Categories: Darlington,General,knitting,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,thrift,wayne hemingway

We’re loving the feel good factor thanks to Festival of Thrift »

Always keen to provide some feel good factor to our customers and visitors alike, we’re starting to get excited at the prospect of the Festival of Thrift taking place in our community.

 

The excitement builds around Festival of Thrift

Providing inspiration through showcasing much-loved skills in making and upcycling clothes and furniture, knitting, weaving as well as growing your own fruit and veg, we’re looking forward to teaming up with design hero Wayne Hemingway to bring you ‘Festival of Thrift’.

After a preview to establish interest, we’ve been delighted with the excitement and support its received.  It’s not really surprising, thrifty thinking is all the rage and with us all feeling the pitch, this dip into a more conscious and sustainable way of living is certainly something right up our street.

Our very own John Orchard and the inspirational Wayne Hemingway, tell us more on why this event should be the highlight of your year in 2013.

 

Loving life at Lingfield!

For more information on life at lingfield, find us on twitter @lingfieldpoint or follow us on facebook at lingfieldlife.

 

 

 

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Categories: Christmas,Darlington,General,lingfield life,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,office space in darlington; offices to let; events,Turkey

It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas! »

A HOME-MADE Christmas is on the cards this year – plus a chance to change our lives for the better in the New Year.

We’ve now put together a whole host of events full of Christmas cheer and our 2,500 employees can also relax knowing that we’ve also programmed some events for that post Christmas moment too!

Merry Christmas from Lingfield Point!

 

Lingfield Point, home to over 50 businesses and over 2,500 employees, will enjoy plenty of Christmas cheer making their own felt decorations, weaving bags and even knitting a warm winter scarf to keep the cold out this Christmas. 

 

On 11 December, we’ll be carol singing in Lingfield House as we can browse around our craft specialists and artist in residence – Becky Sunter – learning new skills with gifts galore.   A specialist vintage ‘sweet shope’ will visit the neighbourhood on the December 4 and 12.

Turkey with all the trimmings will be served up at the on-site bistro ‘canteen by Alexander MacMurray’ and as Christmas parties get close, staff will be getting spruced up when the My Little Beauty mobile beauty salon visits.

And in the New Year, Lingfield spread the love and support – trying to help you through your new year resolutions.   Look out for a post-Christmas health check and try out Reiki healing techniques to free up your  energy levels and visits from Teesside University throughout those first few months.

Eddie Humphries, Estate manager, said: “Lingfield Point is all about giving people an enjoyable whole-life experience where leisure, culture and fitness blend seamlessly with work.

“There’s no reason why the dark winter months can’t be fun, and our programme of workshops offers that as well as a bit of new learning for everyone who works here – we’re hoping as many as possible come along and join in.”

For more information on the range events and happenings around Lingfield Point, feel free to log onto www.lingfieldlife.co.uk and look under events or even find us on facebook at lingfieldlife.

No matter how cold the weather get – we’ll soon warm you up with a bit of Lingfield Love!

 

 

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Categories: Darlington,General,lingfieldpoint,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,North East England,office space in darlington,offices to let in darlington,offices to rent in darlington,yarn bombing

Award-Winning Art at Lingfield Point! »

One of our big passions is art and here at Lingfield Point we have a number of thought-provoking public artworks.

There’s Futurescope, a series of 45ft circular images as well as art in surprising places: a lightbox in an underground walkway, our ‘yarnbombed’ trees and ‘signage’ and a bingo-inspired graffiti in one of the many car parks.

Our Futurescope 'Skep' looking over the North East corner at Lingfield Point

Art is just one of the things that make us the best place to go for office space in Darlington.

So it was with great pleasure that we attended The Sponsors’ Club 21st birthday dinner and awards. The Sponsors’ Club promotes partnerships between culture and commerce in the North East.

Held at the Great North Museum: Hancock, it was grandly titled ‘A night at the museum’ and it certainly lived up to expectations. We enjoyed fantastic company, delicious food and live entertainment from a rather good amateur band of Newcastle’s lawyers. The charitable auction and raffle raised an impressive figure for The Sponsors’ Club’s new fund to support culture in the North East.

One of our Yarn Bombing explosions at Lingfield Point

But really, our highlight was the awards.

Prior to the evening’s festivities The Sponsors’ Club had called for nominations for cultural champions from the business world, businesses which engaged with and made a significant contribution to the region’s arts.

As befitting the 21st birthday dinner, The Sponsors’ Club honoured 21 businesses and individuals, announcing the shortlist in the form of a cryptic poem, which left us guessing, but pretty sure that we had been selected!

