A contractor has signed on to deliver a major project at the Harwell Science, Technology & Innovation Campus. Mace will deliver the Extreme Photonics Applications Centre on the Oxfordshire site with a £81m investment through the R&D-focused Strategic Priorities Fund. The EPAC development is a new purpose-designed building that will
The first phase of the £1.4 billion regeneration of Manchester’s Mayfield has been approved for development. This will see a derelict part of Manchester’s industrial heritage transformed into a distinctive and imaginative mixed-use neighbourhood around a new public park. It will include extensive public space; 319,900 sq ft of world-class
Amaiz is a fintech company in the UK that offers entrepreneurs and sole traders to build a better banking system for a completely disregarded but fast-growing segment of the population. With a team of accountants, cost categorization of self-assessment cards, cash flow maps, instant alerts and in-app invoicing, all of
Despite recent comments from the Prime minister, Heathrow Airport is ploughing ahead with its plans to expand. The company is set to submit planning for expansion later this year and they want full government backing. So, what is the planned expansion and why has Boris Johnson potential scuppered the airline’s
Forming the perfect team is never easy. This is especially true in the potentially hazardous and labour intensive construction industry. On top of having the skills applicable to the construction industry, team members need to be dependable, able to follow set working hours and instructions, as well work well with
Fire safety is serious business in the UK and throughout the developed world. Many people feel that we are generally overly cautious when it comes to fire safety with all our fire drills and regulations regarding fire safety. And if citizens and the general public feel this way, what’s left
A contractor has signed on to deliver a major project at the Harwell Science, Technology & Innovation Campus. Mace will deliver the Extreme Photonics Applications Centre on the Oxfordshire site with a £81m investment through the R&D-focused Strategic Priorities Fund. The EPAC development is a new purpose-designed building that will house a unique, state-of-the-art high power and high repetition laser system. The appointment follows Mace’s recent successful work on two other research projects for the STFC on the Harwell campus, including the National Satellite Test Facility and the Rosalind Franklin Institute. The centre will help researchers and industry better understand the composition of new materials and how they behave in different conditions. It is a highly strategic, disruptive technology and directly supports the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy. Mace will work with the STFC, designers, a global concrete specialist and our supply chain partners to deliver the whole project, including the experimental areas of the building where high intensity lasers will be tested. Professor John Collier, Director of the UK’s Central Laser Facility, said: “As our construction partner in the EPAC project Mace will be contributing, alongside the work of the team of the scientists and engineers at STFC’s Central Laser Facility and our colleagues in academia, to a project that will enable the UK to realise the potential offered by laser driven radiation sources to be genuinely disruptive and that will soon bring together the wider science community in a diverse programme of fundamental and applied research.” Terry Spraggett, Managing Director for Public Sector Construction at Mace, added: “We are delighted to be appointed to deliver EPAC, marking another step forward in our relationship with the STFC. The Extreme Photonics Application Centre is a technically complex and challenging project, and we will use our experience in delivering cutting edge research facilities to realise the client’s vision.”
