February 1, 2017

The Housing Crisis – Are “Garden Villages” A Solution?

Britain is currently experiencing an incredibly concerning housing crisis, resulting in too many people being forced into temporary housing or worse: having to sleep on the streets. This also does not excuse or in any way distract from the fact that a vast number of housing accommodation itself is in disgraceful

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AGA Builds All New Fitness Space for Xtend Barre

A location along Marylebone High Street in the middle of London is to be the site of an all new fitness space from its original state as a bargain basement that was quite frankly none other than a sad waste of property building space. Now, these 3,000 square feet of

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Lighting Industry Association Receive Coveted Prize

The well regarded and respected Lighting Industry Association (LIA) have reached new heights of construction achievement when they were named as the “Best Construction Industry Trade Association” in the whole of the United Kingdom. They were granted this award after much time and effort in the building and construction industry

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Alarming Increase in Health and Safety Breaches

Health and safety in the workplace, particularly in the building and construction industries, are of paramount importance to individuals around the world as well as in the United Kingdom. However, alarming figures collated by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) have indicated that despite the continued implementation of

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“Mates in Mind” Initiative to Tackle Issues of Mental Health

The building and construction industries will no doubt hugely benefit from this progressive measure organized by the British Safety Council (BSC) to improve the lives of workers in the sector who have mental health to contend with and it is hoped that a much greater understanding of how to work

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Latest Issue

BDC 321 : Oct 2024

February 1, 2017

The Housing Crisis – Are “Garden Villages” A Solution?

Britain is currently experiencing an incredibly concerning housing crisis, resulting in too many people being forced into temporary housing or worse: having to sleep on the streets. This also does not excuse or in any way distract from the fact that a vast number of housing accommodation itself is in disgraceful disrepair and lacking in the basic health and safety regulations that it might once have been the government’s aim to deliver to every household in the United Kingdom. Now what is the current Tory government doing to try and combat this increasingly worsening problem throughout our land? “Garden villages.” An initiative with a typically middle-class name, this scheme is their intention to build decent housing in the light of 48,000 brand new habitations amounting to a the creation of a grand total of 14 of these “villages.” This seems to be an impressive number at first, but consider for one moment that it does indeed seem a far cry compared to the housing initiatives undertaken by the Labour government after the Second World War. Indeed, one of the crucial differences was that the government back then was concerned to not only build more houses, but also to improve those that were already in existence. The people who benefitted from better living conditions from the Labour initiatives and legislative housing acts of the late 1940s were not just in their thousands: they were in their millions. The “garden villages” scheme sounds suspiciously like an initiative that will enable housing for a lucky few, but will avoid the even greater issue that many Britons supposedly living in functioning homes are in fact living in uninhabitable ones. It seems clear that this suggested solution is just simply not enough. The building and construction industries will need to be prepared to work together to ensure that more houses are built in the future, however with pathetic initiatives like these it seems unlikely that this will happen any time soon.

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AGA Builds All New Fitness Space for Xtend Barre

A location along Marylebone High Street in the middle of London is to be the site of an all new fitness space from its original state as a bargain basement that was quite frankly none other than a sad waste of property building space. Now, these 3,000 square feet of valuable space in the bustling London metropole will become an all-new studio for fitness enthusiasts and those wishing to get their regular exercise in on track. Commissioned by US corporate giants Xtend Barre for AGA (or Amos Goldreich Architecture) to visualize the ambitious project, the architectural design firm has delivered the project on time to include a variety of luxurious facilities but with an added down-to-earth feel that will delight and appeal to users from all levels and skills. The original space itself being a dark and dilapidated space, AGA took steps to make sure that enough light could be let into the space by stripping down the walls and then covering them in white paint so that enough light would be reflected all around the walls of the studio. In addition to this, the main entrance area will also feature some eating and drinking facilities, as well as a sign for exercise tops and gear, in addition to a general sitting space for tired would-be athletes and their impressed guests. Locker room storage areas will also be made available on demand for those that seek it. This is all wonderful news no doubt for the employees and founders of Xtend Barre London as they grow a community that will be able to benefit from the brand new services that the studio will have to offer. This is especially good tidings for Ms Catie Miller, the creator of the London branch of Xtend Barre, and she is ecstatic that the collaboration with Amos Goldreich Architecture has been an all-round success.

