The shock announcement came just hours after French energy giant EDF made a final investment decision to go ahead with the £18bn project, paving the way for construction to start. On Thursday evening, EDF board members had voted in favour of the project by just 10 votes to seven, only for
Leeds City Council’s planning committee had an action-packed meeting on Thursday 24th March 2016, approving the construction of more than 1,800 new homes across the city. The largest approval was in the city centre where the City Reach scheme on the former Yorkshire Chemicals site on Kirkstall Road will provide
Construction and utilities specialist Develop Training Ltd (DTL) is opening the doors of its Midlands and Scotland based centres throughout July to promote skills in the energy sector. The company, which is a strong advocate for greater investment in training and apprenticeships by industry and the government, is running three
R&M increases packing density with the slim-line DRM45 DIN rail adapter for copper and fiber optic connectivity. R&M, a Swiss cabling systems developer and provider for high-quality network infrastructures around the world based in Wetzikon, is supporting high-density LAN cabling on top hat rails. With a width of 18 mm,
Nixon Hire, one of the UK’s largest and leading site equipment providers, have invested in a large fleet of lighting towers supplied by the market leader in LED lighting, Trime UK Limited. After carefully evaluating the range of LED lighting sets available in the current market, the company opted to
BE Design, a multi award winning practice operating across the UK, Europe and internationally, celebrated its five year anniversary with an exclusive event in London, attended by staff, clients, contractors and suppliers, who had the chance to find out the secrets to its success. “At BE Design we are passionate
Roydon Primary School near Diss in Norfolk will double its student capacity to 420 places after an expansion delivered by Morgan Sindall. The features included in the expansion plans include the addition of eight new classrooms, as well as a new main hall, food tech room, reception area, offices, toilets
More than £1 million will be put into a new company by Carmarthenshire Council leaders for the construction of 500 houses across the country. The funding is divided into £100k to cover set-up costs for the council-owned Cartrefi Croeso Ltd, a loan of £280k for the 2018/2019 operating costs and
Prime minister May’s announcement last month to spend £400m on the repair & refurbishment of 158 high rise buildings identified within England’s social housing estate has been widely welcomed by the construction industry and housing chiefs alike. However, the considerable war chest earmarked by government to bring these dwellings up
Colin Blair MBE, at the University of Huddersfield, was commissioned by the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dame Ingrid Roscoe. THE University of Huddersfield’s Director of Estates and Facilities, Colin Blair MBE, has become a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. He was commissioned by the Lord-Lieutenant, Dame Ingrid Roscoe, who holds
The shock announcement came just hours after French energy giant EDF made a final investment decision to go ahead with the £18bn project, paving the way for construction to start. On Thursday evening, EDF board members had voted in favour of the project by just 10 votes to seven, only for the business and energy secretary Greg Clark to announce shortly afterwards that the government was delaying its final decision on whether to support the scheme. The government insisted its stance on nuclear hadn’t changed, but that new Cabinet ministers needed more time to look at the project methodically and in greater detail. However, the announcement came as a shock to EDF, which had planned an event at Hinkley on Friday 29 July to begin signing contracts and celebrate the launch of the project. Mr Clark said on Thursday evening: “The UK needs a reliable and secure energy supply and the government believes that nuclear energy is an important part of the mix. “The government will now consider carefully all the component parts of this project and make its decision in the early autumn.” Just last week, Mr Clark had welcomed EDF’s announcement that it would make a decision at Thursday’s board meeting, saying it would show that the UK was “open for business”. EDF had earlier stated that the final investment decision had given it authorisation to sign off all contracts and agreements necessary to build the two nuclear reactors. It added that the decision would now enable the group to mobilise all its significant nuclear engineering skills for the future. Both of these moves now look likely to be put on hold. EDF’s final investment decision was initially thought to have ended years of delays to the Somerset project, which has the potential to provide 7 per cent of the UK’s energy when finished and was slated to be fully operational by 2025. The decision was viewed as a demonstration of confidence in the infrastructure sector and in the UK as a place to invest following uncertainty after the EU referendum outcome. It had also briefly come as a relief to dozens of contractors that are signed up to carry out more than £2bn of work at the plant. The plant’s construction would create more than 25,000 jobs across its nine-year build programme. In 2013 the government and EDF agreed on a strike price, with the French energy giant promising to secure a final investment decision by July 2014. By March 2014 it emerged that this could not be achieved, with a decision being pushed back to 2015. More dates for FID came and went, with some questioning whether the project would go ahead at all. Last October EDF said it expected to make a final investment decision on the plant by the end of the year, but this target was missed. In March EDF chief financial officer Thomas Piquemal stepped down due to concerns over the impact building Hinkley would have on EDF’s financial position. Doubts over the project intensified following Brexit, despite the EDF board saying Britain’s vote to leave the EU would have no impact on its decision. Source link
