The newsletter for the Thorp Arch Estate Autumn 2008 NEW OFFICES: An artist’s impression of how Unit 651 will look after its refurbishment as offices NEW OFFICE SUITES FOR ESTATE IN LATEST REFURBISHMENT SCHEME NEW office suites at the Estate are to The suites are due to become available “We have identified the right building in become available next spring in a major from April next year and will be offered on terms of size, arrangement and location and refurbishment programme which is now flexible leases at competitive rents. It will Rockspring Hanover Property Unit Trust is underway. be possible, where required, to combine pleased to fund the refurbishment. adjoining suites for a single tenant and Eight office suites, totalling 6,643 sq each suite will have a generous car parking “With the high-quality specification and ft, are being created with the £700,000 allocation. location on our country estate close to Leeds, refurbishment of Unit 651, a former Royal Harrogate and York, we are confident that Ordnance Factory built in 1940, which was Refurbishment work on the building which the new scheme will meet the needs of small backed by Leeds City Council planners has more recently been used for the storage, businesses seeking accommodation in this earlier this year. cutting and distribution of roof sheeting, area.” is being carried out by Harrogate-based The refurbished building will have two building contractor, Most Construction entrances with four self-contained office Ltd, which has worked on the Estate before, suites off each hallway with their own and project managed by the York office of separate washrooms and beverage areas and building surveyors and architects the LHL individual heating, cooling and ventilation Group. systems. Bob Ellis, director of Wharfedale Property Suites, which will be available for leasing, Management, which manages the Estate will range from 597 sq ft to 1,026 sq ft and on behalf of owner, Rockspring Hanover up-to-date finishes will include suspended Property Unit Trust, says: “This is a very floors so IT, telecom, and power services exciting venture for us. We do not have many will be accessible through the floor at any office suites on the Estate but constantly point which the tenants require. receive enquiries from prospective tenants at the rate of about one a week. www.thorparchestate.co.uk Wharfedale Property Management Limited, managing agents for the Thorp Arch Estate, can be contacted at The Estate Office, Thorp Arch Estate, Wetherby, West Yorkshire LS23 7BJ y Telephone 01937 845919 www.thorparchestate.co.uk MAKING A CLEAN JOB OF PATIENT CARE CLEAN LIVING: Nuffield Hospital Support Services Unit manager Sharon Fox, left, with technician, Grazyna Wells. At the Nuffield Hospital Support Services “In a nutshell, our machines wash, disinfect The HSSU, as the unit on the Estate is Unit in Ash Way the work never ends. and sterilise and our computers’ tracking known, takes in used surgical equipment system scans each individual tag on the – each tray of instruments is very costly – Twenty four hours a day, seven days a week surgical instrument trays so we can show and, usually within 24 hours, the kit is on more than 50 highly-skilled technicians are when that equipment has been through the its way back to the Nuffield Health Group’s busy making sure that local doctors, nurses process and where it’s gone to. We keep a hospitals. and surgeons have clean equipment for their constant watch on the turnaround times, the operating theatres. temperature and the pressures the trays of “We work for our hospitals in Leeds, instruments are de-contaminated/sterilised York, Tees, Newcastle, Hull, Harrogate, The state-of-the-art machinery applies at. Huddersfield and Lincoln,” says Sharon. “A advanced decontamination technology lot of our work is for specialist procedures and a sophisticated computer system to “The trays of instruments we issue to the so we are well-used to seeing surgical trays ensure that instruments, such as forceps five local Nuffield hospitals and three BMI specially-designed for operations such as hip and scissors, used in Yorkshire hospitals are Hospitals all have an individual barcode replacements. completely safe. so we can tell anyone who needs to know exactly which patient the equipment has “We are at the forefront of this kind of “It’s our job to de-contaminate, test and been used on. In turn, this gives the hospitals decontamination work and there is the assemble every piece of equipment that – and patients – the confidence you need possibility we could help GPs and, say, comes to us” explains unit manager Sharon where surgical procedures are involved.” family planning clinics, with their de- Fox. “Since we opened on the Estate last contamination of equipment in the future. year, we have gained the latest quality standard certification