TIME is running out for people to make their voices heard in a consultation which proposes a range of measures to tackle rogue landlords and help safeguard tenants in communities across the city.
Leicester City Council is considering bringing in extra measures requiring landlords and properties to be properly licensed in order to protect the most vulnerable people and improve the standards of private-sector rented housing citywide.
Three different options – or combinations of these options – have been set out in a consultation which gives people the chance to find out more and get involved in the decision making to make a difference to their neighbourhoods.
The online consultation which began in November 2021 runs until February 22, 2022.
As part of that, the city council is running three online Q&A sessions giving people the chance to ask questions and find out more details about the proposals.
The sessions take place via Teams, and will take place on Tuesday, February 15, from 2pm to 3pm; Thursday, February 17 from 10 to 11am, and on Friday, February 18, from 12noon to 1pm.
People wanting to take part can log in via the city council’s consultations page here.
The city council wants to widen the scope of its existing powers to tackle ongoing issues within the private rented sector and to improve standards. The consultation sets out three options showing how these different approaches could be used to improve private rented sector standards.
The first approach would involve bringing in Selective Licensing, which would require all privately-rented properties to be licensed by the city council, within parts of the city’s Westcotes, Fosse, Saffron, Stoneygate, Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields wards.
A second option proposes introducing citywide Additional Licensing, which would require all small HMOs occupied by three or four unrelated tenants who share facilities such as kitchens and bathrooms, to be licensed. It would operate in all areas of the city.
A third option would bring in Additional Licensing only within parts of Westcotes, Fosse, Stoneygate, Braunstone Park and Rowley Fields.
Each of the proposed licensing measures would place conditions on the landlord to ensure issues such as gas and electrical safety, installation of smoke, fire and carbon monoxide alarms are adequately dealt with, along with matters such a repairs and maintenance, waste disposal, tenancy management and addressing antisocial behaviour.
Leicester assistant city mayor for housing, Cllr Elly Cutkelvin, said: “It is vital that people have access to decent affordable housing, and for many families the only chance of this is through a private rented tenancy.
“Our responsibility is to protect the most vulnerable people by ensuring their housing, and their landlords, meet a higher standard in terms of safety, maintenance and the effect on the wider community.
“We’re supporting landlords and tenants to engage with us on these plans, and the involvement of communities themselves is key to ensuring we have robust measures that address local issues.
“I’d urge people to take part in this consultation, and to take part in the Q&A sessions, to play their part in shaping how we can raise standards to be met by both landlords and their properties.”
Additional Licensing and Selective Licensing are the latest steps being considered by the city council to both crackdown on rogue landlords and improve the standards of private-sector rentals.
Another consultation, which ended last month, looked at plans to expand legislation known as an Article 4 Direction, which means planning permission would be needed to convert any house into a HMO in certain areas of the city.
An Article 4 Direction already exists covering parts of the West End, streets near to De Montfort University’s campus and Leicester Royal Infirmary, numerous streets in the area between New Walk and HMP Leicester, as well as most of Clarendon Park and a section south of Lancaster Road.
That would be expanded to include thousands more homes from Rowley Fields, to Westcotes, Newfoundpool and parts of the Waterside area, as well as much of Knighton Fields, Knighton, Stoneygate, part of Aylestone, along with most of Spinney Hills and Highfields.
NEW jobs for young people on Universal Credit are currently available with the city council as part of the Kickstart job creation programme.
Kickstart has been devised by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to help get young people aged 16 to 24, who claim Universal Credit, into meaningful jobs with local businesses.
And to mark National Apprenticeship Week (7-13 February), the city council is highlighting the 29 Kickstart jobs it currently has on offer, complementing the 27 council Kickstart roles that have already been filled.
Currently out for recruitment are Kickstart roles in areas including sports, housing, social care, libraries, administration and procurement.
Kickstart jobs are all guaranteed for at least six months, with options to progress to apprenticeships or further work placements. The city council’s adult education service also provides council Kickstart employees with a six-month employability training scheme to help them further their career prospects.
