Director
“John joined Marchday in 1989 from the glamorous world of interior design and became a director of the company in 1995. John enjoys surfing, Victorian taxidermy and has recently (against his better judgement) developed an unhealthy interest in golf. John is married with three children Tom, Beth and Noah and lives near Deal on the Kent coast.”
January 30th, 2012 - Honey Bee Facts No.1!
Honey Bees stop flying when the temperature drops down into the 50s (F). They stay inside their hive in what is called a winter cluster which means they get into a big huddle. There is no point to flying outside of the hive as there are no flowers in bloom, hence no pollen or nectar is available and the cold could kill them. The colder the outside temperature, the more compact the cluster becomes.
The object of this clustering is to keep themselves warm, so warm that 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. In this way no bee will freeze.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, New Lodge Tagged bees, honey, lingfieldlife, lingfieldpoint, sustainability, sustainablecommunities +January 23rd, 2012 - The sad story of FiT’s – the shape of things to come?The recent decision by the Government to retrospectively reduce the level of feed in Tariff (Fit) from 43pkwh to 21pkwh is a a huge blow to the UK’s environmental credibility. Originally introduced by the previous Government the latest decision is based on the fact that take up by homeowners and businesses has been greater than expected – in other words the scheme was too successful! Can this really be possible when the aim was to reduce our carbon footprint?
Perhaps the most damaging aspect is the undermining of confidence in legislation relating to sustainable technologies. Potential investors are faced with making an enormous financial commitment in the face of number of uncertainties; longevity of the technologies, capital cost of the installation and financial return on that cost.
For the first time, under the FiT legislation the log jam began to clear; income was guaranteed for 25 years and Government backed, PV technology was tried and tested and had reduced in price and critically (as a result of these factors) the banks felt confident enough to start lending money for PV installations.
The first big step backwards came last year when the Government decided to limit FiT’s to installations under 5 megawatts. This meant that a number of big, commercially driven PV arrays became unviable over night. The second blow came in December with the reduction in the level of FiT’s.
The Government made the following statement in one of its recent publications;
To facilitate the investment in renewables that the country needs, investors need to have confidence in a stable and predictable commercial environment for those investments. The scale and pace of the changes now proposed was a ‘shock’ for the industry and the suddenness of their introduction has damaged investor confidence across the whole energy sector. This damage would not have occurred if the Government had recognised the unsustainable rate of the expansion of solar installations at an earlier date, something which ought to have been identified by Ministers and officials sooner than it appears to have been. The analysis of the impact on jobs in the Impact Assessment is also seriously inadequate.
We in the UK are not alone in introducing FiT’s as a way of reducing our dependency on fossil based energy generation. Most northern European countries have done the same. In Germany for instance it has led to around 13% of the nation’s energy being generated from renewable sources.
So, as the Government awaits the result of a High Court appeal on it’s decision to apply it’s Fit reduction retrospectively we’re left wondering whether the Government now see the UK’s bold carbon reduction commitments as an essential necessity or an unaffordable luxury?
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged Feedintariff, lingfieldpoint, sustainability +October 21st, 2011 - Wayne Hemingway speaks his mind!
Wayne Hemingway in the affordable apartments he designed for key workers in Manchester. Photo: Don McPhee.
At Marchday we’re big fans of the Fashion Trendsetter turned Community Guru Wayne Hemingway. We were 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!
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged Art, hemingwaydesign, malmo, redordead, Regeneration, sustainability, sustainablecommunities, valueformoney, Waynehemingway +September 29th, 2011 - The Mission Position.
The Mission, Lochinver.
Marchday’s John Orchard writes about his recent cycling odyssey and a social project which left him full of inspiration;
I was recently lucky enough to spend 3 days in the Highlands; just me, the bike and the spendors of Sutherland.
While cycling through Lochinver I stumbled on an eye catching new building with a memorable name, ‘The Mission’. What at first appeared to be a simple cafe turned out to be one of the most remarkable community projects I’ve come across.
Lochinver has a rich fishing heritage. The Victorian fisherman’s mission fell into decline and finally closed a few years ago. A committee came together to resurrect not the building but the concept of a community hub. It successfully secured £500m of BIG lottery funding and set about creating The Mission from the ashes of the old institution.
At the same time they set about finding somebody to breath life into the building and found it in Peter Cullen, a celebrated young chef who has come home to raise his family away from the hustle of the big cities.
The concept is a simple one; to create a true community building where locals, visitors and fishermen can eat and get together; to create jobs for local jobless and provide them with training in catering and hospitality. Amazingly it is a real success and runs totally unsubsidised.
There is no licenced bar to ensure that children are welcome and no main course costs more than £6.50 – not remarkable in itself until you taste the food! Mr Cullen uses all his experience of working with Michelin chefs to serve up the most amazing local fare. He barters finest ingredients, providing meals in return; on the day I visited he served up the most amazing mackerel on a bed of haddock rissoto. Fresh caught langoustine and crab feature prominently on the menu.
A damn fine fish supper!
Posted in General, John Orchard, Philosophies Tagged communityproject, customerservice, johnorchard, lochinver, themission, themissionlocinver, valueformoney +August 25th, 2011 - Ripping Yarn!Today saw the launch of Marchday’s latest new business space ‘Yarn’ at Lingfield Point Darlington.
Yarn is Marchday’s latest flexible workspace aimed at SME’s.
John Orchard, director of Marchday gave some insight into the idea;
“We worked with Glasgow based workplace gurus Graven Images to produce an interior which is strikingly different from the norm. We’ve aimed Yarn at small and medium size businesses who want to be associated with something memorable and stylish. They may only want to pay for a small dedicated office space but have use of all the communal meeting and breakout rooms. The very fact they’ve chosen to work in this building says a lot about their business to their clients.”
Space within Yarn has already started to let. For further details contact Sara Williams at sara.williams@lingfieldpoint.co.uk or David Jackson at david.jackson@sandersonweatherall.com, or you can always pop in to the management suite and say “how d’you do”!
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Properties Tagged costsaving, customerservice, Lingfield Point, SME's, valueformoney, yarn +July 18th, 2011 - Plans for first new homes on show at Lingfield Point!
The proposals trigger animated debate!
Marchday welcomed development partners Taylor Wimpey and architects, John R Paley Associates to Canteen at Lingfield Point where plans for the first phase of residential development have been unveiled.
Plans for the development of 270 homes in the first phase of the exciting £100million masterplan have now gone on show at Lingfield Point and the views of the public are being sought. This first phase will provide around 270 new homes of the of 1,250 homes planned. In addition the overall scheme will provide 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 its 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; its 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.
Posted in John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged Art, lingfieldpoint, newhomes, sustainablecommunities, sustanability, taylorwimpey +July 11th, 2011 - Marchday ‘R.A’!
FAT's beautiful image which caught the eye of the RA judges.
Imagine our surprise! There we were watching BBC2′s ‘The Culture Show’ on Sunday night when, hold on…..was that our masterplan?
Yes, it’s true, the beautiful image produced by masterplan supremos FAT has been included in the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition
The exhibition, which has taken place every year since 1769, is the world’s largest open contemporary art event and features paintings, drawings, prints and sculptures.
All artists can submit work, but only the very best items get past the tough selection panel of judges. This year, more than 12,000 artworks were submitted for consideration.
Marchday appointed award winning architects FAT in 2008 to turn the 107 acre former wool factory into an eco-friendly sustainable mixed community.
John Orchard, Director of Marchday said:
“It’s very exciting and an honour to have an image image of Lingfield Point displayed at such a prestigious exhibition, being viewed by art lovers from around the world. Art is a great passion of ours and influences everything we’re doing here at Lingfield Point.
