Latest news with #Humber
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Humber Bridge: Overnight tag lane closures for toll upgrade
Overnight tag lane closures are scheduled on the Humber Bridge as the project enters phase two of its toll system upgrade. The New Tolling System (NTS) will see booths removed for the first time in the bridge's 44-year history, with payments being made through a website or on the scheme began in March and the first phase of civil engineering works have now been next phase involved installing a new gantry, meaning overnight tag lane closures will be in place from 20:00 BST on Thursday until 05:00 BST on Friday. During the works, motorists would still be able to cross the bridge in either direction, with or without a HumberTag, but only using the toll booth lanes, a Humber Bridge spokesperson advised drivers to allow for extra time for their journey during these hours. The scheme is expected to launch in late Autumn. Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Hamilton Spectator
17-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Burlington's Grant Fraser changed the role of the golf professional
You would be hard-pressed to walk into any golf pro shop in Ontario that has PGA of Canada staff and not find one who was either taught by Grant Fraser or at least took a course he had a hand in developing. Fraser, a Burlington resident, was inducted into the Ontario Golf Hall of Fame last week for the role he played in changing the role of the golf professional. Joining Fraser in the hall are builders Charles Blair (C.B.) Macdonald and Archie Berube, along with golfer Alena Sharp of Hamilton. Photographer Doug Ball won the Lorne Rubenstein Award, presented to a member of the media for their contributions to golf in the province. Sharp, who plays on the LPGA Tour, was unable to attend the ceremony and will be inducted later this summer. Fraser founded the first professional golf management program in Ontario at Humber College and started the Golf Management Institute of Canada, now at the McMaster University Centre for Continuing Education. He also taught at Niagara College's golf management program. 'Golf professionals 25 or 30 years ago, a lot of them were pretty good players who went through an apprenticeship program working in the shop and learned the business that way,' says Fraser. 'Today, the playing side isn't nearly as important as it used to be and the focus has become the business of golf. 'Now, golf professionals have to learn how to read financial statements, put together a marketing plan, understand the governance of a club, learn about food and beverage, and have to be able to talk to the course superintendent about grass.' He who sees the need should do the deed — it's an old proverb, but Fraser lived it. By 1993, Fraser had left his job in banking and was teaching part-time at Humber College. But he really wanted to get into golf in some fashion. He called the PGA of Canada, the CPGA at the time, and they recommended he enrol in one of two professional golf management programs that had just started up in Alberta. Fraser asked why he couldn't go to one in Ontario. When they explained it was because there wasn't one in Ontario, Fraser knew what had to be done. He set up a meeting with Humber president Dr. Robert Gordon — who, as luck would have it, was an avid golfer — and pitched the idea of the school having the first professional golf management program in the province. Fraser was given the go-ahead several meetings later. 'I had a business background, so I knew what a business curriculum would look like and it was a matter of incorporating golf into it,' said Fraser. 'I talked to the guys who were running the two programs in Alberta and they were great. They invited me out and they shared their curriculum with me.' The process of getting it up and running took about a year. In September 1995, Humber's golf management program welcomed its first 54 students. 'And the program took off,' says Fraser. 'Within three or four years, we had 150 students.' Fraser ran the program for six years before leaving to foster another idea: The Golf Management Institute of Canada. The online program — which works with the PGA of Canada, as well as golf course owners, superintendents and club managers — launched in 2000 and is still going. And, after a 20-year partnership with Niagara College, the institute is now based at McMaster. Long before he became the executive director of the PGA of Canada, Kevin Thistle ran the bustling 36-hole Angus Glen Golf Club. 