Grainger has agreed to buy the old Yorkshire Post building in Leeds that is being converted into flats. Grainger, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, has conditionally agreed to forward purchase the private rented sector (PRS) development in Leeds city centre for £40m from YP Real Estate. The scheme will
Dads encouraged to discuss their trade with daughters Published: 23 June, 2016 Tradesmen are being encouraged to discuss their trade with their daughters as part of National Women in Engineering Day. In a survey carried out by electrical industry body NICEIC, three-quarters of male electricians said they would be happy
When buying a home prospective sellers expect the details to be listed correctly but new research has found that 48% of houses in sale across the UK contain rooms that are listed incorrectly. The analysis of estate agent data also found that 36% of single bedrooms rooms are technically too
ISG has signed a £61m contract to fit out the new home of Imperial College London’s world renowned Department of Chemistry on its White City Campus. Above: The new Molecular Sciences Research Hub at Imperial’s White City Campus The project sees ISG return to the Imperial’s new 10 ha campus
Hope Cement is leading the way for the construction industry by boosting the benefits that it offers customers and merchants. Following the unveiling of its new high-performing bagged product range [in their own packaging], Hope Cement has developed a novel incentive scheme that rewards builders merchants and professional builders. Accessed
Leading property companies Dransfield Properties Ltd and Harworth Group Plc have announced a joint venture agreement to deliver a new £50 million retail, office and leisure scheme at Waverley, Rotherham – home to Yorkshire’s largest ever brownfield mixed-use redevelopment. The new 12-acre development is a key part of the strategic
Residential development in Scotland is set for five years of growth with demand for housing continuing to outpace supply, according to new research from the UK’s leading property consultancy, JLL JLL’s residential forecast for Scotland suggests that continued political and economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and a possible second referendum will
Farmers have pleaded with chiefs for the right to build as they claim they can help to solve the rural housing crisis. Landowners have said they can help solve the crisis and also regenerate countryside communities but the barriers to development need to be lifted. The head of planning at
ARCHITECT@WORK, the leading and primary architectural achievement event, has declared itself open for the welcoming of architects, designers and engineers to its base in London, specifically at the National Hall in Olympia. Being free to those already affiliated to the industry and lasting a grand total of 48 hours from
Grainger has agreed to buy the old Yorkshire Post building in Leeds that is being converted into flats. Grainger, the UK’s largest listed residential landlord, has conditionally agreed to forward purchase the private rented sector (PRS) development in Leeds city centre for £40m from YP Real Estate. The scheme will have 242 apartments over 18 storeys and is expected to complete in 2019. The building used to be the headquarters of the Yorkshire Post newspaper. The forward purchase agreement is conditional on the vendor securing final detailed planning consent for the scheme and completion of the development. Grainger chief executive Helen Gordon said: “We are pleased to announce this sizeable PRS build-to-rent acquisition that will deliver 242 new, purpose-built rental homes in Leeds city centre. Leeds is a vibrant city which holds all the key characteristics of our PRS investment strategy, including a large professional workforce and significant economic growth potential.” This article was published on 30 Sep 2016 (last updated on 30 Sep 2016). Source link
Dads encouraged to discuss their trade with daughters Published: 23 June, 2016 Tradesmen are being encouraged to discuss their trade with their daughters as part of National Women in Engineering Day. In a survey carried out by electrical industry body NICEIC, three-quarters of male electricians said they would be happy for their daughters to take up a career in the trade, and yet a similar percentage felt women would be discouraged from a trade career by ‘old school attitudes’. According to the survey, only one in five daughters had received any trade careers advice from education services. NICEIC’s ‘Jobs for the Girls’ campaign was set up to encourage more women into the trade and to plug the increasing skills and gender gaps. Emma Clancy, CEO of NICEIC, said: “Dads have an important role to play in shaping the career choices of their daughters – particularly in the trades sector where many children follow in their father’s footsteps. “As part of National Women in Engineering Day (23 June, 2016) we would encourage dads to talk about their trade to their daughters.” Since launching the Jobs for the Girls campaign in 2011, NICEIC has seen a growing interest from women wanting to take up a trade, but the numbers are still painfully low. Ms Clancy added: “It was interesting to note that many men feel certain attitudes from another era, still exist today. That is something we all have a duty to eradicate. I would encourage dads who do come across such attitudes to take a stand and think about how they might feel if it was their daughter working in the