community thread

Categories: General

Thinking of Someone Special – Our Giving Tree for St Teresa’s Hospice »

After the fabulous night of fund-raising with St Teresa’s Strictly Silver Annual Ball recently – with over £10,000 collected during the evening – festivities are now in hand to celebrate Christmas with our local charitable partner.

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

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Categories: General

Wayne Hemingway speaks his mind! »

Wayne Hemingway in the affordable apartments he designed for key workers in Manchester. Photo: Don McPhee.

Owners of Lingfield Point,  Marchday, are  big fans of the Fashion Trendsetter turned Community Guru Wayne Hemingway. We’re really impressed by the special qualities Wayne’s company Hemingwaydesign brought to the Taylor Wimpey scheme, Staiths Southbank in Gateshead.

Space for people to get together.

The scheme reminded us of much of the good stuff we saw in Malmo, Sweden earlier this year where the design of the space for community interaction between the buildings is given equal importance to the design of the buildings themselves.

We share many values in relation to creating communities, regeneration and design and read with interest Wayne’s recent comments about successful communities in The Guardian.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/housing-network/2011/sep/27/people-decent-housing-successful-communities?INTCMP=SRCH

We’re excited about creating the first new homes at Lingfield Point next year and making real the sustainable mixed community around our existing business community. We hope Mr Hemingway would approve of our plans!

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Categories: General

Sunny outlook for our latest customer at Lingfield Point »

We’re pleased to welcome a whole host of new customers here at Lingfield Point including space one company’s drive to expand their business.

AEL Systems, which installs, maintains and designs electrical, fire safety and security products have now moved to Lingfield Point.

Eddie welcomes one of our latest customers - AEL

Lee Willis, 38 from Darlington, started the company in 2002 and says the move to Lingfield Point has given him the business space he needs to expand the company into solar energy. A field he has been keen to move in to for a while.

Lee said: “Lingfield Point is ideal for us. Not only is it cost effective but it meets the business needs.

“Before moving here we only had office space. Now we’ve got enough office space to run the business efficiently but also warehousing space to store our products, as well as train our team of electricians.”

AEL Systems has leased a space at Lingfield Point which combines 1,000sqft office suite and a 1,000sqft of warehousing. The combination of office and industrial space has meant that the company can expand.

Lee said: “We have invested in providing renewable energy systems to the domestic and commercial market. Now we are in the process of completing all the necessary training to achieve accreditation.

“The warehouse facility will be invaluable for this, meaning we can do our own in-house training.”

AEL Systems currently employs 15 members of staff, four office based and 11 field engineers and electricians. The growth into solar panel installation will see the company employ an additional four electricians.

Eddie Humphries, estate manager at Lingfield Point said: “We always work with our customers to ensure we can provide precisely what they need. This is the beauty of Lingfield Point. We have the variety of buildings, the vision and the scope to create bespoke business spaces.

“Lee has combined an office suite with warehousing to store products and train his team. We are thrilled that the move has enabled him to move in to a new area of the business and will always be on hand to help him out however we can. ”

For more information on how Lingfield Point can help with your office and warehousing needs, just call us on 01325 486486.

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Categories: General

Plans now on show for exciting new phase of development at Lingfield Point »

Marchday, owners of Lingfield Point, welcomed Taylor Wimpey and leading architects, John R Paley Associates to canteen where plans for the first phase of residential development have been unveiled.

Exciting new homes proposed at Lingfield Point

Plans for the development of 270 homes in the first phase of the exciting £100million masterplan have now gone on show at Lingfield Point.  This first phase of homes will form part of 1,200 homes, sports facilities, a school, health services and plenty of green space for the local community to enjoy.

John Orchard, director of Marchday, said “This is the first phase of making the masterplan happen and it’s really exciting.  We want the new homes to be family-friendly and to use the lessons learned from some of the best housing schemes in Europe. Most people agree that we’ve created some outstanding office buildings at Lingfield Point, now we intend to create some truly outstanding homes too.”

Andrew Paley, from the team of architects supporting Taylor Wimpey said that the development team had visited similar projects in places as far away as Malmo in Sweden for design and inspiration.  The team want space between the homes to be as important as the buildings and added “This is not just a housing estate – the neighbourhood deserves its own character and we looked across Europe to see how we could improve life at home and build it into the plans at Lingfield Point.

“Its not often that the developer is involved in a scheme where design is such a high priority; it’s very exciting to be part it” said Andrew.

We couldn’t agree more!

To see plans for the first phase of our new neighbourhood, pop into canteen at Lingfield Point where plans are on show until 3 August or log onto www.jrpassoc.co.uk to view and comment.

