N E WS
BUSINESS BITES
Work starts on
Boho North housing
Pictured (left to right): Gary Dobson, divisional director, Esh Living, Chris Smith, Thirteen’s executive
director of service delivery and development, Dilys Jones, head of home ownership and supply at Homes
England, and Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston.
T
hirteen joined partners to mark the
start of work at Boho Zone North
on land south of Gosford Street in
Middlesbrough.
Boho Zone North is an exciting and
innovative development being delivered by
Thirteen in partnership with Middlesbrough
Council and Esh Construction which will build
the properties. It will also receive funding
support from Thirteen’s strategic partner,
Homes England.
The development includes 40 apartments
in the high-profile Middlehaven regeneration
area of the town.
Boho Zone North is perfectly placed
to take advantage of the Boho Zone,
Middlesbrough’s thriving digital, creative and
business hub – soon to be boosted by the
Boho 8 and Boho X developments.
This innovative quarter is already the
setting for businesses ranging from
incubating small, residential-based start-
ups through to multimillion-pound turnover
enterprises.
At the Boho Zone people enjoy
networking opportunities to meet and
generate ideas with like-minded individuals.
It also offers advanced facilities including
ultra-fast broadband.
Chris Smith, Thirteen’s executive director
of service delivery and development, said:
“We’re thrilled that work has started on
these fantastic new apartments, which will
provide modern, flexible accommodation for
people to work or study from home.
“The development will create affordable,
contemporary apartments where Boho Zone
North residents can significantly reduce bills
and their carbon footprint.
“It’s a great scheme and the feedback
we’ve had already has been incredibly
positive and we believe the development
will add to the Boho Zone’s growing national
reputation.”
Gary Dobson, divisional director at
Esh Living, added: “We are delighted to
be working with Thirteen to deliver this
fantastic scheme which is at the heart of Esh
Construction’s operating area.
“The scheme is a great addition to the
master plan of BOHO Middlehaven and will
offer a choice of affordable apartments,
delivering much-needed quality housing in
Middlesbrough.”
Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston
added: “We’re well on track to becoming the
leading digital city in the UK.
“Alongside amazing places to work, we
need great places for people to live as
this exciting new phase in Middlesbrough’s
history builds momentum.
“It’s great to be working with Thirteen,
and together we will deliver the sort of 21st
century homes people are crying out for.”
MIDDLESBROUGH ‘BEST PLACE
ON EARTH’ FOR TREASURY JOBS
M
iddlesbrough mayor Andy Preston
has written to Chancellor of the
Exchequer Rishi Sunak highlighting
the benefits of moving treasury jobs to “the
best place on earth”.
A Sunday Times article told how the
new chancellor was potentially considering
relocating some of its operation to Teesside
to help rebalance the UK economy.
Mr Preston moved quickly to urge
Mr Sunak to consider the merits of
Middlesbrough in any proposals which could
be brought forward.
After congratulating the MP for Richmond
– which includes Stokesley and Great Ayton
– on his promotion, the Middlesbrough
mayor wrote: “As you well know, the
Middlesbrough area is literally the best
place in the world to base a business or
organisation.
“Partly because of this, our new state-of-
the-art offices in Middlesbrough are winning
massive relocation interest from London and
beyond.
“Teesside’s remarkable scenery,
transport links and leisure opportunities are
generating colossal growth in the number of
entrepreneurs choosing the Middlesbrough
area as the best place to base their family
and business.
“To realise our potential and help level up
the UK’s uneven economy, we’d like your
help. I want you to play a personal role and
choose Middlesbrough.”
MAYOR HAILS ‘HISTORIC’
BUDGET VOTE
Middlesbrough mayor Andy Preston
has hailed a “historic vote” after
councillors joined forces to support
the council’s 2020-21 budget.
Following a wide-scale public
consultation – in which thousands of
residents gave feedback on services
and proposals – councillors voted
heavily in support of the budget.
The result of 36 in favour compared
to just five against meant most
councillors voted the same way.
Mayor Preston said: “Labour, Tory
and independent councillors united
for what I believe to be the first time
in Middlesbrough’s modern history.”
PARTNERSHIP CELEBRATED
TRAINING MILESTONE
Learning Curve Group and Building
Heroes are celebrating as the first
cohort of military veterans complete
their training in the region.
LCG’s Construction Academy in
Middlesbrough provides fully-funded
training to members of the armed
forces and military veterans.
Aimed at helping veterans back
into employment and preparing
serving personnel for life after the
military, the servicemen and women
on the property maintenance
course have gained a range of skills
including painting and decorating,
plastering, joinery and bricklaying.
ENGINEERS PIONEER MENTAL
HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT
Middlesbrough engineering company
INDUSTRO Solutions has further
embedded its commitment to the
mental health of its workforce
through an innovation to its
workplace risk assessments.
It has developed its own daily risk
assessment document to ensure its
team are aware of the risks around
them, including a prompt to consider
their mental health.
INDUSTRO has created a
team that can identify signs of
mental illness, when someone
is experiencing an episode and
signpost towards support.
EDUCATION SECRETARY ASKED
TO TACKLE LITERACY CRISIS
Lexonik, an award-winning company
that instructs teachers and tutors on
how to deliver literacy training, has
called on the education secretary to
tackle the UK’s growing literacy crisis.
Founder and director Katy
Parkinson wrote to Gavin Williamson
appealing for teachers to be
supported to nurture children’s
reading as part of the curriculum,
rather than hit with new targets.
Katy has almost 30 years’
experience in the education sector,
and Lexonik has worked with more
than 70,000 students worldwide.
The voice of business in the Tees region | 11