We had! And we received a delightful little award that now has pride of place in our office, as well as having our photo taken with the other patrons.

Bingo-Style Graffiti at Centrepoint Square, Lingfield Point

All in all a fantastic celebration of art in the region that raised money for future cultural initiatives – and which we’re looking forward to being a part of.

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Categories: fitness,General,health,lingfield life,national bike week,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,North East England,office space in darlington,offices to let in darlington

Just loving pedal power at Lingfield Point »

We’ve been having a wheely good think about how we can encourage more people to think about how they travel.

With over 2000 people working in our office space in Darlington, we’re always mindful of alternative ways of travelling – whether that’s by bus, bike or our own two feet.

Our much-loved free bicycles were out in force over this past week helping to celebrate National Bike Week in conjunction with Local Motion.  We’ve been hosting events helping people learn how cycling can fit into their lives and fixing any bikes that needed a wee bit of TLC thanks to our very special friendship with Dr Bike.

Dr Bike, aka Chris Flood, helps fix a donated bike. Pic Stuart Boulton, Northern Echo

We’ve also launched a great bike amnesty with First Stop Darlington – our very giving community are donating any old bikes to this worthwhile charity providing a resource to other families in and around Darlington.

Eddie, our estate manager, was overwhelmed by the support for National Bike Week.  “The unique bike amnesty with First Stop Darlington has certainly proved successful – some absolute crackers have been donated ranging children’s’ bikes through to an antique Schwinn bike – just beautiful.”

This week was very much in keeping with our ethos of sustainability and our aim was to raise awareness of how cycling to work can help people feel fitter, better about themselves and help the environment.  We think this week did just that!

We’re always found pedalling around our 107-acre business park – there is nothing quite like fresh air and the joy of moving freely.

Go on, give it a go, you might even agree with the quote ‘Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling’ by James E. Starrs – we certainly do!

To join the bike amensty – soon to be Darlington-wide – contact First Stop Darlington on 01325 371793.

 

 

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Categories: fitness,General,health,lingfield life,national bike week,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,North East England,office space in darlington,offices to let in darlington

Just loving pedal power at Lingfield Point »

We’ve been having a wheely good think about how we can encourage more people to think about how they travel.

With over 2000 people working in our office space in Darlington, we’re always mindful of alternative ways of travelling – whether that’s by bus, bike or our own two feet.

Our much-loved free bicycles were out in force over this past week helping to celebrate National Bike Week in conjunction with Local Motion.  We’ve been hosting events helping people learn how cycling can fit into their lives and fixing any bikes that needed a wee bit of TLC thanks to our very special friendship with Dr Bike.

Dr Bike, aka Chris Flood, helps fix a donated bike. Pic Stuart Boulton, Northern Echo

We’ve also launched a great bike amnesty with First Stop Darlington – our very giving community are donating any old bikes to this worthwhile charity providing a resource to other families in and around Darlington.

Eddie, our estate manager, was overwhelmed by the support for National Bike Week.  “The unique bike amnesty with First Stop Darlington has certainly proved successful – some absolute crackers have been donated ranging children’s’ bikes through to an antique Schwinn bike – just beautiful.”

This week was very much in keeping with our ethos of sustainability and our aim was to raise awareness of how cycling to work can help people feel fitter, better about themselves and help the environment.  We think this week did just that!

We’re always found pedalling around our 107-acre business park – there is nothing quite like fresh air and the joy of moving freely.

Go on, give it a go, you might even agree with the quote ‘Melancholy is incompatible with bicycling’ by James E. Starrs – we certainly do!

To join the bike amensty – soon to be Darlington-wide – contact First Stop Darlington on 01325 371793.

 

 

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Categories: Darlington,General,lingfield life,lingfieldpoint,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,North East England,office space in darlington,offices to rent in darlington

Capturing Culture, Character & Charisma! »

Starting the day with a great editorial piece in The Northern Echo about the up and coming Low Carbon Excellence event, I’ve been wandering around looking at the creative and unique space that makes Lingfield Point.  Office space in Darlington this unusual is rare but I wanted to dig deeper and meet the people that really live ‘Life at Lingfield’.  

Becoming involved in our latest photo shoot seemed a good starting point and watching Saša Savić capture the unique character and people enjoying Lingfield Life was a great way of observing our friendly neighbourhood – giving me a deeper insight into the charismatic life here at Lingfield Point.

Throughout the photo shoot, my eyes were fully opened to the extent of Lingfield Point’s cultural aspects as I observed Saša capture a range of bustling, artistic images. The vast sense of community within the Lingfield Point neighbourhood was overwhelming.

