March 20, 2017

Wates picked for Whitehaven school

Wates has been named main contractor for the construction of a £33m education campus and community sports facilities in Whitehaven, Cumbria. Work on site is expected to start in February 2017, subject to planning. The timetable envisages a planning application being submitted in December, once design work is completed. The

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Arcadis to unlock investment for Northern housing projects

John Carleton, who was appointed earlier this month to head up the consultant’s housing and regeneration team in Manchester, told Construction News that the firm would bring organisations together to make projects more attractive to funders. These organisations include local authorities, developers, housing associations and land owners. “There’s a sense that

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Clugston starts £6m car showroom in Boston

Clugston Construction has won a £6m contract to build a new car showroom for Jaguar Land Rover dealer Martin Duckworth in Boston, Lincolnshire. Above: Artist’s impression of the new showroom. The scheme involves construction and fit-out of a 4,345m2 facility that will provide a showroom, sales and service areas, offices,

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'Good will payments' for Thorne water contamination customers

Yorkshire Water has announced it will issue “good will payments” to customers in Thorne and Moorends, where a Boil Water Notice has been in place since Saturday and will not be lifted until Thursday at the earliest. Director of service delivery Charlie Haysom said: “We understand this situation

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Ground Breaking Ceremony Taken Place at the Birmingham 100 Site

A ground breaking ceremony has taken place at the Birmingham100 site. This project will see the construction of an industrial warehouse unit that will measure just over 100,000 sq. ft. located on a 5.72 acre site north of Birmingham City centre. The Walsall Road project is owned by Barwood Property

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Latest Issue
Issue 332 : Sept 2025

March 20, 2017

Wates picked for Whitehaven school

Wates has been named main contractor for the construction of a £33m education campus and community sports facilities in Whitehaven, Cumbria. Work on site is expected to start in February 2017, subject to planning. The timetable envisages a planning application being submitted in December, once design work is completed. The project is being led by Cumbria County Council, with backing from Britain’s Energy Coast, Copeland Community Fund, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Sellafield Ltd. The campus will include new facilities for St Benedict’s Catholic High School and Mayfield Special School, bringing them together on the current St Benedict’s site. Tony Shenton, business unit director for Wates Construction North West, said: “The partners leading the development of Campus Whitehaven share a vision to create a state-of-the-art centre for learning and sport, and Wates’ extensive experience in education positions us as the ideal contracting partner to take this forward. “Wates’ growing presence in Cumbria has seen us launch a significant local economic benefits strategy to ensure that our work is a catalyst for the region’s economy. As such, we will now be working with local supply chain partners and training providers to generate training and employment opportunities throughout the build programme.”     This article was published on 1 Aug 2016 (last updated on 1 Aug 2016). Source link

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Arcadis to unlock investment for Northern housing projects

