Herefordshire Council is advertising for a development partner for major housing development plans. The county council is planning to form a joint venture company with a private sector partner that over the next 20 years could deliver as much as £1bn of construction work, according to its most optimistic estimates
According to the latest report from CML, repossessions in Q1 this year fell to 2,100 (1,500 home-owner, 600 buy-to-let), meaning that the repossession rate is the lowest on record. If this rate continued through 2016, it would put the annual number of repossessions at 8,400, lower than any year since
30,084 new apprenticeships have been pledged by employers as part of National Apprenticeship Week 2016 (14 – 18 March). From Greene King committing to hiring 10,000 apprentices (up from 2,000 in 2015), Microsoft and partners announcing plans to recruit 4,500, BT pledging 1,000, Deloitte 200 and Kwik
Does your subcontractor’s insurance cover meet your client’s demands? Solicitor Christopher Coveney reports. Above: Christopher Coveney is a solicitor in the construction team at Thomas Eggar LLP It is common for the employer under building contracts to require that, if the contractor enters into subcontracts, the subcontractor will hold professional
Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Fri, Aug 5th 2016 Glazing systems by Kawneer feature on the new Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Architectural glazing from leading aluminium systems supplier Kawneer features on a
Browser does not support script. Contact us Chief Executive of RIBA Harry Rich said: “In March 2012, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) held the first ‘Out in Architecture’ event. This encouraged honest conversations and debate around sexual orientation and LGBT issues and triggered the AJ’s first survey on
8 April 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Wates Group has reported pre-tax profits of £30.3 million from a turnover of £1.27 billion for the year ending 31 December 2015, partly owing to its acquisition of Shepherd Facilities Management. Wates ended the year with a healthy order book of £4 billion
Following the Tragedy that took place at Grenfell Tower earlier this year, construction companies have been working on developing better fire resistant products, especially for cladding. Monolith Brick & Stones, a company based in North Wales appears to have created a new building façade product that in non-combustible. The product
The Glass and Glazing Federation, GGF, has announced two new appointments. The federation has appointed a new vice-president and a new director for Home Improvement. Stephen Payne, the deputy managing director of Britelite Windows has been chosen to fill the role of vice-president. Stephen has been appointed to this new
The Teesside-based workwear clothing and accessories supply company has completed its 100,000th order. M.I. Supplies first began as a small company that sold only a handful of units a week from the Teesside Industrial Estate in Thornaby. The company first launched in 2005 and since then has expanded, with it
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Herefordshire Council is advertising for a development partner for major housing development plans. The county council is planning to form a joint venture company with a private sector partner that over the next 20 years could deliver as much as £1bn of construction work, according to its most optimistic estimates – although the lower end estimate is just £10m. The council’s cabinet approved the plan last week to tender its development and regeneration partnership and the contract notice has now been published in the Official Journal of the EU. Councillor Harry Bramer, cabinet member contracts and assets, said: “Working in partnership with a developer will help us ensure that the growth of Herefordshire is managed in a holistic way. This is a tremendous opportunity to ensure that strategic development is managed across the county. “We have ambitious plans for Hereford city, with the Urban Village being a priority for development, adjacent to the new city link road which is due to start construction in July this year. “Herefordshire’s landscape will change dramatically over the next few years – it’s an exciting time for those living and working in the city.” The winning bidder is expected to be announced in April 2017. This article was published on 27 Jun 2016 (last updated on 27 Jun 2016). Source link
According to the latest report from CML, repossessions in Q1 this year fell to 2,100 (1,500 home-owner, 600 buy-to-let), meaning that the repossession rate is the lowest on record. If this rate continued through 2016, it would put the annual number of repossessions at 8,400, lower than any year since 1982 (but in 1982 there were only 6.9 million mortgages, against 11.1 million mortgages today). Mortgage arrears also continued to fall. For the first time in more than a decade, the number of mortgages in arrears of 2.5% or more fell below the 100,000 mark, with 96,200 loans in arrears at the end of March, down from 101,700 at the end of December, and 111,200 at the end of the first quarter of 2015. Even the number of mortgages in the most serious arrears band of 10% or more, which has remained fairly static while the lower arrears bands have