Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Wed, Mar 2nd 2016 ISG has achieved a 100 percent success rate by securing a place on every one of the Lots it targeted on the new £2 billion YORbuild 2 framework. The contractor has secured a
Free information for small and medium-sized firms has been released by the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), to coincide with the government’s April 2016 introduction of requirement to use BIM Level 2 in significant centrally procured contracts. The ECA’s ‘BIM Basics’ checklist highlights the ‘bare essential’ requirements that
According to Savills, take-up in the Cambridge office market hit circa 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sq m) in July and August alone, reflecting a 21% increase on the H116 total of 165,000 sq ft (15,329 sq m). Despite a slow start to 2016, figures suggest it is now business as
Galliford Try has won a £62m contract to build new accommodation for students at Newcastle University. Above: Artists impression of the new Richardson Road halls The university’s existing Richardson Road flats – known as Ricky Road and built in the 1970s – will be pulled down. In their place will
Our industry faces major skills challenges to deliver the pipeline of work that includes increased housebuilding and major infrastructure projects. And it needs new skills to drive up its productivity. It must also attract more people to replace those due to retire and potentially those that have been coming in
Warning to Landlords as 34% sublet with out consent According to a new report, a third of tenants (34%) are currently subletting without the landlord’s consent and four out of ten tenants admitted that they were planning to sublet in the near future, without telling their landlord. The study, conducted
Homes that were foreclosed during the housing crisis in the United States have gained almost twice as much value as other homes, according to a new analysis. But the original owners of those homes have not benefited from that recovery as low end homes were much more likely to be
Manchester City Council has announced that Manchester Town Hall is set for a £330 million refurbishment in order to prevent the building from further decay. The Victorian Town Hall site was built in 1977 and is still structurally sound, although it has many elements that are coming to the end
Wessex Water has announced a £12 million fall in profits before tax for the financial year 2015/16. The water supplier also stated that its turnover went down by almost £20 million from £540.3 million to £520.8 million, while operating profit has also fallen as a result of a £2 billion
The latest asking price index from Home.co.uk has revealed that the Brexit vote has hit UK property prices. Asking prices have seen a fall in Scotland, London and four English regions, with the UK’s decision to leave the European Union being cited as the main reason for the change to
Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Wed, Mar 2nd 2016 ISG has achieved a 100 percent success rate by securing a place on every one of the Lots it targeted on the new £2 billion YORbuild 2 framework. The contractor has secured a place on two of the most coveted Lots for each of the four YORbuild 2 regions. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday As the successor to the original YORbuild framework, which delivered over £700 million of projects over its five year duration, YORbuild 2 is one of the largest public sector procurement vehicles for new build, refurbishment and design & build construction projects in the Yorkshire and Humber regions. Subdivided into four regions encompassing all 22 local authorities within the Yorkshire and Humber area – the North, South, East and West – ISG has proved successful on the ‘over £4-10 million’ and ‘over £10 million’ Lots for each of the regions. The four year capital works framework has an option to be extended by two years and building on the scope of YORbuild, looks set to include BIM capability and additional forms of contract. This latest appointment adds to ISG’s growing list of high-profile public sector framework wins, including North West Construction Hub, the EFA Framework, NEPO Framework (North East Procurement Organisation), the Cleveland Fire Authority capital build framework, Ministry of Justice (MoJ) Strategic Alliance Agreement Framework for Construction, the Construction Framework South West and the Welsh schools and public sector framework SEWSCAP2. Phil Brown, ISG’s UK Construction managing director, commented: “Following significant interest and competition for places on this major regional framework, it’s a great result for the business to be successful across each of the Lots we contested. ISG is consistently viewed as a trusted and collaborative framework partner, driving efficiencies and learning into the build process, and these credentials undoubtedly proved persuasive for our YORbuild 2 bid.” Source link
