(Back row, left-right): Dave Burns, a partner with Evolution LLP; Simon Clayton, Account Director (Marketing and Digital) with Velvet Communications and Andrew Beattie, Commercial Property Solicitor with Tilly Bailey and Irvine. (Front row, left-right) Wynyard Park Ltd Development Manager Matt Johnson and Tony Snaith, Managing Director of Communicate plc.

Wynyard Park is launching its Enterprise Initiative as part of its on-going efforts to boost the local economy.

Working in partnership with four of its tenant companies, the 700-acre business park is targeting relatively new start-up companies and entrepreneurs with great ideas in a bid to help create a successful and sustainable business.

The winner of the 12-month support package will receive a fully-serviced office from Wynyard Park and IT/telecommunications, accountancy, marketing/public relations and legal support from Communicate plc, Evolution LLP, Velvet Communications and Tilly Bailey and Irvine Solicitors respectively.

In addition, the winning business will get the chance to work with a team of high-profile mentors, including Chris Musgrave, Chief Executive of Wynyard Park, and Trevor Cartner, Chairman of Helios Properties and Wynyard Park.

Matt Johnson, Wynyard Park’s Development Manager, said: “We already have a proven track record of supporting the creation of small businesses at Wynyard Park through our hugely successful Serviced Office Scheme which enables new companies to establish themselves and grow through flexible packages tailored to suit their needs.

“The Enterprise Initiative aims to build on this by creating a platform to support new and emerging businesses across the Tees Valley.

“We believe we have developed an offer which any new company would significantly benefit from and we would encourage relatively new start-up companies and people thinking of starting a business from across the Tees Valley to enter. There’s nothing to lose but an awful lot to gain.

“We would also like to thank our partners for giving their support and we hope that by working together in this way we can play a valuable role in the creation of a sustainable business.”

Enterprise Initiative entry forms are available on the Wynyard Park website at www.wynyardpark.com. The closing date for entries is 30th April 2013. All entries will be assessed by a panel made up of representatives of the supporting companies. Ten entrants will be selected to attend an interview to demonstrate their business models, concepts and approaches, and three will then be short-listed to present to an audience of key decision-makers and the media at an event at Wynyard Park. One business will then be chosen to win the overall package and two runners-up will receive a support prize worth £500.

Further information is available from Claire Tallon at Wynyard Park on (01740) 661000.

Receptionist Tracey Lawson and Facilities Coordinator Jennifer Boreland with the free cream eggs and the raffle prize.

Staff from Wynyard Park delivered the cream eggs to all companies on the 700-acre site in the run-up to the Easter holidays.

Each cream egg was accompanied by a free raffle ticket which entered the recipient in a draw for a much larger chocolate egg.

Wynyard Park is currently home to around 65 companies which support some 2,000 jobs.

Claire Tallon, Facilities and Estate Manager, said: “We place great importance on liaising closely with our tenant companies and ensuring that they receive the highest possible standards of service and care.

“We also believe it is important to show how much we appreciate them and Easter gives us the perfect opportunity to do that by distributing free cream eggs.

“Everyone is committed to making Wynyard Park a business park that is second to none and it’s little touches like this that make all the difference.”

Wynyard Park Non-Executive Director John Walker presents a cheque for £2,000 to Hartlepool and District Hospice Chief Executive Tracy Woodall

A HOSPICE that provides a range of specialist services to people across Hartlepool and East Durham has received a welcome cash boost – courtesy of a Teesside business park.

Hartlepool and District Hospice has been given £2,000 from a charitable fund run by Wynyard Park.

The money will go towards the running costs of the hospice which requires £2.6 million a year just to maintain its services – with only 21% of that figure being met by the Government.

John Walker, a Non-Executive Director of Wynyard Park, handed over a cheque to hospice Chief Executive Tracy Woodall when he visited the hospice in Wells Avenue, Hartlepool.

He explained that the charitable fund was set up several years ago to enable Wynyard Park to put something back into the local community.

“You can’t fail to be impressed by the dedication and commitment of all the staff and volunteers at the hospice and the high-quality services that it provides despite a constant battle to raise funds. It is such a deserving cause

“That is why we are delighted to make this donation which also cements our close relationship with the hospice,” said Mr Walker

Wynyard Park which covers 700 acres and is home to around 65 companies supporting 2,000 jobs, is already a member of the hospice’s Guild of Patrons. It also recently hosted a sportsman’s dinner at The Wynyard Rooms – its exclusive suite of function rooms – which raised over £10,000 for the hospice.

