Recently announced is a national framework agreement with Countryside & PFP to accelerate live and future projects through the delivery of mixed-tenure developments. Under the agreement, PFP will work together to combine expertise in creating high quality homes and places that give opportunities for communities to thrive. It is envisaged
Work starts on site for £1.1M store at Handforth Dean Retail Park Castlehouse Construction has been appointed by CPG Group to deliver a £1.1M new build Pets at Home store at Handforth Dean Retail Park near Wilmslow in Cheshire. Castlehouse, which has offices in Leeds and Manchester, has now started
Cator Park at Kidbrooke Village, Berkeley’s flagship net biodiversity gain project in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity’ and the ‘Overall President’s Award’ at the recent Landscape Institute Awards. Kidbrooke Village is set in 136 acres of green and
There is no doubt that the construction sector endured a torrid time through the pandemic in 2020. As a survey by Glenigan* released at the end of 2020 showed, the value of underlying project starts (with a construction value of less than £100 million) dropped by 46 per cent during the second
More than 60 construction jobs will be safeguarded or created by Keepmoat Homes which has started work on a new £14m housing scheme in West Denton, Newcastle. The deal to acquire the site from Newcastle City Council was completed last month – it is the latest in a line of
J2 Innovations’ FIN Framework sits at the heart of many smart building, smart equipment and IoT projects which gives the management team a deep insight into industry trends. How we use and interact with buildings is changing. Now the rate of change has been dramatically accelerated by the experience of
HS2’s first two giant Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have arrived in the UK and will be ready to start work on the UK’s largest infrastructure project early next year. The two enormous 2,000 tonne machines – named Florence and Cecilia – will now be meticulously reassembled, tested and commissioned, by an
David Smith, Chief Executive of Energy Networks Association responds to Ofgem’s settlements for the RIIO-2 price control period. Ofgem has published their settlements for the next network price control, known as RIIO-2. For the transmission and gas distribution networks and system operator, RIIO-2 will come into effect next year and
Wildlife Trust has launched a bold vision to rewild the heart of Nottingham and green-up the historic city centre, following the decision to demolish the much-derided Broadmarsh shopping centre. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has worked with landscape architects to reimagine the imposing grey urban jungle and replace the concrete with 100%
SD Sealants, one of the largest cosmetic finishing groups in the UK, has launched a new repairs service dedicated to the facilities management sector. This new facilities management offering is the latest in a line of new services launched by the company, following the launch of its insurance claims department
Recently announced is a national framework agreement with Countryside & PFP to accelerate live and future projects through the delivery of mixed-tenure developments. Under the agreement, PFP will work together to combine expertise in creating high quality homes and places that give opportunities for communities to thrive. It is envisaged that up to 10,000 mixed tenure homes will be developed through the framework over a ten-year period across the UK. Opportunities for growth Countryside continues to see attractive opportunities for growth to deliver a mix of private for sale, PRS and affordable homes and this framework agreement will allow the homebuilder to develop large sites more quickly. The PFP strategy is to deliver more homes and more choice has seen us work with a number of partners including Homes England, and develop new delivery models. Working with Countryside will continue to boost capacity and aid strategic aim for increasing the delivery of affordable housing and mixed-tenure communities. Meeting people’s needs and aspirations Iain McPherson, Group Chief Executive, Countryside, said: “We are delighted to have formed a strategic relationship with Places for People, to deliver much-needed mixed-tenure housing. Our business has a proven track record and, together with our clear strategy for growth, we look forward to continuing to work with our partners as we focus on the delivery of high quality and sustainable mixed-tenure communities.” David Cowans, Group Chief Executive, Places for People, said: “For our future housing market to be successful, we need to provide more housing choice, improve quality and increase efficiency. Working with Countryside, a business that shares our commitment to creating well designed, sustainable communities, will help us deliver quality homes that provide choice and meet people’s needs and aspirations.”
