Museum wins building excellence award

Heat pumps: Technology is proven and it is not rocket science

As we head towards the end of 2021 and the start of a new year, we reflect on what the past 12 months has brought us and look towards the future. In the world of construction and especially the building services sector, the recent COP26 conference has made lots of promises. But will action follow?

Our government has realised that we cannot go on burning fossil fuels so, from 2025, no new homes will be allowed to have gas connected to them. There is much discussion about what will provide the heating and hot water in our houses but one technology that is already proven - and Griffiths have been installing for more than a decade - is heat pumps.

It is not rocket science and the principle behind the operation of a heat pump has been around for a long time. Heat pumps work in the same way as the fridge in your kitchen, collecting heat from one place - the air or ground - and moving it somewhere else - into your home heating and domestic water systems.

Griffiths were the first Northamptonshire installers to gain Microgeneration Certification Scheme status for heat pumps in 2008. Since then several hundred have been installed, with most also being regularly maintained by Griffiths.

Another recent change affecting both heat pumps and air conditioning is the use of R32 refrigerant gas, which is much less harmful to the environment if it should leak than its predecessors. It also has superior energy efficiency.

At this time of year, the engineers at Griffiths are very busy keeping people warm with a wide range of heating products including air and ground source heat pumps, and air to air heat pumps (conventional air conditioning).

In addition, the Griffiths service team are making sure regular maintenance is carried out to heating, cooling and ventilation equipment throughout Northamptonshire, an essential part of keeping it at peak condition and spotting possible problems at an early stage.

Service plans or one-off servicing is also available for equipment that has not been installed by Griffiths.

n Contact Griffiths by telephone on 01536 420666, via www. griffithsaircon.co.uk or by visiting Griffiths’ Energy Efficiency Centre showroom at 111 High Street in Burton Latimer 9am5pm, Monday to Friday. Northampton Museum & Art Gallery: Its design has won a regional building excellence award for architects GSSArchitecture

History revived: Architects aim to inspire the next generation

The expansion and redevelopment project at Northampton Museum & Art Gallery has won lavish praise since it opened in July. Now the scheme, designed by Northamptonshire architects GSSArchitecture, has been announced as the regional winner of the Local Authority Building Control Building Excellence Award for the ‘best non-residential extension’ category.

The project has also been shortlisted for the National Building Excellence Awards which will take place in January.

The museum has undergone a £7 million refurbishment, which has doubled the space available, creating a dedicated shoe gallery, new exhibition spaces, a central hall, a new shop, café and outside terrace.

The museum is the latest in the extensive GSS portfolio of awardwinning galleries and museums, with the practice’s links to arts and culture in the county dating back to the founder of the practice, John Alfred Gotch, who designed the Alfred East Art Gallery in Kettering in 1913. This Grade II Listed gallery is currently undergoing work as part of GSSArchitecture’s major redevelopment of the Kettering Gallery, Library and Museum. The Kettering GLaM project is set to unify all three sites, creating more flexible space and increasing accessibility to open the historic buildings up to be used by as many people as possible.

The success of GSSArchitecture’s recent projects has presented a number of opportunities for the practice to take part in some exciting initiatives, as part of its commitment to the training and mentoring of the next generation of construction professionals. These initiatives have included several presentations to University of Northampton design students, led by partners and associates at GSS, which focused on key considerations when working with historic buildings, including museums and galleries.

Partners at GSSArchitecture also took part in the Shoebox Town event, hosted by the Northamptonshire Society of Architects, which looked at encouraging younger children to think about their town and how it could look in the future, by developing physical models using shoe boxes.

Tom Jagger, partner and lead architect at GSSArchitecture, said: “The new and improved spaces at the Northampton Museum & Art Gallery are proving to be a huge success following the museum’s reopening to the public earlier this year and we are thrilled to receive this award which further recognises the great work carried out by the project team.

“As a practice, we place great emphasis on encouraging the next generation of architects and industry professionals so we are delighted to have been involved in recent local events, sharing knowledge and experience gained from our recent projects with the younger generations.”

n For further information on GSSArchitecture’s range of experience, or to speak to their team about any upcoming projects that could benefit from their expertise, visit www. gssarchitecture.com

CAREgivers go above and beyond to put emphasis on care to our clients

2021 has been another memorable year with so much hope after 2020, Home Instead East Northants were happy to hear the news of Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing that vaccinations would start so our CAREGivers could be vaccinated to protect our clients.