declined, fell a little this quarter. It has been a notable trend in recent years that the decline in mortgage arrears and repossessions means that experience is much more positive than in the rented sector, where separate data from the Ministry of Justice, based on court activity, shows that eviction rates are much higher (especially in the social rented sector). For example, there were 42,728 rental evictions in England and Wales by county court bailiffs in 2015, against 5,594 mortgaged property repossessions by county court bailiffs, even though the rented sector accounts for only around a third of the housing stock. Looking in more detail at the latest CML data, it is possible to look at experience in both the home-owner mortgage market and the buy-to-let market. As usual, arrears rates are higher among home-owners than buy-to-let landlords, but the repossession rate is lower. This is because lenders will seek to avoid repossession wherever possible to enable home-owners to get over temporary periods of difficulty, whereas buy-to-let is a more commercial enterprise and lenders may move to protect their position more quickly on rental properties as tenants move out. Paul Smee, CML director general, had this to say: “We cannot completely avoid the risk of any individual household experiencing arrears or repossession. But lenders continue to work very effectively to help their borrowers through periods of difficulty when they do occur, and borrowers should be reassured that most cases of arrears can be resolved and will not lead to repossession. The key to dealing with difficulty is to tackle it early, and to communicate with your lender as soon as you think you may be facing problems.” Source link
30,084 new apprenticeships have been pledged by employers as part of National Apprenticeship Week 2016 (14 – 18 March). From Greene King committing to hiring 10,000 apprentices (up from 2,000 in 2015), Microsoft and partners announcing plans to recruit 4,500, BT pledging 1,000, Deloitte 200 and Kwik Fit 150, pledges have been made by hundreds of businesses around the country. Other companies that have pledged new apprenticeships include BMW, Virgin Media and British Airways. Traineeships, which give young people the work preparation training, English, maths and work experience needed to get an apprenticeship or other job, also got a boost during the week with employers large and small, including Halfords Ltd and Chelmsford JCP pledging 1,770 traineeship positions. Skills minister, Nick Boles, said: “This week I’ve travelled the country meeting apprentices doing the most incredible jobs, from cooking mussels at Rick Stein’s restaurant to fixing helicopters for the Royal Navy. “Apprenticeships offer working people the jobs and training they need to build a great career. An apprenticeship really can take you anywhere. “Employers have pledged more than 30,000 new apprenticeships this week. That means over 30,000 more life changing opportunities for working people.” Now in its ninth year, National Apprenticeship Week is designed to celebrate apprenticeships and the positive impact they have on individuals, businesses and the wider economy. The overarching theme for 2016 was to show how individuals and businesses can achieve their ambitions of ‘rising to the top’ through apprenticeships. Source link
Does your subcontractor’s insurance cover meet your client’s demands? Solicitor Christopher Coveney reports. Above: Christopher Coveney is a solicitor in the construction team at Thomas Eggar LLP It is common for the employer under building contracts to require that, if the contractor enters into subcontracts, the subcontractor will hold professional indemnity cover of a specified level. Obviously, the requirement is usually made where the subcontractor is to provide design. The level may depend on the element of the work for which the subcontractor is engaged. The cover preferred by employers is, generally, of the ‘each and every claim’ sort. In their desire to conclude contracts, it appears that main contractors may be looking to subcontractors’ ability to offer works packages competitively whilst overlooking the employer’s requirements for insurance. On a recent project, our client, the employer, was presented for a second time with a request by the contractor to waive the contractual requirement for each and every claim insurance, at a prescribed level, in favour of lesser insurance. Not unreasonably, it asked the question as to why the contractor was looking to deal with subcontractors whose insurance did not meet the requirements. On this particular project, our employer accepted the insurance that was available, but what if an employer does not? Can the employer refuse to allow the subcontractor to undertake its works? It seems, as a matter of simple contractual principle, that the answer is ‘yes’. The risk of resulting delay would lie with the contractor. Where a subcontractor is providing design for the contractor, the likelihood is that the employer’s first avenue of recourse, in the event of a claim for defective design, would be against the contractor, in any event. Provided that the contractor is sufficiently covered to meet the claim, the employer may have no interest in pursuing the subcontractor. However, contractors may have misfortunes and it is not by chance that