plan by the North for the North.

“This award is a credit to the collaborative effort of our Members, partners, and colleagues, who all worked tirelessly to deliver the STP last year.

“Their efforts have only increased since then, and the need for strategic investment in our roads and railways is as vital as ever. Together we’ll continue to make the case for “levelling up” our region through infrastructure projects which will aid economic recovery and support future growth.”

The Transport Planning Award category “celebrates the value of transport planning in achieving positive outcomes for the benefit of the public, in creating new communities or on reducing the adverse impact of transport in communities.”

Specialist entertainment consultancy Sundae to lead communications for Lost Horizon, the world’s largest music and art festival in virtual reality.That’s

Creative

Sam Whitear

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23/06/2020

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Festival from the team behind Shangri-La at Glastonbury, will feature line up of global superstar artists, in support of The Big Issue and Amnesty International UK.

Specialist entertainment consultancy, Sundae Communications, is leading publicity, social media and marketing for new independent virtual reality music and arts festival, Lost Horizon, created by the team behind Shangri-La at Glastonbury in partnership with Sansar and VRJAM.

The ground-breaking festival, taking place on 3rd & 4th July, has been created to support The Big Issue and Amnesty International, and also as an outlet and platform for all the creatives whose season of work has been cancelled.

The result of a whirlwind lockdown development process, Lost Horizon is set to be the world’s largest music and art festival in virtual reality, featuring four stages, (Freedom, Gas Tower, Nomad and SHITV), some of which Shangri-La regulars will recognise, with more than 50 music acts, over than 100 artists, 50 plus films, and an incredible 250 artworks.

With a star-studded line up, featuring Andy C, Carl Cox, Fatboy Slim, Jamie Jones, Noisia (DJ set), Peggy Gou and Seth Troxler on the Gas Tower stage, programmed by Orca Sound Project, plus A. Skillz, Alabama 3, Coldcut, Frank Turner, My Baby, My Bad Sister and Krafty Kuts on Global Local’s Freedom Stage, the festival is expecting to reach a huge audience across the world.

In addition, Nomad will feature underground acts, whilst SHITV is the festival’s media centre, screening films from the absurd to the enlightened, from the sidelines, frontlines and back-stages of alternative culture.

The whole event is an epic undertaking, condensing years of work into a few months, and Sundae is looking after press, social media and marketing, plus working with partner agency Instruct Studio, who created the Lost Horizon brand and website.

Sundae announced Lost Horizon at the start of June, to a tremendous global reaction, with over 250 outlets across the globe covering the news in 48 hours. There has been huge social impact, generatin nearly 2 million impressions in just over a week.

Sundae MD, Fiona McGarva comments: “This is a once in a lifetime, dream come true project. Lost Horizon is at the forefront of VR for music and art, creating something that has never been considered before, and setting the bar incredibly high.

“I was elated, but not surprised when the team first got in touch with the initial idea, as it is in their make up to push boundaries, whilst always thinking about the greater good before themselves. The most important outcome for us is to raise as much support as we can for both The Big Issue and Amnesty International UK.”

Kaye Dunnings, creative director of Lost Horizon and Shangri-La comments: “Working with Fiona and Sundae is an absolute dream! Dealing with Shangri-La is a pretty overwhelming task – the chaotic nature of how we work and the ridiculous amount of content we have to share is a challenge that Fiona and her team have absolutely risen above. The communication is consistently smooth, the messaging is always so clear between us and the outside world; we feel supported and championed, respected and totally secure in every way.

“Sundae spent a lot of time getting to know us, our ethos, our vibe, how we speak, our tastes, it runs very deep, and this is why they get such incredible results. The way Fiona and co-manage to keep up with constant changes, working between a field in Somerset and now the virtual festival, keeping us in check and on deadline, as well as assisting us with assets and design, also needs mentioning – it’s just incredible. Fiona’s attention to detail is unsurpassed – nothing gets missed, and she is just so wonderful to work with – her humour, kindness, understanding and fierceness blows my mind every day. I bloody love her! ”

Lost Horizon is fully interactive and multi-stage event to explore via PC, VR or mobile app (iOS and Android) and streamed live and direct to wherever you are on the planet via Beatport and Twitch, and via partner and artist Facebook, YouTube and Twitch accounts. The festival is a deep multi-layered experience, filled with wild dance-floors, secret headliners, a visual feast of art and performance, hidden venues and huge artists.

Also featured is a partnership with Manchester cultural organisation Design Manchester whose co-director Malcolm Garrett curating a new virtual reality exhibition, known as Yours Truthfully with Lost Horizon creative director Kaye Dunnings, bringing in globally recognised graphic designers including Paula Scher, Morag Myerscough and Patrick Thomas, all of whom have appeared at DM events. Prints of their virtual work will be available to purchase in aid of The Big Issue and Amnesty UK.