Free information for small and medium-sized firms has been released by the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), to coincide with the government’s April 2016 introduction of requirement to use BIM Level 2 in significant centrally procured contracts. The ECA’s ‘BIM Basics’ checklist highlights the ‘bare essential’ requirements that firms within the building services sector will need to meet to work on BIM projects. Developed with the Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE), the ECA’s ‘BIM Basics’ checklist includes the basic requirements within the following key areas: – Capability and skills – Processes – Software and hardware – Digital information. According to the ECA’s Bill Wright: “Central government spends billions each year on buying goods and services, and it’s vital that building services firms of all shapes and sizes quickly get up-to-speed with BIM Level 2. “BIM won’t work properly if the specialist supply chain is fully ready, and the ECA’s easily digestible ‘BIM Basics’ Checklist will help smaller and lower tier contractors to understand what may be their most likely interactions with BIM projects.” The ECA’s free ‘BIM Basics’ checklist can be viewed by clicking here. A more extensive version, containing more ‘advanced’ BIM requirements, is available exclusively to ECA Members only. The ‘BIM Basics’ checklist is freely available until 1 July 2016. Research conducted by the ECA last year found over half of contractors (54%) with a turnover of less than £1 million are ‘not ready at all’ for BIM, while 3 in 10 firms (30%) with earnings between £1m and £20m were in the same position. The BIM checklists are part of the ECA’s response to help companies’ increase their relevant BIM understanding and capability. Source link
According to Savills, take-up in the Cambridge office market hit circa 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sq m) in July and August alone, reflecting a 21% increase on the H116 total of 165,000 sq ft (15,329 sq m). Despite a slow start to 2016, figures suggest it is now business as usual for Cambridge post-Brexit. In the last two months, there have been a number of transactions that have seen international occupiers commit to the region, rubber stamping the city’s reputation as a world class centre for R&D, innovation and technology. Examples include, Enplas Corporation, a Japanese life sciences and engineering firm, who has recently taken 1,515 sq ft (140 sq m) of space at Chesterford Research Park and SBM Life Science UK Ltd. The French company, SBM, recently acquired part of Bayer Environmental Science, and will be focusing on biologics, soils and fertilizer products from its new 4,571 sq ft (424 sq m) UK and Ireland headquarters at Technopark. Furthermore, Cambridge has also encountered a number of new entrants, mostly in the tech sector. These businesses have continued to migrate towards the city centre, adding to the growing cluster of incumbent occupiers. Bateman House, for instance, located on Hills Road, has almost reached full occupation in the past 12 months, welcoming five new tech companies to the area. These include Genestack, Intrasonics, Docker, Electric Imp and Malin Life Sciences. They have joined established businesses such as Raspberry Pi, who took more than 7,000 sq ft (650 sq m) at 30 Station Road and Astra Zeneca, who now occupy a total of circa 59,000 sq ft (5,481 sq m) at Academy House and City House, also on Hills Road, cementing the city centre’s status as a growing tech and pharmaceutical hub. As a result, Savills remain confident that businesses are taking their finger off of the pause button and are now starting to look for new space in the city. Existing occupiers, mostly start-ups, who have outgrown incubator space in the business and innovation parks, are now looking to move into bigger and more central premises. William Clarke, associate director of business space at Savills Cambridge, comments: “The amount of space currently under offer almost certainly signifies an end to the period of indecision that occurred in the first six months of the year prior to the referendum. This latest activity is a testament to the underlying strength of the Cambridge market. Whilst there is undoubtedly some uncertainty still to come, we are confident that Cambridge will continue to weather the storm well. “Overall, supply still remains low, however there is hope that this positive sentiment will encourage further development in the city, which in turn should have a good impact on the market as a whole.” Source link
Galliford Try has won a £62m contract to build new accommodation for students at Newcastle University. Above: Artists impression of the new Richardson Road halls The university’s existing Richardson Road flats – known as Ricky Road and built in the 1970s – will be pulled down. In their place will be built six new blocks ranging from four to 10 stories. The new development will provide 1,279 en suite bedrooms, a 351 increase in student bed spaces on the site. Galliford Try is expected to start work on site this summer and have the new halls open for students in September 2018. This article was published on 18 Mar 2016 (last updated on 18 Mar 2016). Source link
