• Construction reaches a third complete after 150 working days and 25 sheet piles installed
• Project to restore flood protection for 50 homes and businesses in the Derbyshire town

The name of the huge 800-tonne crane that has graced the Matlock landscape since the beginning of August will be unveiled by the Mayor of Matlock, Councillor Paul Cruise, at a naming ceremony on Wednesday 28 September.

Following a family-fun ‘Name the Crane Day’ held on 10 August, over 1,400 people have cast their vote for their favourite name, either in person or online. The well-attended event raised £500 in charity donations for Air Ambulance.

Over 100 different names were suggested for the crane and the public were invited to vote from the top 5 shortlisted. The overwhelming majority (63%) favoured ‘Lifty McShifty’. The winning name will be displayed on the crane itself as well as posters erected around the site.

The competition winner will be awarded with prizes donated by Ainscough Crane Hire Ltd and Heights of Abraham at the naming ceremony at 12:30pm on Wednesday 28 September. Also in attendance will be Sarah Dines, MP for Derbyshire Dales, and the Civic Chairman of Derbyshire Dales District Council, Councillor Graham Elliott, as well as other community leaders.

The crane is situated on the A6 and is being used to assist in carrying out work to reinstate the River Derwent flood defences. 600 2-tonne bags were lifted into the river to form a working platform for piling works to take place.

25 sheet piles have so far been placed, with a further 37 scheduled for installation by the end of October, to make the defences winter ready and plug the gap created by the collapse of a flood wall following the February floods this year.

Two special piling machines called ‘Giken Supercrush’ are on site to place the piles deep into the limestone bedrock; this is a slow process due to the sheer hardness of the bedrock and it has to be done carefully.

Naomi Doughty, Project Manager for the Environment Agency, said:

“Progress on the Matlock flood defence work is going well, and we have now completed 150 working days, so we are around one third through the main construction works. If the weather remains favourable, we will keep going with the aim of building the flood wall by early next year.

“We understand there are only 8 ‘Giken Supercrush’ machines in the country and 2 of these are at Matlock! Last week we hosted a visit from the Japanese manufacturer to review the progress, so we’ve had international interest in our project!

“The Derbyshire limestone is proving a hard nut to crack but we’re rising to the challenge under the technical guidance of national and international industry experts.

“We’re grateful to the community for their continued support and understanding whilst we build these essential flood defence works and apologise for temporary disruption caused by the construction works.”

The initial cost estimates of the project are between £3.5million to £5million due to access being severely restricted. This will benefit over 50 homes and businesses by reinstating the River Derwent flood defences.

The Environment Agency is working in partnership with Derbyshire County Council and Derbyshire Dales District Council to reinstate the river flood protection following the collapse of a wall behind businesses on Crown Square, Matlock after the February 2022 storms compromised the defences and left Matlock vulnerable to river flooding.

Following the collapse of the privately owned wall, an immediate repair was carried out by placing over 50 rock-filled bags in the River Derwent using a large crane situated on the A6. Further flood prevention work was carried out in April which involved lifting an additional 100 2-tonne rock-filled bags by a large crane situated on the A6 into the River Derwent to reduce erosion and limit damage to the Environment Agency flood wall that sits next to the collapsed privately owned wall.

The A6 between Matlock Bridge and the train station car park is now closed to all users (pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles) until completion of the new flood defence in 2023. This allows for the huge crane to be situated on the A6 to carry out the work on reinstating the flood defences. All north and southbound traffic can now use Matlock Bridge.

About the crane

As rigged at Matlock, the Liebherr LTM 1750 crane weighs a total of 350 tonnes. This is approximately the weight of a fully loaded Boeing 747.

The 800 tonne label is in regards to its maximum lifting potential. This is around the same as 5 blue whales.

The largest lift planned at Matlock is approximately 20 tonnes, the equivalent of 4 elephants. The extra lifting capacity of the crane is needed due to the distance from the body of the crane, situated on the A6, to the far side of the river.

The crane is 22m long and 12m wide.

The crane arrived in road format, weighing over 100 tonnes, and required 4 artic wagons to carry the equipment. It then required a smaller (55 tonne) crane to set it up.

The crane is taller than the wingspan of a Boeing 747, taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, and about ¾ the height of Big Ben.

US-based Carpenter agreed to buy Belgian firm Recticel’s global engineered foams business in a €656 million (Euros) deal announced in 2021. The firms both supply engineered foam products used to make household goods such as mattresses, upholstery and kitchen sponges from plants located in the UK.

Following an initial Phase 1 investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) identified competition concerns in 3 foam-related markets in the UK (the supply of comfort foam, unconverted technical foam, and converted comfort foam) and referred the deal for an in-depth Phase 2 investigation in July 2022.

At the outset of the Phase 2 investigation the 2 businesses conceded that the deal raises competition concerns and asked the CMA to “fast-track” the case to the assessment of a remedy that could address those concerns.