Founded in 2011, Sundae produces high profile press and publicity campaigns for clients in television, film, festivals, venues and events, working with global brands, international broadcasters and independent creative businesses.

Sundae’s recent and ongoing work includes campaigns for Everyman Cinema Group, Manchester’s city-wide creative festival Design Manchester, Channel 5’s Milkshake!, Leopard Pictures, London Short Film Festival and Channel 4.

Corecom Consulting appoints Sam Hameed as Associate Director

Appointments

Sam Whitear

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23/06/2020

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Corecom Consulting appoints Sam Hameed as Associate Director

The UK’s Leading IT Recruitment Company, Corecom Consulting, has expanded with the appointment of Sam Hameed as Associate Director.

Sam joins after eight years at iSource Group, most recently as Associate Director, where he built a 500k per annum IT Architecture practice and was responsible for managing a team of 15 experienced consultants. This is as well as holding an operational role for the company’s technology events business.

His experience covers identifying and placing exceptional technology talent within organisations predominately within IT Architecture and Senior Appointments across a variety of IT markets, .NET Development, Data, Analytics & AI, Change & Transformation and Programme Delivery. Sam’s successes so far include successfully placing a number of high-profile positions within Media, Insurance and IT Security, as well partnering with a number of household name brands.

Sam, who will be based primarily at the company’s Manchester office, said:

“Having been at my previous organisation for eight years, it was always going to be a huge step starting something new and pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.

“What attracted me to Corecom Consulting was the company’s ambitious growth plans, fantastic leadership, the people, the business and the community and charity partnerships they are involved with. The company has secured numerous award shortlists and wins for these achievements.

“I’m really excited about developing and growing the company’s brand and market presence in Manchester – the opportunities here are endless with it being the UK’s number one tech location outside of London.”

Jonathan Sanderson, Managing Director at Corecom Consulting, said:

“We are delighted to welcome Sam to the management team. He brings with him fantastic energy and enthusiasm for the team and the company, with values which are very closely aligned with ours.

“We are looking forward to seeing Sam manage and grow the Manchester office through new client acquisition, account development and our market offering, as well as his focus on the Senior Appointments and IT Architecture market.”

Manchester Data Centre Announces £2 Million Investment into Expansion Project TeleData to increase its data centre footprint by 7000ft2

Investment

Sam Whitear

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23/06/2020

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Manchester Data Centre Announces £2 Million Investment into Expansion Project TeleData to increase its data centre footprint by 7000ft2

Manchester cloud hosting and data centre operator, TeleData, has announced the start of a 7000ft2 data centre expansion project at its Delta House facility in Wythenshawe, increasing its offering at a time where the firm says, capacity is nearing a critical point – particularly in Manchester.

The project, into which the business will be investing up to £2 Million, will bring online up to 200 server racks for customers, in a range of configurations, within highly resilient Tier 3 space – news which is also attracting additional fibre providers to the data centre. These fibre providers are investing heavily into the expansion of their own networks to deliver diverse solutions to network intensive clients hosted at the carrier neutral facility, increasing high capacity connectivity and dark fibre options for TeleData customers.

The expansion will make use of the most advanced technologies available to ensure maximum efficiencies, and the entire facility will benefit from a number of non-disruptive changes to power and cooling systems to improve resilience even further. The business is also implementing advanced monitoring systems and intelligent Building Management Systems (BMS) which will make TeleData one of the most intelligent facilities in the UK, bringing together monitoring and alerting processes that are enhanced by machine learning.

Matt Edgley, TeleData Commercial Director commented; “TeleData is expanding at a time when available data centre capacity is nearing a critical point, particularly in Manchester, with a serious lack of new investment into high quality supply coming from other providers in the region. As the world emerges from the current pandemic situation, data centres form an increasingly important part of the national fabric, enabling remote and flexible working with high capacity networking and compute solutions to ensure peace of mind. Customers who are serious about their technology, the environment and effective continuity of key services should be considering TeleData as a provider as we strive to keep our facility ahead of the technology curve. Our new data centres will be able to accommodate anything from quarter racks and half racks to dedicated suites or rooms, and phase one of the expansion will be complete in Q4 of 2020.”

This announcement comes after the firm made a six figure investment into its cloud platform in 2019, as well as a £1.2 Million investment into energy efficiencies – TeleData recently became the first UK colocation facility to join the smart grid with battery storage, as part of a project to improve environmental efficiencies with low loss transformer and voltage optimisation, boosting the resilience of the facility by improving the shelf life of equipment, while reducing unnecessary energy waste and optimising the incoming power supply.

