G r A t h A m A tow goig places
G r A t h A m A tow goig places Gratham regularly hits the headlies ad for all the right reasos! With its A1 liks ad high speed rail service to Lodo just over a hour the tow picked up two accolades withi as may weeks whe it was amed as oe of the top commuter tows i the coutry with good value property ad oe of the best tows to live i Britai. The district of South Kesteve was also amed oe of the best 50 places to live i the UK i the 2013 Halifax Quality of Life survey. It was oe of oly six districts outside the south to be selected ad was judged 46th across a rage of factors from residets' health, life expectacy, earigs, employmet, crime rate, weather, traffic flow ad broadbad iteret access. Origially kow for its egieerig heritage, the Gratham of today offers a vibrat local ecoomy, outstadig educatio opportuities, a woderful quality of life ad a supportive ad eterprisig culture for a diverse rage of busiesses. 2
Tow set to grow by 30% Plaed housig developmets will see the populatio of this historic tow reach 60,000 by 2026 a icrease of 30% with additioal schools, more shops ad commuity facilities built to accompay the social ad ecoomic growth. Located i the cetre of Eglad, Gratham is superbly situated for both busiesses ad residets to prosper: A hour to commute to Lodo Direct ad frequet trais to Lodo Kig s Cross A1 gateway to idustrial ad commercial cetres Easy reach of iteratioal airports Nottigham ad Leicester to the west, Peterborough to the south ad Licol to the orth FAC t Gratham is the largest tow i South Licolshire It is a tow of firsts first discovery of gravity, first female Prime Miister, first female police officer, first diesel egie 3
What will you discover? Metioed as a Royal Maor i the Domesday Book, Gratham has come a log way sice the days whe it was kow as a stoppig place for kigs ad obleme. The Agel ad Royal Hotel, origially a court of Kig Joh, still takes pride of place i the High Street but over the years the tow has expaded ad developed ad is ow home to may shops, idoor shoppig cetres ad a bustlig Saturday street market. With a populatio of over 41,000, the tow has maaged to retai its character but also move with the times. At the heart of Gratham is the parish church of St Wulfram s with its soarig 282ft spire oe of the most importat tow churches i Eglad ad the Guildhall houses a lively arts cetre ad tourist iformatio cetre. Showig great iovatio, South Kesteve District Coucil lauched the Gravity Fields Festival i 2012 to celebrate the life ad discoveries of Sir Isaac Newto who was bor locally at Woolsthorpe Maor ow a bieial arts ad sciece extravagaza puttig Gratham o both atioal ad iteratioal maps. With excellet commuicatios ad fatastic growth potetial, Gratham is defiitely a tow o the way up. Cllr Fraces Cartwright, SKDC cabiet member for Grow the Ecoomy Ecoomic Developmet. 4
FAC t Gratham is home to the first gigerbread ad the first UK tractor 5
Well Coected Gratham is at the cetre of the UK With its A1 liks, high speed rail service to Lodo ad close proximity to four large cities (Nottigham, Leicester, Peterborough ad Licol), Gratham makes for a brilliat cetral hub for busiess. The East Coast Mai Lie passes through the tow makig the jourey to Kig s Cross just over a hour hady also for catchig the Eurostar from ext door St Pacras. If your busiess or leisure iterests are further afield, the iteratioal airports at East Midlads, Stasted, Birmigham ad Robi Hood Airport (Docaster/Sheffield) are easily reached ad are home to low-cost airlies as well as maistream carriers. A1/M Machester East Midlads Airport Birmigham Birmigham Airport GRANTHAM A1/M Stasted Airport LONDON 6
A tow to ejoy Gratham has a real mix of retail opportuities from specialist idepedet shops which attract may customers from across the coutry to well kow atioal chai stores ad a large edge-of-tow superstore offerig everythig uder oe roof. The River Witham flows through the cetre of the tow which is surrouded by local attractios icludig Natioal Trust property Belto House, Belvoir Castle, the seat of the Duke ad Duchess of Rutlad, Grimsthorpe Castle ad Burghley House ear Stamford, home of the famous horse trials. The tow is also home to oe of the best sports facilities i the East Midlads the Meres Leisure Cetre which regularly hosts top competitios ad attracts close to a millio visitors every year. FAC t Commuters ca reach Lodo Kig s Cross i just over a hour makig Gratham a top tow for locatio ad house prices 7
