The Percy Hedley Foundation partnered with Barratt Homes and Show Business Interiors to create the first inclusive show home at the new Old Durham Gate development.
The foundation, a charity dedicated to improving the lives of people with disabilities, took part in a collaborative workshop with the housebuilder and its interior designers to design, create and bring the project to life. The workshop, which took place at the Foundation’s Percy Hedley School, saw students chose specific details to feature within the home including geometric wall panelling, carefully selected paint colours and artwork created by the students themselves. Other factors weaved in included sensory items and lighting fixtures.
This activity comes as part of a wider partnership between Percy Hedley and Barratt Homes, which will see students gain work experience in different areas of the business to increase their confidence, improve their employability skills and find their own passions. Barratt Homes’ relationship with the Percy Hedley Foundation follows a previous £25,000 donation made by the housebuilder, in conjunction with Hellens Group.
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Kerry Robinson, project manager at Percy Hedley, said: “We have seen what a hugely positive impact that this experience has had on the confidence of our students, which has come as a result of being exposed to an entirely new world of work.”
Carl Sobolewski, managing director of Barratt Homes North East, added: “Our partnership with Percy Hedley is one that sits very close to our hearts, with the launch of the show home being the first of hopefully many activities to come. It has been incredible to see the students’ creativity and excitement during the show home project, and it is especially rewarding to be able to provide an experience within the workplace that is completely new for their development.”
North East law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has been recognised for its commitment to the ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) agenda after winning two awards at the inaugural The Legal 500 ESG Awards.
The awards, held in London last week, celebrated the very best ESG initiatives across the 海角视频 legal market, with winners singled out for their efforts to bring about change within diversity and inclusion and environmental and sustainability strategy. WBD’s winners were planning partner Jon Bower, who won Environmental/Sustainability: Private Practice Champion, and senior responsible business manager Charlotte von Sicard, who was named ESG Rising Star, which recognises individuals in the industry who are contributing across various areas of ESG.
Mr Bower, partner lead for net zero, has helped WBD to reduce its measured emissions by more than 50% since the 2019/20. He has also advised clients on their own net zero projects for over 20 years. Ms von Sicard, meanwhile, has transformed the company’s sustainability practices to put it in the top 2% of companies reporting globally.
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Sally Dallow, the firm’s partner lead for responsible business, said: “Womble Bond Dickinson is committed to creating better places to live, work and do business and we’re delighted to be presented with these awards. This latest success is testament to the work Charlotte and Jon are doing to build sustainable practices within WBD. These awards are the result of a lot of hard work, and I’d like to personally thank them and our teams for the amazing work they do.”
Employers joined forces to help raise thousands of pounds for charity at Middlesbrough College Group’s third annual charity football tournament.
The competition, held last Friday, rallied behind the foundation’s impactful community initiatives and saw the largest participation yet, with 31 teams from local companies competing in five groups. Firms competing included Northern Skills, Tees Components, Active Chartered Financial Planners and tournament winners Natara.
Event organiser Peter Donnelly, associate director of business development at Middlesbrough College, said: “We are thrilled to see the overwhelming response from the community in our third year running this competition. It demonstrates the collective commitment of local businesses and organisations towards making a positive difference in our community.”
The event rised £8,112.55 for Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation, the charitable arm of Middlesbrough Football Club which is dedicated to using the power of football to improve lives and make a positive impact in the community.
Raby Castle has secured a significant achievement in the Green Tourism awards certification programme with a silver in recognition of its commitment to sustainability. The Green Tourism awards are acknowledged as an indicator of good environmentally-friendly practice and act as a hallmark of ‘green quality’. Raby Castle submitted evidence to the organisers of its investments in renewable energy at The Rising scheme, which include the Geothermal Heating Network, and its work to minimise packaging and use of cleaning and conservation chemicals.
Raby Estate’s sustainability manager, Victoria Cadman, worked alongside a team at the County Durham landmark to complete the award application. She started her role last year after previously working as an environmental scientist with over 25 years.
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She said: “We’re very proud of what we are achieving across the estate and following the helpful advice and feedback Green Tourism has provided, we will continue to progress and aim for gold following the opening of the Rising in late spring this year.”
Newcastle tech consultancy Opencast was named Fastest Growing Large Tech Business at the prestigious 2024 Northern Tech Awards. Chief financial officer James Hodgson and chief executive Tom Lawson (picked up the trophy at GP Bullhound’s gala dinner for investors and business leaders at Manchester Cathedral.
Opencast was also ranked fifth in the NTA’s top 100 list of fast-growing technology business in the 海角视频 North. The ranking is based on compound annual growth over the last three years. Read the full rankings.
Mr Lawson said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have been named as the fastest-growing large tech business in the North, as well as in the top five in the Top 100 list. It’s also brilliant news for the North East, demonstrating that Newcastle-founded businesses can break through on to a wider stage. The NTAs recognise three-year growth for businesses – showing the reality of our growth position over this period. I could not be prouder of the whole Opencast team for the efforts everyone has put in over the past three years.”