Birmingham content marketing agency teams up with global biotechnology brand

Full service content marketing agency, HDY Agency, has expanded its portfolio of clients after securing a number of new projects with global biotechnology company, The Binding Site.

Founded by researchers at the University of Birmingham, The Binding Site provides specialist diagnostic products to clinicians and laboratory professionals around the world. 

Birmingham energy experts develop sustainable routes and technologies for zero-carbon heating and cooling future

Sustainable cooling experts are creating a roadmap to help reach the UK’s 2050 net-zero carbon emissions target, whilst maintaining food security for consumers and economic opportunity for the country’s food industry, as the University of Birmingham secures £2.9 million of UK Government funding announced today for energy-related projects.

Backed by £1.4 million of UKRI funding, the four-year Zero Emission Cold-Chain (ZECC) project will create the first detailed road map to allow the UK food cold chain industry to identify opportunities to reduce emissions.

Led by the University of Birmingham, the project includes experts from Heriot-Watt University, London South Bank University and Cranfield University - highlighting ways in which the industry can become more competitive whilst heading towards zero-carbon.

In parallel at the University of Birmingham and supported by £1.5 million of UKRI funding, the Heat Accumulation from Renewables with Valid Energy Storage and Transformation (HARVEST) project will develop new heat storage and conversion technology to help ensure that renewable electricity is stored in times of less electricity demand and ready for use to meet high heating demand in winter and high cooling demand in summer.

ZECC project leader Toby Peters, Professor of Cold Economy at the University of Birmingham, commented: “Much of UK’s food is dependent on the cold food chain, which is also a significant contributor to the country’s energy demand. Our project is about thinking thermally and analysing engineering, energy resources, food quality and safety, finance and business aspects to crack the conundrum of sustainable decarbonisation of cooling and the cold-chain.

“We’re bringing together world-leading researchers, industry, technology innovators and customers such as farmers and retailers to look at the whole system and map the opportunities and challenges to ensuring that the chain can support UK-wide Net Zero goals and decarbonise while also meeting demand and being resilient.”

Professor Peters, who is also a visiting professor at Heriot-Watt University added that the food cold chain is complex and lacks integration between sectors. Technological challenges exist, but many decarbonisation issues are techno-economic or behavioural. The project provides fresh analysis in a field yet to be researched from a system approach, also targeting food loss in line with the Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations (12.3).

Researchers will identify how sustainability of the cold-chain system can be increased by exploring integrated measures covering societal, technical, operational and economic perspectives across:

·         Reduce: Reducing the need for cooling, ensuring optimal conditions for food

·         Shift: Transitioning to more sustainable technologies and working fluids and taking    different approaches to cooling

·         Improve: Enhance equipment and operation efficiency

·         Aggregate: synergies within the cold-chain to better integrate different cooling demands into single system

The project aims to deliver energy savings, significantly reduced postharvest food losses and better quality of product to UK industry and policy makers, as well as reduced emissions related to crop loss, by:

·         Updating information on energy usage and CO₂ emissions;

·         Assessing how to maintain the quality and safety of fresh produce in the supply chain;

·         Designing strategies to reduce food loss;

·         Evaluating future cooling energy consumption demands and their impact on UK energy;

·         Using a systems approach to explore how to manage cooling demand; and

·         Determining areas of intervention considering available energy and thermal resources, emission targets and other commitments as well as costs.

The HARVEST project sees researchers at Birmingham working in partnership with their counterparts at University of Edinburgh and UCL to develop a microwave-assisted process to flexibly absorb electricity and then regenerate it through reaction between thermochemical materials and ammonia solution.

HARVEST project lead Dr Yongliang Li, from the University of Birmingham, commented: “Great Britain curtailed wind power on 75% of days in 2020, with over 3.6TWh of wind power being turned off in total. The HARVEST project will develop new decentralised heat storage and conversion technology to meet high heating demand in winter and high cooling demand in summer.”

