Astmoor Spring 2011 www.astmoor.org.uk Bid Business Message from the Chair Welcome, my name is Vince Froggatt of Midas Engineering Supplies. I have been elected as the new Chair of the Astmoor BID Executive Committee. We have been residents on Astmoor for the last nine years. I have been on the committee since its inception as I wanted to see where my levy money was been spent. I want to take this opportunity to ask other residents of Astmoor to get involved and encourage you to put your views forward. Since the last news letter, you should have noticed continued improvements to the aesthetics ofAstmoor. Some of the overgrown vegetation has been stripped back and Community Payback has been rubbish collecting as well as gate painting. The landscaping improvements are set to continue over the coming months. Many of you have utilised the training courses arranged and they have been well received. More courses are in the pipeline for this year. If you have specific courses in mind, please feel free to make your suggestions to either myself or Leeon. Security is still top of the agenda, especially as burglaries and metal thefts are on the increase. As a business community, we can all play our part by reporting suspicious activity to either Select Security or the police. Recently a good neighbour did just that, which resulted in a burglar being arrested by the police. Finally the ‘Mersey Gateway’ is all systems go and construction is due to start next year.There is no doubt that it will bring plenty of logistical problems, but it will also bring many business opportunities. Ultimately my hope is that it will benefit all the businesses on Astmoor. Mersey Gateway Team continues to plan ahead Just prior to Christmas 2010, Halton Borough Council received confirmation that the Mersey Gateway Project had been granted planning approval. Since then the team at Mersey Gateway has been continuing to work with officials at the Department for Transport on agreeing the final funding arrangements and they have also conducted a Market Consultation Exercise ahead of the main project procurement programme commencing in the spring. As well as explaining key aspects of the project, the exercise allowed potential bidders to provide feedback and to raise any matters they considered important before procurement is formally launched. Many Astmoor businesses are potential suppliers and can register interest online at www.merseygateway.co.uk Cllr Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council, said “There is still a lot more work to do before we begin construction, but this brings us a huge step closer to delivering much-needed new jobs and investment for Halton and the whole region.” An estimated 4,640 new jobs will be created through direct employment, regeneration activity and inward investment, with construction work alone expected to create around 470 permanent jobs on site. Other spin off benefits include plans to kick start a major 20 year regeneration programme for Halton, incorporating the improvement of regional transport links to encourage new and inward investment. The preferred route directly affects approximately 100 office and industrial premises along its path. Where relocation is necessary, the council is working with those businesses affected to locate suitable alternative premises. So far, over 100 directly affected landowners, leaseholders and tenants have been contacted to inform them of the plans for the project and the details of how it would affect them. This continues to be an ongoing process. The current timetable is: ● 2012 - Award contract to successful private sector partner ● 2012-2015 - Three year construction process ● 2015 - Bridge opens Dates for your Diary Halton Women in Business Halton Chamber of Commerce & Enterprise 20th April/25th May 22nd June 4pm - 6pm Runcorn TBC Nicola Holland Tel: 01928 516142 Email: [email protected]£5 for all attendees including refreshments Business Lunch Halton Chamber of Commerce & Enterprise Dates TBC 12noon - 2pm Halton TBC Nicola Holland Tel: 01928 516142 Email: [email protected]£6.50 for Chamber members £20 for non-members including 2 course lunch 1stuesday Halton Chamber of Commerce & Enterprise 10th May 7th June 8am - 9.30am Halton TBC Nicola Holland Tel: 01928 516142 Email: [email protected]£6.50 for Chamber members, £20 for non-members, including breakfast Astmoor BID AGM The Astmoor BID is managed by Halton Borough Council’s Economic Regeneration Department and supported by the Astmoor Business Steering Group and Executive Committee. For further information visit www.astmoor.org.uk Groundwork arranges a series of Environmental Awareness,Waste Awareness and Health & Safety courses throughout the year. Contact them for more details: E-mail:[email protected] Tel: 0151 726 2740 12th May 12noon Kawneer, Astmoor, Runcorn Diane Robinson Tel: 0151 906 3787 Email: [email protected]N/A Event Date & Time Location Contact Cost BID Manager: Leeon Wong, Halton Borough Council Tel: 0151 471 7432 E-mail: [email protected]BID Security Company: Select Security 24 hour control room: 01928 599928 Day Guard: 07824 680331 Phil Delmar: 07920 077988 Halton Borough Council Switchboard: 0303 333 4300 Business Development Officer: Diane Robinson Halton Borough Council