Our industry faces major skills challenges to deliver the pipeline of work that includes increased housebuilding and major infrastructure projects. And it needs new skills to drive up its productivity. It must also attract more people to replace those due to retire and potentially those that have been coming in from other parts of the European Union. Despite growing apprenticeship numbers and increasing volumes of training, we are struggling to meet these needs. Inevitably, this raises questions about what role the CITB should be playing. New priorities These questions will be considered by the Farmer Review and the government’s review of industry training boards announced in the Post-16 Skills Plan, and they are naturally being tackled head on by the CITB itself. I believe there are three key questions: whether a levy and grant system is still right for construction; what should the CITB’s remit be; and how it should reform to deliver it. These are not rhetorical questions; they are serious and complex. Ultimately, the first question will be answered when the CITB seeks industry consensus for a new levy order, but we must all work together to answer the others in the run-up – and urgently. Historically, much of the CITB’s focus has been to get as much money as possible back into the hands of employers in the form of grants and to directly provide high-quality training that gives learners the skills to be safe and productive on site. The CITB has achieved a lot on both fronts, but it’s obvious from construction’s persistent skills problems that it’s not enough. The levy system must do more than simply cycling funds back to employers – it must add value to them. It must invest in skills and expect strong returns. What does this mean in practice? The CITB has listened to industry and will focus on three key priorities to support the critical, collective work the industry struggles to do for itself. These are: Careers – to help industry recruit the workforce of the future and map out the opportunities to progress within it; Qualifications and standards – to support the development of high-quality, industry-led standards the workforce needs; Training and development – to improve employers’ access to affordable, quality training where and when it’s needed. We will use our funding, our evidence base and our influence to deliver for industry on these fronts. Entrepreneurial attitude This requires a much clearer understanding of what skills are most needed, now and in the future, as well as targeting investment increasingly towards skills areas with an industry-wide impact, engaging with employers, government and education and training providers to ensure the right courses are available at a cost that works for industry. Increasingly, we will do this through partnering with or commissioning the providers who can best deliver them. Recently, for example, the CITB set up a new ASET Scaffolding Academy in Scotland by commissioning a local training partner. We need more of this – an entrepreneurial attitude towards investing in skills. The forthcoming Farmer Review will remind us that the construction industry, with its traditional structures and ways of working that inhibit investment in skills long term, can’t continue operating how it is now. Nor can its training board. This article was originally published by Construction News. About the author James Wates is the Chairman of CITB and has worked in the construction industry most of his life, starting on site as a schoolboy during holidays. He joined Wates Construction as a management trainee, progressing through line management to running sites before taking on a general manager role in 1989. Since then he has progressed to Chairman of the main Group Board. He was awarded the CBE in January 2012 for Services to Construction and the Charitable sector. Source link
Warning to Landlords as 34% sublet with out consent According to a new report, a third of tenants (34%) are currently subletting without the landlord’s consent and four out of ten tenants admitted that they were planning to sublet in the near future, without telling their landlord. The study, conducted by PropertyLetByUs.com – a leading online letting agent, also shows that the majority of tenants (96%) are subletting the property for short time to help a family member/friend out and 82% claim they are subletting to help pay the rent. Over half of tenants (52%) say that they planning to sublet their property in the near future, with the landlord’s consent. A further 78% of tenants think they should be able to sublet the property without the landlord’s approval. According to Landlord Action, there is a growing number of instructions from landlords who want to start possession proceedings against tenants who have sublet, via Airbnb, without their consent. Subletting is fast becoming one of the leading grounds for a tenant eviction. Jane Morris, Managing Director of PropertyLetByUs.com comments: “It is very worrying that so many tenants are subletting without telling their landlords. It is imperative that landlords make regular checks on the property to check for additional occupants. Many tenants will try to hide the fact they are subletting, so the warning signs can be excessive rubbish and accelerated wear and tear. When there is multiple occupancy in a property, wear and tear and damage is dramatically accelerated. There can be increased mould and condensation with more occupants. Landlords can also face expensive repairs for damage and redecoration costs, to bring the property up to the standard it was at check-in. Illegal subletting falls under tenant fraud and renting a property makes landlords vulnerable to fraud. It is vital that landlords and agents carry out thorough pre-letting checks. The purpose of referencing a tenant is threefold – to check the person is who they say they are; that they can afford the rent; and that they have honoured past commitments. Last year, the government said it planned to make it easier for tenants to sublet a room by legislating against the use of clauses in private fixed-term tenancy agreements, that expressly rule out subletting, or otherwise sharing space on a short-term basis. However, it has not yet set a date for a consultation on the plans.” PropertyLetByUs.com has put together some tips on what evidence to look for if you are suspicious that a tenant is subletting: • Remember it pays to make regular checks on the property – every 3-6 months is advisable • The tenants will be hiding evidence of extra tenants, so look out for additional clothing and shoes; excessive rubbish for the number of registered tenants; additional bedding like sleeping bags and pillows; suitcases and rucksacks; and extra toothbrushes • Before taking on a new tenant, make sure you carry out a thorough reference to ensure you know who your tenant is Source link
