The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) acknowledges that cuts in government departmental spending are necessary to bring public finances back into surplus by 2019/20. What is of concern, however, is that the progress made to date by the landscaping and horticulture industry with Defra and the DCLG could be
The government has slashed green regulation since taking power this year, with residential sustainability hit particularly hard. But given the UK’s ambitious targets for both emissions and housing, the newly launched Homes School is aiming to step into the breach that government has vacated. Homing in Shifting sands Building knowledge
Plant and tool hire group Speedy has posted an £11.4m pre-tax loss for the half-year after spending £14.2m to turn the business around. For the six months to 30th September 2015, Speedy revenue for the period was down 13% to £165.0m (2014 H1: £189.3m). UK and Ireland revenue dropped 12.0%
Japanese plant manufacturer Komatsu has acquired Lehnhoff Hartstahl, German producer of automatic quick coupler systems for excavator attachments. The Lehnoff family that owns the Variolock coupler business, headed by company chief executive Peter Lehnhoff, said they decided that selling to Komatsu was the best way to secure the future of
Transport for London’s analysis of the transport implications of a third runway at Heathrow raise the prospect of the capital grinding to a halt. Road and rail congestion would soon reach unprecedented levels if the government approves construction of a third runway at Heathrow, as recommended by the Airports Commission.
Regulatory protections will be needed to protect customers from potential abuse from “substantial market power” in the transition to water market competition, Ofwat has said. As part of a review of non-household retail price controls, the regulator said it wants to make sure new market arrangements don’t disadvantage certain customers.
Three overhead gantries are due to be removed from the M62 near Rochdale during the next 4 weekends as part of a major project to tackle congestion and improve journey times. Contractors for Highways England need to close a 2 mile stretch of the motorway overnight in both directions between
Managed Services, part of Travis Perkins plc, which provides maintenance materials and supply chain planning for public sector organisations, has chosen to work with Paint 360, providing customers across the social housing and NHS sector with high quality, environmentally friendly paint. Paint 360 specialises in re-engineering waste paint taken from
Rugged mains/cordless LED work-light Carbide reciprocating saw blades for wood and metal Diamond hole-saw set, 6-25mm, with water feed Makita continues to expand their accessory range constantly adding useful new lines and improved blades, bits and cutters for best possible performance. The latest additions include a rugged site work-light that
To support fast and efficient working, FLEX has now replaced the existing “Box on Box” transport case system with the proven L-BOXX. The familiar system was developed for secure storage, protection during transport and portable use. The L-BOXX is suitable for tools, accessories and consumables. The L-BOXX is available
BDC 319 : Aug 2024
The British Association of Landscape Industries (BALI) acknowledges that cuts in government departmental spending are necessary to bring public finances back into surplus by 2019/20. What is of concern, however, is that the progress made to date by the landscaping and horticulture industry with Defra and the DCLG could be compromised as a result of the agreed 30 per cent cuts. BALI and other industry bodies are working in a collaborative manner with government departments through the All Party Parliamentary Gardening and Horticulture Group (APPGHG) on a number of key issues affecting our industry, including the chronic skills shortage, the implementation of the National Living Wage, and local authority contracts. Making savings in genuine back office areas is a positive step, assuming that valuable contacts made by the industry within these departments are not lost. This would mean that we struggle to obtain the level of support and recognition we need from government to ensure that landscaping and horticulture is kept at the top of the green infrastructure agenda. It is unclear from the Chancellor’s speech where precisely major cuts to spending will be made and how this will affect us. BALI hopes that his mention of focusing on ‘green jobs’ to grow the economy includes not only ‘green technologies’ but also the landscaping and horticulture industry, which does so much to deliver a sustainable and ‘green’ environment.