industry.” The survey of over 100 electrical contractors found that 90% of fathers believe it is their responsibility to advise their daughters on their career choices. However, only one in five dads said their child had received any information from school or careers advice service about trade opportunities. “A lot has been done in recent years across the construction sector to encourage more women into the industry, yet there still remains a low take up of jobs in the sector among young women, with only one in 1,000 electricians in the UK being female,” added Ms Clancy. “Schools also have a role to play. What we have found is that women who do become electricians often do so later on in life. “We believe that more can be done between the ages of 7-15 in schools to ensure taking up a trade is taught as an equal opportunity for both boys and girls. Young girls are often not informed or are actively discouraged from taking up a trade at a key point in their life.” Of the electricians surveyed, a quarter said their daughter had considered a career as an electrician, significantly higher than the average number of women entering the profession. “Our research suggests the interest is there. We now have to build on that and do what we can to break down any barriers that might be preventing young women from entering the trade. “We are quite used to seeing father and son teams working as electricians. It would be great to see Dad and daughter splashed across vans in the near future too.” Source link
When buying a home prospective sellers expect the details to be listed correctly but new research has found that 48% of houses in sale across the UK contain rooms that are listed incorrectly. The analysis of estate agent data also found that 36% of single bedrooms rooms are technically too small to be classed as such for anyone aged over 10 and 17% of double rooms are not big enough to be inhabited by two people. Liverpool has the most errors for single rooms with 69% listed not meeting size requirements as set out by the Housing Act 1985 which says that a child under the age of 10 can occupy a room which is less than 50 square feet because they are classed as ‘half a person’, however a single bedroom should have a floor space of between 50 and 70 square feet. Leeds has the most errors for double bedrooms with 14% listed as such not meeting the requirements that double bedrooms for two people should be at least 110 square feet. One property in the city even listed a 69 square foot room as a double bedroom. The city with the least errors is Edinburgh where just 3% if single rooms did not meet the requirement and 4% of double rooms. Estate agents in Manchester and Glasgow were also pretty accurate. The research also found that a further 6% of rooms across the UK are technically uninhabitable, containing rooms smaller than the 50 square feet legally required to be classified as a single bedroom. Estate agents in Sheffield are guiltiest of this, with 15% of single bedrooms rooms advertised being too small to be habitable. When looking at properties overall, estate agents in Bristol are the most inaccurate, as 66% of properties for sale in the city had at least one incorrectly listed bedroom. This is followed by Sheffield at 60%, Liverpool at 57% and Birmingham also at 57%. Estate agents in Edinburgh are by far the most honest overall with only 17% of properties in the Scottish capital containing incorrect room listings. ‘Anyone who has purchased a property knows the marketing literature can often be misleading, but it is concerning to see so many properties across the UK being marketed by estate agents as having single and double bedrooms which technically aren’t fit for purpose,’ said Nick Brabham, head of SELECT Premier Insurance which carried out the research. ‘We urge buyers to check the measurements of bedrooms before putting in an offer on a house; otherwise they may find their double bedroom barely has enough space for a bed. It’s easy to think a room looks big enough when there is no furniture in it so if in doubt, check against the official standards and let estate agents know that they are marketing it incorrectly,’ he added. Source link
ISG has signed a £61m contract to fit out the new home of Imperial College London’s world renowned Department of Chemistry on its White City Campus. Above: The new Molecular Sciences Research Hub at Imperial’s White City Campus The project sees ISG return to the Imperial’s new 10 ha campus in west London, having completed the £40m Wood Lane Studios postgraduate student accommodation scheme in 2012. The Department of Chemistry will occupy the campus’ new Molecular Sciences Research Hub, a 10-storey, circa 25,000 m2 structure that Laing O’Rourke is building. Working with the college’s project manager, Turner & Townsend, ISG has been developing the design and programme for the fit-out over a 12-month pre-construction period. Work is now starting on site. ISG is putting in chemistry laboratories across floors one to six, with 337 fume cupboards. The building’s two basement levels will house specialist laboratory space and a 250-seat lecture theatre. Structural reinforcement is required in the basement to enable ISG to install an advanced Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) suite. A suite of laser and low electric noise laboratories will also be installed in the basement. Danny Blakeston, managing director of ISG’s Engineering Services business, said: “Our return to the White City Campus to deliver a key element of Imperial’s research and innovation vision reinforces our strong working relationship and specialist credentials in the technical fit out arena. Our early engagement reflects Imperial’s forward thinking approach on this highly-complex and large-scale project, enabling us to collaborate closely and develop an innovative fit out solution that delivers world-class teaching and research facilities.” This article was published on 31 Aug 2016 (last updated on 31 Aug 2016). Source link
