Bees huddle inside hives during Winter

Honey bees traditionally stop flying when the temperature drops down in Winter.  Staying inside, they huddle together inside their hives making a ‘winter cluster’ . With few flowers in bloom, there is no point to flying outside of the hive, hence no pollen or nectar is available and the cold could kill them. The colder the outside temperature, the more compact the cluster becomes.

Clustering is a great idea – the objective being to simply keep warm – so warm in fact – the temperature in the centre of this cluster, where the Queen Bee stays, is kept at about 80 (F). The outer edge of the cluster is about 46 to 48 (F).

The worker bees create heat by shivering and they also move back and forth between the inner part of the cluster and the outer part.  We think that this is a great example of a community working together, thinking of each other and sharing with the ultimate aim – keeping the cold at bay!

Here at Lingfield Point, with concierge, cafes and break out areas, a welcoming smile and jolly hello brings warmth to our business community … and makes all the difference to our friends and colleagues …. especially on these freezing cold days of February!

A great Darlington initiative

The Right Reverend Justin Welby has become patron of this initiative and has taking the opportunity to call for business leaders, educationalists and attendees to boost the job prospects of the under 25s.

John Orchard, director of Lingfield Point, said, “This is a fantastic initiative and one of the things we have found by teaming up with Darlington College – which runs an apprenticeship scheme – is that some of our companies have a need for more new entrants.  Some companies have had a problem recruiting people that were business ready so we set up a partnership with the college to ensure our companies could get business-ready candidates”.

Darlington Foundation for Jobs will establish formal links between schools and employers; provide internships; increase the number of apprentices and encourage young entrepreneurs whilst showcasing young job-seekers and Lingfield Point has pledged its moral support to this town-wide initiative.

So how can you help….?  Want to pledge support; create school links, internships or even apprenticeships or become involved in the Darlington Foundation for Jobs? Contact Seth.pearson@darlington.gov.uk to pledge your support. 

Let’s give our young people the opportunity of a future.

Our new bus service - 1/1b

Part funded by Department of Transport, this joint initiative between Darlington Borough Council and Arriva means Lingfield Point is one of the most accessible business parks in the North East thanks to the additional buses that also pass the main entrance to our park.  We’re proud of the fact that this now gives us an unrivalled service every 10 MINUTES into Darlington.

The service also offers great value to customers living on the outskirts of Darlington as the extended bus service calls at Cockerton, Heighington, Bishop Auckland, Crook and Tow Law.

You’ll be able to find more information on this fantastic new service by clicking on the about section within this website and then clicking on public transport where downloads of background information and even a timetable is available for download.

When we hear that a weekly out of town ticket costs only £25.50 and that if we all switched to just one journey in 25 from car to bus, there would be one billion fewer car journeys made on our roads!

So what are you waiting for … Hop on a bus!

Welcoming our new bus service to Lingfield Point

We’re over the moon to welcome the new hybrid buses soon to be trialled on the extended bus service 1/1b with its new terminus of Lingfield Point. Stopping at three locations around Lingfield Point, this new service will take you into town every 30 minutes.  This, in addition to the regular service running past Lingfield Point, means our neighbourhood is one of the best served, most accessible business parks in the region.

Local bus company Arriva North East will be trialling a new hybrid vehicle on the newly extended 1,1b service from this January.  The current route runs from Tow Law, Crook and Bishop Auckland to Darlington Town Centre and  from 2 January will be extended to Lingfield Point via Darlington College/University, funded by the Department for Transport through the Local Sustainable Transport Fund.

The bus being trialled on the route is a state-of-the-art vehicle which is powered using an electric engine. If the trial proves a success the company will take delivery of 7 new hybrid vehicles in the summer of 2012.

The investment comes following a partnership between Arriva North East and ourselves working with Team Local Motion to champion even more environmentally-friendly means of transport being available to the people of Darlington.

Nigel Featham, Managing Director for Arriva North East, said: “The extension of the service will ensure that we continue to improve our customers’ journey experience, and the testing of the hybrid vehicle is another real benefit for the area. We know that value for money and reliability are very important to our customers, however more and more we are hearing that the environment is another key consideration.”

Councillor David Lyonette, Darlington Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Transport said ” The Department of Transport funding will benefit people locally and regionally by providing improved access to education as the route now extends past Darlington College and the University, and to jobs at Lingfield Point too, which will assist future economic development. I’m delighted Team Local Motion has been able to secure this development.”

We think it’s great news that this service is being extended to include our community. It is important that our site is well-served by buses, with over 1,800 staff based at Lingfield Point, and a great deal of them living in and around Darlington,  it will certainly make the choice to travel to work by bus far easier.