The government has slashed green regulation since taking power this year, with residential sustainability hit particularly hard. But given the UK’s ambitious targets for both emissions and housing, the newly launched Homes School is aiming to step into the breach that government has vacated. Homing in Shifting sands Building knowledge Volume gap It’s not been a great year for housing sustainability – in policy terms at least. The Green Deal and zero-carbon homes have both been scrapped, feed-in tariffs look set to be cut, and the Energy Companies Obligation will change after 2017. All of these changes have been met with uproar by the construction industry, harming not only the built environment’s green agenda but putting many specialist companies out of business. With government support and regulation seemingly only heading in one direction, particularly in the residential market, it’s more important than ever for the industry to take the lead on sustainability. And it’s this that has prompted the launch of the Homes School, an offshoot from the successful Supply Chain Sustainability School (SCSC). The Homes School is a free, online resource for the supply chain, providing virtual learning to improve sustainability performance and share sustainability best practice. Homing in The school has launched with a number of industry partners, including Berkeley Group, Grosvenor, Kier Homes, Linden Homes, Lovell, Wates Living Space and Willmott Dixon. The school’s ‘knowledge partners’ are the CITB, Home Builders Federation and Zero Carbon Hub. The SCSC was launched in 2012 and has more than 10,000 members signed up to access its resources, supported by 34 of the UK’s biggest contractors. Since the original launch, schools for infrastructure and facilities management have been introduced under the sustainability banner, as well as an Offsite Management School separate from the SCSC. “One of the biggest problems we have as an industry is upskilling the workforce to understand what they have to do to deliver the product we have to deliver” Paul Voden, Kier Homes Rachel Woolliscroft is head of sustainability at Wates Group and chair of the new Homes School. “Housing is a unique sector with very clear challenges,” she says. “We will consider issues such as overheating, sustainable urban drainage systems, the performance gap, social issues, and more.” Crucially, the government’s stated ambition to build one million homes over the course of this parliament, including target measures for 200,000 Starter Homes in the Housing and Planning Bill, mean plenty of houses are set to be built – and making sure they are energy-efficient and well designed will be crucial if the UK is to meet its ambitious carbon targets. “One of the biggest problems we have as an industry is upskilling the workforce to understand what they have to do to deliver the product we have to deliver,” says Kier Homes housing manager Paul Voden. “The school is an essential part of getting to everyone that’s involved in producing those buildings. It raises the issues that are unique to our part of the industry,” adding that the school is also helping the supply chain to understand legislative changes. Shifting sands These changes are having an effect on housing sustainability, with the scrapping of the Green Deal and changes to ECO, as well as the cut to FiTs, hampering efforts to improve the green credentials of the existing housing stock. Willmott Dixon principal sustainable development manager Steve Cook says the industry can “stand on its own two feet” on sustainability, despite government cuts. “If you have to rely on government funding, people say we’re only doing it because we’re paid to,” he says. “Solar should make sense without FiTs. “The big change will be in getting consumers to demand more. We’ve had a lot of top-down initiatives that haven’t worked.” “We used to be able to innovate, but we’re now dependent on the market for future income, and that makes us more conservative” Julie Moulder, Catalyst Housing Similarly, Lovell central procurement manager Rob Worboys says the industry is doing “exactly what the government wants us to do”, emphasising that the collaborative nature of the Homes School fits into the government’s current ethos to strip back regulation and let industry lead the way. “We have to make sure we’re prepared [for changes] and upskill the workforce to deliver those changes,” Mr Voden adds. Housing associations too are feeling the pinch from government cuts that are denting their business models and, in turn, affecting a large proportion of new homes. Catalyst Housing executive development director Julie Moulder describes the housing association business model as a “broken one”. “We used to use capital grants and rely on rental income – but the imposition of rent reductions and Right to Buy has had a severe impact,” she says. “We used to be able to innovate, but we’re now dependent on the market for future income, and that makes us more conservative.” Building knowledge These changes to the housing sector mean it’s critical for the industry to lead, with the collaboration made possible by the Homes School an important part of this. “Most of the firms we employ are SMEs,” Mr Worboys says. “Do they have time to do massive amounts of research? They’re on the journey with us. “We don’t deliver anything ourselves – it’s delivered by the supply chain and they need the knowledge.” At Kier Homes, Mr Voden focuses on the need to upskill “bricklayers, plasterers and carpenters” to help achieve better fabric-first efficiency. “The workforce has to be more particular in how they put the insulation in, how they’re constructing the windows to make sure they’re not leaving gaps, making sure the building is airtight,” he says. “We don’t deliver anything ourselves – it’s delivered by the supply chain and they need the knowledge” Rob Worboys, Lovell Wates Group argues that most of its suppliers are already doing environmental sustainability as part of business as usual, but says the biggest gap is in social value. Wates Living Space managing director Andy Hobart emphasises the firm’s target to have
