On Thursday 6 December 2018, we welcome 120 occupiers from across the Park to join us in Aviators Café to take part in the Christmas Wreath Making Workshop. The event, which was led by Nurtures Florist, Lisa, offered occupiers the opportunity to get creative and festive whilst decorating their own Christmas Wreath to take home with them to hang in pride of place on their front doors.

Lisa took occupiers through a step by step process and provided an array of luxurious decorations ensuring everyone walked away with a beautifully designed wreath. Not only was this a fantastic festive event which left occupiers in the Christmas Spirit, but it was also a brilliant fundraiser raising an amazing £526 for The Community Matters Partnership.

Farnborough Business Park kicked off the festive season on Wednesday 5 December, with a fantastically festive outdoor Christmas Market which took place under the iconic balloon hangar frame between 4-6pm.

The event offered occupiers the opportunity to browse an array of festive stalls, selling superb Christmas gifts and stocking fillers, whilst par-taking in the complimentary hot chocolate and mince pies; and for those looking to warm up, The Gin Inn provided a delicious mulled sloe gin.

The event, which was also open to friends and family of those across the Park and to local residents, saw free face painting and crafting stations for the younger ones, thanks to sponsorship from Occupiers Hudson Shribman.

To add further to the festive feeling, The Male Hart Choir and Towerhill Primary School took to the stage and preformed several Christmas Carols. Lily Neale and Aadvic Arun, pupils from Towerhill, were also our guests of honour for the event. 5 year old Lily and 6 year old Aadvic, jointly entered a competition to design a Christmas tree topper for our 10ft Christmas tree and won! Their design was brought to life and added to the top of the tree. They also had the prestigious job of switching on the Christmas tree lights at Farnborough Business Park!

Up to 500 jobs are to be created at a new business jet aircraft service centre in Hampshire.

Aerospace company Gulfstream have been given the go-ahead for the purpose-built centre at TAG Farnborough Airport by Rushmoor Borough Council.

Building work is expected to begin in April with workshops and a hangar for 13 jets expected to open by June 2020.

The staff to be recruited for the new centre will be made up of 350 engineers and 150 office staff.

As part of the planning consent, the council has asked Gulfstream to draw up a noise management plan to protect workers on the nearby Farnborough Business Park.

We are delighted to announce that Hubson Shribman, a Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) Recruitment Company, have become the latest Occupier to Join the Farnborough Business Park family.

Hudson Shribman have recently acquired office space within Regus, located on the first floor of The Hub where their on-site team of five are dedicated to sourcing and recruiting the best talent for STEM organisations.

Ethan Hunt, Operations Manager at Hubson Shirman commented, ‘We’re very excited to have moved to Farnborough Business Park to work alongside so many exceptional companies. We’re a friendly team and if anyone has any questions, however big or small about recruitment in STEM do drop in and we’d be happy to help.

It’s great to work somewhere with so many shared facilities and regular events.  We’re committed to becoming part of both the FBP and wider Farnborough community.  We’re currently running a training scheme for people with no recruitment experience from very diverse backgrounds and we believe it’s so important to invest in the careers, whether as candidates or as recruiters.  If you have friends or family with the aptitude to become a successful recruiter send them our way!’

Hudson Shribman have a long-established reputation as leading STEM recruiters, sourcing scientific, technical and engineering talent for over 35 years. They work with FTSE100 companies, SMEs and specialist start-ups, across a range of industries.

Chris Field, Senior Facilities Manager at Farnborough Business Park said ‘we are delighted that Hudson Shirbman have chosen to call Farnborough home. We wish them all the best with their ventures here and very much look forward to developing a fantastic working relationship.’

Farnborough Business Park saw the return of the annual Pumpkin Carving Workshop which was held in Aviators Café on Wednesday 31 October 2018. The café, which was transformed into a workstation suitable for warlocks, werewolf’s and witches, provided a location for occupiers to release their creative side, and carve some spooktacular pumpkins.

Nurture, our on-site landscapers, led the workshop and provided step by step instructions to ensure everyone carved their very best pumpkin creations. Not only was this a fun-filled event for occupiers, but it also offered the Park an opportunity to raise funds for The Community Matters Partnership Project (CMPP). Each participant kindly offered a donation which allowed us to raise a fantastic £105.40 for the Partnership!

Tracy Jarvis, CMPP Founder, attended the event and said ‘thanks so much for inviting me to such a ‘fang-tastic’ event. We are so grateful to Farnborough Business Park for their efforts in hosting and to their occupiers for donating and attending this workshop. Donations will go directly to the local community to help raise the aspirations of our young people in Rushmoor.’

Farnborough Business Park saw its first ever Wellness Week on the 15-19 October 2018.

Occupiers were able to take part in a range of activities which were designed to reduce stress, increase productivity, promote a sense of wellbeing and increase positive emotional wellness.

We were pleased to be able to offer all sessions free of charge which included, Vinyasa flow yoga, boxfit, meditation workshops, GRITT sessions, health MOTs, manicures and chair messages. 

Occupiers were fully engaged in the week and keen to get involved. Sacha Holmes, Digital Marketing Executive for Hydra said “I was delighted that FBP provided a week of complimentary health and wellbeing activities. Being someone who likes to keep healthy and well-balanced, I signed up for the Tibetan Bowls meditation session and the chair massage.

The Tibetan Bowls session was interesting, the therapist was lovely and explained how the session would run and that the sound of the bowls are therapeutic and induce a relaxing and meditative sensation. I found the whole experience very relaxing and a delightful way to spend a lunchtime.
When I arrived for my chair massage my shoulders were particularly tight and so was thinking it was a good time to have it! The therapist was lovely and the chair, which you kneel on with your face through a rest, was very comfy. The therapist was an expert at relieving tension and knots in my shoulders. It was a wonderful experience and I will definitely be booking in for future visits.’