As we continued to stroll around the Lingfield neighbourhood I gained further knowledge of the many facets of this business park. Watching Friends of The Earth (Darlington) busy weeding and planting up at the allotments and employees enjoying lunch in the sunshine or playing a quick game of quoits added to this great environment.

Not only did the photo shoot improve my first week’s flavour of Lingfield Point, I’ve picked up some great tips on what makes a great shot.  Positioning, angling and management of subjects – all done with a cheeky smile can provide cracking results.

A great way to relax over a lunch time

The photo shoot really accentuated the sense of character and community at Lingfield Point as Saša captured numerous employees playing old-school, outside activities including croquet, noughts and crosses and skittles – whilst dining al-fresco!  Does life get any better than this?

My busy day concluded with my fellow Marchday newbie Sarah Raine and I having our portrait photos snapped to complete my twitter profile (@LingfieldIntern) and to officially plant our faces into the Lingfield family.

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Categories: Darlington,General,lingfield life,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,office space in darlington,office space in darlington; offices to let;

Loving Life at Lingfield! »

Hello! I am Rosie Whelpton,

the new intern here at Lingfield point.

Thrilled to have been offered an opportunity to be part of the Lingfield Point family, I was looking forward to begin interning and experience Lingfield life.  So many businesses have chosen to base their offices in Darlington – I want to find out why!

The first week of my internship kicked off with a whistle-stop tour of the Lingfield site. Marchday director John Orchard not only introduced me to all of Lingfield Point’s fantastic up-cycled offices, but also the extensive history that the story of Lingfield Point provides. Within Lingfield’s ‘offices with soul’ I discovered Student Finance England’s sensational, award-winning offices situated in ‘Memphis’ and the grandeur and luxury of Lingfield House beholding ‘Yarn’ and ‘Meadow’; a perfect combination of innovation and vintage splendour!

My first knitting lesson!

I have enjoyed lunching at Alexander MacMurray’s ‘Canteen’ where I stumbled across my first knitting experience at ‘Stitching Knitwits’, learning how to knit and pearl – not long til my olive-green ‘egg hat’ topped with a pompom is complete!

I have also become live, launching a twitter account from my perspective as a Lingfield Point intern. Catch up with my shenanigans and follow me at @LingfieldIntern.

My online activity continued as I uploaded images to Flickr of Lingfield Point’s most recent projects and events including our Futurescope ‘skep’, yarn bombing explosion and ‘happy fit camp’! Check them out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/lingfieldpoint.

I have got involved in Lingfield Point’s advertisement and organisation, creating posters and Magpie messages to advertise up and coming events including the ‘Celebration of Cycling’ and a special 2 for 1 offer on John Chapman’s ‘Dry Rot’ showing at Darlington Civic Theatre.

I have also thrown myself into the organisation of the ‘engineering excellence’ event being hosted here on the 13th July. This Low Carbon event is in conjunction with ‘Foundations for Jobs’, an initiative seconded to Northern Echo’s Business Editor Owen McAteer. The low carbon technologies promoted by this event are greatly embraced by Lingfield Point and I am excited to be a part of it.

So, all in all, it has been a busy but brilliant first week of internship and I can’t wait to continue enjoying Lingfield life!

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Categories: Darlington,General,horticulture;,lingfield life,lingfieldpoint,news; sustainability; art; value for money;,North East England,office space in darlington,office space in darlington; offices to let;,offices to rent in darlington,outsourcing,patons and baldwins

Making a difference with dynamic ways of working »

Thanks to our creative office space in Darlington, our business community often feel inspired to find more dynamic ways of working. Only a few days ago, we held a great neighbourhood catch up with colleagues where ideas simply buzzed around!

Spring is making its presence felt at Lingfield

It’s not only our unique office space that can provide inspiration, we’re based within 107-acres of land brimming with art and  leisure. Mature gardens exist with picnic areas allowing our 2000+ employees  to feel closer to nature.

Always looking for how we can improve our customer experience, we joined forces with Integritas Landscapes last year.  Celebrating our first year anniversary of this unique partnership, we can honestly say this union has provided us with bucket loads of ideas helping creating our sustainable landscape of the future.

Outsourcing support of this nature is always a dilemma but we’ve been able to integrate new ideas with the knowledge of our existing team; introduce new techniques which build on our specialist knowledge of the unique gardens and land around the business park.

We see all our relationships as partnerships.  In this instance, the value Integritas has provided from ideas – bolting onto existing knowledge – has been great fun and we know that our customers will certainly be benefiting from the excitement created here.

Congratulations Colin!