Work starts on site for £1.1M store at Handforth Dean Retail Park Castlehouse Construction has been appointed by CPG Group to deliver a £1.1M new build Pets at Home store at Handforth Dean Retail Park near Wilmslow in Cheshire. Castlehouse, which has offices in Leeds and Manchester, has now started works on the new 10,000 sq ft building for the UK’s leading specialist pet care business with completion earmarked for Spring 2021. Handforth Dean Retail Park is situated in the heart of Cheshire’s stockbroker belt. Located just off the A34 bypass, close to the A555 between Wilmslow, Heald Green and Styal, the 40 acre park includes retailers such as M&S, Tesco Extra and Boots and Next. Pets at Home takes the lead in the business of pet care and this new store forms part of the retail group’s continued expansion strategy, with more than 451 stores currently operating across the country, largely based on retail parks. Frank Kofler, Managing Director, Castlehouse Construction commented: “We are delighted to start work on the new Pets at Home store for CPG. Whilst this is our first pet care store new build, we have a strong track record in the retail sector, delivering stores for the likes of Lidl, Aldi, Iceland, Home Bargains and more. When completed the store will be a huge asset for pet owners visiting the Retail Park and a popular shopping destination for thousands of people across the region.” Martin Ridgway, Group Managing Director of CPG said: “The Handforth Dean retail area is one of the most popular in the region due to the strength of the catchment population and great accessibility. The new flagship Pets at Home store will build on the success of the Next at Home store completed a few years ago. We are pleased to be working with Castlehouse Construction and look forward to completion in Spring 2021.” Wayne Kemp, Pets at Home Store Development Director said: “We’re delighted to be working with CPG and Castlehouse Construction on this project and to be opening a store in such a great location with the added benefit of it being just around the corner from our Support Office. We’re bringing the very best of Pets at Home to this location and we’re confident that pet owners will be impressed with the finished store.” Warrington Martin is project manager on the new build.
Cator Park at Kidbrooke Village, Berkeley’s flagship net biodiversity gain project in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity’ and the ‘Overall President’s Award’ at the recent Landscape Institute Awards. Kidbrooke Village is set in 136 acres of green and open space, which comprises areas of grassland, meadow and wetland rich in plant and wildlife. In partnership with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Berkeley has worked with London Wildlife Trust and HTA Design to rewild Cator Park, increasing biodiversity and encouraging birds, mammals and insects to nest amongst the ponds, wetlands, trees and wildflowers. The park also has a new play area developed in collaboration with Apes Adventure Playground Engineers (designers of the Olympic Park Playground). On completion, Kidbrooke Village will have achieved a net biodiversity gain of over 200%. It is the first of Berkeley Group’s 40 net biodiversity gain projects to reach maturity. Together these projects will create 480 acres of new or improved natural habitats. The ‘Sir David Attenborough Award for Enhancing Biodiversity’ celebrates projects which emphasise the enhancement or connectivity of habitats for biodiversity, while the ‘Overall President’s Award’ recognises the best landscape scheme of the year as selected by the President of the Landscape Institute. These awards round off a successful month for Berkeley’s Kidbrooke Village after it won the Pineapple Award for Contribution to Place earlier in November. Karl Whiteman, Divisional Managing Director at Berkeley East Thames, said: “Berkeley has made a commitment to ensure all our new developments create a net biodiversity gain, and it’s fantastic to see this come to fruition at Cator Park and Kidbrooke Village. Thanks to our partnership with the Royal Borough of Greenwich, HTA Design and London Wildlife Trust, Cator Park is a fantastic haven for nature, where new species are thriving. The park is a beautiful, biodiverse space that is loved by the community, and we are delighted to see its impact recognised with this new award.” James Lord, Partner at HTA Design, said: “I’m over the moon that Cator Park has won the prestigious Sir David Attenborough for Enhancing Biodiversity and the overall President’s Award. Cator Park is a celebration of the outdoors, blending play provision with the natural ecology and heritage of the site. Bringing wildlife back into the city and people and nature together, Cator Park demonstrates how the development of brownfield sites can contribute to wider biodiversity gains within cities and build sustainable communities. Many congratulations to the team at Berkeley, London Wildlife Trust, HTA Design and everyone else who worked so hard to make the project such a success.” The Landscape Institute Awards celebrate the value of landscape in connecting people, place and nature. The virtual ceremony on 26 November was presented by Countryfile’s Julia Bradbury, alongside special guest Rebecca Pow MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
