Tees Business Tees Business issue 17 | Page 89

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 89 / DARLINGTON NEWS Rockliffe Hall is investing £180,000 in its spa after spending £200,000 refurbishing the gym last year. Hundreds of Tees jobs could be created after the launch of a partnership to build a new type of nuclear power station. Penultimate Power UK is planning to use Japanese nuclear technology to develop a string of UK power stations, starting on Teesside. #TalkingUpTeesside FURTHER INVESTMENT IN ROCKLIFFE HALL’S SPA R ockliffe Hall is investing a further £180,000 in its spa with plans for new thermal rooms and experience features to develop the resort’s existing five- star spa offering. It follows a £200,000 refurbishment of Rockliffe’s gym at the end of 2018. A new igloo, infrared sauna and experience showers will be added to the spa’s thermal suite. The tropicarium (sauna) and foot spa will be enhanced, together with a salt inhalation system installed in the caldarium (steam room). A cold drench bucket shower will be installed outside, next to the hot tub, and there are also plans to install a spa wave treatment bed in the current salt room adjacent the spa treatment rooms. This state-of-the-art waterbed enables deep relaxation, anti-stress sound therapy and aids mindfulness, meditation and wellbeing. One of the most exciting additions is the infrared sauna. New research indicates that regular use of infrared saunas significantly lowers death rates from cardiovascular disease and stroke, and also reduces the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. The carefully planned, phased development, will take place in April and early May, and to ensure guests can still enjoy the spa facilities, all pools will remain open throughout. The resort’s spa operations manager, Alistair Bramwell, said: “Rockliffe Hall’s spa has been renowned for many years as one of the best in the region but as always at Rockliffe, we are looking to invest in improving the overall spa experience. “During the work we aim to ensure that disruption is kept to a minimum and we are sure our members and guests will love the spa’s new look and features when it’s complete.” Cleveland Bridge secures Humber project REDUNDANCY LEADS TO NEW BUSINESS Cleveland Bridge UK has secured a prestigious refurbishment project in Humberside, which will see the company return to a bridge it helped construct more than 40 years ago. The Darlington-based company will act as principal contractor in the refurbishment of the Humber Bridge, specifically a project of planned main cable inspection. The 12-month contract, which began in February, has been awarded by the Humber Bridge Board. Aspiring entrepreneur Adam Walker has launched Hubspoke Marketing, providing a range of marketing services to small businesses throughout the UK from his office at Business Central Darlington. Public spending cutbacks that hit the sports and leisure industry proved to be a turning point for Adam. Facing redundancy from his role as a sports development officer, he took a part-time position with PWLC Projects in a marketing role, taking a lead on the Modeshift STARS project, a national initiative which focused on encouraging more children to walk to school. While setting up the project, Adam and his colleague Nick Butler took advantage of Business Central’s shared workspace – Open Space – which led to him launching his own venture, Hubspoke Marketing. Dunlop Sports expands its Darlington base An international sports brand has pledged to continue investing in the region after taking on two new members of staff and expanding its office space. Dunlop Sports relocated its UK office to Darlington’s Lingfield Point in 2017, after it was sold by Sports Direct to Japan’s Sumitomo Rubber Industries for $137.5m. And now, the new owner is focused on investing heavily in the business, and has already doubled the size of its offices at Lingfield House to accommodate its growing sales and marketing team. EXPANSION TO CREATE 50 NEW JOBS Around 50 new jobs are expected to be created for Darlington as a technical mouldings firm moves to the town. York-based Thysis has signed a 10-year lease on the former EE data centre site on Yarm Road Industrial Estate in Darlington. Responding to news that Thysis was keen to expand in the area, Darlington Council’s Business Support team worked with them to find suitable premises and has helped introduce them to partner organisations able to help with the move and potential future expansion plans. The move places them closer to one of their key customers and offers good access to the key transport links of the A1 (M), A66 and A19.