Our CAREGivers continued to make sure clients were safe and having their needs met especially when families could not visit. After 11 years of owning Home Instead East Northants we understand how important caring for your loved ones is.

Home Instead Senior Care was rebranded in February and our logo was simplified to Home Instead. It was an exciting change to showcase that Home Instead is not just about senior care but for anyone over the age of 18 who needs care to be able to remain in their own home. Our services include young adults, mental health, live in care, personal care, home help, companionship, and convalescence care.

Home Instead UK also recognised the importance of working with other organisations and is partnering with Parkinson’s UK to create a bespoke training programme about the condition for our CAREGivers.

It has also linked up with Boots and is the first care company to feature on the Boots Health Hub giving people guidance on where to find our services.

With the pandemic changing the way we rely on technology and more people buying a smart phone, laptop or tablet to keep in touch with loved ones, we recognise the importance of giving people training to understand what going digital is all about - particularly to the older generation that did not grow up with it. We have also faced the biggest recruitment crisis in care in more than a decade and finding the right people is so important.

With most of the population vaccinated we are actively looking for new people with the right qualities to join our team and welcome new clients who need our support.

Back our bid for city status, council leader urges business

Discussions are under way on the submission of a bid by Northampton for city status.

West Northamptonshire Council is considering the move as part of Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee Civic Honours competition.

Businesses and residents are being urged to support a proposed bid to gain city status for Northampton in a move that would reap major benefits for the whole of West Northamptonshire. A successful bid would enhance Northampton’s profile, helping to attract investment into the entire West Northants area.

A draft bid which celebrates Northampton’s heritage, culture and ambition is being prepared ahead of the full council meeting, which will decide whether to proceed. The national deadline for submitting bids is December 8.

West Northamptonshire Council leader Cllr Jonathan Nunn said: “Bidding for city status would be a fantastic opportunity for us to showcase everything we know is special about Northampton. A successful bid would bring economic and cultural benefits to towns and villages right across West Northants. It would tell a national and international audience this is a place in which to do business, raising our profile, attracting investment and creating new, skilled jobs.”

Businesses and residents are invited to show their support by sharing their favourite photographs of places in Northampton. Up to 50 photographs can be included in the bid. The best photographs will also be used in the social media campaign to showcase the town as an ideal candidate for city status.

The winning cities are due to be announced on the extended Bank Holiday weekend of June 2-5 next year to mark the Platinum Jubilee. In 2012, her Diamond Jubilee year, Chelmsford, Perth and St Asaph in Wales were awarded city status. Shoppers are being urged to ‘Win Your Christmas’ by taking part in a Northampton town centre Golden Ticket giveaway.

Four lucky winners will each win £500 of vouchers as part of the £2,000 prize fund. The Golden Ticket campaign, organised by Northampton Town Centre Business Improvement District, will encourage people to ‘shop local’ this Christmas and support Northampton businesses, with the added incentive of a prize to spend in town centre shops and businesses of their choice.

BID operations manager Mark Mullen said: “The competition is a key component of our Christmas campaign”

West Northamptonshire Council and Northampton Town Council’s Christmas lights are already lighting up Market Square and the BID has funded additional Christmas lighting in the town centre.

“We have so much to be proud of, from our rich history and heritage to the diversity of our cultures and communities,” said Cllr Nunn. “This bid provides a platform to promote our many hidden treasures and achieve our vision for making West Northamptonshire a great place to live, work, visit and thrive.”

His message to Northampton businesses: “Your support is vital for any bid to be successful so let’s come together and celebrate Northampton, a special town with the heart to flourish as a city.”

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>> The local Networking round-up

Networking across Northamptonshire is helping to grow businesses. Whatever your business needs there will be a networking session to suit your style. Some have welcomed the return of faceto-face networking meetings offering fresh opportunities to connect with like-minded people. Networking online, which has been a lifeline for many businesses, continues to offer people a chance to keep in touch.

A group for networkers looking for a constant stream of referrals, introductions, opportunities and sales. The tried and tested RIO™ model offers dynamic weekly online meetings and an experienced management team: Peterborough every Tuesday at 8am.

Cambridgeshire and South Lincolnshire

every Wednesday at 8am.