“We’re creating a community built around the business space with eco-homes, a school, parkland, sports pitches, a health centre, shops and restaurants. FAT’s beautiful image captures the spirit of what we’re working towards – it’s quirky, forward thinking and well thought out.
Sean Griffiths, Director of FAT commented:
“We were asked by the exhibition’s curator to submit drawings from developments we’ve worked on. We like to think we take an unusual and different approach to creating masterplans of projects we’re involved with.
“This is a masterplan that’s quite interesting. There is life, something often short in masterplans. I think we have a very particular approach and in this image it reflects a side of Marchday that’s a little more flamboyant. We think it’s a very strong image, it is to do with style and has a nice quality for an architectural type of drawing.”
The Summer Exhibition runs until the 15th August at the Royal Academy of Arts in Piccadilly, London.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged Art, FAT, newhomes, publicart, Royalacademy, Summer exhibition, sustainability +July 6th, 2011 - Marchday name new residential development partner!
We’re delighted to announce that Marchday will work with development partner Taylor Wimpey to deliver the first phase of new homes in the delivery of the next vital stage of the sustainable mixed community at its Lingfield Point in Darlington.
Taylor Wimpey will build 270 homes in this first phase as part of the overall £100m masterplan vision.
Taylor Wimpey and Marchday are inviting the public to have their say on the latest plans and are hosting a public consultation event on Wednesday, July 13 from 3pm to 7pm and then on for two weeks until July 27 between 8am to 4pm each day in ‘Canteen’ the on site cafe at Lingfield Point.
John Orchard, director of Marchday, the owners of Lingfield Point, said:
“It is fantastic to be working with a company like Taylor Wimpey which has delivered some of the most exciting new homes developments in the UK in recent years, including the award-winning Staiths development on the South Bank of the Tyne at Gateshead, where they worked with top designer Wayne Hemingway.
“These will be the first new homes built in east Darlington for sometime and they will live up to our ethos of modern, low carbon, sustainable development in keeping with our visionary masterplan for the site drawn up by FAT architects.
“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.”
Iain Pay, Associate Land Director of Taylor Wimpey North Yorkshire, said:
“Taylor Wimpey is very excited to be part of this great creation at Lingfield Point. This first phase of housing will be another key building block in creation of this visionary and truly sustainable community.
“A lot of time and thought has gone into the nature of the design of the houses and their surrounding environment, and we are exceptionally pleased with the end product. We are looking forward to revealing this to the public.”
So, come on down and have your say. Building is expected to start in the New Year and homes will be ready for occupation by the middle of next year.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged Darlington, ecohome, FAT, ilovedarlo, malmo, public art, Regeneration, sustainability, taylor wimpey +June 14th, 2011 - Art comes to Cavendish Square, W1!
'Core Femme' by Jill Berelowitz.
This iconic piece by Jill Berelowitz has just arrived in Cavendish Sq. The artist explains;
“A towering image of the body’s central element, the core through which life’s energy flows. Curved female torso in bone coloured resin represent stacked vertebrae in this soaring, spinal column. In the language of physiology, the backbone’s uppermost discis named after Atlas, primordial bearer of the heavensand a symbol of endurance in ancient Greek mythology. Thesculpture is similarly mighty, yet graceful: apowerful metaphor for human strength of character, wisdom and spiritual growth.”
www.jillberelowitz.com
Marchday have long felt that Cavendish Square, W1 would be a perfect venue for art and music events and it’s great to see it happening.
At the centre of the square stands another art opportunity, an empty plinth first installed in 1770. The plinth once bore a bronze equestrian sculpture of William Duke of Cumberland. Legend has it that the sculpture was removed for safe keeping during WW2 and that the warehouse in which it was stored was bombed!
The plinth in question.
So, if you’re an artist get in touch and tell us why your work deserves to be centre stage!
Posted in Cavendish Square, General, John Orchard Tagged cavendishsquare, corefemme, jillberelowitz, newwestendcompany, publicart, Regeneration 1May 19th, 2011 - Darlington – just too good?Marchday have become experts in Regeneration projects. By their nature these tend to be situated in towns and regions which are having a tough time. There has been a lot of talk about Region Growth Fund and Enterprise Zones lately and the regional agencies are in the process of deciding exactly where those zones will be. In all cases the decision will be made on the basis of ‘bangs for bucks’ – maximum impact for every public pound spent.
It seems to us that Darlington, home of our own major regeneration project, Lingfield Point is in a uniquely difficult position as a result of this process; in comparison to it’s neighbours it’s just not bad enough.
Darlington sits at the heart of the Tees Valley and is seen locally as the ‘posh aunt’ of the region. Neighbours Middlesbrough and Redcar have used their reputation for deprivation (often perpetuated by London based journalists) to their advantage. Middlesbrough has woven its grittiness into its new identity as a fun loving, young, university town with an expertise in digital media. Putting yourself in the shoes of a Whitehall civil servant choosing between RGF bids of equal merit in Darlington or Hartlepool you are likely to chose the latter.
This is really bad news for Darlington. It has a grand heritage which is often used against it and a reputation locally as being a bit stuck up. This convenient stereotype is totally unrelated to the facts. Whilst Darlington has an affluent element much of the town is as deprived as it’s more infamous neighbours. It has an unenviable dependency on public sector jobs and in the last year it has risen up the Government’s Index of Multiple Deprivation from 86th to 75th. That’s not good but again, as far as the Government is concerned probably not quite bad enough either. While it’s struggling to find it’s new direction Darlington, like the whole region needs all the help it can get.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged customerservice, enterprise zones, enterprisezones, publicsectorcuts, Regeneration, RGF +April 4th, 2011 - Marchday’s ‘OnePlaceUK’ featured in this week’s Estates Gazette!Marchday’s ‘OnePlaceUK’ is featured in today’s EG as part of the Public Sector focus, ‘Changed Partners’ article. The piece, by EG’s Noella Pia Kivlehan illustrates some of the benefits of the OnePlace shared services model to public sector organisations;
We hope you will be reading more about OnePlaceUK and how we’re working with businesses to save them money. Watch this space!
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Tim Stephen Tagged Art, comprehensivespendingreview, costsaving, customerservice, Darlington, dx2, publicsectorcuts, sharedservices, sustainability, thecuts, valueformoney +March 28th, 2011 - Marchday go Mad in Malmo!
John and Tim have just returned from an inspirational trip to Malmo in Sweden where they visited some remarkable housing schemes. John explains;
The trip was arranged by David Birkbeck of Design for Homes. We are about to team up with a development partner at Lingfield Point, Darlington and start building the first new homes there. We wanted to see the very best examples of new housing in Europe before the design for phase 1 was finalised.
David showed us some fantastic low energy schemes using district heating systems, solar thermal and PV but we were most interested in the layouts of these new communities. I was inspired by the mixed scale of these developments with small single storey homes alongside apartment buildings. The designers had created intimate spaces between buildings, often incorporating water and reed beds where children can play safely. People take priority over the car in Sweden and the shared surfaces really work.
We’ll be making sure the ideas and lessons learned from the trip are brought back to Lingfield Point to make the new homes there some of the most remarkable in the UK.
March 23rd, 2011 - Budget makes Green Investment Bank perfect for the North East!Marchday really welcome George Osborne’s commitment to the Green Investment Bank, with an additional £2BN funding outlined in the Budget. There’s now even more reason for the North East to make a robust argument for it to be headquartered in the region. The North East is not only a hot bed of green technology, innovation and manufacturing, but has the most to gain from this level of investment.