UK Minister for Climate Change Lord Callanan said: “The way we use energy in our buildings makes up almost a third of all UK carbon emissions. Reducing that to virtually zero is going to be key to eradicating our contribution to climate change by 2050.

 “That’s why it’s important that innovative projects like HARVEST and ZECC in Birmingham receive backing to develop new and effective ways to heat and cool our homes and workspaces, helping drive down the costs of low-carbon technologies so everyone can feel the benefits of cheaper and greener energy.”

Birmingham entrepreneurs emerge from the den with ‘saucy’ £500,000 sales target for eco-friendly product

Two old school friends, who took on high-profile entrepreneurs in the Dragons’ Den twice, are setting their sights on a £500,000 sales return for their new eco-friendly solution to serving up sauce. Ian Worton and Peter Neath are confident that Saucestream is going to prove a big hit with green-minded consumers after it saw an initial spike in online and Amazon orders.

Birmingham first UK city to host Climate Change Committee

Birmingham's ambitious plans to address the climate crisis will be in the spotlight this week when the city plays host to the UK’s Climate Change Committee (CCC).

Chaired by Lord Deben (former Environment Secretary, John Selwyn Gummer), the CCC is an independent, statutory body established under the Climate Change Act 2008 with the purpose to advise the UK and devolved governments on emissions targets and to report to Parliament on progress made in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for and adapting to the impacts of climate change.

Birmingham has 1 job vacancy per every 93 residents

New research from Pushfar, one of the UK’s leading mentoring platforms, shows that the competition for a career change is at a crunch in Birmingham, with 11,782*** job vacancies for the population of 1,092,330** people. With the new year fast approaching, many people are already starting to plan their new year’s resolutions and thinking of ways to better themselves.

Birmingham is one of the UK's 'investing capitals', according to new study

New analysis reveals that Reading is home to the keenest investors in the UK. The study, by UK financial services provider CMC Markets, examined Google Ads data to discover the average monthly search volume for investment-related search terms across the most populated areas of the UK, to determine which areas are most interested in investing.

Birmingham law firm supports company’s investment in emerging medtech leader

Shakespeare Martineau’s Birmingham office has supported engineering and manufacturing company Avingtrans plc with its £2.5m participation in a £12.9m fund raise by emerging medtech leader Adaptix.

In return for the investment and post the closing of the fund raise, Avingtrans – which designs, manufactures and supplies critical components, modules and systems to the energy, medical and industrial sectors – will own approximately 5.9% of the total issued share capital of Adaptix, which focuses on transforming radiology by allowing low-cost, low-dose 3D portable imaging.

Birmingham manufacturing boss calls for more ‘local content’ in electrification investment race

A leading Birmingham industrialist has welcomed the recent ‘electrification’ investment into the West Midlands but called for the region to do more to make sure ‘local content supply’ is on the agenda.

Grayson Thermal Systems’ Stuart Hateley believes we are poised to miss a ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to ensure that all tiers of the supply chain have the chance to benefit from the move to more sustainable vehicles.

Birmingham regeneration scheme uses innovative offsite manufacturing to progress

Birmingham-based contractor, Willmott Dixon, has collaborated with Offsite Solutions, the UK’s leading bathroom pod manufacturer, to maximise the time, cost, quality and sustainability benefits of offsite manufacturing during the build of its two plots worth £78m, as part of the wider £500m Perry Barr Residential Scheme.

The development, commissioned by Lendlease on behalf of Birmingham City Council, will see Willmott Dixon create 430 apartments in the dual four to six-storey blocks, on the site of the former Birmingham City University campus. The two apartment blocks will make up a crucial part of the Perry Barr Regeneration Scheme’s plan to deliver 1,400 much-needed homes for north-west Birmingham - the apartments will be made available for rent and sale, with homes being occupied in 2023. 