The first phase of the £1.4 billion regeneration of Manchester’s Mayfield has been approved for development. This will see a derelict part of Manchester’s industrial heritage transformed into a distinctive and imaginative mixed-use neighbourhood around a new public park. It will include extensive public space; 319,900 sq ft of world-class commercial space across two buildings, The Poulton and The Republic; and a 581-space multi-storey car park equipped with electric vehicle charging points. The neighbourhood is designed around a new 6.5-acre park, which will be built along the banks of the newly uncovered River Medlock and will be overlooked by the two new commercial buildings. The Poulton, designed by Bennetts Associates, will provide 75,900 sq ft of commercial space and feature a double-height, flexible ground floor that will be open to the public throughout the day and evening for uses that could include wellbeing activities, leisure and co-working. It is complemented by The Republic, designed by Morris+Company, a 13-storey, 244,000 sq ft flagship office development that includes larger floorplates and landscaped roof terraces. The park, new commercial spaces and car park will sit alongside a range of historic buildings, including the landmark former station on Fairfield Street, which are being retained and redeveloped as part of the wider regeneration plans. The vast depot building has already been transformed into a new cultural venue, Depot Mayfield, which contributed to bringing 330,000 visitors to Mayfield in 2019, after more than 30 years of decline. Work is expected to commence on-site on the park and the buildings this year. This project is being brought to life by the Mayfield Partnership, which comprises Manchester City Council, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), LCR and regeneration specialist U+I. Richard Upton, Chief Development Officer at U+I, said: “Mayfield will be one of the UK’s defining urban developments this decade. These plans for the first phase bring together exceptional new workplaces with cultural space, centred on a beautifully landscaped park that will provide a transformative and sustainable public amenity for the people of Manchester long into the future. “From welcoming tens of thousands of visitors every week at one of the UK’s best new cultural venues – Depot Mayfield – to the range of enterprises that already call Mayfield home, this long-dormant area is already playing an active role in the city’s life once again. “When work begins this year, we will channel that energy into the soulful regeneration of Mayfield to create an inclusive, diverse, socially and economically productive neighbourhood which will attract businesses, residents and visitors, all drawn by the quality and vibrancy of the environment. “We are incredibly excited about its future as an imaginative and distinctive place in a globally significant city.”
Amaiz is a fintech company in the UK that offers entrepreneurs and sole traders to build a better banking system for a completely disregarded but fast-growing segment of the population. With a team of accountants, cost categorization of self-assessment cards, cash flow maps, instant alerts and in-app invoicing, all of you have covered in one app that acts as a one-stop shop for all of the banking business. It has a team of nearly 50 people, all working together towards one simple goal: building a better business current account for entrepreneurs and sole traders. Banking Services offered Amaiz Running a solo business isn’t an easy task, as your bank probably doesn’t do much for you. The budget starts to pileup, and your cash flow come and goes. Amaiz is different from other banking apps, as the services provided by the company are meant to better understand the struggles, and the challenges a solo trader must face while running a small business. Amaiz has a team of over 50 people, who are readily available 24/7 to better cater for a solo entrepreneur needs. If they have any bookkeeping or accountancy related questions, the Amaiz team make sure they are answered. What is the Pricing Structure of Amaiz? Amaiz offers free trials for solo entrepreneurs, which will run till September, after which a regular low monthly fee of £ 9.99 will ensue. The fee includes the card payments made in the UK, bank transactions, and ATM withdrawals. Transfers can be made with the in-app pin and card management through your contactless business MasterCard. Amaiz has a team of people available 24/7 to better accommodate and support you in any queries that you may have. What does Amaiz deliver? Amaiz offers several features to meet the requirements of the solo traders. Some of them are: Integrated Banking The app allows you to set up a current account, make bank transactions in and out of the UK, and receive a MasterCard, along with that, it provides full protection. For instance, if you were to lose your MasterCard, you can freeze your card. Integrated Tools The app allows you to receive instant notifications of any transactions made, PIN reminders. It allows you to display the charts of the costs or expenses. Along with that, it categorizes the transactions to showcase where most of the money is being spent by the sole trader to make the tax self-assessment easier to handle beforehand. Support Team Amaiz also has a team available 24/7, who the sole traders can contact via email or phone if they have any questions. And the apps keep you away from the trouble of signing a dozen paperwork and provides quick banking service. Final Word The main goal of Amaiz is to make banking service easier for entrepreneurs and sole traders, as they are slowly shaping the growing economy of the UK. They help them achieve these services with their vast services, as it is a one-in-all app for banking business, invoicing, and accounting.