Organisations taking part in Kickstart offer a six-month work placement for a minimum of 25 hours per week, paying at least the minimum wage. The jobs must be new, of good quality, and focus on specific, detailed roles.
The DWP will pay 100 per cent of the age-relevant National Minimum Wage, National Insurance and pension contributions for 25 hours a week, but employers can also top up this wage. The DWP will also pay employers £1,500 for set-up costs such as uniforms or training for people they take on.
Manveer Gill, Kickstart Employment Advisor at the DWP, said: “Seeing young people getting into jobs and learning new experiences through Kickstart has been incredible. For someone to be able to work in a sector that really interests them but might not necessarily have had the experience or skills to get into that sector through a normal recruitment experience, means that we can have really rewarding conversations about the direction a young person wants their career to go in.”
As well as already employing 27 Kickstart employees itself, the city council is acting as an intermediary to help small and medium-sized local businesses take part in the Kickstart scheme. Leicester City Council is well placed to do this, as its specialist Leicester Employment Hub works to put candidates in touch with employers across the city and county.
In this way, a total of 112 Kickstart vacancies across Leicester and Leicestershire are either already filled or in the process of being filled.
Assistant city mayor for jobs and skills Cllr Danny Myers said: “We know these are tough times for youth unemployment, so it’s really important we offer meaningful opportunities and support. We’ve offered a number of 12-month city council contracts – longer than the minimum of six months – to reinforce our commitment to Kickstart.
“As National Apprenticeship Week gets under way, it’s the perfect time to highlight our Kickstart vacancies and make sure that young people know there are opportunities out there for them.
“We’ve also been funded by the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership (LLEP) to create a Kickstart extension programme. This will help local employers to extend their placements for a further six months, allowing young people the chance to start a career.”
Nahida Ahmed, 23, is a Kickstart employee who started a community facilitator job in public health with Leicester City Council in September last year. She said: “Working as a community facilitator has stretched me and taken me out of my comfort zone. Joining regular team meetings to communicate with professionals across Leicester has helped me to improve my communication skills and grow in confidence. I have come out of my shell and I feel much happier in myself, as I know I will be making a difference in the community.”
Joel Carter, 24, also a Kickstart community facilitator with the council, said: “Kickstart has been perfect for me. I always struggled with applying for jobs and this meant I got straight to an interview. I’m very grateful, it’s been a great experience that has taught me a lot and hopefully will kickstart my council career. What made the whole job even more special was my colleagues and managers who made me feel so welcome, which really helped my mental health and self-worth.”
Nazira Vania, a project manager in public health at Leicester City Council, said: “The young people that have joined us through the Kickstart scheme are full of talent and potential. They have been a great asset to our team and have brought valuable skills and perspectives to our project.”
The Kickstart scheme and Employment Hub are both key part of Leicester’s Economic Recovery Plan, which lists the ideas and actions the council and its partners are developing to help ensure Leicester’s local economy, jobs market and businesses can remain resilient and flourish in these challenging times.
Kickstart vacancies are promoted only through the DWP, where work coaches discuss available opportunities with young people. For more information on city council Kickstart opportunities, young people can email kickstart@leicester.gov.uk or chat with their work coach.
Leicestershire’s Business Gateway is offering small businesses support with a difference from 22 February with a programme of four webinars.
Designed to give business leaders the skills they need to encourage new ideas from their teams, the four free webinars will be delivered by Loughborough-based Qinesis.
Dr Cham S Kang of Qinesis explains the difference: “The Business Gateway are keen to make their support as relevant as possible to participating businesses so we will be contacting each one of them beforehand, to get some context and understand their specific challenges. It will be very different from some of the generic webinars that people may have attended before and much more valuable we hope.”
Dr Cham S Kang
The Business Gateway is encouraging small business owners and leaders to attend the whole programme so that they can make sure they introduce a culture of new ideas within their business and sustain it in the longer term.
The first session will focus on the importance of the leader. A good leader will let their team know that new ideas are welcome and encourage suggestions from all staff around reducing costs, improving efficiency and even new products or services. If a business leader does not feel that they have the skills to do this, this programme will solve that issue.
