Bradford City of Culture 2025 – AMION appointed to lead Economic Impact and Value for Money Assessment
AMION Consulting has been appointed to undertake the official Economic Impact and Value for Money Assessment of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture. Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture runs from January 2025 to December 2025 and is a celebration of Bradford city and district, taking place across its city, towns, villages and greenspaces. It is set to have a lifelong impact, through its reshaping of the local curriculum, skills and training programmes, investment in existing and new creative spaces, and opening up opportunities for cultural participation. It is helping to make Bradford one of the most welcoming places in the UK for artists, producers and creative entrepreneurs to flourish, through international exchanges, development programmes and investment in new cultural hubs. AMION’s two-year study will include quantifying local spending, employment, volunteering, funding, image, and other impacts of Bradford 2025, all in compliance with the HM Treasury Green and Magenta Books. The commission also includes the development of social cost benefit analysis, together with the wider qualitative social impacts arising from the Bradford City of Culture. This research builds on AMION’s enviable track record in this field, which includes the evaluation of Coventry City of Culture, economic impact assessment of Liverpool’s hosting of Eurovision, and evaluation of Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone programme. The AMION-led team includes specialist inputs from longstanding partners, Simetrica-Jacobs, and Spirul. Simetrica-Jacobs will consult with stakeholders to design a contingent valuation survey using the sector-leading online survey platform, Qualtrics. Spirul will undertake a programme of in-person visitor surveys to collect the data for the impact assessment. Our team is working closely with Bradford 2025 and its evaluation and research partners, including the University of Bradford, to ensure our assessments are robust, credible and useable for accountability, learning, and legacy. As part of this, we are also collaborating with Making Impact Matter who are leading the Social Value Assessment of Bradford 2025, to ensure these innovative bottom-up insights are incorporated into our findings. Together, our findings will represent the full Economic and Social Value Impact Assessment (ESVIA) for Bradford 2025. To explore the Bradford 2025 event programme, click here: Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture For further information on AMION’s commission, please contact Matthew Budd (matthewbudd@amion.co.uk).
AMION supports a major transformation project on the Wirral
We are thrilled to have supported Wirral Council‘s successful application for £51m in Homes England and Liverpool City Region Combined Authority funding for the transformational Hind Street scheme in Birkenhead ???? Our team played a pivotal role, from supporting the development of the Strategic Outline Case (SOC) to leading the Full Business Case (FBC), ensuring every detail was aligned with best practice. Our economic modelling incorporated wider land value uplift and transport analysis in line with latest guidance from the relevant government departments. We are proud to contribute to this significant housing and regeneration project, which will drive economic growth and enhance local infrastructure. Please check out further news on this exciting scheme: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/homes-england_were-taking-our-partnership-with-liverpool-ugcPost-7249345714722340864-32J_?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop Official Announcement: Liverpool City Region and Homes England invest £51 million in Birkenhead regeneration project – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
AMION conducts Economic and Wider Impacts Report for the University of Liverpool
AMION Consulting conducted a comprehensive economic and wider impact report for the University of Liverpool. The study quantified the University’s contribution to the local, regional, and national economy by analysing factors such as student spending, research funding, and graduate employment. AMION provided valuable insights into the University’s role as a catalyst for economic growth and development. The report also explored the wider societal impacts, including contributions to innovation, knowledge transfer, and community engagement. University of Liverpool graduates at AMION were fortunate to work on the project and reflected on how studies like this can shine a light on higher education’s major economic contribution to local economies and varied impacts to community, culture and society. View the news story and report here: https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2024/09/25/university-contributes-1-2bn-to-the-liverpool-city-region/
Warrington Youth Zone – AMION is committed to Social Value
AMION are excited to be working with Warrington Youth Zone as part of our social value commitment to local communities. We are currently carrying out research to demonstrate the benefits that the Youth Zone is delivering to young people in Warrington and to the wider community. Warrington Youth Zone opened in 2022 and gives all young people from Warrington a place to call their own, with over 20 activities to try each session, staffed by skilled youth workers who believe in young people and help them see what they could achieve. The Youth Zones approach was developed by OnSide and is underpinned by a clear vision and purpose that aims to meet the needs and expectations of the different target groups in the local area, including young people and parents. The overarching aim of Youth Zones is to enable young people to enjoy their leisure time and to reach their full potential. Warrington Youth Zone is one of 14 Youth Zones across the country, with a further seven currently under development. For information, please contact Tim Sullivan at timsullivan@amion.co.uk
