York training centre reopens with ‘artificial street’ following six-figure refurbishment

Develop, an accredited provider of compliance, technical and safety training, has officially reopened its York training centre alongside its new fully-to-scale artificial JETSET street, (Joint Emergency Training Set).

The centre, which has undergone a £400k full refurbishment, is now set to provide training in tandem with the purpose-built street, named Training Terrace in a recent public competition, that Develop has recently constructed next-door.

The opening event took place on May 24 at the York based centre and involved a day of celebrations marked by an official ribbon cutting ceremony. Guests were also given tours of the centre’s newly refurbished facilities and Training Terrace.

Training Terrace looks and appears as a regular street would, consisting of houses, apartments, and a café, but each area has been specifically designed for training purposes. This allows Develop to deliver courses in emergency response to gas incidents, as well as excavation safety, cable avoidance, street lighting, drains, sewer jetting and confined spaces entry.

John Kerr, managing director at Develop, commented: “This new state of the art facility will give us a fantastic base to deliver essential and enhanced training to businesses in North Yorkshire and beyond. We’re thrilled to unveil a centre that will work in tandem with Training Terrace, as this new street provides an innovative facility that we’re proud to operate from.

“It was great to welcome attendees to join us for the celebrations and explore the new facilities. We now look forward to welcoming delegates from across the region to join us and experience the unrivalled training that we provide.”

Paul Tate, lead emergency trainer, Northern Gas Networks, who worked alongside Develop, is said to have been “instrumental” in the development of the JETSET, attended the event and spoke on the panel.

Paul said: “The facilities including the new JETSET will significantly improve the training opportunities for the whole team at Northern Gas Networks and provide real life scenarios.

“It’s been a long-term project and it’s fantastic to see it come to life and now be used to enhance the training and development opportunities for not just Northern Gas but for the sector as whole.”

The centre has had several updates to include two fixed-learning classrooms, a hybrid centre catering for alternative energies, two HV workshops and an LV workshop. These workshops will offer a number of Develop’s courses, including those relevant to confined spaces, gas distribution, health and safety, healthcare estates and water systems.

By Matthew Neville – Senior Correspondent, Bdaily

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