Calderdale College in West Yorkshire has appointed GRAHAM Construction as the main contractor on its multi-million pound Unlocking Potential Project. The £9m scheme will see GRAHAM Construction undertake the refurbishment of three floors of the college’s Percival Whitley Centre to create state-of-the-art learning facilities and a Learning Resource Centre (LRC). The LRC will significantly enhance the college’s ability to deliver new courses to better meet local skills and employment needs. Once complete, the new facilities will allow the College to provide new courses in games design, video editing, visual effects, computer sciences, dentistry, pharmacy, health, social care, childcare, engineering and manufacturing. The upgraded Learning Resource Centre will also boast the latest digital technology and print resources to aid learning, and improve digital skills and employability. Gary Hughes, GRAHAM regional director for the North of England, said: “This contract demonstrates our continuing growth and reflects our strong reputation for outstanding works within the education sector. It also emphasises the benefits of the value we place on a collaborative approach and working partnerships with clients and local authorities. “We are proud to be involved in a project that will help to open up doors to more career paths and improve the learning experiences for thousands of students in West Yorkshire.” Denise Cheng-Carter, vice principal at Calderdale College, said: “This regional investment will enable the College to support the delivery of higher level skills, including higher level apprenticeships to match training to the particular needs of students and businesses as these skills are very much in demand throughout Calderdale and the wider Leeds City Region.” Work is due to start on the project – designed by Jefferson Sheard Architects – later this month with the project due to be completed in August 2016. It is being co-funded by Calderdale College and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership. The Unlocking Potential Project will become GRAHAM Construction’s second major project in Halifax in two years as it continues to work on the £23m restoration and transformation of Piece Hall, which is due to reopen in summer 2016. GRAHAM Construction operates throughout the UK and Ireland and is a specialist in the education sector, with clients including University of Salford and Sheffield Hallam University. Earlier this year, GRAHAM secured three multi-million pound new build and refurbishment contracts with the University of Manchester, University of York and University of Chester.

South Wales luxury house builder Waterstone Homes is hosting a pre-launch event for its Howells’ Reach development in Derwen Fawr, Swansea. The event will be held on Thursday 3 December at the newly opened Cru 42 wine bar in Mumbles between 6 – 8pm. (Press invites available) Howells’ Reach is a brand new select development of executive family homes located in the leafy suburb of Derwen Fawr, which is one of Swansea’s most sought after postcodes. Howells Reach is named after Mr Rees Howells who opened the Bible College of Wales in Derwen Fawr, Swansea in 1930. Just a short walk from the seafront and within strolling distance of Singleton Park and Clyne Gardens, this high-quality development is perfectly positioned for enjoying the best of life in Swansea. Waterstone Homes’ Managing Director, Leighton Morgans, and his team will be on hand to discuss various elements of the development at the event at the recently opened wine bar on Newton Road, Mumbles. Five homes have already been reserved off-plan before the site show home opens in April 2016. There are a number of schemes that can be offered to make the moving journey easier. If a client is on board early enough in the development of the house Waterstone Homes offers the option to adapt the layout and design. No other developer offers this exact service. Great care has been taken to ensure that the design of the properties at Howells’ Reach complements the architecture of the surrounding area. Offering a selection of four and five bedroom homes, set over two or three floors, all properties at the site offer sizeable gardens, ample parking space and garages. The Dylan Thomas, Charlotte Brontë and Roald Dahl are five bedroom properties and along with the four bedroom Jane Austen, all homes have bi-fold doors leading out onto spacious gardens. The largest property, the Dylan Thomas, features large curtain glazed walls and vaulted ceilings to the rear of the house allowing for as much natural light as possible. Internally, each property benefits from multiple reception rooms, and all bedrooms are large doubles. Howells’ Reach represents the very best in modern living with high quality materials used throughout. For more information about Howells’ Reach please see the link below. http://waterstonehomes.com/site/new-family-homes-south-wales-uk/howells-reach-derwen-fawr-swansea/ To register interest and / or make an appointment to visit the show home, please contact Andrea Gardner, Sales Manager, on 01656 644440 or email sales@waterstonehomes.com.