Finding a New Future for Belper’s Beautiful Challenging Mills
Working with huge Grade 1 and Grade 2 listed mill buildings is both a joy and a challenge, and we spend quite a lot of our time working on projects of this type. We first started working on the Belper Mills complex back in 2020, so when we were appointed again by The Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site (DVMWHS) Partnership for a second study last year, we went into it with delight, but also with our eyes open. We knew just how lovely the setting is and how significant these magnificent buildings are, not just to local people but also to the nation. But we also knew all about the complexities which underpin its recent history, its current use and the long standing planning application, lodged by the site owners, which has been under consideration by Amber Valley Borough Council since 2018. Our proposal, to develop an alternative scheme for the site therefore was to go right back to basics and examine, with fresh eyes and a realistic perspective, a mix of uses which would be appropriate for the buildings, for the town and for the World Heritage Site as a whole. For the study we brought together a team of knowledgeable friends – Mosedale Gillatt conservation architects, Aspinall Verdi commercial property consultants and Appleyard and Trew Quantity Surveyors – a team that has worked together on many ‘tricky’ but interesting heritage projects over the years. One of the things that we genuinely enjoyed about this work (alongside having the chance to work once again with a committed and highly engaged client team and wider steering group), was the opportunity that it provided us with to explore sectors and uses that we don’t normally get to consider – in particular modern industrial uses that could potentially provide the 21st Century equivalent of their original purpose. Rather sadly, having explored a number of such uses, talking to sector experts and assessing building and market requirements, none emerged as viable options for the future of the site, for a range of different reasons. But the thorough process that we went through did ensure that the short list of viable opportunities that we were eventually able to test through public consultation was one that we all had confidence in. In the end, the preferred options were probably no great surprise. You can read about them here: Belper Mills Future – Derwent Valley Mills. But there were a number of things that were, without doubt, highly valuable to the Partnership. Our study was able to indicate a mix and scale of use that has the best chance of being viable meanwhile allowing us to test the response to, and viability of, some fairly radical alternatives. It also provided a realistic conservation deficit cost (a figure which recognises the difference in cost between delivering a fully commercial scheme compared to delivering it on a heritage site). The gap, inevitably, is significant! The process also provided a valuable forum for our colleagues at Derbyshire County Council to engage with local residents and stakeholders to understand how the site can best add value to its community in the future. So what happens now? Well, change is not going to happen on the site any time soon. The planning application still needs to be determined and eventually significant levels of public funding will need to be found, alongside large amounts of commercial development funding. But our work, and everything that went into it, will play a role in ensuring that sound decisions can now be made in helping the site to move into the next phase of its long existence. We look forward to it….
AMION Consulting selected as Ebbsfleet Development Corporation’s business case advisor
After a competitive procurement exercise, AMION Consulting has been selected as the sole Business Case Advisor for Ebbsfleet Development Corporation (EDC). The appointment, which will run up to 2028, will see AMION provide the Corporation with a single source of support for Business Cases with a particular focus on the delivery of Green Book compliant economic analysis. To support the Corporation’s ambitions of delivering Ebbsfleet Garden City, AMION will provide business case advice relating to housing, regeneration, community, leisure, health and transport interventions. The commission builds upon a close and highly successful working relationship between Ebbsfleet Development Corporation and AMION, which has seen AMION operate as a trusted economics advisor since 2018. Over the past six years, AMION has already prepared Business Cases for several high-profile projects including the Northfleet Embankment East and acquisition of the Observatory – which is now the Office Headquarters of the Corporation. AMION has also supported the preparation of Spending Review submissions to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and HM Treasury as well as recently completing a programme-level benefits review for the Corporation’s projects. Across the appointment, AMION is committed to supporting ambitions in relation to three core Social Value themes of Community, Environment and Economy. This is in line with AMION’s recognition of our responsibility to contribute positively to the communities in which we work. AMION is looking forward to partnering with Ebbsfleet Development Corporation over the next four years, as we continue to cement our reputation as a market leader in the field of Green Book compliant Business Cases.