Beig i the right place at the right time Historical ladmarks ad liks datig back to medieval times, the soarig spire of St Wulfram s, reputedly the sixth tallest i the coutry, ad the Victoria clock tower of the Guildhall Arts Cetre, provide the perfect settig for moder ad ambitious plas for Gratham. The populatio is set to rise by 30% by 2026 High quality ew idustrial/commercial uits ext to major trasport liks A great place to live, work ad ivest What makes Gratham a prime locatio? The A1 road, likig Lodo to Ediburgh, passes directly to the east of the tow Direct access to the A52, oe of the regio s key roads Gratham is the largest of South Kesteve s tows with over 16,000 homes Plas are i place for a further 7,000 ew homes A expadig ad developig tow cetre Idepedet shops, high street chai stores, idoor shoppig cetres Regeeratio projects icludig the trasformatio of the Market Place Major evets from the highly successful Gravity Fields Festival to the Gratham Carival Bustlig Saturday street market ad prosperous farmers market Beautiful parks ad ope spaces 8
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Space to Grow Support to thrive Well plaed expasio Gratham is growig ad that s a fact. Back i 2007 the tow was awarded Growth status by the Govermet ad ow ambitious plas are becomig a reality. See as the gateway to the East Midlads, the tow has plas to become a eve more vibrat ad key ecoomic cetre a place where people ejoy a good quality of life. Some 200 acres have bee earmarked as employmet lad creatig ew busiess parks ad high value jobs for local residets. Aroud 7,500 more homes are plaed offerig a variety of housig to satisfy the eeds of a growig commuity. Poplar Farm, to the orth/west of Gratham, is earmarked for 3,500 homes, ad the Souther Quadrat, just off the A1 ad A52, will provide a further 3,500 properties as well as a host of commuity facilities icludig schools, shops ad a medical cetre. 10
FAC t Gratham is growig. By 2026 we expect our populatio to be 60,000 11
Wiig teams Compaies big ad small have cottoed o to the fact that strategically Gratham is a great place to do busiess. Totemic From a cold start i a garage back i 1992, Totemic is ow oe of the tow s most successful busiesses ad largest employers with 1,300 people workig from sites across the tow ad further afield. Voted the 9th best compay to work for i the UK i The Suday Times list, the compay also picked up the accolade of beig the top compay to work for i the East Midlads i the mid-sized compay category ad the top debt maagemet firm i the UK. The compay started out offerig free specialist debt advice to people i professios like ursig, the armed forces ad the police. Today a key part of the Totemic group is its debt maagemet compay, Paypla, which helps over 100,000 people to maage their debts each year. As well as five geeratios of the same family, the compay is turig the commute o its head with oe of its legal executives leavig Lodo each day to work i Gratham. 12
BGB Iovatio Oe of a sigificat umber of leadig edge techology compaies, BGB has forged a globally recogised busiess i electromechaical egieerig, marie ad telemetry. Established i Gratham i 1976, BGB is a leadig desiger ad maufacturer of electrical slip rig systems, uderwater lightig ad camera solutios ad fibre optic rotary joits - 95% of whose substatial turover is achieved through export of goods ad services. QFC wis platium award Gratham-based Quality Furiture Compay is oe of oly three suppliers to have bee awarded platium supplier status by High Street chai Argos for demostratig excellece across delivery performace, quality ad desig capability. The firm, which wo the Gratham Joural s busiess iovatio award (sposored by Gratham Growth) also supplies sofas to household ames DFS ad Laura Ashley. Predomiat Europea markets iclude Scadiavia, Spai, Italy ad Germay i which BGB is a leader i the field, plus worldwide markets such as Australia, Idia, Chia, Caada, Chile, Korea, USA ad Japa. Q U O t E Logistically Gratham is great for our Europe exports ad our success proves that a market tow locatio ca deliver i a global market place. BGB chairma David Holt seior. 13
