4 | Tees Business
BUSINESS BITES
WORK STARTS ON £ 4.2M HEALTH CENTRE Residents in Middlesbrough are a step closer to the opening of a new state-ofthe-art health centre as work starts on the new facility.
The new £ 4.2m Health Centre on Trimdon Avenue, Acklam, is being developed by OneMedicalGroup – a leading healthcare property developer – to bring improved health and wellbeing services to the area.
The new centre, to be called Bluebell Medical Centre, is set to open in mid- May 2017 and will house the existing Woodlands Road Surgery, currently located in the centre of the town, and the existing branch surgery on Acklam Road. Both surgeries will continue to serve patients as usual until the opening.
JAVID WELCOMES DEVO PROGRESS Communities secretary Sajid Javid welcomed the progress of the groundbreaking devolution deal in the Tees Valley, and agreed to work with local leaders as they maintain the momentum and use their new powers and investment.
His positive words came almost a year since the Tees Valley devolution deal was signed – which includes the recent transfer of £ 15m of new money to the area through the deal, the first of payments from a total of £ 450m due over the next 30 years.
BORO TAXIS MERGE WITH REDCAR FIRM Boro Taxis has merged with Redcarbased travel firm J & P Taxis. The partnership means that Boro Taxis is now one of the largest private hire operators in the UK, with a fleet of more than 1,000 vehicles, including cars and minibuses.
Following the merger, J & P’ s 165 vehicles will continue to operate under its name, but will benefit from being part of Boro Taxis’ significantly larger fleet.
TEES CHARITY SET FOR £ 1M MILESTONE A Teesside charity that has inspired 1,000 UK business leaders to sleep rough for the night has achieved the £ 1m fundraising milestone for charities working to fight homelessness and poverty.
Believed to be the first charity of its type in Europe, over the past three years Middlesbrough-based CEO Sleepout has resulted in corporate CEOs, company chairmen, MPs, mayors, bishops and other senior businesspeople giving up a night in their warm beds to experience life on the street.
The charity’ s founder and chairman, Andy Preston, said he plans to hold a further sleepout event on Teesside in 2017, as well as several across the UK.
Cleveland Centre manager Graeme Skillen believes there is increasing reason for optimism after Flannels announced it would be refurbishing the former BHS store in Middlesbrough.
Flannels can be town centre’ s regeneration flagship
A
leading figure in Teesside’ s retail industry says the opening of a new branch of luxury retailer Flannels following a £ 3m refurbishment to the site of the former BHS store could kickstart a positive new era for Middlesbrough town centre.
The designer fashion chain – famous for stocking highly desirable labels such as Dolce & Gabbana and Prada – will fill the ground floor of the 50,000 sq ft building on the corner of Cleveland Centre.
The £ 3m facelift will see upper floors taken by new outlets of clothing retailer USC and high street giant Sports Direct, which has acquired the freehold of the building for £ 2.2m – bringing total investment in the site to circa £ 5.2m.
The demise of BHS had cast a shadow over the town’ s retail sector, but Cleveland Centre manager Graeme Skillen believes there is increasing reason for optimism.
“ The closure of BHS was naturally a blow,” Skillen told Tees Business.“ It was a priority for the town to fill the unit to create jobs and improve the town’ s retail offer.
“ So it has been a significant achievement for those involved to attract a retailer of this quality in such a short space of time.
“ Flannels will be a tremendous addition to the town centre’ s retail offering, and represents a huge vote of confidence for the town and the region.”
Skillen said the new branches of Flannels, USC and Sports Direct were further pointers to the town centre’ s ongoing revival.
“ We already have the regeneration success of the Baker Street and Bedford
“ This major multi-million pound investment is a huge vote of confidence in Middlesbrough as the city heart of the Tees Valley region”
Street area, together with the expansion of the Holiday Inn and the exciting refurbishment of Middlesbrough Town Hall.
“ The arrival of the hugely popular popup Disney Store has created a huge buzz within Cleveland Centre, whilst we are close to announcing the arrival of a major new national retailer too.”
The Flannels project, which has the support of Middlesbrough Council, is expected to create in the region of 50 to 60 full and part-time jobs across the three new stores. Councillor Charlie Rooney, Middlesbrough’ s deputy mayor and executive member for regeneration, said:“ This is fantastic news for the town centre, particularly coming so soon after the sad demise of BHS.
“ This major multi-million pound investment is a huge vote of confidence in Middlesbrough as the city heart of the Tees Valley region, and further builds on the momentum that has been transforming the town over the last couple of years.
“ There’ s a real sense of optimism and aspiration, with the town attracting everything from up-and-coming independents to the biggest High Street names.
“ Alongside USC and Sports Direct, Flannels will bring a new dimension to this important site and further add to our thriving and vibrant town centre offer.”
The store in Middlesbrough is expected to open in summer 2017.
See our Tees Talk feature on page 58, where we ask eight Tees business leaders, what are their views on the future of Middlesbrough town centre?