Social: Biking it to Birmingham

Biking it in Birmingham Birmingham Business Park’s 150 acres provided the perfect setting for Birmingham Midland Cycling’s road race event, which attracted 120 riders. The competition capped off the park’s second annual Sustainability Week. Liz Allister, manager of the park, which won the bronze medal in this year’s Travel for West Midlands’ awards for top locations for walking, organised the event along with Luke Selibas. Allister said: “The days are gone when business parks were just about space for people and cars. “Any successful destination now needs to engage with the local community and offer an array of activities, both to help attract new occupiers and persuade existing ones to extend their leases.” Blueprint for success Martyn Evans, chief executive of Uncommon, and Jane Duncan, president of the Royal Institute of British Architects, have launched the Young Architects and Developers Alliance, a networking organisation created for under-35s in the sector. The organisation will offer training, conferences and professional development. Each event will be held at a development site. The first event will take place at U+I’s 8 Albert Embankment, SE1, on the evening of 24 November. To sign up, go to www.yadalaunchparty.eventbrite.co.uk The proud of Pompey Overbury’s Phil White has raised nearly £5,000 for Portsmouth Down’s Syndrome Association. White, whose granddaughter was born with the condition, has been active in support of the charity over the past 12 months, walking 62 miles from Eastbourne to Arundel as part of the South Coast Challenge, abseiling down the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, and running the Surrey Half Marathon and, for the second time, the 10-mile Great South Run. His colleagues at Bristol City Hall raised another £2,500 by hosting fundraising events that included a bacon roll morning and a raffle. The association supports Down’s Syndrome children and their families. To donate, to go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/PhilWhite21 Crossing the Pennines Cyril Leonard’s Andrew Hogge, and Global Securities’ Nigel Pascoe have completed an epic cycle trek in aid of the Matt Hampson Foundation. The team of riders completed a 180-mile ride over the Pennines from Morecombe to Bridlington, climbing 7,000 ft and raising more than £32,000. The riders raised funds for Rob Camm, a 22-year-old student left tetraplegic after a sporting accident. He is being supported by the Matt Hampson Foundation, which will set up an educational trust for him to complete his legal studies at Bristol University and qualify as a solicitor. To help Camm, go to http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/andrewhogge SE1’s illusionists Architecture students Muneeb Ali Khan and Daniel Tang from London South Bank University have won a competition to design a hoarding for one of London’s landmark developments. The initiative, backed by Canary Wharf Group and Qatari Diar, joint developers of the mixed-used scheme to be built on the site of the Shell Centre, SE1, will create a hoarding to transform the 13-metre stretch of Sutton Walk that borders the site. The pair’s design uses mirrors to generate an optical illusion that reflects life on London MEPC hits a milestone Developer and asset manager MEPC has celebrated its 70th year in business. The company, founded in 1946 by Claude Moss Leigh as the Metropolitan Estates & Property Corporation, manages a portfolio of business parks on behalf of Hermes Investment Management. Some 140 guests celebrated the landmark event at the Waldorf Hotel in Covent Garden, WC2. Voices raised on high in Newham Local housing associations East Thames, L&Q and Genesis have backed a new community choir in Newham. Local residents were invited to attend free taster sessions hosted by recording artist Byron Gold and members of the Stratford East Singers at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, where members of the choir were selected. The new choir will perform as part of the Stratford East Singers’ annual concert at the Theatre Royal Stratford East on 15 January 2017. Building foundations for on-site careers Hudson Contract has awarded its 2016 national scholarship to construction companies H&L Construction and Matthews & Leigh, providing the firms with funding for a 12-month apprenticeship. Taking their first steps on the construction career ladder with H&L Construction is Joe Lafbery, while Jordan Goulding will join Matthews & Leigh. Ian Anfield, managing director at Hudson Contract, said: “We hope that by providing these scholarships we shall see Joe and Jordan realise their potential and enjoy long and successful careers in the building trade.” Time to scout out dream hut design The Shanly Foundation is supporting Building Futures, a national competition in which UK Scouts design their own dream meeting place. Partnering with the Scout Association, Shanly will challenge Scouts to design their dream scout hut and win up to £100,000. The competition is open to all members of the Scout Association aged between six and 18 years. Deadline for entries is 16 December. For more information, go to www.shanlyfoundation.com Christmas concert set Performances by Westminster Cathedral Choir, London Brass Band, and readings from stars including David Dimbleby, Alex Jones, Sol Campbell and Fiona Barratt-Campbell will feature at Land Securities’ Christmas Charity Carol Concert at Westminster Cathedral on 7 December. Also on the night, the winner of a writing competition involving pupils at Westminster primary schools will read his or her self-penned story. All receipts will go to the Cardinal Hume Centre. To attend go to www.createvictoria.com/christmas-carol-concert