North East based sales and lettings company KIS has published its latest analysis that shows average rents in the region have risen above £600 for the first time ever, taking the average rental yield to a record 4.6%. The results also showed that a summer slump for North East values
Ainscough Crane Hire has provided lift support for the Queensferry Crossing. From its Falkirk depot, the Ainscough Crane Hire team has been helping to deliver the new Queensferry Crossing for Transport Scotland for the last three and a half years. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) is the main contractor for
Westminster City Council has introduced a levy on the construction of basement extensions. Now, homeowners in the London borough who wish to extend their property underground must pay a further £8,000 on average and up to £30,000 for bigger developments to fund the council’s new ‘subterranean squad’ of basement monitors.
Lendlease has formally signed a £103 million contract to build a landmark office scheme at 245 Hammersmith Road in West London. Including basements, the new building will be 12 storeys tall and will replace Bechtel House, which was formerly the UK headquarters of the US construction giant. Architect Sheppard Robson
Oil services provider Wood Group has reached a provisional agreement with unions on a compromise deal following a labour dispute involving workers on Royal Dutch Shell platforms in the North Sea. Over the summer, maintenance workers employed by Wood Group held a series of stoppages on Shell platforms, which was
North East based sales and lettings company KIS has published its latest analysis that shows average rents in the region have risen above £600 for the first time ever, taking the average rental yield to a record 4.6%. The results also showed that a summer slump for North East values dropped by an average of 2.3% a month throughout July and August. The fall all-but wipes out the post-Brexit surge of 4.8% recorded in June with the average North East house now valued at £157,438. House values fell in every single one of the twenty areas surveyed, with the exception of Whitburn, which saw prices rise by 0.05%. The areas that suffered the sharpest decline were Durham City (4.2%), Houghton-le-Spring (3.7%) and Darlington (3.5%). The regional house prices fall contrasts the 5.2% rise recorded in the same period last year, when prices increased by 3.8% in July and 1.8% in August. In the North East, the average price of a property is currently 3.8% lower than the rate recorded at the conclusion of August last year. Durham’s 8.3% price fall over the course of the summer saw the city named as this month’s “Best to Buy,” as properties in the city had previously boasted an 11.5% capital appreciation over the last two years. Over the course of the summer, the average rental cost in the North East continued to increase by £10 per calendar month, reaching £610 pcm. This is the first time it has exceeded £600, while rents have increased by 7.4% from the £565 recorded last month, which is a £45 rise a month. Blyth (£397) remains the cheapest place to rent in the North East out of the areas surveyed, with Tynemouth (£1125) continuing to be the most expensive. Peterlee continues to be the region’s Buy to Let capital, offering rental yields of 6.1% to investors. Other strong performers continue to be Gateshead and Killingworth (5.9%) and Sunderland (5.3%).
Ainscough Crane Hire has provided lift support for the Queensferry Crossing. From its Falkirk depot, the Ainscough Crane Hire team has been helping to deliver the new Queensferry Crossing for Transport Scotland for the last three and a half years. Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) is the main contractor for the scheme in a joint venture with Dragados, American Bridge, HOCHTIEF and Morrison Construction. The new bridge is set to open next year and will form the centrepiece of an upgrade to the important cross-Forth transport corridor. The scheme was established after corroded cables on the existing Forth Road Bridge put the bridge’s future into doubt. The Queensferry Crossing will measure 2,637 metres in length and will be the second longest three tower cable stayed bridge in the world. The towers are 650m apart, with 146m of cable crossover, designed to stop the central tower swaying. Ainscough’s crane fleet has operated on site from the early stages of its construction. Most recently, Ainscough’s team has been working on the emerging road deck of the bridge. The scheme has brought with it various challenges including how to position a crane on the roadway, which is yet to be connected to the land. The solution to this was to lift a Liebherr LTM 1055-3.2, 55t all terrain crane onto a completed section of roadway using the tower crane connected to one the bridge’s 207m (679 ft) high towers. Having been stripped of its components that were not essential and positioned beneath the tower crane aboard a service barge, the crane was lifted into position and subsequently re-assembled for use in the bridge’s ongoing construction. Ciaran McNamee, Depot manager at Ainscough’s Falkirk Depot, commented: “The Queensferry Crossing has been a remarkable job to be involved with. We have had between four and six cranes on site every day for the last three and half years and have watched the bridge slowly emerge through the unified efforts of the contractors on site. “We are very proud of our involvement in the project and that we are helping to deliver this major piece of new infrastructure to the people of Scotland.”