Northants and surrounding areas

every Tuesday at midday. National networking every Wednesday at midday. Contact Gary Thorpe for all events. Email: gary.thorpe@debt-doctors.co.uk

Tel: 07963 766052 or 01536 333425

All meetings are over 90-minutes, and we are continuing online, which means you’ll benefit from no increase in your time commitment, no additional fuel costs and no high monthly/ weekly meeting fees as we move out of lockdown.

Tuesday’s BNI (Temporary Online) Meeting

6.45am-8.30am, Ignite BNI, Holiday Inn Northampton West M1, Jct 6 (NN7 4LP).

Thursday’s BNI (Temporary Online) Meetings

6.45am-8.30am, Pavilion BNI, Collingtree Park Golf Club (NN4 0XN); 6.45am-8.30am, Prosperity BNI, Kettering Rugby Club (NN15 6NT); 11.30am-1.30pm, Sterling BNI, Delapre Golf Club (NN4 7DU).

Friday’s BNI (Temporary Online) Meeting

6.45am-8.30am, Lighthouse BNI, Franklin’s Gardens (NN5 5BG); 6.45am-8.30am, Unity BNI, Gt Doddington Club (NN29 7TL). Contact Duncan Webster for all events, email: Duncan@BNIBreakfast.co.uk, Tel: 07977 422220.

BNI Pioneer – Online Northampton.

Every Wednesday. 9.30am to 11am. For details email: suzy@alchemyva.co.uk

No fuss, pay-as-you-go networking. Bedford Buzz Wednesday, December 1 Rugby Buzz Thursday, December 9 Bicester Buzz Face-to-Face Thursday, December 9 Leicester Buzz Tuesday, December 14 Northampton Buzz Wednesday, December 15 MK Buzz Face-to-Face Friday, December 17 Banbury Buzz Wednesday, December 22 Hinckley Face-to-Face Buzz Wednesday, December 22 East Midlands Virtual Friday, December 3. Open to businesses based in Northamptonshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and throughout the East Midlands. All Business Buzz events operate from 10 am to noon. All Buzz events are bookable via the web-based app: app.business-buzz.org/app or simply drop-in on the day. For full details of all Business Buzz events visit the webpage: www.

business-buzz.org

The belief is that, with the right support at the right price - any small business can succeed. Members believe there is so much to gain with a positive attitude of mutual Face-to-face (all monthly breakfast meetings from 7.30-9.30am). Wellingborough - 1st Thursday, Daventry - 2nd Wednesday, Northampton - 3rd Wednesday, MK - 4th Thursday.

Virtual

Brunch (9.30-11am)- 2nd Tuesday Wednesday breakfast (7.30-9am) - 4th Wednesday Thursday breakfast (7.30-9am) - 3rd Thursday Friday breakfast (7.30-9am) - 2nd Friday Friday freebie (3-4pm) - every week Collaboration and a desire to share collective wisdom and experience. Brunch (9.30-11am) - alternate Tuesdays - virtual only. Evening (6.30-8.30pm) - 4th Tuesday of the month - virtual only. Northampton (7.30-9.30am) at The Turnpike, Harpole- alternate Wednesdays. Daventry (7.30-9.30am) at Mercure Daventry Court Hotel - in person 2nd Wednesday of each month. 4th Wednesday will remain virtual. Wellingborough (7.30-9.30am) at Great Doddington Club - in person 1st Thursday of each month. 3rd Thursday will remain virtual. MK (7.30-9.30am) at Abbey Hill Golf Club - in person 2nd Thursday of each month. 4th Thursday will remain virtual. Market Harborough (7.30-9.30am) - alternate Fridays - virtual only. Friday Freebie (3-4pm) - every week - virtual only. All meetings are £6 (face-to-face £16), except the free meeting, with a money back guarantee if you don’t find a meeting of value. Visitors welcome. Details of all events and to book:

www.buscomm.co.uk/ourevents

The FSB has 2,000 members across Northamptonshire and as well as local campaigning, the team of staff local members hold regular networking and support events, currently all online and free to attend. These include a monthly FSB Northampton Virtual Networking where all are welcome, you don’t have to be an FSB member to join in. FSH also hold regular Northampton Business forum on key business issues, and MP meetings with local members. To find these and hundreds of other networking, support and webinar events online at www.fsb.org.uk. Upcoming events: A combined virtual networking event on Friday, December 10th, brings together members across Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland.10am – 11am. There will be around the room introductions and breakout rooms with attendees encouraged to wear a Christmas jumper or something festive if they would like. Event details here:

www.fsb.org.uk/event-calendar/leicestershire-northamptonshire-andrutland-christmas-virtual-networking