A recent trip to Malmo in Sweden has demonstrated to us that the skills and facilities in the North East are perfectly placed to capitalise on the growth of the green technology industry. In Sweden they are using their ship building facilities to build wind turbines. This is a fantastic opportunity for the North East to do the same. Skills and facilities abound; all that’s missing is the money that the Green Investment Bank will bring.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Tim Stephen Tagged Art, budget, comprehensivespendingreview, dx2, greeninvestmentbank, oneplaceuk, publicart, sharedservices, valueformoney +March 14th, 2011 - Marchday launch ‘OnePlaceUK’!
We’re really excited to announce the launch of ‘One Place UK’, a new partnership between Marchday, Glasgow based work place gurus 3FOLD and process specialists Catalyst Consult to deliver a complete cost saving package for public sector organisations.
“We find that councils are often housed in outdated buildings which don’t allow the people to work efficiently. Once you start with a clean sheet and look afresh at service delivery with proper use of the latest technology and ‘agile’ working patterns the efficiencies are quite staggering. Such widespread changes require bold thinking from the start – it won’t work if you just tinker around the edges. You need to follow through into each area of the business and see it through to its logical conclusion – and that can be scary stuff.”
Marchday bring a wealth of innovative property asset management skills to the partnership with their proven track record of adding value to challenging property stock. Marchday’s Lingfield Point, Darlington is already home to a cluster of public sector organisations including Student Loans Company, NHS, Darlington Borough Council and NAAFI. It has become a true ‘shared services’ centre providing these organisations with critical support without the crippling cost. Lingfield Point is also home to Xentrall, a joint venture between Darlington and Stockton Borough Councils providing IT services to both. John Orchard explains;
“Many of our public sector customers have the same needs. We can often provide shared facilities to satisfy these without burdening an individual organisation with the cost. This results in people needing less space and less duplication of meeting rooms, break out space etc. We developed a whole suite of bespoke services in line with our customers’ specialist needs.”
So how has the idea been received in public sector circles? Such wide ranging reforms are always going to be met with scepticism despite proven successes. John continues;
“It sounds too good to be true which can be a problem. We are in a unique position to help Councils make huge savings. If they team up with other similar organizations the saving go through the roof. The fact is that most councils don’t know what to do with their existing properties. We work with them to get best value out of their portfolio and get their running costs down. Instead of having a knee-jerk reaction we want people to understand how this works, to think seriously about it and to consider the benefits. In addition to huge savings the result will be a happier, more efficient workforce, an improved service for the customer and an organisation model which is sustainable for the next 20 years.”
We are currently in discussion with other organisations.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Tim Stephen Tagged Art, comprehensivespendingreview, costsaving, dx2, Regeneration, restructuring, sharedservices, sustainability, valueformoney +March 2nd, 2011 - Marchday unveil Graham Gussin’s ‘Someplace Sometime’.
'Someplace Sometime' Graham Gussin 2007.
Marchday are thrilled to unveil the latest Artwork at their Lingfield Point project in Darlington. They have a close connection to the Graham Gussin piece ‘Someplace Sometime’ as Marchday’s John Orchard explains;
“Marchday’s first project in the North East was the successful regeneration of CNE in Middlesbrough. It was also our first experience of commisioning a high profile art piece. We brought in Ron Hasleden to create ‘Rose’ a neon light piece covering the entire 17 storeys of the building. When we sold CNE in 2005 we wanted to make a contribution towards the continued regeneration of a town we’d grown to love. MIMA, the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art was being built and we made a donation which enabled MIMA to commission a legacy piece on our behalf. The result of that process was Graham Gussin’s ‘Someplace Sometime’.
Originally designed as a mobile piece it toured around Middlesbrough town centre eventually being exhibited in MIMA itself. We were thrilled to be offered the piece to exhibit at Lingfield Point. The selection of the location at Lingfield Point was carefully considered by both MIMA and the artist; it’s partially hidden and it’s a lovely surprise when you happen on the piece.”
Graham Gussin also commented on the installation, saying:
“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.”
Marchday have long been convinced by the power of high quality art to change peoples’ perception of buildings and places. We saw this with ‘Rose’ at CNE and ‘Futurescope’ at Lingfield Point. ‘Someplace Sometime’ is a fantastic addition to our art offer and further establishes Lingfield Point as a place where art happens!
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Philosophies Tagged Art, colocation, CSR, customerservice, dx2, grahamgussin, publicart, sharedservices, spendingreview, valueformoney +February 24th, 2011 - Green Investment Bank – Latest News!We’re glad to hear that the Government is to push ahead with its much anticipated Green Investment Bank (GIB) under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg.
Even so it could be two years before it is up and running – causing a delay in the financing of the vital renewable energy sector – which seems shortsighted in these straitened times.
Marchday are right behind the ethos of the GIB and the role it could play in creating a low carbon economy for the UK but why the hold up? Surely we need it now.
We believe the case for basing the GIB in the North East (and at Lingfield Point in particular) is very compelling for several reasons – not least to balance out the loss of public sector jobs in the region.
The North East is already home to groundbreaking manufacture of low carbon technologies and close links to the GIB would be invaluable. We would also like to see the GIB put its (green) money where its mouth is and base itself in the type of award winning recycled buildings we have at Lingfield Point.
The GIB will need to hit the ground running. At Lingfield Point we have developed the perfect environment for public sector organisations and have established a successful cluster including Student Loans Company, NHS, NAAFI and Capita. We have developed critical support services which have allowed these organisations to thrive. At Lingfield Point we can provide a low cost, low carbon home for the GIB and we can provide it fast! We’ll keep shouting about it; let’s hope Mr Clegg is listening.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Tim Stephen Tagged Green Investment Bank, jobsforthenortheast +February 15th, 2011 - Marchday shortlisted for National Arts Award!
Lingfield Lamb 2
Marchday 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. The winner will be announced at a ceremony at Manchester Town Hall on the 23rd March 2011.
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.
HUM!
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.”
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/
www.lingfieldpoint.co.uk
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Philosophies, Tim Stephen Tagged Art, dx2, publicart, sustainability, valueformoney +February 14th, 2011 - Marchday Laps it up!
Marchday fell in love with cycling a long time ago now and since then the passion has not waned one little bit. In fact Priyen has just about had enough of the cycling talk on the train going to and from Darlington.
The real surprise is that this new found passion has maintained a place even in the cold dark winter months…. introducing @thelingfieldlap.
Every tuesday night at 17:45 the peleton sets off to complete as many laps of the Lingfield Point measured mile as they can before it gets too cold or they get too hungry! These winter miles will be invaluable when the clocks go forward and we are able to ride out the the beautiful dales. They also make the inevitable curry taste so much better!
If you are a cyclist of whatever level and are keen to get fit for the summer come along to the Home Office at Lingfield Point and join us. Updates are sent out on twitter (@thelingfieldlap) prior to each session.
So, come on – you know you want too!
Posted in General, Graham Smith, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Tim Stephen Tagged cyclingmad, thelingfieldlap, tuesdaynightcyclingdarlington +February 6th, 2011 - Providing a public service!Communities Secretary and Conservative MP Eric Pickles has thrown his hat in the ring and agreed with the ‘Leaner and Greener’ Report that says local authorities should manage their estates better by moving from dusty old town halls and expensive-to-run buildings to more cost-effective sites to save jobs and cash.
Great to hear – because Lingfield Point is bursting with the potential to become a hub for shared services for the public sector – and that’s something we’re already working towards. Our buildings are ready to go and are uniquely well-suited to exactly the type of ‘agile working’ the report describes.
Mr Pickles said: “Every council could save millions by managing their properties better; using money to protect frontline services or keep council tax down.”
We’ve already launched a call to move the House of Commons to Darlington. And we’ll now be writing to Eric Pickles and to Matthew Hancock MP who chaired the inquiry that led to the report to see if they’ll back our cheeky campaign!
