In this post, we look at all the methods estate agents use to draw attention to an open house event and maximise its potential to sell a property.
FirstPort, the residential property management company, will manage the new homes being built at Wichelstowe, one of the most significant new home developments in Swindon’s recent history. The latest phase of Wichelstowe (see picture), named Canalside@Wichelstowe, will feature a mix of 208 apartments and houses from five-star builders David Wilson
AN EDINBURGH project manager has won a top industry accolade at a prestigious national awards ceremony in London. Mark Foley, of CALA Homes (East) took home the esteemed “Multi-Storey Building” award after representing Scotland at the National House Building Council (NHBC) Pride in the Job Supreme Awards, at the Park
The University of Birmingham has launched a new suite of frameworks to support its ambitious capital development plans. The new procurement frameworks will allow the University to build longer term relationships with key contractors and consultants who provide construction, design and surveying services. The University has made major investments in
National law firm Irwin Mitchell has appointed planning and environmental partner, Claire Petricca-Riding to take over as National Head of a newly combined Planning & Environment department. Claire joined Irwin Mitchell last October to spearhead development of the firm’s environmental practice, joining from Brabners, where she was a Partner, and
Your warehouse floor is the center of activity and is likely the place where crucial parts of your company are run. Your warehouse is also the place where valuable equipment is kept, and the environment from where your workers interact with machinery. So, it stands to reason that your warehouse’s
Working in the building design or construction industry requires you to invest in the right tools. Building infrastructures from the ground up is taxing, and doing everything with your bare hands can delay progress, lessen the structural integrity of the building, and even lead to injuries. For people who want
In this post, we look at all the methods estate agents use to draw attention to an open house event and maximise its potential to sell a property.
FirstPort, the residential property management company, will manage the new homes being built at Wichelstowe, one of the most significant new home developments in Swindon’s recent history. The latest phase of Wichelstowe (see picture), named Canalside@Wichelstowe, will feature a mix of 208 apartments and houses from five-star builders David Wilson Homes and Barratt. It is anticipated the first residents will be able to move into their new homes in the summer. Wichelstowe is being delivered by a joint venture company which is a 50:50 partnership between Swindon Borough Council and Barratt Developments plc. Over the next 20 years, the Wichelstowe Joint Venture will deliver around 3,000 new homes on a 250-hectare area of land. Wichelstowe, which will have an extensive area of open space featuring playing pitches, allotments and nature conservation, will include three primary schools and a secondary school. Daniel Pavely, Project Director for Wichelstowe, said: “It is important to us that our chosen management company has a strong customer focus and drive to help us to promote and develop a thriving community at Wichelstowe. We have found FirstPort to be professional and knowledgeable – they have taken the time to understand our requirements and are playing an active role in delivering the management services. We are looking forward to working with the FirstPort team.” FirstPort has also been appointed by St George City to manage 320 apartments, commercial units and landscaped courtyard gardens at Royal Exchange, Kingston. This luxury development that epitomises modem living. The site, planned for 2021, is a former Grade II listed telephone exchange which, alongside a Post Office building, will be refurbished for residential use. Ann-Charlotte Binnberg, Head of Business Development, FirstPort said: “It’s great that we can add value right at the start of new build projects, before they are even occupied. Clients are seeking out our strategic and design support early on things like service delivery, service-charge modelling and community initiatives to make sure their developments are good value for customers and great places to live.”
