The site which extends to around 130-acres is situated off junction 34 of the M62 motorway and was purchased for an undisclosed sum. St Francis Group, a leading UK-based property development and investment group and an expert in brownfield development and regeneration has announced the purchase of the former Eggborough
Three of the nation’s biggest housebuilders Linden Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Redrow Homes have committed a combined £90,000 in sponsorship to the Housebuilder Mountain Marathon, taking place in September 2019. With each of the housebuilders contributing £30,000 in sponsorship, the money raised will go towards the funding of the Youth
New images have been released to show the size and scale of HS2’s new station at London Euston. Work is progressing on the site with the demolition of the former BHS warehouse on Hampstead Road now complete. The building, made up of two separate three and five storey concrete-framed structures,
A prestigious industry award has been secured by the health, safety and environment team behind Manchester Airport’s £1 billion transformation project. Laing O’Rourke’s group was named Team of the Year in the RoSPA Awards, recognising achievement in health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement.
The construction industry has come together to develop a mandatory licensing scheme for all UK construction companies to transform the sector into a high quality and professional industry, announces the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). A new Construction Licensing Task Force, supported by a range of leading industry bodies, will
The site which extends to around 130-acres is situated off junction 34 of the M62 motorway and was purchased for an undisclosed sum. St Francis Group, a leading UK-based property development and investment group and an expert in brownfield development and regeneration has announced the purchase of the former Eggborough Power Station just off junction 34 of the M62 motorway in Yorkshire for an undisclosed sum. Built between 1962 and 1970 the coal fired power station closed in 2018 and has been sold by Eggborough Power Limited, a subsidiary of Czech utility Energetický a Průmyslový Holding (EPH). The site extends to around 130 acres gross and St Francis Group intend to promote the site for a number of industrial and logistics units in a range of sizes to take advantage of its key strategic location fronting the A19, only 1 mile north of junction 34. Occupiers with build to suit requirements will also be targeted. Eggborough Power Limited have retained adjacent land to construct a new gas-fired power station. Speaking about the acquisition Gareth Williams, Development Director at St Francis Group said; “Having worked to consolidate our land bank over the last 24 months or so, we targeted this strategic acquisition to complement our remaining land holdings, giving the business additional focus and national coverage within the industrial sector. St Francis Group own several large sites across the UK at varying stages of planning and development. With over 1M sq ft of industrial warehouse space on site and another 4M sq ft in the planning process we are well placed to capture regional demand from the ever-expanding logistics market with continued rapid growth in e-commerce driving occupier requirements”. Also commenting Rob Braid, Group Chief Executive at DSM SFG Group Holdings added; “As a Group we are uniquely positioned to deal with the challenges of former heavy industrial facilities such as this. The underlying development potential must be strong to justify such a purchase but the decommissioning, demolition and remediation capability we have within DSM is also a key driver for us. This is a challenging but very exciting project”. Speaking about the sale Adam Booth, Managing Director for Eggborough Power Limited, also said “The sale of the station to St Francis Group represents a new and exciting chapter for this site, which has played a critical role in the UK’s infrastructure for over 50 years. Eggborough Power will continue to maintain an active interest in the site as we pursue our plans to develop a new, high efficiency gas-fired power station on the former stock yard of the old coal station”. Cushman & Wakefield acted for Eggborough Power Limited.
