A man contracted to lay drainage pipes in a field has been sent to prison after one of his crew was killed in a trench collapse. Swansea Magistrates’ Court heard how William Ryan Evans was contracted to construct a drainage field comprising of pipes laid at the bottom of deep
An unregistered gas fitter has been sentenced for illegally installing a gas boiler and undertaking landlord’s gas safety checks at a tenanted property. The boiler he installed was later classed as dangerous. Christian Winter, 35, trading as CJS Winter Plumbing & Heating Services of Ashburton, Devon installed the gas boiler
Ahead of Sunday’s annual Cancer Research UK Boat Race, analysis from London estate agents Marsh & Parsons finds that homes with all-year-round views of the Thames can attract price premiums of over 50% compared to ones without. This gulf is particularly noticeable in a number of new housing developments lining
On Monday, the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 of 2017 was released. The quarterly assessment is the largest of its kind in to the SME construction sector around the UK. It has found that smaller construction firms have been enjoying a rise in their workloads. This rise in
One of the leading investors and developers in logistics warehouses and distribution parks has announced that they have appointed a new UK Construction Director. IDI Gazeley has appointed Graeme Munro for the position and it is thought that he will start in this position in June 2017. The announcement of
The developer of smarter home energy products and services, geo, has been awarded a 2017 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. These award celebrates the technical achievement and business success of the Cambridge based energy product provider as well as the progress that they have made while introducing
The leading privately held construction and civil engineering group in Singapore has announced that they are making a gift of $1 million to the National University of Singapore. Who Hup (Private) Limited donating the money to the university as a part of its celebrations for its 90th anniversary. The money
A detailed set of plans have been set out by Ofcom that will lead to the improvement of Openreach’s infrastructure. The plans will make it easier and cheaper for competing providers to connect their own fibre broadband to homes and offices. It is thought that improving the competition in the
The global real estate investment manager, Invesco Real Estate has revealed that they are in the process of acquiring one of the largest shopping centres in London. The acquisition is happening in partnership with Land Securities, with Invesco acquiring a 50% interest in the shopping centre. The shopping centre in
A man contracted to lay drainage pipes in a field has been sent to prison after one of his crew was killed in a trench collapse. Swansea Magistrates’ Court heard how William Ryan Evans was contracted to construct a drainage field comprising of pipes laid at the bottom of deep trenches. Evans employed two workers and a subcontractor excavator to undertake the work at Longstone Farm, in Pembrokeshire. On 26th June 2012, 54-year-old Hywel Glyndwr Richards clambered into the trench to remove a clump of soil that had fallen in. However, the trench collapsed and buried him. He died at the scene. An investigation by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) found that the work was not planned appropriately and there was no suitable risk assessment. The workers had not been appropriately trained and no suitable equipment to a prevent collapse had been provided. At Swansea Crown Court on Monday 11th April, William Ryan Evans, of Blaenwaun Twr, Trelech, Carmarthenshire was found guilty of breaching Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was given a six month custodial sentence. HSE Inspector Phil Nicolle said: “This tragic incident could have been prevented by undertaking a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks, providing the correct equipment or safe working methods to the workers and managing and monitoring the work to ensure it was done safely. “Work in excavations needs to be properly planned, managed and monitored to ensure no one enters an excavation deeper than 1.2 metres without adequate controls in place to prevent a collapse.” This article was published on 12 Apr 2016 (last updated on 12 Apr 2016). Source link
An unregistered gas fitter has been sentenced for illegally installing a gas boiler and undertaking landlord’s gas safety checks at a tenanted property. The boiler he installed was later classed as dangerous. Christian Winter, 35, trading as CJS Winter Plumbing & Heating Services of Ashburton, Devon installed the gas boiler at a property on Park Road, Kingskerswell. He then undertook landlord’s gas safety checks at the tenanted property despite him having no competencies in gaswork or being registered with Gas Safe Register for any gaswork. Further he then deceived the landlord of the property by using a fictitious Gas Safe Register registration number on the landlord’s gas safety records he produced. Exeter Crown Court heard Mr Winter’s illegal gaswork came to light when the boiler he had installed and which he then passed as safe over the next three years was inspected by a properly registered member of Gas Safe. The gas engineer found a number of faults on the gas installation and classed the gaswork as dangerous. On investigation the Health and safety Executive (HSE) found Christian Winter had used fraudulent Gas Safe registered details to deceive the landlord. When the landlord was informed of the defects she challenged Christian Winter but he continued to lie to her by stating