Westminster City Council has introduced a levy on the construction of basement extensions. Now, homeowners in the London borough who wish to extend their property underground must pay a further £8,000 on average and up to £30,000 for bigger developments to fund the council’s new ‘subterranean squad’ of basement monitors. The levy comes as part of the council’s new code of construction practice and sets out a clear best practice for building sites such as basements. The code will also be rolled out over the next few months to cover bigger developments in the city. In the last five years, Westminster City Council has received 150 applications a year on average and has seen a trend towards more ‘iceberg’ basements where homeowners dig down by one or two storeys. The new rules include planning controls limiting basements to a single storey and no more than 50% of total garden land. The new ‘subterranean squad’ will: Make sites coordinate their deliveries to reduce the impact on residents Check that developers are keeping neighbours informed Enforce stricter working hours so as to avoid noisy works at inconvenient times such as Saturday mornings Provide a point of contact for residents with complaints – with the power to enforce against overly noisy sites under statutory powers Monitor the level and impacts of traffic to sites Police development sites of over 10 residential units, or over 1000 m2 commercial floor space. Robert Davis, Westminster City Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Built Environment, commented: “We are sticking up for local residents, many of whom have found the explosion of basement development in recent years hellish. It is right that those who want to build basements should contribute to this new service, which will work to help mitigate the negative impacts. “Westminster City Council supports the right kind of growth and is not against all basement development, but they must be carried out in a way that is considerate to local residents and the environment.”
Lendlease has formally signed a £103 million contract to build a landmark office scheme at 245 Hammersmith Road in West London. Including basements, the new building will be 12 storeys tall and will replace Bechtel House, which was formerly the UK headquarters of the US construction giant. Architect Sheppard Robson has designed the 250,000 sq ft scheme for joint developers Mitsubishi Estate London and Legal & General, with a gross development value of £275 million. The projects has already secured planning permission from Hammersmith & Fulham Council with the demolition of the existing Bechtel House already underway, with construction set to be complete by the first quarter of 2019. The contract was valued at £75 million when Lendlease first lined the job up back in January last year. Managing Director of Lendlease’s Construction Business, Neil Martin, commented: “We are really pleased to be working again with Legal & General and Mitsubishi Estate London – both are longstanding clients of ours and the strong relationships between our companies add great value to the development. “Lendlease excels at just this kind of high-end scheme, with a high-specification design, mixed-use element, and a tight urban footprint.” Last month, Lendlease also won a £200 million contract to construct the luxury AYKON London One tower at Nine Elms. Developer DAMAC International is behind the 50 storey scheme which was designed in partnership with fashion house Versace Home. The scheme’s total development value is around £645 million, with Lendlease’s contract worth £200 million. AYKON London One will also offer an allocation of affordable housing, together with office, retail and amenity accommodation across two-interlinking towers. The four storey office block is situated above the affordable residential floors at the top of the south block. This forms a habitable sky bridge between the south building and north tower, which is topped by an extensive roof garden at level 24.
Oil services provider Wood Group has reached a provisional agreement with unions on a compromise deal following a labour dispute involving workers on Royal Dutch Shell platforms in the North Sea. Over the summer, maintenance workers employed by Wood Group held a series of stoppages on Shell platforms, which was the first major strike by North Sea workers in nearly 30 years. The dispute concerned conditions and pay, and highlighted the growing labour tensions in the UK’s offshore energy industry as firms look to save money in the face of protractedly low gas and oil prices. Earlier in the week, Wood Group said that it had drawn up a “mutually agreeable proposal” with representatives of the unions that was “in the best interests of all parties.” The organisation added that the deal would be put to a ballot of members by the Unite and RMT unions next week. The dispute has been closely monitored as a test of the industry’s ability to cut North Sea labour costs, along with the unions’ appetite to resist cuts. A Unite spokesman said that the deal was “the best that can be achieved in the current circumstance,” while neither side would reveal details of the agreement. Employees of Wood Group working on Shell platforms had faced a 3% pay cut on average under the initial proposals that prompted the dispute, while unions claimed that some workers would suffer a 30% fall in earnings when benefits are included. In a statement, Wood Group said: “The new proposal recognises the skills, flexibility and capabilities of the incumbent offshore workforce, the challenges facing the industry and demonstrates collective leadership in shaping the future of the North Sea.” Paul Goodfellow, head of UK upstream operations for Shell, said: “Shell is pleased with this proposal and looks forward to working with Wood Group, Unite and the RMT to ensure that the North Sea remains competitive.”
