Critics of London’s super sewer, the Thames Tideway Tunnel, have claimed it is an “outdated and expensive folly”, which is not needed to maintain the Tideway’s water quality. The Thames Blue Green Economy (TBGE) group – a coalition of water industry experts, engineers, academics, politicians and environmental representatives
GMB has slammed National Grid as being “naively complacent” over its intention to use demand-side response (DSR) to avoid blackouts, and has called for the company to be stripped of its system operator role. The union for energy workers said a “smart energy revolution”, where an internet
Lewisham Council has announced that the Council has selected Guildmore Ltd and Curzon cinema in order to build a new 3 screen cinema with the capacity for 220 seats. The cinema will be located at Ladywell Playtower and the decision to go ahead with this development was revealed at Lewisham
The new Crossrail project that is taking place in Abbey Wood is predicted to save commuters travel time, with expectations that Journey times into Central London could be as much as halved. The possibility of central London locations becoming much closer has already had a knock on effect on the
Award winning development’s show home opens its doors to the public…. The South Wales luxury property developer, Waterstone Homes, has released photographs and opened the doors of their newest luxury interior designed show home, at the beachfront Tusker’s Point development in Ogmore-by-Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan. The development was
Property has long been an integral part of the investment market, but should you view it as a short or long term investment? With the property market staying strong and UK house prices rising the fastest since February, either time span will likely provide investors with a healthy return on investment. However, there
CP Automation, the specialist company that works to install, repair and replace automation equipment has launched their latest range of harmonic filters. These filters have been designed to be used to reduce the harmonic distortion that is caused by variable speed drives. The harmonic filters that have been released by
Makita will be releasing a new 18V LXT 2-piece kit with compact versions of combi drill and an impact driver. These products are a part of the latest kit that includes two powerful 18v Brushless motor machines. This Makita 2-piece is the DLX2221J and the kit includes the DHP483 combi
The Director of Special Projects for Stewart Milne Group, Jim Fitzsimons has added his voice to the chorus calling for property developers to have more of an input in improving Scotland’s woefully inadequate digital infrastructure. It has been agreed by many, including Jim Fitzsimons that the improvement of digital infrastructure
Critics of London’s super sewer, the Thames Tideway Tunnel, have claimed it is an “outdated and expensive folly”, which is not needed to maintain the Tideway’s water quality. The Thames Blue Green Economy (TBGE) group – a coalition of water industry experts, engineers, academics, politicians and environmental representatives – have insisted construction of the tunnel must be stopped and alternatives put in place, “before more damage is done and more time and money is wasted”. It also called for an official review as to how the licenses and contracts for the tunnel were bid and awarded, and an investigation by ministers into the “suspect” financing arrangements for the project. “We believe that the evidence shows that Thames Water’s tax arrangements represent a tangible and significant ethical failing, which, in governance terms, should be of material interest for TW’s corporate owners,” it said. “These actions should, ideally, be taken as a matter of urgency before Macquarie sells off Thames Water.” The group claimed Thames Water was “loading the costs” of construction for tunnel onto water consumers across the whole of its region, and not just the Inner London area that the tunnel is supposed to serve. “Additionally, although the tunnel is supposed to be an entirely private sector venture, the government has agreed to underpin the total costs from public money,” it added. A spokesman for Thames Water said: “Tideway and Thames Water are working together on preparatory works for the Thames Tideway Tunnel. “The tunnel is urgently needed to prevent tens of millions of tonnes of raw sewage polluting the tidal River Thames every year.” However, TBGE said: “Raw sewage is not discharged to the Tideway.” It said the discharges are mainly rainwater with a small proportion of foul water, and that integrated water resource management should be implemented instead to deal with those “rare occasions” when London’s drainage system cannot cope with storm water run-off. “Integrated water resource management packages are now used by cities all over the world to maintain river quality in a sustainable manner,” the group said. “London is the only city pursuing the very disruptive option of building an enormous and unnecessary concrete tunnel underground.” “The Thames Blue Green Economy (TBGE) group is opposed to the [Thames Tideway Tunnel],” it said. “We favour a cheaper, quicker, more effective and environmentally positive set of options to manage water flows in the capital, namely integrated water resources management. “These types of measure, combined with the new sewage treatment works and the Lee Tunnel, will obviate the need for the hugely expensive [Tideway Tunnel], which appears to be little more than a boondoggle project for Thames Water, their executives and shareholders.” Construction on the Thames Tideway Tunnel is due to start later this year and is due to be completed by 2023. However, Tideway – the company in charge of the Tunnel – has said it wants to reduce the delivery timetable by up to two years. Source link