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Lighting Industry Association Receive Coveted Prize

The well regarded and respected Lighting Industry Association (LIA) have reached new heights of construction achievement when they were named as the “Best Construction Industry Trade Association” in the whole of the United Kingdom. They were granted this award after much time and effort in the building and construction industry to make their firm one of the best service providers in the land. The awarding body themselves have been in operation for the last three years and are dedicated to ensuring that companies and individuals in all kinds of industries get recognized for their achievements and hard work in the respective industries that they are in. Such various industries that the award covers range from catering in hotels and infirmaries to the building and construction industries, which the LIA managed to beat in order to seize the prestigious title that it won. As organized by Build Magazine, the event is an obvious testament to the hard work of firms all around the country to improve and invest in new forms of technology for the advancement of industry itself all around the country. Indeed, Mister Steve Davies the Chief Executive Officer at LIA is naturally jubilant that the company was awarded for its incredible hard work throughout the years to improve its efforts all across its various departments. The award itself  is clearly not only a testament to the company itself, but also to its clients, employees and representatives all around the country that help to make the Lighting Industry Association the best that it can be. It is hoped that the award will increase the company’s popularity among clients and will encourage other businesses to follow suit and commit themselves to delivering the best service possible that they can to those who need it. Surely the company’s recognition by Build Magazine is a sign that hard work does indeed pay off eventually.

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Alarming Increase in Health and Safety Breaches

Health and safety in the workplace, particularly in the building and construction industries, are of paramount importance to individuals around the world as well as in the United Kingdom. However, alarming figures collated by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) have indicated that despite the continued implementation of health and safety regulations in the workplace, many of these have not been followed or simply been ignored by members of the industry. The evidence based on this alarming and worrying claim is based on the staggering amount of fines accrued by building firms for not carrying appropriate risk assessments or putting their employees’ lives in danger and at great personal risk. The year 2016 recorded a total of 19 fines imposed amounting to sums worth a million pounds or even greater than that, the greatest even reaching to a 5 million pound fine. This is clearly a disgrace to the building and construction industries and demonstrates that not enough businesses in these sectors are regarding the safety and wellbeing of their workers as it should be. It is also worth bearing in mind that fewer fines of staggering amounts were imposed during the year 2015. In fact, not a single fine amounting to 1 million pounds was imposed on a single business in 2014: this is not due to the fact that safety measures were implemented much more in that year than more recently. Rather, the reason for this increase in fines is also that the IOSH is imposing larger penalties than ever before on businesses that neglect the safety of their workers and it is hoped through this that this will be a way of ensuring that businesses regard the safety of their employees more seriously now that they can be fined huge amounts for negligence. Shelley Frost of the directing body of IOSH has explained how injuries in the workplace destroy lives forever and it is therefore essential that all is done to ensure that businesses give health and safety the attention that it deserves.

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“Mates in Mind” Initiative to Tackle Issues of Mental Health

The building and construction industries will no doubt hugely benefit from this progressive measure organized by the British Safety Council (BSC) to improve the lives of workers in the sector who have mental health to contend with and it is hoped that a much greater understanding of how to work with this will improve the lives of these individuals in the workplace. Following on from the meeting convened by the Health in Construction Leadership Group (or HCLG) back on the 28th January this year, the Chief Executive Officers declared the go-ahead for the “Mates in Mind” initiative. This particular new initiative is designed to enable site managers, foremen and team leaders the opportunity to learn more about the challenges experienced by construction workers suffering from mental illness, and how their leaders can help them to have a better experience of their workplace. In this way, the prejudices and preconceptions made about those affected by mental health issues can be lifted in the workplace, thus encouraging integration, understanding, compassion and a better relationship between workers on site. This vital and necessary goal is aided and approved by a number of other charitable organizations dedicated to tackling issues of mental health, including such charitable bodies as Mind and Mental Health First Aid England. Featuring an attendance of 300 team leaders and heads in the building and construction industry, the HCLG was a successful and innovative meeting that has been in place twice now, and it is greatly hoped that the program will be a success. As under the implementation of Mike Robinson of the BSC, it is greatly hoped that the staggering figures showing how many thousands of construction employees around the country are affected by mental health due to problems encountered in the construction industry will be significantly lowered in the future years to come. It is hoped that businesses all over the industry will cooperate to making this encouraging intention a reality.

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