With ideas come excitement and motivation and none more so than at Lingfield Point.  Colin Hinde,  our grounds maintenance professional has achieved his NVQ level 2 in horticulture through our partnership.  As part of the NVQ course Colin also undertook a first aid course and his Pa1 and Pa6 for pesticide handling and application.   We’re really proud of both our relationship with Integritas and Colin’s achievements – something we could never have delivered without Integritas Landscapes.

The maintenance and landscaping of our 107-acre neighbourhood is in safe hands which has allowed us time to think more creatively about our customer needs.

We love creating an atmosphere where our customers can relax; work and play.  This Summer, we’ll be introducing a wide range of trails around the park; masterclasses based around horticulture and even lawn games – thanks to the blossoming unique partnership between Integritas Landscapes and Lingfield Point.

 

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Categories: General,news; sustainability; art; value for money;

Preparing our world for winter – Life at Lingfield »

Winter is upon us at Lingfield Point albeit slower than anticipated with temperatures being above average for the time of year. This has meant that normal winter tasks are delayed as gardeners attempts to stay on top of the grass cutting as well as struggling against a barrage of falling leaves.

We're hard at work around our leavy neighbourhood - Lingfield Point

What is required in horticultural terms is a couple of good frosts – not just the wind – to bring down the rest of the leaves and to shock the lawns into their dormant state. Grass will not grow once the temperature drops below 3 degrees.

So what do the green fingered get up to over the winter months?

There is a misconception that gardeners collect food and bedding and hibernate like large squirrels through the winter season. This is not true, particularly of our very own Colin at Lingfield Point.

Of course when there is snow on the ground or our Park is a frozen vista, there are limits to what the discerning gardener can do outside. However we still need to make sure all equipment and tools are fit for the following season.  We have a regime of servicing and maintenance to follow as a gardener without a working lawn mower in the summer is about as useful as a chocolate kettle.

In addition outdoor tasks – when conditions allow – include continued leaf collection, edging of lawns, hard pruning of many shrubs that may not have received a good prune for  years, collecting materials for composting, general tidying of shrub beds and other areas and not forgetting the crucial bark mulching of shrub beds.

The winter also allows us time to plan and produce innovations for the following season. This could include planting projects and improvement works. With the plant world dormant, there are excellent opportunities for replacing or enhancing old areas of landscaping which will then come to life in the spring.

So remember if you see Colin in the winter, give him a wave or smile – he’s hard at work creating Spring 2012! 

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Categories: General,news; sustainability; art; value for money;

Fruits of our labour »

There’s a great deal happening at Gro zone on the east side of Lingfield Point.

Darlington Friends of the Earth and friends have been working hard this summer, improving gro zone and developing a new allotment garden for us all to enjoy. The new growing spaces are now ready and we look forward to watching a beautiful garden flourish over the next year.

Come and join us digging for victory

Kendra and Darlington Friends of the Earth has had a number of successful grant applications and have used it to create some very special raised beds and some rabbit proof perimeter fencing (Farmer McGregor would have been proud!).

Kendra writes that allotment gardening has never been so easy as it is here, she has provided spaces that people can simply start growing produce in without lots of effort.

Friends of the Earth Darlington have transformed our little piece of land, thanks to the helping hands of the National Friends of the Earth Grant Schemes and the generosity of John Wades Group, Todds and Jewsons of Darlington.  650 wildlife friendly hedging trees have been planted thanks to the Wildlife Trust’s MOREwoods Scheme helping to create a barrier against the biting wind of nature and provide more local food for our hungry bees and wildlife.

 

Raised beds are great way of learning the art of gardening - without the hard work

Thanks to the teams of apprentices from Urban Blitz of Nordic Pioneer, Friends of the Earth Darlington have now been able to create 3 types of plots but  we’re also looking at renovating the much loved on site greenhouse – providing a great spot for people to meet and see whats growing and ready to harvest at lunch time or after work. We are looking to renovate the disused cold frames which will help bring on our little seedlings during the early months of Spring.

Plans for next year including the creation of a community garden ‘A Garden’- a community vegetable garden,  and a flower garden supporting our lovely little bees in ‘Garden Bee’ !

Darlington Friends of the Earth, are  now offering plots on this new  allotment garden and hope that with the generosity of growers, the flourishing of seeds and produce, the greenhouse and A Garden will become the engine plant room for DIG (Darlington Its Growing). A local food growing initiative .

    If you want to be involved in the development of our Gro Zone or wish to access one of our new raised beds, feel free to contact Kendra Ullyart; Coordinator Darlington FoE,  07804 905 808

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