Tel: 0151 906 3787 E-mail: [email protected]Cheshire Police: To report a crime or provide information: 0845 456 0000 If crime is in progress: 999 Sergeant Chris Byrne: Tel: 01244 614926 E-mail: [email protected]PCSO Mike Atkin : Tel: 01928 713456 E-mail: [email protected]Chairperson: Vince Frogatt Tel: 01928 569111 Email: [email protected]Crime Reduction Officer: Phil Buckley Cheshire Police Tel: 01244 613971 E-mail: [email protected]Ensure your business is extra secure The BID Team has a number of Alarm Diallers available to install in businesses that have an existing alarm system.This additional security feature enables nominated people to be notified once the company’s alarm is activated.The dialler continues to ring each requested number until it is deactivated by the nominated individual. It can hold up to 4 designated numbers so the estate security firm would be the first contact so that they could investigate the incident swiftly without waiting for it to be reported by another business or for it to be identified by a patrol guard. The other numbers could be allocated to relevant management/key holders etc so they are aware of the situation. If any business would like to take advantage of this safeguard, and have not already done so, please contact LeeonWong (see contact details below). Please display this newsletter on your staff notice board
Transcript
Astmoor
Spring 2011
www.astmoor.org.uk
Bid Business
Message from the ChairWelcome, my name is Vince Froggatt of Midas Engineering Supplies. I have been elected as the new Chair of the Astmoor BID Executive Committee.We have been residents on Astmoor for the last nine years. I have been on the committee since its inception as I wanted to see where my levy moneywas been spent. I want to take this opportunity to ask other residents of Astmoor to get involved and encourage you to put your views forward.
Since the last news letter, you should have noticed continued improvements to the aesthetics of Astmoor. Some of the overgrown vegetation has beenstripped back and Community Payback has been rubbish collecting as well as gate painting. The landscaping improvements are set to continue overthe coming months. Many of you have utilised the training courses arranged and they have been well received. More courses are inthe pipeline for this year. If you have specific courses in mind, please feel free to make your suggestions to either myself orLeeon.
Security is still top of the agenda, especially as burglaries and metal thefts are on the increase. As a businesscommunity, we can all play our part by reporting suspicious activity to either Select Security or the police. Recently agood neighbour did just that, which resulted in a burglar being arrested by the police.
Finally the ‘Mersey Gateway’ is all systems go and construction is due to start next year. There is no doubt that itwill bring plenty of logistical problems, but it will also bring many business opportunities. Ultimately my hope is thatit will benefit all the businesses on Astmoor.
Mersey Gateway Team continues to plan aheadJust prior to Christmas 2010, Halton Borough Council received confirmation that the Mersey Gateway Project had been granted planning approval.Since then the team at Mersey Gateway has been continuing to work with officials at the Department for Transport on agreeing the final fundingarrangements and they have also conducted a Market Consultation Exercise ahead of the main project procurement programme commencing in thespring. As well as explaining key aspects of the project, the exercise allowed potential bidders to provide feedback and to raise any matters theyconsidered important before procurement is formally launched. Many Astmoor businesses are potential suppliers and can register interest online atwww.merseygateway.co.uk
Cllr Rob Polhill, Leader of Halton Borough Council, said “There is still a lotmore work to do before we begin construction, but this brings us a huge stepcloser to delivering much-needed new jobs and investment for Halton and thewhole region.” An estimated 4,640 new jobs will be created through directemployment, regeneration activity and inward investment, with constructionwork alone expected to create around 470 permanent jobs on site. Other spinoff benefits include plans to kick start a major 20 year regenerationprogramme for Halton, incorporating the improvement of regional transportlinks to encourage new and inward investment.
The preferred route directly affects approximately 100 office and industrialpremises along its path. Where relocation is necessary, the council is workingwith those businesses affected to locate suitable alternative premises. So far,over 100 directly affected landowners, leaseholders and tenants have beencontacted to inform them of the plans for the project and the details of how itwould affect them. This continues to be an ongoing process.
The current timetable is:
� 2012 - Award contract to successful private sector partner� 2012-2015 - Three year construction process� 2015 - Bridge opens
Dates for your Diary
Halton Women in BusinessHalton Chamber of Commerce &
The Astmoor BID is managed by Halton Borough Council’s Economic Regeneration Department and supportedby the Astmoor Business Steering Group and Executive Committee.
