CITB and Build UK are joining forces for a week of exclusive, behind-the-scenes events at some of the best building sites in Birmingham. Open Doors gives access to dozens of construction projects to inspire people to choose a career in construction and take the next steps to progress into the
©Bloomberg Shares in housebuilder Berkeley have fallen 19% since the UK voted to leave the EU Berkeley Group will be driven out of the FTSE 100 in the first shake-up of the index since the Brexit vote after pessimism about the UK’s property market hit the shares of the British
The National House Building Council (NHBC) has compiled and released a number of statistics that suggest that the amount of new properties being registered all across Great Britain is on the rise. Indeed, the NHBC found that over 150,000 new properties had been on its register, making it the second
Lego? DC Superheroes and Villains? What could one possibly want more in life! The exciting news to greet the city of London is that the biggest exhibition of DC characters made from Lego bricks ever is coming back to London on the 1st day of March this very year. This
Building and construction corporation SIKA Limited are pleased to announce their new involvement with the IPC division of the Construction Products Association (or CPA). A governing body to which 27 other building and construction companies have a direct involvement with, the CPA is dedicated to ensuring that investment and renovation
Since the early days of computing, the main goal of most technology concepts is to help make life easier for us, and there are many ways in which that is evident today. In recent years, many technology companies have begun focusing on houses integrated with technology. This includes products
Whistl, the second largest postal operator in the UK, has announced that it is to move into a new super depot for its northern operations in late Spring. The company has taken a ten year lease on M&G Real Estate’s Logistics 225 unit at Harworth Group’s flagship Logistics North development
A report into safety failures that forced 17 Edinburgh schools to close has highlighted a lack of proper scrutiny of the construction work.The 250-page independent report gives a clear explanation of how the walls at the schools were badly built.There were not enough wall ties, or they were the wrong
CITB and Build UK are joining forces for a week of exclusive, behind-the-scenes events at some of the best building sites in Birmingham. Open Doors gives access to dozens of construction projects to inspire people to choose a career in construction and take the next steps to progress into the industry. From future architects, bricklayers and civil engineers to front-of-house sales managers, visitors of all ages and skill sets can get on site at Open Doors events between Monday 13 and Saturday 18 June. Projects that will be opening their doors in the Birmingham area include: People interested in getting on site can book at opendoors.construction. Once on site, visitors will find out exactly what it takes to create the iconic buildings of the future. They will then be encouraged to find out more about construction at the industry’s careers website – Go Construct. Suzannah Nichol, Build UK Chief Executive, said: “The construction industry is in a war for talent so we are delighted to be running Open Doors in partnership with CITB. It’s an exciting chance for anyone seeking a future career, a new challenge, or a change of direction to see first-hand what construction has to offer. We look forward to welcoming people of all ages onto our member sites in June.” Lorraine Gregory, CITB Partnerships Manager, said: “Over 230,000 new construction jobs will be created across Britain by 2020 and this is a great way to showcase some of them. Potential new entrants will get an exclusive opportunity to see first-hand what it’s like to work in the industry and what a rewarding career construction can be. “Open Doors is an excellent way of inspiring people to consider a career in construction. And it’s a key part of how CITB is supporting the construction industry through Go Construct.” To find out more about Open Doors 2016 and book a visit a site, please go to: www.opendoors.construction. Source link
©Bloomberg Shares in housebuilder Berkeley have fallen 19% since the UK voted to leave the EU Berkeley Group will be driven out of the FTSE 100 in the first shake-up of the index since the Brexit vote after pessimism about the UK’s property market hit the shares of the British housebuilder. Berkeley will be replaced by gold miner Polymetal International, which has been a big beneficiary of the referendum result as investors searched for safe havens in a time of economic uncertainty. The FTSE is expected to confirm the changes on Wednesday. More On this topic IN Construction Shares in Berkeley have fallen 19 per cent since the vote, making it the 112th largest UK company by market capitalisation on Tuesday. Membership of the indices is reviewed each quarter, with companies automatically deleted from the top index if they fall out of the top 111. Berkeley will join the mid-cap FTSE 250 index next Monday. The weakness of sterling has helped the FTSE 100 recover since the Brexit vote to reach 14-month highs but property groups have largely missed out on the rally. Investors are concerned about the impact of economic uncertainty on these companies’ sales volumes and prices. The swap with Russia-focused Polymetal marks a turnround from three years ago, when the miner was replaced in the FTSE 100 by housebuilder Persimmon and builders’ merchant Travis Perkins. Polymetal shares have almost doubled this year, and are up 31 per cent since the EU referendum. Despite a recent slide, the price of gold, which is treated as a haven in times of economic uncertainty, has risen 25 per cent this year, and companies exposed to the metal have climbed in tandem. Vitaly Nesis, Polymetal chief executive, said that while the company’s shares had benefited from the rising gold price, its production outlook was also “meaningfully stronger” than three years ago. “There has certainly been a tailwind from the gold price — but it found ready sails,” he said. Chip designer Arm Holdings is expected to leave the FTSE 100 upon completion of its takeover by SoftBank before the next membership review, and will be replaced by one of the FTSE 250 groups Smurfit Kappa, Micro Focus, Croda, Aberdeen Asset Management, the Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Rightmove. At the bottom of the mid-cap index, car dealership Pendragon and Circassia Pharmaceuticals, whose shares suffered after trials of a new cat allergy drug failed, will be replaced by online gambling group GVC Holdings and energy services group Hunting. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link