There is no doubt that the construction sector endured a torrid time through the pandemic in 2020. As a survey by Glenigan* released at the end of 2020 showed, the value of underlying project starts (with a construction value of less than £100 million) dropped by 46 per cent during the second quarter compared with a year earlier. But the decline in quarterly starts was not as great as initially feared. As Glenigan noted: “Contractors were quick to adjust site working practices and suspended sites in England and Wales were re-opened more rapidly than initially anticipated, with a revival in new project-starts following in their wake.” We can expect a more gradual, but sustained recovery for the next two years; subject of course to the vagaries of the ebb and flow of the pandemic whilst also facing Brexit-related disruption to trade and growth. Existing major infrastructure schemes, including Thames Tideway, HS2 and Hinckley Point, are also forecast to lift civil engineering output over the forecast period. Much of this will be turbocharged by increasing use of modern methods of construction and better use of data analytics, but addressing the skills capacity issue remains a key constituent of delivering project success in construction. But the Government signalled its intent before Christmas with the publication of its plan for infrastructure, and the launch of the Construction Playbook as well as the start of the reforms of the planning process. All these elements point towards a commitment to a greater focus on construction as part of its ‘building back better’ focus. Fundamental to this process will be the capacity to deliver this. And never has it been more important to have the right skills and capacity to deliver a sustained and innovative construction pipeline. And we believe that the project profession has an increasingly vital role in delivering this. In an era of unprecedented technological, social and environmental change, the need for project -based skills and working is set to increase, and as we look towards 2021, the project profession will play a pivotal role in delivering such change in construction. APM, the chartered body for the project profession,carried out a year-long conversation with its members and the wider project community, the conclusions of which inform the latest Projecting the Futurereport, The Adaptive Project Professional. The report sets out a series of ideas and insights to help shape the future of project management, and highlights that now is the time to focus on the ‘adaptive’ project professional. Being adaptive is vital. It means embracing change and recognising its implications for projects. It means striking the right balance between clarity about goals and benefits, and flexibility between the use of best practices and innovating to meet unique circumstances. Adaptivity also means knowing that we as individuals need to develop throughout our careers, continually learning to keep pace with a fast-changing world. A recent APM and Censuswide survey, supports the Projecting the Future report, revealing that a quarter (25 per cent) of project managers in the construction industry think becoming more adaptive and responsive to changeis the most important way in which the project profession could change over the next five years. Keeping up with the pace of change Project management contributes an estimated £156.6 billion of Gross Value Added to the UK economy, according to APM’s research report The Golden Thread. It’s therefore important that the profession’s pipeline continues to develop in order to keep up with the pace of change, from starter to chartered: providing new routes into the profession both for young entrants and more mature professionals and provide greater mobility between career stages. The coronavirus pandemic has demonstrated how adaption across all industry is essential in delivering at speed. Whether it’s the building of the NHS Nightingale hospitals, the government’s furlough scheme, or the race to find a find a vaccine for Covid-19, project professionals have been at the heart of making these innovative changes happen. Project professionals must take centre stage in the continued recovery from the pandemic and adapt to the challenges and opportunities of the fourth industrial revolution, climate change and increasing human longevity. To find out more about APM, recent research, and the benefits of membership visit www.apm.org.uk *Glenigan have published a construction industry forecast for 2021-2022. The forecast can be accessed here: https://bit.ly/38gggrr
More than 60 construction jobs will be safeguarded or created by Keepmoat Homes which has started work on a new £14m housing scheme in West Denton, Newcastle. The deal to acquire the site from Newcastle City Council was completed last month – it is the latest in a line of projects delivered by Keepmoat Homes working in partnership with the local authority, which has so far produced 774 new homes at eight developments in the last five years. The top 10 UK home builder will create 96 two, three and four-bedroom houses and bungalows at the Thornley Road site alongside partners Leazes Homes, who will create five specialist learning disability bungalows, and Riverside who will create 27 dwellings for affordable rent and shared ownership. Ian Prescott, North East Land and Partnerships Director at Keepmoat Homes, said: “We’re delighted to have started work on our latest development in Newcastle which is the latest in a long list of already successful sites we have created in association with Newcastle City Council. “As well as building a community, we are safeguarding employment in the region for at least the next three years whilst we are on site. “Working again with Newcastle Futures and Generation North East we will also be creating work placement, pre-apprentice and apprentice opportunities for people in the city.” Councillor Linda Hobson, Cabinet Member for Housing at Newcastle City Council, said “Housing is a priority for the council and we are committed to offering a range of homes to meet the diverse needs of residents in our city. Mixed tenure developments like this one don’t just provide good quality housing they also promote social inclusion and bring a real sense of community to the area. I look forward to seeing the work progress and residents move in when the properties are completed.” In recent years Keepmoat Homes has won a series of awards in the North East, including a North East Equality Award for its work in the community and a ‘Heart of The Community’ award at the North East Business Awards.