Working in collaboration, the contractor and offsite manufacturer are completing two contracts totalling £3.5m, to supply 692 steel-framed bathroom and en-suite shower pods. The use of innovative offsite manufacturing not only provides programme certainty and increases quality due to factory conditions, but also increases time efficiency by 30%.

Dan Doyle, operations director at Willmott Dixon, said: “The recently launched Construction Playbook has put standardisation and the use of modern methods of construction at the heart of public sector building progarmes to enable us to build ‘better, greener and smarter’, and that’s exactly what we’ve done on this scheme. The benefits of using offsite manufacturing during a project of this scale are unmatched. In one day, we can install approximately 20 pods. Traditionally this would involve a number of trades across several weeks. For our customers, this means additional project certainty and added programme benefits, along with assured quality. The benefits don’t stop there. The use of the pods helps to reduce the project’s carbon footprint while also supporting the compliance of Covid-19 safety guidance on-site. 

“This project also features a lightweight steel frame and a unique brick-like Corium cladding – both of which further demonstrate our use of offsite manufacturing techniques to support with time and cost efficiencies for our customer, while also adapting to ensure our workforce remained safe on-site during the Covid-19 pandemic.” The bathroom pods feature contemporary grey floor and wall tiles, a wall-mounted D-shaped hand basin, heated towel rail and a bath with a hand-held shower on a sliding rail. The shower rooms are fitted out with a hand-held rain shower, a large shower tray and sliding glass door, with an accompanying single bar towel rail adjacent to the shower or bath.

Managing director of Offsite Solutions, James Stephens, said: “We are very pleased to be working with Willmott Dixon on a project that will provide much-needed homes for local people. The use of bathroom pods will improve the programme by maximising work offsite. By moving the fitout of bathrooms into a factory setting, we offer much greater certainty of completion on time, on budget and consistency of quality”.

These dual housing blocks, designed by Corstorphine & Wright, were designed to be part of wider residential development that will create new activity and vibrancy for the area whilst providing much-needed housing provision. The steel-framed bathroom pods in these blocks support the ambitions of the design, offering a premium aesthetic with traditional porcelain wall and floor tiling and a high-quality finish.

Anna Evans, project director at Lendlease, said: “We’re pleased to see the innovative use of bathroom pods at Perry Barr. This is another excellent example of the work taking place to ensure this development will be completed efficiently, safely and sustainably.” 

Cllr Ian Ward, Leader of Birmingham City Council said: “We have an urgent need for new and high-quality housing in this city.

“The Perry Barr Residential Scheme is making a significant contribution to meeting this demand – so it is really pleasing to see the innovative approach being used to equip the homes on these plots with excellent facilities.

“The completion of the bathrooms for these homes represents another significant milestone for the wider regeneration of Perry Barr.” As part of Willmott Dixon’s commitment to leaving a legacy in the local community, working in collaboration with Lendlease and other contractors on the Scheme, the business will be contributing towards delivering a wide range of community and economic activities that will benefit local people both during the development and in the future.

These benefits include supporting community projects and engaging with local schools as well as the creation of 400 new jobs - 50 of which will be apprenticeships. Contractors operating on the Perry Barr Residential Scheme will be working in collaboration to support 1,000 pre-employment training places and contributing towards hosting 10,500 work experience hours during the development.

The contractors' support of the local community will also see them working in collaboration with Birmingham City Council’s employment access team to promote jobs and training opportunities through a variety of initiatives including the Construction Skills Hub and the Women in Construction programme.

Birmingham Rep warns of job losses

Up to 47 jobs could go at the Birmingham Repertory Theatre, with the venue warning its survival was at risk. The jobs, at one of the country's foremost producing theatres represent about 40% of its workforce.

The Rep’s Artistic Director Sean Foley welcomed a £1.5bn emergency package from the government for the arts sector. However, the theatre said it had lost 80% of its income, a position it described as "unsustainable".

It said it was looking at a range of cost-saving measures and "with great sadness" would be consulting with staff about redundancies.

