Schofield Sweeney announces six promotions to start the year
Leading law firm Schofield Sweeney has started the year by promoting six colleagues for their outstanding contributions. The firm invests heavily in the career ambitions of its colleagues through learning, development and progression opportunities. Pardeep Khela has been promoted to partner in the real estate team. His expertise include high value landlord and tenant matters,…
First ever regional awards celebrate excellence in infant feeding support
Winners of the inaugural Yorkshire and Humber Infant Feeding Awards were announced at a special ceremony at York St John University on Wednesday 15 January. The awards celebrated the impact of individuals and organisations across the region who play a pivotal role in providing families with infant feeding support. Hull’s St Stephen’s Shopping Centre scoops…
Peter Jackson joins Walker Sime as UK Director of Project Management
North West based Walker Sime, who have offices in Leeds, have announced the appointment of Peter Jackson as new UK Director of Project Management. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, he brings a wealth of knowledge and leadership to Walker Sime. Having held senior roles at Atkins Realis and Turner & Townsend,…
Pioneering mentorship scheme connects young volunteers with opportunity
A trailblazing new mentoring programme, which brings together local young volunteers and leading role models in the tech and digital sectors, has recently reached its grand finale. Delivered by social value specialist Ahead Partnership, the first-of-its-kind programme has aimed to give back to young volunteers aged 16-19 at Harehills-based youth empowerment charity CATCH Leeds by…
£1.18 million glaucoma study will take a fresh look at retina scanning technology
A £1.18m University of Bradford project funded by the Medical Research Council could help improve diagnosis of glaucoma while reducing misdiagnosis rates. Glaucoma is the world’s leading cause of irreversible blindness, affecting 3% of those aged over 40 in the UK. It is also becoming more common as the population ages, with 112 million people…
Sugarize brings custom pick & mix magic to the Merrion Centre
Sweet shop experience opens for shoppers The Merrion Centre in Leeds has welcomed an innovative sweet shop experience for shoppers with the opening of Sugarize, the ultimate destination for sweets, snacks, drinks and pick & mix. Following the success of its trial store in Queens Arcade, Sugarize has expanded with a flagship 400 sq. ft…
15 years of putting ‘washroom services’ at the heart of our business
Thirsk based TWC Facilities Ltd, a leading provider of washroom solutions, is proudly celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. Since its humble beginnings, the company has grown into the region’s top choice for washroom services in the North of England, offering a range of services including washroom management, waste services, floor mat solutions, and consumables….
York St John University announces the UK’s first MSc in Operating Department Practice to expand routes into specialist healthcare workforce
This pioneering pre-registration programme, developed according to the College of Operating Department Practitioners (CODP) curriculum, will bring a different dimension to the profession. Designed to nurture a passion for patient-centred care, the MSc prepares students for the fast-moving environments of operating theatres and the broader healthcare settings. Operating Department Practitioners (ODP) are highly skilled Allied…
City of York Council publishes proposed 2025-26 Budget
City of York Council has published its draft budget proposals for the 2025/26 financial year. These proposals outline significant investments in essential services and targeted support for residents, while continuing to deliver necessary savings and the long-term financial sustainability of council services. The budget reflects the council’s commitment to protecting the services residents rely on,…
2025 Garden Waste Subscription Scheme open
From today [Monday 13 January], households eligible to subscribe to the 2025 Garden Waste Subscription Scheme can sign up ahead of the new season in March. The easiest way to sign up for the scheme is to complete an online form at www.york.gov.uk/GardenWaste Support is available for anyone who is not able to apply this…
Unity Enterprise to make key appointment in anniversary year
Unity Enterprise (UE) is recruiting an Assistant Manager to play a leading role in its continued growth as it celebrates 25 years in business. Set up in 2000 as a not for profit subsidiary of Leeds-based BME housing association Unity Homes and Enterprise, UE provides 142 affordable business units for over 80 diverse businesses. Collectively,…
Boost for Teesside as Jet2 and Willis sign maintenance deal for 737s at airport
A major UK airline has signed a maintenance deal which will see Boeing 737s receive vital checks at Teesside Airport. Willis Aviation Services Limited (WASL) has entered a long-term agreement with leading leisure airline Jet2.com to carry out in-depth “C-Checks” on 737s at its Teesside base. It comes following a busy period for the Teesside…