After all, the Government itself could make massive savings on the cost of running the establishment by moving out of the House of Commons – and ‘clustering’ here! We’ve also invited them for a tour of Lingfield Point so they can see for themselves how the idea already works in practice.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged Art, customerservice, dx2, sharedservices, spendingreview, sustainability, valueformoney +February 4th, 2011 - Marchday’s ‘Now that’s what I call customer service!’ awards nomination No.6.
Lakeland Footballing cake decorations - John's favourite!
Marchday run an annual competition for the organisation providing the best customer service of the year. John’s recent experience with Lakeland has led him to nominate them for the award;
I was recently bought a few duplicate Christmas presents from Lakeland (I know, it happens at my age). I’d also bought a few things from their website and they weren’t quite as good as you’d expect. I took the whole lot back and was given a cash refund, no questions asked. Lakeland claim they guarantee you satisfaction or your money back and that’s really what they give. Of course I spent the whole refund and more before I left the shop but you always find something in there that you can’t live without!
So, there you go! If, like John you like tupperware or have any other examples of great customer service, don’t keep it to yourself – email us your nominations for the Marchday ‘Now that’s what I call customer service Award’. Entries close 18 April 2011.
January 26th, 2011 - Array of Sunshine!We’re currently talking to a couple of companies about the installation of photovoltaic arrays on our site at Lingfield Point. The 2,000,000 sqft of roofs present an ideal opportunity for an array especially as they all face directly south. The technology is now tried and tested and it seems that banks are beginning to feel comfortable funding these projects. This funding has been the missing element which has prevented these schemes taking off.
A PV array is on our list of initiatives to bring low carbon energy to our customers – another reason Lingfield Point is the perfect home for your forward looking organisation.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged customerservice, spendingreview, sustainability, valueformoney +January 7th, 2011 - An alternative to Westminster’s outdated Palace?John recently spent a chilly day in snowy Westminster highlighting the irony of the Government’s call to Councils around the country to cut their costs by up to 30% whilst their own running costs remain unchanged.
The House of Commons buildings cost a whopping £208,000,000 a year to run. Surely now is the time for the Government to lead by example and relocate to more sustainable, futureproof offices outside of expensive central London.
This thinking is in line with the Government’s own; in the last few years they have commissioned expensive, detailed reports looking at decentralising civil servant functions from Westminster into the regions. This would save tax payers’ money and create jobs in those areas hardest hit. So why hasn’t it happened?
Developments such as Marchday’s Lingfield Point in Darlington (which already houses a cluster of Public Sector organisations) would be a perfect home for these functions, bringing new jobs to the North East, a region badly hit by the loss of manufacturing and public sector jobs. These buildings are low energy, low cost and allow modern businesses to work efficiently – not a claim that can be made of the beautiful Palace of Westminster!
January 5th, 2011 - New Homes at Lingfield Point!We are often asked when the first new homes at Lingfield Point will be built. Well, we’re delighted to tell you that we are very close to choosing our residential development partner and that new homes will be started at Lingfield Point within a year.
We’ve spoken to many potential partners and despite the general gloom hanging over the residential market have found them all keen to build.
It is essential that we find a partner who’s thinking was aligned with our own in terms of design and commitment to the sustainable mixed community.
We’re close to doing that and will be unveiling our new partner shortly. Watch this space!
Posted in General, Graham Smith, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Tim Stephen Tagged Art, community, ecohomes, newhomes, Regeneration, sustainability +December 20th, 2010 - Wishing you a very festive Yule!Marchday wish you a fun filled Christmas! Have a great break and we all look forward to seeing you next year!
Posted in General, Graham Smith, Jenny Carr, John Orchard, Priyen Gudka, Sue Richmond, Tim Stephen Tagged marchdaychristmasfun, Merrychristmas +December 17th, 2010 - For Sale: Home with a common touchWith localism and public sector cuts high on the political agenda a North East property company has called on the Government to live by its own words – and move to save cash and jobs. The company says that by closing the doors of the House of Commons and relocating, the Government could make massive savings on the cost of running the establishment. Figures provided by the House of Commons show that it costs a staggering £208,000,000 per year for the eight acres of accommodation, operating costs and security, not including MPs salaries or administration costs.
House of Commons for sale
Marchday the company behind the idea say it wants to put the House of Commons up for sale on behalf of the people of England – saving hundreds of jobs in the process. Marchday happens to own a huge 107 acre development Lingfield Point in Darlington, County Durham and could offer the Government a great deal at a fraction of the price. But to take advantage of it MPs would also have to be prepared to accept the advice of MP Iain Duncan Smith and move to follow the jobs.
John Orchard, of Marchday (which also owns New Lodge in Windsor and Cavendish Square in Central London) said:
“The Palace of Westminster functions as a giant office space with meeting rooms and chambers.
“It is very costly to run and maintain. Obviously there are cheaper places to be based – for example Lingfield Point – which is an award-winning sustainable business park that offers everything needed to run the country efficiently and cost effectively.
“Ok, this is a tongue-in-cheek poke at the Government but with several serious points behind it. For example in the past few years the Government has commissioned two reports into devolving civil service jobs to the regions, the Lyons Report and the Smith Review, the Lyons Report alone cost £2.22m and yet very little changed as a result
“News reports earlier this week made it clear how hard some of the poorest areas of England will be hit by the planned spending cuts and this is a great opportunity to resurrect this idea.
“The Government is asking everybody else to face the harsh realities that cuts will bring – it needs to take a top-down lead by example approach.
Office space at Lingfield Point is available at £10 per sq ft compared to the average of £35 per sq ft in London. The North East has a work-ready army of skilled people and logistical and transport links to Europe that are the best in England.“This isn’t about making political points – it is a moral issue – we want the people in charge to think about the human cost of the proposals on the table and how easily some of the effects could be mitigated,” said Mr Orchard.
John Orchard at the Houses of Parliament
MP for Darlington Jenny Chapman supported Lingfield Point’s stance and said:
“The Government should listen to John Orchard. David Cameron wants people to get on the bus to find work and I want them to come to Darlington. We’ve got great schools, excellent transport links and great value real estate. Darlington is a top place to do business and could save you money. John says this is tongue in cheek, but I say the Government should listen up.”
Posted in Cavendish Square, General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Marchday, New Lodge, Philosophies +December 15th, 2010 - 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 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 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.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, New Lodge, Philosophies Tagged comprehensivespendingreview, cuts, dx2, localgovernmentcuts, Regeneration, sustainability, valueformoney +December 14th, 2010 - Marchday’s Magnificent 7 – No.2!John recently spent a day talking to the team at Marchday’s Lingfield Point, Darlington about what customer service really means to them.
In these days of austerity and cost cutting it’s easy to think of excellent customer service as an ‘add-on’. At Marchday it’s central to our thinking – along with value for money – and shapes our decisions. Click on the link below to meet the team and hear what they have to say.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Tim Stephen Tagged customerservice, dx2, spendingreview, sustainability, valueformoney +November 30th, 2010 - Marchday hedge closer to nature.
Mighty Oaks from tiny acorns grow.
Marchday recently worked with Friends of the Earth to plant 105 new trees creating a ‘Wildlife Hedge’ at its regeneration project Lingfield Point, Darlington.
The saplings, made up of a rich mix of native species including Oak, Birch, Rowan, Hawthorne and Hazel were provided by the Woodland Trust as part of its MOREwoods project.
A spokesperson for FOE Darlington said,
A single Oak tree can host up to 500 species of wildlife. By planting more native trees in our local area communities can greatly increase the number of places wildlife can thrive. Planting a hedgerow will provide shelter, food and homes for wildlife. With growing urbanization, intensive land use and changes in climate, planting new native trees is more urgent than ever.
