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People & Opinion Utility Week community UTILITY WEEK | 19TH - 25TH MAY 2017 | 7 Volunteers from Severn Trent and contractors MWH have teamed up to create a bird hide at the Staunton Harold Reservoir in Derbyshire. Bill Stannard, from Severn Trent, which organised the pro- ject, said: "Staunton Harold is located right by our Melbourne water treatment site – so we got in touch with the visitor site team to see if there was anything WATER Volunteers team for hide Explore the innovations and technologies that are transforming utilities. Meet the people who are driving this change. • Learn how and why your industry is changing • Discover the latest utilities technologies • Network with your fellow utilities leaders and professionals • Understand new utilities business models Book your free Utility Week Live 2017 tickets in advance to beat the queues, at: www.utilityweeklive.co.uk The essential show for essential services, 23-24 May 2017, NEC Birmingham. Event Call to action: Utility Week Live EXECUTIVE APPOINTMENT ELECTRICITY Fresh talks promised in Hinkley pay row Unions representing construction workers at Hinkley Point C say they are now hopeful a row over bonus pay can be resolved without strikes after fresh talks were promised by contractors. GMB and Unite said the discussions were tabled following a "positive intervention" from the plant's developer EDF. The unions conducted a consultative ballot two weeks ago on whether to accept the bonus pay offered by the BYLOR consortium formed by the companies Laing O'Rourke and Bouygues TP. "Our members gave this derisory bonus offer the short shrift it deserved by overwhelmingly voting it down," said GMB national officer for construction, Phil Whitehurst. "If the companies want to avoid strike action, they need to make us a serious offer, which matches our members' skills level, when we get back round the table." Laing O'Rourke, the leading partner in the BYLOR consortium, has been asked for a comment but has not yet provided one. New chair for APP Sir John Parker, the former chair of National Grid, has been named chair of Advanced Plasma Power (APP). APP specialises in technology for the production of green gas and recently partnered with Cadent (formerly National Grid Gas Distribution) to begin construction of the world's first commercially operating plant for the conversion of household waste into green gas. Parker is also chair of Pennon Group, which owns waste management firm Viridor. He will also become chair of construction company Laing O'Rourke this year. 59% The proportion of "c-suite leaders" who said they are concerned they will not be able to recruit the talent they need in order to achieve business ambitions in the wake of Brexit, in a survey by law firm DWF "Our energy network companies are local companies with a national impact. They are a part of our communities, responsible for running our local infrastructure. It is important that local candidates have an understanding of these companies and the service they provide if they want to properly represent their constituents." David Smith, chief executive, ENA we could do that would be valuable for visitors. We were told that lots of people visit Staunton for the wildlife, but it's lacking a bird hide. So we decided to join forces with MWH to fill that gap." The team from Severn Trent made use of the company's internal volunteering scheme, called Community Champions, where employees are given two volunteering days a year to take part in projects designed to give something back to the com- munities in which the company operates. "We have to accept, and act on, the fact that there remains strong distrust in our sector." Alistair Phillips-Davies, chief executive, SSE