Three of the nation’s biggest housebuilders Linden Homes, Taylor Wimpey and Redrow Homes have committed a combined £90,000 in sponsorship to the Housebuilder Mountain Marathon, taking place in September 2019. With each of the housebuilders contributing £30,000 in sponsorship, the money raised will go towards the funding of the Youth Adventure Trust, which provides adventure camps and day activities for vulnerable 11 to 14-year olds. The Mountain Marathon is a two-day event covering some of the UK’s most difficult terrain across the Lake District. As well as providing sponsorship for the marathon, volunteers from the three housebuilders will be entering the race, working in teams to battle across unfamiliar environments, reflecting the work and mission of the Youth Adventure Trust. For 27 years the Youth Adventure Trust has hosted adventure camps for children selected by schools and social workers, aiming to inspire personal confidence and improve teamwork. Over the course of its history, the Trust has helped over 3800 vulnerable young people realise their potential. Looking to the future, the Youth Adventure Trust is aiming to double the number of children it works with by 2022. Linden Homes CEO, Andrew Hammond, said: “It’s fantastic to be joined by our colleagues from across the industry to continue our support for the Youth Adventure Trust in 2019, through our sponsorship of the Housebuilder Mountain Marathon. We share the same passion for developing skills in young people and helping them realise their potential. Karen Jones, HR Director at Redrow commented: “Our employees who participated last year spoke so highly, we were keen to get more involved. We are passionate about inspiring the next generation and supporting charities, therefore, sponsoring this fantastic event made perfect sense.” Pete Redfern, CEO of Taylor Wimpey, said: “We are delighted to be taking part in this event, for the second year running. Whilst the event is a challenge, it is also good fun and a great way to bring the housebuilding industry together, whilst raising money for the Youth Adventure Trust, one of Taylor Wimpey’s five national charities.”
New images have been released to show the size and scale of HS2’s new station at London Euston. Work is progressing on the site with the demolition of the former BHS warehouse on Hampstead Road now complete. The building, made up of two separate three and five storey concrete-framed structures, was demolished over eight months, by a Costain and Skanska team (CSjv) and specialist subcontractors John F Hunt. “HS2 will transform Euston, delivering much-needed extra capacity, improving journeys and unlocking the opportunity for thousands of new jobs and homes. This week’s milestone is the latest evidence of the progress we are making across London. With our fascinating archaeological programme in full swing and more than two thirds of demolitions now complete, I’d like to thank all those involved in the project for their hard work and dedication,” said HS2’s Programme Director, Matthew Botelle. A top-down demolition technique was used, with machines lifted onto the top of the buildings and protective screening installed around the outside to limit noise and dust. During the work, more than 35,000 tonnes of concrete was crushed and reused on site. With the demolition complete, the team are now working to finish the clearance of the site, ready for handover to the station construction teams. London Euston Station will include 400m platforms and concourse built adjacent to the existing station, doubling capacity and improving journeys for millions of people. “Costain and Skanska have successfully completed yet another major building demolition as part of our huge HS2 enabling works programme. With more than 1,500 people now at work across the capital, we are proud to be part of what will be, the UK’s biggest infrastructure project,” added CSjv’s Programme Director, Peter Jones. Once complete, the station will include a new entrance facing north towards Camden Town and west towards Hampstead Road and the shops and restaurants of Drummond Street. In total, the arrival of HS2 will more than double the number of seats out of the station during peak hours.
A prestigious industry award has been secured by the health, safety and environment team behind Manchester Airport’s £1 billion transformation project. Laing O’Rourke’s group was named Team of the Year in the RoSPA Awards, recognising achievement in health and safety management systems, including practices such as leadership and workforce involvement. As part of he project a giant new pier has been introduced, which connects to Terminal 2 and provides panoramic views of the airfield. The new 216m pier will be used by all airlines currently operating out of T2. It has been built with more than 300 individual panes of glass and is equipped with 11 gates and airbridges, more than 1,400 seats and stylish wayfinding throughout. “It’s a great achievement for the team. The Manchester Airport Transformation project is one of the biggest in the country with an average of £1 million worth of construction happening every day. During 2018, the team focused on creating a strategy based on one of its core principles – ‘Safety is the Presence of Positives’ – placing a priority on being proactive in seeking out opportunities to add resilience to existing processes,” said Andrew Swindells, Laing O’Rourke health, safety & environment manager. “They introduced a number of initiatives that have gone a long way to underpinning the positive standards on site. One of these initiatives led to the life of an operative being saved following a cardiac arrest, with the introduction of both CPR training and multiple project defibrillators signposted in the main work areas,” Andrew added. The Team of the Year Award is part of the new Inspiration Awards category, which recognise individuals, teams and projects that are a source of inspiration and pride. “It’s a huge achievement to be named Team of the Year, and judges were impressed with the standards that have been set for the Manchester Airport project,” commented Julia Small, RoSPA’s head of qualifications, awards and events. “The RoSPA Awards are the most highly-respected in the health and safety arena, with almost 2,000 entrants every year, and allow organisations to prove excellence in the workplace, demonstrating a commitment to the wellbeing of not only employees but all those who interact with it.” The Team of the Year Award is part of the new Inspiration Awards category, which recognises individuals, teams and projects that are a source of inspiration and pride. Laing O’Rourke secured the prize at an awards ceremony in Birmingham on 06 June.