For further information visit www.astmoor.org.uk
Groundwork arranges a series of Environmental Awareness, Waste Awareness and Health & Safety courses throughout the year.Contact them for more details: E-mail:[email protected] Tel: 0151 726 2740
Business Development Officer:Diane RobinsonHalton Borough CouncilTel: 0151 906 3787E-mail: [email protected]
Cheshire Police:To report a crime or provide information: 0845 456 0000If crime is in progress: 999Sergeant Chris Byrne: Tel: 01244 614926E-mail: [email protected] Mike Atkin : Tel: 01928 713456E-mail: [email protected]
Ensure your business is extra secureThe BID Team has a number of Alarm Diallers available to install in businesses that have an existing alarm system. This additional security featureenables nominated people to be notified once the company’s alarm is activated. The dialler continues to ring each requested number until it isdeactivated by the nominated individual. It can hold up to 4 designated numbers so the estate security firm would be the first contact so that theycould investigate the incident swiftly without waiting for it to be reported by another business or for it to be identified by a patrol guard. The othernumbers could be allocated to relevant management/key holders etc so they are aware of the situation.
If any business would like to take advantage of this safeguard, and have not already done so, please contact Leeon Wong (see contact details below).
Please display this newsletter on your staff notice board
ChambermembershiprenewedThe trial period for free membership of HaltonChamber of Commerce & Enterprise ceased at theend of January 2011. Due to the number offavourable comments received about this initiative,it was decided to renew membership for theforthcoming year. Leeon says “The Chamber haslots of networking events, seminars and servicesthat provide valuable contacts and information. Totake full advantage of the free membership, Isuggest that businesses contact Diane McLoughlin,the Chamber’s Client Relationship Officer on01928 516146 or [email protected] to ensure that theire-mail address is correct as all invitations to eventsare sent by e-mail. More details are on theChamber’s website www.haltonchamber.com”
New Astmoor Initiatives UpdateWhat’s Happening?In the last few months considerable progress has been made against a range of initiatives acrossthe estate. The initiatives, agreed by resident businesses at the beginning of the new financial year,include:
SecurityThe BID Team continues to work closely with resident businesses, Cheshire Constabulary and SelectSecurity Services to improve upon the security provision already in place at Astmoor. In the last fewmonths the following progress has been made:-
� The Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) system now operates far more efficiently,due to the installation of new software
� Cheshire Constabulary have agreed to take a feed from the Astmoor APNR system whichmeans that Astmoor will be linked into the wider police camera network
� Void property alarms have been installed around the estate� The Executive Committee has continued to refine the services provided by Select Security
Services on the estate to better reflect the need of the business community. The BID Managercan now monitor the frequency and location of Select Security patrols by accessing theTagtronics system
� The Executive Committee is currently evaluating a number of new security initiatives includingthe installation of four new HD CCTV cameras at key junctions. Each camera will have a 360ºfield of vision and will plug gaps in the existing system. The possibility of rolling out furthervoid alarms and the installation of security lighting is also being investigated
Astmoorwelcomes AquestorAquestor Limited is a new company that has recentlymoved into Dalton Court on Astmoor.As a manufacturer of truck and trailer air and electricalconnections, Aquestor Limited supplies products directlyto the fleet end users, removing the current “layers”that exist within the present route to market. Thisensures that the premium engineered product is usedwithin UK vehicle fleets, removing inferior imports. Anadditional benefit is to create a direct communicationchannel between the manufacturer and the fleets todrive innovation and product development.
Aquestor was founded on the experience of threeformer colleagues who have worked within thecommercial vehicle industry for a combined total of over40 years. The team has worked all over the world andhas gained a detailed insight into the markets withinthe various regions. They have experience of Asia,Africa, Europe and America, working with customers atcorporate level within Volvo, Scania, DAF, Isuzu andMercedes to name but a few.
Craig O’Connell, one of the Directors, said “We decidedon Astmoor as it had easy access to the motorwaynetwork as well as a good local concentration oftransport companies that can access our products andservices. We are looking forward to meeting ourAstmoor neighbours and other potential customers overthe coming months.”Craig can be contacted on 01928 500 118 or by e-mailat [email protected] www.aquestor.co.uk
Image ImprovementsUpgrading the image of the estate continues. Lately the BID Team has:-
� Initiated the roll out of new, uniform building numbers to those businesses on Arkwright and
Brindley Road
Business SupportThe Executive Committee and the BID Team have brought forward a number of initiatives toimprove the trading environment on the estate for resident businesses including:-
� The renewal of the estate wide group membership of Halton Chamber of Commerce andEnterprise which means that all Astmoor business can continue to take advantage of Chamberservices free of charge
� The continuing delivery of a series of training events, which are free to Astmoor businesses.Training programmes recently delivered have included fire safety & payroll legislation
� An overhaul of the Astmoor web site to make it more responsive to the needs of businesses.The revised web site will include a business directory listing all resident companies
� The Astmoor Executive Committee has also begun to look at the branding and promotion ofthe estate with the express intention of bringing new businesses to Astmoor. Meetings havetaken place with the Leader of the Council and senior officers of the Council and new ideas forbranding and marketing the estate are being developed
Environmental ImprovementsOver the last few months the BID Team has instigated a number of projects to continue the uplift ofthe estate including:-
� A more rigorous monitoring regime to ensure that the Council’s Open Spaces Departmentmaintain to a higher standard those areas of landscaping which are within their control
� The roll out of an estate wide recycling programme. Most businesses have been issued withrecycling boxes which are collected by resident business, ACE Recyclers, at no cost to thebusiness
Training coursesprove popularThe training courses funded by the BID have beengathering momentum and 3 different courses havebeen held since February with 2 future courses in thepipeline.