Leeds City Council’s planning committee had an action-packed meeting on Thursday 24th March 2016, approving the construction of more than 1,800 new homes across the city. The largest approval was in the city centre where the City Reach scheme on the former Yorkshire Chemicals site on Kirkstall Road will provide 780 new flats and 234 student bedspaces, together with supporting leisure and retail facilities. A further 270 homes plus associated roads and infrastructure were approved to be built off Tyersal Lane in Tyersal. The other three approved applications will see approximately 530 new homes in Micklefield, with 291 on land east of Great North Road together with a possible 60 more, plus approximately 180 off Church Lane. The approvals continue the trend which has seen permissions given for more than 10,000 new homes in Leeds in the last two years, as part of the core strategy aim of providing 66,000 new homes in total by 2028. Leeds City Council executive member for regeneration, transport and planning Richard Lewis said: “It is very pleasing that these new homes in such significant numbers have been approved by the plans panel today, as it shows the positive relationship we have with developers who want to invest in our city. We are committed to providing the new homes and infrastructure the city needs as it continues to grow, and especially to see brownfield sites redeveloped to boost regeneration and growth and to offer as much affordable housing as possible to make Leeds the ideal place to live, work and visit.” This article was published on 29 Mar 2016 (last updated on 29 Mar 2016). Source link
Construction and utilities specialist Develop Training Ltd (DTL) is opening the doors of its Midlands and Scotland based centres throughout July to promote skills in the energy sector. The company, which is a strong advocate for greater investment in training and apprenticeships by industry and the government, is running three open days in Derby and Linlithgow near Edinburgh. The free-to-attend events are designed for organisations with an interest in training for gas, mechanical and electrical engineering, smart metering, mechanical and electrical engineering training. Open day visitors will be given a tour of the company’s top-of-the-range facilities in Derby and Linlithgow with live demonstrations of the company’s control rig, medium pressure apparatus and smart metering equipment. Visitors will also have the opportunity to give their views on the content of DTL’s extensive range of training courses in gas/energy. There has been strong interest in the events already from DTL’s customers, who include household names in the utilities and construction sector, with spaces filling up quickly. Further details with information on how to book can be found here. www.developtraining.co.uk About Develop Training Develop Training Limited (DTL) is the UK’s leading accredited provider of compliance, technical, and safety training, supporting thousands of firms with their training needs. Clients include some of the UK’s largest and best-known organisations from the utilities and construction to the defence, healthcare, facilities management and telecommunications sectors. Training programmes cover water and environmental, gas and energy, safety, electrical and mechanical, apprenticeships and management development delivered at DTL’s seven dedicated training centres in Linlithgow near Edinburgh, Romford, York, Derby, Bolton, Swindon and Lisburn near Belfast, or onsite at clients’ premises. DTL also provides bespoke and consultancy services, tailoring training programmes and initiatives to the requirements of individual clients. www.developtraining.co.uk
R&M increases packing density with the slim-line DRM45 DIN rail adapter for copper and fiber optic connectivity. R&M, a Swiss cabling systems developer and provider for high-quality network infrastructures around the world based in Wetzikon, is supporting high-density LAN cabling on top hat rails. With a width of 18 mm, the new, slim-line DRM45 DIN rail adapter corresponds to 1 HP (horizontal pitch), the typical pitch pattern on standard 35 mm top hat rails (DIN EN 50 022). When it comes to structured cabling for Local Area Networks (LAN), planners, installers, and building owners want compact solutions. Increasingly these days, small building distributors or switch cabinets for industrial, functional, and residential buildings not only require controllers, network connectors, and other technical building system components, but also RJ45 network connections. These are needed, for instance, for the Internet of Things, industrial Ethernet, internet connections for machines, and controllers for smart buildings. In such cases, the 35 mm top hat rail is often the installation platform of choice. R&M has developed the slim-line 1HP DRM45 adapter to