J2 Innovations’ FIN Framework sits at the heart of many smart building, smart equipment and IoT projects which gives the management team a deep insight into industry trends. How we use and interact with buildings is changing. Now the rate of change has been dramatically accelerated by the experience of the COVID-19 virus and its repercussions, both good and bad. Industries across the board have been affected and have had to adapt how they operate. In building controls, the drive is towards remote work and management, digital processes, and increased automation. Remote work and management Many people are becoming familiar with working remotely and managers are realising that they need, or might want, to expand remote working to more people within their organisation. To keep up with the needs of occupants, building operators need the capability to manage buildings remotely at a macro level and through applications at a micro or personal level. This is true for large buildings but applicable to smaller buildings and portfolios. With technology like J2’s new FIN microBMS enabling plug ‘n’ play solutions for the small to mid-sized buildings market, it is becoming easier for multi-site organisations to efficiently manage buildings remotely. “The COVID crisis is accelerating building portfolio operators’ realisation that they need to be able to remotely manage their buildings more effectively, so the need for easier and more secure connectivity technologies will increase. The climate crisis is accelerating the transition to greener technologies, both in terms of renewable energy generation and a focus on reducing the carbon emissions from existing buildings by optimising the way they are controlled. In many buildings, the need to increase air change rates to reduce the risk of COVID transmission, has temporarily been prioritised over energy efficiency. But once the immediate crisis has passed, the HVAC industry will deepen its commitment to developing more advanced ways of maintaining good indoor air quality, while simultaneously minimising energy use. Air ionisation and mechanical heat recovery solutions are therefore likely to grow in popularity.” says Chris Irwin, VP of Sales EMEA, J2 Innovations An interesting aspect of working more remotely can be seen in the prefabricated buildings market. Because modular or prefab construction is more efficient and cost effective than building on-site, building off-site and delivering completed pieces of a building has become a growing trend in the construction industry. J2 Innovations is already seeing this trend extending to include controls, with more pre-installation during the off-site construction phase. Flexible spaces Building owners, particularly those operating in retail, will need to make their buildings more flexible and adaptable – victory and profits will go to the nimble. Despite the growing demand for on-line shopping, bricks and mortar spaces are still needed to service market needs that cannot be met on-line: cafés; gyms; hairdressers; entertainment and cultural venues; click and collect places, where customers can find services to rewrap returns, postal or delivery counters, instant clothing alterations, etc. These market demands cannot be delivered to your door and need safe and smart spaces. As retailers and hospitality companies adapt to these changes and consider omni-channel experiences, building owners need to rethink their offering. In-person shopping isn’t dead, it’s just different. “I expect an increase in demand for warehouses as many businesses will move from brick-and-mortar stores to the Internet where much of it will remain” says Michal Lom, Sales Manager Northern & CEE. “There is likely to be a shift from open plan to fewer offices with a higher quality of indoor environment as one of the lasting effects of coronavirus. This will result in the re-modelling of the interior and the overall upgrade of technology in the building”. There will be an increase in localized, shared workspaces as many people will work in home office mode, but not everyone has the conditions for it at home. Also, people are sociable creatures and need contact with others, which shared offices can offer them. Digital Processes If it can be and hasn’t already been transformed, 2021 will see ever more processes becoming digital: IoT, blockchain, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and machine learning are the future. We must consider what this means for our own businesses and how quickly we can adapt, adopt, and apply to keep ahead of the market and the competition. For building operations, space must adapt and so must the services a building provides for comfort, safety, health, and security. Automation play an increasingly important role; bringing in machine learning, data management and analytics, cloud, and edge computing, IoT and, probably we will find applications for blockchain and AI too. “I believe we will continue to see a concerted and continued push to integrate and leverage the vast amounts of valuable data derived from Operational Technologies (OT) (i.e. manufacturing floor, building systems) into the Information Technology (IT) side of the enterprise. Most mature IT infrastructures already possess and maintain existing computing resources (servers, storage, networking, security) either