Date of publication: August 2016 Series code: HSG246 (second edition) Many accidents, some resulting in death and serious injury, continue to occur during the storage and handling of steel and other metal stock. They cause enormous social and economic cost over and above the human tragedy
A planning application has been submitted to Birmingham City Council for a third building at the Arena Central development. Above: Arena Central Arena Central Developments Ltd (ACDL), a joint venture led by Miller Developments, has submitted plans for the 14-storey office block, 3 Arena Central, at the centre of the
Smart meters fail to provide customers with “genuinely” useful information, and are only useful to electricity providers who can use them to cut costs, according to the Association for the Conservation of Energy. The group’s chair Andrew Warren slammed the technology for “not keeping pace” with the
17 October 2016 | Jamie Harris A JLL report has indicated that up to 30 per cent of corporate real estate portfolios will include flexible space by 2030. Its Workspace Reworked: Ride The Wave Of Tech Driven Change report series also suggests that fast, efficient connectivity will become the ‘fourth utility’
Planning reforms, including reserving a proportion of new build houses for British residents, would help to increase home building and promote home ownership, according to a new report. With the average first time buyer having to save for 10 years for a deposit and home ownership rates falling among the
An experienced property litigator has swapped the seaside for the steel city to strengthen the business legal services team at Sheffield’s Taylor&Emmet LLP. Solicitor, Sarah Coates-Madden, has relocated from Hull to work with the firm’s litigation experts, providing advice to the region’s landlords and tenants. Having worked previously at Gosschalks
Date of publication: August 2016 Series code: HSG246 (second edition) Many accidents, some resulting in death and serious injury, continue to occur during the storage and handling of steel and other metal stock. They cause enormous social and economic cost over and above the human tragedy involved. It is in everyone’s interest that they are reduced. Accident investigations often show that these injuries could have been avoided. This revised guidance is aimed at directors, owners, managers and supervisors and pays particular attention to the most common hazards, including (un)loading of delivery vehicles, storage systems, workplace transport, mechanical lifting and injuries from sharp edges. New sections compare the use of single- versus double-hoist cranes and give additional information on the safe use of pendant and remote controllers, suitable lifting accessories, working at height and providing better access arrangements with stock products. There are now specific requirements which effectively prohibit the stacking of ‘U’ frame racking and ‘barring-off’. This revised guidance was produced in consultation with the National Associationof Steel Services Centres (also known as NASS) and the City of WolverhamptonCouncil working as partners with HSE in the Steel Stockholders Lead AuthorityPartnership (SSLAP). Source link
A planning application has been submitted to Birmingham City Council for a third building at the Arena Central development. Above: Arena Central Arena Central Developments Ltd (ACDL), a joint venture led by Miller Developments, has submitted plans for the 14-storey office block, 3 Arena Central, at the centre of the 9.2 acre development site. 3 Arena Central has been designed by architect Make Architects with the exterior of the building clad in a geometric pattern of hexagonal metallic panels. The Arena Central development is next to Centenary Square and the Library of Birmingham and fronting Broad Street. Altogether, there is outline consent for more than a million square feet of commercial space, including the 135,000 sq ft 1 Arena Central and 210,000 sq ft 2 Arena Central, which will be the new headquarters of HSBC’s banking division on completion in 2017. ACDL said that “with the right occupier interest” 3 Arena Central could be delivered by the first quarter of 2019. Make Architects founder partner Ken Shuttleworth said: “As a Birmingham native, I’m delighted that Make is able to contribute in such a big way to the emerging Arena Central masterplan. 3 Arena Central, Make’s third office building in the masterplan which we also designed, is at the forefront of placemaking and will be a new destination at the heart of Arena Central.” This article was published on 23 Sep 2016 (last updated on 23 Sep 2016). Source link
Smart meters fail to provide customers with “genuinely” useful information, and are only useful to electricity providers who can use them to cut costs, according to the Association for the Conservation of Energy. The group’s chair Andrew Warren slammed the technology for “not keeping pace” with the market, and failing to provide “genuinely interesting information”. “It is very useful for people running electricity companies that need to be able to get to know their customers’ usage patterns better and to have more time of use arrangements,” he said. “I think the main motivation for electricity companies, as they can make very substantial savings, is that they don’t have to employ or sub-contract meter readers.” He added that the electricity and gas providers would be able to reduce the “enormous number” of people in phone banks run, as estimated billing is ended. The government’s smart meter roll-out is due to begin fully in August but has recently been criticised by the Institute of Directors for being “flawed” and “well behind schedule.” “It is a very expensive IT programme and there is a long litany of IT failures with which government has been involved,” said Warren. “One of the greatest difficulties does appear to be trying to set rules on technologies to be installed in a marketplace in which the technologies are changing so fast, so that information is no greater than a meter that was installed 50 years ago.” Warren said countries such as Germany “took one look” at smart meters and decided that “the costs were far too high”. “It is a very substantial amount of money for the consumer and adds to fuel bills…it is perfectly reasonable to ask the question, are we actually delivering the best bang for their buck?” Source link
