Official statistics have been released regarding Scotland’s home builders, showing a 3% increase in new house building for 2017-18 (17,731) compared with the previous year (17,293) but highlighted a mixed picture in the detail of the figures, with 16% fewer (532) private sector-led homes completed in Q1 2018 compared with
Arthur Online – the cloud-based property management platform – has launched new integrations with Rightmove and Zoopla making property managers’ lives even easier. You can now list your vacant properties for let directly via the Arthur Online platform. Millions of prospective tenants browsing Rightmove and Zoopla will be informed as
Polypipe, the UK’s leading manufacturer of underfloor heating systems, has officially launched a £250,000 training facility to inspire the next generation of budding heating professionals. The Doncaster-based firm held the official opening of the state-of-the-art Polypipe Professional Development Centre (PDC) at Kirk Sandall in the town on Tuesday, September 25.
Official statistics have been released regarding Scotland’s home builders, showing a 3% increase in new house building for 2017-18 (17,731) compared with the previous year (17,293) but highlighted a mixed picture in the detail of the figures, with 16% fewer (532) private sector-led homes completed in Q1 2018 compared with the same quarter in 2017. With the private sector playing a key role in assisting the Scottish Government to meet its ambitious affordable housing targets, Chief Executive at representative body Homes for Scotland (HFS) Nicola Barclay commented: “We are encouraged to note these latest statistics indicate a positive overall picture for affordable housing approvals as well as the wider sector. Whilst the extreme weather conditions earlier in the year made delivery challenging, it is essential that we are not complacent when it comes to our efforts to increase supply across all tenures. “As well as enabling increased activity from smaller builders, sustained confidence from investors is essential to support growth from medium to larger builders within a competitive UK environment. It is also crucial that the labour market is geared up across the sector, with skills shortages already creating challenges on sites across Scotland. “In addition to the above, the Planning (Scotland) Bill represents a key opportunity to recalibrate our planning system so it can deliver what the people of Scotland need: enough high-quality homes in the right places to meet need and demand. HFS is working hard to persuade politicians and communities that a good system is one in which we collaborate effectively in order that precious time, resource and funds can be channeled into the development of vibrant places and the delivery of more homes.”
Arthur Online – the cloud-based property management platform – has launched new integrations with Rightmove and Zoopla making property managers’ lives even easier. You can now list your vacant properties for let directly via the Arthur Online platform. Millions of prospective tenants browsing Rightmove and Zoopla will be informed as soon as your property is available, making long void periods a thing of the past. Trouble remembering when to upload vacant properties to Rightmove or Zoopla? No problem, with its intuitive automated events feature, Arthur Online will do this for you as soon as a property is marked as “available for let”. Rightmove and Zoopla automatically pulls all the information needed for a listing directly from Arthur Online’s database including images, description, location, price, etc. meaning you only have to upload this information once. Once your new tenant has moved in they can use Arthur Online’s tenant app and web portal so that both you and your tenant can track payments, view the tenancy agreement, flag and track the progress of maintenance issues and schedule convenient times with contractors (who also have their own Arthur Online app!). Speaking of the latest integrations, Marc Trup, founder of Arthur Online says: “We’re delighted to offer our customers an even higher level of service by partnering with Rightmove and Zoopla. As a property manager myself, I fully appreciate how hard it can be to manage a property portfolio and how much time it takes up – which is why Arthur Online uses an open API so it can easily integrate with market leading websites like Zoopla and Rightmove. “The rental market is moving faster than ever, and time lost literally means money lost. With the integration of Rightmove and Zoopla, you can significantly reduce your void periods. Not only that, vital documents and information like rental agreements, tenancy inventories and images are just a click or swipe away, so you can react quickly to those unexpected changes” Arthur Online gives property managers unprecedented control of their portfolio, whether dealing with tenants, contractors, accountants or agents. Arthur Online is available as an app and desktop platform available from www.arthuronline.co.uk with a 30-day free trial. Integration with Rightmove and Zoopla can be added for an additional £5 per month to an existing Rightmove or Zoopla account.
Polypipe, the UK’s leading manufacturer of underfloor heating systems, has officially launched a £250,000 training facility to inspire the next generation of budding heating professionals. The Doncaster-based firm held the official opening of the state-of-the-art Polypipe Professional Development Centre (PDC) at Kirk Sandall in the town on Tuesday, September 25. The facility features specially-designed training spaces to give trainee and experienced plumbing professionals the opportunity to improve their practical skills. It is set to become one of the UK’s leading training centres for professional heating engineers, installers, plumbers and merchants. The courses on offer at the PDC include BPEC-accredited courses on installing warm water underfloor heating, apprenticeship training and guides to domestic ventilation product installation. The PDC will also now be home to the technical design team and the new underfloor heating senior management team. Rachel Smith, Polypipe Underfloor Heating general manager, said: “We are naturally delighted to fully open this wonderful facility. We want to further strengthen our position as the market leader for underfloor heating solutions and a key part of that is the level of service and support we offer to our trade customers. Offering accredited training and development for heating professionals is a key part of that support. “The new PDC will also help us tackle the skills gap head on by working with schools and colleges to help train the plumbers of the future. It will also ensure that Polypipe continues to serve the local and national workforce by developing new talent. We hope that the centre will demonstrate just how much training plays a fundamental role in our business model for many years to come.” Dignitaries who attended the opening ceremony included Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones, Doncaster Chamber of Commerce chief executive Dan Fell and Cllr Bill Mordue, Doncaster Council cabinet member for business, skills and economic development. Mr Fell said: “It was a pleasure to be at the opening of the Professional Development Centre with Mayor Ros Jones. A great facility that demonstrates Polypipe’s massive commitment to training and people.” Tracy Richardson, president of Chartered Institute of Plumbing and Heating Engineering (CIPHE), presented a plaque to commemorate the centre being granted CIPHE-accredited status. Polypipe has a strong focus on investment in professional training and development, having relaunched its Registered Heating Engineer Network (RHEN) earlier this year, which provides heating engineers and plumbers with free access to training courses and events, and helps small firms generate new business. Rachel added: “Our partnership with heating engineers, is founded on the skills, expertise and professionalism within the plumbing and heating sector and we want to support that in the best way possible. “By making the RHEN free to join we want to open our training courses and aftercare business support to a wider demographic of professionals, helping them to achieve their business goals in 2018 by offering new services to their customers.”