Hope Cement is leading the way for the construction industry by boosting the benefits that it offers customers and merchants. Following the unveiling of its new high-performing bagged product range [in their own packaging], Hope Cement has developed a novel incentive scheme that rewards builders merchants and professional builders. Accessed through the Hope Cement smartphone App, the loyalty scheme is the first of its kind, using a new approach to drive traffic into merchants’ stores and help to grow their business. The scheme will reward Hope Cement customers, whilst giving them a chance to win a Ford Transit Custom van. Available now, the Hope Cement App is designed for use on both Android and iPhone platforms and can be downloaded from the Google Play store or the Apple App store, free of charge. Customers collect points every time they purchase a Hope Cement product. They take a photo of the receipt, enter the amount and product purchased and upload it through the App. Points will accrue based on product purchases, and customers can review how many points they’ve built up using the rewards page. The points can be used to claim rewards including vouchers for high street and online retailers, and in partnership with TrustFord, customers who use the App will be entered into a prize-draw to win a Ford Transit Custom van, to be drawn on April 18th. Hope Cement’s Commercial Finance Director, Tim Billingham said: “The smartphone has become an essential part of modern life and it made sense to harness its familiarity and convenience to benefit our customers. “The App will not only benefit those purchasing our products, but will help increase footfall in builders merchants’ branches. It will also include a nationwide store locator to make it as easy as possible for customers to begin to reap the many benefits that Hope Cement offers.”
Leading property companies Dransfield Properties Ltd and Harworth Group Plc have announced a joint venture agreement to deliver a new £50 million retail, office and leisure scheme at Waverley, Rotherham – home to Yorkshire’s largest ever brownfield mixed-use redevelopment. The new 12-acre development is a key part of the strategic regeneration of the 740 acre Waverley development, just two minutes from Junction 33 of the M1. The planned high-quality local centre is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to the region and will deliver: A 24,500 sq. ft. food store High quality office space Medical centre Transport hub A new hotel 70,000 sq. ft. of further retail space A gym as well as good quality restaurants and coffee shops 470 car parking spaces The development will formally link the internationally renowned Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) and the residential area through a masterplanned retail and leisure development, incorporating much-needed community facilities. Shops, restaurants and cafes will be set around a central car park area with a good mix of independent and national names. There will be high quality office space created above the retail units as well as attractive walkways, landscaped piazza areas with water features and a “town square” where regular Farmers’ Markets can be held. A planning application is scheduled to be submitted in Spring 2017 and will include a transport hub for Rotherham to improve connectivity to the region as well as a hotel and a new medical centre to serve the growing business and residential area. This is the latest phase of Waverley’s development. Yorkshire’s leading brownfield development is already home to 600 homes and the AMP which includes world-leading firms including Rolls-Royce and Boeing. The next 15 years will see up to 3,400 further homes built, in addition to a further 1m sq. ft of manufacturing space to further grow the AMP. It also marks a further high-profile development for Dransfield Properties, which has just opened the company’s flagship Fox Valley development in north Sheffield on a former steelworks site. It has also won a number of awards for similar developments elsewhere, including a BCSC Gold Award for its Marshall’s Yard scheme in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. This is a really exciting project to be involved with. Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties, said: “This is a really exciting project to be involved with. We are delighted to work alongside Harworth, bringing our team’s experience and knowledge of delivering retail developments to this new community. “Waverley is an exciting development which has great potential for creating a high-quality retail and leisure environment, designed to support the growing community and the wider region. We look forward to being a part of this project.” Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive of Harworth Group plc, said “We are delighted to partner with Dransfield for this significant development on our flagship site, given their track record across the UK and their absolute focus on quality. “We expect the local centre to become central to the Waverley community, as it co-joins the AMP and the residential area, offering a range of essential facilities and bringing hundreds of job opportunities to the region.” About Harworth Group Listed on the main market, Harworth Group plc is one of the leading regeneration specialists in the UK. Harworth owns and manages over 22,000 acres of land across 150 sites, ranging from residential development land to commercial properties, low-carbon energy schemes and agricultural estates. To find out more about the company visit www.harworthgroup.com Harworth Group is the landowner and developer of Waverley. The development to date includes 600 homes and the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) which is home to world-leading firms including Rolls-Royce and Boeing. The next 15 years will see up to 3,400 further homes built in addition to a further 1m sq. ft of manufacturing space to further grow the AMP. About Dransfield Properties Formed in 1992 Dransfield Properties is a South Yorkshire based company which specialises in retail led regeneration, primarily focussed on town and district centres. The company works with some of the leading names in the retail industry and has a property portfolio which includes award winning centres in both Morpeth in Northumberland and Gainsborough in Lincolnshire – a sympathetic redevelopment of a former industrial site, which won the BCSC Gold Award. In the last 12 months the company has also launched its flagship Fox Valley development in Stocksbridge, north Sheffield on a former steelworks site. To find out more about the company visit www.dransfield.co.uk
Residential development in Scotland is set for five years of growth with demand for housing continuing to outpace supply, according to new research from the UK’s leading property consultancy, JLL JLL’s residential forecast for Scotland suggests that continued political and economic uncertainty surrounding Brexit and a possible second referendum will ensure that housebuilders maintain a positive but cautious approach, placing continued pressure on price and rental growth between 2017 and 2021, especially in key city centres. One of the key changes to Scotland’s housing market highlighted by JLL is the demand for city centre living and renting. During the past couple of economic downturns it has been city centre residential markets which have proved most vulnerable due to a reliance on the buy-to-let sector and the unproven nature of renters. Looking forward, JLL expects residential property performance will be stronger in city centres than in traditional housing. This change has also led to the emergence of the Private Rented Community (PRC) institutional investment model, and JLL expects to see a number of specialist PRC developments in Edinburgh and Glasgow over the next few years. Despite taking a broadly optimistic outlook for the Scottish housing market, JLL specifically calls out LBTT as a ‘housing market thorn’ and one which is impacting transaction volumes higher up the value curve. JLL residential forecasts for 2017 – 2021 include: Edinburgh house prices set for growth of 23.4 per cent against a UK average of 13.1 per cent. Glasgow to outperform the average with growth of 15.4 per cent. Rental growth in Edinburgh will increase 20.5 per cent, ahead of Glasgow at 18.2 per cent, with both cities outperforming the UK average of 17.6 per cent. 11.4 million private housing completions over the next five years. Scottish economic growth of 1.3% p.a A contraction of 0.3% in employment mainly fuelled by job losses in the manufacturing, utilities and public sectors Number of households in Scotland to increase by 61,000 over the next 5 years. Neil Chegwidden, JLL residential research said: “The challenging perception of city centre living in recent years is likely to mean that Edinburgh and Glasgow will lead the Scottish residential market during the uncertainties of the next few years, despite these being perhaps most vulnerable to unfavourable Brexit effects. “Housebuilders are more pro-development now than they have been for some time. Encouragingly we are now seeing the re-emergence of smaller and mid-sized housebuilders, They are providing stiff competition to the larger and more established Scottish housebuilders who have kept their toes in the market despite tougher market conditions in recent years. “This is forcing up land values in key locations and creating a more diverse base of developers but the battle and scarcity for prime city centre sites is also generating opportunities and desire to develop in peripheral locations. “All of this is positive for the Scottish residential market moving forward. Let us hope that the political and economic landscape does not undermine the drive towards a more normal and sustainable housing market.” Jason Hogg, Director of JLL’s Residential team in Scotland, said: “House building in Scotland continues to persevere against the backdrop of political uncertainty. The industry is in a confident and optimistic mood, buoyed by strong demand for residential in key city centres. However, there’s no doubting that the key challenge for the year ahead is to address the shortage of supply. It’s not simply a case of housebuilders increasing their outputs. We need to create a better planning environment at both a local and national level which facilitates this aim, increasing the supply of land and helping rather than hindering the residential development planning process.”
