By Dave Robson
It’s one of the business park’s most distinctive buildings – but it’s easy to forget just how much goes on inside The Work Place.
The Heighington Lane complex has been a familiar fixture since 2008 when the Vocational Learning Trust opened it as a learning resource.
Since then, it has evolved into a first-class business, conference and training centre.
As you enter, with its modern and tastefully furnished interior, it’s an oasis of calm – but don’t be deceived, because a lot is going on in its offices and work spaces.
There are three key strands to The Work Place – conference and meeting spaces, training courses and office services.
And as business manager Angela Wilkinson admits, there are opportunities within those strands some might not know about.
Take First Aid Training, for example. As a registered centre with Qualsafe Awarding Body, courses have been provided since 2010, delivered by an experienced team of current and former paramedics and an experienced first-aid trainer, either in The Work Place or offsite.
Angela said: “We deliver quality training using excellent training aids and materials and we provide fab coffee and lunch, too!
“Our success and feedback rates are excellent with 10/10 of all delegates recommending our courses.
“Businesses may not realise we also do bespoke offsite courses.
“For example we have recently delivered first aid and an airways management training for Thorn Lighting staff.”
And while all of its office spaces are currently occupied – “when businesses come here, they tend to stay – we’re a real community,” says Angela – there are still plenty of facilities and services to make use of.
For meetings and conferences, flexible spaces range from 150 capacity in the lecture theatre down to small rooms for two.
“A lot of companies from the park and wider use us for meetings, training and interviews,” says Angela, citing the likes of Tekmar, 3M, Hitachi and Stiller as clients.
The on-site team offer a five-star service to ensure all events run smoothly. The warmest welcome awaits our clients, to provide carefully planned set ups, refreshments and catering.
Its café, The Work Place Kitchen, reopened last September and is run by Julie Farlow. It attracts people from across the park, as well as those in The Work Place, with its tasty menu, pleasant ambience and free Wi-Fi.
Clients from the park are welcome to use the comfy lounge area for lunches, and coffee meetings.
There’s also a communal space on the landing for tenants to use for lunch or break out work space, while outside there are 120 parking spaces, plus overflow and two electric charge points.
And as part of its green credentials, its eco features include:
• Ground source pumps that use electricity to pump heat around the building.
• Rain water harvesting – where rain water is collected and used to flush toilets.
• Use of natural light and ventilation where possible.
For firms that want an Aycliffe Business Park address but don’t need a dedicated space, there’s a “virtual office service” available.
Angela described the centre as a hive of activity, adding: “The building not only holds tenants occupying office space on both floors but also hosts a range of events for a variety of business and organisations in our conferencing facilities on the ground floor.
“Our office space accommodates 11 tenants include Baltic Recruitment, Apex Venues, BritGrocer, PFC Holdings, School-Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT), Excelpoint, Deaf Empowering Network (DEN), InfoSec Governance, Wildon Estates, PCP, Occupational Health and Training Services”.
And for a centre that, at the height of Covid, feared for its future, it’s been a remarkable resurgence.
Angela explained: “We didn’t know if people would resume face-to-face meetings after Covid.
“But not only have they done so, a lot of Teams calls take place within those meetings, so we have excellent IT facilities to accommodate that, including active LED panels in all rooms with webcams available.
“All IT equipment is included in our room hire, giving you peace of mind when booking.
“We’re a busy centre again, so it’s all worked out well for us – and we’re always happy to welcome more businesses from the park.”
Visit twpa.org.uk