Estate agency group My Property Box has been named service provider of the Year at the inaugural Blue Bricks Magazine Property Awards.
The judges, including angel investor Helen Chorley who presents SKY TV show Property Elevator, and property coach, investor and developer Charlotte Edwards, said the award recognised the company’s “exceptional commitment and outstanding delivery of services”. The Blue Bricks Magazine Property Awards, which were held at Peckforton Castle in Cheshire, recognise innovation, creativity, excellence, and ethics within the property sector.
Ben Quaintrell, founder and CEO of My Property Box, which covers the Tees Valley, County Durham, Tyneside, Wearside, Northumberland and North Yorkshire, said: “We are thrilled to be recognised as service provider of the year. It’s testament to the dedication and hard work of our entire team, who strive to deliver the highest level of service to our clients, whether it is people buying or selling homes, landlords, tenants, or property investors.
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“It’s also a matter of pride that our efforts have been recognised by industry professionals, which serves to enhance the profile and reputation of this business in what is an extremely competitive sector.”
Earlier this month My Property Box, which has offices in Darlington and Newcastle, secured multimillion-pound investment from BGF.
Benfield School has received a £1,000 donation from Houghton International and the North East Automotive Alliance (NEAA) to support its after-school STEM program.
The donation was made after Houghton International won the manufacturing innovation award at the Made in the North East Awards.
Representatives from the two organisations recently visited the STEM and Robotics club at the school, to see a number of student projects in action, including their participation in the First Lego League. The Lego League is an engaging and educational project requiring students to apply core STEM principles to successfully design, build, and program their robots. The £1,000 donation will support projects like the Lego League, and make sure students gain hands-on experience in STEM activities.
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Emma Donald, marketing manager at Houghton International, presented the donation to Benfield students last week. She said: “I hope the donation will ignite interest in STEM and demonstrate to the next generation the excitement and fulfilment that a career in engineering can provide. Supporting Benfield School feels particularly rewarding, given that many of our employees were once students. Now, we’re helping the school cultivate a new generation of engineers.”
Jorja Burrows, manager of the club at Benfield School, said: “We are thankful to Houghton International for their support. This donation will provide invaluable resources for our STEM club, helping to ignite our students’ passion for STEM.”
A bespoke sensory ‘Tyne Tunnel’ has been donated to Northern Counties School by the operator of the Tyne Tunnels, TT2. The replica Tyne Tunnel is based in the playground at the Jesmond school and is already having a positive impact on the children who get very excited to visit it, as part of lessons and playtime.
Andrew McGreevy, director of business development at The Percy Hedley Foundation, said: “We are over the moon with our new facility. It makes a world of difference for our children by providing an opportunity to discover and embrace different textures, colours and sounds in a safe, fun environment, outdoors in the fresh air. I want to express a heart-felt thank you to TT2 – this equipment is going to bring a lot of joy and learnings for generations to come.”
TT2’s chief operating officer, Shaun Simmons, said: “When we heard we could play a part in supporting children to learn and develop we were delighted to help. It has been enjoyable working with the Foundation to bring the tunnel to life.”
Sunderland’s City Hall has been awarded an environmental award for its efforts to reduce emissions and embrace sustainable practices. The building at Riverside Sunderland has been awarded the Silver Accreditation by the Investors in the Environment Scheme (iiE).
From construction through to completion, ecological responsibility measures have been put in place to improve the building’s environmental impact from the offset. A ‘City Hall Green Champion Forum’ was established to carry on the work, focusing on aspects affecting City Hall’s carbon footprint, including energy efficiency, local procurement, waste reduction, and promoting active travel.
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Discussions and ideas generated at the forum has led to the introduction of waste and coffee cup recycling bins, eco-friendly products from local businesses being promoted, as well as a bug hotel on the building’s green roof to attract more wildlife to the site.
City Hall has also taken part in activities such as office shutdowns to conserve energy and hosted free bike maintenance sessions, encouraging staff to participate in a more sustainable commute to work.
Coun Lindsey Leonard, Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Net Zero at Sunderland City Council, said: “We’re delighted about the accreditation and think it’s a real testament to our efforts to improve sustainable practices in Sunderland and create an environment where everyone feels able to generate ideas to support Sunderland to become Carbon Neutral by 2040.”
A Sunderland charity set up to support families grieving the loss of a baby or child has received a £2,000 cash boost after a number of other businesses came together for a charity quiz night. Torgersens Chartered Accountants and Jacksons Law Firm held the “pie and peas” fundraiser in City Hall, Sunderland’s Council chambers, in aid of the charity 4Louis.
The charity was set up by Kirsty Knight and her family and friends in 2009, following the loss of Kirsty’s son, when she was eight months pregnant with him. The two firms invited other firms to enter teams and take part in a raffle and the successful night, hosted by quizmaster Bob Cuffe, raised £2,000.
Martin Johnson, partner at Torgersens Chartered Accountants, said: “We are very grateful to the companies and individuals who made such generous contributions to our charity quiz night. A great selection of raffle prizes was donated, and the amount raised from raffle ticket sales was amazing. We exceeded our target and then had the bonus of Lloyd’s Bank matching our total – it was a great night!”
Paula Parnaby, admin officer at 4Louis, said: “The night brought local companies and businesses together, raising money for what we know is such a worthy cause. The money raised on the evening will help us to continue to support bereaved families with our services. We are only able to continue with our much-needed work because of events like this. We’d like to thank Torgersens, Jacksons Law Firm and all those that attended for their support - it’s greatly appreciated.”
Tony Wentworth, managing partner at Jacksons Law Firm, said: “We are really grateful to everyone who came along and those who were behind organising the quiz, all of whom made this such a successful night in terms of both the funds raised and the opportunity for a wide range of local businesses to come together in an informal setting. We understand how important the charity 4Louis is to those families who need it at such a devastating time in their lives and we’re really pleased to be able to support their vital work.
“What started with one family in the North East is now a charity helping families in hospitals all over the country - and I think this reflects the kindness of people across our region, whom we are delighted to support.”
A South Tyneside former PR consultant-turned writer whose near-death experience led her to take up stand-up comedy has written a novel inspired by the events. The Stand-Up Mam is the first novel to be published by Kay Wilson, featuring many of her own experiences of stand-up comedy – an ambition she achieved after surviving a near-fatal brain haemorrhage.
While shopping in York on her daughter’s 13th birthday, Kay suffered a burst brain aneurysm and was only able to return home three weeks later after life-saving surgery.
She said: “Most people who have a burst aneurysm die in the ambulance, the remainder have a significant disability and only 10% live their lives as they used to. I was, and still count myself, incredibly lucky.
“Being so ill made me realise how important it is to fulfil your dreams, so I pursued mine. The first one was to do stand-up comedy – perhaps not what most people expect from a middle-aged mother of teenagers.”
After doing a course at the Edinburgh Fringe she performed unpaid five-minute stand-up gigs in the North East for two years. The former North East Chamber of Commerce’s PR manager said: “I would love my book to empower women to make each day the best it can be for them and, it might sound trite, but challenge themselves to mark things off that bucket list.”
Copies of the novel can be ordered from Amazon and signed copies are available at the Forum Bookshop, The Bound in Whitley Bay.