Farmers have pleaded with chiefs for the right to build as they claim they can help to solve the rural housing crisis. Landowners have said they can help solve the crisis and also regenerate countryside communities but the barriers to development need to be lifted. The head of planning at the Country Land and Business Association, Fenella Collins, has noticed that the growing attention to problems relating to the affordability of housing are causing strain in the rural communities. Members of such communities want to work in a countryside that is socially diverse and thriving economically and developing housing is a great way to do this, however, the planning system has brought frustration to landowners and their plans. Over half of all permitted development rights applications to convert farm buildings into dwellings are still being turned away. And whilst calls have been made on the government to intervene and change regulations to offer clearer guidelines for planning bosses. However, it’s becoming seemingly obvious that are exceptions being made for rural sites. Housing development on rural sites is only allowed if its affordable as seen with statistics surrounding Cornwall and Northumberland. The latter has had no sites built since last year, while 300 homes were allowed to be built in Cornwall. There has also been calls for affordable housing to be made exempt from capital gains and inheritance tax in a bit to make it seem financially attractive. Whilst house building did increase last year, it was down by almost a quarter on pre-recession levels with house prices rising 7% from October 2015 and October 2016. Sheep farmer William Ashley has developed housing on rural land by converting two barns into three dwellings and chicken sheds into a further 12 live-in work units. Mr. Ashley has claimed there is a desire to develop but people are being put up against a brick wall and a frustrating one at that as there is a sense of desperation for housing and farms are being prevented from helping. Instead, housing developers such as Strata Homes and the government are building on brownfield sites as this is a lot cheaper than building on green land. There is a strong local interest to build thousands of homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. This will be part of a government strategy to help first time young buyers afford a home whereas on a great site, they would massively struggle to afford the housing. Up to thirty areas across England will receive funding from the Start Homes Land Fund which is said to be a project worth £1.2 billion. Not only are brownfield sites more affordable but it also allows housebuilders to be in closer proximity to the urban amenities. However, planning brownfield land cannot solve the housing crisis alone and does come with its own issues. Planning on such land is an extremely lengthy and complex process due to the heritage impact on the land
ARCHITECT@WORK, the leading and primary architectural achievement event, has declared itself open for the welcoming of architects, designers and engineers to its base in London, specifically at the National Hall in Olympia. Being free to those already affiliated to the industry and lasting a grand total of 48 hours from Wednesday into the next day, the event will see the welcoming of professionals and different exhibitions on various architectural themes that will be of intense interest to visitors. For example, various displays and panels will be devoted to investigating various different elements such as water and how these can be used and developed further in the industry. There will equally be class tutorials by members and leading figures of New London Architecture and Studio Octopi that will help those in attendance to witness all of the different kinds of new implementations that have been made into the architecture industry over the course of the year, and it is expected to provide the most up to date information on a number of key issues and topics that the year has seen the industry raise concerns about. A grand total of no less than 100 different showcases will be in attendance, from products by Masiero to designs created by Carpet Sign and Gessi. It is quite perfectly clear therefore that the sessions due to take place at the ARCHITECT@WORK event will be an all-round success and a great way for architecture enthusiasts and professionals from all over the world to witness the series of exciting new developments that are due to be taking place in the next year. Celebrating the hard efforts of 100 different companies and brands in the business, the conference will equally be able to act as a meeting place for like-minded individuals to meet and discuss their interests in architecture at length in a pleasant and appropriate place.
