The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that a campaign for wide-ranging rent control is to be key to his 2020 re-election bid. He asked the government to give the London mayoralty the power to combat soaring rents in the capital. To this news, Alexandra Morris, Managing Director of
Planning consent has been granted by Liverpool City Council to a revised scheme for the stalled Baltic House project in Liverpool. The revised scheme, designed by architect Brock Carmichael, was submitted by Crossfield Exclusive Developments, after purchasing the Norfolk Street site out of liquidation late last year. Now under the name
The ventilation solution for indoor sports facilities needs to adhere to special requirements, as the climate changes constantly depending on what activities are going on inside the facility. Moreover, moisture and odours from athletes and spectators affect the air as well. Therefore, it is important that the ventilation solution is designed
BAM has acquired a stake in leading modular homes provider Modern Homes Ireland (MHI). MHI constructs quality assured steel-framed homes and commercial buildings within a precision-controlled environment, with units being up to 95% constructed before leaving the factory. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed. BAM has taken the
Consulting engineers practice Brentwood has announced an expansion with new offices in Yorkshire and the Midlands. It has acquired new creative workspace in the Grade I-listed Leeming Building in Leeds city centre and Historic Alpha Building in Birmingham City Centre. Whilst it retains its headquarters in Harrogate, Brentwood is embarking
Kent-headquartered national building contractor, United Living, has secured more than £25 million worth of housing maintenance and refurbishment contracts across the South East region. The business, which works in partnership with housing providers throughout England and Wales to build new homes and refurbish existing properties, has made a strong start
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that a campaign for wide-ranging rent control is to be key to his 2020 re-election bid. He asked the government to give the London mayoralty the power to combat soaring rents in the capital. To this news, Alexandra Morris, Managing Director of online letting agent, MakeUrMove, said the following: “The main problem for tenants is a lack of supply in the housing market, meaning it does not meet demand, particularly when it comes to social housing. Rent controls do not deal with this problem, they merely seek to address a symptom of the problem. “Most good landlords don’t regularly increase rents, because they want to provide a service their tenants can afford. This means most landlords experience a real terms reduction in their rental income year on year. “Rent controls would represent another burden for landlords who are already facing interest rate rises, tax relief changes and increasing regulation. This could become a further barrier to landlords covering their costs or making a small profit. “As smaller landlords often have one eye on getting out of the market, rent controls could prove to be the final straw. This would further reduce capacity in the private rental sector. “In addition, there will also be some landlords who wouldn’t have increased rents but who now feel they have permission to put rents up in line with the rent control measures. “All of these factors will lead to more rapidly increasing average rents because the fundamental issue – that we aren’t building anywhere near enough homes in the UK – has yet to be adequately addressed.”
Planning consent has been granted by Liverpool City Council to a revised scheme for the stalled Baltic House project in Liverpool. The revised scheme, designed by architect Brock Carmichael, was submitted by Crossfield Exclusive Developments, after purchasing the Norfolk Street site out of liquidation late last year. Now under the name of Baltic View, the development will comprise 129 apartments with associated communal space and courtyard. It will also feature nine office units totaling 1,174 sqm on the ground and first floors to accommodate businesses in the digital and creative sectors, complemented by storage space for up to 100 bicycles. “We have worked closely with Liverpool City Council over many months and we are pleased that the planning committee shares our vision for the transformative potential of this site. Baltic View will be a new dawn for the site and our local, experienced team is committed to creating a development that provides a positive, enduring addition to the area,” said David Cain, director at Crossfield Group. The plans received approval by Liverpool City Council last week and Crossfield Construction is already on site to begin work on the scheme. Approximately ten new full-time jobs are expected to be created during construction, in addition to as many as 400 workers on site through a local supply chain. “We are really pleased to see the stalled development site back on track. It’s been a painful daily reminder of failed developments over the past few years,” said Liam Kelly, chair of the Baltic Triangle area company. “It’s really encouraging to see the site now being developed by Crossfield Group, who share in the area’s vision and have engaged with the stakeholders right from the start. This is an example of how the area can retain its identity and continue to see positive growth over the coming years, with everyone working together.”