Dr Kang continued: “A lot of small businesses in Leicestershire are already thinking creatively and we saw many examples of that during the pandemic with businesses adapting to the circumstances that no one saw coming. Our programme will help businesses embed these skills as part of their DNA so that they can adapt when the next challenge comes, and do so profitably.”
As with all Business Gateway programmes, places are fully funded and therefore free to participating businesses. The four webinars in the programme are:
Running a small business is a lonely place, who listens to the leader? – 22 February, 8.00am-9.30amCreative thinking for growth in your non-creative businesses – 9 March, 8.00am-9.30amCreative thinking to sustain long-term growth – 29 March, 8.00am – 9.30amDeveloping an individual action plan for growth – 14 April, 8.00am – 9.30am
At the end of the programme participating companies will have the ability to develop, implement and lead different thinking in their teams and a plan of action to embed it in the company for the long term.
The programme is aimed at small businesses with ten employees or fewer and more details can be found at https://bit.ly/Qinesis
Work will start later this year on a new homes development consisting of 44 houses for affordable rent in Mansfield, after planning officials at Mansfield District Council gave the scheme the green light.
The scheme will be developed by York-based Urban Group (York) Ltd for social housing provider, PA Housing, and the detailed plans for the homes, including the floorplans and elevations, have been designed by Leeds-based Brewster Bye Architects.
The vacant site sits within the urban boundary of the Mansfield District Council District Local Plan and is accessed from Sherwood Avenue, close to Sherwood Oaks Business Park, which is less than three miles southeast of Mansfield Town Centre.
The scheme forms part of The Berry Hill development, which will include up to 1,700 new homes. It will also neighbour a 169-home development off Old Newark Road and Bellamy Road, which secured planning permission last year.
Nick Gould, Managing Director of Urban Developments (York) Ltd, said: “This development will offer a superb range of high quality, two, three and four bedroom homes with gardens and parking.
“It’s in a popular area, that is currently benefitting from a wide range of residential and commercial development, as part of The Berry Hill development, and it’s exciting to be contributing to this major regeneration scheme, alongside national housebuilders and PLCs close to the recently opened Aldi supermarket as well as a new pub, coffee shop and food outlets. It’s also within walking distance of several schools and benefits from good transport links, which will make it a popular place to live.”
Mark Henderson, from Brewster Bye Architects, said: “These homes will appeal to a wide range of residents and families who want a contemporary new home, for an affordable price, in a sought-after area.
“Every house has been carefully designed to offer spacious, light and well-proportioned living spaces and the whole development has the potential to become a vibrant and sustainable community with an attractive street scene and distinctive character.
“This is enhanced by retaining existing landscape features around the edge of the site, as well as a central hedgerow, which runs right through the middle of the development. All this combines to offer privacy and further improves the attractive street scene that the development will enjoy.”
Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson is celebrating after its recent project for Nottingham Trent University was crowned a winner at the national LABC Building Excellence Awards last week.
The contractor, which has offices in Derby, Newark and Birmingham, saw its Medical Technology Innovation Facility (MTIF) for client Nottingham Trent University named nationally as Best New-Build in the non-residential category.
The construction of the £5.5million Medical Technology Innovation Facility was completed in winter 2020, with G F Tomlinson working alongside Maber Architects on the scheme. The project was supported by the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership with funding received by the University through its Local Growth Fund allocation.
The facility focuses on the research and development of innovative products and advanced materials to meet future healthcare needs – the key aim is to improve patient care by speeding up medical product development and ensuring innovations reach the market as quickly as possible, which is critical for patients, business, the NHS and regional economic growth.
The scheme was crowned a winner at the awards ceremony which was held at Park Plaza Westminster Bridge in London, with more than the 700 guests in attendance at the prestigious event.
This national award win comes after G F Tomlinson celebrated success at LABC’s regional Building Excellence Awards last year, winning three accolades which were subsequently named as finalists in the national awards.
