Image Credit: University of Essex More than 900 budding scientists from 30 schools across Essex and Suffolk took part in the Big Bang fair at the University of Essex recently.
Month: April 2018
Southern North Sea Energy £3bn Supply Chain Opportunity in the Spotlight at EEEGR Event
Ten operators – from the smaller Independent Oil and Gas (IOG) to leviathan Shell – announced a total of £3bn of projects to rejuvenate and ensure the future of the Southern North Sea (SNS) during an event in Norwich. Sector leaders say the investments herald a new dawn for the oil and gas industry, which has been buoyed this week by oil prices reaching their highest level for almost three-and-a-half years.
Early Vineyard Gate Concept Plans Revealed for Colchester Town Centre
Early concept plans have been released for a mixed-use scheme on the historic 2.5-acre town centre Vineyard Gate site currently occupied by the Vineyard Gate car park and a number of surrounding properties. The new scheme is set to combine residential, commercial, leisure and boutique retail uses, drawing residents and visitors into the town centre from Osbourne Street and Eld Lane. Other key aspects of the proposal include exposing and illuminating the Roman Wall, providing quality new public open space and reinstating the old Vineyard Street line to create a contemporary shopping and leisure experience sympathetic to the historic setting.
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Colchester Highlighted as a Creative Hotspot in the Government’s latest ‘Sector Deal’ for the Creative Industries
Colchester has been highlighted as a creative hotspot in the Government’s latest ‘Sector Deal’ for the Creative Industries, published at the end of March. This could open a wide variety of opportunities, as the sector deal includes action to support the creative industries with the announcement of a new Creative Development Fund. This £20m fund aims to help creative hot-spots like Colchester to become world-class, unlock growth, encourage investment and create new jobs. Another strand will invest a further £39m in building new research and development partnerships between universities and business via the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund.
Creative workspace study reveals start-up business boom in Colchester
Colchester Borough Council (CBC) has appointed Creative Space Management to undertake a study into demands for further work space for the creative and digital sector in Colchester.
As one of the fastest growing arts and technology hubs in East Anglia, Colchester’s creative and digital industries (CDI) are a key source of employment, innovation and productivity, shaping communities and creating destinations. Developing the sector is an essential element of Colchester Borough Council’s strategy for economic growth 2015 – 2021.
So the time was ripe for CBC to find out more and Creative Space Management was commissioned to evaluate the current market in and around Colchester. This resulted in some interesting insights:
- Overall, based on the desk research, there are 3,038 active, trading CDI companies operating in Colchester’s wider creative economy
- Over half of the companies (1,538) have been formed in the past five years
- The business growth rate in Colchester’s creative and digital industries is approximately 10% annually, with approximately 300 new companies being set up each year. This is a significant level of growth. The fact that 54% of all new active companies between 0-5 years are in the digital, technology and IT sector shows the scale of growth in the digital economy in this area
- The sub-region’s creative and digital economy is overwhelmingly dominated by digital, technology and IT businesses, and this is where the majority of growth is taking place as shown in our analysis.
- Research has identified 1,629 IT, Digital and Technology companies operating in the Colchester CDI economy. This is significantly over 50% of the total CDI economy.
- Colchester is the key location (603 companies), followed by Ipswich (365) and Braintree (385).
Toby Hyam, Director at Creative Space Management said: “We are delighted to be working with Colchester to help them identify the potential for new creative workspace across the Borough to provide capacity for this rapidly growing sector.” This is important as Kathleen Hamilton, Chair of Creative Colchester, notes: “The creative industries make an increasingly valuable contribution to the economy of Colchester and Essex and their importance, nationally as well as regionally, is recognised in the significant investment plans announced in the Government’s Industrial Strategy.”
Colchester’s burgeoning creative scene is typified by the huge demand for space at the recently redeveloped former Police Station In Queen Street into a creative business centre. This £2.6m project was quickly oversubscribed. Councillor Tim Young, Portfolio Holder for Business and Culture, commented: ‘Following the enormous success of the 37 Queen Street Creative Business Centre project, the Council are allocating considerable resource into assessing the increasing demand for, and opportunities to develop, workspaces for businesses and organisations that wish to expand.”
A study by Essex County Council last year revealed there is a clear shortage of this type of workspace across the county. As the Creative and Digital Sectors are key industries for Colchester, Colchester Borough Council will be continuing to look into how they can help this sector develop and remain in Colchester as part of the economic growth strategy.
The report will be used to assess various sites which could be developed for ‘grow on’ space to ensure that growth can continue and help creative and digital businesses embed themselves permanently in Colchester, leading to greater job creation and retention of talent.
London Stansted Airport Commits to Long Term Growth with Plans to Boost Long-Haul Routes to China, India and the US.
London Stansted recently submitted a planning application to Uttlesford District Council to raise the current cap on the number of passengers it is permitted to serve from 35 million passengers per annum (mppa) to 43mppa. The application seeks permission to make best use of the airport’s existing single runway over the next decade, a move which will deliver significant economic benefits to the UK and the vibrant East of England region, create 5,000 new on-site jobs, improve passenger choice and convenience and boost international long-haul routes to fast-growing markets like China, India and the US.
National Award for Red Lion Books
Red Lion Books in the High Street has been awarded the South East England Independent Bookshop of the Year prize at The British Book Awards. Organised by respected industry journal The Bookseller the awards were whittled down from 39 vying for the overall crown. Red Lion Books is celebrating its 40th birthday this year. Judges praised the shop’s survival over such a long period, crediting its deep understanding of what its customers want and need, especially in the face of competition from rivals Waterstones and W H Smith.
Colchester Fish Retailers Shortlisted in National Awards
Hughes’s Fish Company in West Mersea, just south of Colchester, have been shortlisted for the Independent Fresh Fish Retailer of the Year title at the Fishing News Awards, to be held in Aberdeen on May 24.
Award-winning Education Training Provider Joins Parkside Office Village at the University of Essex
Industry leading education training company, TT Education has moved onto Parkside Office Village on the Knowledge Gateway research and technology park at the University of Essex. The move will strengthen existing links between TT Education which is working with Essex Business School to develop and launch an innovative new Executive Leadership Programme for senior school leaders. Over the last five years TT Education has worked with more than 60,000 teachers, TAs and School Leaders in the UK and beyond.
Colchester Borough Council launches new commercial companies
The provision of new, high-quality homes and the development of a low carbon heat network are among the benefits of three new commercially focused companies created by Colchester Borough Council. The council has set up the new companies to help maximise income generating opportunities in the face of ongoing cuts to its central government funding, to support services the Borough’s residents depend and rely on.