Award-winning off-site construction specialist and Portakabin subsidiary, Yorkon, has been awarded contracts totalling more than £5m to build new healthcare facilities at St. Peter’s Hospital in Chertsey, Surrey. New ward accommodation, St Peters HospitalThese latest contracts bring the value of Yorkon’s work in the healthcare sector so far this year to over £20m. With this latest investment, the local community in Chertsey will benefit from a new purpose-designed day surgery unit and additional ward accommodation providing 56 in-patient beds for emergency admissions. Both buildings have now been manufactured off-site and craned into position over three weekends to reduce disruption to hospital staff and patients, and remove the need for decanting. This more innovative approach to construction will also ensure a faster programme time. Designed by Todd Architects, the two-storey ward block will comprise 10 four-bed wards and 16 single bedrooms. Additional facilities include a nurse’s station, bathrooms, toilets, patient’s day room, discharge lounge, offices, staff room and a link to the main hospital ‘street’. Externally, the scheme will be clad in brickwork, rendered panels and cedar boarding to create an attractive finish as the building is prominently located at the Duchess of Kent Wing, one of the main hospital entrances. The day surgery unit, which will be fitted out by Yorkon and linked to the main hospital building, will comprise an operating theatre, anaesthetics room, preparation area, reception and a 12-bed recovery ward. Commenting on the construction projects, Peter Curtis, Capital Projects Manager for Ashford and St. Peter’s Hospital NHS Trust, said, “The locations of both of these new schemes are constrained by other buildings on this busy hospital site. Moving much of the construction work off-site and into a factory has allowed us to expand the facilities at St. Peter’s with as little disruption to the running of the hospital as possible.” He added, “These are challenging projects and I am pleased to report that we have been impressed by the efficiency of the cranage and installation process. Off-site construction was more cost-effective for these two schemes than site-based building methods. It is also important to have both buildings fully operational quickly in order for us to complete a major reorganisation of service provision ahead of the busy winter months. The modular approach will enable us to achieve this.” The two construction projects undertaken by Yorkon are part of a £13m reconfiguration programme which involves the relocation of emergency and medical services to St. Peter’s Hospital and elective surgery to Ashford Hospital including the creation of an Orthopaedic Treatment Centre and rehabilitation services at that hospital.

A fast-expanding North East construction firm has strengthened its business development management division with a triple appointment. The Owen Pugh Group has hired business development managers Emma Dixon and Ian Wharton, while Jonathan Constantine has joined the firm as a sales executive. Emma worked previously at two large property services firms and has several years’ experience of sales, marketing and business development. In her new role she is based at Owen Pugh Construction, which delivers high-profile infrastructure and civil engineering schemes across the region. Ian has joined Owen Pugh Contracts, which delivers earthmoving, demolition, reclamation, remediation, recycling, civil engineering and landfill works. Previously he was North East area sales manager for a drainage maintenance company and he specialises in contract management and negotiations. In his new role he is being supported by business development assistant Louise Pomery, who has been with Owen Pugh Contracts for two years. Meanwhile, Jonathan’s appointment has bolstered the team at Owen Pugh and Company, the plant hire and haulage division of the group. Previously he worked in a variety of sales roles, predominantly in the plant hire arena. The triple appointment coincides with a restructuring of the business development team following a period of sustained growth at Owen Pugh, which has won a string of high-profile contracts including work on the £1m redevelopment of the Port of Sunderland. As part of the restructure, sales manager Phil White has moved from Owen Pugh and Company to Owen Pugh Aggregates, a supplier of primary and recycled construction aggregates and agricultural limestone. John Dickson, chairman of Owen Pugh Group, said: “These appointments will strengthen our business development management division as we look to build on a successful 2015 by winning further contracts. The construction industry is a challenging environment but we are working on several schemes that are maintaining and improving the built environment of the North East.” The Owen Pugh Group comprises five trading companies operating in the civil engineering industry, undertaking earthmoving and demolition, drainage and groundworks, plant hire and haulage, quarrying, inert waste and drain cleaning, and CCTV surveys. The group, which employs more than 430 staff across its divisions, is headquartered in Dudley near Cramlington, with other bases in Blaydon, Sunderland, Stockton-on-Tees and Marsden Quarry. For further information about the Owen Pugh Group visit www.owenpugh.com.

