The Black Country has received a £1bn investment as an integrated shopping centre is being created from The Waterfront Business Park, the High Street and Merry Hill. This regeneration of the area will create thousands of full time and part time jobs initially within construction and then within retail and all the support services in the area.
Las Iguanas, a Latin American restaurant and Costa Coffee are due to open at Gunwharf Quays, in Portsmouth Harbour.
Costa Coffee will joining Caffe Nero, Café Giardino, Café Rouge and Starbucks.
Las Iguana will be creating a 140 seat restaurant, meaning lots of waitressing opportunities. It joins Raymond Blanc’s Brasserie Blanc which opened in the summer.
Waltham Forest Council are undertaking a regeneration of the former Arcade site in Walthamstow.
The £50m mixed-use development with includes shops, a cinema, and residential properties. Work could potentially begin on site before the end of 2008.
Drinking in the workplace could be more common following from a trend for bars to be incorporated into office refits. Apparently it is viewed that normal office perks are not sufficient to attract work employees, particularly in the media and creative sectors. The benefits to the company include team bonding and interaction with senior management in an informal setting, the space also allows for managed client entertainment without escalating expenses costs. There should be plenty of part time bar vacancies within these corporate businesses if this trend continues.
Controversial plans to demolish a Victorian pub have been thrown out by councillors. Developers planned to knock down the Prince of Wales pub, in New Street, Sudbury, and replace it with nine flats, three terraced houses and a new community hall for St Gregory’s Church.
The plans were slammed by the Sudbury Society for being a “gross over-development” of one of the town’s conservation areas.