The Woodlad Trust A futuristic head office illustrates how deep are the Gratham roots of the UK s leadig woodlad coservatio charity the Woodlad Trust. Established i 1972 to protect ative broadleaf woodlad, Trust ifluece spreads from Gratham to Scotlad, Wales ad Norther Irelad to help parters create woods, help commuities ad ladowers plat trees, help govermet create the right future for woods ad trees ad welcome ad ispire childre. The Woodlad Trust has a atioally importat message, ad Gratham is a great cetral locatio from which to deliver it. Sue Holde Woodlads Trust Chief Executive Moy Park Moy Park is oe of Europe's leadig food compaies, committed to cotiuig to deliver excellece i fresh, high quality locally farmed poultry ad complemetary coveiece food products for the whole family. Early i 2013 the compay aouced a major 20 millio ivestmet i its Gratham food processig site which will see a ew state-ofthe-art coveiece foods facility beig built creatig over 150 additioal jobs i the local area. Moy Park's CEO Nigel Dulop said: "This proposed ew developmet will trasform our Gratham site ito oe of the most efficiet state of the art operatios of its kid i the UK ad Europe. It will allow us to cotiue to successfully grow i lie with market opportuities ad develop our coveiece foods divisio. 14
Space to work Attractig busiesses to the area ad creatig ew jobs is a priority for South Kesteve District Coucil. Plaig approval has already bee grated for major distributio space to the south of the tow with excellet liks to key roads. A major relief road will be provided as part of the developmet, improvig east/west likages across the tow which will give access to a ew high quality busiess park. Committed to commercial developmet, there are also plas to deliver a rage of idustrial uits. Bright people Employers have the advatage of a welleducated ad skilled local populatio with a better tha average umber of people scorig highly i qualificatio ad skills league tables. I fact the district of South Kesteve raks i the top 20% of all districts atioally idicatig a high performig workforce. 15
We kow what it takes to grow We recogise that egagig with busiesses is a essetial part of promotig ecoomic prosperity ad a good quality of life. The Local Ecoomy Strategy 2012-2016 sets out our visio ad priorities with the aim: To work with busiesses to uderstad the challeges facig them ad together develop a eviromet to thrive ad grow. It icludes buildig relatioships with the district s largest employers ad establishig a local employmet partership. Other measures o the ageda are: Busiess etworkig; pro-active evets ad stakeholder forums Shop frot improvemet scheme Ehace lad ad property database Develop o lie ad face to face busiess start-up service Establish grow your busiess package olie ad face to face Programme of busiess egagemet opportuities; trade show, property evets Orgaise traiig evets, employmet fairs ad busiess cofereces 16
Buildig for the future our future Forecast to grow 30% by 2026, there has ever bee a better opportuity for Gratham to expad ad develop to its full potetial as a ecoomic cetre for the regio. We wat it to be a better place to visit, live ad work i. A place where busiesses ca flourish ad where there are profitable opportuities for ladlords ad developers. As a famous so of Gratham, Sir Isaac Newto, oce said: Every body will persist i its state of rest or of uiform motio... uless it is compelled to chage that state by forces impressed o it. Gratham Growth is that force. By creatig a umber of ew sites that will deliver aroud 7,500 ew house ad office, retail ad leisure opportuities, the growth programme will cotribute sigificatly to the tow, creatig thousads of ew jobs, a vibrat tow cetre, ad a brilliat cetral hub for busiess. Q U O t E Gratham offers outstadig educatio opportuities, a woderful quality of life ad a supportive ad eterprisig culture for small busiess. It makes for a great work/life balace. Liae Tapso, Director of Egagemet, Totemic 17
Quality of Life Commuity spirit is defiitely alive ad kickig i Gratham i all aspects of life. Whether it s takig up a ew sport or hobby at oe of the may clubs or orgaisatios, ejoyig a ight out at the theatre, or simply visitig a local pub or restaurat, there is somethig for everyoe. The tow has a woderful choice of places to visit as well as a selectio of spledid parks ad ope spaces for people to sped their leisure time. For ayoe iterested i diig out there is a vast array of excellet restaurats ad gastro-pubs offerig everythig from traditioal Eglish cuisie to Chiese, Idia ad Italia, ad for the family there are may high street chais that childre love. O top of that, the area boasts oe of the best leisure facilities i the East Midlads, the Meres Cetre, ad has a wealth of other attractios o offer from champioship stadard 18 hole golf courses to smaller rural courses, a ew teis cetre with idoor ad outdoor courts, impressive castles ad stately homes, ad urivalled coutryside for walkig, ridig ad cyclig. There s also the opportuity to ejoy a wide rage of festivals ad evets coverig everythig from theatre through to music ad art. The tow s history is documeted at Gratham Museum while the grad Guildhall off St Peter s Hill houses a lively arts cetre which is cetre stage for a variety of top shows ad acts. 18