Circus Street transformation begins in Brighton Work begins this week on the Circus Street development in Brighton, which will regenerate the area, injecting £200 million into the economy and create 400 jobs. Partners in the scheme celebrated the start as the first machinery arrived to start the demolition of the old municipal market building. The demolition contractors are Dorton Group, based in Burgess Hill, with 30 years of experience in demolition and 40 employees, many of them local. They will complete demolition towards the end of 2015 and then construction will start early in 2016. All timber from the demolition works will be used for board making and bio mass fuel. All steel will be re-used and all hard core and concrete will be kept on site to be used on the site construction of the new Circus Street development. Any waste will go to a transfer station for further sorting. Cathedral Group and Dorton Group met with neighbours last week to update them on upcoming works and answer questions. Said Richard Upton, Chief Executive of Cathedral Group (Holdings) Ltd: “Our neighbours are our first priority and we are working with our partners and contractors to be the most considerate builders in the city to date, working to the best possible standards.” Said Cllr Warren Morgan, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, “The council is proud to have played its part in helping to bring regeneration to the Circus Street area. It’s great to see this major project get under way which will deliver much needed homes as well as employment and community benefits, alongside student accommodation that will ease the pressure on the city’s housing stock.” Anne Boddington, University of Brighton, said: “We are delighted that work is underway – a high quality new art teaching and library space, as well as welcoming public exhibition space and café, will greatly enhance our educational offer at the university. The project will allow the university to further enhance its strong partnerships with the cultural organisations in the city.” Jamie Watton, CEO/Artistic Director, South East Dance, said: ‘At last The Dance Space can become a reality – it will be a vital addition to the dance infrastructure of the whole country as well as a sustainable and permanent home for dance in the city. We are delighted to be the chosen cultural partner for this significant development and to support economic regeneration in our home city. Continued Richard Upton, “We are very excited to start work here – our ambition is to transform the area into a vibrant new quarter of the city, bringing cultural, economic and educational benefits to an area in need of some love. Our goal is to make Circus Street the go-to place for Brighton’s creative individuals, innovative business start-ups, students and nearby residents. This will become a reality in just two years.” The scheme includes a new University of Brighton library and academic building with a publicly-accessible exhibition space; 142 new homes, including 28 affordable; 450 student bedrooms in quality and managed student halls of residence; The Dance Space, South East Dance’s new home for dance at the heart of the development; and 38,000 sq ft of new office space plus workshops offering creative businesses start up accommodation and room to grow. The Council car park on Carlton Hill is now permanently closed and all parking bays on the east side of Circus Street will be closed permanently and there will be some temporary parking bay closures at key times during the demolition on Morley Street. Works traffic will access the site by entering from the A23 and onto Circus Street.

The decline in bank lending to the commercial property market since the financial crisis has slowed dramatically, according to data from commercial law firm EMW. Bank lending to investors in the sector is down just 1% from July last year to £136.2bn. It comes after several years during which bank lending fell significantly. Over the past five years, lending has fallen 28% from £187.6bn. In part the slowdown is due to a lower quantity of non-performing loans being sold off by the banks. EMW said write-offs of bad debt had also freed up more capital for new lending and rising capital values provided further encouragement. Minal Thakarar, a principal at EMW, said “The banks’ appetite to lend to property investors is at its highest level since the financial crisis. “For the first time since the financial crisis the decline in the amount of lending to property investors has tailed off – investors are now more optimistic about seeking funding from the banks.”