The saplings have been positioned to provide shelter to Lingfield Point’s Gro Zone, another joint initiative with FOE to provide satisfy the growing demand for community allotments.
John Orchard of Marchday is delighted at the way the initiative has taken up,
I’m amazed at the variety of crops being grown organically at the Gro Zone. What started as a small scale organic project has unearthed the potential for an organic box scheme providing organic vegetables grown at Lingfield Point direct to our customers. This year we harvested the first crop of Lingfield Point honey from our bees and hope to have more next summer.
105 new trees, organic vegetables and honey – all in all a great start to Lingfield Point’s organic food production plans.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged friendsoftheearth, naturehedge, sustainability, treeplanting, valueformoney, wildlife +November 1st, 2010 - New Art for Darlington; Futurescope 5 – (sub)Liminal ‘HUM’!
HUM!
At a time when there’s very little good news for the Arts we are proud to launch our latest image of the ‘Futurescope’ series. The fifth image was unveiled at Lingfield Point, Darlington on Thursday. The artists behind Futurescope, Christian Barnes and John Kennedy invited 2010 New Music Award winners Liminal to produce an image as part of the series. Christian explains;
When we launched ‘Futurescope’ we felt, as we always feel, about all our work that we shouldn’t stamp ourselves all over it, that we should share and not seek to carry the bill. We thought of it as a variety show that might have some guest spots, like Andre Previn appearing on Morecambe and Wise. So we made a call out for others to send us their ideas and a few people did! Mostly these ideas were rubbish but amongst them Liminal’s proposal stood out. It picked up the trompe L’oeil theme we set out to achieve with ‘sunflowers’ but not in a way that either of us would have thought of. It also brought their preoccupations with urban soundscapes to Lingfield Point presenting as it does the drama of an image associated with aggressive noise in circumstances where it is mute.
At one time the building was anything but mute and as it happens the walls of the turbine hall are plastered with these posters.
It’s worth mentioning that we have funded the Futurescope series of images entirely with our own money – proof of our belief in the power of Art to change peoples’ perceptions and add value. ’HUM’ is a real departure from the first ‘season’ of images, transforming the Powerhouse into an enormous sound box. You can read more from the artists behind the image by clicking on http://futurescopedarlington.blogspot.com and see more pictures by visiting http://www.flickr.com/photos/vistaprojects/sets/72157625260159882/with/5123617286/
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Media Tagged Art, Darlington, dx2, Futurescope, Liminal, Regeneration, sustainability, Value for money, Vista projects +October 16th, 2010 - The Velo boys!Joint Marchday and Real Service come away from inaugural velodrome event with their heads held high!
A team of four riders attended the first property industry velodrome challenge at Herne Hill velodrome in south London on friday.
The event was in aid of The International Childcare Trust, a charity that partner with local grassroots NGOs in Africa and Asia that protect children’s rights. For more information visit www.internationalchildcaretrust.org
The team managed a respectable 13 points from the four events with a sprint final appearance and points scored in the pursuit event. There were also strong performances in the time-trial and the scratch race.
Howard Morgan commented ” We have gained valuable experience this year and will come back stronger and fitter for next years event. The whole day has been brilliantly organised and the guys from British Cycling were great”
John Orchard said, when asked about the velodrome ” This is an amazing facility that is tucked away in the Dulwich Estate and it’s under threat, we need to get behind the campaign to save the velodrome by signing up at www.savethevelodrome.com”
For more information on the velodrome and all the details on the various sessions at all levels go to www.hernehillvelodrome.com
October 12th, 2010 - Marchday’s Cafe Culture.
1950's style snug at Canteen.
We’re delighted to welcome two new cafe operators to our portfolio; Absolute Taste, the events and hospitality wing of the McLaren racing team at New Lodge Windsor and ‘Canteen’ by Alexander McMurray at Lingfield Point Darlington. Both companies have already really impressed us with the quality of their service.
Both pride themselves on using locally sourced ingredients, so local in fact that they sometimes look no further than the grounds for inspiration. John explains;
We recently had a meeting at New Lodge and were presented with the most amazing selection of beautifully presented canapes. I was particularly taken with some fig and rocket numbers and was knocked out to be told that the figs had come from our own fig trees in the gardens. You can’t get much fresher than that!
Fig rolls - New Lodge style!
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, New Lodge Tagged Customer service, local food production, organic food, Regeneration +October 8th, 2010 - Marchday’s call for GIB to be based in Tees Valley gathers pace!John recently wrote a letter to Justine Greening, the economic secretary to the Treasury making the case for the Green Investment Bank to be located in the Tees Valley.
His letter was noticed by Samantha McClary of Estates Gazette who wrote;
North East-based developer Marchday Group has written to the government urging it to locate the proposed Green Investment Bank (GIB) in the Tees Valley.
Marchday this week sent an impassioned letter to Justine Greening, the economic secretary to the Treasury, after prime minister David Cameron namechecked the GIB in his speech at the Conservative conference in Birmingham yesterday.
In the letter, Marchday director John Orchard writes: “Choosing the Tees Valley as the adminstrative centre for the GIB would provide a much needed injection of public sector jobs to the North East, as well as facilitating employment for engineers and workers at the manufacturing frontline through its investments.
“It could significantly reduce unemployment, reclaim the lost generation of young people and stimulate the economy on a long-term scale. The GIB has the opportunity to be a force behind the North East’s regeneration.”
The GIB, proposed by the Labour government in its 2010 budget and confirmed in the Queen’s speech, aims to fund low-carbon transport and energy schemes and has secured widespread support.
Click the link below to see the EGi article and a copy of John’s letter.
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point, Philosophies Tagged Green Investment Bank, Justine Greening, North East, Regeneration, Tees Valley +September 27th, 2010 - Marchday’s ‘Now that’s what I call customer service!’ awards nomination No.4.
The Morritt - Now where did I leave my trousers?
The Marchday team are always on the look out for examples of great customer service. John recently had a great experience.
We’ve recently discovered a great little hotel which just happens to be on one of our most beautiful cycling routes. The Morritt, at Greta Bridge, Co. Durham have shown that they take customer service seriously. We asked if they could introduce wi-fi, they did, we asked if they could make a secure cycle store for our bikes and they did.I asked if they’d launder my shirt and leave it in my room for my next visit. They’ve managed to get this right for each visit despite my irregular appearances.
On top of this they run a great restaurant. On one occasion I arrived by bike and realised I’d left all my clothes back at the office. By the time dinner arrived I’d been furnished with a pair of the manager’s trousers which I just about managed to squeeze into!
We’ve all heard of giving somebody the shirt off your back…. but your trousers! Now that’s what we call customer service!
September 21st, 2010 - Back in Style – Good, Honest, Value for Money.At Lingfield Point, Darlington we’ve talked a lot about the great customer service we provide, the creation of the new sustainable community and the amazing buildings and surroundings we’ve created. What we sometimes forget to mention is that we also offer remarkable value for money!
Everybody is tightening their belts. We’ve been lucky enough to welcome several public sector organisations to Lingfield Point over the last few years. We know these companies are looking at how every penny is spent. We offer exceptional service but realise that the decision making process will start with the question ‘how much?’
With this in mind we’re setting out our stall to become the location of choice for Public Sector organisations in the North East, not just because of the service we offer, synergy with other organisations on site and the low energy buildings we provide but because we offer the best deal in town!