GMB has slammed National Grid as being “naively complacent” over its intention to use demand-side response (DSR) to avoid blackouts, and has called for the company to be stripped of its system operator role. The union for energy workers said a “smart energy revolution”, where an internet of energy allows fridges, washing machines and dishwashers to be automatically run at times of low-energy-demand to help lower peak demand is “fanciful nonsense”. GMB’s national secretary Justin Bowen said such a smart grid is “years away” and what the UK really needs are new power stations and the go-ahead for nuclear power station Hinkley Point C. Bowen said: “The government needs to stop the whispering and come clean with a fully worked strategy that ensures short and long term energy security.” He said there are “too many jockeys on the horse” for responsibility of UK power supplies and it is time for the government to take control. The union added that National Grid’s policy of paying companies to stop working using consumer’s money is a “bonkers policy that only a natural monopoly would dare to implement”. Last month National Grid announced it would not be procuring any demand side balancing reserve for the coming winter after its tender showed minimal volume would be available across the required period. This is despite the company stating only last year that demand side measures would be used to meet “well over 50 per cent” of balancing requirements by 2030. Source link
Lewisham Council has announced that the Council has selected Guildmore Ltd and Curzon cinema in order to build a new 3 screen cinema with the capacity for 220 seats. The cinema will be located at Ladywell Playtower and the decision to go ahead with this development was revealed at Lewisham Town Hall on Wednesday 15th November 2017. The MD for Guildmore, Engin Ertosun, has said that for someone who grew up near by, in Catford, and attended a range of different activities held at the Playtower. Therefore, the MD has said that it is an honour for Guildmore to be selected to take part in the exciting restoration and redevelopment of this fantastic building. Guildmore’s vision was to transform the Ladywell Playtower into a publicly accessible leisure destination to be enjoyed by the people in the Borough of Lewisham. The development has been proposed as a response to the local demand from the community, while also drawing on the original concept for the building. The Playtower was the First Class Pool Hall seasonably decorated for use as an entertainment venue. The plan was to reopen the Playtower as a three screen cinema, with a freely accessible public events foyer and complimentary café, bar and restaurant facilities. The central part of Guildmore’s proposal was to reinstate the long-established use of the building, a public events space that is located in the heart of the community. It is thought that a swift regeneration process will include workshops as well as public engagement events in order to ensure that all interested locals have an opportunity to understand the heritage of the Playtower as well as the future of the location and what it means for the community. Lewisham Council are confident that Guildmore have the team, experience and resources in order to transform the neglected heritage building and save the endangered history of the location
The new Crossrail project that is taking place in Abbey Wood is predicted to save commuters travel time, with expectations that Journey times into Central London could be as much as halved. The possibility of central London locations becoming much closer has already had a knock on effect on the area, attracting a number of new businesses as well as investment in the local area. Work on Abbey Wood station will continue, as the full facilities are installed alongside the newly commissioned work to add new lifts to the concourse and the installation of systems that are required for the Elizabeth line. The temporary station at Abbey Wood was first opened in 2014 in order to help keep passengers on the move while work continued on the new station. This temporary station will be removed, and the car park will be reinstated when the work is complete. There are also plans for the London Borough of Bexley to continue their urban realm improvement works for the front of the new station building. When the new Crossrail station is complete, passengers at Abbey Wood will be able to make the most of the new bright and spacious ticket hall and customer information office, improved connections throughout the building including new stairs and lifts that will connect the north and the south sides of the station. There will also be seating and information screens on the concourse. The station has been under construction for around 4 years and the welcome improvements to the station is a clear demonstration of the benefits brought through the Railway Upgrade Plan. The granite paved pedestrian concourse will connect the new station with the flyover which will also deliver better links to local bus services. From this point the station building is shaped both the swoop down to platform levels that are located below while also connecting to the civic spaces that are on either side of the ground level and have also undergone a significant level of regeneration.