TeleData has also recently announced the release of private cloud and private cloud desktop products to expand its portfolio even further and provide key solutions that are designed to help businesses accelerate their digital transformation.

Based in Wythenshawe, TeleData provides colocation, cloud hosting, workplace recovery and data centre services to businesses across the UK. The firm’s solutions are designed to enable organisations to protect their applications, data and online presence from the damaging effects of downtime, and to make the most effective and efficient use of technology with secure and scalable hosting platforms tailored to business critical needs. The building has some of the most sophisticated security of any data centre in Europe, with an on-site police-linked, NSI Gold Approved, BS5979 certified control room and alarm receiving centre making TeleData unique in the UK.

THE JUICE ACADEMY LAUNCHES NATIONAL PROGRAMME TO HELP BUSINESSES RECOVER FROM THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Business support

Sam Whitear

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23/06/2020

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THE JUICE ACADEMY LAUNCHES NATIONAL PROGRAMME TO HELP BUSINESSES RECOVER FROM THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 LOCKDOWN

Multi-award-winning Manchester-based digital marketing apprenticeship programme, The Juice Academy, has launched a new online course for apprentices outside of the North West for the first time.

Designed to support businesses as they face the challenges of adapting business models, moving services online and increasing their adoption of technology due to the impact of Covid-19, The Juice Academy’s new remote-learning offering aims to equip apprentices with the strategic social media and practical content creation skills needed to aid a business’s future competitiveness.

Young people across the UK are also feeling the effects of the coronavirus, from rising unemployment rates, to fewer job opportunities and the cancellation of careers eventsl. The Juice Academy’s new digital delivery aims to intervene and provide access to essential skills.

Juice Academy founder and chair, Sandy Lindsay MBE, said: “The Juice Academy has created over 350 jobs for young people since 2013 and, due to the classroom-based teaching model we adopted, we’ve been focused up until this point in supporting businesses and apprentices in the North West.

“Over the years, we’ve often had employers from other cities ask if they could place an apprentice with us. Since the advent of Covid-19, we’ve found that our tutors and apprentices are more than comfortable delivering and accessing their classes via online platforms. As such, we are now confident that a remote course is not only possible but essential as part of our commitment to creating jobs for young people.”

The apprenticeship is a Junior Content Producer Level 3 Standard, which covers content planning, development, creation and evaluation for digital platforms and lasts approximately 15 months. The Academy can help employers recruit and vet a new apprentice or employers can place current members of staff on the programme free of charge*.

“With many employers looking to unfurlough current employees between now and October, but uncertain about roles, this could be the solution,” Sandy continued. “The Juice Academy can reskill employees for a new digital marketing role, which could be especially useful now as, for many brands, online presence will be key to recovery.”

The Academy’s USP is that all training is delivered by practicing specialists from The Academy’s sister business, Tangerine Communications, as well as specialist sectoral guest lecturers, which ensures that it is 100% current and relevant; an essential ingredient for a digital marketing course.

The Juice Academy is a not for profit organisation, which was set up to fill a digital skills gap and create quality roles in digital marketing/social media for young people. It has created over 350 jobs in top North West firms since its creation seven years ago and takes in a new cohort every quarter. The first remote intake will be placed in mid-September and employers and young people can visit: www.juiceacademy.co.uk to apply to be part of it.

Employers are required to pay a minimum salary to the apprentice of £10,000 for the first 12 months and National Living Wage for the remainder of the course. Apprentices will take part in the course online, with the exception of three full days of interactive, practical classes in Manchester during the first year. More details about the programme, including *training costs for levy paying employers can be found on the website.

KOMI group launches Ark Media – its new licensing, syndication and rights management division

Creative

Sam Whitear

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23/06/2020

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KOMI group launches Ark Media – its new licensing, syndication and rights management division

KOMI group – the Manchester headquartered social media marketing company which rebranded from It’s Gone Viral earlier this month – has launched a brand new division called Ark Media which aims to be the market leader in user-generated content, connecting creators and distributors. Its core services are licensing, syndication and rights management.

Ark Media is the third division to fall under the KOMI group umbrella alongside KOMI Media, which creates and builds bespoke social channels, and KOMI Social, which focusses on content production, content distribution and social media management for brands.

Ark Media’s licensing team focuses on placing some of the best videos on the web in TV shows, in advertisements, on websites and social media channels. Its dedicated sales staff and content partners present videos to buyers around the world, whilst media professionals are able to search Ark’s archive for the latest exclusive videos.