meet this demand. Both the shielded and unshielded versions of the RJ45 copper modules Cat. 6A EL, Cat. 6A ISO, and Cat. 6A coupler fit into the housing. In fiber optic cabling, the adapter supports LC Duplex and SC Simplex connections. The adapters can be clicked into and snapped out of the top hat rail in just a few steps. The copper and fiber optic adapters are equally easy to insert, click in, and if required, replace or remove. The plug connections can still be accessed from the front with a higher packing density. The integrated ground spring can also be enabled or disabled from the front. A hinge connects the dust cap with the adapter so that the cap does not get lost. There are nine cap colors available to denote individual network services. If the adapter is not in operation, the dust cap can be closed in a flash. The labeling window is also accessible from the front. The labels can either be written by hand or printed. More information: https://www.rdm.com/gbr_en/Company/Media/News/Bringing-LAN-cabling-to-top-hat-rails
Nixon Hire, one of the UK’s largest and leading site equipment providers, have invested in a large fleet of lighting towers supplied by the market leader in LED lighting, Trime UK Limited. After carefully evaluating the range of LED lighting sets available in the current market, the company opted to purchase the Trime X-ECO LED sets. The Trime X-ECO LED is a compact, energy saving site lighting tower already popular with many rental firms and contractors. With sustainability at the core of its development, Trime have calculated that the X-ECO uses approximately £336.00 less in fuel each month, when compared to many traditionally illuminated lighting sets available. Nixon Hire’s managing director, Graham Nixon commented, “We looked at several different makes and models of lighting towers, but we decided that the Trime X-ECO LED had all the features and benefits that would help to ensure that our hire fleet is kept in line with present day demands for green products. The lights are a great addition to our existing eco product range.” The Trime X-ECO LED sets have already been delivered and distributed around the Nixon Hire depots from the Highlands of Scotland to Nottingham in the East Midlands. The X-ECO lights will be hired to a range of customers including site contractors, highway projects and on outside events. Founded in 1967, Nixon Hire is a family-run business employing nearly 500 people across an ever-expanding depot network. With over 50 years of experience they supply plant equipment, tools, site accommodation, welfare facilities and portable toilet products alongside associated services. Nixon Hire currently has 13 depots in the north of England and throughout Scotland. Likewise, the Trime Group can also boast over 50 years of experience in the development and marketing of environmentally sustainable lighting sets for the construction and rental markets. Trime UK is headquartered in Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire; their manufacturing plant is based near Milan, Italy.
BE Design, a multi award winning practice operating across the UK, Europe and internationally, celebrated its five year anniversary with an exclusive event in London, attended by staff, clients, contractors and suppliers, who had the chance to find out the secrets to its success. “At BE Design we are passionate about our industry and have developed five ingredients which have been key to our success. We focus on our people, our clients, our values, our technological infrastructure and on working hard,” said Simon Powell, director at BE Design. “It’s this simple approach that has helped us to develop a strong portfolio of work across our key sectors. Our clients tell us they value the in-house expertise we have across architectural, civil and structural disciplines. Because the BE Design family work in project and client centric teams in a single office, we can be more responsive to our clients’ needs. Our aim is always to be exceptional, exciting our clients so that they are delighted and inspired with our service,” he added. The company’s portfolio features the Rushden Lakes retail development in Northamptonshire, the Olympic Park regeneration and the Bear Grylls Adventure theme park at NEC in Birmingham. Now, the practice plans to more than double the size of its team in three years and help more clients achieve their built environment aspirations. “We’re proud to orchestrate projects on behalf of clients to help them achieve their goals. I want to thank everyone who has supported BE Design in reaching this important milestone, our people, our suppliers and our clients,” said Stephen Oakden, director at BE Design. “Our transparent approach harnesses trust with clients and, as a result, we are now working with the same clients on new projects. It’s a very exciting time for the practice as we’re delivering more projects further afield in Germany, Spain and Italy, together with delivering more large-scale projects across the UK. We very much look forward to growing our family of experts in line with our portfolio of work,” he continued. BE Design was founded five years and by three director that combined had an experience of more than 60 years and a passion to offer truly multidisciplinary expertise and design excellence within the built environment. In that time Anna Tsartsari, Simon Powell and Stephen Oakden have grown a team of 30 architects, civil and structural engineers delivering high-quality projects across key sectors.