that he was a registered gas engineer. Mr Winter, Westabrook, Ashburton, Devon pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 3(3) and 3(7) of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 and Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 and was given a suspended prison sentence of 12 months; ordered to undertake 200 hours unpaid work and to pay £3,327.80 costs. HSE Inspector Simon Jones, speaking after the hearing, said: “Only engineers registered with Gas Safe can legally carry out gas work and it is fortunate no-one was harmed as a result of Mr Winter’s illegal and dangerous gaswork. “He compounded his illegal work by fraudulently using false Gas Safe Register details on his paperwork and then lied to a landlord when he was challenged about this in a clear attempt to deceive the landlord and tenant. “The landlord relied on the honesty of Mr Winter but by deceiving her he put the lives of her tenants at risk for his own financial gain.” For further information on domestic gas safety issues visit: http://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/ Notes to Editors: The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s national regulator for workplace health and safety. It aims to reduce work-related death, injury and ill health. It does so through research, information and advice, promoting training; new or revised regulations and codes of practice, and working with local authority partners by inspection, investigation and enforcement. www.hse.gov.uk More about the legislation referred to in this case can be found at: www.legislation.gov.uk/ HSE news releases are available at http://press.hse.gov.uk Journalists should approach HSE press office with any queries on regional press releases. Source link
Ahead of Sunday’s annual Cancer Research UK Boat Race, analysis from London estate agents Marsh & Parsons finds that homes with all-year-round views of the Thames can attract price premiums of over 50% compared to ones without. This gulf is particularly noticeable in a number of new housing developments lining the riverbanks of the Thames along the 6.8km stretch from Putney to Mortlake, and prime properties can command a significantly higher asking price with a stunning vista of the river. On average, homes overlooking the famous rowing race attract a premium of around 20%, compared to like-for-like properties. In King Henry’s Reach, situated on the Middlesex side of the course on the approach to Hammersmith Bridge, a two-bedroom flat with direct views onto the River Thames and across towards the historic Harrods Depository is currently on the market with Marsh & Parsons for £1,250,000 – equivalent to £1,275 per square foot. But the price of a comparative two-bedroom apartment in the same gated development without any outlook onto the river is £425,000 lower, at £825,000. This means a river view adds a 52% premium to an apartment here. Similarly, Marsh & Parsons recently sold an almost identical flat in neighbouring Lords Court for £956 per square foot without a river view – representing a 25% discount. Matthew Hodder-Williams, Marsh & Parsons’ Associate Director and Sales Manager for Bishop’s Park, comments: “A river view definitely comes with a considerable premium in this part of town, and properties with outstanding views don’t stay on the market for long. I recently took a buyer to view a sixth-floor flat overlooking the Thames. It was high tide and the sun was setting just as a four-man scull went up river. It was an amazing sight and you would hardly know that you were in a capital city. This certainly cemented the buyer’s decision to purchase the property.” On the opposite Surrey bank of the river – near the mile post in the Oxford and Cambridge race – there is a significant price difference between similar apartments with and without a river aspect in Handel Mansions on the outskirts of Barnes Village. A two-bedroom flat with beautiful views over the Thames is for sale for £1,450,000, while another two-bedroom flat on the ground floor of the same development with a restricted river view sold by Marsh & Parsons for £950,000 in 2013. Samuel Bide, Marsh & Parsons Sales Manager for Barnes, said: “The panorama you get from this building is something special. On one side you’ve got the river, and on the other the London Wetlands Centre with sheep and cattle grazing, and great bird life. But combined with the feeling of nature, you can also see right across the centre of the capital to the Shard. Apartments in this development rarely come onto the market, so we do see impressive price rises when they do. For this wow-factor, buyers are prepared to pay a premium, and will move quickly to snap up these prime properties. As a general rule of thumb however, for a river view in Barnes you can expect to pay £1,100 per sq. ft and for an apartment without that same appeal, between £900 and £1000 per sq ft.” Liza-Jane Kelly, Sales Director of Marsh & Parsons, said: “The Oxford-Cambridge boat race is a landmark annual fixture in London’s social calendar – but the whole event lasts about 16 minutes from start to finish. It’s not because the famous crews row past your window that value is added to these waterfront properties. While it means everyone may want to attend your party on 27th March, it’s the year-round appeal of living with a river panorama that buyers are willing to pay a premium for. In a capital city, securing an impressive outlook over the Thames is one way to guarantee a sense of space and light, plus that all important wow-factor.” Source link
