Member Article

Hoults Yard’s special day for dogs

NEWCASTLE’S business village is preparing to prove its dog-friendly credentials by hosting a special day for ‘man’s best friend.’

Hoults Yard has always allowed businesses to bring dogs into work, and more and more firms at the vibrant office and studio complex are taking advantage of the policy – about 30 dog owners regularly bring their pets to work on a site with over 150 different offices.

Now however, the Yard’s Manager Julie Kemp, has decided to take things further: “Our first Crufts Yard will be held in our events space The ClayShed on Friday, March 18, and we’d encourage anyone who works at the Yard and is a dog owner to bring their pet to work.

“We’ll be having a Crufts-like competition with categories like Prettiest Pooch; Handsomest Hound; Waggiest Tail and the Dog Judges Would Most Want to Take Home.

“We’re also planning a dog agility course,” added Julie, proud owner of a five-year-old Boxer called Serj.

Judges will include Hoults Yard owner Charlie Hoult, a representative from The Dogs’ Trust and Metro Radio’s Steve Furnell. The radio station is planning to attend the event and cover the doggy competition.

“If someone asks, we’ve always said yes to people bringing in dogs, and it can make a real difference if people are looking for new offices. We had someone in last week and they said that was the clincher. Obviously they really liked the facilities and what we had to offer – but she said we were the only place who seemed genuinely happy to have dogs in the workplace.

“Some dog owners don’t like leaving their pets at home all day, so it’s the ideal solution. We’re known for a place to network and dogs provide another way to connect with the diverse range of firms based here.

“When asked we always say that we welcome dogs whose owners are well behaved. Crufts Yard is about taking our dog friendly policies to the next level.”

Hoults Yard recently introduced #YardFood Friday in the ClayShed space in its newest development, the Maling Exchange. #YardFood Friday brings pop-up food vendors from a range of ethnic and street food to hungry office workers.

“Food Friday is proving really popular so we’ll tie it in with Crufts Yard – let’s hope the pets don’t run away with the sausages,” said Julie.

A raffle held on the day will raise funds for Metro Radio’s Cash for Kids appeal

More than £5m was spent transforming what was a jam jar factory for the famous Maling pottery brand into 45,000 sq ft of modern office space within Hoults Yard with the support of the European Regional Development Fund. Most of the businesses at the Maling Exchange are in the digital, media and IT sectors, but also include consultants, recruiters, a hair salon and picture-framers. More than 100 businesses are now based at the Yard, which now hosts more than 500 professionals.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Julie Kemp .