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contents 05 news

All the latest from the top regeneration and development schemes in Wakefield.

09 point of view

16 connectivity

Transport investments consolidate Wakefield's enviable location for residents, visitors and businesses alike.

22 map

From the transformation of a former chemical works and a colliery, to the expansion of the city eastwards, we summarise some of Wakefield's major development schemes.

38 retail

Wakefield's retail scene is buzzing, and distribution companies are thriving here too.

connect wakefield

We meet council leader Peter Box CBE for a tour of the headline-grabbing regeneration projects in Wakefield.

25 projects

45 business growth

From Haribo and Burberry to Coca-Cola's huge site: global names are happy in Wakefield.

A round-up of some of the major regeneration developments, under way or up and coming.

employment The council has secured £15 million to upskill SMEs.

Editorial director Siobhán Crozier Head of design Rachael Schofield Design Kate Harkus, Katrin Smejkal Contributing editors Sarah Herbert, Lucy Purdy Chief reporter James Wood Director Paul Gussar Business development manager Shelley Cook Office manager Sue Mapara Subscriptions manager Simon Maxwell Managing director Toby Fox

Cover image Merchant Gate Images Wakefield Council, Porl Medlock Photography, Leeds Bradford International Airport, Miller Homes, Roger D Smith, SSE, Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, Hannah Webster, Haribo, Burberry, Harvard Engineering, Group Rhodes, Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd, Trinity Walk, The Ridings Shopping Centre, Next plc, Unity Works, Backstage Academy, Page 51 – Still Open All Hours – Copyright © BBC Printed by Tradewinds

51 skills for

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news

HEPWORTH SHORTLISTED FOR “NATIONAL TREASURE” AWARD connect wakefield

WORK TO REDEVELOP RECYCLING CENTRE STARTS Demolition work has begun on a household waste recycling centre (HWRC) in Wakefield.

Shanks, the waste management company which is overseeing the redevelopment, hosted a ceremony at the Denby Dale Road site in February to mark the work. The event was

The Hepworth Wakefield was awarded £5 million towards gallery building costs.

Simon Wallis, director of the gallery, said: “We are delighted to be recognised by the National Lottery as one of the most inspirational projects in England.

"The gallery celebrated its third birthday on 21 May and this is a wonderful way to

attended by representatives from Wakefield Council and the Kier Group, the firm managing the construction of the site.

The centre is being rebuilt to deliver improved efficiency and increased functionality.

Improvements will include safer traffic management, a new transfer station, a new facility building, gatehouse and a covered HWRC. The new site falls under a network of four HWRCs which are part of Shanks’ 25-year PFI

mark the occasion and recognise our achievements.”

The Hepworth Wakefield recently appointed Jane Marriott as deputy director. Marriott was formerly director of the Royal Academy Trust in London and will work closely with Wallis to “continue realising the gallery’s ambitious educational and commercial plans”.

Warburtons processes

2m loaves, rolls and crumpets every day

contract with Wakefield Council.

The contract also includes a residual waste treatment facility at South Kirkby, due to open in 2015, which will run on energy created from within the facility.

Peter Eglinton, managing director of Shanks UK, said: “We are delighted to join with Wakefield Council and Kier to mark this significant milestone and look forward to rebuilding a safer and more efficient waste facility for the people of Wakefield.”

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The Hepworth Wakefield art gallery has been nominated as England’s National Treasure, in a campaign to find the best National Lottery-funded project of the last 20 years.

The public vote asks people to choose from 12 venues, landmarks and facilities in England to mark the National Lottery’s 20th anniversary.

news connect wakefield

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first tenant for unity works Unity Works, Wakefield’s new entertainment, leisure and work space, has signed up its first business tenant with the expectation that it will be fully pre-let.

Wakefield-based Statement, an awardwinning design, digital and marketing agency, will move into the property shortly after it opens later this year.

Managing director Dan Conboy said: “Unity Works is the perfect home for Statement. It is more than just a property or an office – it is a community of like-minded people in the creative industries coming together under one roof in Wakefield.

“The state-of-the-art offices will provide a solid platform for Statement’s continued growth and the team at Unity Works has been so supportive from the beginning.”

LEP FUNDING for POWER STATION

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St Paul’s Developments has been awarded £2.45 million by Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to carry out remediation and infrastructure work at its former chemical works site in Wakefield. This prepares the 54.5-ha site for a £750 million power station which is being built by Irish energy company ESB, and could create 1,000 construction jobs.

Grade II-listed Unity Works is close to the refurbished Westgate train station and opposite the Theatre Royal. The building was established as the Wakefield Co-operative headquarters in 1867.

Unity House was set up as a community benefit co-operative in 2011, with the aim to turn the building into a music venue, conference centre and location for creative businesses. It has more than 200 member investors and has raised £4 million to purchase and refurbish the property.

Unity Works managing director Mark Taylor said: “We are delighted to welcome Dan Conboy and his team from Statement, to Unity Works.

"Since we launched, interest in Unity Works’ offices has been very encouraging and we expect to make further announcements on new leases shortly."

Detailed discussions took place in 2012 between Wakefield Council and the LEP about planning options at the site.

This enabled St Paul’s Developments to masterplan the scheme to include an energy centre – plans which were passed for approval in April 2014.

Funding is from the LEP’s Growing Places pot, which is allocated to projects that will contribute to Wakefield’s economic growth.

Phase one will see the creation of a

Award for HARVARD International lighting solutions firm Harvard Engineering, which is based in Wakefield, has won a Queen’s Award for Enterprise. The accolade was given to the firm in the International Trade category and is the second the company has won, having been recognised in the innovation category in 2011.

Over the last two years, Harvard has experienced worldwide growth and has established a presence in the US, France, Spain, Germany, Austria and Italy, as well as the Benelux and Nordic countries. It experienced a 25% rise in turnover at the end of 2011 and hopes to increase this to 50% by late 2015.

John McDonnell, managing director at Harvard Engineering, said: “We are extremely pleased to have won such a prestigious award.

"International trade is an important and growing part of our business, and recognition with a Queen’s Award is a credit to the entire team and their dedication to improving export sales.”

Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power station on a 20-ha plot capable of providing electricity to two million homes.

Dennis Enuson, development manager at St Paul’s, said: “We are delighted to have secured the funding from the Growing Places Fund to enable us to further prepare the site. Our long term vision is to bring the redundant site back to life by creating a mix of uses which can happily co-exist on such an extensive site.”

news

FIRM ACQUIRES NEW BUSINESS Dark Arches Holdings, owner of Wakefield-based stage management company LS Live and founding investor in the Backstage Academy training centre, has acquired the stage set fabrication company Brilliant Stages and Litestructures from the Prolyte Group.

Chairman of the familyowned Dark Arches Holdings, Adrian Brooks, said: “We see [this as] a clear opportunity to create a strong solution for all project requirements.”

connect wakefield

CONSENT FOR 500 HOMES Developer Miller Homes has gained approval to build 500 homes in west Wakefield. It is the first phase of the City Fields regeneration scheme, which could see 2,500 homes built in total. Phase one also includes a new bypass to connect the site with the east side of the city. If the £500 million masterplan is realised, the scheme has the potential to become one of Wakefield’s biggest ever regeneration initiatives.

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ASDA’S FACILITY sold for £22m A Middle Eastern investor has bought the Asda distribution warehouse in Normanton, Wakefield, for over £22 million.

The 30,650sq m facility will be let to the supermarket retailer for a further 12.5 years following the sale. The property was constructed in 1990 and is one of Asda’s main distribution facilities in the north of England.

Jonathan Gilbert, investment partner at Hartnell Taylor Cook, who acted for the vendor, said: “The property’s strong income stream and unrivalled location added to the sale which is representative of the high take-up and activity in the logistics market.”

ORION SNAPS UP WAKEFIELD MALL Real estate firm Orion Capital Managers has bought the Trinity Walk Shopping Centre in Wakefield for around £150 million.

It purchased the 51,097sq m centre from Ares Management, Sovereign Land and Shepherd Construction, who took it on in 2009 when it was partially built.

Trinity Walk opened in May 2011 with more than 90% of the floor space already let. The centre is anchored by a Debenhams department store, a Sainsbury’s

superstore and brands including H&M, Asda, Next, Argos and New Look.