Award winning development’s show home opens its doors to the public…. The South Wales luxury property developer, Waterstone Homes, has released photographs and opened the doors of their newest luxury interior designed show home, at the beachfront Tusker’s Point development in Ogmore-by-Sea in the Vale of Glamorgan. The development was Highly Commended in the Best Residential Development of the year in Wales at The UK Property Awards even before the development was out of the ground. Tusker’s Point is a small exclusive development of 12 four-bedroom family homes, many have breathtaking sea views and a distinctive ‘upside-down’ layout maximizing their idyllic coastal setting. The small development has four varying styles with only two remaining, The Breaksea at £640,000 and The Colhugh at £590,000. At the higher end of the new build property market, Waterstone Homes attracts a cross section of working professionals wanting the simplicity of a well thought out, considerately designed, luxury home. Sunrise Interiors has collaboratively worked with Waterstone Homes for a number of years. Director, Claire Gillard, said “Waterstone Homes appreciates good designs and allows us artistic freedom to create stunning interiors to complement their luxury homes. Although we are appealing to a wide range of professional purchasers, they all have one thing in common as they expect thoughtfully designed understated luxury. Our brief for the scheme was brave, contemporary and stylish coastal living. We were inspired by the glamour of Art Deco Miami, whilst using the wonderful moody colours of the Ogmore-by-Sea seascape; stormy blues, sea-greens and greys. In the lounge, our starting point was a bold herringbone wallpaper dictating the colour palette that then flowed throughout the house. Deep petrol blue toned velvet sofas were teamed with over-scaled floor lamps and mirrors and the centre-piece was a multi levelled dramatic glass and chrome coffee table. The rich blues continue into the stunning master suite which is luxurious and tranquil with its centre-piece free standing bath in which to relax with views of the sea. Andrea Gardner, Sales and Marketing Director for Waterstone Homes, said of her most recent show home: “We knew we had a special development when we came Highly Commended at the Best Residential Development of the year in Wales at the International Property Awards, and seeing the show home designed so beautifully really is the icing on the cake. Having sold all but two of our Ogmore homes, we almost didn’t create a show home this time, but we couldn’t help wanting to show off our true style and creativity. The property developer announced significant growth in their year-end figures, with a turnover rise from £9m to £21m, their next projects take them to St Nicholas Fields in the Vale of Glamorgan, Broad Haven in Pembrokeshire, as well as their second development making its way to Swansea. The Tusker’s Point show home at Ogmore-by-Sea is open daily between 10am and 5pm, private out-of-hours appointments are also available.
Property has long been an integral part of the investment market, but should you view it as a short or long term investment? With the property market staying strong and UK house prices rising the fastest since February, either time span will likely provide investors with a healthy return on investment. However, there are pros and cons to each. Whether you looking to purchase luxury property or something more affordable, the same rules apply, so let’s look at the differences between short and long term property investment. Short Term Property Investment With online services such as Airbnb taking over the short term rental market, it makes more sense than ever to use property as a short term investment. Rather than having to find tenants yourself, you will be connected via a third party. This allows for a constant and reliable stream of tenants for your buy to let property. Furthermore, according to data analysis by Inside Airbnb, you could make a year’s worth of rent in just 60 days. This is why many landlords are now using services like this as a short term investment to gain a sizeable profit margin. Even with traditional renting, you should see a return of 7% for a short term property investment. Long Term Property Investment There are, however, a few problems with short term property investment. Firstly, short term markets tend to be volatile, while over the long term they are stable. This means that there is a higher risk involved in short term investments. One in five Brits now believe house prices are set to fall. By investing for the long term, you will not only see a larger pay off (even if you have to wait longer for it) but the risk of losing money is diminished. While there may be a temporary drop in prices, over the long term, houses will always appreciate in value. Private equity investor Jason Sugarman recommends placing your money into long term projects, so that you can guarantee a return on investment and enjoy financial stability in an otherwise potentially volatile market. While property still seems to naturally lend itself to long term investments, you shouldn’t write off the possibility of thinking short term. The market remains strong, despite public perception, and there is the potential to use online holiday letting to make a profit even more quickly.