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Categories: General

Bring in your batteries »

In Britain we use 1 billion batteries each year which equates to 45,000 tonnes of waste thrown away in the household rubbish.  When not disposed of properly, battery casings can deteriorate and toxic chemicals such as lead, nickel, lithium, cadmium and mercury leach into the soil and water and can eventually accumulate in wildlife and people.

 

In the UK we currently only recycle 3% of batteries, Government targets for battery recycling in 2012 is to recycle 12% of batteries – so we’ve still got quite a way to go!

Lingfield Point is now offering three new battery recycling boxes for you to use.  The boxes will be placed in the Beehive’s break out space, Lingfield House’s break out space and our on-site cafe; Canteen.

Please place your old batteries in these boxes and we’ll happily do the rest!

We accept all household batteries including watch and mobile phone batteries, however, no car batteries thank you!

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Walking the Wall for Breast Cancer Campaign »

This Friday, April 16, Marchday’s very own Jenny Carr will be heading off to walk the Great Wall of China, raising money for Breast Cancer Campaign, in memory of her mother, Carys Carr.

Jenny’s challenge is to walk a 60km unrestored section of the Great Wall of China. Joined by 20 other fundraisers, Jenny will walk for five days, staying in cabins at the base of the Wall each night.

Jenny’s mother died of the disease three and a half years ago, after a long battle.  Carys, a mother of two, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1995 at the age of 43. She was to fight the disease three times over the next 10 years.

Jenny, now a mother herself to five-year-old Oliver, is aiming to raise at least £2,000 for Breast Cancer Campaign. The charity funds research into understanding how breast cancer develops leading to improved diagnosis, treatment, prevention and cure.

Jenny said: “My mother battled cancer for 10 years of her life, forever optimistic and with real spirit. She took it all in her stride.

“I specifically chose Breast Cancer Campaign because its research aims to improve the way cancer is treated. Having cared for my mother I have seen how horrific the treatment can be for the person going through it.

“I wanted to raise money to help future sufferers, improve the prognosis and make the treatment less invasive.”

“We’re walking along a section of the Great Wall that’s steep, very uneven and crumbling. Add to that the humidity and it’s a real challenge!”

Jenny works at Lingfield Point for the property’s owners, Marchday plc.

Funding the trip herself this is the first time Jenny has ever undertaken such a challenge. She has been preparing for the Great Wall by running and taking her dog, Bertie, for long hill walks in County Durham several times a week.

John Orchard, director, Marchday plc said: “This really is a remarkable personal challenge for Jenny and we are 100 per cent behind her. She’s raising money for an incredibly worthwhile charity that will make a very real contribution to how breast cancer is detected and treated in the future. We wish her all the best, we’re sure she will succeed!”

Donate to Jenny’s fundraising efforts at www.justgiving.com/jenny-carr

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Categories: General

Illuminating ways of showing our commitment to public art »

We’ve now added even more art to our business park with the installation of ‘Someplace Sometime’ – an illuminated piece by British artist Graham Gussin.

‘Someplace Sometime’ now has pride of place in a pedestrian tunnel on our 107-acre business park – one of the UK’s most forward-thinking, sustainable mixed use schemes.

Graham Gussin's 'Someplace Sometime' at Lingfield Point

Lingfield Point is already home to scores of businesses, including the NHS, Student Finance England, NAAFI, Darlington Borough Council and Four Seasons Health Care and has planning permission in place for 1250 eco-homes.

We’ve a philosophy of using great design and public art to raise us above the ordinary. We’ve already won a number of awards and have just been shortlisted for a Bruntwood & Arup Environmental Partnership award for Arts & Business for the Futurescope project.

John Orchard, director of Marchday – owners of Lingfield Point

“Someplace Sometime is a fantastic piece of public art and we think the location is perfect. It’s not somewhere immediately obvious so it will become more of a ‘found object’ or pleasant surprise that our customers will simply come across as they walk or cycle.

“That’s the whole point of the pieces of public art at Lingfield Point, we want them to become part of everyday life, installations that create interest and intrigue and add something extra to the day-to-day experience.”

Graham Gussin's 'Someplace Sometime' at Lingfield Point

Lingfield Point is already home to major public art installation ‘Futurescope’ a collaborative project between artist Christian Barnes of Vista Projects and landscape architect John Kennedy.

For two years, a series of massive circular photographic images will be place at two prominent locations at Lingfield Point which is on a main route through the town where they can be seen by thousands of people everyday.

The giant photographic installations have proved a major talking point and have so far included ‘Sunflowers’, ‘Lingfield Lambs’, ‘Beeman’, ‘The Sun’, and the most recent addition, HUM! by New Music Award winners Liminal. Vista Projects describe the photos as images of environmental propaganda.