Wilson Lamont, partner of Ares Management, said: “Since acquiring Trinity Walk out of bankruptcy during the depths of the recession, we are delighted to have completed its construction and created a highly successful, dominant retail destination with market-leading tenants that attracts well more than 10 million shoppers a year.”

Orion are looking forward to progressing the expansion plans which Ares Management had implemented, said Orion managing director Aref Lahham.

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POINT OF VIEW connect wakefield

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There’s nothing like a walkabout with an expert guide to get the feel of a city. To understand what regeneration has delivered and find out about the vision for the next phase of transformational projects, the best guide is the one in power. Councillor Peter Box CBE, the Leader of Wakefield Council, invites Connect on a tour of his surprising city WORDS Siobhån Crozier

issue 2 SUMMER 2014

leader column

POINT OF VIEW connect wakefield

10 issue 2 SUMMER 2014

oliticians usually respond with passion when asked what keeps them awake at night. They are driven by the state of the economy, a lack of decent housing their constituents can afford, unemployment or education, education, education … But it’s the wrong question for Councillor Peter Box CBE, who sleeps soundly. Wakefield Council is on a steady course – with more work ahead in regenerating the city and the nearby towns – but a four-star performance rating allows its leader undisturbed nights.

First elected as a councillor in 1982, Box became council leader in 1998, taking on one of local government’s noted under-achievers, with successive Audit Commission reports conveying a firm message that the West Yorkshire authority must improve.

Today the leader sees agreed priorities clearly mapped out, strategies in place to deliver and the confident resolve that comes with running a council with an excellent rating.

By 2006, it was being voted the best small city for business and the accolades have continued to roll in for Wakefield.

From poor-performer to paragon is not easily achieved but in Box’s view, there is no mystery to successful public services – it entails clarity of purpose, getting on with the job and doing it properly.

“The thing people want most is basic council services, delivered well,” he says. “Several years ago we were not a well-regarded authority. But we try and provide good environmental and waste management services – get the basics right, then look to the future and that’s when regeneration is crucial. It’s not just about putting a building up, we try and combine physical and social regeneration.”

The transformation in the authority’s performance has helped to engender a relationship of trust between council and citizens, enabling it to carry public opinion, with residents giving support to potentially contentious projects.

Box cites the council HQ, at the heart of one of the city’s main regeneration areas: “Wakefield One is a big, modern, council building – but it’s for the public as well.

There’s a brand new state-of-the-art library, the museum, a cafe run by a social enterprise – and it’s busy, people are always in here, it’s not just the council offices.”

Establishing the new library involved closing and redeveloping smaller branches; the rationalisation of a service which is dear to the public’s heart and has – elsewhere – been met with vociferous opposition.

In Wakefield, the council has informed, consulted and succeeded in bringing residents along with the project. As executive director of regeneration, Andy Wallhead, points out: “We have seen the use of the service increase, with more people using the library now than did so when the smaller libraries were all open.”

This supports Box’s view of social regeneration: it’s a bigger, better library with more people using it. The council opened it with Jarvis Cocker, who came along to tell kids how he got enthused by reading the books in his local library. Pulp fiction? In Wakefield, the library is cool.

Staff from Wakefield One support the city centre economy while they eat out and shop at lunchtime or after work, with the public who use the building also spending with local businesses.

Box is assertive about the fact that Wakefield One “cost a fair bit” but residents were persuaded of the sense of the development.

did you know?

Xscape Yorkshire at Castleford is built on the site of a former colliery and now employs more than 1,000 people Merchant Gate in Wakefield's commercial quarter has seen investment of over £70,000,000 in projects to date 1,000 council staff work at Wakefield One, the multipurpose building in Merchant Gate

Above Wakefield's Civic Quarter has been enhanced by award-winning public realm.

Above right Library, museum and cafe combine with council services in Wakefield One.

“Even though we built it during a recession, we explained to people that it will save a million a year in revenue costs, it frees up other council property we no longer need and generates capital receipts that are reinvested – so there has been no criticism of Wakefield One.” One successful building really can help give a city a great name – who went to Bilbao before Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim? Many of Wakefield’s accolades pour in for its famous modern art museum, which achieved its annual target of 150,000 visitors in the first five weeks since opening and continues to bust targets for annual visitor numbers.

“Look at the Hepworth Gallery – we’re in the Lonely Planet guide for the first time as a must-see,” says Box. “It has put us on the map, both nationally and internationally.

Local people go back, time after time – and the millionth visitor came from Australia.”

POINT OF VIEW connect wakefield

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Since opening in May 2011, the Hepworth is estimated to have generated upwards of £16 million for the local economy. The equally successful Yorkshire Sculpture Park is also listed in the Lonely Planet guide, and the venue draws more than 300,000 people annually.

On our tour of Wakefield’s city centre, Box is keen to point out that the borough is a metropolitan district made up of five towns and the villages and rural areas in between.

And in other places, regeneration projects are delivering employment and economic growth.

Forget Courchevel – for shopping and skiing, it’s Castleford you want. Junction 32 is a designer and high street outlet development in the former colliery town, offering big brands at reduced prices from Gaggia to GAP or Le Creuset to Craghoppers.

And another huge Castleford attraction, Xscape, features climbing walls, indoor surf and Snozone’s real

snow experience, along with laser games, 4D golf, bowling and cinema – plus a range of family restaurants and other games and activities. Close by is the Pontefract Racecourse, adding to the area’s sporting offer.

Box says: “Xscape had the biggest indoor ski-slope in Europe – regeneration is not just about this city, it’s a whole district of which Castleford is a part.”

A dedicated rugby fan, Box follows his local team, Castleford Tigers, which announced earlier this year that it will leave its Wheldon Road ground for a new stadium at Glasshoughton in 2017.

“The new stadium will not just be for sport but also for the community,” says Box. “We’re prepared to talk to professional clubs to see what can be used for the public as well.”

A similar arrangement is in place with the city’s Grade l-listed cathedral: “The council contributed to the

POINT OF VIEW

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Castleford town centre has seen £9 million invested in regeneration Expansion plans for the east of Wakefield will deliver 2,500 homes, plus leisure and retail space

The Hepworth Wakefield welcomed its 1,000,000th visitor in December 2013 – Pauline Mackiewicz came from Australia

The council will consider different options but Box insists: “If we’d listened to everyone who thought the Hepworth wouldn’t succeed, we’d never have built it.”

Wallhead and his team are working on alternative ways to retain the market while allowing it to develop over time in line with contemporary demands. The plan is to trial the market outdoors in a square and survey how well people think it could work.

An extended Trinity Walk would contribute significantly to the night-time economy in the city centre. “We’re looking at transforming it from being an evening economy based on people coming to the city to have a drink, to one where we have more families visiting,” says Box. Change is under way through a former library which the council has transferred to the Arthouse, a local organisation for artists with disabilities. “It allowed them to expand and they got a massive grant on the back of us donating the building.

“The old museum was transferred to Wakefield College and is now a performing arts centre,” he explains.

“Talking of diversifying the night-time economy – their evening performances already bring a different crowd and the students bring new spending power into the city centre.”

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left Sculpting the city: travellers arriving at Wakefield Westgate rail station find the city's favourite buildings are represented as an artwork, by the Studio of Cinematic Architecture.

talking of diversifying the night-time economy ... the students bring new spending power ...

connect wakefield

From Wakefield Westgate, trains reach London in two hours and Edinburgh in only three hours and 15 minutes

renovation project and it’s used for various purposes now, not just religious events,” Box explains. “It’s a much more flexible place, not just used on a Sunday.”

“Regeneration is investing in the future,” he thinks. “It’s a twin-track approach where we try to provide good quality public services in the face of huge budget cuts. We’ve got to work with people to explain what we’re trying to do. To open the new library here, we had to close some smaller libraries – and there’s been no outcry because we’ve consulted closely with the local community.”

Box says that a similar plan to rationalise swimming pools is more problematic. “We’ve asked our scrutiny committee to talk to people to see if we can reduce the number of pools – meaning fewer pools but of better quality,” he adds.

Wakefield is well-served in retail, from quirky independent shops dotted around the compact city centre, many of them along Northgate, to Trinity Walk, the shopping centre which is home to more than 60 shops and restaurants, anchored by Debenhams and the area’s largest Sainsbury’s. The department store sits in what is now effectively a covered street: “It was done in 2011 and it has proved a tremendous success,” says Box. The council is considering proposals to extend Trinity Wharf to create more restaurant units and a cinema – a controversial plan, involving changes to the existing market.