The ventilation solution for indoor sports facilities needs to adhere to special requirements, as the climate changes constantly depending on what activities are going on inside the facility. Moreover, moisture and odours from athletes and spectators affect the air as well. Therefore, it is important that the ventilation solution is designed to handle these changes in humidity, temperature, etc. without creating discomfort for the people using the facility. Sports facilities cover a number of different application types, each requiring its own unique solution. Each application requires a thorough assessment of the important parameters, such as room dimensions, the primary purpose of the air, the risk of corrosion, special temperature requirements, elements affecting the induction patterns and so on. Thus, sports facilities also place great demands on the flexibility of the solution. The best suited dispersion technology for sports facilities is therefore fabric ducting. It is the solution that offers the greatest design flexibility while eliminating the risk of condensation and corrosion. Textile channel systems are designed for the specific application. This means that flow models and dispersion patterns can be completely adapted to the individual needs. The design flexibility covers all elements, such as the duct profile, type of fabric and its permeability, flow models and flow patterns, as well as the suspension method. The system is tailor-made and arrives ready for installation, in typically less than two weeks from the order is released for production. The textile channels are also distinguished by weighing far less than conventional metal solutions. Therefore, they are suitable for retrofitting in existing buildings. They weigh as little as 300g / m2 despite the fact that they provide a much better air distribution than the other technologies on the market. They can therefore easily be retrofitted in older sports facilities. Since the very beginning in 1973, even air distribution, no drafts and no condensation have been at the heart of FabricAir’s innovative technology. This is why technology quickly spread across application types and national borders. More than 40% of all countries in the world today use this fabric-based air dispersion technology because comfort, design freedom and other important features, such as condensation-free, are essential parameters in choosing the ideal ventilation solution for sports facilities.
BAM has acquired a stake in leading modular homes provider Modern Homes Ireland (MHI). MHI constructs quality assured steel-framed homes and commercial buildings within a precision-controlled environment, with units being up to 95% constructed before leaving the factory. Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed. BAM has taken the strategic step with MHI, the only NSAI certified volumetric housing provider in Ireland, to enhance and maximise business opportunities for both companies in the Irish construction sector. MHI was established in 2016 and has completed more than 400 residential units since then, mainly in the Leinster area including a combination of social housing and high-end residential developments. Based in Ballyjamesduff where it employs 120 people with a current capacity of more than 500 units annually, it is led by its founding shareholder team of Joint Managing Directors Chris Curtis and Stephen McManmon and Executive Directors Adrian McNally and Brendan McNally. With the growing demand for housing, increasing industry resource constraints and the rising level of public and private investment in social and private homes, there is a significant opportunity for both to become the leaders in the use of modular construction for housing, student accommodation and hotels. These sectors are an important part of BAM’s current output. Both businesses plan to accelerate home building activity in social housing and PPP contracts as well as in private developments in large population centres. This further development in its modular approach, reflecting the change in the industry and in line with BAM’s strategy Building the Present, Creating the Future, enables BAM to offer its clients added value through high quality and rapid programmes. MHI has a unique and immediate offering of volumetric housing units and is well positioned to grow significantly in modular construction across multiple streams. They can competitively deliver high quality housing, unaffected by the construction skills shortage currently being experienced in Ireland. The benefit of off-site fabrication is a significantly faster build time than traditional construction. Following BAM’s investment MHI will further increase its production capacity in Ballyjamesduff. It will also benefit from BAM’s widespread knowledge across technical and academic fields and access to BAM’s global innovation team. This will improve its processes from a production and operational efficiency perspective, as well as being able to leverage BAM’s strong client base to enter new markets. BAM will also bring the expertise and experience which will enable MHI to bid for larger projects. This step also allows MHI access to BAM’s modular expertise in the Netherlands, where BAM Modulair Bouwen en Ontwikkelen has state-of-the art production facilities in Veenendaal to develop innovative elements for newbuild and renovation projects in both the residential and non-residential markets, thus contributing to making buildings more sustainable and circular. Confirming the investment BAM Ireland CEO Theo Cullinane said, “This is a significant strategic investment for BAM. We are cognisant of the need for an acceleration of output in the housing sector and we are happy that our investment will play a part in the solution to the current housing crisis in the country. Modular is clearly the future and this is a unique opportunity to further develop a business, not just in housing but in modular housing which aligns closely with our drive towards ‘digital construction”. Commenting on the deal, MHI Joint Managing Director Chris Curtis said, “We are very pleased to have entered into this strategic partnership with an Industry Leader in BAM, which will allow us to grow further and benefit from the vast experience that they will bring to us. This significant investment further confirms that off-site construction is the future of Housing and that our firm is at the forefront. This collaboration is the foundation for an exciting future ahead for MHI.”