Yorkshire housing provider loaned £20m through the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme
54North Homes has received a £20m loan under the Affordable Homes Guarantee Scheme (AHGS) to support its delivery of new affordable homes across Yorkshire. Managed by ESR Group’s specialist investment manager Venn Partners on behalf of the UK Government, half of the loan will help 54North Homes deliver about 100 new homes, with the majority…
Wilton Developments agree a three-site partnership with SSE Energy Solutions
Wilton Developments is pleased to confirm that it has appointed SSE Energy Solutions to deliver energy infrastructure for three of its forthcoming strategic Industrial & Logistics developments in the North of England; LEEDS500 adjacent the M1 east of Leeds, Doncaster North at J6 of the M18 and Dynamo Park at Stockton on Tees. The partnership…
NAMM 2025 marks the start of JHS’s sixtieth year in the international products business
With JHS celebrating its 60th anniversary and the 30th of its own highly successful Vintage® guitar brand at Winter NAMM 2025, the MI is buzzing with anticipation, as the UK’s largest distributor of musical instruments will be unveiling a host of new Vintage branded products including guitars, amplifiers and accessories, making their world premiere at…
Car repair giant expands with new Teesside centre at airport business park
A multiple award-winning vehicle repairer is set to create 25 jobs with the launch of a state-of-the-art facility at Teesside International Airport Business Park – its fifth new centre in 2024. National firm ABL 1 Touch has been announced as the tenant of the first unit constructed within the £200million Business Park South development, marking…
Yorkshire Building Society hires new Director of People and Culture
Yorkshire Building Society has appointed a new Director of People and Culture. Kirsty Webb will join the mutual on 3 February, bringing 25 years’ experience in people and HR leadership roles. She was most recently HR Director Group Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Interim Head of Talent for the Retail Division at Barclays Bank, where…
New Head of Trade Credit at TL Dallas
A highly experienced industry professional has joined the trade credit division of independent insurance and risk management firm, TL Dallas Group. Peter Hodgson is joining the Bradford headquartered family and employee-owned firm as Director of Trade Credit. Peter will work alongside Simon Hyde, who has been with TL Dallas for over 25 years, and has…
Merrion Centre plans biggest Chinese New Year celebrations for 2025
The Merrion Centre in Leeds is set for the biggest Chinese New Year celebration yet, earmarked to take place across two weekends in 2025. Following the overwhelming success of last year’s event, visitors are invited to enjoy a vibrant programme of free cultural activities, performances and workshops, celebrating the Year of the Snake. In partnership…
Repair works to start on Bishopthorpe Bridge
The council will be carrying out essential repairs on Bishopthorpe Bridge with work starting next week. In recent months, following an inspection, the bridge has been subject to a weight limit. On Monday 13 January the strengthening work will start and is expected to last for 12 weeks. A corrugated steel arch will be installed…
Residents urged to take care and avoid riverside paths
York residents and visitors are being advised to take extra care given the overnight weather, and to avoid riverside paths. The snow and ice will mean journeys take longer. The combination of recent floodwaters still receding and a layer of silt and mud left behind has made riverside paths especially dangerous, preventing the usual cleaning…
Expect Distribution back the Bulls in 2025
Bradford Bulls are excited to announce the renewal of their partnership with Expect Distribution, who will continue as the club’s season-long match ball sponsor for the 2025 season. Having initially joined the Bulls in 2024, Expect Distribution has become an integral part of the matchday experience, with their iconic truck, Ernie, delivering the match ball…
Schofield Sweeney advises Vickers Laboratories on sale to Calibre Scientific
Vickers Laboratories, who has served the chemical industry for over 50 years have sold their entire issued share capital to Calibre Scientific, an acquirer headquartered in Los Angeles. Calibre Scientific is a global provider of life science reagents, tools, instruments, and other consumables to lab research, diagnostics, industrial, and biopharmaceutical communities. Extending to over 175…
Regal Food Products Group Plc are delighted to announce its partnership extension with Bradford City AFC
The partnership extension will see the Regal Group continue as Bradford City’s official shorts sponsor as an official club partner until at least the summer of 2025. Davide Longo, City’s chief commercial officer, said: “We are delighted to see Regal extending their backing of the club by a further year, to remain on the back…