employers require those providing design to provide collateral warranties and to have sufficient insurance to cover the risk of their negligence. To avoid the situation of the contractor engaging with subcontractors for the provision of works packages, then finding that the subcontractors’ insurance does not meet the requirements of the contract, we would suggest that: The requirements for subcontractor insurance are highlighted in the invitation to tender documents; The contractor discusses with the employer at pre-tender stage any concern that the level of insurance required is too high or outside industry norms; That the contractor enquires at the outset of any pre-contract engagement with the subcontractor whether the subcontractor has the required level of cover; That tenderers are required to confirm by their tender that they accept the incidents of insurance required of subcontractors. Let it not be assumed that employers will necessarily accept less than the insurance that the contract prescribes. In the recent project, the absence of insurance for the proposed provider of an internal structure calls into question whether that provider should be allowed to be a subcontractor at all. The other discrepancy concerned a proposed subcontractor with ‘aggregate’ rather than ‘each and every claim’ sort of insurance, which was easier to deal with but required enquiries of the claims record of the subcontractor. Project managers and contractors are advised, therefore, to make enquiries at the outset whether proposed subcontractor’s cover meets the requirement of the proposed contract. About the author: Christopher Coveney is a solicitor in the construction team at Thomas Eggar LLP This article was published on 12 May 2015 (last updated on 12 May 2015). Source link
Category: Construction Industry Today | Subscribe to Construction Industry Today Feed Published Fri, Aug 5th 2016 Glazing systems by Kawneer feature on the new Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. Posted via Industry Today. Follow us on Twitter @IndustryToday Architectural glazing from leading aluminium systems supplier Kawneer features on a multi award-winning building which sets a blueprint for next-generation healthcare. Two types of Kawneer’s curtain walling – AA®201 unitised (or modular) and AA®110 traditional (or “stick”) system – were used alongside AA®541 SSG (Structurally Silicone Glazed) integrated window vents and AA®720 and series 190 heavy-duty entrance doors on the £167 million Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool. The new hospital is ground breaking in multiple ways, from being the greenest hospital in the UK (it is BREEAM “Excellent” rated), through the first in Europe to be built in a park, to the first “cognitive” hospital, harnessing the power of “big data” with the latest in computer technology. It was officially opened on June 22nd by Her Majesty the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, some nine months after the 63,000m2 precast concrete building with undulating wildflower meadow green roof and load-bearing façade was handed over following a construction programme of just over two years. Kawneer’s AA®201 unitised curtain walling was specified especially to help with this aspect of the greenfield project as typically it can be installed in a fraction of the time of traditional or stick curtain walling. The AA®110 stick system was used to flood with daylight the atrium concourse which forms the hospital’s public hub while the AA®201 unitised system performs the same function for the sides of three open fingers radiating outwards which alternate with gardens, intertwining building and landscape. Both curtain walling systems have nominal sightlines of 65mm and at Alder Hey incorporate red and blue coloured infill panels. The brief to architects BDP was for a hospital that engenders well-being and raises patients’ and visitors’ spirits by adding to their quality of life, integrating the hospital and park for the therapeutic benefit of children, their families and staff. The result is a unique concept, re-casting Alder Hey as the Children’s Health Park and creating a hospital without precedent, utilising the latest thinking on infection control, patient dignity and privacy, segregation of patient, clinical and facilities management flows, and technological advances. Rising out of the park with its undulating profile, it makes it an instantly recognisable and a striking and iconic gateway to Liverpool, comprising 270 beds, including 48 critical care beds for patients in intensive care, high dependency and burns, together with 16 digitally-enhanced operating theatres. BDP project director Ged Couser said: “It was quite a challenge but I think we have delivered a world-class building. The trust claims it is the greenest hospital in the country, generating 60% of its energy on site through the use of photovoltaics, CHP [Combined Heat and Power) and closed loop ground-source heat pumps. “The main contractor Laing O’ Rourke was keen to have as much unitised glazing as possible to make the programme work but because of the geometry of the build it wasn’t possible to install unitised curtain walling everywhere so we had a mix of that and stick curtain walling. “We also had a requirement for the sightlines to be as slim as possible and for there to be no