17 October 2016 | Jamie Harris A JLL report has indicated that up to 30 per cent of corporate real estate portfolios will include flexible space by 2030. Its Workspace Reworked: Ride The Wave Of Tech Driven Change report series also suggests that fast, efficient connectivity will become the ‘fourth utility’ that will drive location decisions. The report notes a number of technology changes that JLL says will continue to transform the workplace over the next 15 years, including: smart real estate, such as the Internet of Things; workplace as a service, where advances in automation and augmented reality technology are to be incorporated into working life; and a reorganisation of real estate strategies, in which core and flexible workspace are to become central to the workplace and the way in which the workforce functions. Guy Grainger, CEO, EMEA, JLL, said: “Real estate, which is typically fixed and immovable, is traditionally slow to respond to change – but technology is not. Flexibility and adaptability are more key than ever. Regardless of whether we’re talking to investors, corporate tenants or developers, people and technology are at the core of everything – it is time for the workspace to adapt to 21st century needs.” James Brown, head of research, EMEA, JLL, said: “We are witnessing incredible social, cultural and organisational change. Technology is altering how and where we work and, crucially, is allowing our responses to our environment to be tracked, measured and analysed more than ever before. In our reports, we’ve identified the ways in which these changes are giving occupiers, developers and investors strong cues about how their approaches to real estate will need to change practically in the future. New opportunities will emerge and those who are able to respond to change will reap the rewards.” The report follows comments from last week’s Workplace Trends conference, in which speakers noted that careful collation and analysis of workplace data can help to make open-plan, flexible workspaces work. In addition, facilities management is to be key in the implementation of technology and the development of smart cities, according to research from Hochiki Europe. Source link
Planning reforms, including reserving a proportion of new build houses for British residents, would help to increase home building and promote home ownership, according to a new report. With the average first time buyer having to save for 10 years for a deposit and home ownership rates falling among the young, the report Homes for Everyone sets out detailed proposals for how to push house building up towards the Government’s target of 300,000 a year, and ensuring they go to first time buyers. The report, written by MP Chris Philp and published as part of the Centre for Policy Studies’ New Generation initiative, also features new research setting out the historic under supply of homes in the UK across regions, and makes the economic and social case for home ownership. It says that the gap between the number of new homes needed and the number being built each year now stands at 76,000 a year, an improvement on the figure of around 150,000 under the last Labour Government. Of these, some 40,000 per year are in London and another 10,000 each in the East and South-East. The cumulative housing shortage since 2000 has reached 343,000 in London and 96,000 in the South-East. It also says that over a 25 year period, a home owner will end up between £100,000 and £300,000 richer than a renter. Owning is more beneficial than renting even if you assume zero real house price growth and sky high investment returns on the money that would have been used for a deposit. It also claims that in London, the number of housing starts has gone backwards under current Mayor Sadiq Khan. There is also evidence that an increasing proportion of those homes that are being built are ending up in the hands of foreign buyers and not just in the prime areas of central London. While welcoming the Government’s work and progress, including the Chancellor’s recent stamp duty cuts for first time buyers, the report makes a series of proposals for speeding up the planning system and tilting its outcomes towards first time buyers. These include the merger of the Community Infrastructure Levy and Section 106 requirement for developments under 100 homes, the removal of the affordable housing requirement for developments under 20 units and creation of so called Pink Zones in which development will be automatically approved within certain parameters. They also mention fast track planning approval and dispute resolution, speeding up the disposal of public land, strengthening the Government’s ability to act on housing issues and promoting staircasing agreements by which renters can gradually buy their homes over a period of years, at the initial price. The report also proposes that the UK should follow other developed economies, such as Switzerland, Australia, Canada and Denmark, in favouring domestic first time buyers, primarily by restricting to 50% the proportion of new build developments over 20 units that can be purchased by people who are not UK tax resident. ‘The Government has taken huge steps to increase home building from the low of 125,000 a year left behind by Labour to nearly 200,000 today. But more needs to be done. We need to place home ownership at the front of the policy agenda and make sure that first time buyers get all the support possible to get onto the housing ladder,’ said Chris Philp, MP for Croydon South. Robert Colvile, director of the Centre for Policy Studies, said housing is the biggest domestic policy challenge in the country and is blighting the lives of a generation of young people. ‘This new report by Chris Philp contains many ideas that deserve serious consideration if we are to make home ownership the norm for young people,’ he added.
An experienced property litigator has swapped the seaside for the steel city to strengthen the business legal services team at Sheffield’s Taylor&Emmet LLP. Solicitor, Sarah Coates-Madden, has relocated from Hull to work with the firm’s litigation experts, providing advice to the region’s landlords and tenants. Having worked previously at Gosschalks in Hull, where she was recognised by The Legal 500 as a ‘sensible and pragmatic lawyer’, Sarah will continue to specialise in property litigation matters at Taylor&Emmet. She will also work closely with the firm’s conveyancing team to address queries such as boundary disputes and offer assistance on leasehold and enfranchisement issues. Sarah said: “Taylor&Emmet is known for its property work and provides excellent career opportunities in a large and vibrant city. I am enjoying meeting the area’s landlords, agents and homeowners and look forward to enhancing both my skill set and local knowledge as part of this busy, yet friendly team.” Richard Kay, Taylor&Emmet’s head of commercial property, added: “Sarah has proved herself to be a talented, tenacious litigator, handling cases for national leisure industry clients at her former firm. She is enthusiastic and keen to embrace local life and we have no doubt she will quickly establish herself as a sought-after adviser to the property sector.” For more information about Taylor&Emmet’s property litigation services, telephone (0114) 218 4000, visit www.tayloremmet.co.uk or follow the firm on Twitter, @tayloremmet.