Exciting news for Sandwell
AMION is proud to have helped realize Sandwell’s first university campus – the Midland Met Learning Campus. This new campus, adjacent to the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, will train over 1,280 students annually. It is expected a substantial proportion of the students who graduate from the Campus will be recruited into the University Hospital’s own workforce. We assisted the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) in securing a £5 million investment by preparing the “Green Book” Business Case. This project is a collaboration with Sandwell Council, Sandwell College, University of Wolverhampton, and Aston University. Excited to see the positive impact on our community and the future of healthcare education! #HigherEducation #Healthcare #CommunityDevelopment #Collaboration
AMION steps into the future of clean energy
AMION colleagues recently visited Hinkley Point C, the first new nuclear power station in the UK for 30 years, which is currently under construction in Somerset. The visit was related to AMION’s ongoing consultancy engagement to assess the potential economic impact of the STEP – a UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) programme that will demonstrate the ability to generate net energy from fusion. STEP will be a world-leading fusion programme, showcasing UK science and energy policy, and bringing visibility to its host community on a global stage. AMION is working with the UKAEA and local partners to estimate the local, national and global economic impacts arising from the project, helping to inform long-term planning that will create tangible opportunities for business and communities. Please contact Peter Alford if you want to discuss: peteralford@amion.co.uk
AMION joins the Good Business Charter
AMION is delighted to announce that we have recently achieved accreditation with the Good Business Charter. This simple accreditation, open to UK businesses and organisations of all sizes, recognises responsible business behaviour across ten key components. We feel that it is important to be accountable in the way we do business, and by gaining accreditation we are demonstrating our commitment to our staff, suppliers, customers and the environment. As an organisation with under 51 employees: We commit to pay our directly employed and regularly contracted staff the real living wage as defined by the Living Wage Foundation. We commit to only use zero or minimal hours contracts when it is mutually beneficial and accepted by both us and the employee. We will actively support and encourage employee well-being treating those with legitimate sickness in a fair and respectful manner and promote access to impartial support and advice for employees with physical and mental health needs. We commit to having a way where every employee can make suggestions or raise issues with senior management. We commit to have robust measures in place to encourage diversity at key stages of recruitment, selection and retention of employees and to prevent harassment or victimisation in the workplace. We care about the environment and encourage the development of good environmental practice as an organisation, seeking to minimise our impact and commit to improve it. We commit to pay our taxes where applicable, only use tax allowances for the purpose intended, and be transparent in our relationship with HMRC. We have a clear commitment to our stakeholders and prioritise addressing and learning from stakeholder feedback, seeking to put negative issues right. We commit to ethical sourcing of anything we purchase, such as by applying standards set out in the Ethical Trading Initiative Base Code where relevant. We commit to paying our suppliers promptly, and within at least 30 days. If you would like to find out more, please visit www.goodbusinesscharter.com
AMION appointed to evaluate Forest of Dean Levelling Up Fund scheme
AMION have been appointed to carry out an evaluation of the Forest of Dean District Council’s Levelling Up Fund scheme. We will be carrying out a baseline review this year with interim and final evaluations following in the next two years. AMION are leading a team which also includes Focus Consultants and Spirul. In 2021 the Council secured £20 million of Levelling Up Fund support to improve leisure and community facilities, repurpose vacant buildings and grow the local economy across the area. The scheme focuses on three projects: a new Enterprise Learning Centre at Hartpury University, a new leisure centre and community hub at Five Acres and the regeneration of Cinderford Town Centre. AMION are also currently evaluating Canterbury’s Levelling Up Fund scheme. If you would like to enquire about AMION’s capabilities and relevant experience with regard to evaluating Levelling Up Fund or similar schemes, please contact either Brenda Graham (brendagraham@amion.co.uk) or Tim Sullivan (timsullivan@amion.co.uk).
AMION evaluating two Innovate UK Business Growth projects
AMION are currently evaluating two projects funded by Innovate UK Business Growth. The first is the Design for Growth project being delivered by Magnetic. AMION are carrying out an interim evaluation of the project, having previously carried out an evaluation of the pilot project. Design for Growth provides support to SMEs in relation to improving a broad range of design-related issues such as product design, website design and branding. The other is the Invest-Ability Pathway being delivered by Newable. As with Design for Growth, AMION also carried out the evaluation of the pilot initiative. The Invest-Ability Pathway supports businesses looking to attract investment by providing support in preparing investment pitches and in practicing their pitches to a panel of investors for constructive feedback.
AMION appointed to Centre for Process Innovation Economist Framework
AMION have been appointed to Lot 2 of the CPI’s Economist Framework. CPI is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult and brings together academia, businesses, government and investors to translate bright ideas and research into the marketplace. Lot 2 of the Framework relates to evaluations and will provide us with opportunities to build on our extensive experience of evaluating innovation projects and programmes. This experience includes evaluations for a wide range of clients such as universities (for example, Lancaster University, Imperial College London, University of East London, Warwick University, Loughborough University and Liverpool University), sector support bodies (such as NIAB and BioCity) and other organisations such as Newable and Magnetic.
