ANNE VECK NAMED UK’S FIRST CERTIFIED CARBON-NEUTRAL HAIR SALON

Hair care without the guilt. If regular investment in your barnet has begun to concern you with regard to sustainability, worry no more.

Anne Veck, an award-winning Oxfordshire hair salon, with sites in Oxford and Bicester, is powered by renewable energy and eco-friendly systems. It has now become the UK’s first certified carbon-neutral hairdressing business after achieving Carbon Footprint Standard C02 Neutral certification.

The Oxford salon has been attracting attention for years thanks to its sustainable approach, including the use of pioneering BlueGenCeramic fuel cell technology to convert gas to electricity.

Acting like a mini in-salon power station, the fuel cell generates electricity from the mains gas supply at an 80 per cent level of energy efficiency, reducing the salon’s energy costs by 70 per cent.

Anne’s salon in Bicester also uses infrared heaters made from recycled materials, designed to use 60 per cent less energy than standard convection heaters and produce no CO2.

The salon’s carbon emissions have been measured at 19.3 tonnes per year, but this is offset completely by supporting tree planting in Kenya.

South Oxfordshire tech company fights rural crime

A South Oxfordshire company has won funding to develop a new technology to help fight rural crime.

uWatch Ltd, based in Cholsey, secured the funding from AgRIA (Agri-Tech Research Innovation Accelerator) supported by the European Union Development Fund and led by Rothamsted Research.

uWatch Ltd has spent four years developing a generic, sensor-rich, batterypowered Internet of Things hub called

The Cube which has many applications, especially in rural areas.

The company is working with University College London for six months aiming to dramatically increase The Cube’s remote sensor range.

It is also aiming to double battery life and interface with sensors that could detect polluting gases, sample water quality and detect farm gates being opened when they shouldn’t be.

A Volvo retailer has opened the doors to its new showroom, following a £1 million site investment.

Waylands Oxford is now open for business at its new home on Cumnor Hill, adjacent to the retailer’s previous premises.

Waylands Automotive Ltd also has franchised Volvo dealerships in Reading, Newbury and Swindon.

It purchased Lancaster Motor Company in Reading in 2017, Fawcett’s Garage in Newbury and Johnsons Cars in Swindon and Oxford last year. Turnover for the company last year was more than £36 million.

Dominic Gouldsborough, General Manager at Waylands Oxford, said: “The investment in the site demonstrates the high level of importance we place on making the Volvo customer experience as individual and as enjoyable as possible.”