deployed on premise or in the cloud. This infrastructure supports traditional mission critical IT enterprise applications. Use of existing IT infrastructure assets and the associated enterprise applications layer (e.g. SAP ERP, IBM Maximo for asset management, analytics platforms) enables OT data to be more seamlessly consumed, resulting in streamlined business processes, reduced cost, increased productivity and optimization of existing and future enterprise assets.” – Steve Glymph, Senior Director, Strategic Partnerships, J2 Innovations Investment in Interoperability VP of Engineering, Hisham Ennarah sees a greater focus on solving interoperability issues between devices and protocols. This issue has, for many years now, been of growing significance for the industry, but in 2021 big investments and more progress can be expected to solve it. “There are a bunch of initiatives to resolve the inter-connectivity problems we have in the building automation industry. I see investment from multiple organizations in this area of inter-connectivity between different protocols and frameworks. A good example of that is The Web of Things (WoT), an exciting initiative which is an open source standard being pioneered by Siemens.”
HS2’s first two giant Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs) have arrived in the UK and will be ready to start work on the UK’s largest infrastructure project early next year. The two enormous 2,000 tonne machines – named Florence and Cecilia – will now be meticulously reassembled, tested and commissioned, by an expert team of tunnelling engineers, before they start work on the high speed rail project’s first tunnels. The 10-mile-long ‘twin bore’ Chiltern tunnel will be the longest on the project, the first to start construction, with the TBMs set to be underground, working 24/7 for more than three years. Welcoming the news, HS2 Ltd Chief Executive Mark Thurston said: “The launch of our first tunnelling machines will be a defining moment in the history of HS2 – and our work to deliver a high speed railway that will offer a low-carbon alternative for journeys across the UK. “Construction is now well underway, with more than 13,000 jobs supported by the project, both directly and in our UK-wide supply chain. The arrival of Florence and Cecilia is a major step forward and our expert team will now work to assemble, test and commission them before their launch next year.” Designed specifically for the mix of chalk and flints under the Chilterns, the two identical TBMs will dig separate tunnels for north and southbound trains, with Florence set to launch first and Cecilia to follow a few weeks behind. Each machine operates as a self-contained underground factory, which as well as digging the tunnel, will also line it with concrete wall segments and grout them into place as it moves forward at a speed of 15 meters a day. Each tunnel will require 56,000 segments – which will all be made on site. A crew of 17 people will operate each TBM, working in shifts to keep the machines running 24/7. They will be supported by over 100 people on the surface, managing the logistics and maintaining the smooth progress of the tunnelling operation. These first two TBMs will be operated by HS2’s main works contractor, Align – a joint venture formed of three international infrastructure companies: Bouygues Travaux Publics, Sir Robert McAlpine, and VolkerFitzpatrick. Align Project Director Daniel Altier commented: “Now that the parts have arrived the detailed job of assembling and commissioning the machines has begun. “There are also considerable other activities continuing on our site to prepare for the launch of Florence and Cecilia next year. This includes the construction of a factory that will manufacture the concrete segments to be used to line the tunnel and a slurry treatment plant that will process material from the tunnels.” The Align Joint Venture expects to recruit 1,200 vacancies, with over 100 opportunities for apprentices. They plan to target their recruitment and investment in upskilling local people who are currently unemployed, with a particular focus on women, under 25s and those with disabilities. This is another great example of the vital role HS2 continues to play in the UK Government’s Plan for Jobs to protect, support and create employment, which has helped millions of people to continue to provide for their families over the past eight months of the COVID-19 crisis. Built by Herrenknecht, a world leader in TBM manufacturing, at its factory in south-west Germany, the two 170m long machines were transported to the UK in more than 300 separate shipments over the course of two months, with the parts now safely delivered to the Align Chiltern tunnel site, to the west of London just inside the M25. The names of the two TBMs were suggested by students at Meadow High School in Hillingdon and The Chalfonts Community College, Buckinghamshire, which are close to the tunnel launch site. They were inspired by Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern medicine, and pioneering astronomer and astrophysicist, Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. Around 4,500 people from across the UK took part in the poll to select the final names, with Florence taking 40% of the vote and Cecilia a close second with 32%.
