Lives in a Landscape is a documentary series on BBC Radio 4 in which journalist Alan Dein explores stories from contemporary Britain.  In the first episode of a new series, Dein visits the Cardea development, which has 260 occupied properties on the site, to learn more about the lives of its homeowners.

Cardea offers every type of property from a one bedroom starter home to a five bedroom detached house, and the community is diverse.  In the programme, Dein meets young expectant mothers along with their partners for who Cardea represents a fresh start.

Cheryl Bissett, sales and marketing director at Persimmon Homes East Midlands, said: “Cardea offers a full range of distinctive homes for sale that appeal to many first time buyers and families looking to move up the property ladder.

“To be featured on a programme such as Lives in a Landscape is testament to just what a difference a development like this has had on the people of Peterborough and beyond.  Cardea isn’t just a collection of houses; it’s a community.”

Listen to the broadcast by visiting www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01gvqnn.

To find out more about Persimmon Homes visit www.persimmonhomes.com.

Heading into DIY season a poll by Tarmac revealed Brits could save themselves up to £4,000 a year by learning a few simple home maintenance techniques.

The research looked into the reluctance to carry out maintenance, repairs and renovation around the home and whether with a bit of patience, willing and knowledge we could actually save ourselves substantial amounts of money.

The new research coincides with Tarmac launching a national search for the UK’s worst DIY dodgers. People are being urged to name and shame their friends and family for the chance to win £1,000 B&Q vouchers and a visit from the U-CAN handy man. Visit www.u-can.tv to find out how to ‘dob’ in a DIY dodger.

Julia Kendell, celebrity DIY expert and star of BBC One’s DIY SOS says: “If we took the time to actually learn a few basics and had a bit of patience instead of giving up at the first hurdle or not even starting in the first place, we could actually surprise ourselves with our skill and save money at the same time.”

To help DIY shy Brits Tarmac have launched a revolutionary new range of DIY repair products called U-CAN available in B&Q stores nationwide. The innovative U-CAN mix in the bag products include mortar and concrete which even the most novice home improver will be able to use.

Customers of Northgate Volkswagen can help make their mark on Shaun Barlow, Terry Scott and Joe Parmenter’s funding efforts by literally signing their names on a bright red Volkswagen up!.

The Northern Way business is delighted to support its three employees by providing a car which customers can sign for a small donation which goes to the charity.

The cycling trio will complete their charity quest in July when they take part in the London to Paris Bike Ride, covering 300 miles in four days.

The fundraising effort is close to the heart of Shaun who’s dad was recently diagnosed with lung cancer.

He said: “My dad has received great support and I wanted to give something back. I was so pleased when my colleagues and employer offered to help.”

“So far we have over 50 signatures which is a great help towards our goal. Although customers can visit the showroom we also took the up! to the South Suffolk Show (13th May).

“The ‘Sign up! and Pay a Pound’ event is an extra boast to our funds and follows the success of the Ladies Pampering and Shopping night which took place in January in the showroom which raised over £1,000.”

Northgate Volkswagen’s brand manager, Robert Rolfe, said: “We are all very proud of Shaun, Terry and Joe and are naturally happy to support them as much as we can.

“It’s not often a business will allow people to write on their product, but we all now feel part of this charity quest and hope hundreds of people come along and leave their signature on the car.”

For a donation of just a pound customers can leave their signature on the Volkswagen up! by visiting the Northern Way retailer which is open seven days a week.

The wet and windy Hampshire track saw Honda star ‘Flash’ Gordon Shedden pick up two wins for his Worcestershire based outfit, helping to forge a healthy lead over Redstone Racing in the process ahead of the next instalment of BTCC action at Oulton Park in June.

A gap of 63 points has already been opened up between the two teams, although it is still way too early for Honda to get too carried away, with so many highs and lows in any one race weekend.

Redstone Racing’s Mat Jackson picked up a win himself to underline his wet racing prowess and keep Dave Bartrum’s team in the hunt.

In the drivers’ championship, Oxford’s Jason Plato continues to lead the points table but only just from new second-placed man Shedden.

Staffordshire’s Andrew Jordan had headed Saturday’s qualifying session to line up on pole position for the first of today’s races. But it all went wrong for the Pirtek Racing driver at the first bend as his Honda Civic tangled with Plato’s MG KX Momentum Racing MG6 and crashed.

This left the way clear for Jackson to reel off his second win of the season in his Redstone Racing Ford Focus ahead of Inverness’s Dave Newsham in his Team ES Racing.com Vauxhall Vectra and Plato. Newsham’s second place was the best of his career so far.

