Nottingham City Council is set to adopt an Economic Recovery and Renewal Plan for the city which aims to improve Nottingham’s prosperity and local people’s prospects. As one of the partners of the Nottingham Growth Board, the City Council has been working with key local businesses, educational institutions, public sector organisations and One Nottingham to develop a bold vision for the city’s future economy as an inclusive, green, creative and digitally enabled city. The Plan addresses the major economic challenges Covid has created or accelerated, including rising unemployment, the decline of high street retail and the disproportionate impact of the pandemic on young people, BAME communities, women, older people & people with disabilities. It focuses on the delivery of six key ambitions: • City of Creativity & Culture – building on the Creative Quarter and Nottingham’s Unesco City of Literature status to become an internationally renowned centre of culture and creativity with a reinvigoration of Nottingham’s story and brand identity brought to life by events, festivals and cultural ideas. • Reshaping the City – physically regenerating the city to create a more sustainable and liveable place adapted for a post-Covid and more digitally enabled world using the opportunity to redevelop the Broadmarsh centre as a catalyst for wider change • Carbon Neutral City – transforming green investment at scale to build on Nottingham’s track record of delivery to become the UK’s first carbon neutral city by 2028. • Digital Enterprise – building on the city’s fintech strengths to enhance Nottingham as a significant national centre for digital technologies and enterprise, underpinned by a programme of upskilling across communities. • Entrepreneurship & Innovation – supporting businesses (existing, new and early stage) to survive and thrive, targeting growth in key sectors and developing the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. • Skills & Employment – preventing long-term mass unemployment by supporting a culture of enterprise and offering extensive and inclusive reskilling/upskilling programmes for citizens to take advantage of new opportunities. The Plan is being considered for adoption by the council’s Executive Board today (January 18th) and sets out a clear strategic framework that will underpin the council’s efforts to secure economic growth funding. A public consultation exercise was undertaken earlier this year, with the key finding that local people wanted to see greater emphasis on economic inclusion, so that the city genuinely offers opportunities for everyone. The Plan has consequently been refined so that the drive for inclusion is a theme that runs through the whole Plan. Nottingham City Council’s Portfolio Holder for Skills, Growth and Economic Development, Cllr Rebecca Langton, said: “All the Nottingham Growth Board partners have agreed on where Nottingham’s key strengths lie, and the issues we need to address, so that we focus our efforts on how best our city can grow and prosper post-Covid. “This Plan gives us a really clear direction for the city’s future, as well as a framework for securing the support and investment needed for the city to fulfil its economic potential through sustainable growth.”

With energy costs rising and increasing pressure on companies to reduce their carbon footprint, businesses are being challenged to increase manufacturing efficiency, whilst reducing energy consumption and operating costs. With the onset of winter introducing cooler outside air temperatures, free coolers offer an enhancement to air-cooled chillers. Using fresh air to provide partial or 100% free cooling, they offer a far more energy efficient and cost-effective way to provide chilled fluid to manufacturing processes. When ambient air temperatures are low enough, a free cooler starts to dissipate the system heat, allowing the chiller to reduce its power consumption. Free coolers reduce the annual total system energy consumption, enabling the savings made to be reinvested elsewhere into the business. Richard Metcalfe, director for temperature control and humidity experts, Newsome, explains: “Free Cooling is a fast and effective way to reduce your energy costs and carbon footprint on refrigerated, process water cooling applications. Depending on the external air temperatures and the temperature you want to achieve, chillers can typically be partially or fully offloaded for up to 90% of the year.” The ROI for implementing a Free Cooler in a traditional chiller system is truly impressive, depending on location, some companies could have a payback period of as little as 12 months. The system not only reduces the energy consumption and contributes to a greener profile for companies – but can also extend the chiller lifespan. Traditionally, free cooling systems are generally only available to purchase. However, for a limited period – Newsome plans to offer companies the opportunity to rent a free cooling system to allow them to evaluate the potential cost savings available, before investing in a solution that is fully tailored to meet their individual business requirements. For more information visit the website https://newsome.ltd.uk/ For enquiries email: enquiries@newsome.ltd.uk or call 01422 371711.

