Henry Brothers has welcomed Leicester City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby to its current project at Pilot House, as works progress on the redevelopment of the historic site in Leicester city centre. The £13.3 million project will transform the former factory buildings into a vibrant space that will contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of the city. During his visit, the City Mayor toured the site, where he met members of the Henry Brothers team and saw how work is progressing. Ian Taylor, Managing Director at Henry Brothers Construction, said: “We were honoured to have Sir Peter visit us on site at Pilot House. “This is a significant project for the city of Leicester and one that Henry Brothers is proud to be involved with. “At Henry Brothers, our mission is to deliver the best construction solution we possibly can for every client, every time, without fail. With this in mind, our works at Pilot House respect the heritage of the building while providing contemporary facilities that meet the needs of the community. “Henry Brothers is pleased to contribute to Leicester’s ongoing development and to support the city’s growth and innovation.” The redevelopment of Pilot House includes the creation of modern workspaces and a central business community hub, comprising café, exhibition and event space, as well as a reception area and space for outdoor working. The scheme has been designed to create a permanent base for the city’s creative and design businesses of varying sizes. It is supported by £8.6m from the previous Government’s Levelling Up Fund, with the city council contributing £4.7m towards the £13.3m scheme. City Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: “The redevelopment of Pilot House will transform a group of architecturally-significant heritage buildings into an important new creative hub for Leicester. “Not only will it contribute to the wider regeneration of the Belvoir Street, Market Street and New Walk areas, and complement developments like the Gresham Building, it will also create hundreds of high quality new jobs. “Our contractors, Henry Brothers, are preserving the buildings’ heritage features, while creating a functional and inviting contemporary space, and it is fantastic to see this transformation taking shape. “I look forward to the completion of the project and seeing the positive impact this development will have on our city.” The five separate but interconnected buildings will be transformed into 60,000 sq ft of high-quality accommodation for start-up and growing businesses that will support more than 250 new jobs. When tenants move in – from summer 2025 – they’ll find meeting and conference facilities, a café and kitchen, a courtyard to the rear and a range of workspaces, including a co-working lounge for creative tech and digital businesses.

Commercial property agent Rushton Hickman Ltd has let Unit 9, Trent Industrial Estate on Wetmore Road, Burton on Trent for a term of five years to Revolution Foods Fulfilment Limited, on behalf of its managed client. Situated on this popular industrial estate the terrace unit has a total gross internal floor area of 2,495 sq ft (231.8 sq m) and benefits from a shared service yard. Revolution Foods, who manufacture vegan and sustainable supplements, such as vitamins and protein powders, already occupy another unit on the estate, however the growth of the business initiated their search for additional industrial space. Rushton Hickman Director, Richard Fairey concluded: “We are pleased that this Burton based business has successfully grown and taking another unit on the same estate is the next logical step. It is great to see and be able to help an existing tenant expand.”

The latest programme of school infrastructure improvements worth £8.6 million has been unveiled by Nottinghamshire County Council, part of its annual school building improvement work which will be designed and delivered by Arc Partnership, a joint venture between the council and SCAPE. A dozen schools will benefit from a range of improvements including roof replacements, drainage improvements and energy-efficient lighting and boiler upgrades. Cabinet Member for Economic Development and Asset Management, Councillor Keith Girling, said: “Investing in our schools’ infrastructure is vital. Young people deserve to study and learn in buildings which are fit-for-purpose. “We know that some schools were impacted by flooding earlier this year, so those schools most in need of improvements to their drainage systems are being prioritised. We have also secured some government money to help towards this work. “This latest programme of work will once again help school buildings be more energy efficient and help save on bills. It is all part of a long-term investment plan which has seen various improvements to 67 school buildings since 2021. “Once again, the vast majority of this work will be carried out by local contractors, which is good news for the local economy.” Planned improvements for 2024/5 include: James Peacock Infant school in Ruddington. The school will benefit from work worth more than £1.04 million to upgrade the building’s infrastructure and help improve energy efficiency. This will include new ceilings and lighting, replacing the flat roof covering and insulation and the external cladding. (This is additional funding/works to what has been approved in previous years). Pierrepont Gamston school will have two sets of improvements: Replacing the roof covering and improve insulation (£250,000) Replace old boiler with an energy efficient one (£205,000) Woods Church of England Foundation Primary, Woodborough will have £549,000 worth of work to have gas boilers replaced with high efficiency modern equivalent. All heaters and pipework will also be replaced. This is additional funding/works to what had been approved in previous years. Manor Park Infant and Nursery in Calverton will have £100,000 worth of work will include structural inspection of the floors in a number of classrooms with remedial works as necessary. Pinewood Infant and Nursery, Killisick will have its roof covering replaced and other work to improve insulation. (£586,000) Walkeringham Primary in the Bassetlaw area will have £160K worth of works to improve its drainage system after suffering from flooding earlier this year by using the latest techniques to mimic natural drainage, known as sustainable urban drainage North Wheatley school, near Retford will have similar sustainable urban drainage works after also being impacted by recent flooding, as part of a £170,000 investment. Berry Hill Primary and Nursery in Mansfield will see a £2.33 million investment to replace roof covering and improved insulation. The ceiling will be replaced as well as improvements to ceiling tiles, lighting, fire alarm systems. High Oakham Primary in Mansfield will have its pitched roof replaced at a cost of £2.5 million. The work will also include replacement of ceiling, including works to ceiling tiles, Lighting, fire alarm systems and incorporating works identified through the site risk assessments. Underwood Church of England Primary, Underwood will have £224,310 worth of work to identify and carry out remedial works to rectify water leaks to the Learning Lodge. Jacksdale Primary and Nursery, Jacksdale, near Selston will have £62,500 invested to install new pumps to the basement to remove standing water and help prevent future flooding. Maun Infant and Nursery in New Ollerton, £135,000 worth of work will help improve parts of an old drainage system plus replace internal rainwater pipes.

An area of land which is situated on a prominent and well-known location in Nottingham has come onto the market with potential for agricultural grazing or a range of outdoor leisure pursuits. The 347-acre plot comprises grasslands, forests and open water with an abundance of natural habitats. The land is adjoined to Holme Pierrepont Country Park and the National Watersports Centre. Land development and property consultancy Mather Jamie has been appointed to sell the land by the current owners, with bids invited in excess of £4.5m. Gary Kirk, Director of Mather Jamie, said: “This is an extremely rare opportunity to acquire a large parcel of land with potential for a variety of uses, situated on the fringe of Nottingham with exceptional potential for development of a variety of alternative uses.” The land was formerly subject to sand and gravel extraction which has created the wetland habitat and large body of open water. Quarrying activities, which started in the area in the 1940’s, ceased in approximately 2004. Alternative uses considered within the current particulars include buildings for agriculture and forestry, outdoor sports and recreation including leisure uses and other potential alternative uses for the site.