What is the connection between No. 4 Duke Street, Liftshare, rock climbing and mustard?

Let’s talk about no. 4 Duke Street Norwich…

The site’s history is a colourful one; playing host to textile mills, foundries, a Duke, a brewery, electricity works and squatters to name a few (no mustard though!). This site’s past is one heck of a story and we’re pleased to announce that the next chapter will include Liftshare.

The current building was designed by the influential Norwich Architect Edward Boardman in 1912; previously responsible for re-building the Norwich Prison (1883) and the old Norfolk & Norwich Hospital (1880) to name just two!

Sadly No. 4 Duke Street has stood empty for the past 15 years, used as a squat, and left to degrade. But now, the Liftshare team are giving it a new lease of life.

With a rapidly expanding team it was only a matter of time before Liftshare outgrew their current premises and had to look for a new place to live. With a desire to locate somewhere central to keep staff commuting distances to a minimum, No.4 Duke Street, as a centrally located, beautiful, large, old building was perfect.  

Liftshare’s aim was to bring the building back to life whilst making it fit for another 100 years and very eco friendly. However, eco can come at a price and Ali (founder of Liftshare) struggled to find anyone to provide impartial advice on options to improve the property.

Thankfully help came in the form of Graham Hunter, a member of the Parity Projects team and a keen rock climber. Liftshare came across Parity Projects as another Ashden Award winner. Parity aim to help customers save money, save energy and reduce their environmental impact through implementation of an Energy Masterplan. And it seems they did a terrific job, as Ali (Liftshare Founder and MD) said…

“They were really easy to work with, very efficient, didn’t take up much of our time, but asked lots of relevant questions, and a week later a report landed in my inbox that very clearly summarised the various options available. This included how effective each option was likely to be, the cost attributed to each and the return on investment.

Armed with this information I was able to make some very quick decisions on how best to spend the budget available to achieve the results we wanted. Brilliant!”

No. 4 Duke Street is now in the process of renovation, including implementation of some of the energy saving options provided by Parity. The office move is set to happen before Christmas, allowing Liftshare to kick off the New Year with all wheels in motion!

Which leaves the burning question what is the connection between Liftshare and mustard? Edward Boardman (the original architect for No. 4) was actually part of the Colman family (yes the mustard people!) having married their daughter Florence – just a little bit of trivia!

Liftshare Member Offer:

10% off your own Energy Masterplan – click here