Weston Homes’ proposals to regenerate Anglia Square in central Norwich into a £300 million mixed use urban quarter has received a Resolution to Grant planning permission from Norwich City Council. Planning permission can be issued as soon as a ‘Section 106’ legal agreement between the applicants and the Council is completed. The
Refurbishment work to enhance the look of Rossmere Park in Hartlepool has started. The £500,000 project, which will be in two phases and take a year to complete, has been developed by Hartlepool Borough Council following public consultation on its masterplan for the park in 2015. Phase one includes the relocation
The first multi-million pound contracts from Network Rail for Control Period 6 (2019-2024), worth a combined £645 million, have been awarded. ‘Lot 2’, which covers renewals and enhancements work in Scotland valued at around £135 million, went to Story Contracting. Meanwhile, ‘Lot 3’ to deliver work on the London North
The construction division of The Premier Group, specialists in retail forecourts and commercial fuel installations, has appointed a new director to its board, strengthening the company’s leadership with a dedicated staff member. Shane Fairburn, new director at the construction division of The Premier Group, has worked with the Swansea-based company
BE DESIGN, the multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering practice, is rounding off the year with a series of significant new appointments, announcing seven additional members to its team. The practice celebrated its fifth anniversary this year and works across a number of sectors – from retail and leisure to residential and
Platinum Facilities Maintenance, a Hamilton-based business which employs twelve staff, has successfully completed a second South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) contract to clean the kitchen canopies and extract ductwork of 68 of its properties, including primary schools, leisure centres and nursing homes. Colin Chambers, managing director of Platinum Facilities Maintenance, said:
Tridify, the software technology specialist delivering automation products for the AEC industry, announced today a partnership with Unity Technologies to deliver Tridify Convert, an automation tool available on the Unity Asset store, which will streamline Unity AEC developer workflows. Tridify Convert is an automatically scalable BIM cloud service, enabling the conversion of
Weston Homes’ proposals to regenerate Anglia Square in central Norwich into a £300 million mixed use urban quarter has received a Resolution to Grant planning permission from Norwich City Council. Planning permission can be issued as soon as a ‘Section 106’ legal agreement between the applicants and the Council is completed. The new development is one of the biggest urban renewal projects outside of Greater London, covering more than 1.2 million square feet. The redeveloped Anglia Square provides new homes, retail premises, leisure amenities, public artwork and new public realm. It will deliver a series of striking buildings designed around two Covent Garden style landscaped plazas, linked by new high quality landscaped public spaces including pedestrian streets, offering cycle linkages across the site, complete with new trees and planted areas. There would also be extensive communal green squares and central courtyards for residents of the scheme. Furthermore, over 1,200 much needed new homes will be created, including stylish one and two bedroom apartments and penthouses for private sale, alongside circa 120 on-site affordable homes for local households on lower incomes. The proposals for Anglia Square will give Norwich a new northern city centre destination for shopping, leisure and entertainment, with high quality retail floorspace allowing for 40 glass fronted retail units, including an anchor food store. Alongside this there will be a new 200 bed hotel with a range of facilities including a roof level bar and restaurant, offering panoramic views over the city centre, and a new leisure quarter, centred on a new ground floor multi-screen cinema. Surrey Chapel will be provided with a brand new £2.5 million home within the development. Anglia Square is the future of Norwich with striking architecture in the form of high quality buildings with expanses of glazing, varied balcony design, rooftop terraces and feature detailing to the facades. There will be shops, restaurants and leisure at ground level, with homes above, with those on the uppermost floors offering panoramic views over Norwich City Centre. There will be a replacement multi-storey car park providing 600 shopper parking spaces, and the project allows for 75% of the homes to have residential parking. There will also be public “play trail” artwork, helping to create a “Covent Garden” style ambience, allowing both adults and children to enjoy the public open spaces, with details to be agreed with the City Council. The project will open up new views of the Anglican Cathedral and St Augustine’s Church and bring various benefits to Norwich. The new Anglia Square represents a substantial level of private sector investment into Norwich, with the mixture of uses generating new Council Tax revenue, new construction and permanent employment opportunities, and New Homes Bonus payments over four years.