Mrs Woodall said: “The hospice is so grateful for Wynyard Park’s on-going support. Donations such as this are very important because of the £7,000 we need every day to run our services, we must raise over £5,600 through voluntary income.”

Compere Aiden Jay, Ray Parlour, Director of Fundraising at Hartlepool and District Hospice Francis McAllister and Jeff Hind from The Wynyard Rooms.

Hartlepool & District Hospice is celebrating following the success of a charity sportsman’s dinner featuring former Arsenal, Middlesbrough and England football star Ray Parlour.

The event, a partnership between Hartlepool and District Hospice and The Wynyard Rooms at Wynyard Park, attracted 140 mainly business guests from around the region, including Stuart Drummond, the Mayor of Hartlepool and a regular supporter of hospice events.

The evening saw guests treated to a luxury three-course dinner before they were entertained with a collection of well-chosen stories from the football legend’s colourful career.

All catering costs for the event were sponsored by Wynyard Park which reduced the hospice’s costs significantly, meaning the event raised a fantastic £10,500 for hospice services.  The money was raised through a combination of activities, including ticket sales, donations, a game of heads and tails, a raffle and a charity auction.  The auction featured a variety of exclusive signed sporting goods, as well as a signed Rod Steward Gold Disc.

In real terms, the £10,500 raised will pay for an in-patient bed at the hospice for 6 weeks.

Hartlepool and District Hospice provides specialist palliative care to people and families affected by life-limiting illnesses. It currently costs £2.4 million per year to run the hospice, with only 23% of this amount being funded by the Government.

Francis McAllister, Director of Fundraising at the hospice, said, “It was fantastic to work in partnership with the Wynyard Rooms. The venue, food and their professionalism helped to create a superb atmosphere which everyone enjoyed. Ray Parlour was outstanding, entertaining the audience with inside stories and ‘wind-ups’ which had everyone laughing. I would particularly like to thank everyone who attended the event for supporting our fundraising efforts – they directly help us to fund the services we provide to local patients free of charge.”

“I would also like to extend a thank you to the staff members from Virgin Money who attended the event and have secured match funding for the money raised from the evening’s raffle.”

Jeff Hind from The Wynyard Rooms said: “Hartlepool and District Hospice provides a vitally important service to the local community and we are delighted to have been able to help it raise such a significant sum of money.”

Instructor Paul Craggs with George Lita, Front of House Manager at The Wynyard Rooms.

A total of nine employees from Wynyard Park recently took part in a one-day Emergency First Aid at Work course.

Employees, including catering, kitchen, security and maintenance staff, were taught resuscitation techniques – including how to put someone in the recovery position – and how to deal with victims of heart attacks and patients with spinal injuries.

The training was delivered by Paul Craggs, a qualified first aid instructor from the Belle Vue Centre in Hartlepool.

Each of the trainees who successfully completed the session received a certificate which will remain valid for three years.

Claire Tallon, Wynyard Park’s Facilities and Estates Manager, said: “As an employer, Wynyard Park is committed to the development of its staff to give them the skills and confidence they need to achieve their full potential. This training reflects that commitment.

“We also aim to provide a level of customer service that is second to none when people contact us, and the on-going development of our staff also contributes towards that.

“Having staff properly trained in first aid is also vitally important so that we are able to deal effectively with any emergencies should they arise.”

Wynyard Park which covers 700 acres, is home to around 65 companies with some 2,000 staff. It also has its own exclusive suite of function rooms, The Wynyard Rooms, and a popular in-house bistro, Java Café.

The first aid training follows Wynyard Park’s launch of a bespoke training scheme provided by Newcastle-based bltraining which recently saw 19 employees completing two half-day training workshops.

Dr Poornima Nair and Dr Anu Gongloor

TWO GPs are about to launch a new venture on a North-East business park offering people a range of aesthetic treatments.

“Touch-Ups” at Wynyard Park, a partnership between Dr Poornima Nair and Dr Anu Gongloor, will offer procedures using botulinum injections – a tiny dose of toxin derived from bacteria – to treat conditions such as facial wrinkles and lines, excessive underarm sweating and chronic migraines.