The theatre, based in Centenary Square, celebrated its own centenary in 2013 and its stage has featured the likes of Laurence Olivier, Peggy Ashcroft, Michael Gambon and Derek Jacobi, among others.

A joint statement from executive director Rachael Thomas and artistic director Sean Foley, said: "Our role as custodians of this much-loved theatre, with its historic legacy, is to ensure that it survives the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Even after the new measures are taken into account, we believe that survival is threatened if we do not act now. We could still be facing many months of being unable to trade and must therefore take action to mitigate the loss of income by reducing our costs."

Birmingham Repertory Theatre appoints seven new board members

Having recently revealed an exciting 50th Anniversary Season, today Birmingham Repertory Theatre is thrilled to announce the appointment of seven new board members.

Local inequality campaigner Atif Ali, accountant Andrew Chiduku, lawyer Mike Hibbs, CEO Lucy Marcus, environmentalist Victoria Marsom, entrepreneur Brandon Relph and theatre producer Rachel Roussel-Tyson are welcome additions to the Board of Trustees.

Birmingham residents’ research reveals what they would do to save the planet if they could go back in time

Research revealed today shows 80% of Birmingham residents would do something differently around environmental issues to contribute towards saving the planet if they could go back in time

Forty three percent (43%) of respondents in Birmingham stated they would recycle more if they could turn back the clock. 

Birmingham St Mary’s and John Taylor Hospice confirm successful charity merger

Birmingham St Mary’s and John Taylor Hospices are delighted to announce that the two charities have successfully merged together to form one Birmingham wide organisation.

Birmingham the hardest city to level up in the UK due to Covid-19’s economic damage

Birmingham faces the biggest challenges to level up in the UK due to the economic impact of Covid-19, according to Centre for Cities’ annual study of the UK’s major urban areas –Cities Outlook 2021. Over 100,000 people in Birmingham now need to find secure, well-paid jobs to level up – compared to 43,000 last March. This means its claimant count rate now needs to decrease by 6.7 percentage points to bring Birmingham in line with the pre Covid-19 national average.

In addition to hitting Birmingham and the rest of the North and Midlands badly, Covid-19 has also hit many previously prosperous places in the South disproportionately hard. The Government must act fast to prevent a levelling down of these places that the whole UK depends on to create jobs and fund public services. London’s, Crawley’s and Slough’s futures are among the southern places of concern due Covid-19’s potential long-term impact.

The Chancellor should announce how he will deal with Covid-19’s short-term damage to cities and large towns. The plans should include:

• Making permanent the £20 rise in Universal Credit.
• Supporting jobless people to find new good jobs.
• Consider the merits of a renewed Eat Out to Help Out scheme for hospitality and non-online retailers once it is safe.

Acting to prevent further economic damage by Covid-19 is not the same as levelling up. Once the health crisis ends, the Government will need to spend additional money on further measures to level up, including:

• Further education to train jobless people for good roles in emerging industries.
• Making city centres better places for high-skilled businesses to locate.
• Improvements to transport infrastructure in city-regions.

Centre for Cities Chief Executive Andrew Carter said: “Covid-19 has made the Government’s pledge to level up Birmingham much harder. It was promised on the assumption that places in the South would remain prosperous but Covid-19 has shaken this assumption.

“Levelling up Birmingham and stopping the South’s levelling down will not be cheap and will require more than short-term handouts. Government support and investment for new businesses in emerging industries will be essential, as will spending on further education to train people to do the good-quality jobs created.”

Birmingham tops national 'Crash for Cash' scam hotspots

The Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) has released new figures that show Birmingham tops the list of the UK’s 30 worst-affected postal districts for ‘Crash for Cash’ scams.

‘Crash for Cash’ is a common insurance scam which sees fraudsters invent or deliberately cause road traffic collisions, often involving innocent people, to try and get compensation.

IFB analysis of 2.7 million motor insurance claims made across the UK in between 1/10/2019 to 31/12/2020 has identified over 170,000 claims which could be linked to suspected ‘Crash for Cash’ networks.