Posted in General, John Orchard, Lingfield Point Tagged comprehensive spending review, Customer service, public sector, Value for money +September 21st, 2010 - Marchday call for the Green Investment Bank to come to North East.Marchday are leading the call for the Government’s proposed Green Investment Bank to be based in the North East. John recently appeared on Sky News leading the call for the new Green Investment bank to be brought to the region and provide critical funding to those successful sustainable technology companies already based in the area.
John joined George Rafferty of NOF Energy and Tom Brennan of the GMB Union to call for the Government to see the North East as the location of choice for sustainable technology companies.
The traditional skills necessary for heavy industry, once so common in the region are transferable to the manufacturing of green technologies such as wind and wave turbines. The North East is already home to a cluster of world leading sustainable technology companies. We think the Government should show its confidence in the region and bring the ‘green’ money men to sit alongside the innovators. That way all the components would be in place to allow the North East to reinvent itself.
You can watch the piece by clicking the the link below.
September 7th, 2010 - Lingfield Point’s new website – Coming soon!We’ve spent the last few months working on Lingfield Point’s new website and we are delighted with the results. Just like Marchday’s own website it is an interactive blog based affair which uses technology to draw in ‘threads’ from other social media sites on relevant topics such as sustainability, customer service, regeneration and art. We worked with Middlesbrough based website maestros Cool Blue and enjoyed every minute. We’d heartily recommend them. We think the new website gives a much better flavour of the Lingfield Point experience. Most of all we hope you find it informative and fun.
We will formally launch the site in the next couple of weeks but in the meantime you can get a sneak preview by clicking on www.lingfieldpoint.co.uk
September 1st, 2010 - Student Loans MD talks about Lingfield Point, Darlington and Marchday.John recently met with Derek Ross, Managing Director of Student Loans Company to ask why SLC chose Lingfield Point as the home for its HQ in England, what his experience of the region has been and how the reality compares to his expectations.
August 14th, 2010 - No.1 of Marchday’s Magnificent 7.We’ve had a lot of fun making 7 short films about how we try to deliver a better service to our customers at Lingfield Point in Darlington. We’ve called them the Magnificent Seven. Here’s the first one. We hope you enjoy it!
August 2nd, 2010 - Grow Your Own!
The Grow Zone
The community allotments at Lingfield Point, Darlington are really starting to look good. As there’s a shortage of good allotments in the town we’ve worked in partnership with Friends of the Earth to find budding gardeners who want to grow their own and provided the land for them to do it.
Everybody is interested in where their food is produced and growing your own fruit and veg is the ultimate feel good experience. We’re creating a sustainable mixed community at Lingfield Point and permanent allotments will be just one of the life enhancing features on offer. One allotment keeper recently summed it up nicely;
‘Keeping allotments used to be the preserve of old men but over the last few years it’s become incredibly popular with young women. It’s becoming quite trendy with ageing sheds being replaced with pretty painted beach huts. I love being able to go to the allotment and collect vegetables for dinner straight off the plant; there’s nothing better.’
The allotments are available to all so now there’s no excuse for serving up second rate veg!
July 14th, 2010 - Come Fly with Me!
Once I get you up there.......
Whilst on holiday recently I had the chance to do a tandem paraglide from the highest paraglide venue in Europe. It was an amazing experience throwing yourself off the top off 6550ft Mount Babadag and being able to see directly to the coastline and sea below.
So when do I pull the cord?
We took off in the clouds and had a bit of a bumpy ride as we soared along just below them. I must admit to finding it terrifying/exhilarating and beautiful in equal parts. Of course Graham is our resident pilot and this gave me a glimpse into the attraction of flight with no engines – as they said in the sales blurb, ‘Come and find out why the birds sing!’
July 6th, 2010 - The Marchday Pancake – ‘Now that’s what I call customer service!’ Nomination No.3.
Turkish Delight
John recently went on holiday and came across an unusual demonstration of customer service which really impressed him;
The whole family recently travelled to a lovely resort, Lykia World in the south west corner of Turkey. Beth and Noah both loved the beach and swimming pools and Maggie and I loved the great food and childcare!
Every afternoon two local women would sit under a canopy and bake Turkish pancakes on top of a traditional charcoal oven. The resort didn’t promote this, it was something you eventually discovered as part of the experience. It was a delight to watch them working, one preparing the dough and rolling it to a unbelievable size and thiness before passing it (rolled on a long baton) to the other who carefully unfurled in on top of the hot oven. As soon as they started cooking a small queue of enlightened guests began to form watching this elegant performance.
Noah waits ...... and waits!
Eventually the pancakes (heavenly, melt in your mouth crispiness) were ready to serve and inevitably each guest would ask ‘How much?’ - to be told that they were free, a gift. It was somehow the combination of the authenticity and the performance that made this gift seems so valuable and unexpected and the customer service message so powerful. It left me thinking, ‘What can we do which is the property equivalent? What is the Marchday Pancake?’
What indeed? We’re thinking about it – Watch this space.
July 1st, 2010 - A Taste of Honey.
Lingfield Point Honey - Liquid Gold.
After much talk our bees at Lingfield Point Darlington have done what they do best and despite a bitter winter have produced their first crop of honey. Having tasted it we can honestly say it’s some of the best honey we’ve ever tried. Our bees forage over a wide area and the silky, soft set consistency suggests that they are feeding on a wide range of wild flowers, including our own wild flower meadows.
We’re really enjoying our first experience of beekeeping and thanks to Willie, Chris, Colin and Graham hope our bees will produce around 40-50lbs of honey from the two hives this summer. It’s also thanks to Christian Barnes, one of the artists behind the ‘Futurescope’ art project as his thinking has been inspirational to us.
It’s really exciting to hold our first jar of honey after so much anticipation – let’s hope it’s the first of many.
Our first honey harvest.
June 3rd, 2010 - Now available – Lingfield Lamb!
The latest iconic Futurescope image by artists John Kennedy and Christian Barnes was revealed this week at Lingfield Point, Darlington. ‘Lingfield Lamb’ is a lovely reference to Lingfield Point’s heritage as a wool factory whilst looking to the future plans for organic food production on site as part of our sustainable mixed community. You can read all about the thinking behind the image by clicking on Christian’s blog site, http://futurescopedarlington.blogspot.com/
We’re all interested in where our food comes from and how it’s produced. At Lingfield Point we already have allotments and an organic garden producing fruit and veg for local residents. Last year we installed beehives and hope to sell our own honey to customers in our café this summer. Who knows, some time in the future Lingfield Point might be home to a flock of its very own but for now we’ll have to make do with this little fella!
May 21st, 2010 - Marchday’s Spring Lambs.
Just another day in the office...
Last Saturday, artists Christian Barnes and John Kennedy spent many happy hours chasing lambs around one of our customer’s office spaces – and photographing the results! The fruit of the labours is the fantastic image which will appear on Futurescope from the end of May.
Christian became excited about the link between the heritage of the site as a wool factory and the future plans for a sustainable mixed community some time ago;
Although this image started with an city/urban farming idea.. the idea that it really might be practical to ‘farm’ the soft estate at Lingfield… we both felt that the image really touches on the heritage of the site as a wool factory in a way we had not expected. It really stuck us as we noticed for the first time on the Friday that the meeting rooms in the SLC are named after wool manufacturing processes.
More photos of the shoot can be viewed by clicking on the link below;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vistaprojects/sets/72157624060537842/show/
We’ll be previewing the chosen ‘Lingfield Lamb’ Futurescope image here next week so watch this space!
May 13th, 2010 - My new bike.
OK, so now I’ve progressed from owning not one new bike but two – one for the North East where I spend two days a week and the other for home in Kent.