'Back then I wondered, wouldn't it have been nice to go to a golf management program and learn accounting and marketing,' he says. 'And when those programs started, I would hire as many of Grant's students as I could because they were getting educated about the business of golf.' In addition to his teaching, Fraser has covered golf and taken photographs for a number of magazines. He's a past-president and current board member of the Golf Journalists Association of Canada. Macdonald has been in the World Golf Hall of Fame since 2007, but hasn't been recognized in the country of his birth until this year. Macdonald was born in 1855 in Niagara Falls, Ont., in the same Lundy's Lane house in which his mother, a member of the Mohawk First Nation, was also born. His father was American, and the family moved to Chicago. Eventually, Macdonald was sent to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland where he discovered golf. He met and played with Scottish pro 'Young' Tom Morris, and worked in the pro shop of Morris's father, 'Old' Tom. Macdonald later returned to the U.S. and in time designed the country's first 18-hole course, the Chicago Golf Club. He was a successful stockbroker, but was enamoured with growing the game, which was still in its infancy in North America. Macdonald helped found the United States Golf Association and was a strong enough player that he won the first official U.S. amateur championship in 1895. That same year, he won the Niagara-on-the-Lake Golf Club's first international championship. Macdonald is perhaps best known in the U.S. as the father of golf course architecture. During his life, he studied the great golf holes in Great Britain and Europe and included them in every course he designed. Virtually every golf course architect in the U.S. or Canada has copied this format. Whole-in-one: Aces in the area include two at Burlington Springs: Matthew Misa on the 183-yard 17th hole with a six iron and Connor Way on the 151-yard eighth hole with a nine iron … Rick Morrison aced the 155-yard seventh hole at Twenty Valley with an eight iron … There were four singletons at Willow Valley: Aron Reppington on the 122-yard 17th hole with a 54-degree wedge, Len McDougall on the 148-yard 13th hole with a seven iron, Xabier Ross on the 105-yard 15th hole with a pitching wedge, and Dinh Doan on the same hole from 122-yards with a nine iron.
Sky News
16-05-2025
- Business
- Sky News
Anglian Water fined record £1.42m for drinking water failures
Anglian Water has been fined £1.4m for drinking water failures which affected around 1.3 million people. The Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) said the company used unapproved plastic-based products to externally coat pipework submerged in drinking water tanks at four different sites. The pipes were installed between 2016 and 2019 and remained until 2021. Anglian Water supplies an area of eastern England from the Humber to the Thames Estuary, "Contamination of drinking water on any scale is scandalous and a complete disgrace," said Environment Secretary Steve Reed. "The record £1.4m fine handed down sends a clear signal that this criminal behaviour is unacceptable," he added. The DWI said its investigation uncovered wider issues, including a lack of staff training, poor oversight of the supply chain, and in some cases, water tanks continued to be used even after the company knew they contained unapproved products. All of the issues have since been rectified, according to the DWI. Anglian Water, which reported the failures to the DWI, pleaded guilty at Northampton Crown Court and issued a statement in response. "We apologise for and regret breaching [the regulations] and accept the judgement for the five sites in 2021. "The procedures we had in place fell short and as a result, we have since invested significantly to improve these and have shared our learnings across the water industry." The DWI reported that the plastic-based coatings within the drinking water tanks had broken down into flakes and powder, which entered the water supply. Anglian Water appeared to dispute this, adding: "Despite the breach, there was no evidence of any contamination of the water supply and the judge agreed based on independent expert reports that the risk to customers was very low." From April, price hikes at Anglian Water saw the average bill rise 19% from £527 to £626 a year, according to Water UK, representing an increase of £99.