Roydon Primary School near Diss in Norfolk will double its student capacity to 420 places after an expansion delivered by Morgan Sindall. The features included in the expansion plans include the addition of eight new classrooms, as well as a new main hall, food tech room, reception area, offices, toilets and storage space. Teachers will also benefit from a new staffroom. Moreover, the school’s main building, which dates back to 1886, will be refurbished, together with the library. The project also includes the removal of four old mobile classrooms from the school site at the end of the works. The scheme is part of a £169 million investment by Norfolk County Council to increase the number of local school placed in Norfolk by building new and extended schools in growing communities. “We’re pleased and proud to be working with Norfolk County Council to deliver this major expansion, which will double capacity and enhance the facilities on offer at Roydon Primary School – future-proofing this fantastic school’s offering for generations to come,” said Saul Humphrey, managing director of Morgan Sindall’s East region. “We’re looking forward to providing an outstanding learning and teaching environment that will help to meet growing demand for more school places in Roydon and Diss and the wider community. This will be one of six school expansions or new builds carried out by Morgan Sindall in Norfolk under the current framework. Together, these projects have created hundreds of new modern school places for local children in the county,” he added. Work on the expansion is expected to be completed in 2019. Morgan Sindall is the construction and infrastructure division of Morgan Sindall Group plc, a leading UK construction and regeneration group. The company delivers public and private sector projects and frameworks from £50,000 to more than £1 billion, covering a comprehensive range of market sectors and specialist services.
More than £1 million will be put into a new company by Carmarthenshire Council leaders for the construction of 500 houses across the country. The funding is divided into £100k to cover set-up costs for the council-owned Cartrefi Croeso Ltd, a loan of £280k for the 2018/2019 operating costs and £750k that will fund detailed appraisals of eight sites, the development of a procurement strategy and detailed design briefs. The proposed houses would be a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom properties, including bungalows. They would be sold or rented out and at least 74 out of the 500 would be classed as affordable. Six sites are currently being assessed for their viability: Carmarthen West, Cross Hands, Burry Port, Llansteffan, Gwynfryn South and Nant y Dderwen. “There is a business plan in place that will be monitored as the business runs on,” said Cllr David Jenkins. “I have got no worries at all making sure that the council’s interests are properly maintained with the running of the contract.” The council is the sole shareholder of Cartrefi Croeso, which will have five directors – two council officers, one councillor and two external appointments. The last two are to be chosen by council chief executive Mark James after consultation with council leader Emlyn Dole. The new company is expected to help deliver the council’s affordable housing commitment, provide apprenticeships, boost economic growth and deliver a return. For the construction of the houses however, more loans will be needed. A report setting out the company’s plans for 2018 – 2023 suggests that house sales were lower in Carmarthenshire before the 2007/2008 recession: “The country has seen a reduction in the number of active construction firms involved in new house building.” “Some firms have ceased trading, whilst others have re-structured to concentrate on non-housing construction, or on repairs and maintenance. Larger national firms have retreated from the county,” the report said.
