Tag: lanchester

Chance To #HaveYourSay Over Future Of Sedgefield And Lanchester

By on 28th January 2016in Have Your Say

People at Lanchester and Sedgefield are being invited to help shape the future of where they live, work and shop…

 

Durham County Council has launched a consultation on new character appraisals which have been produced for the communities’ historic conservation areas.

An appraisal helps raise awareness of the special character and interest of an historic area. The documents recommend ways to improve a conservation area and to manage change, and also provide an interesting history and snapshot of the area.

The Lanchester appraisal includes proposed extensions to the designated boundary, changes to rules on external alterations to some properties, and management proposals. The Sedgefield document includes minor changes to the boundary, no alternations to the rules on external alterations, and management proposals.

Both appraisals are at the draft stage, and people who live, own businesses and shop in the two communities are now being encouraged to have their say.

Drop in information sessions are being held at Lynwood House, Lanchester, on Wednesday 3rd February 2016 from 2.30pm to 6.30pm, and Ceddesfeld Hall, Sedgefield, on Tuesday 16th February 2016 from 2.30pm to 6.30pm.

Staff from the design and conservation team, who are leading on the publication of the appraisals, will be in attendance.

Cllr Neil Foster, the council’s cabinet member for economic regeneration, said: “The purpose of character appraisals is to make sure that the unique characteristics and historic features of our conservation areas are preserved, whilst ensuring that they meet the needs of modern communities.

“I hope local residents and businesses will help us build a detailed picture of what is special about the area in which they live and work, by taking part in the consultation events.”

To find out more about the appraisals and to #HaveYourSay, visit www.durham.gov.uk/consultation, email design.conservation@durham.gov.uk or phone 03000 267146.

The consultation period for both documents ends on Friday 27th February.

County Durham Wine Business Records £77m Turnover

By on 1st January 2016in Local Biz

2015 has been a very good year for one County Durham company…

One of the UK’s leading wine bottlers and distributors, the Lanchester group of companies, has recorded an annual turnover of £77m, an increase of 20% from 2014’s £64m turnover, with a net profit of just over £5m, placing the business on track to reach its target of near £100m turnover in 2016.

Five businesses make up the Lanchester group of companies, spanning different areas of expertise within the UK wine sector and its supporting industries – Lanchester Wines, Greencroft Bottling Limited, Lanchester Gifts, Lanchester Energy and Lanchester Properties. Lanchester Wines incorporates Lanchester Wine Cellars, the group’s wine importers, shippers and bonded warehouse keepers division, and Lanchester Wine Sales, the group’s wholesale of wine, beer, spirits and other alcoholic drinks to major customers.

The latest accounts for the year, ended June 30th, show Greencroft Bottling alone grow turnover by 25% to over £40m, while over the last three years, £8m has been re-invested back into the company’s renewable energy initiatives through Lanchester Energy.

Each business within the Lanchester portfolio compliments the other businesses to provide a vineyard-to-table wine service. Lanchester Energy, nominated as the flagship company for the Government’s Energy Saving Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), provides renewable energy to power Lanchester’s properties, while Lanchester Gifts provides an additional route to market for Lanchester’s wine products.

Tony Cleary, managing director of the Lanchester group of companies, said: “We understand business doesn’t stand still, and so we’ve invested heavily in leading edge technology over the last twelve months to ensure we are the most modern business of our kind in Europe, while maintaining our exceptional high quality of service.

“Two new bottling lines at our County Durham site mean we now have eight production lines, consisting of five large and one medium bottle lines, enabling us to fill a range of size bottles including  PET, and both TetraPak and bag-in-box lines. These lines, along with new state-of-the-art packing and labelling machines, mean we can produce upwards of 90,000 bottles of wine and spirits per hour, while maintaining our 100% quality finished product record.

“We’ve also invested in additional bonded warehouse space, which will give Lanchester a total of 920,000 sq. ft. of Class A bonded space and bonded storage, while we have plans to build a new 250,000 sq. ft. bottling facility.”

Lanchester Wine Cellars was established in 1980, and since then the Lanchester group of companies has expanded. It has invested £8m into sustainable initiatives, the most significant being three 50 metre tall wind turbines at Lanchester’s County Durham headquarters which, combined, generate close to 6 million kW hours of renewable energy per year for the business. This is more energy than the business consumes which, combined with further investment in solar panels and electric fleet vehicles, makes it Carbon Minus and the greenest liquor company in the world.

Tony added: “Lanchester is a legacy business, deeply embedded with sustainable activities and investment therein. We invest heavily in our business, growing it to the next stage and investing in smart, passionate people who love what they do.”

The company, which employs 385 people in North East England, has a record low of permanent staff turnover, and a high number of long standing employees thanks to its profit sharing incentives. Tony added: “The success of each of the Lanchester businesses is down to the individuals within it who strive for perfection each day. We have an outstanding team and I look forward to celebrating our success with them all.”

For more information on the Lanchester group of companies, visit www.LanchesterGroup.com.

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