On Monday, the FMB’s State of Trade Survey for Q1 of 2017 was released. The quarterly assessment is the largest of its kind in to the SME construction sector around the UK. It has found that smaller construction firms have been enjoying a rise in their workloads. This rise in workload is happening despite the concerns that are growing over the increasing cost of labour and materials. The Federation of Master Builders have released their survey which has shown that the workloads of SMEs have had a most significant rise in their workload since the second quarter of 2016, which was the quarter immediately before the referendum in June. According to the information released by the Federation of Master Builders, one in tow SMEs in the construction company have predicted that they will see a rise in workloads over the next few months. The research has found that only 5% of businesses are expecting a decrease in growth. Alongside these figures, 85% of the builders have said that they are expecting the price of their materials to go up over the course of the next three months, and 58% of the firms that were involved in the study have said that they have been struggling to hire carpenters following the post financial crisis high. The survey covers the time period before the announcement for the snap General Election, therefore it is unsure whether this will lower the levels of consumer confidence and effect the reliability of the first quarter survey. However, the news that workloads have risen in every part of the UK is positive for the industry. Also it is reassuring that amidst concerns that consumer confidence may be getting weaker, smaller construction companies not experiencing a drop off yet is a positive sign. It is thought that with the growth in the prices of materials and the construction skills demand getting worse, SMEs would be wise to be cautious in their optimism.
One of the leading investors and developers in logistics warehouses and distribution parks has announced that they have appointed a new UK Construction Director. IDI Gazeley has appointed Graeme Munro for the position and it is thought that he will start in this position in June 2017. The announcement of the new appointment happened last week. IDI Gazeley is known for being one of the leading owner and operator of logistics warehouses and distribution facilities in the world. The company have 56 million square feet of high quality property and 45 million square feet of development space. The company have sites that are near to major transport routes and market towns in North America, Europe and China. IDI Gazeley is also Brookfield Property Planners’ industrial property company. Brookfield is one of the largest property companies in the world. Making Graeme the UK Construction Director will provide more strength to IDI Gazeley’s ability to deliver a customer service that is the best in their class. The company works with customers from the retail, manufacturing, logistics and distribution sectors all around the UK. In his new role, Graeme Munro will be responsible for all of the activity that is related to construction that is carried out by the IDI Gazeley UK team. Graeme will be working with a highly experienced team that will be celebrating the 30th anniversary of the company this year. It is thought that Graeme will help the company continue to expand their customer community. Graeme will also bring a great deal of experience of understanding how the market is changing and ways to improve customer service. Graeme is moving in to this role from Lidl. In his former role, Graeme was most recently Head of Warehouse Distribution. Graeme has worked with Lidl for the past 15 years, for the majority of this he occupied the managerial role in Warehouse Distribution. We wish Graeme the very best in his new role.
The developer of smarter home energy products and services, geo, has been awarded a 2017 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category. These award celebrates the technical achievement and business success of the Cambridge based energy product provider as well as the progress that they have made while introducing such groundbreaking equipment that will help consumers control and reduce their energy usage. geo is a company that focuses on delivering energy data for homes that will allow the consumer to understand and take action in order to reduce their energy usage. With concerns growing around climate change, products that can help consumers cut back on the energy that they are using could lead to more sustainable living practices. The co-founders of geo are Patrick Caiger-Smith and Simon Anderson. The company was started eleven years ago and since then the company has worked to design and develop products that are highly innovative. The first product to be developed by the company was the Solo in home energy monitor. It is this product that has led to the company being recognised as part of the Queen’s Award. The idea behind the Solo product was to show consumers how much electricity they are using. The device is easy to operate and allows the users to gain information about their energy usage that is actually meaningful. The Solo product has been created to be beautiful as well as simple and also delivers significant data that can be captured and moved on to a cloud based system that can allow the customer to store and analyse their data and better understand their energy usage. geo was awarded the Queen’s Award because of their ability to illustrate the innovation that went in to producing the Solo. The product has also been influential for the business in allowing it to be developed, boosting opportunities for other products, and the response from the users and the Department of Energy and Climate Change who are encouraged to promote and use the product to change their energy uses.