John Carleton, who was appointed earlier this month to head up the consultant’s housing and regeneration team in Manchester, told Construction News that the firm would bring organisations together to make projects more attractive to funders. These organisations include local authorities, developers, housing associations and land owners. “There’s a sense that there’s a wall of money waiting to get out there into housing,” he said. “What it’s looking for is investable projects; it needs ourselves together with private and public sector partnerships to shape [them].” He said partnerships between local authorities and the private sector, alongside masterplanning of major projects, would be the key to unlocking investment. “There are a number of aspirational organisations in the North of England that want to work with local authorities and developers,” he said. “The role for Arcadis and for me is to make that happen, and to bring those organisations together.” Major regeneration schemes in Manchester include the masterplan for Holt Town Waterfront, stretching from New Islington near the city’s Piccadilly Station, to the sports city complex and the Etihad Stadium in the east of the city. Holt Town will be a mixed-use, residential-led development phased over 15 years, with a total size of 38 ha, and is being led by developer Cibitas. Mr Carleton added that the “onus is on the public sector” to both engage with the private sector and to release more land to help development get underway. “A big part of the equation is land – particularly public sector land – and there is a really strong onus on the public estate, because ultimately all these projects, and all this money, needs land,” he said. He added that Network Rail’s decision to release land for 12,000 new homes by 2020 was “fantastic” for developers. The organisation has identified 200 sites that are suitable for housing development across the UK, while Manchester and the North of England will see land for 3,600 homes unlocked as part of the plan. “If you think of the land that [Network Rail] owns, and the impact that investment in stations has in the surrounding area – you only need to look at what’s happened since Manchester Piccadilly has been improved,” said Mr Carleton. “20 years ago if you were getting a train from Manchester Piccadilly you’d be there five minutes before your train. Now it’s a destination, in the same way that King’s Cross is a destination.” However, he added that the changing role of housing associations would be put under the spotlight in the coming years with the sector “probably not delivering to the government’s expectations”. Mr Carleton, formerly managing director at London-based housing association Genesis and a former director at the Housing Corporation, said a cross-subsidy model would be a crucial to helping housing associations build more homes. “Some housing associations have substantial asset bases that they really need to utilise,” he said. “The cross-subsidy model has to be developed more and more. There isn’t enough public money to provide the level of subsidy that was around in the past. “If we are going to build affordable housing – by definition housing that can have a value less than its cost – we have to have ways of creating that subsidy.” He said the model was more readily used in the South of England and used Genesis’ partnership with Berkeley Homes and Hackney Council to deliver over 5,000 homes in London as one example. Housing groups in the North have already begun to examine the model, with social housing provider ForViva launching its own development arm to build homes for outright sale and market rent to fund its social housing programme. However, Mr Carleton said more housing associations needed to step up to help address the housing crisis. “What that means for housing associations is that they have to accept a higher level of risk,” he said. “Some of them may have the balance sheet and the weight to do that themselves, but increasingly it’s about partnering. “It’s about bringing together local authorities, private developers and housing associations and creating those strong partnerships.” On the Greater Manchester mayoral race in May next year, Mr Carleton said candidates needed to understand the importance of having a balanced housing market.  Current frontrunner and Labour MP Andy Burnham has pledged to use the devolved £300m housing fund for affordable rent and rent-to-own properties, rather than luxury homes, but Mr Carleton said the focus should not be “on one or the other”. “He has recognised that we have a polarised housing market that doesn’t deliver that much choice,” he said. “But we can’t ignore the fact that, as a growing economy, we need to have aspirational housing as well. “The North needs more houses but in a lot of cases it needs better houses and different types of houses; it needs different tenures.” He added that more mixed-tenure developments would need to be developed to meet different housing need across the North, where the housing demand is “more nuanced” than in the South. Source link

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Clugston starts £6m car showroom in Boston

Clugston Construction has won a £6m contract to build a new car showroom for Jaguar Land Rover dealer Martin Duckworth in Boston, Lincolnshire. Above: Artist’s impression of the new showroom. The scheme involves construction and fit-out of a 4,345m2 facility that will provide a showroom, sales and service areas, offices, workshops, parts, valet and customer handover areas as well as a large car display area. Project manager is Parkin Gerry Ltd. As part of the project, some more unusual materials have been specified by the client, including high performance rainscreen cladding fixed to a composite cladding backing wall; a planar curtain walling system with specialist extra-clear glazing; glazed sectional overhead doors; extensive use of high performance frameless glazing demountable partitions and recessed feature lighting throughout. Work started on the project in April.         This article was published on 25 Apr 2016 (last updated on 25 Apr 2016). Source link

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Share your pictures of the Water Label and be in for the chance to win an iPad!

Share your pictures of the Water Label and be in for the chance to win an iPad! Published:  28 June, 2016 The European Water Label is running a competition to highlight the strength and visibility of the Label across the UK and Europe. Installers are invited to participate and help track the label in the market place by uploading a picture of the label – whether this be in a magazine, at a trade show, displayed in a stockists or even printed on packaging or product literature. When you share your pictures, use the hashtag #EWLspotted stating where you have seen it, be it retailer, merchant, manufacturer and also the country or area you saw it in. This will provide the evidence of how the label is used within the marketplace and one lucky participant will be chosen at random to win an iPad. www.europeanwaterlabel.eu Source link

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'Good will payments' for Thorne water contamination customers

Yorkshire Water has announced it will issue “good will payments” to customers in Thorne and Moorends, where a Boil Water Notice has been in place since Saturday and will not be lifted until Thursday at the earliest. Director of service delivery Charlie Haysom said: “We understand this situation has been very inconvenient for our customers in Thorne and Moorends, and that’s why we’ve decided to give them a £30 good will payment to thank them for their patience. “We’re still asking residents to boil their water before drinking or cooking with it, and we hope to return to normal service as soon as possible.” Customers at around 3,600 properties have been instructed to boil their water before drinking and cooking after high levels of bacteria was discovered on Friday. Haysom said: “We’re still investigating the cause of the incident and we’re continuing to focus on the Coulman Industrial Estate as a potential source of the problem.” The boil first instruction will remain in place until further sample results are received. Sample results on Sunday were encouraging but Yorkshire Water is being “extra cautious” and will not remove the Boil First instruction until further samples confirm the water is fully safe to drink. This article first appeared on wwtonline Source link