‘Fire Safety for Wardens’, which was held at WiggIsland Visitor Centre in February, had an impressive100% turnout with 13 people attending. Feedbackindicated that the presentation was excellent and thatattendees would happily recommend it to others.
A ‘Risk Assessment’ course in March was also held atWigg Island and a ‘HM Revenue & Customs Seminar’was held in April at Stobart Stadium with businessesfrom Halebank and Widnes Waterfront also attending.The latter was designed to provide information aboutthe main changes to legislation dealing with payrollmatters from April 2011. It also dealt with changesarising from the latest Budget.
As we go to press, a 3 day ‘First Aid Course’ is due tostart, based at Halton Community Partnership inRuncorn. It has the maximum 12 people registered onthis. As it was heavily oversubscribed, there was a limitof 1 attendee per business.
During May and June, there will be 4 sessions of ‘ForkLift Truck (Novice)’ training, which will be run by FLTWarrington and held in Widnes. There is only amaximum of 3 people per course, so again these areoversubscribed, with 11 already on the reserve list.
More courses will be offered later in the year covering:
� Quality Management � Health & Safety� Workplace Skills � Management� Human Resources � Finance
Diane Robinson will be contacting businesses in a fewmonths time to obtain their attendees.
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Chris Mitchell (Managing Director)
New Committee membersA new year has seen changes to both the Chair &members of the Astmoor Executive Committee.As indicated on the front cover, the new Chair is VinceFrogatt from Midas Engineering. Vince has been onAstmoor for 9 years, running his light engineeringcompany based on Faraday Road and, having been onthe committee since the beginning, is delighted to takeon this new role.
In addition, Howard Hagan from Urban Waterside andJohn MacCarfrae from Maverick Training have nowjoined the Executive Committee. Issues can be raisedwith any members of the Committee who will liaise with
Leeon Wong, the BID Manager to resolveany concerns or discuss new initiatives.
2
Winter weather precautions in placeThe extreme weather conditions earlier this year took everyone by surprise. However, the estate was betterprepared than previously with 26 salt bins now in situ including Astmoor’s own reserves of salt. Also, in thepast, Astmoor’s roads had not been gritted by the Council. Before he left in 2010, the previous BID Manager,Gareth Bennett, had arranged that during severe weather, the estate would be included in the grittingschedule. This did happen during the winter and although the conditions were so extreme everywhere thaton some days gritting barely made a difference, the roads were more accessible than previously.
Another side effect of the unexpectedly harsh winter was that the road surfaces had taken a battering.Due to the heavy traffic on Astmoor’s roads, it is important that the infrastructure is maintained to a decentstandard. The BID Team conducted a road survey identifying potholes which they then referred through tothe Highways Department of the Council. These are now scheduled to be fixed, hopefully by the summer.
Box off your recyclingThe estate wide recycling initiative described in thelast newsletter has been very well received. LeeonWong, the BID Manager has been on site deliveringfree recycling boxes and bags for the free recyclingservice offered by Ace Recyclers.When the recyclingdata is received through NISP and Groundwork,the carbon reduction for the estate can be calculated.
If any business has yet to receive a box, pleasecontact Leeon and he will arrange free delivery. (Seecontact details on back page)
Hello to Halton HygieneDewar Court, Davy Road is home to another company new to the estate, HaltonHygiene. This family run business, enlisting the talents of mother, father, daughter andson, has been in the commercial cleaning industry for 6 years. Originally based on theWirral, the firm moved to Astmoor last September when it expanded into supplyingmedical grade products to doctors, dentists, vets and also general cleaning products toa wider customer base.
Currently employing 13 people, this number is steadily increasing as Halton Hygieneobtains more cleaning contracts throughout Halton and the Wirral. They are very keento trade with local businesses so if you think your business would benefit from HaltonHygiene’s products or services, contact them on 01928 589374 or go towww.haltonhygiene.com for further details