Homes that were foreclosed during the housing crisis in the United States have gained almost twice as much value as other homes, according to a new analysis. But the original owners of those homes have not benefited from that recovery as low end homes were much more likely to be foreclosed, the report from real estate firm Zillow shows. It explains that during the run-up to the housing bubble, many low income earners bought homes, and the home ownership rate rose from about 65% in the middle of the 1990s to almost 70% in 2006. However, when home values crashed in 2007, millions of home owners had to walk away, abandoning their initial investment and missing the opportunity to gain equity as home values recovered. It also points out that the rich-poor divide is growing in the US. In 2000 high income households made an average of six times as much income as the lowest third of households. In 2015, the top third made nearly seven times as much as the lowest third. Of all foreclosed homes, some 46.7% were among the least expensive third of homes. Only 16.6% were among the most expensive third. Foreclosed homes gained value faster than other homes, and in many markets, are more valuable now than they’ve ever been. Since the lowest point in the housing bust, the average US home has risen 22% in value, while the average foreclosed home has risen 39% in value. The report suggests that in many cases, investors bought foreclosed homes and converted them into rental properties, benefiting from the recovery as home values bounced back. The percentage of single family homes being rented out has risen from 13% to 19% over the past decade. ‘Income inequality is an important topic in the US right now, because the gap between the richest and poorest Americans is growing,’ said Zillow chief economist Svenja Gudell. ‘Many lower income Americans lost their homes during the foreclosure crisis, forcing them to pay ever increasing rents and locking them out of the benefits of the housing market recovery,’ she added. Meanwhile, a separate report from the National Association of Realtors shows that at a national level, housing affordability is down from a year ago as higher prices continue to outpace household income growth. Housing affordability declined from a year ago in April pushing the NAR index from 167.5 to 162.4. The median sales price for a single family home sold in April in the US was $233,700 up 6.3% from a year ago. Regionally, all four regions saw declines in affordability from a year ago. The Midwest had the largest decline of 5.6%, the South had a decline in the affordability index of 3.4%, followed by the West with 2%. The Northeast had the smallest dip in affordability at 1%. By region, affordability is down in all regions from the previous month. The Midwest with a fall of 6.2% had the biggest decline, followed by the South and West at 4.6% and 4.3% while the Northeast had the smallest decline in affordability of 3.4%. Source link
Manchester City Council has announced that Manchester Town Hall is set for a £330 million refurbishment in order to prevent the building from further decay. The Victorian Town Hall site was built in 1977 and is still structurally sound, although it has many elements that are coming to the end of their natural lifespans and also fails to meet the required modern safety and access standards. Next week, the council’s resources and governance scrutiny committee will analyse a report which outlines potential options for restoring the building, before the executive will go through the same process the week after, although there will be no final decision on the programme or its budget until autumn this year. A full restoration would cost around £400 million, while essential stop-gap works are estimated to set the council back £250 million. However, the council has said that it would prefer to take the option of a £330 million upgrade unless outside funding is found. In autumn, the report to the executive will set out the proposed scheme and the costs that come with it, with the intention that contractors will be appointed to deliver the scheme in the first half of next year, with investigative works beginning in 2018 and repair works getting under way in 2019 with a targeted completion date of 2023. Since December 2014, survey work has found that the Town Hall’s lift installations, ventilation, heating, plumbing and electrics are all in poor condition because of their age. However, to replace them this will involve significant building work as they are embedded in the fabric of the building. The surveys also discovered that the condition of the building’s roof, windows and stonework is also on the decline and will require repairs. Furthermore, it was revealed that the Town Hall also suffers from poor energy efficiency and insulation.
