Expert Office Advice

Plans to redevelop the disused Mayfield train station in Manchester City have been announced, with funding for a feasibility study into the redevelopment already agreed by a group of government departments.

If plans get the go ahead, the redevelopment would accommodate 5,000 office workers, mainly civil staff. The project is already being described as Whitehall of the North.
The disused railway station is situated in the heart of Manchester City centre and its fate should be known by the end of autumn 2010.

If the plans are approved, work is expected to start by 2012 and be completed in two years. The site would feature 700,000 sq ft of excellent office space, ideally suitable to move over 5,000 civil service jobs out of London.

Browse available Manchester Office Space on OfficeConnection.com

It’s well documented that office workers loathe Mondays. However, a recent survey shows that Mondays are the days when workers put the most effort into their looks, and spend the longest time preparing for the long day ahead.

A survey carried out by Debenhams has found that British women on average spend 76 minutes to get ready on a Monday morning, nearly 4 times longer than on Friday (an average of 19 minutes).

One third of the time spent in the morning is taken up by doing their hair, 18 minutes go to makeup application, 16 minutes are lost trying to choose the outfit and the rest is left for actual showering/washing.

However the duration of this vigorous preparation seems to decrease as the week passes, with only 40 minutes on average spent on Tuesdays and a quick prep of 19 minutes on Fridays.

According to the survey, British workers do look better and smarter on Mondays, with men being no exception to the rule. They too let the 28 minutes they spent on Monday decline to a mere 11 minutes by Friday.

A new report from commercial real estate information company CoStar shows that the Manchester city office market saw a 131,394 square feet take-up in Q1 of 2010.

This is 2.5 times more that the take-up recorded in Q4 of 2009, however, it’s 23% down compared to the first quarter of 2009.

According to the stats report, Manchester is gradually getting back in shape. But with 4.1 million square feet still available in the city centre, the recovery is slow.

Our colleagues’ bad moods annoy us the most, a recent survey shows. Nearly 37 per cent of British office workers said their grumpy colleagues deserved to be in the top list of annoyances in the office.

Slightly less, 36 per cent of respondents, thought that the second most irritating thing is slow computers, whilst the list of the biggest office irritants also included excessive office gossip, management speak, and colleagues that tend to speak loudly on their phones.

British workers also pointed out too many health and safety intrusions, people being late or skipping meetings, office temperature being too high or too low, team members who do not leave a clean kitchen area after using it, as well as poor washroom etiquette.

The survey was carried out by Opinium Research.

The annual European Cities Monitor 2009 has named London, Paris and Frankfurt as the three best business cities in Europe. Carried out by Cushman & Wakefield since 1990, the survey invites 500 of Europe’s biggest companies to express their opinions and score each city on various criteria.

Birmingham was announced as the best performing city in Europe this year, as it made the sharpest move up the list by seven positions.

34 European cities are assessed taking into consideration the overall quality of life, telecoms, access to markets, quality of staff, cost of business accommodation and transport networks.

Rank 2009 (position in 2008)

1. (1) London
2. (2) Paris
3. (3) Frankfurt
4. (5) Barcelona
5. (4) Brussels
6. (7) Madrid
7. (9) Munich
8. (6) Amsterdam
9. (8) Berlin
10. (13) Milan
(…)
14. (21) Birmingham
16. (14) Manchester
24. (28) Leeds
29. (27) Glasgow

Download full report from EuropeanCitiesMonitor.eu (opens in a .pdf file)

A recent survey carried out by an internet service provider Lumison shows that nearly 70 per cent of office workers engage in less face-to-face communication compared with 2004.

The survey revealed that advanced technology and easy access to instant messaging, mobile phone or email widely used in the workplace are reducing the direct interaction between colleagues.

Interestingly, when it came down to giving negative news, nearly 95 per cent of respondents preferred doing it face-to-face.

Attempts to renegotiate a more favourable office lease instead of relocating are on the increase, a new survey shows.

According to a recent survey carried out by Savills, approximately half of office occupiers believe that one thing they can control in the current situation is business accommodation costs.

Just over 80 per cent of survey respondents preferred to reduce business costs by getting a better lease deal with the current landlord than relocating.

Some of the key points while renegotiating were lower rent, more flexible lease terms (40 per cent) and lowering the service charge (32 per cent). Others admitted their preferred method of cutting costs would be subleasing some of their office space.

According to Savills, the UK take up in the first half of 2009 was down by 46% compared to the first half of 2008.

The survey also revealed some interesting numbers, including the fact that 46 per cent of respondents preferred an in-town location, and 73 per cent opting for a new build property.

Ugly architectural eyesores of Manchester now have a dedicated society, aimed at saving both grand and ordinary, cherished and neglected structures in the city.

The Manchester Modernist Society has been launched in Manchester by a small group of urban enthusiasts. Formed by Maureen Ward and Jack Hale, the society inspires people to look again at the buildings which are central to Manchester’s cityscape.

The society recognises that the city by its very nature erases itself as it expands throughout history, they enjoy the untidy relics of past lives it leaves in its wake. Read the rest of this entry »

Chester Station will be receiving £1.4 million in funding which will go towards providing new passenger facilities such as a waiting room, an improved access to platforms and new office accommodation at the historic Grade II listed train station.

The investment comes from the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), which leads the regeneration and economic development of England’s Northwest.

According to Mark Hughes, Executive Director (Economic Development, NWDA) following the recent increase of direct train services between London and Chester, a better station will help businesses to capitalise on new opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »

Councils in the North East region are being urged to reject a potential new “workplace” parking tax.

The UK’s first workplace parking charge to be implemented will be in Nottingham, and it is highly likely that other councils across the country will follow suit.

Nottingham City Council was recently given the green light by the Government to impose the workplace parking levy to help fund its £150 million contribution to extensions of the Nottingham tram system.

Under the scheme, any company with more than 10 staff parking spaces will have to cover the £250 annual charge for each one. It is planned that this charge would rise to £350 per space after two years.

The new parking tax has been labelled ‘outrageous’ by businesses in the area, as it seems inconsiderate to put an additional tax burden on firms at a time when Nottingham businesses, workforce and households will be recovering from a deep recession.

Richard Elphick, IoD chairman in the North East, expressed fears that this strategy has not been thought through properly. Read the rest of this entry »