The syndication department works with clients by representing and syndicating their videos to the likes of MSN, AOL, and Yahoo. Its aim is to ensure owners generate as much revenue as possible from commercial purchasers.

The rights management team is focused on targeting piracy and unauthorised use of video content whilst also ensuring clients are compensated properly if they do fall victim.

Andrew Trotman said: “We are incredibly excited about the launch of Ark Media. Over the past few years, It’s Gone Viral and the other pages under the KOMI group umbrella have grown to become some of the leading content suppliers gathering hundreds of millions of views and interactions each month. Establishing Ark Media was an obvious move for us as our video library hosts some of the most viral clips shared online.”

Ryan added: “Central to our ethos is rewarding content creators fairly whilst also supplying brands and entertainment companies with the most amazing and unique videos.”

KOMI group, previously known as It’s Gone Viral, was founded in 2016 and is led by Andrew Trotman and Ryan Williams. Over the past four years, its team of content creators, analysts and video producers have made and then distributed video content and viral campaign adverts for international brands such as BBC Films, O2, Universal, Bud Light and Disney.

Content has been shared across its Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts including the It’s Gone Viral page, which is dedicated to relatable, informative and educational content; as well as Go Fetch, a platform for dog lovers to connect with one another; Happiest, which focusses on bringing the most entertaining and uplifting content and real life stories; and Ultimate DIY which is all about sharing fascinating and clever DIY, crafts and hacks followers can do at home.

The last six months has seen the company reach various milestones including delivering over six billion views across its portfolio of pages, relocating its HQ to Beehive Mill in Ancoats, reporting its highest ever NewsWhip results, acquiring social media brand Happiest Media Ltd and appointing Urban Splash’s Sam Lenehan as its new non-exec director.

Manchester-based B2B digital marketing agency announces new rebrand

Creative

Sam Whitear

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23/06/2020

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Manchester-based B2B digital marketing agency announces new rebrand

BW Marketing, a B2B digital marketing agency based in Ancoats, Manchester, has rebranded and is now officially called List and Found.

The rebrand began in October 2019.

Chris Bardsley, the Founder of List and Found said: “A lot has changed in the two years we’ve been operating. ‘BW’, for starters, was a combination of initials of two founders, and now there’s just one!

“But more importantly, the business has grown beyond just me. With staff, collaborators and a bunch of clients involved, we needed something that represented who we are.

“The team that worked with us on the rebrand – Adrian Bentley, Sean Booth, Lorrie Hartshorn & Create8, have all given us an identity we can be proud of and a platform that will help us achieve our ambitious goals over the coming years.”

In the last 12 months, List and Found has won clients across the North West, including the UK’s leading cleaning product distributor, Robert Scott, and The Staff College, who have recently been awarded a £3m Government tender.

Forbes Solicitors hosts lockdown sleep out for charity Backup

CSR

Sam Whitear

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22/06/2020

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Forbes Solicitors hosts lockdown sleep out for charity Backup

Forbes Solicitors has raised £915.00 for Bolton-based charity Backup by taking part in a lockdown sleep out fundraiser.

Backup, was founded in 1992 in partnership with Bolton Council and Irwell Valley Housing, is a charity that helps young people develop skills for independence and prevent homelessness providing temporary supported accommodation to people aged 16-25 in Bolton.

Forbes Solicitors’ housing and regeneration team supports and advises a number of charities, local authorities and registered providers of social and affordable housing, including a number who work closely with Backup.

Volunteers at the firm signed up to take part in Backup’s Spring Sleepout scheduled for April but unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus, the fundraising event was cancelled. However, to continue showing support, Jennifer Hankinson who leads the Housing & Regeneration (Property) team at Forbes Solicitors opted to take part in a ‘lockdown sleepout’, spending the night in her garden.

Jennifer Hankinson, Partner at Forbes Solicitors and head of Housing & Regeneration, said: “We see first-hand the impact of the housing crisis and the great amount of work that is done by the committed teams who transform lives through the commitment to this cause.

“The impact of Coronavirus has been devastating for charities. Many charities now face a huge funding shortfall because the usual calendar of fundraising events have been cancelled, which is why we felt it was important to continue to show our support with the lockdown sleepout.

“Homelessness is an ever-increasing issue unfortunately and charities such as Backup are really important, providing specialist help and support to those young people who perhaps feel unsafe at ‘home’ and so would rather take to the streets or who perhaps have nowhere they can call ‘home’.”

PHASE TWO OF TRAFFORD RETAIL PARK REACHES PRACTIAL COMPLETION

Property

Sam Whitear

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22/06/2020

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PHASE TWO OF TRAFFORD RETAIL PARK REACHES PRACTIAL COMPLETION

The second phase of Trafford Retail Park has reached practical completion with fit out work now commencing on the new Aldi and Starbucks drive-thru stores.