The council leader says that views appear split between those who want to keep the market and the mainly younger people, who would welcome more restaurants and a cinema.

POINT OF VIEW

did you know?

POINT OF VIEW

Our walk brings us to a fine classical building in Wood Street, boarded up and in disrepair. “The owner will be served with a notice and if they don’t do the work needed, the council may put a compulsory purchase order on it,” says Box. “It’s a beautiful building in decay – and we can’t allow this to go on.”

The building is opposite the police station, which the council has an option to acquire when it is vacated later this year. Box says: “We’d like to see it as a hotel complex, it’s a gorgeous old building and we can imagine it as a hotel.

We create the conditions for the private sector to create jobs connect wakefield

14 issue 2 SUMMER 2014

“We also own the Coroner’s Court and surrounding buildings, so that gives us the opportunity to attract a developer of scale. We own the land to the rear of the police station, so although the building isn’t very deep, it can be extended at the back,” adds Wallhead.

The council’s investment in public realm exploits and enhances the city’s attributes, such as the square in front of the Old Town Hall, built as assembly rooms in 1798, and remodelled in 2012 into a tranquil spot for people to sit and enjoy the space along with some of the city’s fine Georgian architecture.

“We use the old street pattern, so it’s seamless,” Box says. “The new public realm uses high-quality paving and the planting around County Hall and Kirkgate looks really attractive now.”

Wakefield is one of the UK’s best connected cities and wherever we walk in the city centre, we are near to a rail station. Connectivity is vital to investors – and frequent, fast services reach London in only two hours and Edinburgh in just over three hours on some services.

Wakefield has two Victorian rail stations – Westgate has been extensively redeveloped and work on Kirkgate will be completed by the end of this year. Arrival at Westgate has transformed the city’s gateway, bringing travellers into the heart of the city. The redevelopments will make available some fine Victorian buildings for investors to adapt for new uses.

Educational attainment in Wakefield schools is good, says the leader: “A lot of young people do well at school here but have to leave to go on to degree level.”

The council is keen to see higher level education provision established in the city and Box points to where it could be located as part of Wakefield College, which already offers some degree level courses. “That’s the site we’ve identified for a university centre,” the leader says.

“We’ve got to get more people staying here and having higher level skills, and developing this will help the process.”

Box views his authority’s role as facilitative in working with businesses, contributing to Wakefield’s position as the 27th biggest economy in the UK. It is growing faster than many other city regions and outperformed the UK average GVA of 1.6% between 2011 and 2012, when Wakefield achieved 3.7%.

Box points out that perhaps surprisingly, the Leeds

above Ways of seeing – one view from the Hepworth Wakefield.

city region is larger than Manchester’s – the manufacturing sector alone employs 15,500 people and 280,000 work in skilled and associated professional technical occupations, within 20 miles of key sites.

“The whole team is geared to be business friendly,” says Box. “The local authority doesn’t create jobs, we create conditions for the private sector to create jobs – and that’s the way it should work.”

Box sees potential everywhere in the city to preserve its charm, while encouraging business to breathe economic life into buildings, creating employment and educational facilities for the 21st century. His passion for the ongoing success of his city is not costing the council leader any sleep; the strategies are in place – and Peter Box will see to it that his authority continues to deliver.

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connectivity

connect wakefield

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Wakefield DC: District of Connectivity

issue 2 summer 2014

connectivity connect wakefield

words Paul Coleman

17

akefield and district’s 325,000 people live and work in one of Britain’s most connected areas – and the vast majority of residents live within a mile or so of beautiful countryside too.

Major roads – the M1, M62 and A1 – and one of the country’s main train lines converge on Wakefield. The M62 links Wakefield district to ports at Liverpool, Immingham, Grimsby, Goole and Hull.

London is around three and a half hours away by road and under two hours by rail. In addition to rail hubs at Wakefield Westgate and Kirkgate, 14 other railway stations serve the district.

The Aire and Calder Navigation canal also links Wakefield district to the Humber ports. Imminent new investment is set to further enhance Wakefield’s growing reputation as being a connected district. The West Yorkshire Combined Authority has been formed to give the region greater control over economic investment and decision-making, enabling it to unlock new funding. This will include the creation of a ten-year, £1.6 billion West Yorkshire Plus Transport Fund.

Transport investment proposals are expected to deliver 20,000 jobs in the medium term and grow the Leeds City Region’s economy by over £1 billion a year.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority will be made up of Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds and Wakefield councils, with the City of York Council and Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) coming on board with partner membership.

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wakefield westgate The new station improves connections to London and beyond.

Businesses, residents and visitors benefit from transport investment that makes the most of Wakefield’s location in the centre of the country

connectivity connect wakefield

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Wakefield Westgate Brand new Wakefield Westgate, the city’s new station, offers improved connectivity – even of the romantic kind.

Clad in full combat uniform, Royal Signals soldier Martin Rogers gets off his East Coast train. He is returning home to Yorkshire after a five-month tour of duty in Afghanistan. Rogers throws his military kit bags on to the Wakefield Westgate platform. He is on a special mission. Passengers look on as he greets his partner Zoe and then goes down on one knee to pop the question. He produces an engagement ring. The happy couple begin to plan their wedding day.

East Coast customer services assistant Neil McNulty says: “It was a real tear-jerker.

There was hardly a dry eye when Zoe said yes.”

Romance on the railway – just a few weeks after Wakefield Westgate opened its doors

as the East Coast Main Line’s newest station.

Secretary of State Patrick McLoughlin officially opened the station on 3 February 2014 – the culmination of an £8.6 million project to connect Wakefield and its environs with the country.

East Coast runs 33 services each weekday from Wakefield Westgate to London. The fastest journey to London is one hour and 46 minutes, a service that

Above Passengers can now reach London in just one hour and 46 minutes from Wakefield Westgate station.

bikes and there is a 900-capacity, multi-storey car park.

The fully accessible station also offers new state-of-the-art facilities, including a footbridge and lifts linking all platforms, a travel centre, first class lounge, standard waiting area, and an enhanced shopping offer.

The station frontage improves integration with local bus and taxi services. Metro’s diverted ‘FreeCityBus’ now connects to the station off Mulberry Way. The bus links Westgate to the bus station, Trinity Walk shopping centre and to the Hepworth Wakefield gallery.

Buckingham Group began construction work in early 2013 – and in late December 2013, Wakefield Westgate opened.

Most of the funding came from the Department for Transport and the rest from the Access for All Fund and English Cities Fund, a joint venture between Muse Developments, the Homes and Communities Agency and Legal & General.

East Coast managing director Karen Boswell says: “This has been an excellent partnership between East Coast, Network Rail and Muse Developments, with significant support from Wakefield Council.”

Metro chairman James Lewis adds: “The new station will make the local, regional and national rail network more accessible and integrated.”

And Wakefield Council leader Peter Box thinks the

a stunning new gateway to wakefield leaves Westgate at 07.13 and arrives at London King’s Cross at 08.59.

The new Westgate connects travellers to other enhanced East Coast Main Line destinations, notably Peterborough, Newcastle and Edinburgh Waverley. Local buses and taxi services run from the station. Free Wi-Fi for all is provided by O2 throughout the station, whether users are its customers or not. Cyclists benefit from covered storage for 30

regeneration of the area has transformed the city. “This is a stunning new gateway to Wakefield and an integral element of the massive regeneration programme that has transformed this area of the city. Wakefield is rapidly becoming a competitive and thriving destination for visitors, business and residents.”

Designed by Leeds Studio, the station also lets in more natural light thanks to its greener photovoltaic roof.

did you know?

Leeds-Bradford International Airport (LBIA) is investing to meet future demand, bringing further connectivity benefits to Wakefield’s cluster of multinational businesses.

Companies enjoy connections with UK, European and global markets through LBIA, an international gateway airport right on their Yorkshire doorstep.

LBIA has capitalised on its convenient location by securing new airlines that operate services to a wider range of destinations – and the airport has also invested heavily in its infrastructure.