Plant and tool hire group Speedy has posted an £11.4m pre-tax loss for the half-year after spending £14.2m to turn the business around. For the six months to 30th September 2015, Speedy revenue for the period was down 13% to £165.0m (2014 H1: £189.3m). UK and Ireland revenue dropped 12.0% to £155.2m (2014: £176.3m). Profit before tax, amortisation and exceptional costs for the period was £2.0m (2014: £10.3m). Exceptional costs totalled £14.2m before tax (2014: £3.7m). Of this, £2.2m was spent on reconfiguring the depot network and £3.3m on changing the management structure totalled £3.3m. The balance of £8.7m was incurred in providing for losses on disposal of fleet and writing off debts in the international division. UK and Ireland headcount has been cut so far this year by 298 to 3,167. These cost reductions are expected to deliver full year savings of approximately £13m a year, with half of this saving coming from the job cuts. Speedy’s results come as little surprise, however. On 1st July, following a board review, chief executive Mark Rogerson was let go after just 18 months in post and replaced by finance director Russell Down. At the same time Jan Åstrand was appointed executive chairman. The new chief executive says that he is starting to get things sorted now, however. Mr Down said: “Following a disappointing and challenging start to the year, reflected in the results we are announcing today, we are beginning to see the benefits of the remedial actions put in place to address the various legacy issues. “These are early days in the group’s recovery and the full benefits will only be realised over the medium term. However, remedial actions implemented to date have started to stabilise our revenue base and we are expecting to see an improvement in the second half. “Whilst our markets remain competitive, Speedy remains a fundamentally good business which in a more lean, efficient and customer-focussed form, has the potential to once again deliver sustainable profitable growth.” As at 30 September 2015, net debt was £102.6m, which is well within its £180m facility. Mr Down said his strategy was to better anticipate customer requirements so that the right products are in the right place. He said: “We are investing time in talking to our customers, and asking them what they need and want from Speedy. Based on their feedback we are working on a number of initiatives that will introduce new value added products and services that will increasingly differentiate Speedy from its peer group. He admitted: “We have not invested sufficiently in developing and building long term customer relationships across our customer base. We need to increase the levels of repeat business by anticipating our customers’ needs through getting to know them better. “As part of this focus on all customers, from our national strategic clients to our 50,000 strong SME base, we will be upgrading our customer relationship management systems which will assist with availability of equipment based on real-time intelligence as we build relationships from the ground up.”
Japanese plant manufacturer Komatsu has acquired Lehnhoff Hartstahl, German producer of automatic quick coupler systems for excavator attachments. The Lehnoff family that owns the Variolock coupler business, headed by company chief executive Peter Lehnhoff, said they decided that selling to Komatsu was the best way to secure the future of the business and its 180 employees. “To evaluate an early and best possible succession plan for the company and its workforce was very important to my family and me,” said Peter Lehnhoff. “We are very fortunate for this important decision with Komatsu, with whom we have been cooperating excellently for 30 years. We are convinced that Lehnhoff Hartstahl will continue to grow from its location in Baden-Baden and will sustainably access the international markets.” He added: “This strategic decision will ensure Lehnhoff Hartstahl are best positioned for the future.” The price was not disclosed. Sean Heron, managing director of Lehnhoff’s UK distributor Worsley Plant, welcomed the takeover. “We see this as a positive step for the future of Lehnhoff’s products, allowing us to further penetrate the UK market with this market leading technology.”
Transport for London’s analysis of the transport implications of a third runway at Heathrow raise the prospect of the capital grinding to a halt. Road and rail congestion would soon reach unprecedented levels if the government approves construction of a third runway at Heathrow, as recommended by the Airports Commission. Transport for London (TfL) says that the Airports Commission has failed to assess the impact of full utilisation of the three runways at Heathrow, or of additional freight and growth in business activity around the airport. The London Assembly Transport Committee met yesterday (10th November 2015) and heard that it would cost between £15bn and £20bn to improve the transport infrastructure needed to get all passengers to and from Heathrow Airport, if a third runway is built there. Transport for London director of strategy and policy Richard De Cani told the meeting: “The simple word would be congestion – congestion on the road network, congestion on the rail network of a scale that we haven’t seen. The level of crowding you would have on those rail corridors into central London would be some of the worst that we currently see in London and that’s based on 2030 demand, the year of opening. So it’s a level of crowding and congestion that we believe would start to impact quite significantly on the whole performance of the transport network across west and southwest London.” Committee chair Valerie Shawcross said: “Today we heard that there are clear discrepancies between the Airports Commission’s assessment of transport demand with TfL’s own analysis. For example, the Airports Commission has only planned for passenger demand up to 2030, and does not take into account transport needs with the airport at full capacity after expansion. “Before the government makes its decision on airport expansion, there are big questions to be answered around what transport infrastructure is needed and who will pay for it. We can’t allow a bigger Heathrow to clog up London’s roads and public transport network.”