For Lingfield Point to be served by hybrid buses is very appropriate as it fits perfectly with our ethos of sustainability – and the vision of our masterplan – setting out to make Lingfield Point one of the most environmentally-friendly developments in the UK .

So don’t forget your new year’s resolution … hop on our new bus service …. you’d be surprised how easy it really is!

Looking forward to the contents of 2011 Christmas Cracker

Principally sponsored by Darlington Operatic Society, and helmed by acclaimed musical director John Forsyth with the ‘St Teresa’ Sinfonia Choir & Orchestra, the Christmas Cracker will feature musical ensembles, schools, choral and operatic groups from across the region.

Among the acts gearing up to ‘sleigh’ audiences are the Darlington Choral Society, the Cleveland Philharmonic Choir Tees Valley Voices, the Tees Valley Youth Choir, the Locomotion and the Cockerton Ladies Choir. With so many talented performers, the concert is shaping up to be anything but a silent night!

Tickets cost £8.50 for adults and £6.00 for children,

and are available from St Teresa’s Hospice and its Darlington retail shops,

or by calling Supporter Services on 01325 254321.

This year, Lingfield Point’s preparations have been in hand for some time with an established local contractor now responsible for the gritting and snow clearance of roads, car parking and approaches to warehousing and main pavements.

We’ve also invested in additional grit bins, shovels and telescopic snow shovels to help keep our roads and pavements safe with our concierge keeping their eyes peeled for those shady areas that the sunshine never reaches.   Feel free to use any of our grit bins and shovels if you notice slippery areas around our business park – you’ll certainly be playing your part in keeping our community safe.

We’re fully supportive of the Highway Agency’s winter campaign – make time for winter http://www.highways.gov.uk/knowledge/333.aspx

We think 20 is plenty when driving around Lingfield Point in the Summer so please, please slow down and make time when driving in difficult conditions. 

Although we will take every step to keep you safe – from a health and safety perspective– you also have a personal responsibility to keep yourself safe.  We advise you keep a watchful eye on how you travel – whether that’s walking; cycling or driving.  Don’t forget about appropriate footwear too – good grip make a real difference at times like this!

The AA have also produced a handy little guide to keeping you safe whilst travelling this winter and can be found at http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/seasonal/winter-checklist.html

A winter emergency kit for the car is essential during our this season and could include :

• Blanket, warm winter coat/reflective jacket, scarf, hat and gloves with sturdy boots
• Shovel & bits of carpet/think cardboard to place under driven wheels to help regain traction
• Salt, sand, or even cat litter (!)– to help clear snow and ice
• Ice scraper and de-icer
• Torch and batteries
• Snow chains (if you live in a remote or rural area)
• Battery jump leads & tow rope
• Bottled water & extra screen wash
• Snacks – chocolate always saves the day in my car!

Don’t forget that we’ve also got a fantastic public transport network in and around Darlington – so if the car is not doing as it’s told this winter, why not look at other ways of travelling here …. It’s easier than you think! Log on to www.dothelocalmotion.co.uk for your own personalised travel plan!

Most importantly, remember, 20 is plenty and take your time this winter!

Our  partnership with St Teresa’s Hospice grows stronger and support continues with the launch of our ‘Giving to Life’ Christmas promotion. 

Dig deep as local charities continue to struggle

You’ll find Christmas trees in both Lingfield House and Beehive where you can write a very special message or remember a loved one on a Christmas card bauble to hang on our trees.  For a suggested donation of just £2 you can leave your message,  receive a lapel badge and help make a difference to St Teresa’s Hospice.

We’re also looking forward to the return of St Teresa’s Christmas Cracker on the 17th December – now in its 11th year – under the magical steer of musical director John Forsyth and St Teresa Sinfonia Choir and Orchestra.

St Teresa's Christmas Cracker - an uplifting event

Our events programme with St Teresa’s Hospice gets bigger and better every year and with the ever-increasing promotions from our on site cafe – canteen by Alexander MacMurrary – mean that our 1800+ customers and visitors always find something to enjoy here.

So dig deep and join us either with a bauble (or two) for our Christmas trees

or the magical Christmas Cracker concert in Meadow on 17 December

We're hard at work around our leavy neighbourhood - Lingfield Point

What is required in horticultural terms is a couple of good frosts – not just the wind – to bring down the rest of the leaves and to shock the lawns into their dormant state. Grass will not grow once the temperature drops below 3 degrees.

So what do the green fingered get up to over the winter months?

There is a misconception that gardeners collect food and bedding and hibernate like large squirrels through the winter season. This is not true, particularly of our very own Colin at Lingfield Point.