The National House Building Council (NHBC) has compiled and released a number of statistics that suggest that the amount of new properties being registered all across Great Britain is on the rise. Indeed, the NHBC found that over 150,000 new properties had been on its register, making it the second largest number increase in homes to have been put on the register since the noughties. In total, 151,687 properties were listed by the national council body dedicated to the registration of homes across the land in 2016, which in actual fact was a figure 2 per cent lower than in 2015 the previous year. However, the figures still show an impressive 70 per cent advance on the amount of homes that were registered back in the disastrous housing crisis that occurred between 2008 and 2009 a few years later: does this indicate that Britain is well on the road to recovery? Certainly, regions in the country outside of London do indeed seem to have seen growth in the amount of NHBC-registered properties, totaling an overall rise outside of London by 4 per cent. Similarly, it was areas outside of the city capital, such as in Yorkshire and the Humber regions of the country, which saw the largest rise in home property registrations from the year before, which for Yorkshire totaled an impressive 27 per cent rise. On the other hand, there are clear concerns that need to be raised from these figures. There has, for example, been a decrease in the amount of homes registered in the “affordable sector” in this country, with a total of 35,998 this year from 37,998 in 2015 which has dropped more than the amount of homes in the private sector, which this year was at 115,689. Whether the optimism raised by the NHBC figures remains is yet to be seen.
Lego? DC Superheroes and Villains? What could one possibly want more in life! The exciting news to greet the city of London is that the biggest exhibition of DC characters made from Lego bricks ever is coming back to London on the 1st day of March this very year. This unique artistic project, masterminded by creative superman Nathan Sawaya, will feature such adored characters from the DC Universe as Batman, Superman as well as those whom we love to hate like the iconic Joker and the sensuous Harley Quinn. All made from lego bricks, this ambitious project will come crashing through the doors of London’s South Bank in March and the event is set to be a memorable occasion indeed. Having used pieces of lego amounting to their millions, Nathan Sawaya is delighted to release new features to the gallery, which will include a 5.5 meter Batmobile all made out of approximately half a million lego pieces. The artist must have had a lot of time on their hands indeed, and time well spent for that matter. Having toured in over 75 different locations around the globe, the eagerly awaited event will now have a welcome space in the grand city of London itself, and Mister Sawaya will be proud to introduce his artistic endeavors to a whole new cohort of fans from all over the country. Known as “The Art of the Brick,” the showcasing of this fascinating event will undoubtedly be of interest to comic-book fans as well as fans of building lego. Furthermore, the fact that the millions of pieces of material and the amount of time and vision involved is arguably a sign to artists and members of the construction industry alike that the two sectors can walk brick in brick (metaphorically speaking) to producing all-new forms of wonderful artistic building projects, whether they be for construction sites or for the intelligentsia of the London art world and comic-book fans from all over the country.
Building and construction corporation SIKA Limited are pleased to announce their new involvement with the IPC division of the Construction Products Association (or CPA). A governing body to which 27 other building and construction companies have a direct involvement with, the CPA is dedicated to ensuring that investment and renovation are the driving forces and objectives of the construction industry in Britain. Indeed, it seems that SIKA Limited are very pleased to have finally decided to join it and Dragan Maksimovic is extremely confident that it will enable the company to have a greater say, involvement and influence in the construction and building trade more than ever before. By working with and sharing common ground with other members of the Industrial Principles Council, it is hoped that they will be able to progress well into the future and meet the coming challenges that the industry will face and is currently facing at the moment, such as the worrying shortage of skilled workers in the trade. Aligning themselves to the council is an excellent way of strengthening their own position within the industry. It is possible to strengthen with jvzoo. Doctor Diana Montgomery of CPA itself is similarly pleased that they have made the decision to join the association. She declares that SIKA are a large and successful company keen to maintain their strong foothold in the building and construction industry by committing themselves to the Construction Products Association. She is hopeful that both industrial bodies will be able to collaborate together and learn from each other in the future. And with 17,000 workers and a successful subsidiary base in 93 different places around the world, SIKA’s partnership will certainly increase the popularity and knowledge of the CPA itself. The decision is therefore a mutually beneficial one for all parties concerned and it is furthermore evident that future collaborations with other current members of the CPA will be encouraged.