With the 1,800 sq ft Starbucks drive-thru unit set to open in July 2020 followed by the 18,568 sq ft Aldi following later in the year, the stores will join an already strong line up of retailers including Dunelm, Food Warehouse, Nando’s and B&M and are set to further boost the park’s 4.8 million annual footfall figure.

Havercroft Construction was the main contractor for the works at the Barton Road scheme, instructed by Peel L&P’s retail parks team which received planning approval in March 2019.

Roger Wheeldon, Director of Development for Peel L&P’s Retail Parks said: “During these uncertain and testing times, it is fantastic to see phase two complete at Trafford Retail Park. Our main contractor, Havercroft have shown great resilience and worked hard to keep the project moving under very difficult conditions. The new phase of the park adds additional parking including parent and child and disabled spaces, electric vehicle charging points including fast charging and CCTV for security.

Peel L&P have also made a substantial financial contribution to offsite highway improvement works that will be carried out in due course by Trafford Borough Council.

Grant Bailey, Director of Havercroft Construction said: “Our successful delivery of phase two at Trafford Retail Park is quite simply a result of the sheer determination and dedication of our project team and supply chain and I thank each and every one of them. Alongside this, Peel L&P have been entirely supportive and pro-active in their approach under difficult circumstances and I am delighted at the outcome for everyone. It is encouraging to see a demand for new retail property and I would like to thank Peel L&P for this opportunity.”

Savills and Avison Young were the letting agents for phase two of Trafford Retail Park. Phase two of Trafford Retail Park has been pre-sold to Azko Nobel Cif Nominees Limited for an undisclosed sum. Nick Short of Prime Retail represented Peel L&P in the sale.

Located within TraffordCity, one of the UK’s leading retail and leisure destinations and close to intu Trafford Centre, Trafford Retail Park has over 740 free parking spaces, with an additional 143 spaces being built to service the new development.

MANCHESTER AIRPORT LAUNCHES SAFE TRAVEL MEASURES AS AIRLINES BEGIN TO RESUME FLIGHTS

Transport

Sam Whitear

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22/06/2020

0

MANCHESTER AIRPORT LAUNCHES SAFE TRAVEL MEASURES AS AIRLINES BEGIN TO RESUME FLIGHTS

The UK’s third largest gateway has been carrying out a trial of measures for a numbers of weeks, ahead of official government guidance being confirmed last week.

Now, it has updated its advice to passengers so they know how to prepare for their journeys and what to expect when they get to the airport. The security and wellbeing of all of Manchester Airport’s passengers and staff remains its number one priority, which is why it has introduced a range of safety measures to allow people to travel with confidence.

These include wearing face coverings, enhanced cleaning, bookable security slots and temperature checks, among other things. Through a mix of graphics, posters, animations and social media content the airport has summarised these into handy hints for passengers to easily digest:

Don’t travel to the airport if you are displaying symptoms of Covid-19 or someone in your household is self-isolating. Details on the symptoms to look out for can be found here.

Check the latest government advice regarding travel to your destination and any requirements for returning passengers, such as quarantine. Check the status of your flight with your airline

Prepare for your journey by considering what you might need every step of the way. Do you need to leave extra time to get to the airport? Do you have the PPE you need to travel on public transport? Could you make your airport experience easier by booking a slot to pass through security?

Protect others by only entering the terminal if you are a travelling passenger or working at the airport. This will help us with everything we are doing to keep customers and colleagues safe, particularly enabling others to maintain a safe distance between each other wherever possible

Keep your distance from others while in the terminal. Social distancing won’t always be possible in an airport and there are many other measures to keep you safe. However, it is important you keep a respectful distance from other airport users wherever you can

Cover your face at all times across the airport campus. In line with government guidance, and following a trial of various measures at Manchester Airport, all colleagues and customers are asked to wear face coverings within the terminal, on airport buses and throughout the campus. Customers should bring their own, face covering.

Wash your hands regularly. The most effective way to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is hand-washing with soap and water, but extra hand sanitiser will be available throughout the airports

Be reassured by the other steps we are taking across the airport to keep you safe. We are cleaning all surfaces on a rolling basis; trialling UV cleaning technology on escalator handrails and installing protective screens in busy customer areas, among other measures

Help us by supporting the trials we are conducting into other potential safety measures at the airport. This includes the trialling of temperature testing equipment at the entrance to security

Full information on the airport’s measures and latest Covid-19 advice can be found here: www.manchesterairport.co.uk/coronavirus

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