Despite recent comments from the Prime minister, Heathrow Airport is ploughing ahead with its plans to expand. The company is set to submit planning for expansion later this year and they want full government backing. So, what is the planned expansion and why has Boris Johnson potential scuppered the airline’s plans? What is the planned expansion? The planned Heathrow expansion includes the addition of a third runway. The company’s plans for expansion were announced last year and sustainability was revealed to be at the heart of the new plans. According to Heathrow, the new expansion would generate 10,000 more apprenticeships by 2030, provide new routes and create up to 180,000 new jobs. However, the planned expansion caused heated debates after it was announced due to some of its proposals. These included lowering the M25 motorway, re-routing rivers and building additional car parks to house 50,000 cars. It is certainly a bold expansion which has been met with a lot of opposition. However, the benefits it would provide to the economy would be significant. Why is there doubt over its implementation? Doubt over the implementation of the new expansion has been cast after Boris Johnson gave the go ahead for the HS2 project. However, the prime minister has previously expressed his opposition to the airport’s expansion, claiming he would “lie down in front of bulldozers to stop the construction”. Now that Johnson is Prime minster, Heathrow airport need his approval if they are to continue with the proposed expansion. Given his previous stance on the matter, it is unlikely they are going to receive full government backing later this year. The benefits the expansion would provide So, what benefits would the third runway provide at Heathrow airport? Well, it wouldn’t just benefit passengers taking trips abroad. It would also benefit the air cargo sector. The airport has been running at 98% for the past decade. It is the biggest air freight airport in the UK and the expansion could further boost its air freight capacity. This would be crucial in terms of international trade, something the country now has to secure since its exit from the EU. It would boost the air cargo sector enormously, delivering a lot of great benefits to the country. As well as the air freight sector, the airport would be able to add thousands of additional flights to its schedule. It is said that this will also increase competition, allowing passengers to secure cheaper, more competitive prices. Whether the new expansion will go ahead later this year is uncertain. It does seem unlikely the government will back the plans, particularly given how much they are now spending on the HS2 project. However, that isn’t stopping Heathrow from continuing on with their application.
Forming the perfect team is never easy. This is especially true in the potentially hazardous and labour intensive construction industry. On top of having the skills applicable to the construction industry, team members need to be dependable, able to follow set working hours and instructions, as well work well with others. While it may seem impossible to find employees who can deliver all of the above, there are ways to make your search a little easier. Create and develop an employee referral program The people who already work for you know what you’re looking for, are well aware of the company standards, and will gladly help if your company has a solid employee referral program. Whatever you spend rewarding those who refer quality candidates is a small price to pay for the possibility of finding employees that you can rely on for the long term. This is especially true in the construction industry where, despite Brexit-related uncertainties, both the demand for skilled workers and the number of workers looking to fill skilled positions remain high. In particular, skilled wood-tradesmen have been in very high demand, with 2,380 jobs advertised annually for experts on “wood trades and interior fit-out,” while 45,240 annual searches were made by workers looking for vacancies in that position. Apart from skilled wood-tradesmen, the Construction Industry Training Board reveals that building envelope specialists, roofers, bricklayers, and scaffolders have also been in-demand by tradesmen looking to fill vacancies. In short, the right people for your construction team are out there, and if you have a worthwhile employee referral program, they might just find their way to you. Provide positive candidate experiences The way you treat potential hires influences your company’s image more than you think. Word gets around quickly, especially today with websites like Glassdoor allowing professionals to review nearly anything about the companies that they’ve either worked or interviewed for. This is why Comeet advises companies to carefully develop their hiring process towards providing a positive experience for each and every candidate that walks through your door. Design an interview process that respects the time of everyone involved require an aptitude test beforehand, like the EU EPSO tests, to filter out candidates. Be upfront with your candidates and talk to them as you would with your own CEO. Whether or not they’re right for the job, they should leave the interview with a sense of satisfaction, as well as a positive attitude about recommending your company to other potential hires. One way or another, your candidates’ experiences are bound to reach the ears of the construction industry’s top talents, which will greatly factor into whether or not they decide to work for you. Approach schools and consider fresh graduates While they come with the handicap of having very little to no actual experience in the industry, students and fresh graduates could be the perfect candidates for your team. First and foremost, they’re very eager to learn and contribute to the industry. Whether it’s construction, design, or engineering, fresh grads are looking for not just employment, but also apprenticeship opportunities where they can grow and develop. Wilmot Dixons’ experiences while engaging with Level 3 construction students from Cambridge Regional College (CRC) is a testament to this go-getter attitude. Expressing very clear ideas about the roles they want to pursue in construction, surveying, design, and site management, the CRC students actually impressed Wilmot Dixons’ officers so much that they were each offered a slot in the company’s work experience programme. You might similarly find success if you get involved in engagements with promising construction and design schools to find the ideal team members. Prospect Magazine reports that the UK’s construction industry is experiencing a big shortfall in personnel. If you can’t find the best candidates right away, be patient. As long as you have an employee referral program in place, a fulfilling and positive hiring process, and an open attitude towards hiring inexperienced but eager workers, you’re well on your way to forming the perfect team.