An alliance made up of civic, political, business and cultural leaders in Derby is being formed to put pressure on football league chiefs to remove the obstacles blocking the takeover of Derby County – starting with a meeting with administrators tomorrow. The Rams have already been handed a 21-point deduction and a transfer embargo by the English Football League (EFL) for previous breaches of Financial Fair Play rules and for going into administration. The club is up for sale and administrators, who have three parties interested in buying the club, were due to announce their preferred bidder last week. However, it appears the announcement has been blocked by the EFL due to claims made against the club by Middlesbrough and Wycombe Wanderers, as well as putting the club under a second transfer embargo and demanding proof that the Rams have the funds to complete the season, while also threatening expulsion from the Football League. This has resulted in a national uproar and concerns that the EFL is acting unfairly. A petition asking the Sports Minister to intervene has already exceeded 42,000 signatories. Now, ‘Team Derby’ is calling on the EFL to allow the Rams takeover to proceed – and for the claims by Middlesbrough and Wycombe to be dealt with after the takeover is completed. Leader of Derby City Council, Councillor Chris Poulter, said: “As a lifelong Rams fan I, like many others, am concerned about continuing uncertainty facing Derby County Football Club. “As well as being of personal importance to me – like thousands of citizens from across the city and indeed the world – it is also significant to me as a leader in Derby. As a council, we understand the impact and value of having a football club in our city. It’s vital that city leaders come together and do everything we can to secure its future. “Football supporters, including those from rival clubs, and the wider city are united in speaking up for the club and Derby City Council stands firmly with them. Myself and Paul Simpson, our Chief Executive, continue to meet regularly with administrators to ensure the future of our club.” John Forkin, Managing Director of Marketing Derby, said: “This cannot stand and we are appealing to the EFL directly to seek an urgent meeting to make it clear how important Derby County is to the city as a football club, driver of the economy and a positive member of the local community. “Marketing Derby and our Bondholders stand with Derby County through this difficult period. We are calling on the EFL to act responsibly and stop moving the goalposts and to allow the preferred bidder to proceed and to lift the transfer embargo to help stop players leaving and allow the club to stabilise and rebuild. “We will be working with Derby City Council, MPs and businesses across the city to make as much noise as we can to make sure our concerns are heard by the people in power.” Adam Buss, who is director of Derby’s City of Culture 2025 bid, is part of the alliance. He said: “Here at the Derby City of Culture 2025 team we believe that culture is more than just art. Sport is crucial to this mix and Derby County is at the centre of Derby’s identity and a crucial part of life for many throughout the city and county. “The collective joy and despair that goes with supporting any sports team is part of what makes sport great but right now the concern is that this passion and collective identity could be lost due to financial implications. “The fans ARE the club – managers, players and administrators will come and go but it is crucial that institutions like Derby County are stabilised and enabled to compete so that more memories can be created and the power of sport is used, as it should be, to bring people together.” Backing the Team Derby campaign, Scott Knowles, Chief Executive of East Midlands Chamber, said: “Derby County is an integral component of the city’s heritage, make-up and economy, with the prosperity of both intrinsically linked. “A successful football team competing at the top of the sport creates a healthy atmosphere across the whole area and this will always have positive economic consequences. “Businesses located in and around the city benefit from the tens of thousands of people who turn up every match to support their club – pubs, cafés, restaurants and shops will be packed before each game, while local transport networks rely on the increased number of passengers to remain viable. “But it’s also much more than that. Derby County is a part of the city and county’s fabric, and every passing day in which the club is kept in its current state of limbo damages the communities and businesses that rely on this sporting institution. “East Midlands Chamber wholeheartedly supports all efforts to find a swift resolution that ensures the club’s survival in the long term.” In the meantime, people who want to show their support for the campaign are being asked to do the following: *Write to their local MP asking for the EFL to allow the sale to proceed. *Write to the EFL. The address is EFL House, 10-12 West Cliff, Preston, PR1 8HU. To contact the EFL visit https://www.efl.com/contact-form/. *Sign the change.org petition, which can be found here: https://www.change.org/p/sports-minister-for-england-sports-minister-to-look-into-the-ongoing-situation-between-the-efl-derby-county.