Strong ties with Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM) mean the airline operates four daily services to Amsterdam from LBIA, opening Wakefield and Yorkshire up to a host of onward global connections on offer at Amsterdam, one of Europe’s busiest airport hubs.

In spring 2014, LBIA announced the launch of services with SAS to provide direct access to Denmark and other Scandinavian destinations.

Major brand low-cost carriers – Jet 2, Ryanair, and

10mins

The M1 provides a direct route to Leeds in 10 minutes and London in 3½ hours Trains run to London every 30 minutes, a journey of under two hours The Wakefield area is served by four airports: Leeds-Bradford, Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield, Manchester and Humberside

route for businesses – the reintroduction of British Airways services from LBIA to London Heathrow, delivered in December 2012. Passengers have access to and from Wakefield and Yorkshire to more than 70 onward worldwide destinations at BA’s Terminal 5 at Heathrow.

Passenger numbers rose from 2.95 million to more than 3.3 million in the past year. “The airport is doing sterling work to widen the choice of airlines and destinations for our business and leisure customers,” says Tony Hallwood, LBIA aviation development and marketing director. “Business and leisure travellers from Wakefield know they can fly locally and conveniently from their nearby international gateway.”

LBIA acts as a vital magnet for inward investment, with airport executives frequently listening to local businesses, especially those from Wakefield, including chambers of commerce. “We find out which British, European and worldwide destinations and routes they’d like to see introduced at the airport so they can more easily access a wider number of markets,” says Hallwood.

LBIA also expands tourism in and around Wakefield. “The airport allows more people to fly directly into this region so they can spend more time in the area,” says Hallwood. “This safeguards existing jobs and generates new employment.”

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The M62 links Wakefield with five sea ports in Liverpool to the west and Hull, Immingham, Grimsby and Goole to the east coast, for access to Scandinavian and continental European markets

Monarch Airlines – have also extended their Leeds-Bradford offerings to more than 70 destinations. Competitive prices continue to encourage more of the region’s passengers to fly from LBIA. Future direct services could see Wakefield business and leisure travellers flying directly to Germany, France and Switzerland – and in the longer term, to markets in the Middle East, India and China, satisfying growing demand from Wakefield businesses and creating further opportunities for companies considering relocation in the area.

LBIA also secured a vital

connect wakefield

above and below New airlines have come on board at LBIA, opening up fresh destinations.

connectivity

Leeds-Bradford International Airport

connectivity connect wakefield

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From 2010-13, with the economy deeply mired in recession, LBIA decided to invest £11 million to enhance the airport’s infrastructure. As a result, customers now enjoy a new departure lounge and security zone. Investment has also led to an improved gate area and a covered passenger walkway. Retail and catering choice has also been extended.

Customers enjoy ease of access to LBIA via road, bus and coach; LBIA and its stakeholders are also exploring avenues to create a new rail link. Hallwood is confident about the airport’s future, as LBIA strengthens its offer of airlines, destinations and ongoing investment. Passenger numbers are set to rise to more than five million by 2020.

“LBIA has great ambition to serve Wakefield and our business partners,” says Hallwood.

Motorway and road enhancements Wakefield district’s motorway links and roads make the area a practical location for logistics and distribution enterprises.

Road enhancements could also facilitate regeneration and new housing. Wakefield Council and developer Harworth Estates are working on a scheme for a new connection between Pontefract town centre and the key Junction 32 of the M1.

The road unlocks delivery of a major development of 917 new homes and business space at the Prince of Wales Colliery site.

And construction of a new relief road is part of a regeneration scheme for City Fields, in the east of Wakefield, delivering 2,500 new homes and additional space for shops, businesses and educational institutions.

above and right Departure facilities, shopping and catering at Leeds-Bradford airport have all been revamped.

Restoring glory to Kirkgate

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Not only does Wakefield Kirkgate railway station help connect Wakefield to the rest of the region and the UK rail network – it is also one of the city’s most important landmarks.

A £4.6 million regeneration project to transform the Kirkgate area includes restoration of this Grade II-listed building that dates from 1854. The project will restore the station to its former glory but create space too for a cafe, ticketing facilities, shops, offices, community meeting rooms, and also incubation units for small businesses.

The project takes into account views expressed by rail travellers and local people about the need for more car parking.

Landscaping will allow the station, owned by Network Rail, to incorporate 50 extra spaces.

The restoration project began in August 2013 and will be completed by the end of 2014.

The classic station frontage will be retained and damaged stonework repaired. The roofline will be raised to accommodate a first floor for office space. Existing skylights will be improved and restored, while new skylights will be installed on the roof to create a bright, spacious office.

GF Tomlinson Building is carrying out the work on behalf of Groundwork, the national regeneration charity. “We’re delighted to have been entrusted to undertake the sensitive restoration of this important local landmark,” says Stuart Lawrence, managing director of GF Tomlinson Building.

Harjinder Sandhu, Groundwork corporate services director, says: “We will see the station buildings being brought back into full use within a wonderful environment.”

The wider project aims to enhance Kirkgate so it becomes a fully accessible city centre quarter with good connectivity to

above Rail, road and air improvements have boosted Wakefield's reputation as a connected district.

wakefield is competitive and thriving

the city’s retail zone and also to the Waterfront.

Wakefield Council is working with property and land owners to improve the road network and to create easier and safer pedestrian links, to encourage greater use of Kirkgate station.

Northern Rail runs local services from the station to Leeds, Sheffield and within the Wakefield district, while Grand Central services connect Wakefield Kirkgate with London King’s Cross.

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Hemsworth

30,000 acres across 200+ sites

Harworth Estates is the region’s largest regeneration company.

With over forty prime sites across Yorkshire, we deliver sustainable developments that create new jobs, homes and places to be.

www.harworthestates.co.uk

projects

project update masterplans for major schemes, developments under way, opportunity sites earmarked for regeneration

connect wakefield

words sarah herbert

25 issue 2 summer 2014

Civic Quarter masterplan The Civic Quarter is the core of the historic city centre, with many prominent Georgian, Victorian and Edwardian buildings, monuments, statues and formal gardens.

The council has drawn up a masterplan to transform this conservation area, while preserving its architectural and

historical character, retaining the existing street patterns, improving the buildings’ facades and promoting institutional, professional and business services. A public exhibition of ideas and options for new buildings and potential public squares will go on show in September 2014.

Improvement work has already started, with the regeneration of Wakefield College

Well preserved Wakefield's Civic Quarter has several handsome heritage buildings.

and the City Museum, demolition of the County Hall annexe allowing the creation of Jubilee Gardens, and the redesign and pedestrianisation of CastropRauxel Square.

It is continuing with the restoration of the town hall and plans being put in place for the council to purchase the Wood Street police station for adaptation and redevelopment, with the potential for leisure use.

Harworth Estate’s regeneration of this 31-ha former colliery – which was producing 1.5 million tonnes of coal a year until 2002 – has started with remediation getting under way in December 2013.

The mixed-use development will comprise 917 homes and 21,500sq m of employment space, along with retail units, cafes, a medical centre, community centre, nursery and parkland.

The developer will select housebuilders by summer 2014, ready for construction to begin

city fields A scheme of 500 homes will be built, along with a new bypass.

Europort Wakefield’s Europort at Normanton, on the M62, claims to be the north of England's premier distribution park, and now has a 10,800sq m unit available for occupation.

The 88-ha landscaped estate, home to national companies, including Asda, Warburtons, Royal Mail, TK Maxx, Argos, Kuehne+Nagel and Wickes, is served by the M62, M1 and A1(M), and has public transport 24/7. In the Normanton delivery plan the area is identified as a growth area, thanks to its road and canal transport.

27 issue 2 summer 2014

The first phase of the huge Wakefield East scheme has been granted planning permission.

City Fields, at the northern end of the site, will feature 500 homes next to two Grade II-listed buildings and a hospice, along with open space and a new bypass for the east side of the city. Permission was granted to housebuilder Miller Homes, via its architect Spawforths, for 329 houses with outline permission for a further 171.

The 152-ha Wakefield East masterplan is set to create a

sustainable eastern expansion of Wakefield. As well as 2,500 homes (750 affordable), plus leisure and retail uses, 19ha of employment space, a primary school, health facilities, and district and neighbourhood centres, approximately a third of the site will be incorporated into the waterside park and open space areas.

