Announcements on apprenticeships and infrastructure have been made by Chancellor George Osborne as part of his latest Budget. It was revealed that from April 2017, employers in England will receive a 10% top-up to their apprenticeship levy contributions. Estimates have suggested that a firm with a payroll of £5 million
24 September 2016 – by Estates Gazette Twenty-two winners, new gongs, old favourites and recognising the best advisers and companies in the game made for a spectacular night at this year’s Estates Gazette Awards. Photography by Ed Telling The awards, judged by some of the most recognised and respected names
House price growth has cooled, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index. House prices in the three months to September were 0.1% lower than in the previous three months (April-June). This compared with a 0.7% rise in August and is the lowest quarterly rate since November 2012 (-0.3%). The
The development of new and sustainable energy types which are increasingly being focused on as the availability of fossil fuels diminishes rapidly. Beele Engineering wants to make sure that they continue to play a vital role as a part of these markets. In the wind energy market, the company’s products
The construction company, J. Ebsworth Brickwork Services Ltd has given ‘Smokin’ Joe Mullender a financial boost ahead of her IBF European title fight. The former English Champion will be fighting for a chance at the title on the 9th of December. Joe Mullender is 31 and from Brentwood has vacated
Plans have progressed for the proposed Queen Margaret Academy in Ayr have taken a step forward. The official contracts have been signed after a financial close has been reached for the Scottish construction project. South Ayrshire Council has revealed that they are now working towards moving on to the site
A new Primary School development has received accreditation from the Secured by Design crime prevention scheme. The development located in Kilmarnock, Scotland has merged the former Bellfield and Kirkstyle primary schools in order to create Whatriggs Primary School. The site of this new merged school has been recognised for demonstrating
Announcements on apprenticeships and infrastructure have been made by Chancellor George Osborne as part of his latest Budget. It was revealed that from April 2017, employers in England will receive a 10% top-up to their apprenticeship levy contributions. Estimates have suggested that a firm with a payroll of £5 million paying a levy of £10,000 will receive a £1,000 top-up to spend through their digital voucher. Elsewhere, previously announced commitments to infrastructure were given the green light, with key projects up and down the country set to benefit. These include the HS3 high-speed rail link between Manchester and Leeds, which will receive £300m of funding. Emphasising his commitment to creating a Northern Powerhouse, the Chancellor also pledged to find £161m to pay for the M62 to be widened. In the south, Crossrail 2 was given the go-ahead, with £80m set aside for the project, which will run beneath the streets of London to connect Hertfordshire and Surrey. A further £700m has been given over to improving the country’s flood defences, helping regions such as Cumbria and Yorkshire, which were battered by recent storms. In Wales, the Government has agreed a £1.2 billion Cardiff Capital Region deal to boost transport infrastructure and provide a spur to economic growth. Similar arrangements could now be set up to benefit Edinburgh and South East Scotland, it has been announced. Source link
24 September 2016 – by Estates Gazette Twenty-two winners, new gongs, old favourites and recognising the best advisers and companies in the game made for a spectacular night at this year’s Estates Gazette Awards. Photography by Ed Telling The awards, judged by some of the most recognised and respected names in the industry, were awarded at the Grosvenor House hotel, W1 on 20 September. Urban + Civic chief executive Nigel Hugill picked up the headline gong, receiving the Outstanding Contribution to Property Award. All the content from this weekís magazine, including this article, is available in the new app. The Government Property Unit was a deserving winner of only the second Estates Gazette Collaborators Award, while William Newton and Tom Redmayne of WiredScore were named this year’s Rising Stars. Click here for a full list of all the winners on the night, along with videos and photos of the event Source link
House price growth has cooled, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index. House prices in the three months to September were 0.1% lower than in the previous three months (April-June). This compared with a 0.7% rise in August and is the lowest quarterly rate since November 2012 (-0.3%). The quarterly rate of change has been on a downward trend since reaching 3.0% in February. Prices in the three months to September were 5.8% higher than in the same three months a year earlier. This compared to 6.9% in August and continues the downward trend seen over the past six months after the annual rate reached 10.0% in March. September’s 5.8% is the lowest yearly growth rate since August 2013 (5.4%). House prices increased by 0.1% between August and September. This small increase followed two consecutive monthly falls. The quarter on quarter change is a more reliable indicator of the underlying trend. The average age of a UK first-time buyer is now 30, but this masks a seven-year age gap among those coming on to the housing ladder, according to separate recent research from Halifax. The youngest first-time buyers are in Carlisle in Cumbria and Torfaen in south Wales where the average age is 27. The oldest average first-time buyer age (34) is in areas including Slough in Berkshire and the London boroughs of Barnet and Ealing. Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “House prices in the three months to September were largely unchanged compared with the previous quarter. The annual rate of growth eased from 6.9% in August to 5.8%. “The housing market has followed a steady downward trend over the past six months with clear evidence of both a softening in activity levels and an easing in house price inflation. “The reduction in annual house price growth from a peak of 10.0% in March to 5.8% six months later remains in line with our forecast at the end of 2015. A lengthy period where house prices have risen more rapidly than earnings has put pressure on affordability, therefore constraining demand. Very low mortgage rates and a shortage of properties available for sale should, however, help support price levels over the coming months.” Ian Thomas, Co-Founder and Director of online mortgage lender LendInvest, said: “Recent months have seen a number of external factors chipping away at demand, such as Brexit, the additional Stamp Duty charge on second homes and the traditionally slow summer. The confirmation that the Help to Buy scheme will end later this year is another one. The initiative has been extremely popular, so it will be interesting to see if its conclusion will drive down demand and therefore sales of new build properties. “It is good that the Government has made housebuilding such a significant part of their party conference over the last week, with new measures designed to improve the rate at which we build new homes. The time for talking about the housing shortage must end – we need action, not words.” Source link
The development of new and sustainable energy types which are increasingly being focused on as the availability of fossil fuels diminishes rapidly. Beele Engineering wants to make sure that they continue to play a vital role as a part of these markets. In the wind energy market, the company’s products have a variety of applications such as in offshore wind farms. The nuclear industry has also expressed an interest in the products and services on offer by Beele Engineering. A delegation of engineers from the TVO and Fortum nuclear power plants located in Finland and Tractebel in Belgium recently visited the Dutch engineering company in order to explore this avenue. The development of a successful nuclear workshop is a precursor to the creation of workshops and core sessions that are expected to be held in Sealing Valley, a location that is currently under construction. The Centre of Excellence being created will include space for knowledge transfer, research, development, testing, education and training all in one location in a campus style environment. One of the most recent workshops focused on applying the systems that have been developed by Beele Engineering to be used specifically in the nuclear industry. All of the tests that have been specified for these new services have been successfully carried out. Beele Engineering is already involved in the nuclear industry, and has been for a number of years. In 2009, the company managed to provide the Finnish-based nuclear power operator, Teollisuuden Voima Oyj with fire-resistant and watertight transit systems. The Aalten-based engineering business delivered products that were not only fire-resistant, but also resistant to gas and smoke and watertight. The safety features of the solution offered by Beele Engineering will help to prevent accidents such as the Fukushima plant in 2011. Beele Engineering also works for the improved safety of power plants around the world. The company delivers training and certifying for installers as well as refresher courses. The training takes place with the support of an independent institute like KIWA Nederland.