The construction industry has come together to develop a mandatory licensing scheme for all UK construction companies to transform the sector into a high quality and professional industry, announces the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). A new Construction Licensing Task Force, supported by a range of leading industry bodies, will lead the development of the licensing scheme. Key statistics relating to licensing and the need for such a scheme are as follows: • One third (32%) of homeowners are put off doing major home improvement works requiring a builder because they fear hiring a dodgy builder; • This means that the UK economy could be missing out on £10 billion of construction activity per year because of anxiety over rogue building firms; • More than three-quarters (77%) of small and medium-sized (SME) construction firms support the introduction of licensing to professionalise the industry, protect consumers and side-line unprofessional and incompetent building firms; • 78% of consumers also want to see a licensing scheme for construction introduced; • Nearly 90% of home owners believe that the Government should criminalise rogue and incompetent builders; • Over half of people (55%) who commission home improvement work have had a negative experience with their builder. The decision to establish a Construction Licensing Task Force follows a recommendation in an independent research report by Pye Tait published last year entitled ‘Licence to build: A pathway to licensing UK construction’, which details the benefits of introducing a licensing scheme for the whole construction industry and puts forward a proposal for how it could work. The Task Force will be chaired by Liz Peace CBE, former CEO of the British Property Federation, and the following organisations will sit on it: • Association of Consultancy and Engineering • British Property Federation • Chartered Institute of Building • Construction Products Association • Electrical Contractors Association • Federation of Master Builders • Glass and Glazing Federation / FENSA • Local Authority Building Control • Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors • TrustMark • Which? Trusted Traders Liz Peace CBE, Chair of the Construction Licensing Task Force, said: “Mandatory licensing has the potential to transform our industry into a world-leading sector. Licensing will help drive up standards and help address the issue of quality and professionalism, which is some areas, is falling short. At the heart of what we’re trying to do is increase protection for the ordinary person who engages with the construction sector. Indeed, according to research by the FMB, one third of homeowners are so worried about having a bad experience with their builder, they are putting off commissioning construction work altogether. This could be costing the economy as much as £10 billion per year. Enough is enough and the industry itself recognises that.” Peace continued: “Licensing has support in principle from more than 30 construction organisations and consumer groups. The Task Force will be supported by major players and in an industry that is often criticised for being too fractured and disparate, I am heartened by the fact that the sector is coming together to lead the industry in a new direction. I’m also pleased that senior civil servants from BEIS and MHCLG will sit on the Task Force as observers as Government engagement right from the outset is crucial to the successful development of the scheme.” Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “The vast majority of builders and homeowners want to see the construction industry professionalised. It’s unacceptable that more than half of consumers have had a negative experience with their builder. However, we shouldn’t be surprised by this given that in the UK, it is perfectly legal for anyone to set up a building firm and start selling their services without any prior experience or qualifications. This cannot be right given the nature of the work and the potential health and safety risks when something goes wrong. In countries like Australia and Germany, building firms require a licence and we want to develop a scheme that regulates our industry in a similar manner. I am delighted to be part of the Construction Licensing Task Force and will ensure that any such scheme works for small building firms.”