I’ve already blogged on my first bike, a reckless purchase of a Giant Defy3 back in January. Having made sure the cycling bug is here to stay I’ve taken the plunge and bought an Orbea Onix TTG for home. Described by the bloke in the shop as ‘an eyeful of a bike’ this carbon fibre beauty is a peach. As I write this I still haven’t ridden it as it arrived from Epic Cycles, Tetbury yesterday morning. Epic gave me fantastic advice and service, delivering on all their promises.
In the meantime Colin continues to inspire us; he even allowed me to ride with the Darlington Cycle Club on their 38 mile training ride this week. This new bike is built for hills – now to make my legs that way!
May 13th, 2010 - Marchday’s ‘Magnificent Seven!’
At Marchday we try to be creative in our approach to providing people with the business space they need. We like to come up with ideas which make us stand out from the crowd. At Lingfield Point, Darlington we’ve created the ‘Magnificent Seven’ – seven good reasons for choosing Lingfield Point as the home for your business. Here they are;
1. Great location, Access & Parking
Excellent location and access from the surrounding road network. Great for trains and buses; fantastic for bike routes. An unrivalled parking ratio is one of our knockout features.
2. Customer Service & Security
We do ‘customer service’ like no other property company. From Ed and the team to Ted. Our on site Security team are a critical part of our customer service and offer unrivalled levels of peace of mind.
3. Value, Flexibility, Business Support and sense of Community.
We are more cost competitive (and certainly better) than our competition. We offer flexible terms, tailored to suit the customer’s needs and have access to unrivalled business support networks. By basing your business at Lingfield Point you join a thriving business community with all the benefits that brings.
4. Fantastic Space of all sizes available right away.
From 250sqft to 100,000sqft we can offer fantastic space which is ready to go. None of our competitors can offer such a range of fantastic award winning spaces .
5. Hotdesking, meeting rooms and on-site facilities
Uniquely, Lingfield Point offers a great range of on site facilities. Café, Nursery and Creche, fitness classes, communal meeting rooms and breakout areas. The newly launched Hotdesking facility ‘Alaska’ gives potential customers the chance to feel the ‘Lingfied Point Experience’
6. Sustainability
This is at the heart of Lingfield Point’s future. We soon hope to have on site Combined Heat and Power and District Heating giving customers the benefit of low carbon energy. Customers will be part of one of the UK’s most visionary Sustainable Mixed Communities.
7. Design, Art & Futurescope
Design excellence and Art are all around at Lingfield Point from the award winning Memphis building to Futurescope and Tickle Me. They combine to give LP the truly unique, trendy, arty feel businesses often like to be associated with.
So that’s it, the Magnificent Seven! Come to Lingfield Point, say ‘How d’you do’ and feel the Lingfield Point Experience for yourself.
March 4th, 2010 - Marchday really are ‘The Business!’
"Let go, no, you let go..." John collects the business award on behalf of Lingfield Point and Marchday from Derek Richardson of Openreach BT. Photo; Northern Echo
Marchday were recently recognised for their contribution to business at friday’s ‘Best of Darlington’ awards as a result of their regeneration work and customer service at Lingfield Point. John was delighted to collect the award on behalf of everybody at Lingfield Point and Marchday;
“This award has come as a complete surprise to us and it’s great to feel so valued by the local business community. We’ve really worked hard to give local businesses the workspaces and services they need as these business are the life blood of our company. It’s particularly satisfying to hear that we were nominated for the award by Student Loans Company, one of our customers.”
So, thanks to everybody at Lingfield Point and Marchday for providing such an excellent service. As confidence starts to return to the market it’s more important than ever that we maintain the excellent level of service which gives us an edge over our competitors.
February 19th, 2010 - Futurescope 3 – Here comes ‘The Sun’.
'The Sun'. All is revealed.
This week the third image in the ‘Futurescope’ series was unveiled at Lingfield Point Darlington. ‘The Sun’, a photograph by Thierry Legault was chosen as part of the developing narrative by artists Christian Barnes and John Kennedy of Vista Projects. I’ll let Christian explain:
‘When we proposed Futurescope two years ago we intended to put an image of the sun into it at some stage. We hadn’t really decided what image to use this quarter until a few weeks ago. Our interest was in making a connection between plants/green space and solar energy upon which plant life (and therefore all of us, depend). We were also interested in the idea of placing an image of the sun on a building created to burn coal.’
‘The idea of including an image of the sun is part of the unfolding narrative that links to Beeman and Sunflowers, the previous images to have appeared in Futurescope. It is part of a speculative projection of a future world in which we would not be able to consume energy without dealing with consequences for ourselves that were not understood when this ‘dependency’ was established.
This is a future in which landscape (especially urban and post-industrial landscapes like that at Lingfield Point) would need to be productive without the energy of oil. This is one of a batch of photographs taken by Thierry Legault, showing the transit of the International Space Station across the sun. The first group were taken from the area of Mamers (Normandy, France) on September 17th 2006 and show the solar transit of the International Space Station (ISS) and Space Shuttle Atlantis.’
You can get a better insight into the artists’ thinking by clicking on the blog link below;
http://futurescopedarlington.blogspot.com/
Is it a bird, is it a plane? No, it's the ISS!
February 18th, 2010 - Cycling – the New Golf?
Really mine?
That’s my bike. I still can’t believe it. Let me explain.
Road biking, the very thing I’ve been so singularly disinterested in for the whole of my life has suddenly, from nowhere grabbed my imagination. It came out of the blue. Graham, a keen cyclist convinced us that it would be a good idea for Marchday to sign up to the Government’s ‘cycle to work scheme’. A few weeks later I thought ‘why not?’ when invited to join Tim and Graham for a vist to the ‘Iron Horse’ cycle shop in Darlington town centre. An hour later I walked out, my head reeling, the owner of a pedigree racing machine which confusingly I had no intention of riding. But, I reflected, it was a thing of beauty and cycling did offer access to a whole new (slightly bizarre) wardrobe and plethora of gadgets.
That was back in November. Our bikes arrived a month ago and to my amazement I’m hooked. I’m now the proud owner of a Giant Defy 3, lycra padded bib, spd shoes and pedals and the most incomprehensible bike computer known to man. I got a dayglo biking jacket for my birthday and even bought my first copy of Cycling Weekly. Believe me, I’ve got it bad…. but then I always get it bad.
My mentor and cycling guru is Colin, a member of the landscaping team at Lingfield Point but more importantly a member of the Stockton Wheelers. Colin is a sub 3 hour marathon man who left running for cycling following a string of injuries. He’s fast and looks like he could go all day. Like a schoolboy, I watch him closely and imitate his every move in the saddle. He’s my Lance Armstrong but as a traditionalist he probably wouldn’t welcome the comparison.
So, if you happen to visit Lingfield Point on a Tuesday evening you could well see the Marchday juggernaut as it ploughs it’s way around our measured mile with Colin pulling us along. I would never have thought I’d say it but for me, cycling is the new golf – and that’s got to be a good thing.
February 4th, 2010 - ‘Strictly’ too good to be true?
The 'Strictly' panel limber up!
Marchday are looking to help exciting new start up businesses in the Tees Valley. With Business and Enterprise North East they are promoting a great competition, ‘Strictly New Business’ which aims to award the best new business start up idea with free office space for a year at Lingfield Point, Darlington along with a basket full of business support – all worth around £7,500. Marchday are inviting entries now. Entry forms are available on line by contacting; christinemcallister@lingfieldpoint.co.uk
Entries will be considered over the next couple of months with 4 finalists being invited to present their ideas to a panel of 4 prominent business people in front of a live audience on 20 April. So, put on your dancing shoes, gird your loins and send us your idea – you could be our next new business customer at Lingfield Point!