Regulatory protections will be needed to protect customers from potential abuse from “substantial market power” in the transition to water market competition, Ofwat has said. As part of a review of non-household retail price controls, the regulator said it wants to make sure new market arrangements don’t disadvantage certain customers. It said while price controls mustn’t “create undue barriers to entry or expansion”, basic protections must be put in place to “promote trust and confidence” in the delivery of water and wastewater services. Ofwat said default tariffs, a form of back-stop protection for customers in the non-household water and wastewater retail market, “remain appropriate”. However, problems have been highlighted in the energy market, which became competitive 15 years ago, such as the average cost serve to non-household customers being higher than the allowances made in setting the default tariff caps. In the water sector non-household retail costs rose in 2014-15, the regulator said, and the non-household retail price controls set in December 2014 “did not include a sufficient allocation of costs or margins”. The regulator wants companies to engage with customers to develop their default tariff caps proposals. It is also consulting on how to improve transparency in the mapping of tariffs to the default tariff caps. The consultation will close 11 December.
Three overhead gantries are due to be removed from the M62 near Rochdale during the next 4 weekends as part of a major project to tackle congestion and improve journey times. Contractors for Highways England need to close a 2 mile stretch of the motorway overnight in both directions between junction 19 at Heywood and junction 20 at Oldham on Saturday nights to take down the gantries, which are not suitable for the smart motorway scheme. The overhead gantries – which span both the eastbound and westbound carriageways of the motorway – are 40 metres wide and weigh 130 tonnes each. Specialist 500 tonne cranes will be used to remove the gantries during the closures between 9pm each Saturday night and 10am each Sunday morning as part of the £202 million smart motorway project. The scheme between junction 8 of the M60 near Sale and junction 20 of the M62 will see the latest technology being used to monitor traffic levels and keep vehicles moving by using variable speed limits. The hard shoulder will also be permanently converted into an extra lane to increase capacity between junctions 18 and 20 on the M62. Highways England project manager Paul Hampson said: These are massive structures and we will need to close the M62 to remove them safely by lifting the beams onto the carriageway, where they’ll be broken up and transported away, and then by removing the gantry legs using a smaller crane. We’re advising people to allow extra time for their journeys if they’re planning to travel when the closures are taking place, although we’ve deliberately timed the demolition work to be carried out when traffic levels are at their lowest. The overnight closures between junctions 19 and 20 on the M62 will take place on Saturday 14, 21 and 28 November, and on Saturday 5 December. The closures could be postponed if strong winds are forecast. The eastbound diversion route for the closures from junction 19 will operate north of the motorway – from junction 19 using the northbound A6046, eastbound A458 and southbound A627(M) down to junction 20. The westbound diversion will run south of the motorway – with drivers sent onto the southbound A627(M) from junction 20, westbound A664 and northbound A6046 up to junction 19. Work to demolish 16 overhead gantries began in April with the latest demolitions designed to complete the work. When the smart motorway scheme is completed in autumn 2017, around 200 new electronic message signs on overhead gantries will warn drivers of changes in the mandatory speed limit, lane closures and incidents ahead. To stay up to date with the latest developments, visit the scheme page.
Managed Services, part of Travis Perkins plc, which provides maintenance materials and supply chain planning for public sector organisations, has chosen to work with Paint 360, providing customers across the social housing and NHS sector with high quality, environmentally friendly paint. Paint 360 specialises in re-engineering waste paint taken from waste management companies and turning it into something of value; a hard-wearing quality paint product. Managed Services teamed with Paint 360 last year and have already donated building materials and a lorry to the growing business, which will help improve delivery efficiencies on and off the Paint 360 site. The new paint is made of 90% recycled materials and has a very low carbon footprint, as reconstituting this into a valuable product only requires a small number of ingredients to do the job. An independent assessment by The Carbon Footprint Company calculated that a contractor using the paint can effectively run a transit van five miles carbon-free for each litre of paint used. This matches Managed Services’ ethos of providing customers with cost saving procurement efficiencies, as well as operational efficiencies. Paint 360 also works with social enterprises–employing vulnerable young people and those who have been in trouble with the police and supporting their personal and professional development. The Federation of Small Businesses (FBS) recently emphasised how working with small suppliers in the public sector can help firms generate wealth, drive innovation, create jobs and train apprentices. The FBS described how small suppliers can provide support on a social economic level, meaning services can be supplied better, faster and cheaper to respond to customer’s needs. Managed Services’ engagement with Paint 360 and similar firms means that a high quality service, using ethical products, can be delivered to customers quickly – and can also help towards benefitting the overall public procurement supply chain. Stuart Hough, Managing Director of Managed Services, said: “It’s great to be able to work with Paint 360 and lend our support to an SME. The paint products are environmentally friendly whilst still being really high quality. At Managed Services, we strive to provide our customers with cost savings and other efficiencies, whilst still making a difference to the communities we work in and environmental sustainability is a key part of this. Lee Cole, Managing Director of Paint 360, said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Travis Perkins Managed Services, who share similar values to what we do, enabling us to grow and develop our business in the similar vision as to what we started out with. “We are looking forward to continuing the partnership and strengthening our workforce to a healthy number of 16-20 employees by the end of 2016”. Government Business 22.5, Small Businesses, “Working with small suppliers is good for the public sector”.
