New tenants announce move to Halifax's Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre

The Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre (EWIC) in Halifax is set to close out the year by welcoming an array of new arrivals.

The business centre, located on Hopwood Lane, is run by social enterprise Halifax Opportunities Trust.

Rental income from the office space and meeting rooms funds the charity’s work helping disadvantaged people across the Calderdale district.

With a number of additional companies moving in recently, the centre is nearly full to capacity and now has only four spaces available for occupancy.

Among the latest businesses to have taken up units in the centre is digital engineering company BiM Dept Ltd.

BiM Dept Ltd provides support to the building services industry, including consulting engineers, contractors and sub-contractors. The company uses BIM (Building Information Modelling) technology, to ensure ductwork, pipes, electric cable containment and other related services will fit into buildings ready for construction work to start on site.

BiM Dept Ltd has moved into EWIC from Fountain Street, Halifax, as part of a growth and modernisation programme.

Darren Haigh, BiM Dept Ltd director, said: “The Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre has everything we need, or could potentially need, to grow our business, with various-sized meeting rooms, a waiting area, café and the room to expand if necessary.

“The change in location and the new look of our business is already generating interest and we hope this will be a catalyst for growth and subsequently new jobs”.

Another new tenant is PL Projects, a project management consultancy and training company which works with businesses to help improve their efficiency, reduce costs and deliver one-off projects on time and on budget.

The company offers a wide range of APM accredited training courses as well as bespoke training courses for larger organisations such as city councils, other public sector bodies and large manufacturers.

PLP were previously based in Holmfirth, and had delivered courses at various locations, including the Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre, with most of its staff working remotely. The company then decided to consolidate all its operations at the business centre.

Mike Bates, PLP director, added: “We’ve grown the company rapidly in the last two to three years and wanted to establish a more permanent base for training as well as for our expanding marketing and communications team. We’re confident that moving into the Elsie Whiteley Centre will enable us to grow.

“The staff who run the centre are great. We like the atmosphere of the building and the convenience of the location. And as we were already spending so much time here, it felt like home - so we knew it was the right thing to do!”

Alison Haskins, CEO of Halifax Opportunities Trust, concluded: “We’re delighted that the Elsie Whiteley Innovation Centre is continuing to attract such a diverse range of businesses and that we can provide them with a sound base which enables them to grow. This meets one of our charitable aims, which is to support business development.

“If we can also play our part in attracting businesses into the Calderdale area from further afield and creating new jobs locally, then that’s an added bonus.”

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