The overall scheme, one of the area’s biggest ever initiatives, will attract £500 million of investment, create about 590 full-time construction jobs, and 3,200 long-term jobs in retail, office, education, warehouse and industrial developments.

later this year, and for residents to move in by the end of 2015.

Completion of the full development, with all facilities, is anticipated to take between eight and 10 years.

The former spoil heap next to the pit yard will become a new country park, along with the £6 million construction of the Northern Link Road, a piece of infrastructure deemed vital to the growth of Pontefract, due for completion in January 2015.

Remediation work includes the extraction of more than 3.5 million tonnes from the spoil heap and lagoons. The dried coal is then used to fire nearby power stations to generate electricity.

connect wakefield

City Fields

£6 million Link The Northern Link Road is designed to ease congestion and unlock sites for new housing in Pontefract.

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Prince of Wales colliery

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merchant gate Contemporary apartments offer urban living at the heart of the city centre.

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connect wakefield

29 issue 2 summer 2014

Phase three of ECf and Muse’s seven-hectare Merchant Gate city centre scheme is now complete, in the form of the state-of-the-art Westgate train station, which opened in December 2013.

The station – the first newly constructed station building on the East Coast Main Line in decades – creates an impressive gateway to the city, and makes travelling to and from Wakefield easier and more enjoyable, with improved facilities, better accessibility (including a ‘golden footbridge’), new waiting rooms and more space for retailers.

The station building is also 71% more energy efficient, through the use of natural lighting and ventilation and a photovoltaic system on the roof to generate electricity. It has been awarded a BREEAM Excellent rating for sustainable building design.

Merchant Gate has already seen the creation of a new commercial quarter, with 8,100sq m of offices, retail and leisure space, 66 apartments and £9 million of investment in infrastructure and public realm.

The commercial space included the award-winning Wakefield One, a five-storey, multi-purpose office building for the council next to the Grade I-listed County Hall, along with three further office buildings: 1 Burgage Square, 2 Burgage Square and Emerald House, now sold to Helmsley Securities and leased to Her Majesty’s Court and Tribunal Service.

projects

Merchant Gate

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Knottingley In the first stage of transforming the ex-industrial Knottingley into a new community, Knottingley Power has submitted a development consent order to turn the demolished 100-ha Oxiris Chemical Works site into a new power station. A decision will be announced in early 2015.

The efficient, low-emission, combined cycle gas turbine power station – to be operated

by Knottingley Power’s parent company ESB – would generate up to 1,500MW of electricity for two million homes, create up to 1,100 jobs during its three and a half year construction programme, boost local business and create 50 permanent jobs.

The developer of the 44-ha site, St Paul’s Developments, has undertaken the necessary demolition and decommissioning after being awarded a loan of £2.45 million from the Growing

Places Fund of Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership, supporting projects that will create economic and employment growth.

The masterplan is to create a mixed-use development with housing and employment, as well as the power station.

Proposals to build up to 651 homes and 1,000sq m of retail space nearby on Pontefract Road have been given the green light. Two planning applications have been approved – one for 176 homes on one parcel of land from Gleeson Development and Warmfield Ferrybridge, and another from Warmfield Ferrybridge for up to 475 homes, commercial space, and just under a hectare for educational use on an adjacent piece of land.

According to council officers, the new homes would help meet Wakefield’s future housing needs and were part of a scheme that had been designed to “minimise the impact of the development on the surrounding area”.

family homes New homes are being built near the riverside in Castleford's Navigation Point.

Navigation Point Residents are beginning to move into the first phase of Navigation Point, the 1,300home scheme regenerating the former Lambson chemical works in Castleford.

Developer Greenhaven has completed 66 of the 279 homes, and started work on 32 more, to be built by March 2015.

Construction of the final group of riverside houses and apartments will then get started.

By the end of the year, work will start on a cycle path along the 900m of river frontage, and to improve access to the site.

When complete, the scheme – which is within walking distance of Castleford town centre – will also have a civic square, play areas, an eco park, a community shop and a riverside bar and restaurant.

Navigation Point received £2.5 million from the Homes and Communities Agency.

issue 2 summer 2014

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Only one year to go!

It is now just over a year since Shanks signed a 25 year contract with Wakefield Council worth an estimated £750 million.

Shanks is in the process of building a residual waste treatment facility at South Kirkby in Wakefield. The facility will use a number of processes to treat and recycle waste, transforming it into valuable products and green energy. The facility will process up to 230,000 tonnes per annum of municipal solid waste, helping to increase the Council’s landfill diversion rate towards 90%.

Timeline January 11 2013

Financial Close achieved on the contract.

February 2013

Shanks commence operations across Wakefield, including managing seven Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs), two Transfer Stations and a Bring Site network. Approximately 30 staff join the Shanks team from Wakefield Council.

June 2013

Welbeck HWRC closes for refurbishment.

July 2013

Ground Breaking Ceremony takes place at the South Kirkby site and construction work begins.

October 2013

April 2014

Welbeck HWRC re-opens to the public.

The improvements to this site include extra bays for additional recycling, new fencing and better security, improved signage and upgrades to the container exchange area.

October 2013

Wakefield’s HWRC on Denby Dale Road closes for refurbishment, due to re-open Spring 2015. Once complete, the new site will be undercover and will have an improved layout, creating easier customer access. It is also anticipated this will lead to reduced queuing along a local road. Temporary facilities open at Calder Vale Road.

Autumn 2015

March 2015

Glasshoughton HWRC (new facility) built and ready to operate.

Autumn 2015

South Kirkby facility opens.

Web: www.shanks-wakefield.co.uk |

Email: wakefield@shanks.co.uk

South Kirby business park Reclamation of former colliery land for a business park and green energy centre.

into gas for energy generation.

It will recover 90% of the waste sent to the facility and generate enough power for 3,000 homes.

A separate on-site facility will sort mixed recyclables while another will process green waste into compost. The site will also feature a visitors’ centre.

As part of the 25-year PFI deal between Shanks and Wakefield Council, Shanks is also taking over a network of household waste recycling centres and has demolished the Denby Dale Road site to carry out a complete refurbishment by spring 2015.

33 issue 2 summer 2014

The waste treatment facility will process up to 230,000 tonnes of domestic waste each year

connect wakefield

The reclamation of this former colliery will enable it to be developed into a business park, green open space and ÂŁ750 million hi-tech waste plant.

Work got under way in summer 2013 and it is set to open in September 2015.

The residual waste treatment facility will process up to 230,000 tonnes of Wakefield’s domestic waste each year, segregating recyclable materials, then sorting the remainder into fuel or organic waste. The fuel will be sent to a power plant being developed by energy company SSE at Ferrybridge, while the organic waste will be converted by an anaerobic digestion plant

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South Kirkby Business Park

Riverside and Wakefield Council – working together to transform lives Riverside has a strong and successful partnership with Wakefield Council. We are proud to work hand in hand to deliver first class housing services for our tenants and residents.

We are currently working with Wakefield District Homes, the leading authority on rent arrears, to share ideas and best practice on how we can improve collection services.

We are committed to building more affordable homes and are delighted to be building 36 homes for affordable rent on Gibson Close, a former derelict brownfield site, adding to the 115 homes we already provide in the Wakefield area.

To find out more about Riverside and the work we do, visit: www.riverside.org.uk

Strata has launched its Origin housing development in Girnhill, Featherstone, between Wakefield and Pontefract, which will replace an outdated housing estate, built in the 1950s.

The development will include 224 two, three and fourbedroom houses, including at least 16 affordable homes in the largest tranche, all built to level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes. Work began earlier in 2014, and is expected to be completed within five years.

£300 million investment Work is under way at the Ferrybridge power station site.

Ferrybridge A £300 million multifuel plant is under construction at the Ferrybridge power station site in West Yorkshire. It is being built by Multifuel Energy Limited (MEL), which is a joint venture between Ferrybridge Power Station’s owners SSE and US firm Wheelabrator Technologies.

Generating around 68MW of electricity from a range of fuel sources from across Yorkshire and the wider region, including biomass, waste-derived fuels and waste wood, the facility would

power around 160,000 homes.

The combined heat and power facility, known as Ferrybridge Multifuel 1, will create approximately 50 full-time operational jobs, and around 300 temporary roles during the three-year construction phase.