Prime minister May’s announcement last month to spend £400m on the repair & refurbishment of 158 high rise buildings identified within England’s social housing estate has been widely welcomed by the construction industry and housing chiefs alike. However, the considerable war chest earmarked by government to bring these dwellings up to standard should also be used to create a new culture in UK housing, which treats residents in the private and public sector with equal respect. That is the view of James Butler, commercial director of PURA Facades, part of Vivalda Group, the UK’s largest independent distributor and fabricator of high performance cladding systems. ‘Based on the average cladding area of 3,000 sq.m for a high rise, this budget suggests a figure of over £2.5m per tower, which on the face of it appears generous,” he said. “Our calculations indicate that it’s more than enough to dismantle the existing cladding and replace this with quality, market-leading incombustible facades. And this includes all the elements of a through-wall rainscreen cladding system comprising fireproof linings and fire breaks, insulation, weatherproof sheathing boards and all the necessary associated fixing systems.” “There should also be enough within this budget to install the necessary fire protection measures as long as each tower’s needs are carefully assessed on a case by case basis,” said Butler. “While ensuring all of these homes benefit from the very best safety precautions the industry can offer, it’s also an opportunity for councils and social housing organisations to send a strong message to both residents and the construction sector in general; that there should be no gap in the quality of products being used on public or private housing. The Grenfell enquiry, led by Sir Martin Moore-Bick, has shown that there is a definite class theme running through this sorry chapter – and this funding provides us with the opportunity to change that divisive culture.” James Butler highlighted the fact that Pura had significant experience supplying high performance products to the private sector, and that there was no reason why this ‘quality first’ approach should not replace the recently discredited ‘value engineering’ process, which was widely used in the public sector as a cost cutting tool. He said: “While the image of cladding may have been tarnished by association with the Grenfell tragedy, the fact remains that there are many excellent, fireproof products out there that would be ideal for the 158 high rise residences awaiting refurbishment. We have the budget now, all we need is the will power and imagination from local council leaders and their appointed architects to change the culture of cladding within social housing.” Pura has now begun working in the social housing market, demonstrating how products and methodologies used in the private sector can be adopted by public sector developments. Butler said: “While we have already worked on a couple of social housing projects that have used non-flammable natural cladding including terracotta or glass reinforced concrete (GRC) cladding from manufacturers such as Rieder of Austria, we’re also excited to see a new generation of aluminium cladding now coming onto the market.” “Valcan is a well-established, respected manufacturer of aluminium panels that has developed Vitracore G2, which comprises exclusively layers of aluminium which form an internal, non-flammable honeycombed centre. This type of innovation shows that the market is responding positively to Grenfell and this should enable architects to consider this new generation of cladding for the social housing sector.”
Colin Blair MBE, at the University of Huddersfield, was commissioned by the Lord-Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, Dame Ingrid Roscoe. THE University of Huddersfield’s Director of Estates and Facilities, Colin Blair MBE, has become a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire. He was commissioned by the Lord-Lieutenant, Dame Ingrid Roscoe, who holds the historic role of Queen’s representative in the county. The Deputies selected and appointed by Lords-Lieutenant are individuals who have made valuable contributions to the nation or the local community. Their role is to promote and support the Lieutenancy and to represent the Lord-Lieutenant in performing a range of public duties The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Professor Bob Cryan CBE, has served as a Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire since 2012 and he was one of the first to congratulate Mr Blair, who receives his commission alongside dignitaries who include Yorkshire tourism chief Sir Gary Verity. Mr Blair said that he was honoured to become a Deputy Lieutenant. “Working on Royal visits to the University of Huddersfield has given me a valuable insight into just how hard members of our Royal Family work in order to support the community, and into the importance of the Lord-Lieutenant’s office in making their visits a success. It will now be my privilege to give something back and play a wider role,” said Mr Blair. He was awarded his MBE in the 2015 New Year’s Honours List. It recognised his key role in ensuring that the University has one of the UK’s highest-quality campuses, with a continual programme of development. Mr Blair was a project engineer in the private sector before joining Kirklees Council in 1983 as head of property maintenance. He was then appointed Senior Building Services Engineer at the University and in 1998 Mr Blair became Director of Estates and Facilities. There has been a steady sequence of architecturally and technologically innovative new structures, one of the most recent being the £27 million Oastler Building, opened by the University’s Chancellor, HRH The Duke of York. On a recent visit to the University, The Duke unveiled the foundation stone of the £30 million Barbara Hepworth Building, due for completion in 2019. The University has been widely praised for its adaptation of historic properties that include canalside Victorian mills. The campus has one of the largest percentages of listed buildings of any Higher Education institution, presenting Mr Blair and his team with a wide variety of maintenance challenges and responsibilities. Colin Blair is a Chartered Engineer and has an MSc (Distinction) in Facilities Management. He served for eight years on the National Executive Committee of the Association of University Directors of Estates and served as the organisation’s treasurer and chaired its North East Region. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers. Earlier this year, he achieved Chartered Managers status from the Chartered Management Institute, of which he became Companion in 2017.