Consulting engineers practice Brentwood has announced an expansion with new offices in Yorkshire and the Midlands. It has acquired new creative workspace in the Grade I-listed Leeming Building in Leeds city centre and Historic Alpha Building in Birmingham City Centre. Whilst it retains its headquarters in Harrogate, Brentwood is embarking on a national growth strategy which has already seen new office bases in Manchester during 2018. Since a senior management buyout took place in 2013 the Brentwood Partnership has changed its status to become a Limited Company to help structure for growth. It was also selected for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses UK Programme which identifies and gives support to small companies with a strong business model and high growth potential. Brentwood has since set out an ambitious three-year strategy to achieve 50% annual growth in both team members and turnover. It is currently on target to achieve an 80% increase in just one year as it works towards year end in March 2019. Mark Johnson, Director at Brentwood, said, “We are delighted to announce our expansion into Leeds and Birmingham. With a presence now in the three core business cities outside of London we can provide more physical connectivity with our local markets and indeed nationally. With this physical growth we are also expanding our team and capabilities having recently announced new principal specialists in lighting and building physics. “Mechanical, electrical and public health design services are at the heart of buildings, providing sustainable, controllable and appropriate environments. As a single disciplinary consulting practice, we are gearing the business to be better placed for market growth and our longer-term business plan is to increase our UK and international presence.” Brentwood is an award-winning practice which has been established for more than 40 years. It offers expertise in mechanical engineering design, electrical engineering design, lighting design, public health design, condition and site surveys, energy and communications infrastructure design, feasibility studies, planning support and post occupancy evaluation. It also has a dedicated resource to energy assessments. Key projects include the new Barbara Hepworth Building for art, design and architecture at the University of Huddersfield, The University of York’s Advanced Structural Imaging Facility, £30m student scheme International House in Birmingham, Cheshire Oaks, Mercedes Benz in Stockport and Chaucer House in Portsmouth.
Kent-headquartered national building contractor, United Living, has secured more than £25 million worth of housing maintenance and refurbishment contracts across the South East region. The business, which works in partnership with housing providers throughout England and Wales to build new homes and refurbish existing properties, has made a strong start to the year, with a host of client wins for its 152-strong southern refurbishment team. They include: An appointment to a £6m contract with the University of Essex to refurbish a high-rise student accommodation block with external groundworks, in Colchester A £2m remodelling and refurbishment contract for Network Housing at Colebrook Court, a vacant building in Cuffley, Herts, which will create 11 new, modern standard homes in the roofspace An award to undertake kitchen and bathroom replacements to various homes managed by Metropolitan, with an initial value of around £1m Works to support Anchor Housing with various improvements to sheltered housing schemes across London and the home counties Installation of new class A2 aluminium cladding and insulation across an occupied block in Croydon on behalf of Firstport LLP The first stage award for design development and planning for replacement cladding across two properties managed by Lewisham Homes Fire protection improvements and installation of new sprinkler systems to three buildings managed and owned by Canterbury City Council, in Whitstable and Herne Bay Further works to upgrade kitchens and bathrooms across homes managed by Stevenage Council Daren Moseley, managing director for refurbishment (south) at United Living, said: “Housing providers and local authorities continue to face the challenges of a broken housing market with very stretched resources. We have the expertise to help them ensure their existing stock has longevity and surpasses regulatory standards. But more importantly, we’re trusted as a partner because of the added value we strive to bring to our projects; whether that’s through our training and skills programmes, or how we support the communities in which we work.”