In addition, they will be able to treat facial hyper-pigmentation through the use of medication and creams, and they also intend to offer acupuncture and injection therapy for threadveins (legs). Other treatments include, reflexlogy, massage, aromatherapy, makeup, Indian Head Massage, threading, waxing and Reiki led by other qualified therapists within the team.

Apart from routine daytime opening, the services will also be available late evenings to suit professional clients who can visit the unit after work.

Dr Nair, a GP in Bishop Auckland, and Dr Anu, a GP based in Middlesbrough, are qualified facial aesthetic practitioners. The team will mark the official opening of their new business with an evening of wine and canapes on Tuesday March 5th, at Wynyard Park.

Botulinum injections (commonly known as Botox®) relax a person’s facial muscles and smooth out wrinkles. More and more young women are opting for them as they help to reduce the formation of deeper lines. However, it’s not just about women, as increasing numbers of men are also having the injections,” said Dr Nair who lives in Wynyard Village.

A range of hand-made jewellery produced by Dr Nair in her spare time from silver and semi-precious stones will also be on sale through the business (www.wavesonline.co.uk).

The two doctors are running their new business from the Frances Anne Suite within Wynyard Park House – part of Wynyard Park’s hugely successful Serviced Office Scheme.

Companies signing up to the scheme benefit from a fully-inclusive package of support and facilities on flexible terms.

Dr Nair said she was delighted to be basing her new business at Wynyard Park and commented: “It’s a great place to work. It is a classy setting, it is spacious with plenty of parking and has excellent facilities such as the Java Café bistro within Wynyard Park House.”

Matt Johnson, Wynyard Park’s Development Manager, added: “I am delighted that Dr Nair and Dr Anu have chosen Wynyard Park as their base for the new business venture and I would like to wish them the very best of luck for the future.”

Companies wishing to find out more about the Serviced Office Scheme or about business opportunities at Wynyard Park in general can call (01740) 661000, e-mail enquiries@wynyardpark.com or log on to www.wynyardpark.com

For more information about Touch-ups call (01740) 768268, 07754 094952 or 07951 793845, e-mail enquiries@touchups.co.uk or visit the company’s website at www.touch-ups.co.uk

Wynyard Park is calling on its tenant companies, their employees and people living in the vicinity of the 700-acre site to donate non-perishable foodstuffs which it then intends to pass on to the Trussell Trust, a charity dedicated to tackling poverty, for distribution to food banks in the area.

Donations can be dropped off at a collection point at the reception desk within Wynyard Park House.

Suitable items include UHT or powdered milk, sugar (500g), cartons of fruit juice, soup, pasta sauces, tinned sponge puddings, tinned tomatoes, cereals, rice pudding, tea bags/instant coffee, instant mashed potato, rice and pasta, tinned meat and fish, tinned vegetables, tinned fruit, jam, biscuits and snack bars.

Jennifer Boreland, Wynyard Park’s Facilities Co-ordinator, said: “We all know that times are hard for a lot of local families in these uncertain economic times and all it takes is redundancy or an unexpected bill when people are on low incomes to tip them over the edge.

“We want to try to maker life easier for them by ensuring that they don’t have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from.

“An extra tin of soup or bag of sugar in all of our supermarket trolleys each week would make a tremendous difference to families in our region

“We are pleased to be working closely with the Trussell Trust which does a great job in supporting communities around the UK.”

The trust says that in 2011/12 food banks fed almost 129,000 people and that figure is expected to rise to over 230,000 in 2012/13.

Wynyard Park is currently home to around 65 companies which support some 2,000 jobs.

Back row, left to right: Wynyard Park Accounts Manager Elaine Wilson, Zoe’s Place Community Fundraiser Rachael Willmore, Zoe’s Place Corporate Fundraiser Elaine Dunning and Claire Ibbotson, Wynyard Park’s Facilities and Estate Manager, with two-year-old Daniel Howell who uses the hospice’s services, and Nursery Nurse Gemma Howell.

CHILDREN at a Teesside hospice are set to enjoy a happy Christmas following the success of a business park’s gift appeal.

Wynyard Park has been collecting gifts in support of Middlesbrough-based Zoe’s Place, one of only three “baby-specific” hospices in the UK.

Around 30 gifts – and several hundred pounds in cash – donated by Wynyard Park and its tenant companies were handed over to hospice representatives earlier this week.