MEL is also proposing a second power station at Ferrybridge. Consultation on Ferrybridge Multifuel 2 (FM2), which would have a generating capacity of about 90MW, ended in December 2013.

It is expected to be operational in summer 2015.

projects

Featherstone

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35 issue 2 summer 2014

projects connect wakefield

36 issue 2 summer 2014

Kirkgate Complementing the redevelopment of Wakefield Westgate, the £4.6 million regeneration of the Victorian Kirkgate station, one of the city's most important landmarks, is

Castleford The next phase of Castleford’s growth plan – a brand new bus station – is now on-site. Due to open by spring 2015, the new station will have an enclosed waiting area, CCTV coverage, real-time information display and public toilets, along with improved links to the town’s rail station. It is part of a £4 million investment set out in the growth plan, which will also include other transport and infrastructure improvements.

Also part of the growth plan is the transformation of Queen’s Mill by the Castleford Heritage Trust, into a heritage

due for completion at the end of 2014.

As well as restoring the Grade II-listed building to its former glory, the scheme includes creating a cafe, ticketing and retail space, as well as office

and arts facility. Under the theme Made in Castleford, the building will provide a sculpture and art gallery, craft training, community space, studio and workshop spaces, along with business, retail and catering opportunities.

A working waterwheel will generate power for the whole site, while small-scale stoneground milling will produce flour for sale and for a community bakery. The trust hopes the work will be completed by 2017.

The Castleford Growth Delivery Plan aims to generate more than 2,000 jobs and 3,000 new homes over the next 20 years.

It includes Navigation Point

Transforming kirkgate Both of Wakefield's Victorian stations have undergone redevelopment.

space and meeting rooms for community use and incubation units for small businesses.

Outside, landscaping will incorporate 50 additional parking spaces, an increase of 79%, following users’ wishes.

better connected Castleford's new bus station.

[see page 30], the Castleford Shopfront Grant Scheme, the preparation of riverside housing and employment sites, and improvements to the town centre’s commercial viability.

retail

buy in With Wakefield’s largest shopping centre decisively outperforming those in other towns and the city offering a thriving blend of multinational, independent and even popup traders, the retail scene is blossoming

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words Lucy Purdy

issue 2 summer 2014

retail connect wakefield

39 issue 2 summer 2014

trinity walk A mecca for fashion-lovers from Wakefield and beyond.

retail connect wakefield

n what appears to be Yorkshire’s biggest investment of the year to date, Wakefield’s Trinity Walk shopping centre was purchased by European real estate investment firm Orion Capital Managers in March. The handshake signalled the start of an exciting phase for the threeyear-old centre with Orion poised to share its Europe-wide experience and international contacts with the city.

Host to more than 60 retailers, including Debenhams department store and one of the largest Sainsbury’s superstores in the area, the centre enjoys a weekly footfall of more than 200,000 and has seen more than 30 million visits since launch day. Year-on-year footfall growth figures show it is outperforming Experian regional equivalents by more than 10%. High street stalwarts such as Topshop, River Island and H&M are helping keep shoppers spending in Wakefield, when Leeds and Manchester have previously so dominated the regional offer.

Seen by many as the prime fashion pitch within the city – with a host of other top fashion brands represented – Orion has hit the ground running at Trinity Walk.

Already two major lets have been signed since it acquired the centre and “advanced negotiations with several major retailers” are taking place, set to further improve the tenant mix. Trinity Walk is the latest in a string of investments

by Orion which has invested more than €4 billion across Europe since 2000.

Following the purchase, Orion is also developing plans for a cinema and restaurant offer on the adjacent

40 issue 2 summer 2014

Next day

How shopping has changed.

Though our desire to shop has remained constant, now we want the purchase in our hands as soon as possible; we want it – and we want it fast.

“The ‘order by 10pm for next day delivery’ service is achieved by the daily hard work and com-

mitment of our warehouse staff at our South Elmsall site and by the critical location of our warehouses on the A1, M1, M18, M62 motorway hub,” says James Grier, director of warehouse development at Next.

For many of the logistics businesses, Wakefield’s position

above Next's state-ofthe-art warehouse facilities in South Elmsall, Wakefield.

wakefield's position ... is a major factor

in the centre of the country is a major factor in choosing to be here. “The location allows us to get our parcels to the south of London, to Bristol, to Wales, to Scotland and to Liverpool in time to achieve our next-day delivery promise,” says Grier.

At the Next Directory order picking warehouse in South Elmsall, orders received by phone and via the internet are continuously picked and packed. Orders placed between 9pm and 10pm from UK customers are picked and packed from 10pm through to 1am, with orders that have to travel the furthest prioritised: trucks bound for Southampton, Glasgow and Bristol leaving by around midnight each night.

A four to five hour drive allows the trucks to arrive at regional depots by 5am, with motorway traffic lighter during the night. The parcels are then sorted at the regional depots and

left and right Several new big name retailers are poised to set up shop at Wakefield's Trinity Walk.

retail connect wakefield

Market Hall site. Already, a range of cafes, restaurants and a gym help make Trinity Walk a destination for leisure activities other than just shopping. Caffè Nero is soon to open a coffee house in Grammar Square where it will join Pizza Express, Handmade Burger Co, The Chinese Buffet, Greggs and Burger King. And at the same time, Clarks Shoes is taking a unit in the Teall Way mall which links Trinity Walk to the rest of the Wakefield centre.

Just a quarter of a mile south of the town centre, fronting Charlesworth Way, is Westgate Retail Park, owned

by British Land and with tenants including Laura Ashley, Mothercare, Wickes and Cineworld.

And at The Ridings – a shopping centre which boasts a 30-year heritage in the heart of the city – the decades have created an interesting mix of retailers, high street favourites being complemented by quality independents. Recently this has seen the centre welcome Feather’s Confectionery, selling traditional sweets, fudge and handmade chocolates, along with fashion retailers Bradley Street and Indi Menswear. The Ridings has more than 90 stores across three floors and welcomed 10.7 million visitors last year.

“We pride ourselves on offering a great mix of high street and independent shops,” says centre manager Barbara Winston. “We regularly see 200,000 shoppers come through our centre weekly.”

Alongside the likes of Primark – which will nearly double in size as it undergoes a refurbishment and expansion later this year – Marks & Spencer, Boots and

41

below and right Orders received from Next customers via the internet are continuously picked and packed.

issue 2 summer 2014

sent out in vans to drop sacks of parcels at the individual couriers between 7am and 9am.

Couriers will start delivering the parcels to customers’ houses as soon as they arrive each morning: delivering on the promise of delivery the very next day.

What's Next? The very definition of fast fashion.

retail connect wakefield

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this page Trinity Walk and The Ridings shopping centres complement each other to provide an enviable retail offer in Wakefield.

issue 2 summer 2014

TK Maxx, The Ridings boasts quirky independents such as the award-winning Created in Yorkshire, which sells handmade and crafted items, and Artworld Gallery, in which a collective of artists sell their work. The Ridings also organises events including a monthly craft market, themed fairs, style events and the city’s largest Christmas lights switch-on event. The centre is also heavily involved in city -wide schemes such as the Wakefield Retail Awards and the City Centre Partnership.

“The requirement by retailers is as varied as it has ever been,” explains Winston. “However we attribute our success in attracting unique independents to the flexibility we offer retailers. As well as hosting market days, we also offer short-term leases, assist new retailers with pop-up boutiques and have units that operate as co-operatives and collectives.”

Just up the road in Pontefract, the Pontefract Market Place Townscape Heritage Initiative (THI) is helping blend tradition with progress. The scheme has secured Heritage Lottery Fund cash, as well as a funding injection from Wakefield Council, to help protect and renovate key buildings in the town centre. Pontefract has a real mix of buildings in a small area: from medieval structures to buildings from the late 20th century, and the aim of the THI is to enable each to sit harmoniously with its neighbours.

And location is key to another important trend in Wakefield: it has become a destination of choice for large retail logistics and distribution companies.

Next – the UK’s largest clothing retailer by sales – has warehouse facilities in South Elmsall from which the company’s ‘order by 10pm for next day delivery’ service is masterminded and run. Next’s decision to locate in Wakefield embodies the city’s offer to such businesses: from the creative digital offer bound up in the technology

whirring away behind this kind of operation, to the recruiting of skilled staff, and the infrastructure – created and maintained by savvy regeneration thinking – required to allow it to happen.