AN EDINBURGH project manager has won a top industry accolade at a prestigious national awards ceremony in London. Mark Foley, of CALA Homes (East) took home the esteemed “Multi-Storey Building” award after representing Scotland at the National House Building Council (NHBC) Pride in the Job Supreme Awards, at the Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster. This year’s judging process began with the assessment of thousands of site and project managers from across the UK and culminated in only four Supreme Award winners. Mark, 49, faced tough competition from projects in York, Poole and London but his work on the UNESCO-accredited site, The Crescent at Donaldson’s, stood out against his competitors. This success follows Mark’s win in the qualifying heats of the NHBC ‘Pride in the Job’ Quality Awards in July and Regional Awards in October 2019, after impressing a team of inspectors during a series of rigorous and unscheduled visits to the development. As well as undergoing spot checks of the day-to-day running of their sites, each Site Manager is assessed across 37 different areas of site management, including technical knowledge, quality and consistency. Mark is CALA’s most decorated project manager with 13 Pride in the Job awards, alongside nine Seal of Excellences and two regional awards. He said: “Delivering excellent quality for customers is what most site teams strive for and for our work at The Crescent to be recognised by the NHBC at the Supreme Awards is a real privilege and without doubt, the highlight of my career. “Having the opportunity to work on such a prestigious site, with this level of architectural design, makes it all the more exciting. “While my name is on the award, I want to make sure that it is appreciated how much of a team effort this is, and it couldn’t have been achieved without the amazing team I have working alongside me.” “I was immensely proud of the whole team at the Regional awards, but to make it to the Supreme Awards, and come out victorious, is a dream come true.” Kevin Whitaker, Chief Executive Officer of CALA Homes, said: “The Pride in the Job awards recognise the industry’s best site managers and the exceptional contribution they make in creating homes of outstanding quality. “The Supreme Award is the very highest accolade that a site manager can receive and we are extremely proud of Mark for this fantastic achievement. “This award doesn’t just represent success for Mark, however, but for the entire team at CALA Homes East, who all play a vital role in ensuring that this unique and complex architectural design is delivered safely and to the highest quality standards for not only our customers, but also the wider Edinburgh community, on what is a very important site for the City.” Steve Wood, NHBC Chief Executive, said: “Through Pride in the Job, NHBC has been celebrating the best of the best in house building for almost 40 years. “There is no doubt that these awards have been instrumental in driving up the quality of new homes and results show that Pride in the Job winning sites have higher levels of customer satisfaction. “The final stage of this competition is tough, so to earn the highest accolade of Supreme winner a site manager must have successfully managed a wide range of competing demands and challenges. “Their determination and success in achieving excellence deserves recognition. More importantly, site managers like Mark are creating high quality outstanding homes that their customers can have confidence in – they are building the future. Congratulations Mark.” Designed by architect, Richard Murphy OBE, The Crescent mirrors the curve of the traditional New Town homes it finds itself inspired by. Situated in the tranquil grounds of the iconic Donaldson’s estate, homes at The Crescent offer the convenience of capital living with an authentic rural feel with expansive views of the Pentland Hills. The final remaining homes in the development’s west wing have not long been available and offer a range of sizes – from one-bedroom apartments to a deluxe penthouse – to cater for any potential buyers from £595,000 – £1,750,000. For more information, or to register interest in the Crescent development visit: www.cala.co.uk/the-crescent or call 0131 341 2667.
The University of Birmingham has launched a new suite of frameworks to support its ambitious capital development plans. The new procurement frameworks will allow the University to build longer term relationships with key contractors and consultants who provide construction, design and surveying services. The University has made major investments in its campus facilities in the last 10 years, with the construction of a new library, major green space, Collaborative Teaching Laboratory and Sport and Fitness Centre, to name just a few. Further developments are in the pipeline, to ensure that students in future generations have buildings that are exciting and innovative as well as being fit for purpose. Director of Estates Trevor Payne said: “We have an ambitious plan for the future of our campus and our objective is to create the best possible environment in which our students can achieve and our academic colleagues can undertake world-leading research. The creation of our own construction framework is a natural next step, as we look to secure the support of the very best in the industry. The frameworks will be for 10 years and will be open for use by all HE Institutions, reflecting the vision we have for the University and the sector as a whole.” Head of Procurement Jonathan Jones said: “The University of Birmingham has always prided itself on its scale of ambition to deliver first rate services and resources for its students and staff. With a planned additional infrastructure investment of £500 million over the next few years, we also wanted to develop further procurement opportunities by creating our own University construction framework. This framework not only allows the University to optimise its value for money, but is also available for other universities to use and benefit from the collective spending power and contractor relationship development. “By working closely with our key contractors we can collectively develop additional opportunities with initiatives such as social value, environmental enhancements and sponsorship opportunities.” Six frameworks have been created under the umbrella of University of Birmingham Build Higher Construction Frameworks. They are: · Construction companies for project value up to £2.5m · Construction companies for project value £2.5m-10m · Construction companies for project value £10m+ · Client side surveying support · Architectural-led design · Engineering Services design The successful partners for each framework are: Main contractors for projects over £10m – Morgan Sindall, Galliford Try, Willmott Dixon, Bam Construction Ltd and John Graham Construction Ltd. Main contractors for projects £2.5m-£10m – Morgan Sindall, GTH Construction Ltd, Galliford Try, G F Tomlinson Ltd, Willmott Dixon and Midas Group Ltd. Main contractors for projects up to £2.5m – GTH Construction, Graham Asset Management, Sutton Coldfield Construction Ltd, Murray and Willis Ltd, J Tomlinson Ltd, Chief Construction Ltd, Seddon Construction Ltd and Novus Property Solutions Ltd. Surveying – AA Projects Ltd, Currie and Brown Ltd, RLF LLP, Faithful and Gould, RLB Ltd and Pick Everard. Architectural – Glancy Nicholls Architects Ltd, Associated Architects, BDP, Sheppard Robson Architects Ltd and ADP Engineering Services Design – Hoare Lee, Ove Arup & Partners Ltd, Couch Perry & Wilkes LLP, WSP UK Ltd, Pick Everard, Cundall Johnston and Partners LLP. For further information about the framework, please contact m.home@bham.ac.uk [Picture caption: Guild President Joshua Williams, Vice-Chancellor Professor Sir David Eastwood and Professor Kathy Armour mark the recent opening of the new Teaching and Learning Building on campus.]