Wessex Water has announced a £12 million fall in profits before tax for the financial year 2015/16. The water supplier also stated that its turnover went down by almost £20 million from £540.3 million to £520.8 million, while operating profit has also fallen as a result of a £2 billion work programme on major water and sewerage improvements. However, since April 2015, customer bills have fallen by 5%. The programme is already underway and includes a scheme worth almost £40 million to improve the quality of bathing water in the Burnham-on-Sea area to meet the standards required. A new water supply grid is also under construction and is expected to be finished by 2017. Colin Skellett, Chief Executive at Wessex Water, said that 2015/16 was the first year of a new five year price control, although their focus remains on delivering the desired outcomes for their local communities and customers. Skellett commented: “We have made an excellent start and performed well against our commitments, achieving industry-leading customer service and environmental performance.” As part of Wessex Water’s five year investment plan, they have formed the Wessex Water Partnership, which will be chaired independently by Dan Rogerson, the former water minister. The partnership is aimed at providing guidance and advice on tariffs, affordability, service and customer engagement. Earlier in the year, the company announced a joint partnership with Albion Water, which took a 51% in the independent supplier. Meanwhile, earlier in the month, Wessex Water thanked residents and businesses around the village of Mark near Burnham-on-Sea for their patience as the company carried out sewer repairs over the last four months. Andy Roberts, Project Manager, said that the scheme has proved extremely challenging and had subsequently been delayed, although the work was eventually completed a month ahead of the revised completion date. The company has also completed work on Mark Causeway.
The latest asking price index from Home.co.uk has revealed that the Brexit vote has hit UK property prices. Asking prices have seen a fall in Scotland, London and four English regions, with the UK’s decision to leave the European Union being cited as the main reason for the change to a 19 month long rise in values. Overall, mix-adjusted average asking prices fell by 0.2% from June as sellers’ confidence was hit by the Brexit vote, according to the latest study. Prices in London were already looking like the most overvalued properties and have now been hit the hardest with a 1.1% fall in just one month, which is equal to around £6,000 less for the average home in the capital. The index also revealed that the South East’s average asking price fell by 0.2% in the last month; however the largest drop away from London was in the North East which saw a fall of 0.7%. The index report states that the fall in this region is a major blow to an area that was beginning to show signs of a recovery following the 2007 financial crisis. However, a number of regions in England and Wales are still witnessing a rise in asking prices, while the East Midlands saw the largest growth over the last month, with an increase of 0.7%, followed by the North West which was up 0.4%. Other areas where average property prices rose are: Yorkshire (up 0.3%), the West Midlands (up 0.2%) and the East of England (up 0.1%). Home.co.uk Director, Doug Shephard said: “As the Brexit vote is only about two weeks old, we may well see these figures turn negative next month. Whilst the key drivers of lack of supply and cheap credit remain, uncertainty brought about by the Brexit vote is undermining the property market.”