Refurbishment work to enhance the look of Rossmere Park in Hartlepool has started. The £500,000 project, which will be in two phases and take a year to complete, has been developed by Hartlepool Borough Council following public consultation on its masterplan for the park in 2015. Phase one includes the relocation of the toddler play area near to the cafe, complete with a range of new equipment, and the creation of a separate all-new junior play area featuring facilities including a Sutu interactive ball wall. On the site of the old toddler play area off Braemar Road an on-site car park will be built. Moreover, a new covered area for events will be created in the centre and there will also be general enhancement work around the park. “These exciting improvements will create new and better facilities for children and adults alike. I look forward very much to seeing the park welcome many more visitors when the work has been completed,” said Councillor Ann Marshall, Vice-Chair of the Council’s Neighbourhood Services Committee. Phase two will focus on the pond and will include planting around the pond’s concrete edging to improve its visual appearance and the introduction of several miniature floating islands which will act as natural filtration systems to improve the oxygen levels for the fish. “I’m delighted that, thanks to this external funding, Rossmere Park is getting a new lease of life,” added Councillor Jim Lindridge, Vice-Chair of the Council’s Regeneration Services Committee. The two phases project has been funded by Mondegreen Environmental Body – a regional grant-giving organisation which distributes money from the Landfill Tax to community initiatives.
The first multi-million pound contracts from Network Rail for Control Period 6 (2019-2024), worth a combined £645 million, have been awarded. ‘Lot 2’, which covers renewals and enhancements work in Scotland valued at around £135 million, went to Story Contracting. Meanwhile, ‘Lot 3’ to deliver work on the London North East route valued at around £190 million was secured by AmcoGiffen. The framework will complete a wide range of projects including replacing and refurbishing structures across the route and delivering improvements at stations. “We are delighted to have been appointed in partnership with Network Rail, delivering this programme of significant rail infrastructure investment. Providing substantial benefits to the travelling public, this framework award is testament to our long-standing relationship. AmcoGiffen’s engineering and project management expertise, coupled with our detailed regional knowledge, means we are ideally placed to support all stakeholders. Delivering added social value in the communities we operate, we’re creating apprenticeship and trainee programmes, developing local supply chain spend and employment opportunities,” commented Andries Liebenberg, Managing Director AmcoGiffen. ‘Lot 1’, which is the most significant work-bank in the Scotland and North East (SNE) renewals and enhancements framework, will be announced later this year and is valued at a further £320 million. In addition to the framework covering renewals and enhancements, SNE is also set to announce the award of its £147 million Geotech framework later this month. “Our CP6 contracts provide suppliers with substantial work-banks and the opportunity to be part of delivering essential improvements that will help shape the future of Britain’s rail network. Work to renew our infrastructure is increasingly important to improve reliability for our passengers and we look forward to working closely with Story and AmcoGiffen to deliver this,” said Kris Kinnear, Deputy Regional Director for SNE. “Significant five-year contracts not only benefit our key supply chain partners, but the thousands of companies who work for them too, providing them with the surety they need to invest in their people, innovation and value for money,” Kris added. The awards are the first of Network Rail’s CP6 contracts to be let following the Office of Rail and Road’s final determination, which confirmed £35 billion of funding for rail maintenance and renewals.
The construction division of The Premier Group, specialists in retail forecourts and commercial fuel installations, has appointed a new director to its board, strengthening the company’s leadership with a dedicated staff member. Shane Fairburn, new director at the construction division of The Premier Group, has worked with the Swansea-based company since June 2014. He has undertaken various roles during his time with the company including project manager, head of major works and most recently, head of contracts. Fairburn’s promotion to director has been in recognition of the integral part he plays within the business. His outstanding enthusiasm, contribution and commitment to his role will be invaluable to the company’s board. His dedication to The Premier Group will also enable the company to capture and implement the vision of the next generation into the future strategy of the business. One of The Premier Group’s core values is ‘people’, which enables the business to focus on recognising, rewarding and promoting its employees. Fairburn’s invitation to become a director is testament to this, showing the company’s commitment to recognising and rewarding its employees for their hard work and dedication to the company. Steve Evans, managing director of the construction division of The Premier Group, said: “Shane’s appointment to the board is recognition of his hard work and commitment to the business and I am personally thankful for the support he has given me over the last few years. I have worked with Shane since he first joined the business and have seen first-hand his development into his role. He has been a huge inspiration to others through leading and developing his own team. It has been a true pleasure to witness Shane’s progress and I look forward to him being a valuable member of the board.” Shane Fairburn, director at the construction division of The Premier Group, added: “I am thrilled to have been invited to join the board of The Premier Group and am thankful to the team for all their support and guidance over the years. The company has always been incredibly supportive of each employee’s development and this promotion just shows how hard work is recognised and rewarded. I am keen to begin my journey as a director and contribute beneficial insights to our strategy going forward.” The Premier Group is a leading UK independent fuel engineering company that operates as two main divisions: construction and maintenance. The company works with many major national brands, including BP, Esso, Shell, MFG, MRH, Rontec, Asda and Tesco.
