News | Page 17

Work has officially started on a regeneration scheme targeting the Dartington area in Devon, a recent news report in the local media was able to find. The former Dartington Sawmills site will now be redeveloped into 93 new homes and an employment hub with the capacity to support 180 jobs. The first home on site are expected to be completed by summer 2015.

A brewer has started recruiting new staff for its future pub restaurant venture set to be located on Exeter’s quayside. St Austell Brewery plans to invest £1.5m to transform a Victorian warehouse on Commercial Road and will create 40 jobs in the process, a news report in the local media was able to reveal. The new venue, set to be open in November, will comprise almost 4,000 sq ft of eating and drinking space, with the first floor renovated into five residential flats, which will be sub-let.

Up to 1,000 new jobs could be created as part of a redevelopment scheme targeting the site of the former Cadbury’s factory in Keynsham, Somerset, a recent news report in the local business media was able to reveal.

Transactions involving office space in the Bristol city centre have reached and impressive 180,000 sq ft over the three months to the end of June, figures obtained from a study published by DTZ were able to reveal. Research said that transactions so far in 2014 have been driven by the finance, legal and professional services sectors.

A total of 26 developing companies across the South West have been awarded £2.8m via the GAIN Growth Fund, potentially creating close to 500 jobs and also unlocking £13.5m in private sector investment. The fund comes as part of the Plymouth and South West Peninsula city deal, which saw the region awarded £24m in a bid to attract new investors.

An electronic components manufacturer based in Poole, Dorset, has launched a new programme supporting future engineers and hired its first-ever apprentices in the company’s 35 year history. Alfatronix hired 18-year-old Samuel Cliffe and James Hoskins, 21, from Bournemouth and Poole College, a first in the company’s long history.

Two new developments in Cornwall worth an estimated £19m have been completed in the hope that they will bolster business presence in the area, a recent news report on the matter published in the local media was able to reveal. The first development comprised a redevelopment of the approach to Camborne from Tolvaddon completed, including the £6.1m renovation of Western Power Distribution’s (WPD) base.

Local authorities have granted planning permission for the development of a new a £15m ‘care village’ in Wadebridge, north Cornwall, that will feature 75 cottages and a 72-bedroom nursing home, a local news report was able to reveal.

A confectionery company specializing in fudge making has revealed plans to build a new factory worth an estimated half a million pounds at a site in Cornwall after securing the required funding from NatWest. The Buttermilk Confectionary Co is currently based in Wadebridge but plans to move its manufacturing facilities to new premises in Bodmin by January 2015 and expects output to increase by 50 per cent.

A hospital trust in Surrey has awarded outsourcing company Mitie a £33m facilities management contract for an initial five years, with the possibility of a further 2-year extension, a news report in the local business media could recently reveal. The Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust has selected Mitie to deliver a range of services including domestic cleaning, helpdesk services and porter duties at Epsom Hospital.

Preliminary pans to create a major new tourism destination in the Cornish town of Falmouth have been submitted to Cornwall Council, with a full planning application set to follow later in June 2014. The proposed St Michaels Spa & Wellness Resort would feature a spa, a health club, improved conference and wedding options, restaurant facilities and shops, as well as new and upgraded accommodation, a news report in the local media could reveal.

Small to medium sized (SME) manufacturers in the South West are considering investing more into future development and also hiring more staff in order to cope with increased demand, figures from the latest Barometer from the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) suggest.