Having started from lowly 18th and 19th spots after a disastrous qualifying session, Shedden and team-mate Matt Neal, the reigning Champion, were sixth and tenth.

Shedden was unstoppable in race two as he quickly made up positions to pass Jackson for the lead and a comfortable win. Plato took second ahead of Jackson in third. Neal was fifth.  In race three Shedden and Neal then simply romped clear of the opposition to give Honda a dream 1-2 result.

Third, adding to earlier fifth and fourth place results, was the impressive Frank Wrathall in his Dynojet Toyota Avensis. Plato was fourth.

As a result, Plato leaves Thruxton holding a four-point lead from the charging Shedden. Next up are Neal, Jackson and Hampshire’s Robert Collard who, on his home track, took a fourth and two seventh places in his eBay Motors BMW.

Plato said: “We’ve had zero running in the wet before with the MG so to take away a big points haul on a rainy day is very pleasing. We’ve got a big test programme planned between now and Oulton which should really enable us to make big gains with the car.”

Dalgety Bay’s Shedden, who also set the fastest lap in all three races at Thruxton, added: “Two wins at Donington a fortnight ago and another two wins at Thruxton. it’s been a mega weekend, even if qualifying didn’t go our way. The Civic’s chassis really came into its own today in the wet and round the fast corners but it’s still early days.”

2012 Dunlop BTCC Drivers’ Points after Thruxton (round 3 of 10):

1. Jason Plato, 129 points

2. Gordon Shedden, 125

3. Matt Neal, 115

4. Mat Jackson, 107

5. Robert Collard, 103

6. Andrew Jordan, 94

HiQ Teams’ Points:

1. Honda Yuasa Racing
Team, 230

2. Redstone Racing, 167

3. Pirtek Racing, 161

4. eBay Motors, 160

5. MG KX Momentum Racing, 140

6. Team ES Racing.com, 84

Adam Barrett, from Ilkeston, has taken on the role of sales manager at Imperial Commercials, Derby’s dedicated Volkswagen commercial vehicle site, bringing with him over a decade of brand experience.

The 31-year-old has a passion for providing exemplary customer care. Having worked in a number of sales positions before moving into management, Adam has always had a keen interest in the automotive industry.

Having previously worked at Volkswagen van centres in Northampton and Leicester, Adam possesses extensive knowledge of the Volkswagen brand to give advice and support to Imperial Commercials’ customers at the Ashbourne Road site.

Speaking of his new role, Adam said: “I’m delighted to be part of a friendly and professional team that is dedicated to providing the best customer service.

“It’s a privilege to be part of the Volkswagen brand which is renowned for quality and reliability. I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues to ensure that our customers’ needs are met.”

David Starr, head of business at Imperial Commercials Volkswagen Van Centre, said: “We are delighted to welcome Adam to the team and believe his enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment to high standards of service will help strengthen the business.”

Pupils and staff from Thornlaw Nursery School raised the flag onto a 15 foot pole, which was donated by the Charles Church Maxwell Gait development in Newtown Mearns, on 27^th April 2012.

The Eco-Schools programme encourages pupils to engage in a variety of environmental and sustainable issues, including litter and waste minimisation, reducing energy and water usage and promoting healthy lifestyles.

The flagpole was erected at the Nursery, which is just two miles away from the prestigious Charles Church development, and was attended by all the pupils from the nursery.

Alison Edwards, Head Teacher of Thornlaw Nursery School, said: “We are absolutely delighted to have achieved our eco status.

“The children take their eco work very seriously and have great fun doing it. We are fortunate enough to have received wonderful support and are exceptionally grateful to Charles Church for donating the flagpole so that we can proudly display our green flag status.”

“The staff and children are continuing with the good work and are already aiming for a second Green Flag. That would be an incredible achievement for us.”

Charles Church Scotland, Sales Director, Lorraine Clelland, said: “We were very happy to help promote the great work of Thornlaw Nursery School.

“It’s important that all levels of the community work and engage on creating a sustainable future for communities in and around Glasgow, so it’s great to see this kind of engagement from young children.”

More than 500,000 pupils across Scotland are part of the Eco-Schools programme. For more information visit www.ecoschoolsscotland.org or www.keepscotlandbeautiful.org

Maple Class from Broadford Primary School, aged from nine to ten, were tasked by one of the country’s leading prestige house builders, Persimmon Homes Essex to suggest names for the new site in Noakhill.