Next’s warehouse, for example, contains more than 90 automatic storage and retrieval cranes and eight automatic bagging machines. A warehouse management system manages the complete picking and packing process, the software for which is written and supported by a team of more than 35 software engineers based in the Wakefield area.

we attribute our success in attracting unique independents to the flexibility we offer retailers barbara winston, centre manager, the ridings

As Next is very much a 24/7 operation, the counciloperated public transport system is crucial. And, above all, locating warehouses in Wakefield means the firm can deliver to both ends of the country within a four to five-hour drive time, enabling a next day delivery service for approximately 95% of the UK mainland population.

If shopping can be called a national pastime, Wakefield has pulled out all the stops to benefit from our fondness for treating ourselves.

Mixing skills and employees’ loyalty with digital innovation, and merging smart regeneration policy with Wakefield’s geographical assets, have proved recipes for retail success for the area. And Wakefield’s shopping list for the coming months and years makes for optimistic reading: there is only more to come.

In the three years since it opened, Wakefield shoppers have made more than 30 million visits to Trinity Walk Shopping Centre.

It’s not hard to see why.

The project has transformed shopping in Wakefield and returned the city to its rightful place as a regional retail destination.

What makes it so good?

• city centre location • direct access from the inner ring road • easy to get to parking for 1,000 cars • next to the bus station • contemporary design, light & airy with wide malls aNd most imPoRtaNtLY • great shopping • Wakefield’s only modern department store • one of the largest in the area • 50+ top fashion & other retail brands • a range of restaurants & cafés including

www.trinitywalk.com

Brookfields - Rotherham 85 acre industrial, warehouse & offices

Knottingley East - Wakefield 100 acre mixed-use development Cortonwood - Rotherham 700 residential homes

Smithy Wood - Sheffield Business & office park

Active in...

Yorkshire

St. Paul’s Developments plc 3B Phoenix Riverside, Rotherham, S60 1FL Tel: 01709 373 592

w w w. st - p a uls. c o. uk

Business

one step beyond

words james wood

connect wakefield

world-leading brands are in wakefield, injecting ambition and investment into the city. by attracting and retaining international players, the city has become one of Yorkshire’s prime business locations

45 issue 2 summer 2014

business connect wakefield

46

lobal brands set their sights on the world’s most successful cities. Establishing a presence in globallyrecognised business locations – Paris, Shanghai, New York, Hong Kong, Milan or London – can lead to significant growth for prominent names that have the prestige to be able to locate anywhere.

This presents a challenge for the world’s smaller cities.

Attracting major international business is increasingly a top economic development priority for many areas of the UK – especially as the debate about London’s dominance over the country’s economy rages on.

London's supremacy is clear: it boasts 19% of the nation’s jobs, 21% of its businesses and 25% of its economic output. Some have expressed dismay at how these figures stack up, fearing that as the capital's power grows, other UK cities are being stifled. Rebalancing the economy is a matter of urgency, they argue.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in December 2013, the secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, Vince Cable, said: “London is becoming a kind of giant suction machine, draining the life out of the rest of the country.”

Refreshing it must be then for Cable and others to look to Wakefield, the location of Europe’s largest soft drinks factory by volume, Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE).

Coca-Cola dominates not just its own industry, but is still among the world's top three most recognisable brands.

we are proud to be a truly local business

issue 2 summer 2014

ian johnson, coca-cola enterprises

Coca-Cola is omnipresent in popular culture. It has been namechecked by the elite of 20th century musicians – The Beatles, Bowie, Elton John and The Kinks – it has sponsored major sporting occasions throughout the world and is the subject of some of the most memorable and long lasting advertising campaigns of the last century.

Coca-Cola Enterprises occupies a site in Wakefield the size of 33 football fields. In March 2014, it celebrated 25 years of production at the plant with an event attended by shadow chancellor Ed Balls, Wakefield city councillors and many of the 419 employees there.

This coincided with an announcement that the soft drinks manufacturer would be investing further in Wakefield, opening a £30 million warehouse at the site to double its storage capacity, which took the total amount that Coca-Cola Enterprises has invested in its Wakefield facility to more than £100 million in the last five years.

Ian Johnson, operations director at CCE Wakefield, says: "We are proud to be a truly local business, both through our workforce and support for the local economy and wider community.”

This commitment continues to sustain Wakefield’s growth and development, contributing significantly to its reputation as a city primed for major investment.

Sweet success is present in Haribo, an international confectionery brand. Haribo has invested £92 million in its Wakefield facility. This includes a £35 million factory, where work is beginning to take place.

top Cara Delevingne (left) and Kate Moss (right) model Burberry. above and right Burberry's most iconic creation – the trenchcoat.

£1.5billion

The new West Yorkshire Combined Authority will oversee £1.5 billion of investment in transport and economic infrastructure, boosting jobs and growth in Wakefield and the rest of the Leeds City Region

Further investment is planned for Wakefield’s Trinity Walk, after global investor Orion European Real Estate Fund bought the shopping centre for £150 million in March 2014 Around £9 million of investment has gone into Castleford town centre

burberry is proud of its uk heritage and will continue to invest in growth in britain With respected fashion designer and Yorkshire native Christopher Bailey MBE now having taken over as CEO, another part of Burberry will return to its roots. Bailey grew up in Halifax, the son of a joiner and a window dresser for Marks and Spencer.

High street fashion brands also feature prominently.

Next contributes to the economic development of Wakefield with its South Elmsall distribution centre. The firm has four sites, set over 186,000sq m, with 3,200 employees and around 50 vacancies.

From panache to the practical, four miles to the north-east of Wakefield, a cold storage facility firm is planning a 14.6-ha development. NewCold, which offers storage solutions for food manufacturers across Europe, proposes a site set within a planned mixed-use development. Outline planning consent has already been granted for a community stadium, multi-use games area, warehousing and distribution units at the location.

Elsewhere, energy-saving lighting solutions firm,

47 issue 2 summer 2014

£70 million was invested in the first two phases of Wakefield’s new commercial quarter, Merchant Gate, with phase three delivering the city’s new rail station and connections to London within two hours

connect wakefield

More than 100 companies have been helped by council business advisors to access more than £250,000 since April 2013

And the city also bucks the London trend by hosting a world-famous fashion label.

Burberry has thrown off the shackles of its past associations with football terraces, the check pattern removed from 10% of its products – regaining its image of classic luxury and additionally, developing a cool catwalk collection appealing to hardcore fashionistas.

Its garments are worn on the red carpet at awards ceremonies, film premieres and catwalks around the globe – and by some of the world’s most successful actors and models, including Jennifer Lawrence, Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Lupita Nyong'o, Oscar winner as best actress of 2014 for her part in 12 Years a Slave.

But far away from Hollywood’s red carpets, Burberry is retaining the core of its business at its Castleford factory, where it produces its most iconic item as part of the Heritage rainwear range.

The classic dark trenchcoat and its beige counterpart, now retailing at almost £1,200, was created in 1910, and originally served as a hardy protector from the wind and rain for military officers fighting in the trenches in the First World War. Still as popular today, for Burberry it is important the company retains its British roots. Producing its trenchcoat in Wakefield celebrates this.

A spokesperson for Burberry says: “Burberry is proud of its UK heritage and will continue to invest in further growth in Britain.”

Burberry has added more than 1,000 jobs across the business in the UK in the past two years and now employs nearly 800 people at the Wakefield facility.

Over the eight years until March 2014, Burberry's revenues and operating projects have more than tripled to over £2.3 billion and £461 million respectively.

business

did you know?

business connect wakefield

48 issue 2 summer 2014

Harvard Engineering, is also based in Wakefield, and featured at number 27 on the Financial Times Profit Track list. The company recently sold a minority shareholding to private equity firm ECI Partners, to fund its future growth strategy, allowing it to increase the number of employees at the site from 300 to 500.

Having seen turnover more than double, Harvard has opened offices in France, Italy and Germany and will now expand its Wakefield facility, having outgrown its current premises. Planning permission has been granted for Harvard to move to a bigger site nearby and the company considers it important that the business remains firmly in the city.