February 2nd, 2010 - Marchday Spark a Darlington Debate!John recently took part in the first in a series of public debates around the future identity of Darlington. A Question Time style panel took questions from a lively audience made up of invited business leaders and members of the public. The panel was made up of Pat Richie, Regional Director of the HCA, Alastair McConachie, Chairman of the Darlington Partnership, Alastair Thompson Dean of the Teesside University Business School and John. Topics discussed included the demise of manufacturing in the region, Darlington’s relationship with the rest of the Tees Valley and what makes Darlington special.
You can watch a clip of the debate by clicking the arrow below.
January 5th, 2010 - Here’s to a Happy 2010!2009 was a pretty testing year for most companies but the tough times have made us think hard about how we can do things better. Marchday start 2010 with some really exciting opportunities in front of us, some in areas of business which are new to us. As ever, the lifeblood of Marchday is our customers and we will be working hard to keep our existing customers happy while trying to find new ones. As you’d expect we’ve lots of new stuff planned and we hope you enjoy reading about it here, as it happens. You can receive our posts direct on Twitter by clicking the Twitter logo in the righthand column.
We hope 2010 is a happy and successful year for you. Thanks for staying in touch.
December 15th, 2009 - Marchday go to the Cinema.
Beauties and their Bikes.
Last week Marchday were lucky enough to attend the premiere screening of Beauty and the Bike, a 1 hour film which chronicles the contrasting experiences of young women who cycle in Darlington, Co. Durham and the German town of Bremen.
The film’s directors, Richard Grassick and Beatrix Wupperman run a bike loan scheme in Darlington, specifically aimed at the social group least likely to take to their bikes; young women.
In most of mainland northern Europe cycling is an accepted way of getting from A to B on a daily basis. There is no social stigma attached to riding a bike as everybody, regardless of profession or age does it. There seems to be very little one upmanship with everybody riding a traditional ’sit up and beg’ style bike. These bikes are perfect for getting around. They’re slow which means you arrive relaxed rather than hot and sweaty.
In the UK we seem to have somehow lost touch with the utility of the bike. The car is now the default utility vehicle and our bike has become, like our clothes, an extension of our personal identity. When buying a bike we have to choose which sect to join; to become a racer, a mountain biker, a BMXer or a cruiser?
Ironically, the utility bikes in the film, when imported to the UK immediately become beautiful fashion statements that say ‘I’m an individual.’ The expanding scheme hopes to attract young women (you don’t have to be beautiful but the girls in the film are) back to cycling by making it a trendy, fun, liberating and obvious choice. As one of the beauties put it, ‘why wouldn’t you?’
You can watch a short clip from the film below.
December 3rd, 2009 - The Moustache – Britain’s last Taboo.
Would you leave your children with this man?
Thank God the month of November is over and I can shave again. I can honestly say that I found the whole mo’ growing experience pretty unpleasant. Looking for a positive, it was an interesting social experiment which threw up some unexpected reactions.
First, some mo’ myths exploded;
1. Women love the way they tickle - They don’t, nobody kisses you when you have a mo’ – at least not without screaming in agony.
2. They’re sexy - They’re not. There isn’t a woman on earth who likes a mo’. Not even your Mum.
3. They make you look rakish – They don’t, they just make you look old.
People treat you differently when you have a mo’ and the shape of your mo’ speaks volumes about your character. At one stage, Tim’s mo’ made him look so dishonest he had to reshaped it prior to an important viewing just to regain some credibility. My facial growth made young children uneasy and their parents reluctant to leave them unsupervised in my care.
When meeting somebody for the first time I felt compelled to explain that I was actually wearing my moustache ironically and no, I didn’t think it suited me and oh yes, I was doing it for charity.
So, it’s no mo’ mo’ for me, clean shaven at all times…..until next November?
November 27th, 2009 - Marchday on Twitter
Oh yes, Marchday have gone all Lance Armstrong and joined Twitter. You can now receive all the latests website posts and Marchday tweets by simply clicking the icon in the right hand column. Of all the team Tim is probably the most prolific twitterer at the moment but the old boys are catching on fast! So, if you’ve looked at the website recently and enjoyed the posts why not join up.
November 19th, 2009 - Mo’vember Week 2
Surely there's a law against it?
As you can see the Marchday Mo’s are taking shape nicely. John has experimented with the ‘Gangs of New York’ look, Tim has gone for the ‘Lusty Gamekeeper’ and Priyen the ‘Something for the weekend Sir?’
Thank you to all those who have supported us in this bid to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Charity, your generosity is much appreciated.
You can add your support or simply follow developments in the boys’ facial topiary by logging on to their Mo’vember pages. You’ll find John’s page at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/209489/ Tim’s at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/302650/ and Priyen’s at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/370180/
November 4th, 2009 - Marchday grow a Mo’- hair today, gone tomorrow!
Hairy but Happy - Week 1 face fuzz.
John, Tim and Priyen have signed up to join the Mo’vember movement, a national campaign to raise money for the Prostate Cancer Charity by growing a mo’ (moustache) during November. To join their group, the Darlo Mo Bros or support our hairy heros’ face fur log on to http://uk.movember.com and follow the instructions. You’ll find John’s page at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/209489/ Tim’s at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/302650/ and Priyen’s at http://uk.movember.com/mospace/370180/
There’s not a ‘mo to lose!
October 19th, 2009 - Marchday at Home
Our Home from Home!
Maybe we spend too much time at the office but we recently decided to call it Home! It’s a reference to the fact that the building was once a house and we’ve played up to this by theming the entrance hall as a 1950′s living room. We worked with an amazing signwriter Steve Robson, a real craftsman who was able to give us just what we wanted.
The sign is the latest in a series of graphic art pieces around Lingfield Point. Another of our favourites is ‘Tickle Me’ a piece by Graven Images of Glasgow. We think this sort of graphic art has a really valuable place in a commercial setting. It’s high impact and is generally great value for money.
Click on the gallery below to view larger images.
September 30th, 2009 - Darlington Experiment
I’ve recently been involved in a social media project called the Darlington Experiment. The goal is to rekindle the creative spirit of Darlington which once gave birth to the railways.
The first part of the Experiment (named after the passenger carriage pulled by Locomotion No1, Stephenson’s steam engine in 1825) seeks to inspire people to capture their experience of Darlington in a short film. This promises to be the UK’s largest social media project and you can keep up with progress by visiting www.darlingtonexperiment.org.uk
September 30th, 2009 - “Beeman” unveiled.Today the second image of the Futurescope series of 8 images by artists John Kennedy and Christian Barnes was unveiled on site at Lingfield Point, Darlington. Futurescope is a key part of our Art Strategy for the site; the initial image “Sunflowers” was well received and established the project in peoples’ minds.
Installation of Beeman
The latest image “Beeman” at first glance appears to be a straightforward image of heavy industry, making reference to Lingfield Point’s industrial heritage. On closer inspection it becomes clear the image is of a beekeeper surrounded by beekeeping paraphernalia, a reference to the beehives recently installed at Lingfield Point and our recently launched public allotments. At 14m high “Beeman” is sure to to get people talking!
Read the artists’ take on Beeman and the whole Futurescope thing by clicking on;
September 16th, 2009 - Marchday make TV ad.John and Eddie spent most of Monday this week filming a TV ad which will first air on October 5th in the Tyne Tees region. The ad, for Lingfield Point Darlington is a parody on a Pathe News bulletin and is likely to get noticed!
Commissioning a TV ad is an unusal step for a property company but we feel that this market calls for some unusual steps. We had a lot of fun making it and hopefully it will maintain the buzz surrounding Lingfield Point. With luck it will inspire potential new customers to pick up the phone. You can watch the ad on Youtube:
Hope you enjoy it.