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Manchester's refurbished office market thrives as occupier demand heats up

Approximately 625,000 sq ft (58,063 sq m) of office space in Manchester is set to be refurbished over the next two years as the market responds to continuing levels of healthy take up, according to international real estate advisor Savills.  The firm reports that Grade B has accounted for an average of 62% of the city’s annual take up over the last 10 years, and with Grade A supplies running low the proportion could be even higher in 2016 as occupiers and landlords look to ‘plug the gap’. Despite growing demand for Grade A office space in Manchester over the last three years, annual take up has consistently been under pinned by larger Grade B occupiers seeking to balance high quality offices with value for money.  As a result, Savills expects the current planned refurbishment pipeline to last little over two years.  Increased competition for the space is already driving secondary rents upwards, for example at Acresfield in St Ann’s Square where rents have moved from £16.50 per sq ft (£178 per sq m) to £18.50 per sq ft (£199 per  sq m) in just over 12 months.  In terms of occupiers, Savills reports that the TMT sector has taken more Grade B space in Manchester than any other sector over the last five years, with deals totalling 710,889 sq ft (66,042 sq m).  This is a significant increase on the 294,631 sq ft (27,371 sq m) of secondary space let to TMT occupiers in the previous five years.  Grade B demand from professional services and business and consumer services firms has also been significant, with deals totalling 595,665 sq ft (55,337 sq m) and 546,738 sq ft (50,792 sq m) respectively since 2011. Clare Bailey, associate director in the research team at Savills, comments: “Much has been made of the TMT sector as a rising star and it has indeed grown significantly.  However, the term encompasses such a breadth of occupiers that it is perhaps more accurate to think of the growth of ‘new’ occupiers, namely those seeking to capitalise on technology developments and new media.  Many operate within long-standing sectors such as finance and insurance but are now seeking more creative workspaces. The challenge for landlords and designers, given the rate of construction inflation, is to create these workplaces at a commercially viable cost for such businesses which often have immature financial covenants and need shorter term leases to allow them to grow.” James Evans, head of Savills Manchester, adds: “This year’s winners will undoubtedly be landlords who can deliver space to the market quickly and therefore capitalise on the current under supply across all sectors.  Opportunities for large-scale occupiers within the Grade B market are very limited and with continued growth forecast for the financial tech sector in particular, buildings which can provide flexible and interesting workspaces will succeed.  However, solid fundamentals remain key and large floor plates in accessible locations will continue to perform very well.”   Source link

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Applications now Being Accepted for the 13th DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards

Applications are now being accepted for the 13th DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards. These awards have become well known by industrial companies over the 13 years the event has taken place. They act as a certificate of workplace safety, sustainability and high operational skill. The DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards have helped with the promotion of initiatives that can save lives as well as protect the environment. The awards are judged by a jury of workplace safety, environment and operations experts. Application forms for the awards can be submitted until April 23rd 2017. There will then be an opportunity to complete the entry which should include a summary of any project wanting to be considered for the award, the deadline for the more extensive information is 31st May 2017. The DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards was launched in 2002 and has had an increased number of applicants each time the event is run. In 2015, entries were almost 150% higher than they were in 2013. The applications for these awards comes from a variety of different industry sectors from around the world. Applications for the DuPont Safety and Sustainability Awards are allowed from every company or organisation that has the ability to show significant achievements in the event categories. The three categories are: Safety, Sustainability and Operational Excellence. The process of the Awrds will be that the regional winners will be announced at some point in the early summer, then the global winner will be revealed in September at an awards ceremony. This awards ceremony will take place within the XXI World Congress on Safety and Health at Work in Singapore. Each category will be judged according to a set criteria which includes management commitment, cultural evolution, performance improvement, innovation and stakeholder engagement. The winners will receive a trophy and a certificate at the Singapore award ceremony.