A diamod for educatio The quality of educatio i a tow is a top priority whe lookig for a place to live. I Gratham, families are spoilt for choice. Grammar school selectio is still very much alive i Licolshire. Kesteve ad Gratham Girls School was the first i Licolshire to be desigated a sciece specialist school ad the just a few years later received its secod specialism i laguages. Headteacher Graham Burks described the tow as a diamod i terms of educatio, producig massively bright studets. I recet years the school, where Baroess Margaret Thatcher was head girl, has gaied a reputatio for cosistetly performig at the highest level ad was judged outstadig by Ofsted ispectors. The Kig s School, where Sir Isaac Newto was educated, is rooted i a rich history ad seeks success at the highest level i the classroom, o the sports field, through etrepreeurial opportuity ad through artistic ad dramatic activities. At Walto Girls High School ad Sixth Form, performig arts is defiitely a specialism as well as moder foreig laguages ad vocatioal educatio. From sport to music; the arts to foresic sciece; from the Duke of Ediburgh Award to trips to Zambia, there is somethig for everyoe. The list goes o, but oe thig is certai, Gratham is right to pride itself o the high stadard of its schools, both secodary ad primary. 19
A great place to buy a home Gratham is part of a emergig golde triagle for property, accordig to the Suday Times. I the latest of a series of accolades heaped o the late Baroess Thatcher s birthplace, the Gratham triagle is oe of five across the UK picked for their top schools, buoyat local ecoomies, beautiful houses ad good trasport. The Suday Times traces the triagle betwee Gratham, Licol ad Newark as a emergig hotspot where property trasactios are buckig the atioal tred of stalled house prices. Sought after villages are the key attractio, says Rupert Fisher, residetial director at Savills i Licol. Value for moey is the biggest driver for people from outside buyig here, he says. They are also draw by excellet schoolig, particularly the grammar schools, ad may purchasers will cotiue to work i Lodo usig the fast trais from Newark ad Gratham. Most of the property sales i Gratham over 2012/13 were detached properties sellig o average for 182,807, sigificatly less tha the atioal average ad provig how 20
affordable local housig remais i both the tow ad surroudig attractive villages. Terraced properties fetched a average of 94,887 ad semi detached properties averaged 113,165 both prime property cadidates for the local Led a Had scheme ru by SKDC i partership with Lloyds TSB to help first time buyers strugglig to fid a deposit. I 2013 the coucil committed a further 1 millio to the scheme i lie with its visio to provide good housig for all, meaig that SKDC guaratees up to 20% of the deposit required by mortgage leders, with the buyer providig just 5%. A HOME OF YOUR OWN IN SOUTH KESTEVEN WITH A DEPOSIT OF JUST 5% Lloyds TSB ad South Kesteve District Coucil have joied forces to form Local Led a Had which makes dreams come true Source: Rightmove house prices July 2013. First time buyers oly. Terms ad coditios apply More details from your local brach of Lloyds TSB FAC t I 2012 the Local Led A Had scheme pledged over 500,000 towards home deposits, helpig 18 first time buyers oto the housig ladder 21
Why locate i Gratham? Compaies big ad small have cottoed o to the fact that strategically Gratham is a great place to do busiess. Space to grow be part of Gratham as it grows ito the gateway to the East Midlads. Positio your busiess to serve a expadig market Support to Thrive busiess support ad etworks; sector ad place based Get Coected fatastic trasport liks to major cities ad just over a hour commute to Lodo Feel Alive lose yourself i creative pursuits or escape to our beautiful coutryside 22
We re well coected locally too Crow copyright ad database rights 2013 Ordace Survey 10018662 FAC t I March 2013 the Suday Times amed Gratham as oe of the best commuter tows i the coutry ad oe of the best tows because of its fatastic accessibility, great homes ad superb quality of life. 23
South Kesteve District Coucil Coucil Offices St. Peter s Hill Gratham Licolshire NG31 6PZ t: 01476 40 60 80 e: ecodev@southkesteve.gov.uk w: www.southkesteve.gov.uk