The architect behind Nottingham’s Acres Group has designs for huge growth for 2022 after already achieving phenomenal expansion since the start of the global pandemic. Edward Acres, who founded Acres Architects from a laptop in his parents’ spare bedroom in 2008, has seen his business expand from a turnover of a few hundred thousand pounds to an empire projected to turn over £10m in less than two years. His team of three people at the start of the pandemic has expanded by around 600 per cent to 20 full-time staff in the same period – and the Acres Group is looking to almost double that number this year. The success is partly down to Edward’s hard work, vision and refusal to stand still, while many competitors were making cuts in the face of Covid-19. But his decision to offer diversified services and formally set up a growing list of non-architectural companies within his group is the main reason why the business has grown so much in such a short space of time. Now, the group boasts various additional divisions, including Acres Investments, Acres Developments, Online Media Video Productions (OMVP) and Acres Construction. Established only 18 months ago, Acres Construction began with a pipeline of works to support Acres Architects, which was struggling with its existing crop of contractors, which largely specialised in residential projects. Acres Construction has now secured larger scale business and commercial contracts such as property developer residential projects like apartment schemes and luxury private gated developments, as well as dilapidation works, SEN schools and interior fit-out works. It is currently working towards a sales pipeline of £25m in 2022. Edward said: “These new facets of the business have created this amazing company growth. Our clients love the one-stop-shop, where we add levels of accountability and security that other practices can’t offer. All processes are effectively delivered under one roof. “This linear process and, most importantly, our ability to provide clients with straightforward communication throughout all aspects of a build, has generated huge interest and popularity. “As a result, our client base has sky-rocketed – and we are planning for even greater expansion of our services and projects in 2022.” Edward said that there was a very simple reason that he was able to achieve something in two years that might typically take decades to achieve. “I stopped thinking like an architect, and started thinking more like a businessman,” he said. “More and more investors are coming forward for support, and this full, turnkey solution provides them with a combined set of assets and a holistic overview that they value highly, and which architects alone do not offer.” The Acres Group’s record-breaking 2021 included a decision to exhibit for the first time at Grand Designs Live – a significant investment which paid off in the shape of a large spike in client enquiries. This, and the enormous traction created by the setting up of several new arms of the company, has led to growth in all aspects of the business. Acres Architects alone is seeing a big increase in enquiries for residential developments, particularly countryside barn conversions – citing 13 separate barn conversion projects on the go currently. “We are still gaining momentum,” said Edward. “While 2021 was an incredible year for us, our sights are firmly set on adding more commercial projects, targeting more property developers across the UK, adding more turnover and building a bigger team in 2022. We’re thinking big and we’re going places.” Acres Architects is a multiple award-winning, RIBA accredited firm. The Acres Group operates from its expanding head office at Nottingham Science Park, near to the University of Nottingham. To find out more about the services provided by the Acres Group, please visit www.acresarchitects.co.uk, email info@acresarchitects.co.uk or phone 0115 838 9738.

The majority of Northamptonshire firms expect their turnover will increase during 2022 but are bracing themselves for rising prices, according to the county’s largest business survey. Service sector companies were the most upbeat about 2022 and although the majority of county manufacturers were also confident about their future turnover figures, this was offset by many suggesting they expected to see their profits fall in the next 12 months. The revelations came in the latest Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) carried out by Northamptonshire Chamber of Commerce at the end of 2021 to find out how businesses were faring. Northamptonshire Chamber head of policy, Sean Rose, said: “It’s good to see that Northamptonshire businesses are positive about the future. However, despite the optimism, concerns about price pressures are once again dominating our survey results. “Almost 90 per cent of service firms and nearly 60 per cent of manufacturers who responded to our survey indicated that they expect prices to increase during the first three months of 2022.” The survey also revealed that nearly half of the county’s service firms had seen a rise in their domestic sales during the last quarter whilst more than 80 per cent of manufacturers had seen their current and advanced domestic orders remain constant or increase. Nearly 80 per cent of Northamptonshire’s service firms reported that their overseas orders had increased or remained at the same level as the previous three months. Around half of service firms said their workforce had grown at the end of 2021 and nearly 70 per cent of manufacturers reported that their numbers had remained stable. However, businesses in both sectors which tried to recruit at the end of 2021 said they had experienced difficulties in hiring new staff.