The hotspots analysis confirms Birmingham remains the most prevalent area in the UK for the dangerous scam, with the B25 postal district ranking highest in the country. 

‘Crash for Cash’ scams can range from paper-based fabrications, or vehicles being damaged behind closed doors, through to the most dangerous where collisions are being caused by fraudsters with innocent road users.

IFB investigations have found single gangs can be behind thousands of orchestrated collisions in some areas, with the combined value of their fraudulent claims running into the millions.

In the top hotspot area of Birmingham, the IFB recently worked with City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED) to convict a serial ‘Crash for Cash’ fraudster who had spent over two years luring innocent people into car crashes. 

Stephen Dalton, Head of Intelligence and Investigations at the IFB, said: “Our year-round work with West Midlands Police and the insurance industry helps to prevent a great number of ‘Crash for Cash’ scams throughout Birmingham, but the city sadly continues to be a hotspot for insurance fraud. We’re calling on the public’s support to help us stop these dangerous scams. We encourage everyone on the road to be vigilant and to report any suspicions of a ‘Crash for Cash’ scam to the IFB’s Cheatline on 0800 422 0421.”

It is hoped that the announcement of the UK’s top ‘Crash for Cash’ hotspots will encourage communities to be vigilant as more drivers start to take to the roads.

Freddie Lovejoy, an LV= General Insurance customer, fell victim to a ‘Crash for Cash’ after his Land Rover was induced into a collision on the A1. A court case was successfully fought after the fraudsters attempted to claim for compensation. He said: “You never expect a crime like ‘Crash for Cash’ to happen until it does, and I would strongly recommend drivers read up about it. There can be physical and mental impacts when involved in a car incident, and to think criminals do it on purpose is scary.

“At the time I was using a dashcam which provided crucial evidence for the case, so that would be my top tip to anyone. I was lucky to get support and justice, but others might not be so fortunate, so creating more awareness for the public is important.”

Gareth Homer, Detective Constable at West Midlands Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “For the last two years we’ve been running an investigation into a gang suspected of involvement in dozens of ‘Crash for Cash’ scams in the West Midlands that have cost insurers around £100,000 – but possibly much more as part of an organised nationwide scam. We’ve arrested three men so far, executed warrants at several addresses, and our enquiries continue. These frauds bump up people’s insurance premiums and also risk injury to innocent motorists. We’re working with the Insurance Fraud Bureau to tackle these offences.”

Detective Chief Inspector Edelle Michaels, Head of the City of London Police’s Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department (IFED), said: “‘Crash for Cash’ fraud is damaging to the public in many ways. Most critical is the threat it poses to the safety of road users, as criminals target innocent drivers by deliberately crashing into them. These induced collisions could have potentially grave consequences and the traumatic experience could have a lasting effect on the victim. We have seen time and time again that ‘Crash for Cash’ fraudsters do not care about the safety of their victims, with a trio even targeting a pregnant woman in 2019.

“The staging, or fabrication of collisions is often seen as a victimless crime. In reality, this fraud costs everyone by increasing the price of insurance premiums, meaning that honest policy holders are faced with higher costs.

“IFED is committed to keeping the people of Birmingham safe by combatting ‘Crash for Cash’ criminals, whether they are opportunistic fraudsters or part of a wider Organised Crime Group. In December 2020, a successful IFED investigation led to the sentencing of a Birmingham-based fraudster who had executed multiple ‘Crash for Cash’ plots in and around the city. This type of crime will not be tolerated and IFED will continue to work with industry and local police forces to bring offenders to justice.” 

James Dalton, Director of General Insurance Policy at the Association of British Insurers, said: “These criminal gangs are often highly organised and put lives at risk. The amounts that they fraudulently claim can be huge, and can impact on the motor premiums paid by honest motorists. With more vehicles on the roads as we emerge from the pandemic restrictions, so the potential targets for these criminals increases. This is why it is so important for all motorists to be on their guard - if you suspect an incident is suspicious do not put yourself at risk, but report your suspicions to the IFB's confidential Cheatline." 

