As we prepare to wrap up another year here are just a few highlights from what has undoubtedly been another challenging year, but has also been one of creativity, targeted support and innovation …
In 2021, against the continued backdrop of Covid, we have continued to think and work both differently and creatively to support our BID levy paying businesses.
Covid restrictions at the start of the year meant physical meetings were again put on hold, so instead we continued to embrace all things virtual. We held regular business surgeries – for staff to log on and ask questions. Our programme of workshops included a host of business support information, including must needed updates about business grants and other support available to organisations.
Partnerships to support our businesses: Businesses needed support more than ever in 2021 is why we chose to partner with Aquarius Life, an organisation which supports people affected by alcohol, drugs and gambling and offers support to employers. Thanks to this partnership our businesses have been able to access free policy advice and make the most of training and workshops.
Another support partnership was with employability specialists Career Catapult, a Northampton based organisation that has been providing our businesses with LinkedIn training and support.
Simply the best: A record number of Brackmills businesses were unveiled as finalists in the 2021 Northamptonshire Logistics Awards – and we had an impressive number of winners.
C Butt Ltd scooped two awards (‘Logistics Company of the Year – Above 50 Employees’ and the ‘Health Safety & Wellbeing’ award) while Kirsty Lancaster from Travis Perkins also left with two awards, winning the ‘Emerging Talent Award’ and the 'Apprentice of the Year Award'
Our very own awards scheme – the Brackmills Above and Beyond the Call of Duty awards – continued to celebrate talent and innovation, with Miswa Chemicals winning the very first team award.
Constantly communicating: Businesses hear about incidents on the estate, traffic congestion, extreme weather, roadworks and other breaking news via our much-valued e-bulletins.
We also have a constantly updated website, which includes the popular business directory and an online Jobs Fair.
Brackmills also continued to secure TV and radio coverage throughout 2021, as well as heaps of headlines. Here are just a few:
Our charity work and jobs fair were featured in the Chronicle & Echo. Our commitment to supporting businesses with training made the press – in All Things Business here and in the Chronicle & Echo here.
Our commitment to safety and security and to keeping crime at bay was often featured, including this piece in glossy magazine All Things Business here.
Jobs: Our online jobs fair continued to be crammed with recruitment opportunities and towards the end of this year we held a face-to-face Jobs Fair. More than 1,000 jobs were promoted, masses of companies came along to meet job hunters – and we even secured some TV attention, with a headline story being broadcast on BBC Look East about jobs on our estate.
Charity: Giving back has been important to the BID and to so many of our resident businesses. Towards the start of the year, with Covid restrictions still in place, the BID and many estate businesses supported a local #TechTogether campaign, launched by Brackmills business ACS Office Solutions ad the team from All Things Business. The campaign provided donated and unwanted laptops and devices to support parents with home schooling.
Other charity highlights include the BID’s donation to support new arrivals from Afghanistan and the appointment of our BID Chief Executive, Sara Homer, to The Hope Centre trustee board.
Safety and security: In September our PCSO, Paul Hurst, celebrated a year on Brackmills – and what an incredible job he is doing. Helping Paul to keep the estate safe and secure has been the BID’s investment in police support, additional security, business alerts and CCTV cameras. On top of this, additional security, funded by the BID, has been provided by Etiquette Security, a Northamptonshire based company with more than 80 highly trained employees.
Tackling crime: A new Business Watch scheme was also launched this year - all part of our commitment to cracking down on crime and anti-social behaviour. This BID scheme is in partnership with Northamptonshire Police, Action Fraud and Neighbourhood Watch.
About us
So, if you are a logistics company looking to relocate your operations, or are an investor seeking property, there’s no need to look any further than Northampton’s Brackmills Industrial Estate, a thriving logistics and transport estate set within the UK’s premier hub for logistics, known as the Golden Triangle of distribution.
Brackmills, as well as being home to big brands such as John Lewis, Panasonic, Dachser, Decathlon, Travis Perkins and igus, also attracts a diverse array of small and growing companies – everything from sign makers and printers to charities, chemical companies, nurseries and recruitment companies.
Merry Christmas
We – the Brackmills BID board of directors and our BID Chief Executive Sara Homer – wish you a merry Christmas. We have heaps of plans in the pipeline and look forward to seeing you, working with and supporting your business and staff in 2022.