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Ground Breaking Ceremony Taken Place at the Birmingham 100 Site

A ground breaking ceremony has taken place at the Birmingham100 site. This project will see the construction of an industrial warehouse unit that will measure just over 100,000 sq. ft. located on a 5.72 acre site north of Birmingham City centre. The Walsall Road project is owned by Barwood Property 2015 Limited Partnership. The Property Partnership is a five year Fund which is run by Barwood Capital, a Northampton based investment and development business that focuses on then real estate sector. The Fund managed by First Industrial, a specialist industrial real estate development business based in Warwick. Both these parties have named Buckingham Group Contracting Limited the contractor for the Birmingham100 project. It is thought that the contract will lead to the employment of more than 100 people. This partnership has a history, with Buckingham Group Contracting Limited having already delivered more than 860,000 sq. ft. over the last few years for First Industrial. Hopefully this new Birmingham project will be a continuation of that good working relationship. It is hoped that this project will be completed on time and on budget. The ground was officially broken at the ceremony by three members of the partnership for the project.  Edward Henson who is director of Barwood Capital and Oliver Bertram, the development Director of First Industrial and Tony Hooper of the Buckingham Group completed the ceremony to mark the start of the development. The project should represent the confidence in the growing demand for the industrial market in Birmingham. The development could lead to more growth and employment for the area. Creating industrial sites makes space for businesses looking for industrial units in the Midlands. Birmingham100 is a warehouse unit that will be a single storey high and will be fully fitted with the ability to offer office spaces to be occupied by 130 people. There will also be space for 47 HGV trailers to park, and 95 car parking spaces. The plan is for the project to be finished by the third quarter of 2017, and is expected to be marketed at £11.5 million or available to rent at £6.50 per sq. ft.

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Berkeley Group has Revealed their 88-Acre Southall Waterside Regeneration Project

Berkeley Group has revealed their 88-acre Southall Waterside regeneration project. This large-scale development is expected to increase the local economy by £47 million. The project will see the creation of 3,750 new homes as well as community facilities and an increased amount of employment opportunities for the area. This major boost to the local economy will see millions injected into the area, which can only lead to more positive results. This West London regeneration is expected to uplift the area through the construction of the massive scheme. The project will lead to an influx of new homes, that should go some way to meet the housing demand in the UK. There will also be 600 jobs created during the project and also post-construction. The development will lead to 500,000 sq. ft. of new space for retail units as well as restaurants and cafés. The downside of all this news is that the projects will take 25 years to complete. Berkeley will be in charge of transforming the former gas works facility into a mixed-use destination. The designs for the regeneration have been inspired by the diverse culture of the Southall area, although it will also compliment the established town centre. The development will see the creation of a new health centre and a two-form entry primary school as well as providing the future residents with plenty of green and outdoor space. In fact, over half the site will be allocated to open space, either as square and courtyard gardens or as a network of public garden space. There will be a central park running through the development site and will connect the Grand Union Canal to the west of the development to the Crossrail Station at the east boundary. The proposed development is expected to house 9,000 people which should boost local spending due to the increase of possible consumers. This is another boost on top of the increase in housing and jobs for the area.

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£120 Million Development will be Taking Place at the Central Fire and Police Stations in Nottingham

A £120 million development will be taking place at the former site of the Central Fire and Police stations in Nottingham. The site is adjacent to Guildhall Place, and Miller Birch are the property developers set to deliver the project. This project consists of improvements to the 300,000 sq. ft. Guildhall which could lead to a four star hotel being built as well as offices. There may also be new facilities for Nottingham Trent University, who are in discussions regarding the development. The East Midlands-based property developer Miller Birch will be working alongside Nottingham City Council on the scheme. This partnership is part of a wider plan to regenerate more of Nottingham and improve this city. There are several key sites that will be the focus at MIPIM, of which Guildhall Place is one. MIPIM is the world’s biggest property event in Cannes, and in a delegation led by Invest in Nottingham, the work at Guildhall Place will be looked at during the event along with the other key sites. Miller Birch has a good track record with developments in Nottingham, which is reassuring when taking on a project like Guildhall Place with its long history. The local council has invested more than £1 billion into improving the city centre’s infrastructure, and Miller Birch’s development of Guildhall Place will not only be vital for the regeneration of Nottingham but will continue to encourage the aim to expand the city. Miller Birch have similar aims to Nottingham City Council in that they are both invested in the growth and regeneration of the city. The Guildhall Place project comes after the successful work on Trinity House. The work taken on for E.On is one of the largest office developments to ever be completed in Nottingham. For the work at Guildhall Place there are discussions taking place with major office occupiers and hotel names as well as the University.

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