As well as the success of the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility, the regional awards saw G F Tomlinson’s flagship project for Nottingham Castle win Best Non-Residential Conversion, with its Tower Garden Pavilion scheme in Skegness winning Best Public or Community Building – a project which was successfully delivered via the company’s ongoing involvement on the Scape Regional Construction framework.
Chris Flint, Managing Director at G F Tomlinson, said: “We are extremely pleased to have won this national accolade at the LABC awards – it is wonderful to be recognised amongst such strong competition that highlights all of the fantastic work that has been happening in the industry over the last year.
“The Medical Technologies Innovation Facility at Nottingham Trent University is an impressive building for many reasons – both in the way it has been designed and constructed, and in its purpose in progressing the development, clinical production and commercialisation of new medical technologies.
“There were several technical aspects we had to get absolutely right in order to provide the best possible working environment – including ensuring that the facility has the correct pressure, ventilation and seals needed, as well as the placement and optimum performance of highly-specialised laboratory equipment.
“It is exciting to see our other two regional-winning projects recognised as national finalists, too – Nottingham Castle is our flagship project to date and we were pleased to work with so many different local and regional specialists and teams to complete the work on time. It is also rewarding to see a smaller value project like the Tower Gardens Pavilion in Skegness pick up so many regional awards over the last 18 months and go on to national recognition. Working jointly with our partner, Scape, this project has a strong community story to tell.”
The Association of Member-Directed Pension Schemes (AMPS), the industry body representing SIPP operators and SSAS practitioners, has announced that Martin Tilley, director and head of technical at Westbridge SSAS has been appointed interim chair until the next AGM scheduled to be held in October this year.
Martin takes over from Claire Trott who took up the appointment in 2018.
Martin is an industry veteran having spent over 30 years at SIPP and SSAS practitioner Dentons Pension Management, before taking senior roles at Hurley Partners and latterly Westbridge SSAS which operates nationally and has its HQ located in Meridian Business Park, Leicester.
Martin Tilley, who joined the committee in October of 2021, said: “I am sure I speak for the whole committee in thanking Claire for the hard work she has put in while chair of AMPS. I would also like to thank her for the support she has provided to the whole committee and to the membership in general. I have known Claire for many years and know that she would not have taken the decision to step down lightly and we all wish her well for the future.
“I look forward to serving the committee and membership to the best of my ability and to seeing membership representatives at our annual conference to be held on 25th May at 1 Wimpole Street in London. This will be the first live event that AMPS has been able to host since October 2019. It looks set to be a packed event and will be a great opportunity to network and hear from high quality speakers.”
Mr Tilley will be supported by the committee which consists of:
Geoff Buck, Vanguard Asset Management
Sarah Hawkins, Punter Southall SIPP
Ian Linden, James Hay Partnership
Andrew Phipps, Embark Group
Debbie Seaton
Zoe Smith, Barnett Waddingham
Tasneem Ul-Haq, Aviva
Joy West, Hartsfield Trustee Services
Claire Trott, head of pensions strategy at St. James’s Place, said: “It has been an honour to lead AMPS over the past 4 years, but due to my charitable fundraising activities and work commitments it was time to hand over the reins to someone else. Martin is an ideal candidate as he is highly experienced, well known in the industry and his technical knowledge is second to none. I am sure that he and the committee will continue the good work undertaken over many years and ensure confidence in the self invested sector.”
Sills & Betteridge LLP’s corporate offer has been boosted this month with the appointment of consultant solicitor Robin Johnston.
Robin supports insolvency practitioners, creditors (including lenders, suppliers and shareholders) and turnaround investors, typically advising on businesses in distress, refinancing, turnaround and rescue strategies and accelerated M&A. He is experienced in dealing with all aspects of insolvency processes including administrations, liquidations, receiverships and voluntary arrangements.
He is a member of R3 the Association of Recovery Professionals and the Turnaround Management Association.
Robin will work alongside James Conduit’s corporate team in Lincolnshire, the wider East Midlands and South Yorkshire.
Robin Johnston
James said: “Expanding the range of services we offer to business clients, by adapting to market changes has always been key to the strategic development of our corporate and commercial practice.