Since the early days of computing, the main goal of most technology concepts is to help make life easier for us, and there are many ways in which that is evident today. In recent years, many technology companies have begun focusing on houses integrated with technology. This includes products and software that helps homeowners to control aspects of their lifestyle, sometimes simply through an app on their smartphone. Houses that are fitted with a variety of internet connected devices are referred to as smart homes, and while it is possible to retrospectively tech-up your home, isn’t it time property developers brought housing into the 21st century? Smart from the Ground-Up Creating the cities and homes of the future requires a lot of planning and investment. The best way to ensure all homes in the future have technology integrated is by building them that way from the ground up. This is why developers should look to implement technology in all new build properties so that they can better meet the needs of the house owners of tomorrow. Currently, there are a number of devices that homeowners can buy and install in their homes to control things like security, heating, lights, and electric or gas use. In most cases you have to purchase individual gadgets designed for each specific purpose and with their own apps but a smart home built with technology and connectivity in mind from the ground up will be able to manage all these on one single platform, or app. According to the Professional house buyers at the Open Property Group, adding smart home technology to houses (besides saving homeowners money on energy bills) will increase the valuation by a minimum of £3000 – not bad when most of the technology can be bought and implemented for around £500. A More Connected World The case for developing new build houses that are smart homes also goes beyond managing your utilities to save energy and money as in the future nearly everything will be an internet connected device anyway. Known as the Internet of things, or IOT, this means that our TVs, washing machines, toasters and other convenience electronics that we own will be able to communicate with your smart home. All this is geared to make our lives so much easier and should really be seen as the new standard. To support the argument for smart homes, many connected appliances like dishwashers televisions, and washing machines are already available. Like wise, Amazons’ Echo device is a smart gadget that helps users do their shopping, – and even buses and trains now have USB ports!. And so there is no reason why new build properties shouldn’t be more tech oriented from now on in order for there to be a seamless and hassle free integration and communication between devices and the home. Final Thoughts The pace of change in technology is relentless, and there is no doubt that smart homes are the houses of the future and as discussed above perhaps it is time we started building them with an eye on the future. This calls for a new approach to property development, so that our homes can adequately meet the demands of an always-connected world. The benefits, and they are as many as they are varied, range from protecting the environment, saving money on energy bills, and homes that are more in tune with modern living.
Whistl, the second largest postal operator in the UK, has announced that it is to move into a new super depot for its northern operations in late Spring. The company has taken a ten year lease on M&G Real Estate’s Logistics 225 unit at Harworth Group’s flagship Logistics North development in Bolton – the seventh deal at the site in the past three years, reaffirming the site’s position as one of the North West’s leading Logistics and Distribution locations. The new site allows Whistl to consolidate existing operations in Leeds and Warrington onto one site that has 33% greater capacity for future expansion of its existing mail, packet and parcel and ecommerce business. lt also chose the 224,938 sq. ft Grade A warehouse at Logistics North, Bolton, due to its immediate access onto Junction 4 of the M61 and, by combining two existing depots onto one site, it will be able to further improve efficiencies in its operations. Logistics 225 and its neighbouring Logistics 175 unit was fully funded by M&G Real Estate as one of the largest property investors in the UK, with Harworth Group constructing the units on the company’s behalf. Both units practically completed in December 2016 prior to Whistl confirming its move to the larger unit. As part of the move Whistl will begin its recruitment campaign in the Bolton area in conjunction with Bolton Council, through its Team Bolton partnership, to recruit people to the site. Whistl has offered staff employed at the existing Leeds and Warrington depots the opportunity to work at the new site. The move to Bolton will significantly improve the operational efficiency of Whistl as the state of the art building has 4 level access doors, 20 dock levellers, 50 trailer parking spaces, 31 loading positions and 222 car parking spaces. Whistl joins Aldi, MBDA, Joy Global, Costa Coffee, Green King and Lidl as occupiers on Logistics North and it has a 550 acre country park also under construction, providing unique surroundings for employees on-site. The whole development has strong support from Bolton Council, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, and MIDAS – Greater Manchester’s Inward Investment Agency. Logistics North is one of the North West’s largest live commercial development ‘s, with outline planning consent in place for 4m sq. ft of commercial space. Nick Wells, CEO Whistl: said: “We are delighted to confirm that we are investing in this grade A facility at Logistics North in Bolton. The new depot will enable us to provide an excellent working environment for