Regal Foods CEO Younis Chaudhry awarded MBE in New Year Honours List
CEO of Regal Food Products Group Plc, Younis Chaudhry has been recognised in the New Year Honours List with an MBE for his services to business and to the community of Bradford. For over twenty years Younis Chaudhry has excelled in British business and international trade, all whilst giving back at every opportunity to the…
2025 must herald new dawn for new homes – housing association CEO
The chief executive of Bradford-based Manningham Housing Association (MHA) has said 2025 must be the year for the government to “inject real momentum” into its housebuilding plans if Ministers are to meet their pledge to deliver 1.5 million new homes by the end of this Parliament. In a New Year message, Lee Bloomfield reflected on…
Gillygate trial gets underway this week
A trial that seeks to improve air quality on Gillygate will start this week. From 2 January 2025 the council will trial changes to the traffic light sequencing to significantly reduce stationary traffic on the street which has the worst air quality in York. Queueing motor vehicle traffic emits gases such as nitrogen oxides and…
Yorkshire garden centre group donates to Bradford Central food bank
The teams at a Bradford headquartered garden centre group have donated to foodbanks in areas around their centres. Yorkshire Garden Centres donated over 400 items to food banks serving the communities around their sites at Tong, Tingley, Otley, Bingley, York and Scarborough. Employees at all sites have donated non-perishable food items to be distributed to…
Holiday season celebrations take place at Amazon in Leeds
The team from Amazon in Leeds has been gearing up for the Christmas shopping season with a calendar full of festive celebrations. A Christmas market, competitions and a rock choir are just some of the activities taking place at the Leeds fulfilment centre to celebrate the work that the Amazon team is doing to deliver…
£50,000 awarded to charities by local manufacturer
A North Yorkshire manufacturer has continued its tradition of supporting charities and good causes with another year of generous community donations. Chemical specialist, Airedale Group, has donated £50,000 to a variety of worthwhile causes in 2024 and received recognition for its community work in the form an industry award. Amongst the recipients of this year’s…
Yorkshire garden centre group adds a seventh site to the family
Bradford-based Yorkshire Garden Centres Group has announced it will operate a further site in West Yorkshire. The former Dobbies Garden Centre Pennine in Huddersfield will join the YGC Partners business, which also acquired the Deans Garden Centres in York and Scarborough earlier this year. Mark Farnsworth, MD of Yorkshire Garden Centres said: “We are delighted…
Groundbreaking ceremony marks start of construction on £17m Future Technologies Centre
A symbolic groundbreaking ceremony marked a major step forward in the construction of Bradford College’s purpose-built £17m Future Technologies Centre. Members of the Bradford College management team were joined by representatives from Morgan Sindall Construction and the Department for Education to celebrate construction commencing on site. The project received £15 million from the Department for…
Bulls awarded Armed Forces Gold Covenant
Bradford Bulls are proud to announce that the club has been awarded the prestigious Armed Forces Gold Covenant, recognising their outstanding commitment to supporting the armed forces community. This award, the highest recognition under the Defence Employer Recognition Scheme, highlights the club’s dedication to fostering relationships with the armed forces, providing opportunities for veterans and…
Shopping centres’ pioneering new partnership with The White Company makes perfect scents this Christmas
Trinity Leeds and White Rose Shopping Centre have joined forces with The White Company in the run-up to Christmas in a pioneering new partnership that’s not to be sniffed at. The two shopping centres will diffuse the luxury brand’s signature ‘Winter’ fragrance – with warming notes of cinnamon, clove and orange – and the ‘Seychelles’…
York-based investigation helps jail criminals behind £1m home improvement scam
Four men who exploited the Government’s ‘Green Deal’ initiative and cheated their way to more than £1 million were sentenced on Friday at Leeds Crown Court (13 December 2024). The group offered home improvement services – particularly supplying and fitting windows and doors – and targeted victims across Yorkshire and Derbyshire between April 2017 and…
Top Notch backing for the Bulls in 2025.
Bradford Bulls are excited to announce a new partnership with Top Notch North West Ltd, who will join the club as one of our main sponsors for the 2025 season. As part of this significant collaboration, Top Notch’s branding will feature prominently on the front of the Bulls’ away replica and playing shirt next year….