BE DESIGN, the multi-disciplinary architecture and engineering practice, is rounding off the year with a series of significant new appointments, announcing seven additional members to its team. The practice celebrated its fifth anniversary this year and works across a number of sectors – from retail and leisure to residential and industrial – designing projects across the UK and throughout Europe. A number of appointments have been made to the technical team, including Adam Hancocks, who brings 12 years’ experience to his new role as principal engineer. He will be working on the development of Grantham Designer Outlet Village and various international projects. Speaking of his new role, Adam said; “Having worked in the industry in the East Midlands since graduating, I’m really pleased to be staying in the region and joining the BE Design family. I’m looking forward to getting to know my clients, understanding their projects and applying my technical skills to solve problems and deliver high-quality buildings with a variety of end uses. “One thing that really drew me to the company was the friendly environment and focus on training and development, and I’m looking forward to furthering not only my own development, but that of other team members through mentoring.” Joining Adam will be: Tim Wallis, senior engineering BIM technician; Sam Johnson, engineering BIM technician; Sophie Hayes and Will Turner, junior BIM technicians and Su Ford, administration assistant. Katie Barnes also joins the team as an architectural placement student from Newcastle University. Stephen Oakden, director at BE Design said: “At BE Design, we know that the people in our practice are the key to our success as a business. With their passion, and the support of our development programmes, we work together as a close-knit team to ensure that our clients receive service that exceeds their expectations every time. “We recently announced a raft of internal promotions, and we’re thrilled to be following that with this boost of new staff throughout the technical and support teams. Myself and the wider team look forward to working alongside this talented influx of new staff and wish them all the best in their new roles.” Find out more about BE Design at www.bedesign.co.uk or join the conversation on Twitter @B_E_Design.
Platinum Facilities Maintenance, a Hamilton-based business which employs twelve staff, has successfully completed a second South Lanarkshire Council (SLC) contract to clean the kitchen canopies and extract ductwork of 68 of its properties, including primary schools, leisure centres and nursing homes. Colin Chambers, managing director of Platinum Facilities Maintenance, said: “This is another council contract we have been awarded with in order to carry out the mandatory compliance works. We successfully undertook a cleaning operation on a similar number of SLC properties earlier this year. “We are delighted that the Council has acknowledged our ability to perform this work by giving us a further contract which we have completed in record time.” Every organization in the UK with commercial kitchens is legally obliged to carry out annual cleans of their canopies and ductwork to make them compliant with legislation. Mr. Chambers, whose business provides comprehensive solutions for all building compliance issues for a range of customers in both the public and private sectors, said: “All property owners have a duty of care towards the public and need to be aware of the cost and time implications non-compliance with the regulations could have for their companies. “Anyone who is uncertain about their situation should seek expert guidance to help mitigate the more damaging potential effects.”
Tridify, the software technology specialist delivering automation products for the AEC industry, announced today a partnership with Unity Technologies to deliver Tridify Convert, an automation tool available on the Unity Asset store, which will streamline Unity AEC developer workflows. Tridify Convert is an automatically scalable BIM cloud service, enabling the conversion of 3D BIM CAD data into Unity in real-time. It delivers UV-mapped and optimized models regardless of the project size. Tridify Convert includes a simple Industry Foundation Class (IFC) file export from all BIM and CAD software platforms, with automated features such as material mapping, colliders, and lighting generation. “We have a deep understanding of BIM and the AEC industry having used Unity to develop our own AEC visualization application over five years ago,” said Juha Alanen, EVP of Sales at Tridify. “Our R&D team recognized that by working with Unity, we could deliver a solution that would automatically streamline the process of delivering UV-mapped and optimized architectural models to XR-ready 3D files. Together, with Unity, we are solving the problem of repetitive, slow, and error-prone re-modeling.” “Unity’s mission is to solve hard problems for all developers and working with Tridify ensures that our AEC developers can save money, increase efficiencies, and improve collaboration,” said Tim McDonough, General Manager of Industrial at Unity Technologies. “For designers, engineers, and trailblazers across AEC, Unity is the most versatile and widely used real-time 3D platform for visualizing products and building interactive and virtual experiences and we look forward to working with Tridify to shape the future of AEC. For more information about Tridify Convert, visit the Tridify website.