Of course when there is snow on the ground or our Park is a frozen vista, there are limits to what the discerning gardener can do outside. However we still need to make sure all equipment and tools are fit for the following season.  We have a regime of servicing and maintenance to follow as a gardener without a working lawn mower in the summer is about as useful as a chocolate kettle.

In addition outdoor tasks – when conditions allow – include continued leaf collection, edging of lawns, hard pruning of many shrubs that may not have received a good prune for  years, collecting materials for composting, general tidying of shrub beds and other areas and not forgetting the crucial bark mulching of shrub beds.

The winter also allows us time to plan and produce innovations for the following season. This could include planting projects and improvement works. With the plant world dormant, there are excellent opportunities for replacing or enhancing old areas of landscaping which will then come to life in the spring.

So remember if you see Colin in the winter, give him a wave or smile – he’s hard at work creating Spring 2012! 

Darlington Friends of the Earth and friends have been working hard this summer, improving gro zone and developing a new allotment garden for us all to enjoy. The new growing spaces are now ready and we look forward to watching a beautiful garden flourish over the next year.

Come and join us digging for victory

Kendra and Darlington Friends of the Earth has had a number of successful grant applications and have used it to create some very special raised beds and some rabbit proof perimeter fencing (Farmer McGregor would have been proud!).

Kendra writes that allotment gardening has never been so easy as it is here, she has provided spaces that people can simply start growing produce in without lots of effort.

Friends of the Earth Darlington have transformed our little piece of land, thanks to the helping hands of the National Friends of the Earth Grant Schemes and the generosity of John Wades Group, Todds and Jewsons of Darlington.  650 wildlife friendly hedging trees have been planted thanks to the Wildlife Trust’s MOREwoods Scheme helping to create a barrier against the biting wind of nature and provide more local food for our hungry bees and wildlife.

 

Raised beds are great way of learning the art of gardening - without the hard work

Thanks to the teams of apprentices from Urban Blitz of Nordic Pioneer, Friends of the Earth Darlington have now been able to create 3 types of plots but  we’re also looking at renovating the much loved on site greenhouse – providing a great spot for people to meet and see whats growing and ready to harvest at lunch time or after work. We are looking to renovate the disused cold frames which will help bring on our little seedlings during the early months of Spring.

Plans for next year including the creation of a community garden ‘A Garden’- a community vegetable garden,  and a flower garden supporting our lovely little bees in ‘Garden Bee’ !

Darlington Friends of the Earth, are  now offering plots on this new  allotment garden and hope that with the generosity of growers, the flourishing of seeds and produce, the greenhouse and A Garden will become the engine plant room for DIG (Darlington Its Growing). A local food growing initiative .

    If you want to be involved in the development of our Gro Zone or wish to access one of our new raised beds, feel free to contact Kendra Ullyart; Coordinator Darlington FoE,  07804 905 808

YARN ROOMS - now fully let - with only 3 suites left in YARN - Lingfield Point's latest office success

The final suite has already been let within YARN rooms – part of YARN – just weeks after the new business space was unveiled. And while it is good news for Lingfield Point, it’s also great news for the business environment in the Darlington area – showing there is a very healthy business dynamic and great entrepreneurial spirit.

Companies moving to Lingfield Point include those that are expanding, relocating because of service offer or because of the skills available in Darlington. Home-based businesses have been attracted by the supportive structure and flexibility also on offer.

YARN is a flexible business space and new lettings are from 160sqft to 2980 sq ft  and customers  moving in include First Software Solutions, , Avec Training Partnership, VoiceAbility, Capital Accounts, ROVIN Energy, LighterLife, Mintronics and Para-sols.  Four Seasons Health Care continue to expand their base at Lingfield Point.

Eddie Humphries, of Lingfield Point, said: “When YARN was finished we were delighted with the results – it is an extremely attractive and creatively designed space and people have been very enthusiastic about working from here.

“We are offering people the flexibility they need along with great communal facilities such as Canteen by Alexander MacMurray and Little Lingfields Nursery with support services from the concierge service to hosting business improvement workshops. Taken along with the unique environment, we are clearly making an offer that’s difficult to refuse.

Some of the many companies moving into Lingfield Point's latest office space - YARN *

* Left to right: Susan Hampton, LighterLife; Amy Knight & Liam Knight, Rovin Energy; Cathi Harrison & Jo Campbell , Para-sols – Paraplanning Solutions; Mark Williamson, The Huntercombe Group; Anne Foster, Office Manager, Four Seasons Health Care; Eddie Humphries, Estate Manager, Lingfield Point and Karen Whitehouse – Head of Finance, N.Ireland/Wales & Scotland/N.East England Care Home Divisions, Four Seasons Health Care

For more information of office space now available at Lingfield Point, feel free to pick up the phone and dial 01325 486486 and we’d be happy to give you a quick tour.