Networking group set up by Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire Chambers of Commerce to help young business people in the region to grow and develop via a series of monthly networking events and personal development sessions. For updates on forthcoming events visit the website at www.northants-chamber.co.uk/who-we-are/next-

generation-chamber/our-events

Free to attend for start-up and established businesses and run from 9.30am to 10.30am, Visit the website at

www.northnorthantsbusinessnetwork.co.uk NORTH NORTHANTS

Kettering Wednesday, December 8. 9.30am, Ironstone Wellbeing Centre, Kettering Corby Check for updates online Wellingborough Monday, December 13, online East Northants check for updates on line

WEST NORTHANTS

Northampton Business Network is meeting on Wednesday, December 1 The Charles Bradlaugh, Northampton. Book via

www.northamptonbusinessnetwork.co.uk

Festive Charity Lunch December 9. Northampton Marriott. £25 plus VAT. Noon to 2pm. For updates and to book events visit the website at

www.northants-chamber.co.uk

This provides practical support to help businesses grow their business. There are two types of regular face to face connection events. The Business Room is a one business area group for business owners, those in employed positions, MLMs and franchised businesses. Networking requires an investment of time and money, but it doesn’t always deliver an ROI. The Business Room is proudly different, providing a time-efficient and cost-effective way to build your contacts and collaborators and access new opportunities.

Business Room:

Attendees maximise their time out of the office and in the room, by ensuring all the attendee information is shared in advance. This gives attendees time to plan their networking session in advance so they can get more out of each meeting, therefore making it as profitable as possible. Each meeting involves structured networking and in addition a session where a member will share their knowledge, business story or a business insight and a Business Exchange, where members respond to the requests for help and contacts and give testimonials Groups are back meeting face to face from 12 to 2pm with one permanent online group. These are lock out groups so only one business area is represented. Kettering: Monday, December 6 - Kettering Park Hotel, Kettering, NN15 6XT Wellingborough: Wednesday, December 8 – The Stanwick Hotel, West Street, Stanwick, NN9 6QY Northampton: Thursday, December 9 – Old White Hart, Cotton End, Far Cotton, Northampton, NN4 8BS Market Harborough: December 2 – The Three Swans Hotel, 21 High Street, Market Harborough, LE16 7NJ South Northants: Tuesday, December 14 – The White Horse, Stocks Hill, Silverstone, NN12 8UW Stamford: Tuesday, December 14 – The William Cecil at Stamford, St Martins, Stamford, PE9 2LJ Business Room Online: Thursday, December 16, 12-2pm via zoom.

The Connections Club - Northants

Only open to business owners, influencers and decision makers this is a structured and professional group, which gives people the opportunity to connect with other business owners who are serious about growth. It allows you to take away a valuable skill, learning or insight – at every single meeting and meet valuable contacts. It is not lockout, but each session is limited to a maximum of three business areas. Northampton: Tuesday, December 7. Meet 11.45 - 2pm. Delapre Abbey, London Road, Northampton, NN4 8AW

Business Room:

The Business Room is a one business area group for business owners, those in employed positions, MLMs and franchised businesses. Networking requires an investment of time and money, but it doesn’t always deliver an ROI. The Business Room is proudly different, providing a time-efficient and cost-effective way to build your contacts and collaborators and access new opportunities. Attendees maximise their time out of the office and in the room, by ensuring all the attendee information is shared in advance. This gives attendees time to plan their networking session in advance so they can get more out of each meeting, therefore making it as profitable as possible. Each session involves a training may be say networking and a member session where they add value to your business. This may be a skills’ share or a business insight in your session. These are lock out groups so only one business area is represented. There are no Business Room meetings in August but for future events see the website. For further information contact: Barbara

07504 946 585/ 01933 652884

Email barbara@yourbusinessmatters.co

www.yourbusinessmatters.co

>> To have your networking group’s details included in the January edition of Business Times email: news@business-times.co.uk

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