Clare Lunn, Director of Financial Crime at LV= General Insurance, commented: “Crash for Cash’ creates serious risk for the public and their safety, and our top priority is to protect our customers and consumers from fraud. As we come out of lockdown and more traffic returns to our roads, drivers need to be ever more vigilant.

“Threats like ‘Crash for Cash’ continue to evolve, and it’s vital motorists understand how to spot the signs and report it. As a major insurer, working with the industry including the IFB means we can collaboratively identify and convict criminals who attempt this type of activity, to keep our roads as safe as possible.”

Induced car collisions are often caused by fraudsters who slam on their brakes on busy junctions and roundabouts in the hope that the driver behind won’t stop in time. Some fraudsters also do this with an accomplice that drives erratically in front of them, so they can divert the victim’s suspicions by blaming the driver in front.

In addition, there have been rising reports of innocent drivers being crashed into by fraudsters after being encouraged to pull out of side roads, or when creeping forward for a better view.

Keep a good distance

Always keep a good distance from the vehicle in front. According to the DVSA (Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency) the time required to safely stop is:

·         2 seconds in dry conditions.

·         4 seconds in wet conditions.

·         20 seconds in icy or snowy conditions.

Stay alert

·         Drive safe and stick to the highway code.

·         Look ahead to spot any potential hazards including unusual driving behaviour.

·         Focus on vehicles and not just their lights, as fraudsters often disable brake lights.

·         Be cautious when pulling out of a side road, especially if encouraged by another driver.

·         If other drivers or their passengers are behaving suspiciously, or the condition of their vehicle is poor (such as rear dents), stay calm and keep back.

Know the signs of a ‘Crash for Cash’

·         The driver or their passengers appear to be unphased after the collision.

·         The driver or their passengers appear to exaggerate injuries.

·         Pre-written insurance information is handed over.

Remember to note as much information as possible about the driver, any passengers and circumstances of the collision. This can include written information, pictures, dashcam footage and noting CCTV in the area.

Evidence of a ‘Crash for Cash’ scam can be reported to the IFB’s confidential and anonymous Cheatline (powered by CrimeStoppers).

Birmingham trials first zero-emissions bin lorry

In the latest step to reduce emissions from road traffic to combat climate change and help people live healthier lives, Birmingham City Council has begun trials of its first all-electric bin lorry.

The Dennis Eagle eCollect will operate in the city’s Clean Air Zone for three weeks until August 12 collecting waste and recycling material from the city centre.

Birmingham ‘film hub’ launches second screen campaign

A city community cinema and venue has kickstarted a crowdfunding initiative for a second screen, as the region’s film industry emerges from the Covid pandemic. Announcing a campaign to raise £20,000, The Mockingbird Cinema, a 98-seat ‘film hub’ located in Digbeth’s creative complex The Custard Factory, is now calling on movie and culture fans from across the country to back filmmaking in the Midlands by getting behind the campaign.

Birmingham-based baker responds to published weak ONS retail data

Lucy Scott, director at Birmingham-based bakery, Lil’s Parlour, said: “Despite endless pivots and strategy rethinks, our sales have been decreasing steadily for well over a year.

Birmingham-based entrepreneurs creating a new ‘Pride of Africa’

A leading provider of authentic African-Caribbean food products is thrilled to announce the grand opening of Pride of Africa Trade Cash and Carry.

Birmingham-based manufacturers’ organisation backs initiative to help manufacturers retain young talent

Make UK is backing a new initiative by support platform Next Gen Makers to help manufacturing and engineering employers retain apprenticeship talent and maximise their investment in young people.

As official training provider partner, Make UK will help to promote and develop the Engineering Apprenticeships: Best Practice Programme - an initiative designed to support firms to overcome skills challenges and build talent for future success.