The leading privately held construction and civil engineering group in Singapore has announced that they are making a gift of $1 million to the National University of Singapore. Who Hup (Private) Limited donating the money to the university as a part of its celebrations for its 90th anniversary. The money will allow the National University of Singapore to create a Visiting Professorship within the Department of Civil Engineering. The cheque was given to Professor Chua Kee Chaing who is the Dean of Engineering at the University. The money was presented at Who Hup’s annual diver and dance that was held at Fairmont Singapore hotel. The new place that will be made available by the funds will be named the Who Hup Visiting Professorship and it is thought that the position will attract top researchers, scholars and practitioners in the field of civil and environmental engineering field to the university, which will then improve the quality of the department. It is thought that the professorship will allow the Visiting memebers of staff to share their expertise and experience in construction innovations and exchange their insights on the latest best practices in the industry. The funding that has been awarded to Singapore University is a reflection of the close relationship between the industry and academia. The Engineering department of Singapore University is considered world class in the area of academia down to the department’s reputation for collaborating with external industry experts. The Visiting Professorship funded by the private construction and civil engineering company Who Hup will allow the faculty to invite more experts to share their knowledge with the staff and students of the university within the environment of the university. The position will help the university strengthen and deepen their knowledge base and will also allow for advancements in the education and research in civil and environment engineering. The professorship will be available for those who are using newer construction techniques when creating iconic buildings. For example, volumetric construction and structural health monitoring systems are some of the techniques that could be discussed during a professorship.
A detailed set of plans have been set out by Ofcom that will lead to the improvement of Openreach’s infrastructure. The plans will make it easier and cheaper for competing providers to connect their own fibre broadband to homes and offices. It is thought that improving the competition in the network will lead to bigger benefits for the consumer. The changes will mean an increase in choice and innovation as the broadband companies will be able to offer better quality services at lower prices. The new plans that have been laid out by Ofcom will also hopefully lead to a reduced reliance on Openreach. The country has historically been reliant on Openreach, which is a network business under the BT Group. It is thought that the plans will make it easier for BT’s competitors to construct and install their own network for fibre broadband. Ofcom’s plans will allow competitors to build their own fibre network using the telegraph poles and ‘ducts’ that have already been established by Openreach. The main proposals by Ofcom includes access to BT’s ducts on fair terms, meaning that companies will be allowed to use the ducts and poles as easily as BT does. There has also been the suggestion that the cost to BT for providing access will be spread across all users. It has also been put forward that Openreach must work to see the repair of faulty infrastructure and blocked tunnels so other provider can access them. Ofcom has also proposed that companies can lay fibre for both consumers and large businesses as long as the purpose of the network is to deliver broadband. It has also been proposed that Openreach continue to provide a map of its network to allow competitors to plan new networks, and there should be the capacity available on telegraph pole for additional fibre cables to connect buildings to the competitors’ network.
The global real estate investment manager, Invesco Real Estate has revealed that they are in the process of acquiring one of the largest shopping centres in London. The acquisition is happening in partnership with Land Securities, with Invesco acquiring a 50% interest in the shopping centre. The shopping centre in question is the Southside Shopping Center that is located in Wandsworth, South London. The investment company will be acquiring the property from Delancey. Invesco Real Estate will be replacing Delancey in their 50/50 split partnership of the shopping centre with Land Securities, the listed property company. It is thought that this transaction is an opportunity to invest in in a dominant shopping centre that has a wide range of tenants and the potential to expand in an improving area of London. The deal will cost £150 million, and Invesco will take over 50% of the management from Delancey as part of their pan-European core strategy. Partnering with Land Securities will also be beneficial as the property company has a track record of owning and managing shopping centres. The Southside Shopping Centre is a valuable asset that will add to Invesco’s property portfolio. The Southside Shopping Centre is a 630,000 sq. ft. of space with a variety of tenants. Invesco are using Southside in order to grow their business allocation to shopping centres. The purchase of the south London Shopping Centre is also a vote of confidence for the UK retail market ans the overall levels of consumer spending in the UK. Invesco plan on working with Land Securities in order to improve their newly acquired asset. Delancey has been a part of the Metro Shopping fund since its establishment 13 years ago, and has experienced a longstanding working partnership with Land Securities during this time. Land Securities has been the party responsible for the significant developments that have taken place at Southside and the shopping centre has proven to be an important asset.