difference between the stick and the unitised systems and that is what we achieved with the Kawneer systems and aluminium’s sustainability certainly contributed towards the BREEAM rating.” Delivered by Kawneer’s special projects team, Alder Hey has already won three awards – RICS North West Building of the Year, RIBA North West Building of the Year and a 2016 RIBA National Award. The RIBA judges said: “The client and architect have created something special here. Not only is this a complete contrast to the previous Alder Hey building, which still lurks next door as an institutional reminder of how most of us think of hospitals, it offers a new model for the design of children’s healthcare facilities far and wide. “A hugely complex brief and a short delivery timescale were handled superbly well by the design team with an obviously tenacious and astute client team driving forward at every step. “Despite some compromises, the team had managed to maintain the core strength of vision (the underlying theme was ‘if we’ve seen it before it’s not for us’) and the building provides a humanising yet professional backdrop to the life-changing dramas that unfold beneath its (undulating) roof every day. The land of remarkable people now have a hospital to match their aspirations and this project demonstrates how architecture can make a difference.” To view a five-minute video on the new Alder Hey, featuring interviews with Ged Couser, the interior designer and a critical care consultant, please go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5SsMdgkmbo&feature=youtu.be. ENDS Source link
Browser does not support script. Contact us Chief Executive of RIBA Harry Rich said: “In March 2012, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) held the first ‘Out in Architecture’ event. This encouraged honest conversations and debate around sexual orientation and LGBT issues and triggered the AJ’s first survey on sexuality attitudes. Three years on the latest edition of this important survey makes for disappointing reading, and demonstrates that – for all that has been achieved – there is still much more to be done to change attitudes within our profession and most certainly across the wider construction industry. “We are strongly committed to improving diversity in the profession to ensure it welcomes people whatever their sexual orientation, gender, ethnicity, age or disability. The recent launch of the RIBA Role Models Programme, a commitment to promote diversity and inclusion and help inspire a wide talent pool in the construction industry, puts architects at the forefront of action. The RIBA Role Models’ next step is to engage the profession at all levels, regionally and nationally, to drive open debate and change across the industry. Jane Duncan, the RIBA’s President Elect, has championed this programme of work and made improving the diversity of the profession a core priority for her upcoming presidency. We are also working to nurture diverse talent through initiatives such as Fluid Mentoring in partnership with the CIC and by working with others such as Freehold, Stonewall and Pinsent Masons. “But we recognise we must all do more. The RIBA provides guidance and support to members from diverse backgrounds on Architecture.com and will continue to do so to help to tackle the challenges and barriers that the survey demonstrate too often still exist. In particular, the difficulties experienced by LGBT colleagues when visiting construction sites shows the importance of the whole industry working together. There must be a collective responsibility at all levels and in every part of the country to confront the issues and deliver a solution that prioritises equality.” Posted on Thursday 27th August 2015 Source link
8 April 2016 | Herpreet Kaur Grewal Wates Group has reported pre-tax profits of £30.3 million from a turnover of £1.27 billion for the year ending 31 December 2015, partly owing to its acquisition of Shepherd Facilities Management. Wates ended the year with a healthy order book of £4 billion – a 34 per cent increase on 2014 – with net assets of £93 million and a cash position of £127 million – up by £40 million on last year. Total turnover £1.27bn (2014: £1.05bn) Pre-tax profits of £30.3m (2014: £24.1m) Group cash at bank (£127.4m) (2014: £87.4m) Group net assets £93.3m (2014: £86.5m) Order book up 34% at £4bn (2014: £3bn) Andrew Davies, the group’s chief executive, said: “2015 is a story of disciplined growth at Wates. Our sector has weathered some challenging conditions over the past few years, but despite this, our business has performed extremely well. Growth of 21 per cent in turnover has been accompanied by improved profitability across all areas of the business. “Our reach and capacity has grown with the acquisition of SES (Engineering Services) Limited, Shepherd Facilities Management and the assets of a number of construction projects from Shepherd Construction Limited.” In 2014 pre-tax profits were £24.1 million and turnover was £1.05 billion. Source link