The naming competition took place in many of the classes and the winner was rewarded with a WHSmith voucher while the whole class received £200 of voucher.

Mia Rose Stevens, aged 10, suggested Neave Gardens, which helped Persimmon Homes Essex to decide on the name Neave Place.

Malcolm Drakes, headteacher of Broadford Primary School said: “It has been fantastic to get the children involved in a fun, but stimulating competition.

“It’s been enjoyable to work on the creation of a new development name and the pupils have had an opportunity to learn more about the housing industry.

“We are sincerely grateful for our vouchers that will go towards providing the pupils with a variety of reading and writing material.

Norman Sharpe, sales director of Persimmon Homes Essex, was delighted with the feedback and the way the pupils set about the task.

He said: “The pupils have obviously worked very hard at this competition and the name suggestions were brilliant.

“We tested the pupils to bring local heritage and history into their name suggestion and they have risen to the challenge and done an excellent job.

“Many of the ideas produced by the children gave us the creative inspiration for Neave Place. This new development will contain two, three and four bedroom houses and two bedroom apartments.

“While we didn’t use any of the names suggested Persimmon Homes is very proud of the way the competition helped to decide the name, as it’s important we link with local schools and colleges.”

Malcolm added: “I can’t thank Norman and everyone at Persimmon Homes enough for involving us in this project and I hope the link between us continues to grow.”

For further information about Persimmon Homes visit www.persimmonhomes.com.

The Charles Church site at Hawthorne Gardens currently a number of different professionals occupying properties and sales director, Tracey Lee, expects the final four houses to be sold soon.

She said: “This area of Surrey is popular because of its proximity to London and the relaxed and exclusive atmosphere of Caterham.

“The remaining properties are available with incentive packages to suit everyone, if you have a property to sell, part exchange will make your move hassle free, or if you want to put your stamp on your new home we can offer a fantastic interior package.”

A number of houses at Hawthorne Gardens have thermal solar panels on the roof to heat up water to help reduce hot water heating bills.

Tracey, concluded: “Caterham is proving to be a popular location for commuters and those after a less hectic life in a country town, which is shown in the rate at which this development has been selling.”

Allied Carpets went into administration on Friday 20 April and thanks to the prompt actions of Floors 2 Go, it was quickly purchased in a matter of a few hours. The purchase ensured that nearly half of the Allied Carpet stores will be retained, saving dozens of jobs.

The restructuring team at leading Midlands law firm Higgs and Sons acted for the buyer. Partner David Ellis, who led the team, said: “This was a complex transaction involving insolvency, employment and property law as well as requiring the use of Scottish lawyers in connection with the shops north of the border. The team worked to an extremely tight timescale but were pleased that the purchase was successfully concluded and wish the expanded group every success for the future.”

The purchase follows just six months after Floors 2 Go was itself bought off administrators and demonstrates confidence by the board in the ability to grow its market share in the face of very difficult economic conditions.

“It was a fantastic opportunity for Floors 2 Go,” explained its director, David Vizor. We are able to expand our geographic base significantly and add ‘Allied Carpets’ and ‘General George’ to the other well-known brands under our control. We are grateful to Higgs & Sons for its help in meeting our deadlines.”

Chesterfield Volkswagen, part of the Gilder Group, has invested in its new team with the appointment of three key individuals from the area, bringing over 50 years of automotive experience to the business.

Ray Barlow, from Chesterfield, has been appointed to lead the team as brand manager, having worked for the motoring group for ten years at managerial level. His leadership skills will enable him to deliver exceptional customers services to strengthen the business going forward.

Ray’s new management team includes Dave Calladine (50) from Chesterfield, who has been appointed as aftersales manager and Scott Bonsall (33) from Dronfield, who joins the team as sales manager.

Dave has dedicated the past 35 years to the automotive industry having worked with high profile brands. Having started as an apprentice mechanic Dave will be responsible for a team of 28 which incorporates after sales, parts and the bodyshop.

Sales manager, Scott, joins the team having come from a customer service background and has quickly progressed up the career ladder to managerial roles.

Speaking of his new team Ray said: “Both Dave and Scott’s expertise and local knowledge makes them ideally placed to help grow the business and take the team to new successes.

“With our new senior management team now in place we are ready to drive the business forward, making sure that all of our customers go away completely satisfied, whatever their reason for visiting or getting in touch.”

For more information on the Volkswagen range contact Chesterfield Volkswagen on 01246 260060.