Tees Business | Page 7

Serving the Teesside Business Community | 7 /NEWS BUSINESS BITES APPROVAL FOR POTASH PROJECT A company building a £2bn potash mine has received absolute approval for a number of aspects in the development. Sirius Minerals says it has been given final decision notices, formally granting planning permission, for key facets of its York Potash Project, near Whitby. The firm, which aims to create 1,000 direct jobs at the mine, says Redcar and Cleveland Council has given such notices for the mine and a transport system, which will take its fertiliser mineral polyhalite to a handling site on Teesside. FAR EAST MISSION Teesside University has launched The Forge, their “front door to business”. Forging a better future for business A dynamic new identity has been officially unveiled by Teesside University for its award-winning products and services for business. T he Forge, the university’s national business hub based in Darlington, will provide a single point of contact for businesses and triage them according to their needs. Based at the £13m campus at Central Park, Darlington, now also home to the emerging National Biologics Manufacturing Centre, The Forge is the ‘front door’ to the university for businesses ranging from start-ups and SMEs to blue-chip multi nationals. The university works with hundreds of different companies providing research and innovation, consultancy, knowledge exchange, start-up incubation, mentoring, graduate placement, leadership development and professional education support. The creation of The Forge responds to recommendations made in a governmentcommissioned review by the chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, Sir Andrew Witty, which said that universities should be drivers of economic growth. Rita Clifton, the former vice chair of Saatchi A and Saatchi and chair at Interbrand, the world’s leading brand consultancy, launched The Forge. She said: “It’s very important to have a single point of contact where you access ideas and information. Bringing people and businesses together is incredibly important. When you have that sort of connection of ideas and expertise across sectors – that is where innovation happens.” Laura Woods, the director of The Forge, added: “We want businesses to come and use this building. We