“Robin’s hire was very much in response to recent, increased demand for his area of expertise. He is an absolute professional and his intuition and pragmatism are first class. He will be a huge asset to the team and will complement our approach perfectly.”
Robin said: “These are very challenging times for businesses, to say the least. The benefit to leaders and management of calling on insightful and strategic professional advice, as the economy recovers, cannot be understated. By joining such a great firm, I can collaborate with a team of real experts to deliver the advice and solutions our clients will need and I am excited to get started.”
In addition to his legal practice with Sills & Betteridge LLP, Robin serves as a trusted advisor, coach and guide to entrepreneurs and business leaders in the finance, technology and professional services sectors.
Dunelm, the Leicestershire-based homewares retailer, has reported strong sales growth and record pre-tax profits in its interim results for the 26 weeks to 25 December 2021.
In its first half, total sales grew by 10.6% (36% on a two year basis) to £795.6m, up from £719.4m in the same period of the year prior. Dunelm noted that digital sales made up 33% of total sales in the half and performance in stores was also “very encouraging.”
Meanwhile the company delivered record profit before tax of £140.8m, up 25.3% from £112.4m.
Nick Wilkinson, Chief Executive Officer, said: “I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all my colleagues and our committed supplier partners for their adaptability and achievements and for living our Dunelm shared values every day.
“Together we have navigated another period filled with significant and evolving external challenges and delivered a very strong performance in the first half, with continued growth in customer numbers, further market share gains, record sales and particularly strong profitability.
“When we announced our interim results in 2020, we were weeks away from the world being turned upside down. Two years later, we are moving forwards as a bigger, better business, with more capability, more resilience, more ambition, and delivering accelerated growth.
“We have not only worked hard and innovated to enhance our customers’ experience across all channels and categories, but have also continued to develop our customer proposition and capabilities at pace to support our future growth.
“Our product range is now broader and better than ever, with an increasing focus on sustainability, as demonstrated in our new collection which has been curated in collaboration with the Natural History Museum.
“We look to the future excited, energised and eager to continue being our customers’ 1st choice for home.”
The Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership has refreshed itsLocal Skills Report.
The new report sets out the actions needed to make sure everyone has the skills which will allow them to get good jobs, both now and in the future – and it also addresses how it will contribute to other issues, from climate change to levelling up.
Since 2018 Skills Advisory Panels have been bringing together employers, skills providers and key local stakeholders to better understand and resolve skills mismatches at a local level.
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP leads the area’s Skills Advisory Panel (SAP) and is fostering greater collaboration and engagement with key local stakeholders to support its leadership role in the local economy.
The Lincolnshire Local Skills Report is a framework for skills ambitions and offers a wealth of insights and ideas by organisations that have an interest in skills development in the area.
The report published in March 2021 has been updated to reflect ongoing challenges in the labour market as a result of Covid-19.
Since that first report Greater Lincolnshire has been successful in securing additional funding for a new Career Hub, allowing expansion of its support to secondary school; resources to address skills mismatches such as digital skills bootcamps at Grantham College and short courses delivered through the Greater Lincolnshire Institute of Technology led by the University of Lincoln; and the Skills Capital Programme which is continuing to enhance training facilities to meet our industry sectors’ needs.
The refreshed report provides stakeholders, including Government departments, schools and post-16 skills providers, with a DfE-approved common evidence base and a strategic framework for actions that will contribute to recovery from Covid-19 and economic growth.
Local Skills Reports will provide a clear and consistent view of local skills needs across areas in a relevant and engaging format for local partners.
Reports will be a key source of local skills information that better enable cross-area comparison and help feed local intelligence to central government and the national-level Skills and Productivity Board (SPB).
Local Skills Reports will help to maximise the influence of SAPs locally by:
Acting as an engagement tool – a vehicle through which SAPs can directly engage, influence and rally employers and providers in their areas to support the local skills agenda.
Being a ‘go-to’ document for everything local-skills related – bringing together existing and new skills information into a consistent format common to all SAPs.