The CMA has now accepted the businesses’ request and provisionally found that the deal could reduce competition. This means that, without remedies to restore this loss of competition, the deal could damage the competitiveness of UK-based manufacturers that rely on foams to make their products, as well as leading to less choice and a worse deal for consumers.

The CMA has also published an initial consultation on the remedy that the merging businesses have proposed to address the concerns identified. The merging businesses are proposing to sell the majority of the UK arm of Recticel’s engineered foams business to an independent third-party approved in advance by the CMA. The next stage of the CMA’s investigation will focus on assessing whether this will fully replace the loss of competition arising from the merger.

Kip Meek, Independent CMA Panel Chair, said:

The firms accept that the merger could reduce competition in the markets where we’ve raised concerns. This could lead to higher costs for UK manufacturers and mean people may get a worse deal when buying beds and sofas, as well as everyday items like kitchen sponges.

The next stage of our investigation will primarily focus on making sure that the remedy put in place properly addresses these concerns to avoid any adverse impact for UK businesses and consumers.

The CMA is now asking for views on the remedy offered by 12 October 2022 and on its provisional findings by 19 October 2022. The statutory deadline for the CMA’s final report is 22 January 2023.

For more information, visit the Carpenter / Recticel merger inquiry page.

1. Under the Enterprise Act 2002 the CMA has a duty to make a reference to Phase 2 if the CMA believes that it is or may be the case that a relevant merger situation has been created, or arrangements are in progress or contemplation which, if carried into effect, will result in the creation of a relevant merger situation; and the creation of that situation has resulted, or may be expected to result, in a substantial lessening of competition (SLC) within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services.
2. The process that applies where merging parties request to concede a substantial lessening of competition is set out in paragraphs 7.18 to 7.21 of CMA2 revised.
3. In addition to conceding that the deal raises competition concerns, the firms have agreed to waive their right to challenge this position during the CMA’s Phase 2 investigation and have also submitted a proposed remedy to address the concerns identified.
4. This is the first time that merging businesses have conceded an SLC in a Phase 2 merger inquiry and is expected to enable the outcome of the investigation to be reached significantly more quickly than usual.
5. The CMA has provisionally found that, if the deal went ahead, the combined companies would face limited competition in the UK in: Comfort foam (uncut foam for mattresses, upholstery etc.); Unconverted technical foam (for sponges etc.); Converted comfort foam (cut up foam ready for larger items like mattresses).
6. For media enquiries, contact the CMA press office on 020 3738 6460 or press@cma.gov.uk.

The UK today [28 September] kicks off the fifth annual Atlantic Future Forum (AFF), bringing together British and American captains of industry aboard the UK’s largest and most powerful warship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth.

The two-day event will focus on new approaches to global security and future technologies to tackle everything from the war in Ukraine to climate change, with UK businesses across the defence, cyber and tech industries able to network with potential investors.

Addressing over 450 government and business leaders, the Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch will highlight the role of free trade in delivering global economic security and economic growth. She will say our two likeminded democracies must continue working together to defend the rules-based international order.

Trade Secretary Rt Hon Kemi Badenoch MP said:

“The US is our single most important trade, defence and security partner. We share the same values – freedom, free trade and the rule of law. Our special relationship means together we are a force for progress as we face down countries who threaten these values.

“The Atlantic Future Forum represents an incredible opportunity for our two nations to exchange skills, ideas and technology. Every morning, over a million people get up and go to work for British companies in America, and over a million do the same for American companies in the UK.

“The UK is a low-tax, high-talent, innovation nation and I will show America’s biggest companies that we are ready to be their investment partner of choice.”

The US has been the UK’s largest single inward investment partner country for the last two decades. US businesses employed almost 1.5 million people in the UK in 2019, up three quarters since 1997. US investment is also supporting the UK’s levelling up agenda with 60% of these jobs based outside of London and the South East.

Following her speech, Badenoch will use her two-day visit to New York to capitalise on growing investor interest in the UK by meeting New York-based investors to promote the UK as a defence, cyber and tech superpower and a source of unmatched talent. She will visit Mastercard’s new “Experience Centre” at their “Tech Hub” in the Flatiron District of Manhattan and meet with some of the biggest US and UK companies at a British American Business roundtable to discuss investment opportunities that can help grow the UK economy.

Badenoch will speak to her counterpart in the Biden administration, US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, to discuss how our two countries can further our already thriving trading relationship.

The Trade Secretary will also use her time in the US to highlight the opportunities being unlocked at the state level, following signature of recent Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Indiana and North Carolina.  The MoUs are designed to cut red tape and remove barriers facing UK businesses exporting to the US.

The UK is working towards further MoUs with Oklahoma and South Carolina in the coming months and seeking to progress talks with other states this year.

Background:

• Now in its fifth year, the annual defence, security, trade and technology forum is convened by the UK Government with full funding from global industry partners.