KALEB COOPER LAUNCHES NEW AGRICULTURAL BURSARY AT ROYAL AG UNIVERSITY

Kaleb Cooper, the young farming contractor who shot to fame after appearing alongside Jeremy Clarkson on Amazon Prime’s Clarkson’s Farm, has joined forces with the Royal Agricultural University (RAU) in Cirencester to launch a bursary for those wanting a career in agriculture.

Self-made entrepreneur and farm contractor, Kaleb has been working in and around farms since he was young and is a passionate supporter of UK agriculture.

He said: “Farming is who I am. I feel lucky that I knew my path from an early age and want to help spread that passion.

“Launching this bursary means so much, as it can support students who want to follow an agricultural career or who might be struggling to get into farming.”

The annual bursary will provide £3,000 to support an agricultural student and a work placement with Kaleb himself, or one of his industry partners (we bet they’d rather work with Kaleb).

Open to RAU undergraduates living in the UK, the bursary will open for applications in September with the first student receiving their award in early 2024.

RAU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter McCaffery, said: “We are delighted that Kaleb has chosen to support RAU students through this bursary. His passion for farming comes through loud and clear in his appearances on Clarkson’s Farm and he has definitely helped bring farming and agriculture even more into the public eye.”

Kaleb is hoping for applicants who, like him, have a genuine interest in agriculture. He is keen to encourage applicants who are not from a farming or agricultural background and those who can demonstrate hardship or financial need.

Kaleb added: “Having come from a non-farming background myself, I believe agriculture can be for anybody. I know there’s so much potential for young people to have brilliant careers in agriculture. It should be open to all and if you have financial difficulties or you’re completely new to farming, please do apply.”

Former IKEA building in Coventry to become cultural centre

The former IKEA building in Coventry, which closed in 2020, is to become a cultural hub for the city after planning permission was given for the redevelopment.

Now known as the City Centre Cultural Gateway, the new building will provide a new home for nationally-recognised collections and include a space for new research facilities.

The Coventry City Council-led project will be delivered in three phases, and existing partners include CVLife, which aims to improve the city’s sports, culture and leisure provision, Arts Council England, the British Council, Arts Council Collection and Coventry University.

Phase one will see part of the building become a collections centre of national significance where the project partners will house their collections.

For phase two, Coventry University will transform floors five and six into a cultural hub, offering teaching areas, research space and attractions.

Phase three will allow the council to enclose the internal car parks and explore alternative uses for the new space created.

Councillor David Welsh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities at Coventry City Council, said: “This visionary project will provide a dynamic and inclusive cultural hub for our city.

“Not only will it elevate Coventry's cultural landscape, but will also reinforce our city's position as a vibrant cultural destination.”

Matthew Burl, director at architectural design company Buttress, which worked on the project, added: “We have worked extensively with all stakeholders to redesign the building to be more inviting and accessible, creating a new identity, easily recognisable as a cultural asset.”

The works will start at the end of this year with plans to open in 2025.

Could the South West become home to a major battery factory?

The government is said to be in serious talks with Tata, the Indian owners of Warwickshire-based Jaguar Land Rover, to build a gigafactory on a former Royal Ordnance site near Bristol.

According to reports, the Treasury has developed a multi-million-pound package of incentives to encourage Tata to invest in a gigafactory in the UK rather than Spain, it's other preferred location.

The location, an as-yet-to-be-built business park named Gravity by its owners, is located just off Junction 23 of the M5, on the former Royal Ordnance Factory, which was finally closed by BAE Systems (which bought it from the government in the 1990s).

BAE Systems sold the 616-acre site to merchant bank Salamanca Group in

2017 which has plans to develop it into a business park.

If the talks between the government and Tata are successful, up to 9,000 jobs would be created. West of England Metro Mayor, Dan Norris, said swift action is needed to seal the deal.

A potential gigafactory in Somerset is also well located. It's close to Bristol Port, the M4 and M5.

Over the next decade, the automotive industry will go through the most fundamental transformation since its creation – and the UK risks falling behind according to The UK's Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

In its Full Throttle Report, The SMMT said "In principle, the UK’s engineering heritage and strengths in digital and technology position it well for a relative advantage in the future automotive industry. However, without underlying base facilities such as domestic battery production and an electrified supply chain in the UK, industry could easily underperform its potential – there is already a growing gap with less generous subsidy support in the UK compared to other destinations for investment."

It recommends that the UK needs to build 60 GWh of gigafactory supply by 2030, ensuring the country has ample battery supply to maintain current production volume, and offers significantly more generous incentives for business investment. Under this scenario, GVA and jobs return to a trajectory of steady growth. That would support the annual assembly of one million new cars, below today’s 1.3m capacity.