UK’S FIRST ACCESSIBLE ELECTRIC CAR CHARGER REVEALED

A Cheltenham product design agency has developed the UK’s first EV charger to help elderly and disabled drivers –which it says is a better design all round.

Andrew Aylesbury, Director of Duku, said: “Our research highlighted problems people were having, including the need to use two hands and reach past collision barriers. Now everything’s touchless and lightweight. It’s a better charging point for everyone – regardless of disability.”

The design by Duku supports British Standards Institution standards and includes patented features such as a motorised cable drum to automatically coil and uncoil the cable using plugmounted buttons.

A crash-resistant base protects the unit from damage without the need for obstructive collision barriers.

After winning funding last July from the government’s Office for Zero Emission Vehicles and Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency which supports organisations making new products and services, Duku took just eight months to create the new charger.

Final-stage development is now under way and Duku is looking to take its charger into production.

Gordon Bennett! We’re selling British craftsmanship at its best

An online retailer selling British-made products is set for significant growth.

Sir Gordon Bennett was established by Stratford-upon-Avon based entrepreneurs Dan Colagiovanni and Neil Elliot in 2017 as a platform for highquality British products. It now offers more than 90 brands online selling hundreds of products and aims to have 200 brands by December.

Dan said: “Neil and I had been discussing starting a business for some time. Neil has a strong background in advertising and that was key to us building a memorable brand.

“We settled on the idea of really celebrating British manufacturing and craftsmanship. It’s not in any way jingoistic or anti-overseas-products, but recognition that when you go abroad, people have a real respect for high-quality British-made goods.

“On top of that, we wanted to get back to some of the principles that guided our grandparents where they would make a sustainable choice based on quality not price. We could help the move away from disposable retail that has become the norm in recent years.

“Our ambition is to open physical stores because many of the things we sell are very tactile and we want customers to be able to touch and feel them.”

The company was supported by the Business Ready programme run out of the University of Warwick’s Science Park.

Dan added: “Gaynor Matthews from Business Ready has been hugely supportive. She has also got a lot of contacts in this sector too, which has been a big help.”