Community fundraiser Rachael Willmore said: “We are so grateful to Wynyard Park and its tenants for their generosity which will really make a difference to children using our services and their families.

“We need just over £1 million a year to cover our basic running costs and that figure doesn’t take account the costs of providing specialist equipment or services, so you can see how important support like this is.”

Claire Ibbotson, Wynyard Park’s Facilities and Estate Manager, said: “We are so pleased to be able to support Zoe’s Place in this way and I’d like to thank everyone who supported our appeal.

“We know that times are hard and that some people are struggling to make ends meet, but it is nice to be able to provide a bit of festive cheer for the children at Zoe’ Place and their families.”

Zoe’s Place which opened in Middlesbrough eight years ago, is a registered charity which cares for babies and infants up to the age of five.

Wynyard Park which covers 700 acres, is home to around 65 companies which together support around 2,000 jobs.

Alyson Robson (far left) and Gail Dalton-Ayres (far right) from bltraining with some of the Wynyard Park employees who have undergone training.

A BUSINESS park on Teesside has joined forces with a specialist training company in its pursuit of customer service excellence.

Wynyard Park has launched a bespoke training scheme in partnership with Newcastle-based bltraining to develop its employees’ skills.

Claire Ibbotson, Wynyard Park’s Facilities and Estate Manager, said: “First impressions always count, and we want to ensure that people receive a level of service and care that is second to none when they contact us.

“We also want to provide our regular customers, including tenant companies and their employees, with the same high-quality service day in-day out, and that is why we place great emphasis on attention to detail in everything that we do.

“We are delighted to be working with bltraining and their expertise in this field is proving invaluable.”

Wynyard Park which covers 700 acres, is home to around 65 companies with some 2,000 staff. It has its own exclusive suite of function rooms, The Wynyard Rooms, and the popular in-house Java Café bistro is located within Wynyard Park House.

As part of the training initiative, 19 employees – including reception, security and catering staff – recently completed two half-day training workshops.

A Mystery Shopper-style investigation was also undertaken and this rated Wynyard Park as either excellent or very good in respect of how easy it is to do business with, the appearance, behaviour and attitude of staff, the quality of product and service information available to customers, the speed and efficiency of service delivery, customers’ rating of the price and value of services and the overall impression of the quality of service provided.

Gail Dalton-Ayres, a Director with bltraining, said: “We are pleased to be working with Wynyard Park and the training package we have put together is part of a process that aims to promote continuous improvement.

“A key element of the training involves focussing on the masterplan for the future development of Wynyard Park site and encouraging employees – whatever their job – to recognise that they all have a key role in its implementation.”

The rapidly developing masterplan aims to create a high-class mixed use sustainable community incorporating businesses, homes, support services and leisure facilities set in attractive, landscaped surroundings where people both live and work.

It is inviting its own staff, tenant companies, their employees and the wider community to contribute gifts to the appeal in aid of Zoe’s Place in Middlesbrough.

Zoe’s Place Baby Hospices are the only “baby specific” hospices in the UK and there are only two in the whole of the country. They are registered charities and care for babies and infants up to the age of five who have life-limiting or terminal illnesses, and varying degrees of special and complex needs.

All services are provided free to the families that use them, while Zoe’s Place receives little Government funding.

Claire Ibbotson, Wynyard Park’s Facilities and Estate Manager, said: “We have a long tradition of collecting for charity at Christmas and we are delighted to be supporting Zoe’s Place this year.

“It is easy to take Christmas and all the fun that is associated with it for granted, but it can also be a particularly difficult time for lots of families. I really hope we can make Christmas a positive and happy time for the children at Zoe’s Place and their families.

“We know that times are hard and many people are struggling to make ends meet, but I’d urge people to get behind the appeal and support such a deserving cause.”

The appeal is seeking sensory toys, crafty toys, toys and games, toiletries, gift vouchers – in fact anything that is suitable for children up to the age of 6. Other items, including chocolates, wines/spirits, tinned biscuits, new cuddly toys and gift vouchers (Mothercare, Argos, Toys r Us) would also be welcomed.

A collection point is being provided in the reception area in Wynyard Park House at Wynyard Park where unwrapped presents can be taken up until 10am on Monday December 17. The gifts will be handed over to Zoe’s Place at about 11am that day.

Anyone wanting further information about the appeal can contact Claire Ibbotson on (01740) 661000.