The Portakabin Group has been announced as preferred bidder for seven infant and primary school projects in Surrey and Kent. The contracts for the Department for Education will be worth in the region of £28 million. The projects will be completed by winter 2017 and constructed using a Yorkon off-site solution. The schemes have been identified by the Education Funding Agency (EFA) for delivery under the Priority School Building Programme (PSBP). The PSBP was established to address the needs of those schools in the worst condition across the country. A spokesperson from the EFA confirmed, “There was very strong competition in the off-site sector for this batch of projects and the modular market has clearly risen to the challenge with more advanced technical solutions. We looked closely at design, cost, experience and management.” Simon Ambler, Director of the Portakabin Group, “This is another milestone for the Portakabin Group and for the off-site sector. We are delighted to be able to demonstrate our ability to deliver high quality, affordable school buildings on time, on budget and to faster programmes to the benefit of children’s education. The opportunity for off-site construction to help transform the learning environment for thousands of pupils and their teachers under the Priority School Building Programme is immense.” “Off-site construction gives schools the benefits of considerable savings on programme because the sub and super structures are delivered simultaneously; it is safer because work off site is maximised, and the approach reduces disruption – which are all clear advantages when redeveloping fully operational school sites.” Three of the seven projects identified in the Surrey and Kent batch are now in the design stages. The first to start on site will be Pyrford Church of England Primary School in Woking. A £5 million 2FE primary school with two ‘bulge’ classrooms will be constructed to accommodate 480 children from the start of the 2016/17 academic year. It will replace the existing single-storey school which will then be demolished. Pyrford is a complex site which will include the retention of an existing children’s centre and nursery. The design of the new two-storey building will significantly increase the external space and access for outdoor play and learning, and high levels of natural light will provide a welcoming and bright internal environment for teaching. For further information about Yorkon off-site building solutions from the Portakabin Group for primary and secondary education, call 0845 2000 123, email info@yorkon.co.uk or visit www.yorkon.info.

Revised Plans Unveiled For 300 Homes in Scholes The joint venture team behind the proposed new housing scheme at Scholes in North Leeds has unveiled revised plans for a community benefit led scheme for 300 homes. Following discussions with Leeds City Council, these proposals will be promoted through the Site Allocations Plan Process. The JV team of Barratt and David Wilson Homes and the Scholes Development Company is seeking to assist with the Government’s much publicised push for new housing delivery by bringing new homes to the Outer North East area of Leeds, where Leeds City Council has a housing target of 5000 new homes by 2028. Following the withdrawal of the Headley Hall site in Bramham by Leeds University as a potential site for a new settlement, Leeds City Council needs to identify alternative sites in Outer North East Leeds for 3000 homes. The proposed site, to the immediate east of Scholes between Rakehill Road to the North, Main Street to the South and Belle Vue Avenue to the East, has previously been identified in the Leeds UDP as a potential development site. It spans circa 50 acres, sits outside of the Green Belt and is largely surrounded by residential development and recreation facilities. Initial proposals for 700 sustainable family homes have been reworked and were submitted last week as part of Leeds City Council’s Site Allocations Plan process. The revised proposals, whilst greatly reducing housing numbers, still offer the same substantial community benefits as the larger scheme including a gift of land to the Parish Council and financial assistance to enable the local primary school to expand, improved public transport facilities, a new GP surgery, road improvements and a new 5 acre public green park adjoining the cricket ground. Peter Gilman, Chairman of GMI Property who form part of the Scholes Development Company, said; “As we saw in the recent Autumn Statement, there is a real drive from Government to address the housing shortage problem and, following the withdrawal of the new settlement at Headley Hall, the Outer North East Leeds area is in desperate need of new homes – 3000 to be exact. Our strategic site at East Scholes is not in Green belt and has previously been identified by the Planning Inspectorate as being suitable for development. The Council wants to encourage developers to help build communities and with the squeeze on public spending, the reality is that sustainable schemes such as this are the only way that communities can ensure investment in their infrastructure. Despite the fact that we have more than halved the number of homes from our original scheme, we are still offering the same substantial community benefits. “With the local housing shortage running into thousands, we have a site which is available and deliverable and a partner in Barratt and David Wilson that wants to start building homes to satisfy local housing needs”. Scholes Development Company is a subsidiary of GMI Property which has a long term track record of delivering successful developments throughout Leeds. Most notably, they were responsible for delivering Thorpe Park where they worked closely with Leeds City Council to secure the release of the site from the Green Belt and the subsequent development of one of Leeds’ key employment sites