our colleagues as well enable us to continue providing high quality and efficient services to our customers. We look forward to working with Bolton Council on recruiting people to work at Whistl in the coming months.” Councillor Cliff Morris, Leader of Bolton Council, said: “This is great news for local people and will be of tremendous benefit to our town and residents. I am proud that our hard work behind the scenes has paid off as Whistl joins the likes of Lidl, Aldi, MBDA and Joy Global, bringing at least 100 new jobs and additional revenue into the borough. “This clearly demonstrates that Logistics North is the perfect distribution site for business and a key site for the North West. With another major company due to be announced soon, it is clear that Bolton is an attractive proposition for business growth.” David Crowley, Director of Logistics & Industrial Asset Management at M&G Real Estate, added: “The buildings we have funded at Logistics North form an important part of our current 1.4m sq. ft. speculative logistics programme. This early pre let to Whistl underlines the strength of the location and is testament to our ongoing strategy to create core product in prime locations which will provide long term income returns for the funds. We shall continue to look for similar opportunities into 2017 and add to our £2.4 billion industrial and logistics portfolio.” Ian Ball, Executive Director of Capital Growth at Harworth Group plc, said: “Logistics North has established itself as one of the North of England’s leading distribution locations and we are delighted to welcome another leading company like Whistl to take occupancy of Logistics 225 within six weeks of us completing it on M&G’s behalf. Whistl’s arrival at Logistics North further proves the site’s strategic importance to distribution companies and the underlying strength of the Logistics market in the North West. We now look forward to letting M&G’s other Logistics 175 unit as one of the few remaining Grade A rated distribution warehouses development ‘s available in the North West.”
A report into safety failures that forced 17 Edinburgh schools to close has highlighted a lack of proper scrutiny of the construction work.The 250-page independent report gives a clear explanation of how the walls at the schools were badly built.There were not enough wall ties, or they were the wrong type, and the wall cavities were not uniform.The faults caused the wall at Oxgangs Primary School to collapse and they were also apparent at the 16 other schools that were declared unsafe.The report also makes clear there was a lack of scrutiny and supervision that allowed those mistakes to be made.It says the finger of blame is not pointed at one rogue builder because the work was done by multiple companies and bricklaying squads.The problem is more significant than that, both to the construction industry and those commissioning buildings. The report explains that City of Edinburgh Council could have employed someone, for example a Clerk of Works, to oversee the work on site. This costs money.It goes on to explain that the assurances the council thought they were getting were not actually the kind of checks that were taking place.This was a misplaced assumption on the part of the council.Keeping costs down is one of the factors that appears often in the report.It says “the procurers of buildings need to consider whether the drive for faster, lower cost construction may be being achieved to the detriment of its quality and safety”. Why did the failures in construction happen? An issue with finding out why the buildings failed is that none of the 66 people who gave evidence to the inquiry actually built the walls. They were not the actual bricklayers. However one of the senior staff at VB Contracts who built the walls at Oxgangs, and others, has previously said they were told to build the walls in a way that is not considered good practice. The inside and outside walls were not built at the same time, without making extra provision for the walls to be correctly connected to each other. At Oxgangs, the outer wall was ripped off after a storm, dumping nine tonnes of masonry into the playground. The independent report confirms that the two parts of the walls were not built at the same time and the report lists the problems that can cause. Some of these are problems that ultimately led to Oxgangs collapsing. Warnings ignored Crucially, the report also states that the architects spotted the way the walls were being built at one school and highlighted it to the main contractor who, they say, ignored it. The way the schools were paid for PPP was the private finance model used to fund the schools. Although the report says that aspects of the way the private finance model was put in place put the quality of the buildings at risk, it explicitly says the private finance method of funding was not the cause of the defective buildings. The use of private finance is an intensely political matter which will be continue to be discussed at length. However, the author of this report says there is nothing to stop private finance from delivering a high quality building if properly managed. The key is using best practice associated with more traditional models of funding. Impact for the whole building industry and those hiring them There are a number of points that may influence the way large public buildings are built in the future. Adequate supervision of the building work is the one the report comes back to repeatedly. It also recommends that any similar buildings are checked not just visually, but by physically looking inside the walls. That applies not just to schools and not just to Scotland. Parents, teachers and pupils expected the schools to be safe so they will want the lessons of Edinburgh to be learned far beyond the capital.
