News from The Bridge – Spring 2017

May 31st 2017

Welcome to the spring issue of News from The Bridge.

Winning at The Nucleus

In early 2016, Nicola Coppen, managing director of Diligence (PM) Services decided to move her infrastructure project management consultancy to the Nucleus Business and Innovation Centre at The Bridge. Within a year, she had transformed her business and had been named winner of the Women in Construction category at the Kent Women in Business Awards 2017.

Nicola’s first introduction to the Nucleus was through the Pioneer 10 series of workshops.

“The Pioneer 10 programme offered immediate practical help, but more importantly it really motivated me to think strategically about the best way to develop my business,” said Nicola.

“After the first workshop, I took a desk at The Nucleus and started to apply the lessons I had learned.

“As soon as I moved in, I began working with Matthew McLarty, the Business Innovation Director at the Nucleus, who has helped guide my development from a project manager to
a managing director of a project management organisation.”

By the end of 2016, Diligence had been appointed Interim Utilities Project Manager for Ebbsfleet Development Corporation on Ebbsfleet Garden City. Nicola is now in talks with utility providers and developing a programme of work that is likely to be the first of its kind in the UK.

“The Pioneer 10 programme offered immediate practical help, but more importantly it really motivated me to think strategically about the best way to develop my business,” said Nicola. “After the first workshop, I took a desk at The Nucleus and started to apply the lessons I had learned."

Nicola Coppen, Founder of Diligence PM

Protecting Wildlife at the Bridge

Spring is finally here, and as well as bringing warmer temperatures and lighter evenings, this is an exciting time of year for wildlife. As you walk around The Bridge, you will notice new leaves and buds on the trees as well as wildflowers blooming in
the grassland. But, what might not be so obvious is the increased animal activity. Many species will have been hibernating over winter and they are now out and about, searching for food and looking for a mate.

  • The water voles, which live in bankside burrows around the lake, forage in the reed beds and sometimes in the scrub. They can even be seen climbing trees, where they strip bark to eat
  • As the temperatures get warmer, you may see common lizards basking in the sun
  • Bats can be seen hunting for insects that live in the vegetation and around water. From around April,
    the females move to their maternity roosts, ready for the birth of their young in June and July.

We are careful to conserve the homes of these animals at The Bridge and although some vegetation might look like a patch of weeds, it all serves a valuable purpose; providing both food or shelter for the wildlife. To protect the biodiversity of the site,
we have a specific management strategy and we
regularly monitor all wildlife habitats.

Construction Work at the Bridge

The new Motorline car dealership for Nissan and Skoda is starting to take shape opposite Sainsbury’s and the next big construction project at The Bridge is the Inspiration Academy, which the Leigh UTC is developing on Brunel Way.

Designed for students in Years 7-9 who want to focus on science, technology, maths and engineering, the Inspiration Academy will not only prepare learners to continue their studies across the road at the UTC, but also lay the foundations for their future careers.

The Inspiration Academy @ The Leigh UTC is due to open in September 2017 and applications for Year 7 are open now.

For further details, go to: www.theleighutc.org.uk

Car Sharing at the Bridge

Did you know that you could save over £900 a year by sharing a car for your daily commute? Prologis has set up a car sharing website for everyone who lives or works at The Bridge so that you can find either a driver or passengers with whom to share your journey. The scheme is free to join and the website is easy to use.

So, as well as saving money, car-sharing is good for the environment and a great way to get to know your neighbours. To find out more, go to: liftshare.com/uk/community/prologis-park-the-bridge

Triathlon Season Starts at the Bridge

At the beginning of May, the Dartford and White Oak Triathlon Club marks the beginning of the race season by starting open water swim training in the South
Lake at The Bridge.

The first big race, The Bridge Triathlon will be held on 18 June, closely followed by the Midnight Marathon on 24 June. Then, during the weekend of 12-13 August, the Midnight Man ironman triathlon will take place.

The club has organised The Bridge Aquathlon races throughout the summer and the race season ends on 24 September with The Bridge 10k.
If you would like to join the club or find out more about any of these events, please visit: www.bridgetriathlon.co.uk

Making a Difference on Fastrack

Thanks to support from residents at The Bridge, Elaine Schuster, a driver on Fastrack A, has reached the final of the Arriva ‘Made a Difference’ Awards 2017.

“Although Elaine has only been a Fastrack driver for about a year, residents really appreciate her friendly, helpful attitude and she has become a valuable member of the community,” said Tina Smith, Park Manager at The Bridge.

Looking Ahead

Prologis and Dartford Borough Council are now reaching the final stages of developing The Bridge. There is strong interest in from commercial occupiers in Plot 4 opposite Sainsbury’s and in Plot 36, which is between Sainsbury’s and Crosswater on Rennie Drive.

The remaining plots: 32, 33 and 34 at the western end of Rennie Drive and 16a, which is on Brunel Way, also have planning consent for commercial uses. But, the residential development at The Bridge is proving to be so attractive to home-buyers, that Prologis and the Council are thinking about submitting a planning application to change the use of these four plots from commercial to residential.

Dartford is proving to be a property hot-spot and the new community at The Bridge is becoming a very popular place to live.

December 15th 2023

Customers Celebrate The Festive Season

Customers Celebrate The Festive Season

December 12th 2023

The Nucleus Charity Toy Drive

The Nucleus Charity Toy Drive

December 12th 2023

The Nucleus Christmas Fayre

The Nucleus Christmas Fayre