National law firm Irwin Mitchell has appointed planning and environmental partner, Claire Petricca-Riding to take over as National Head of a newly combined Planning & Environment department. Claire joined Irwin Mitchell last October to spearhead development of the firm’s environmental practice, joining from Brabners, where she was a Partner, and Head of Planning & Environment. She is based in Irwin Mitchell’s Manchester office but has a national remit. Carl Dyer, previously head of Irwin Mitchell’s Planning department and who recruited Claire, remains a partner in the new practice. Irwin Mitchell’s Planning & Environment team now consists of nine professional staff, of whom four are partners, based across the UK. The department plans to expand further and is currently recruiting in Manchester and Birmingham. Planning & Environment sits within Irwin Mitchell’s National Real Estate Practice headed by Adrian Barlow, which now consists of 26 partners in a team of 82 lawyers in seven offices across the UK. IM’s total property team (including residential) numbers 166 lawyers and 31 partners. Adrian Barlow, National Head of Real Estate at Irwin Mitchell said, “Environmental issues are increasingly coming to the fore as property investors, lenders, developers and occupiers are putting sustainability higher up the agenda and as environmental regulation increases. Environmental issues are now intrinsically bound up in planning – so it makes sense to combine these two areas of expertise into one department. Claire has an amazing track record in both disciplines and is expanding our skills set, enabling us to cater for our clients’ needs in today’s changing market place.” Carl Dyer added, “I was delighted when Claire agreed to join us last year. Her environmental law expertise has filled a key gap in what was our Planning Team’s armoury. She is the perfect partner to lead our newly renamed and growing Planning & Environment Team. I am looking forward to working with her in what promises to be a very exciting 2020, now that the election uncertainties are behind us all.”
Your warehouse floor is the center of activity and is likely the place where crucial parts of your company are run. Your warehouse is also the place where valuable equipment is kept, and the environment from where your workers interact with machinery. So, it stands to reason that your warehouse’s industrial flooring must remain in a good, clean condition, enabling workers to perform their duties, and their machinery to be used safely. Here, we’ll look at six reasons why it’s important to have high-quality industrial flooring. Some are more applicable to certain types of industrial flooring, such as resin or epoxy. The benefits of epoxy flooring, in particular, are many, and it’s one type of industrial flooring you should strongly consider. Keeping employees safe Uneven or loose flooring can lead to falls and trips, which could result in your employees taking time off work, and place an extra burden on other workers. It’s important that you adhere to the most up-to-date health and safety guidelines, such as ensuring an appropriate and safe working environment for your workforce to perform their daily duties. If your work environment is considered as being inappropriate for the duties being carried out, it could land you in a lot of trouble. Maintaining your equipment’s working order In addition to maintaining the safety of your employees, industrial flooring can help to ease the process of moving equipment from one part of your warehouse to another. If your flooring is found to be insufficient for heavy machinery or foot traffic, it will quickly wear down, resulting in additional costs for it to be replaced. Saving money By choosing a hard-wearing and appropriate industrial floor to begin with, you will have peace of mind that you will have flooring strong enough to tolerate heavy weight for a long, long time without needing regular repairs or replacement. Durability One of the main benefits of industrial flooring is its high level of durability over other solutions. This is because the flooring is stronger, and thus better able to tolerate force damage, such as cuts, chips, and cracks. They’re also mixed with a sealant component, which protects against moisture damage. So, you can spill various substances without being worried over whether there will be any signs of damage on the floor. Industrial floors have a far longer life than many types of floor material. Therefore, you can maintain the flooring easier and for longer without worrying about needing to replace it. While industrial flooring will initially cost you more than many alternative materials, this benefit makes for a more convenient material for many years to come. Low maintenance Industrial floors can be steam cleaned, disinfected, and washed to sanitize them without losing their robust properties. The floor can also tolerate petrol, solvents, alkalis, and acids. Variety Industrial flooring is a great choice if you want to give your floors a new look. You can choose from various colors capable of giving an elegant, smooth, and flawless shine. The flooring can feature personalized or traditional designs and patterns. The sheer number of choices makes it a cost-effective method of improving an office’s ambience.