Katy Marlow, Events Coordinator at Farnborough Business Park said, ‘We were delighted to be able to offer this week-long event. Our occupier’s wellbeing is of vital importance to us and we want to make life on the Park enjoyable and a place our occupiers look forward to coming to.’

Farnborough Business Park were delighted to mark World Mental Health Day on the 10thOctober 2018, by hosting a Tea and Talk event. Occupiers were invited to join the Farnborough Business Park team in Aviators Café where a host of irresistible cupcakes were on sale which were kindly donated by Austen’s of Frimley Green, and free tea and coffee was provided.

At Farnborough, we understand the importance of wellbeing in the workplace and were delighted to be able to offer occupiers the opportunity to connect and socialise over a slice of cake. Staying connected is often more important than we realise and with us spending a large proportion of our lives at work it is vital to be able to talk to colleagues and form strong relationships.

We also teamed up with Memiah, who run a directory for mental health services and produce a free digital monthly magazine Happiful, who provided us with useful resources to pass onto our occupiers and place in our reception areas to further enhance awareness of mental health in the workplace.

We raised a fantastic £183.70 for Mental Health Foundation, improved the wellbeing of our workplace and created a more mentally healthier community. Not bad for a cup of tea and a natter!

Resource links:
Counselling Directory – Self care
Counselling Directory – Workplace wellbeing
Memiah
Memiah – Self care at work
Mental Health Foundation
Austen’s of Frimley Green

Each September, Bognor Regis Motor Club organise a Classic Car Tour and Picnic in Aid of Sussex Air Ambulance. Over the past 7 years, the club has raised an amazing £26,900 for charity. This year, Farnborough Business Park were delighted to be able to support the efforts of the Club by offering the Park as a free venue for them to park and host their picnic.

The event started at Eartham, were crews meet and travelled along the country lanes to Farnborough.Once in Farnborough they parked up at the Business Park and headed to the Farnborough Air Science Trust Museum for a tour and to learn more about Farnborough’s rich heritage in aviation. Once the tour was over, the crews headed back to the Business Park to picnic under the Hangar and enjoy the Sun before setting back off in their classic cars.

 

Ali Green, Event Organiser said, ‘we had a fabulous day! As the sun was blazing, people picked leafy, shady spots to picnic around the Hangar! Everyone found the area very interested and we really appreciate you allowing us to use the venue free of charge. We raised over £3,875 for Sussex Air Ambulance and this will rise considerably once all the accounts are settled.’

To find out more about Bognor Regis Motor Club visit www.bognor-regis-mc.co.uk.

Vote for your favourite park in Farnborough and show how the UK loves parks.

The experts have had their say and in July Farnborough Business Park was given a prestigious Green Flag Award.

Now, the Award Scheme is asking the nation to have its say and decide which parks and green spaces should receive the People’s Choice Award for being the UK’s favourites.

Whether you enjoy visiting a park or green space to play football, walk the dog, exercise or simply get away from the hustle and bustle, if you think your favourite deserves to be in the top 10 People’s Choice then cast your vote.

All you have to do is go to www.greenflagaward.org find your park on the winners map and click the voting button. Once you’ve registered your vote, why not encourage others to get involved too through social media using the hashtag #PeoplesChoice.

Chris Field, Facilities Manager at Farnborough Business Park said, ‘when you think of a green space, you don’t automatically think of a business park. We are a unique green outdoor area which has an abundance of flowers, shrubs and trees and an active wildlife which includes bee hives. We work extremely hard to ensure we can offer our occupiers, residents and the public alike a fantastic space to make use of.’

Voting opens 1 September and closes 30 September, with the top 10 sites being announced on 16 October.

Paul Todd, Green Flag Award Manager said: This year 1883 parks and green spaces met the tough standards demanded by our Green Flag Award Judges but we want to know which parks the UK public love the most.

“The People’s Choice award is a chance to show how much your favourite park means to you. If it’s worth shouting about, make your voice heard and vote now.”

Paul Rabbitts Head of Parks, Open Spaces & Projects, whose Cassiobury Park was among the top 10 winners last year said:

“Cassiobury Park is often referred to as the jewel in our crown here in Watford. We are immensely proud of it and we truly believe it is one of the finest parks in the country and are delighted it was voted as one of the top ten parks last year. We will certainly be hoping it is as popular again this year”

On Saturday 28 July, Picnic and Pop Family Festival made its debut at Manor Park in Aldershot. The community event boasted live music from tribute acts and local bands, whilst funfairs and inflatables kept the children entertained and street food and a licensed bar kept everyone refreshed.

The event was an outstanding success, seeing more than 4,500 local people enjoy the festivities. As one of the sponsors of the event, Farnborough Business Park were able to contribute to the offering of free advance tickets for children and kept adult’s tickets low, making this an accessible event for everyone in the local community.

Sponsorship also allowed the organisers to donate a proportion of their profit to a local charity, The Source, who transform the lives of young people through training, anger management, counselling and mentoring. They received £2350 through ticket sales and bucket collections on the day.

Oliver Cluckey, Festival Organiser said, ‘It’s difficult to put into words how happy we are with how the event panned out. It was overwhelming to see so many local families and friends having such a great time. It created such a special atmosphere and we can’t wait to repeat it next year on Saturday 27 July. I’d like to thank all of the volunteers and sponsors for making this event possible.’