Clearly setting out key skills needs – ensuring local skills needs are visible to local partners who can then engage with them.
Offering valuable insight and evaluation – detailing the progress made on current local skills initiatives and outlining future skills plans to plug key skills gaps.
They will feed intelligence to the national SPB and central Government – a consistent output common to all SAPs that the SPB can use to understand the needs and priorities of local areas and build a national picture of the supply and demand for skills. The SPB has been set a remit of answering the following three questions over the next 12 months:
Which areas of the economy face the most significant skills mismatches or present growing areas of skills need?
Can the board identify the changing skills needs of several priority areas within the economy over the next five to 10 years?
How can skills and the skills system promote productivity growth in areas of the country that are poorer performing economically?
Simon Telfer, Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire Employment and Skills Advisory Panel, said: “Major economic changes have been driven by skills demand trends and technological changes, and then accelerated by Covid-19 and Brexit.
“During the pandemic our focus has been on mitigating actions in labour supply and demand. We have made good progress since the first Local Skills Report was published in March 2021, but we must maintain momentum to achieve our ambitions.
“This report will drive wider influence and national leverage by feeding into the Department for Education’s Skills and Productivity Board, and into our regular reporting to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. We all have important roles to play in delivering the priority interventions we have identified.”
Construction works have now commenced on the second phase of The Parklands, a new residential community in Sudbrooke, Lincoln, bringing new homes to the market in 2022.
Works started on the 155-home development in 2018 and developer Jackson Living – part of Jackson & Jackson Developments – has now moved into the second phase.
Sitting north of phase one, phase two will see the delivery of 41 homes, including 11 five-bedroom properties – including a landmark home with a thatched roof – and 12 affordable homes, all overlooking Sudbrooke woodland.
The exclusive 46.7-acre development is made up of 24 individual house designs and will feature two, three, four and five-bedroom homes in a unique woodland setting. The final phase, phase three, will commence next year in 2023.
Due for overall completion in 2024, The Parklands has taken its design inspiration from the surrounding, historic woodland and traditional village setting and will feature communal outdoor spaces, woodland footpaths, a restaurant, kitchen garden and community allotments.
Landscape and green space play a key part in The Parklands. As part of phase one, newly created footpaths were added around the existing ponds, native tree, shrubs, hedgerows and wildflowers were planted. Further work will include community allotments and a kitchen garden including heritage fruit trees, flower beds and space for sheds and glasshouses.
Jackson Living worked with Newark-based firm Influence Landscape Planning and Design across all phases at The Parklands with the company designing the on plot gardens and public spaces. As part of phase 2, Influence Landscape Planning and Design produced the landscape plans which include open grass and wildflower areas, native tree planting and mixed shrub planting.
Lindsey Arkley, senior landscape architect at Influence Landscape Planning and Design, said: “The existing site features of The Parklands, such as the ponds and trees, significantly led the landscape design process as they naturally informed the layout. We then created a landscape masterplan that reflected and respected the historic setting and promoted and enhanced the biodiversity and ecological value.
“Our landscape designs include significant outside areas to encourage natural play and nature and alongside the developer, have chosen to plant species that are appropriate to the local area and are of benefit to local wildlife. We have also worked around existing parkland trees which are a beautiful asset within the development, and new trees are being planted and where relevant, reinstated. We are very pleased to be involved on such a special site.”
Jackson Living project manager, Ben Martin, said: “As new home owners buy the final few plots of phase one, we are now moving onto phase two to continue to create this thriving, new neighbourhood.
“Our homes are carefully considered in terms of materials and design, but we also place great importance on the green areas at The Parklands. A great deal of time has been channelled into the landscape side to ensure we maximise the opportunity to enhance the many beautiful and historic existing features and create new ones. We have been working with the team at Influence since 2016 and their expertise in creating and nurturing habitats is hugely important to the site.
“All of the progress at The Parklands to date is a true testament to the overall position of what The Parklands offers, from the quality of the buildings to the natural landscape and woodlands. As part of phase two we are delighted to be able to release more plots and look forward to welcoming more residents to our exciting community.”
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