CP Automation, the specialist company that works to install, repair and replace automation equipment has launched their latest range of harmonic filters. These filters have been designed to be used to reduce the harmonic distortion that is caused by variable speed drives. The harmonic filters that have been released by the specialist automation company include the Revcon RHF-A and the RHF-B. The company have made sure that their new product range deliver to the highest possible standard, and to ensure that the performance claims of these new filters are valid, CP Automation have analysed both of their new filter models in a series of different tests. VSD’s are products that make Harmonic noise. This noise then travels back to the transformer and can then have an impact on the signal that is generated there. This distortion in the transformer then has a knock on effect on the voltage and can lead to the overheating of the entire system. The design of these new harmonic filters lead to a reduction in the noise created by the VSD at the earliest point in order to help prolong the life of all of the equipment. CP Automation’s newly released range of Revcon passive harmonic filters have been designed so that they are easy to retrofit into existing applications. The new filters come with the additional benefit of not needing routine maintenance. Revcon has stated that the RFH-A and the RHF-B in order to reduce the harmonic current distortion to 10% and 5% respectively. In order to further support the benefits of these filters, the figures have also been cross referenced as a part of a test with a standard 6-pulse VSD and DC Choke. The research carried out by the company showed that without a harmonic filter there was a distortion of 36%, and the RFH-A reduces this distortion to 6.2% during normal operation. In the same tests, the RHF-B cuts the distortion down to 2.5%.
Makita will be releasing a new 18V LXT 2-piece kit with compact versions of combi drill and an impact driver. These products are a part of the latest kit that includes two powerful 18v Brushless motor machines. This Makita 2-piece is the DLX2221J and the kit includes the DHP483 combi drill and the DTD155 impact driver. Both of the products that are a part of this DLX 2-piece kit have been released in the compact size of their equivalent 10.8v models and are packed full of power and advanced operating features. The DTD155 LXT impact driver has a Brushless motor and a ¼” hex drive which means that this compact tool will be able to drive home M8 machine screws; M12 high strength bolts and 90mm coarse thread screws. The Hi-mode for these two 18V means that the impact driver is powerful, and able to run up to 3,000rpm while also delivering 3,900 impacts per minute and generating 140Nm of torque. The tools also have a Lo-mode that, when selected offers 1,300rpm and 1,600ipm. The impact driver also has an Assist mode which consists of initially driving at a low speed, allowing for the fixing to start before the full power of the impact driver is used to drive the fixing into place. The Makita DLX2221J 2-piece kit also features the DHP483 Brushless motor combi drill that has a body length of only 176mm. This compact 13mm 2-speed combi will be able to deliver 25,500 impacts in a minute when being used in the pre-set Hi-mode. The motor combi drill offer 7,500ipm in Lo-mode and 40Nm of Torque. This drill has 20 different drive settings on top a more simple drilling mode. The Makita 2-piece kit is supplied with two 3.0Ah Lithium-ion batteries and a DC18RC fast charger, and is packed together in a Makpac Type 3 hard shell case.
The Director of Special Projects for Stewart Milne Group, Jim Fitzsimons has added his voice to the chorus calling for property developers to have more of an input in improving Scotland’s woefully inadequate digital infrastructure. It has been agreed by many, including Jim Fitzsimons that the improvement of digital infrastructure in Scotland is essential to the success of the Scottish economy. There are still too many areas of Scotland that, at the moment, have a strongly inadequate connection to broadband, with both local and national government initiatives not working to address the main problems behind this lack of connectivity quickly enough. Stewart Milne Group is one of the UK’s leading independent home builders and timber system manufacturing companies. The company has been working on a project bring forward the larges new “town” in Aberdeen, Countesswells. Ultrafast broadband has been installed in this area and it is thought that the work carried out here should be replicated by other developers on projects across Scotland and should be an essential part of the considerations when planning a new housing or mixed-use developments. The new £800 million community located to the west of Aberdeen will have access to broadband speeds that are measured at 35 times faster than the UK average. It is thought that this connectivity improvement is a first for a new town development. The independent home building company installed the fibre optic network necessary to deliver such significantly higher speeds while also fitting other groundworks services such as gas and drainage. It should be par for the course across all developments, in Scotland and beyond that the most up to date internet services are installed alongside other essential services. The improvement of connectivity will make new housing developments more appealing, and help them to sell faster. Stewart Milne Group identified the best partner, Grain, to install the best fibre optic network available alongside work taking place on new and existing roads in order to make the installation cost effective.