Working in the building design or construction industry requires you to invest in the right tools. Building infrastructures from the ground up is taxing, and doing everything with your bare hands can delay progress, lessen the structural integrity of the building, and even lead to injuries. For people who want to create a career in this industry or engage in more DIY activities at home, is a must-have. A cordless drill, as highlighted in this website https://cordlessdrillguide.com, is a smart investment because it can make your life easier as a handyman. This tool can also improve the quality of your projects and lessen your work time. A cordless drill is important for different purposes. Here are some great reasons why you should get one as soon as possible: 1. Convenience Completing projects at home or construction will require time and effort. The more extensive the project is, the more resources you’ll have to invest in it. Fortunately, owning a cordless drill can make tasks lighter. This equipment is more lightweight than corded drills, making it easier for you to carry it around. Cordless drills are also very convenient because you won’t have to look for power outlets just to use it. This will give you the ability to use the equipment in different locations. Since it’s cordless, you also don’t have to worry about its wires and how these can tangle up with your other equipment. Cordless drills are more compact and now come in a wide variety of comfortable designs. Having these options allows you to choose a cordless drill that perfectly suits your grip and desired level of comfort. A tool that meets all of your preferences will help you work faster. This is especially important for new or inexperienced handymen. 2. Safety Working on construction or DIY projects at home can be very rewarding, but at the same time, it can also pose serious safety risks. Major home renovation projects, like turning your shed into a home office, can be dangerous as you’ll use different kinds of equipment. You can complete bigger projects without compromising your safety when you use a cordless drill. Because this equipment works using lithium batteries, you won’t have to worry about suffering from accidents and injuries from tripping over the cables. The absence of these cables will also decrease your susceptibility to any electrical problems, as well. 3. Power You’ll have to work with different materials in order to complete projects. While some of these materials are easy to work with, some can be very challenging and will require very specific tools to get the job done, like working with concrete, which is a hard material that resembles the durability of stones. Cordless drills are very powerful tools that can help you work with concrete. This tool utilizes slight vibrations and a strong rotating action so you can easily drive bolts into concrete. With this feature, you can bolt down any type of furniture or screw into concrete without worrying about getting injured or spending hours just to complete a minor task. 4. Replaces Screwdrivers Although small, a screwdriver is one of the most essential tools every handyman should have. A screwdriver is a versatile tool because it allows you to install and remove different types of screws. However, because a screwdriver is a manual tool, using it for big projects can take up a lot of time and energy. You’ll have to manually turn its handle for the tool to serve its purpose. If you want to enjoy the features of a screwdriver minus the manual turning, you should definitely get a cordless drill. By using a screw tip, you can use a cordless drill to attach and assemble a screw into another material. You just have to flip the switch and let the cordless drill do all the work for you. With a cordless drill, you can install and remove more screws in less time and minimal effort! Know What To Buy A lot of people use cordless drills, which is why you can expect to find this tool in different makes and models today. For you to avoid making costly mistakes when buying a cordless drill, determine how you’re going to use the tool and how you want it to feel in your grip. The brand and any additional features are also important considerations. When you know what to look for in a cordless drill, you can easily narrow down your options and buy one that can meet your expectations.