Michael McDonnell, business development director at Harvard Engineering, says: "Wakefield is a thriving city with great connections. We needed an area that could support our growing business and Wakefield is perfect for this.

as a company, we could think of nowhere better to be based michael mcdonnell, harvard engineering

“Our new site is a stone’s throw away from Harvard’s current premises and this will provide us with the space that we need to further grow. As a company, we could think of nowhere better to be based.”

The aptly named Really Useful Products (RUP), based in the Wakefield suburb of Normanton, produces plastic storage boxes and containers which are distributed around the world. The company has secured £6 million of private investment and £1 million from the Regional Growth Fund

above Business is booming in Wakefield for Harvard Engineering. right Confectionery giant, Haribo, has invested £92 million in its Wakefield facility.

for new machinery and is looking to expand its operations at Normanton.

Neil Ashton, finance director of RUP, also thinks Wakefield is a viable place for the business to grow: “We find Wakefield to be strategically placed for the motorway and that the city has a pool of able and willing workers.”

From confectionery to fashion, storage solutions to engineering, international businesses in a multitude of sectors is thriving in Wakefield.

The city has extensive land available and its central location in the UK allows easy access to the rest of the country. But what separates Wakefield from other places in the UK is the global reach of some of the big brands in this seemingly unassuming Yorkshire city.

In times of stiff competition between cities to grow and to develop sustainably, Wakefield is moving up the table.

PARTNERS GROUP JOINING TOGETHER TO SUPPORT WAKEFIELD

connect wakefield

49 issue 2 summer 2014

Burberry uk.burberry.com

Coca-Cola Enterprises Serena Taylor seltaylor@cokecce.com

Peter Duffy Emma Bird e.bird@peterduffyltd.com

Haribo Navigation Point Emma Lupton Harvard Engineering John Gladwyn emma.lupton@opencomms.co.uk Russell Fletcher russellfletcher@harvardeng.com john.gladwyn@amenbury.co.uk NewCold Ray Perry ray.perry@newcold.com

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SHEFFIELD – 27 MILES YORK – 33 MILES MANCHESTER – 43 MILES HULL – 55 MILES LIVERPOOL – 71 MILES LONDON – 187 MILES EDINBURGH – 216 MILES

ENOUGH COKE SOLD GVA GROWTH EVERY YEAR TO FILL BETWEEN 2011–2012

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skills connect wakefield

51 issue 2 summer 2014

jobs worth offering an alternative to expensive fees and the demands of full-time vocational training, apprenticeships are returning to many workplaces. no longer confined to craft trades, they allow employers to shape future workers with the skills they really need words Suruchi Sharma

skills connect wakefield

52 issue 2 summer 2014

above Apprentices from the seven companies (and their subsidiaries) that make up Group Rhodes learn about the technology powering tomorrow.

arlier this year a famous Yorkshire apprentice took over from his mentor. Granville, the put-upon shop boy in the popular television comedy Open All Hours, got to don the shopkeeper’s famous brown coat owned by his previous boss Arkwright. Granville, like countless other apprentices from as far back as the Middle Ages, came from behind his teacher’s shadow to take over the business. With a hike in university fees affecting those seeking higher education, it seems an apprenticeship boom may be on its way, equipping an entire generation of students with the skills to go straight into work.

A Wakefield business at the forefront of on-the-job training is Group Rhodes, which is made up of seven engineering firms serving the aerospace, metalforming, precision engineering, environmental, heavy ceramics and oil and gas markets. The founding company is named after the man who started it, Joseph Rhodes, in 1824 in a small workshop in Wakefield patenting his first major product – a steam hammer – in 1859.

An impressive nine per cent of the company is made up of apprentices who have the opportunity to train to degree level. Managing director Mark Ridgway OBE is passionate about his award-winning firm and creating engineering stars of the future to represent the country on a global stage. He is celebrating the recent success of securing £17.5 million from the Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot (EOP) to further this cause.

The money is allocated from a pot at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and will be used to put

financial support into the hands of employers who own small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to develop and grow their businesses.

Ridgway also represents manufacturing businesses on the board of the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), which covers an economic area that includes Wakefield, Bradford and York, among other cities.

The project, which started in May, will operate until around March 2017 and its aim is to address skills problems faced by SMEs in sectors which present the greatest opportunities for economic and employment

we are looking to all employers to improve their skills shortages mark ridgway obe, group rhodes

growth including hospitality and tourism, healthcare and medical technology and manufacturing and engineering.

Ridgway, who will chair a management board for the project, says: “It is a big chunk of money to address a desperate need to develop our engineering and our manufacturing base. We were deemed to be the right profile of company to lead a bid on behalf of the Leeds City Region firstly, to encourage SMEs to train young people and secondly, encourage them to internationalise as we do, with a good example being that we have a factory

skills

left and below Backstage Academy students learn about pyrotechnics from renowned industry experts.

connect wakefield

53 did you know?

95%

A-level pass rates at Wakefield College have exceeded 95% for the past nine years Wakefield has the highest gross domestic household income per head in West Yorkshire There are 8,700 active businesses in the Wakefield area

issue 2 summer 2014

in Bangalore, India. We are looking to all employers to improve their skills shortages and also increase the number of businesses who do employ apprentices. We have been successful in developing skill sets internally and we would encourage other businesses to do the same.”

In the Leeds City Region, 11.3% of the working age population have no qualifications, and this is an ideal chance to make sure that young people not in education, employment or training (Neets) are given the opportunity to thrive.

Ridgway adds: “We bring our apprentices from GCSE all the way through to master’s degrees showing young people that they have the option not to go to university. Our graduates will come out of their training without one penny of borrowing. We’re also trying to encourage businesses to look at their needs internally as well as externally, with respect to links to the great institutes of higher education we have in the Leeds City Region.”

Neets are not the only group that Ridgway and his board has to focus on, knowing that building a strong workforce for the future is vital but that improving the health of the economy for the international stage is also important.

“Although reduction in youth unemployment is one of the key issues, we are also looking at everything from reduction in skill shortages for industry – so making sure that companies have the right people in place – to reduction in hard-to-fill vacancies,” says Ridgway. “This is all about improving the skill set within the workforce to help businesses differentiate themselves, not only on the local

skills

and regional scale but also on the international scale. It’s certainly a wide brief but we’re just there to improve the economy and part of that is to help out people who have been less fortunate in their education to date, to get them relevant to the market place.”

Of course there are educational institutions in Wakefield that are endeavouring to make sure that skills for employment are a priority. The need for a university in the town has grown in the last few years, a trend highlighted through the strong union between Wakefield Council and Wakefield College.

Although initially slated for completion in 2015, the plans for building the proposed Business University Centre will be officially announced after funding has been secured.

The numerous enterprise courses that will be available at the University Centre will be tailored to the needs of employers and will include manufacturing, environmental technologies and food and drink, giving graduates a stronger chance of finding employment in these fields.

connect wakefield

the skills fund gives employers the power to enrich the skills of their workforce

54

mike denby, wakefield council

Another institution in Wakefield working closely with the council is the industry-led Backstage Academy, which was established in 2009 by Robin Watkinson and Adrian Brooks. The facility helps students achieve the skills to be employable in the creative industries. The academy provides a range of practical courses including short programmes in manual handling, rigging and stage pyrotechnics up to BA degrees in subjects such as visual production. The academy trains lighting engineers, fire technicians, 3D designers, sound technicians, staging specialists and video editors – among a comprehensive list of roles.

“Just as the music industry is always looking to nurture new talent for the future, so too must the backstage sector look to investing in the next generation — those who will build the stages of tomorrow,” says Brooks.

Mike Denby, skills and business service manager at Wakefield Council, believes that the Employer Ownership of Skills Fund is a fantastic opportunity for employers from the city to shape and set their own training agenda.

He says: “The skills fund gives employers the power to enrich their workforce with the skills they need for the future. We want to encourage employers to engage with this, taking the lead in designing and developing training which is vital to the continued success of their business.”

This crucial financial support from government is a nudge in the right direction for SMEs to follow the example of Joseph Rhodes and create a legacy out of a business.

issue 2 summer 2014

clockwise from far left One of Wakefield's apprentice engineers; the Duke of York unveiled the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership earlier this year; Wakefield College is the largest in the district.

e v o L Rid i ngs

It’sfoarllyou

Over 80 shops and 10 1 00 parking spaces

www.ridingscentre.com