Business briefs

A subsidiary of French-based Suez Environnment, the company has built the plant on behalf of the South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership, which includes Gateshead, South Tyneside and Sunderland councils.

It has created more than 40 full time jobs on site with a further 24 at waste transfer stations operated by the councils which are no longer reliant on landfill. The waste taken to the plant creates power for about 30,000 homes.

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DURHAM County's cabinet will next week be asked to approve £12.9m funding so the North East Technology Park (NETPark) in Sedgefield can expand.

The park is home to 23 firms working on the cutting edge of science, engineering and technology and is managed by Business Durham, a part of the county council.

Seven of the businesses need to expand to keep up with their success and there is a waiting list of others wanting to move to NETPark. Cabinet will be told the expansion will support the creation of 800 jobs over the next three years, both in construction and at the park.

Wednesday's (15th) meeting will also be told NETPark is the only UK science park to be awarded a Satellite Applications Catapult, allowing businesses across the region easier access to information and technology to take advantage of a market expected to be worth £27bn by 2030. This is in addition to the already successful High Value Manufacturing Catapult, managed by the Centre for Process Innovation (CPI).

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AN award-winning fish and chip restaurant and takeway has been serving its meals at an annual British Fair week held in the Japanese equivalent of Harrods.

Quayside of Whitby was named ‘Independent Takeaway Fish & Chip Shop of the Year’, and top fryer Raymond Fusco, the youngest son in the Fusco family, made the 5,700 mile-trip to the upmarket Hankyu Hanshin Department Stores in Fukuoka and Osaka to give customers the chance to taste the family's secret batter recipe. The stores are the largest in western Japan and attract more than 50 million shoppers a year.

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HEALTH and Safety inspectors have mounted a month long programme of unannounced visits to construction sites in County Durham and Teesside.

They will ensure high-risk activities, particularly those affecting the health of workers, are being properly managed. These include working with harmful dusts such as silica and asbestos. If unacceptable standards are found, immediate enforcement action, will be taken.

The drive is part of a bid to reduce ill health, death and injury in the construction industry.

During 2012/13 in the North East, four construction workers were killed and 559 injured and in 2011/12 there were five deaths and 713 injuries. It is estimated that 3,000 of the region's construction workers suffer ill health caused by their work.

Rob Hirst, HSE Principal Inspector of Construction, said: “Industry has made much progress in reducing the number of people killed and injured in its activities, but for every fatal accident, approximately 100 construction workers die from a work-related cancer."

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ALISON Crake, senior partner of Crake and Mallon, the Stockton funeral firm, has been appointed chairman of the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) Committee for Professional Development (CPD).

A member of the NAFD executive committee she was also involved in the recent review of the Code of Practice. The CPD exists to develop, co-ordinate, maintain and deliver educational qualifications and courses for corporate and individual development within the funeral profession.

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ANDY Powell, 52, has been appointed customer services director for Broadacres Housing Association.

The new section covers housing management, community involvement, a young persons' homelessness service, older peoples' services, women's refuge and service for people with learning disabilities and mental health problems.

Mr Powell lives in Redcar and is married with two children. He was previously head of housing for Thirteen Group.

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BUSINESS law firm, Endeavour Partnership has leased new offices on Teesdale Business Park which it will move into this month. (Oct)

Just a short distance from its present premises, it will be named Tobias House, in memory of Toby Tilly, who died in 2011 after more than ten years as senior partner. The three storey building provides a range of meeting rooms and conference facilities for seminars and events, as well as room for further expansion. The firm was launched in 1999 by four partners who saw the need for a law firm to provide purely commercial legal services.

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AN ACCOUNTANCY firm has taken on four more staff.

Evolution LLP, based in Wynyard, recruited Linda Patch, chartered accountant and chartered tax advisor as senior tax manager, Emily Brian and Danielle Smith to work in accounts and audit, and Kayleigh Castle, who has joined the payroll team. The firm, which now has 60 staff, also recently promoted Tim Mallon to associate member and Francesca Crossling to tax manager.

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MORE than a quarter of SME bosses across the North East are in constant contact with the office while on holiday, according to a recent survey.

A further quarter say they are in touch with work at least once a day while on annual leave, while 24 per cent check emails but don’t make contact with the office unless it’s urgent.

The figures are from the latest Close Brothers Business Barometer, a quarterly poll of SME owners and managers from a range of sectors across the UK.

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