and expanded our “We can tell anyone “The Estate is a very convenient location staffing. who needs to know for our staff and we are well-placed to serve the eight hospitals in our area. Our building exactly which patient the might look pretty anonymous from the equipment has been used outside, but, believe me, there’s a lot going on.” on inside – all the time!” The Archway Newsletter z Autumn 2008 www.thorparchestate.co.uk SPORTS GOODS FOR GOOD SPORTS! IT’S a real family affair at Conker Enterprises Ltd, run by partners Ron Wells and his wife Susan and her sister Julia and her husband Chris Dyason. The couples lived and worked in Australia and New Zealand before returning to the UK to open their sporting equipment and merchandise company at Unit 428A two years ago. Both the guys have been lifelong football fanatics and Ron spent years as a professional referee. “It’s great to be able to turn something you really enjoy into your business,” said Susan. “It certainly makes coming to work in the morning a pleasant experience. “Ron was a builder in New Zealand but retained his interest in sport and one day we all got together and decided that we would like to come home to the UK and start a business here similar to the one Julia and Chris ran in Australia. It is an extension of something we all enjoyed doing and the Estate seemed the natural place to do it.” Conker sells football, rugby and cricket kits as well as equipment for other sports from their warehouse and small showroom on the Estate and also from their website www. conker4sport.com The company has its training equipment, such as hurdles and slalom poles specially made in China and sources other branded goods from licensed wholesalers. Susan adds: “We also sell official team merchandise such as mugs and other memorabilia, football nets, footballs, rugby and cricket balls, training equipment as well as football strips for local teams. “We are up against some pretty big players in the sports equipment business but we do well, I think, because we are small and WINNING TEAM: The Conker team are (L to R) Susan Wells, Julia we’re friendly and offer excellent customer Dyason, Ron Wells (on the ground) and Chris Dyason. service. Our customers like the personal touch. “We chose to be based on the Estate because Conker’s business is doing so well it is now “You can never tell what people will want of its cost efficiency, closeness to where we on the lookout for larger premises with from us – they come in and order things all live in Harrogate but also because there a bigger showroom to display its growing that we never expect for a season we think are a lot of sports teams in the area and product range. is months away or has already finished – it is we’re very well-placed to cater for them.” one of the elements that keeps our business interesting. The Archway Newsletter z Autumn 2008 www.thorparchestate.co.uk JOINING FORCES: The new team at the helm of Longwood Joinery (L to R) Peter Long, Andrew Humphries and Paul Shooter. NEW ERA FOR LONGWOOD AFTER ACQUISITION BY SENIOR STAFF ONE OF the Estate’s longest-established Longwood Joinery Ltd occupies 20,000 sq ft “Longwood Joinery Ltd has a good businesses is set for a new era after being at Unit 656 and operates mainly throughout reputation and has seen a 20 per cent growth acquired by three of its senior staff in a Yorkshire manufacturing timber sliding- in staff numbers and turnover for several management buy out. sash and traditional windows, window and years. We are delighted to have acquired the door frames, stair cases and timber features business which has been part of our lives for Longwood Joinery Ltd, which has 28 staff for well-known house builders including so long. We do not plan to change anything and a £1.8m turnover, has been acquired by Persimmon Homes, Barratt Homes, Peter but may accelerate our growth plans. three of its long-standing members of staff Ward Homes and local businesses including with 95 years combined service. RJF Homes and Hogg The Builders. “We’ve all been integral New owners of the highly-regarded joinery Before acquiring the company, Peter to the growth of the business, founded in 1972, are Peter Long, Long, 58, was works manager, and Andy business.” who started aged 22, Andrew Humphries Humphries and Paul Shooter were in charge and Paul Shooter, who both joined as of staircase and window manufacture teenage apprentices. respectively. “We were not planning to take over in the current tough economic climate which has The three have acquired the business from Peter Long says: “This opportunity has been affected house building so badly but our its founders, Barry Long, brother of Peter on the table for us for a long time as part services are in demand and we are making Long, who retired four years ago, and of Barry and Maurice’s succession strategy.