Rugged mains/cordless LED work-light Carbide reciprocating saw blades for wood and metal Diamond hole-saw set, 6-25mm, with water feed Makita continues to expand their accessory range constantly adding useful new lines and improved blades, bits and cutters for best possible performance. The latest additions include a rugged site work-light that can be powered by mains or by Makita’s high performance Lithium Ion batteries; a new series of carbide tipped reciprocating saw blades that will efficiently cut through timber and nails, and a new set of diamond tipped hole-saws ideal for cutting accurate holes in tiles for bathroom installations. The new Makita DML805 LED work-light will run on 240v mains power or 14.4v and 18v Lithium-ion batteries from the Makita range. The twenty 0.5watt LED’s provide a bright and even light and there is a full beam and low level setting on the simple push button control. The light unit is mounted in a rugged moulded carry cradle with flat base and top handle that can serve as a hanging bar. A simple rotating knob releases the angle setting which can spin through 360°. Ideal for site operations this work-light features Makita Extreme Protection Technology, XPT, against water and dust ingress. It has three tripod mounting options as standard. Using a 4.0Ah 18v Makita Li-ion battery the DML805 LED work-light has a continuous run time in high setting of a useful 6.5 hours. “It is wise to remember that high performance Makita power tools will achieve the best results when used in combination with our quality accessories,” says Kevin Brannigan, marketing manager, Makita UK. The new Makita Tungsten carbide-tipped reciprocating saw blades have a new shape of saw tooth which gives faster cutting and longer life. Designed to cut through timber where metal nails or fixings require cutting, these new 1.25mm width blades are available in three lengths: 152mm, 228mm and 305mm. All these saw blades have 6-8 teeth per inch. The new Makita diamond-tipped hole-saw kit brings together the individual hole-saws available in the range. Users will find these hole-saws invaluable for cutting through ceramic and porcelain tiles or glass in bathroom and kitchen installations. The electroplated diamond-tripped hole-saws must be used with the water feed tube supplied in the six piece kit which includes 6, 8, 10, 15, 20 and 25mm diameter hole-saws. For more news and product information about Makita UK please visit www.makitauk.com. Follow us on Twitter @MakitaUK and Facebook.com/makitauk
To support fast and efficient working, FLEX has now replaced the existing “Box on Box” transport case system with the proven L-BOXX. The familiar system was developed for secure storage, protection during transport and portable use. The L-BOXX is suitable for tools, accessories and consumables. The L-BOXX is available in four different sizes and is designed for a loading capacity of up to 25 kg per box. Inserts inside the boxes allow professional and clean storage. In all box sizes, the case lids have a load-bearing capacity of up to 100 kg and provide reliable protection for the entire contents even during rough transport and conditions of use. At the workplace, the robust, splashwater-protected cases impress with their quick accessibility and clear, organised storage. All it takes is a click to join and separate the boxes All L-BOXXes can be individually combined and comfortably transported with a robust “Easy-click-and-go” system, up to a total weight of 40 kg. This means that tools, compatible accessories and the associated consumables are intelligently pre-sorted and quickly available where they’re needed. No more time-consuming backwards and forwards between the vehicle and the building site. For additional loading safety, the L-BOXX system can be integrated into the crash-tested vehicle racks of Sortimo and Aluca. Company: FLEX-Elektrowerkzeuge GmbH Nadine Hofmeister, Marketing/PR Bahnhofstraße 15 71711 Steinheim/Murr, Germany Tel: (0049) (0)7144 / 828-888, Fax: 25899 Mail: nadine.hofmeister@flex-tools.com
