TRADERS are being offered a chance to hear how to get more out of their business at a Gloucestershire First initiative at Stroud College.

Information aimed at helping traders to be more effective and successful will be shared tonight from 5.45pm in the conference room.

Stroud Chamber of Commerce & Trade is supporting the session, which will include a free buffet and will run until 8pm. To attend, email the chamber on info@stroudcct.org.  
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Property developer John Hesketh has unveiled proposals to create a £6 million business centre and holiday homes complex in the heart of the Gloucestershire countryside.

And at the core of his plans will be "live and work" homes where people will reside as well as carry out their professions, helping to cut down on travel to work carbon emissions.

Mr Hesketh's company Hesketh Berkeley Group has bought run down Vine Tree Farm in the village of Teddington, near Bishop's Cleeve and the surrounding 61 acres of farm land in a stunning setting.

He has already restored the 16th century farmhouse which is being used for holiday lets. He hopes to convert a former piggery into 12 live and work units for people such as designers, architects and lawyers. There will also be a conference/ exhibition centre with meeting rooms for use by the business people living on the site and 12 holiday cottages.

He hopes to make use of solar power to add to the site's green credentials for the mixed farming, residential and business complex as well as planting an orchard and vineyard for producing cider and wine.


"It is a bit like a medieval village. There is a great advantage in the live and work units because there is no C02 produced and you are in the country. We like to bring buildings back to real use rather than put them in aspic," he said

"We have spent some time anguishing over what is the appropriate development here."

Mr Hesketh's company has a reputation for the sympathetic restoration and re-use of older and often historically or architecturally listed buildings.

His group's HQ is the magnificent Barham Court business centre near Maidstone in Kent and he also restored The Maltings in Hadlow,near Tonbridge. The group has several other business centres around the country.

Mr Hesketh has a fascinating background- he was previously an economist in the Australian Treasury and later a senior senior economic diplomat with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris.

Subsequently he was MD of Forex Research in charge of forecasting foreign exchange and interest rates. In 1984 he combined his interests in finance and architecture to to set up Hesketh Homes, the Berkeley Business Centre Groups and other property development companies describing himself as an "opportunist and entrepeneur."

He believes the Vine Tree Farm development will be sympathetic to the environment of the area and also help provide a boost to the local economy.

"We take a lot of time preparing our plans," said Mr Hesketh. "The environment here is absolutely critical. We are a niche developer. We believe the economic benefits this will bring to this area will not be insignificant."

Now it will be up to Tewkesbury borough planners to decide whether the scheme can go ahead when formal proposals are submitted to the authority next Spring.

Views and suggestions on the proposals can be sent to info@vinetreefarm.co.uk  
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OWNERS of a multi-million pound office investment in Cheltenham are hoping their development draws more business to the town. 
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Gloucestershire-based manufacturer Advanced Insulation is set to move to a new £1.9m headquarters at Quedgeley West Business Park in Gloucestershire, following its acquisition of a 31,000 sq ft office unit.

Advanced Insulation manufactures fire resistant coatings for use in the oil and gas, subsea and defence sectors.

Advanced Insulation employs 40 people. But the company said it is hoping to create up to 30 new jobs after it has relocated early in 2011.

Work on the new premises will include the fitting out of office space and manufacturing facilities, as well as the installation of a controlled R&D laboratory. GVA Grimley has now been appointed to design and implement the fit-out.

Martin Hoyle, director of building and project management at GVA Grimley, said: “The reconfiguration and refit of the unit at Quedgeley West will ensure that Advanced Insulation has specialist premises that are entirely suited to their specific needs, taking them into the next stage of their development.”  
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More than 200 businesses have pledged their loyalty to Gloucester and declared their determination to build its future prosperity.

They have signed the 'Gloucester Works City Commitment', which recognises the importance of skills to the city's economic progress.

Many of these businesses have taken practical steps over the last year to train their existing staff, and shape the training of future employees through Gloucester Works.

"Our priority as a city must be to help improve people's prospects," said Ahmed Goga, director of Gloucester Works. "We can't force the pace of businesses to create new jobs, but we can make sure that our workforce is ready to respond to those companies recovering from the recession.

"All our focus now is on supporting the unemployed, listening to what businesses need and trying to match the skills of job seekers with the requirements of employers. We need businesses to keep talking to us, and for them to know that there is a pool of at least 1,000 people in the city who are actively taking steps to get 'job-ready'.


"That's why we're launching the 'Gloucester Works Jobs Drive' in The Citizen. Over the next few months we'll be sharing the experiences of job seekers and employers in the city, and would like to hear from businesses interested in signing up to the City Commitment."

Paul James, leader of Gloucester City Council, recently visited a Gloucester Works 'Jobs Hub' at Gloucester Library.

He said: "During my visit I was able to meet job seekers who are benefiting from the Jobs Hub and find out more about the courses available to them - I was very impressed with both the flexibility and breadth of programmes on offer through Gloucester Works. The results of their efforts are very encouraging; we have seen unemployment figures fall for much of the last year which is impressive in such a difficult economic climate.

"However, we can't afford to be complacent as unemployment in the area is still too high. To help combat this, I believe that local businesses have a crucial role to play in the development of skills in the city. There's no better asset to a business than a motivated and highly-trained workforce."

Gloucestershire Airport signed the City Commitment and Kim Davenport, business development and landside operations manager, has seen its business improve as a result of the training staff received.

She comments: "With the aviation industry continually developing, it's vital we train our staff to meet the demands of this fast paced environment. Staff completed courses ranging from team leader training for our line managers to customer service training for front desk staff. We have since won a customer service award trophy from the airline Manx2.com, which would not have been possible without the help and guidance from Gloucester Works."

For more information on the City Commitment visit www.gloucesterworks.co.uk/ citycommitment or else call 01452 396814.  
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