BBC News
09-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Humber renewables leaders urge Reform UK mayors to back industry
Representatives of the Humber's renewable energy industry have issued a plea to the region's new mayors to "come and talk to us and understand us". There is concern the political views of Dame Andrea Jenkyns and Luke Campbell could put jobs and the industry at risk. Both mayors, who represent Reform UK, have criticised the government's policies on renewable energy and its target of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Hannah Damary-Wilson from Specialist Wind Services in Grimsby said it would be a "travesty" if the town's "thriving industry" was not supported by its mayor, while David Laister of Humber Marine and Renewables said it was "vital" the mayors engaged with the sector. Ms Damary-Wilson said she was concerned local jobs and opportunities could be lost. "When our mayor Andrea Jenkyns bandies about slogans like 'net zero madness', it's important to remember that it isn't just about hitting net zero policies, it's about developing energy independence."Ms Damary-Wilson said the economic fortunes of the region were heavily dependent on renewable energy."It's about providing skilled opportunities to a community that has, by and large, been abandoned," she said. In the last 20 years, the renewable energy industry has seen significant expansion around the Humber estuary. The Siemens Gamesa wind turbine blade factory in Hull now employs more than 1,600 people. Grimsby specialises in support services for offshore industries and is the main port serving the world's largest offshore wind farm. The UK's offshore wind industries have benefited from government net zero funding as it tries to reduce carbon emissions and create green jobs, most recently £300m from Great British Energy. In a BBC debate prior to being elected, Campbell, the mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, said he felt "half and half" when it came to supporting net zero and the renewable energy sector. "I don't think net zero is achievable but listen, forget party politics, if it's creating jobs in this region, I'll put our people first," he said. However, Campbell's Reform UK party takes a tougher stance and wants to scrap net zero policies and tax renewable energyDame Andrea, the Greater Lincolnshire mayor, has described the government's approach to renewable energy as "nut zero" and said she would drive forward plans for fracking in the county. She said she "absolutely" supported Reform UK's plans for a windfall tax on renewables and would be "shining a light of scrutiny" on the Humber's renewable industry. Industries connected to the government's net zero ambitions are continuing to see government funding and private sector Mr Laister called for the two new mayors to engage with the sector. "I would urge them to listen and to talk and to understand the various elements of the wider renewables industry," he said. "All that's been developed in the last 20 years, we don't want to see that lost or stalled."Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.
Business News Wales
26-04-2025
- Business
- Business News Wales
Wrexham University and Humber Polytechnic Announce Strategic Partnership
Wrexham University and Humber Polytechnic have announced a groundbreaking partnership aimed at fostering applied research, innovation, and global educational opportunities. This strategic collaboration between the North Wales and Canadian institutions will focus on creating pathways for students, faculty, and industry partners to engage in transformative learning and research initiatives that address the challenges of a rapidly evolving world. The partnership underscores both institutions' commitment to driving academic excellence, supporting industry needs, and promoting cultural exchange through innovative programmes and collaborations. By combining Wrexham University's strengths in regional economic growth with Humber Polytechnic's expertise in applied education, the partnership aims to deliver impactful outcomes for students and industries globally. Moss Garde, Pro Vice-Chancellor for External Engagement and Partnerships at Wrexham University, said: 'This partnership with Humber Polytechnic represents an exciting opportunity to deepen our commitment to applied research, innovation, and global engagement. 'Together, we will create new pathways for students and faculty, while addressing the needs of industries through collaborative solutions.' Gina Antonacci, Senior Vice-President, Academic Humber Polytechnic, added: 'Humber is proud to partner with Wrexham University to advance applied learning and international collaboration. This partnership reflects our shared vision of empowering learners with the tools they need to succeed while fostering innovation that benefits communities worldwide.' The key areas of collaboration that the two institutions will work together on, include: Applied research and innovation – through joint development of funding proposals to support cutting-edge research projects addressing global challenges. Pathway agreements – which will see development of pathways for Humber alumni to pursue Master's programmes at Wrexham University. International mobility programmes – such as promotion of global student engagement through initiatives, including Humber's annual Global Summer School and short-term learning opportunities at Wrexham University. Faculty and student exchanges – visiting faculty programmes, student exchanges, Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), and other course-level collaborations to enhance cross-cultural learning experiences. Micro-Credentials for professional development – including the exploration of training programmes and micro-credentials tailored for academic and industry audiences to address emerging workforce needs. Framework for academic exchange – establishment of a robust framework to promote academic, research, and cultural exchange between the two institutions. Curriculum development – support for curriculum innovation in priority academic areas, aligned with industry trends. Collaborative platforms for research – creation of joint platforms to deliver systematic research solutions that drive innovation across disciplines. The partnership aligns with Wrexham University's new 2030 vision and strategy to become a world-leading civic university, while supporting Humber Polytechnic's mission to lead in applied education through interdisciplinary collaboration.