Following the Tragedy that took place at Grenfell Tower earlier this year, construction companies have been working on developing better fire resistant products, especially for cladding. Monolith Brick & Stones, a company based in North Wales appears to have created a new building façade product that in non-combustible. The product that has been created is a panel that features 12 brick slips that are held together with an integrated mesh and then fused onto the bricks. Each of these panels can then fit together like a jigsaw. This panel will also then deliver a non-combustible façade for any building. The mesh between the brick slips have been incorporated seamlessly into the panels which means that there is no need to use glue to fix the panel. This new panelling fits together easily and quickly and could then cut down on labour costs because of this efficient application process. The product will be ideal to be used on the construction of new buildings but could also be applied to the exterior of existing properties, which could be a reassuring solution for any concerned building owners and residents. As part of the creation of this façade produce, Monolith Brick & Stone are able to replicate almost any brick façade to order, making it a suitable product for a wide range of applications. The company has experienced a high level of demand for the product already, as construction companies and public bodies all around the UK and beyond are eager to try out this new product. This innovative product has been developed by Monolith as a solution to the increased fear and perception around safety after the events at Grenfell. The availability of this new product is great news as it will offer a cladding solution, but it will also offer a peace of mind to developers, specifiers and the public in the aftermath of such a terrible event.
The Glass and Glazing Federation, GGF, has announced two new appointments. The federation has appointed a new vice-president and a new director for Home Improvement. Stephen Payne, the deputy managing director of Britelite Windows has been chosen to fill the role of vice-president. Stephen has been appointed to this new position by the GGF board and elected by his colleagues on the Home Improvement executive. His appointment starts with immediate effect. Stephen has been working in the glass and glazing industry in January 1984 with Britelite Windows. Stephen started his career as a junior surveyor and has worked his way through the ranks of the company to deputy MD, overseeing a large section of the business. In his new position of the GGF board, Stephen will be required to continue the work to channel resources in order to reap the most benefits for their members and the glass and glazing industry on the whole. Stephen will be supporting the GGF President John Agnew, as well as the board and the federation’s members. Russell Day will be replacing Brian Smith as the director of Home Improvement. Russell has worked for 25 years in the window and door industry and is also a trained engineer. During his career, Russell has apparently been the technical director of Abbott Joinery and has also been involved in the development of PVC-U window cavity closer systems. The Home Improvement section of the company is of vital importance to the GGF and in his new role as director, Russell will be required to make sure that the GGF members continue to receive the best technical support possible as well as the most up to date information about the changes in the government policy and legislation. No doubt, both of these two new appointments will be successful going forward, and both Russell and Stephen have spent a number of years gaining experience in their respective fields which will make them assets to the Federation.
The Teesside-based workwear clothing and accessories supply company has completed its 100,000th order. M.I. Supplies first began as a small company that sold only a handful of units a week from the Teesside Industrial Estate in Thornaby. The company first launched in 2005 and since then has expanded, with it recently reaching this new landmark figure. The company is now able to process 25,000 orders, consisting of well over 600,000 individual products each year. This expansion is brilliant for the workwear supplier. On top of this new milestone reached, the company has also been benefiting from a 240% surge in online sales which have come as the result of M.I. Supplies launching their new website. This good news for the company has come as a result of hard work and expansion over the course of 12 years. However, the company is now processing a significantly larger amount of orders than before, which means that this number of transactions is expected to increase quickly. After the launch of their new website the company saw a surge in sales from £16,000 a month to over £55,000 a month which is a reflection of the quality of service and the products supplied by the company. The target for the company is to eventually reach £2 million a year in online sales, which would be a truly astonishing growth for the company. M.I. Supplies have managed to keep performing well even in these more uncertain times, and the business has still been able to stick to their growth plans. The plan for the company is to expand so that they are able to hit the £2 million in sales at some point next year. The company hope that by the end of their financial year in November, they will have made £600,000 in online sales. In comparison, competitors are reducing their staff levels and closing local site, so it is great news for M.I. Supplies that they continue to thrive.