Fire safety is serious business in the UK and throughout the developed world. Many people feel that we are generally overly cautious when it comes to fire safety with all our fire drills and regulations regarding fire safety. And if citizens and the general public feel this way, what’s left for building, design & construction professionals. Ensuring that all buildings are built and constructed in accordance with fire safety regulations often hikes up building costs, thus resulting in higher property prices. However, we are in no way implying that fire safety regulations should be scrapped. On the contrary, they should be vigorously implemented. Recent Grenfell Tower tragedy showed us just how important fire safety regulations are. It also showed that additional elements like cladding should be added with caution, especially if the materials in question are flammable. Fire safety regulations have a long history in the UK, so we decided to have a look at the historical events and developments that gave us the current legal landscape. Generally speaking, legislation of areas that are considered to be potentially risky, has been becoming a lot more restrictive lately. In certain areas like gambling, the changes have been more drastic and even though it is still legal to play casino games like White Rabbit slot the legal framework has gone through a series of changes. Fire safety regulations have been changing gradually over the centuries. First acts from the 17th and 18th century It is interesting to note that the first fire safety regulations predate the United Kingdom. There has been legislation governing fire safety in the Kingdom of England, Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of Great Britain, all of which are predecessor states of the United Kingdom. The first act in England that regulated construction of buildings and roads with the aim of fire prevention was passed shortly after the Great Fire of London of 1666. This event from over 350 years ago shows that legislation is more often reactionary than preventive. Other laws and acts were implemented in the following years. Scotland, i.e. the Kingdom of Scotland passed an act in 1698, following a number of fires in Edinburgh. The Fires Prevention (Metropolis) Act of 1774 was the first thorough, all encompassing act that regulates multiple aspects of fire safety. Modern legislation The first piece of legislation that regulates fire safety in the United Kingdom was the Explosives Act of 1875, under which fire brigades were put in charge of storing explosives. The Petroleum Act of 1928 regulated the storage of petroleum and the operation of petrol stations. A series of bylaws regarding building and other building regulation acts have been passed from 1930 onward. In fact, there were so many local bylaws that regulated building standards in different counties, areas, towns and cities, so that in 1936 with the Public Health Act as single set of regulations 1,400 different regional bylaws were replaced. The Public Health Act was amended in 1961, but its aim and scope remained the same. Most regulations that have been implemented over the years were not retrospective. In laymen terms this means that buildings that have been built prior to the passing of the act in question weren’t required to be amended to meet the new regulations. This was the case until the Fire Safety Order of 2005 which requires all buildings, i.e. the responsible person for the respective building to conduct a risk assessment and ensure that the building has a sufficient level of fire safety. The Fire Services Act of 1947 was the first act that gave fire brigades specific responsibilities and allowed the establishment of protocols and other internal acts and bylaws. The Fire Precautions Act was passed in 1971, but it was repealed by the above-mentioned Fire Safety Order if 2005. The Building Act and the Fire Safety Order When it comes to building and regulations that govern what sort of materials should be used, and what level of fire safety is to be implement in construction, the 1984 Building Act is the most important regulative Act in England Wales. In addition to provisions that regulate the building process, maintenance and reporting on safety is also regulated by the Building Act. Section 15 of the Act refers to the consultation with fire authority and includes provisions that regulate this area. The last passed act and the one that’s currently in force is the Regulatory Reform Order of 2005, also known as the Fire Safety Order. This act was mentioned above, and it regulates all aspects and all areas within fire safety. The text of the law is divided into several parts, including a general part, a part that covers the fire safety duties, an enforcement part, offences and appeals are discussed in the fourth part and then there’s a miscellaneous part. It is not difficult to predict that the current legislative will be amended, considering the number of local and nationwide initiatives that were launched lately, especially following the Grenfell Tower fire.