Yorkshire garden centre group donates Christmas trees to West Yorkshire causes
The teams at a Bradford headquartered garden centre group have donated Christmas trees to community causes in areas around their centres. Yorkshire Garden Centres donated 10 real and artificial trees to causes serving the communities around their sites at Tong, Tingley, Otley, Batley, York and Scarborough. One of the beneficiaries was the Women’s and Newborn…
Planting to brighten up Front Street
As work to improve Front Street continues to progress, green-fingered volunteers have been planting flowers and trees to brighten up the area. The Greater Acomb Community Forum has branched out, lending their hands and expertise to sow the seeds for a brighter future. The council has worked with the community forum to select the trees,…
Christmas cheer comes early to Teesside as sold-out flights jetting off to Lapland
Fantastic winter trips to meet Santa in the snow are jetting off from Teesside this week. This morning saw a packed flight for a stunning a day trip to Pajala, in Swedish Lapland, take off with Newmarket Holidays. The trip included return flights including meals, a reindeer sleigh ride, a meeting with Santa plus a…
New Director of Operations appointed at Manningham Housing Association
Saqib Saleem is joining Manningham Housing Association (MHA) as Director of Operations. Amongst a broad range of responsibilities, he will lead on the delivery of customer facing services and drive MHA’s asset management strategy, including overseeing its property portfolio. Mr Saleem is currently Director of Strategy and Regulation at Altair where he leads a team…
Increased hours of access through new Central Hall building
City of York Council has welcomed news that the National Railway Museum has agreed to additional hours of pedestrian access through Central Hall, once major works are complete and it is open to the public. Central Hall is the National Railway Museum’s brand new welcome building. It will include a welcome and orientation hall, a…
Dransfield Novelty Company acquires Crystal & Son Group to strengthen northern presence
Dransfield Novelty Company Limited, the largest British-owned UK supplier of gaming machines and entertainment products to pubs and clubs, has acquired Newcastle Upon Tyne-based, Crystal & Son Group. This strategic purchase marks another milestone for the family-owned business, which boasts a proud 75-year history. The acquisition further enhances Dransfield’s range of goods and services it…
Bradford Garden Centre relaunches its butchery offering
A Bradford garden centre has relaunched its butchery offering following feedback from customers. Hearty’s Food Hall at Tong Garden Centre has introduced a new butchery department in partnership with Yorkshire-based Bennett’s Butchers. Bennett’s founder, Phil Bennett, has been in the butchery trade since he was 12 and is excited by the opportunity at Tong Garden…
Bradford College officially opens STEM building after £6.9m refurb
Guests from education, construction, and regional employers joined staff and students for the official opening of Bradford College’s Garden Mills building. A multimillion-pound renovation project has transformed the derelict mill on Thornton Road into a flexible digital, science, and allied health training facility for higher-level students. The 1900s five-storey building opened after months of construction…
Bradford Grammar School to launch first Junior Committee for Action for Sport
Bradford Grammar School (BGS) is set to become the first school to establish a Junior Committee for Action for Sport, a Bradford-based charity that provides underprivileged children with sports clothing and footwear to encourage physical activity and participation in sport. Spearheading this initiative is BGS’s Head of Year 7, Emma Tomlinson, who was recently appointed…
A whole host of new names are joining the line-up at Trinity Leeds as the festive season gets in full swing
Popular boba tea brand CUPP has announced it will open a permanent store at the shopping centre on Friday, December 13th, with special launch offers including 100 free drinks for the first 100 customers, 50% off for the rest of the day, and 50% off for the whole weekend for those who scan the QR…
Divine Health and Wellbeing win the Health & Wellness Champion Award!
✨ What an Honour to Be Awarded the Health and Wellness Champion Award! ✨ This past weekend, I had the privilege of receiving the Health and Wellness Champion Award at the Shakti Awards 🏆. The Shakti Awards celebrate women’s empowerment and recognise the incredible contributions women make across industries. Receiving this meaningful and prestigious award…
West Yorkshire developments at the top of Santa’s list thanks to local housebuilder
The developer creating brand-new communities in West Yorkshire is taking steps to ensure their homes are on Santa’s list to visit this Christmas. Barratt and David Wilson Homes, which is building new developments in the county, have written to Mr Claus to make sure he stops by at the new homes this festive season. The…