The construction company, J. Ebsworth Brickwork Services Ltd has given ‘Smokin’ Joe Mullender a financial boost ahead of her IBF European title fight. The former English Champion will be fighting for a chance at the title on the 9th of December. Joe Mullender is 31 and from Brentwood has vacated the English Strap in order to aim for the European title which will be fought for at the Copper Box Arena in London. The fight will be captured by BT Sport. Joe’s former employer, Jason Ebsworth has signed up to support his fight for the title when they were approached by TR Sports Agency, which is the management team that handles all of ‘Smokin’ Joe’s’ commercial interests. When commenting on the new partnership that will help to boxer with his title tilt, Jason said that he had known Joe for a number of years from the gym. Since Joe used to work for J. Ebsworth Brickwork Services Ltd, the employer wanted to support the boxer. The Brickwork company is a family business and wanted to show their support for a local boy experiencing success while also giving something back to the local area. It would be great to see Joe bring back another title to Essex and hopefully inspire the future generation of boxers in the area. As part of their support, J. Ebsworth will be a prominent feature on Joe’s fight kit for the stacked show which has been called, ‘The Boys Are Back in Town’ and will feature two world champion headliners in IBF world super-middleweight titleholder James DeGale and IBF world featherweight king Lee Selby. The IBF European title fight will be televised on the Box Nation on December 13th. J.Ebsworth specialises in the delivery of high-end residential brickwork projects as well as a wide range of other services, operating in the South East of England.
Plans have progressed for the proposed Queen Margaret Academy in Ayr have taken a step forward. The official contracts have been signed after a financial close has been reached for the Scottish construction project. South Ayrshire Council has revealed that they are now working towards moving on to the site in order to start building the new facility. This project is expected to cost £25 million and when it is completed, the facility will offer places for around 800 young people. The new facility will feature modern classrooms as well as interactive ICT equipment. Other aspects of the Queen Margaret Academy consists of a large games hall, two gyms, a hard games courts and two all-weather pitches. There will also be Psychological Services and Supported Learning Centre which are already based at the Academy. The main contractor for this construction work has been announced as Kier Construction. This most recent announcement reflects an important milestone in the construction of the new South Ayrshire Academy. South Ayrshire Council has said that they are committed to offering the best possible start for young people, and delivering a first-class education that will help to open doors for the future generations. The building and facilities will be available for community use as well as by the Academy, and it is thought that this move will help to make Queen Margaret’s a local hub. The council has invested in this significant new building, which will help to transform the way that young people are taught with the support of more flexible space at the school to deliver lessons in. Initial construction work is predicted to start in the next few weeks, and the project will start to take shape over the course of the next few months. Kier Construction has expressed their delight at maintaining their relationship with South Ayrshire Council and the opportunity to showcase their expertise as the UK leader in education construction.
A new Primary School development has received accreditation from the Secured by Design crime prevention scheme. The development located in Kilmarnock, Scotland has merged the former Bellfield and Kirkstyle primary schools in order to create Whatriggs Primary School. The site of this new merged school has been recognised for demonstrating excellent levels of security and safety awareness through the Secured by Design standards. The Secured by Design trained Designing Out Crime Officers have been working with the project’s architects, Keppie Design, a Glasgow based firm, and Morrison Construction which is a leading Scottish contractor, from the initial planning stage through to the final construction to incorporate a number of different techniques that have been proven to prevent crime. The focus on crime prevention and security has been central throughout the design and construction of Whatriggs Primary School. The design and construction teams met frequently during the work on the school in order to discuss the layout of the school grounds as well as its buildings in order to make the most of the natural surveillance that is on offer on the site. It was also vital that the school was still welcoming and appealing to pupils and teachers. Products used on the site were selected from the SBD’s Police Preferred Specification, and there was also lighting and CCTV installed to enhance security and surveillance on the site. The school campus construction has cost £12.4 million. The campus offers space for the merged primary school as well as an Early Education Centre. The campus first opened its doors at the start of the Autumn term to pupils and teachers. The use of the Secured by Design scheme is to achieve a sustainable level of reductions in crime through the integration of proven features into design as well as a range of other approaches that will help people to live in a safer society.
