NW business briefs: Next Energy; First Bus Oldham; Bretherton’s Gold Line Tours; Manchester Digital; Women’s Organisation
Energy retrofitting firm Next Energy has secured £40m in contract deals as part of the Government’s Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund Wave (SHDF) and Home Upgrade Grant (HUG2) initiatives.
The energy business, which is based in Prescot, has agreed deals to work with some of Merseyside’s most prominent social landlords including Plus Dane Housing and Livv Housing Group – while it is also contracted with Cheshire East Council and Manchester City Council, respectively.
The £40m contracts, which will see the company install a range of energy-efficient home improvements across the North West and North East, will be delivered on behalf of several national social housing providers – servicing more than 4,000 homes across a two-year period.
The SHDF and HUG2 initiatives are part of the Government’s pledge to improve the energy performance of homes as the UK continues on its pathway to net zero, helping social housing providers and eligible private homeowners tackle fuel poverty and reduce carbon emissions.
Next Energy will be installing solar PV panels and air source heat pumps (ASHP), plus cavity wall, external wall and loft insulations, as well as floor, roof and internal wall retrofits. The firm will also provide window and door replacements. Retrofitted households could save up to an average of £567 per year while also protecting their homes against rising energy costs.
Lee McNally, director at Next Energy, said: “Our partnerships with Combined Authorities and housing associations means we can continue to help make homes more energy efficient, bring down household bills and do our bit to tackle the climate crisis. As it stands today, over three million UK households are currently living in fuel poverty. Pair this with the growing number of harmful carbon emissions damaging our planet, and the need for properly insulated homes has never been more important.”
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Work is under way to transform the First Bus depot in Oldham with the introduction of the next phase of electrification as part of the wider Greater Manchester EV fleet transformation.
The collaborative working of First Bus, the current owner-operator, and TfGM, the incoming owner to deliver funding will allow the works to be delivered and operational for the next phase of Greater Manchester Bus Franchising.
Contractors from Stonewood Electrical have arrived on site and started preparations to install the power charging and infrastructure to handle the introduction of 50 zero emission EV buses when the depot on Wallshaw Street joins the Bee Network in March 2024. The depot will be operated by Stagecoach on behalf of TfGM when franchised bus services begin on the Bee Network next spring.
Mike Watson, Mobilisation Director for First Bus in Manchester, said: “We’re pleased to support Transport for Greater Manchester in preparing our Oldham depot for electrification as the Bee Network expands and new vehicle technologies are introduced into the fleet. First Bus has extensive experience in the transformation of depots to electric from our programme at sites across the UK.”
Vernon Everitt, Transport Commissioner for Greater Manchester, said: “We’re delighted with the progress towards electrifying Oldham bus depot as we prepare for the next phase of bus franchising in Oldham, Rochdale, parts of Bury, Salford and North Manchester in March 2024.”
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New tech
A Ribble Valley coach firm says it has become one of the first transport operators in the UK to install new technology that protects passengers, drivers, cyclists, and the public.
Bretherton’s Gold Line Tours, which has been a family-run company since 1987, has equipped its latest 53-seat Volvo tri-axle 990 coach with Spillard Safety Systems’ innovative Human Detection System (HDS).
The equipment has been developed over the past two years and is now being rolled-out across the bus and coach sector, delivering an additional measure that is proven to prevent accidents and thus reducing injuries and saving lives. Launched in the middle of last year, the HDS has been fitted to the side, front and back of the vehicle and intelligently detects only the shape of a pedestrian, cyclist or motorcyclist within 20 meters – all in real time.
Once detected, an audio alert is delivered to the driver, as well as clearly visualising the distance by measurement and colour codes displayed on the cab monitor. The HDS will help bus and coach operators and, importantly, ensures they are compliant with The Direct Vision Standard introduced by the Mayor of London in March 2021.
Third generation owner of Bretherton’s Gold Line Tours, Jon Paul, said: “We always have one eye on new things coming out that can improve the experience and safety of our passengers. First and foremost, it has eliminated all blind spots which is massive for us – especially in crowded towns and cities. The fact it also only picks up the human shape is also a major benefit as our driver knows if he gets an alert he needs to act.”
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Katie Gallagher
A new wide-reaching support programme for early-stage start-ups and founders across the Greater Manchester region has been launched by independent trade body, Manchester Digital, called the Startup Activator.
Katie Gallagher, managing director of Manchester Digital, said: “This is a pivotal time for start-ups and founders in this post-pandemic uncertain economy. During the COVID pandemic we saw the end of lots of networking and meet ups for the start-up and tech sector. Not all of these have come back so we could see a gap in the market to create a start-up community, with a full programme of independent advice from experts in the field as well as networking events.”
The Startup Activator programme will bring together expertise from experienced founders, informative sessions, networking events, as well as the chance to work as a community to influence upcoming governmental policy. It will also showcase the wide variety of support that’s available to start ups across the region and highlights the many incubators and accelerators that call the region home.
Manchester Digital said it has always supported start-ups within its wide ranging work to develop the regional tech ecosystem. The not-for-profit trade body develops digital skills, runs events and networking events and influences policy within central government.
The Startup Activator is sponsored by Kao Data, a data centre provider, which is opening a new £350m Stockport-based data centre.
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Liverpool and Manchester equality charity, The Women’s Organisation, has teamed up with Good Market to host a female-led Christmas market, ‘Women Made This’.
The Women’s Organisation has historically supported female founders with starting and growing businesses, as well as those looking to upskill and get into employment. The initial collaboration saw the charity deliver business skills courses to the Good Market’s cohort of female owned, purpose-led businesses.
Following the success of this support, a market in collaboration with Good Market was identified as an ideal opportunity to showcase products exclusively by their female makers for the first time. The event took place at The Women’s Organisation’s HQ at 54 St James Street in the centre of The Baltic Triangle. With more than 30 stalls, attendees were able to peruse a wide variety of goods made with care from local female-led businesses.
Germaine Fryer, Head of Engagement, Marketing, and Communications at The Women’s Organisation said: “Supporting women is at the heart of what we do. The event was a brilliant culmination of education and practical business opportunity, ultimately celebrating the array of purpose-led independent businesses on our doorstep. There were also wonderful Christmas treats on offer from new resident café Artisane.”
Stallholder Laura, from That’s Sew Laura, said: “Markets like this are important for that general exposure, people don’t know who you are and shopping small, especially at this time of year, is wonderful. It’s not just money in our pockets, it’s money back into your local community.”