Another public art installation at the site is ‘Tickle Me’ a graphic piece by Glasgow artists Graven Images.

‘Someplace Sometime’ was created in 2005 by British artist Graham Gussin, whose work has been exhibited internationally to critical acclaim.

Graham said:

“The work was initially conceived as a ‘nomadic’ sign for Middlesbrough. I was drawn to the idea of a sign for something which was non-specific in terms of spatial or temporal location. It’s specifically vague.

“It ‘advertises’ an event which can be in the past, present or future. I like the idea of the work being placed in a thoroughfare, a place of passage or transition seems to be ideal for this. Hopefully it changes it’s meaning according to mood and memory.”

Commissioned by Marchday ‘Someplace Sometime’ is designed to be a touring piece and will remain at Lingfield Point for six months.

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Categories: General

Marchday shortlisted for National Arts Award! »

Marchday, owners of Lingfield Point,  in partnership with Vista Projects have been short listed for the Bruntwood & Arup Environmental Partnership Award for Arts & Business for their public art project ‘Futurescope’ commissioned for their flagship development Lingfield Point in Darlington.

Lingfield Lamb - part of the futurescope experience

Eight, massive, circular images are being shown over two years. The images are developed through a collaboration between artist Christian Barnes of Vista Projects and Landscape Architect John Kennedy. The images are developing a story about the potential of the ‘soft estate’ at Lingfield Point to become a productive landscape and also draw on the industrial heritage of the site. The project is the most ambitious piece of creative propaganda about environmental issues in the North of England. It is driven by the idea that the challenges we face in relation to climate change and energy descent will be tackled first in our cultural environment.

John Orchard, director of Marchday said:

“Working with Vista and Christian has been an educational process for Marchday. Their thinking has been inspirational and has truly shaped our outlook regarding development and regeneration projects. Their work has helped set Marchday apart from many mainstream property companies and has become part of our identity.

The future sustainable mixed community development here will be a national flagship scheme. The scheme needed to announce the future vision for the site with references to its industrial heritage, organic food production and renewable energy.”

Sunflowers kicked off the futurescope experience

Christian Barnes of Vista Projects said:

“Futurescope is an important project for us and we are pleased to be short listed alongside other great initiatives throughout the country. It’s been a very challenging project. But John Kennedy and I have really enjoyed working with Marchday, they have been patient, the work has been rewarding and they have been great backers willing to take risks.

We take inspiration from our daily life in rural Cumbria in spite of the challenges presented to creative people who live here and the work reflects that.”

http://www.vistaprojects.co.uk/

http://futurescopedarlington.blogspot.com/

Watch out for more public art coming soon.  Lingfield Point.   The place where art happens.

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Categories: General

Beating the blues – enjoying our service full of sunshine at Lingfield Point »

Even if the sun isn’t shining, we like to create our own bit of warmth at Lingfield Point.  Our Beat the blues event certainly helped bring some sunshine to our friends and colleagues on one of the bleakest weeks of the year.

Thanks to Darlington Borough Council and Nhs Darlington, we programmed a range of taster sessions including nordic walking and zumba along with plenty of advice to keep healthy, along with an opportunity to meet our new fit bug in Beehive where you can help track and manage your health – a welcome addition to our family.

There were loads of tips and suggested ways of keeping healthy and our personal favourite was the delicious free fruit smoothies prepared for all to try.  If you fancy a quick treat at home, a fruit smoothie certainly fits the bill.  All you need is a wee bit of fruit and a blender!

Our favourite was the strawberry smoothie. 6 – 10 strawberries; 120ml plain yoghurt; 1 banana (optional) and a quick drip of honey (optional).  Blend until smooth.  Yum!

Watch this space for more events that show we care for our customers……. coming soon.”

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Lower Costs and Better Service – Is it wrong to want both? »

A number of our customers are significant public sector organizations who are having to cut costs dramatically in line with Government targets. Marchday- owners of Lingfield Point -  are actively working with customers to rationalize their occupational and service delivery costs.

In the midst of this atmosphere of frenzied cost cutting it is easy to forget quality of customer service. In a way, giving or expecting to receive excellent service almost feels too good, wrong even; extravagant in this harsh new world of austerity.

We believe you should be able to have both. At Lingfield Point we have committed to providing continued excellent customer service, remarkable workplaces, at the best price.

We’ve got some great case studies in terms of savings and service standards and are happy to share this with any organisation that are having to make some tough decisions.  We wholeheartedly believe that the call to cut costs can still result in spaces where people enjoy coming to work, are efficient, productive and have fun. This is undoubtedly a huge challenge but, along with our exceptional teams we are in great shape to help our customers enjoy the best of both worlds.

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