David Smith, Chief Executive of Energy Networks Association responds to Ofgem’s settlements for the RIIO-2 price control period. Ofgem has published their settlements for the next network price control, known as RIIO-2. For the transmission and gas distribution networks and system operator, RIIO-2 will come into effect next year and run for five years until 2026. Speaking on behalf of electricity transmission and gas network operators, David Smith, Chief Executive of Energy Networks Association said: “Delivering the Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, keeping energy flowing to homes and businesses, and achieving Net Zero emissions requires sustained investment, innovation and a supportive and forward-looking regulatory regime. We will be studying the detail of Ofgem’s determination over the coming weeks to ensure it stands up to these challenges.”
Wildlife Trust has launched a bold vision to rewild the heart of Nottingham and green-up the historic city centre, following the decision to demolish the much-derided Broadmarsh shopping centre. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust has worked with landscape architects to reimagine the imposing grey urban jungle and replace the concrete with 100% natural greenspace – the start of a big idea to reconnect the city to Sherwood Forest and invoke the spirit of Robin Hood – bringing wildlife to nature-poor city dwellers and the millions of visitors it attracts every year. “Transforming the Broadmarsh into a natural greenspace would bring people together and start putting the city’s nature into recovery at a time when natural greenspace has never been more valued or needed. It could also act as a springboard to securing investment in green growth and green infrastructure and deliver the long term aspiration of reconnect our city to the ancient Sherwood Forest landscape and we’re calling on people to back our vision,” said Paul Wilkinson, CEO of Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust. Since the site was handed back to the Council in the summer, there has been much talk locally over the site’s future. A change.org petition calling for the area to be transformed into public greenspace secured almost 11,000 signatures and other polls have also supported calls for a new greenspace. As Nottingham seeks to recover from the human and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust believes that everyone should have the opportunity to live in a healthy, wildlife rich natural world, and that we all depend on contact with nature for our wellbeing. The charity has worked with Influence Landscape Architects to reimagine the space transformed with wildlife habitats reflecting the site’s history as a wetland alongside the ancient course of the River Leen and long lost gardens. The inspiring vision for the site includes accessible walkways based on a centuries-old city street plan to reconnect key parts of the city. Despite the City’s stated ambition to be the UK’s first carbon neutral city it was recently ranked at number 18 in a list of the UK’s green cities following an assessment taking into account measures including emission, transport, waste and nature. Nottinghamshire Wildlife Trust believes that a statement natural greenspace in the heart of the city would build climate change resilience, improve connectivity for people and provide an attractive backdrop for existing businesses as well as drawing in new investors – and is calling on people living and working in the City to back its vision As new development has replaced old, fragments of remaining greenspace and areas of ephemeral habitat, close to the former Broadmarsh Centre have disappeared and opportunities to recreate vital new green areas have been lost. The Trust believes the location of Broadmarsh is the ideal site for the City to demonstrate its commitment to its flagship Wellbeing Design Guide published by the Council in January – taking a truly ‘nature first’ approach which would be viewed as a statement of intent that it wishes to take a lead on the environment and build a greener future.
SD Sealants, one of the largest cosmetic finishing groups in the UK, has launched a new repairs service dedicated to the facilities management sector. This new facilities management offering is the latest in a line of new services launched by the company, following the launch of its insurance claims department in August this year and its marine repairs service in late 2019. The new repairs division will focus on working with housing associations, hospitals and care homes as well as schools and universities. “This is an important launch for the business and we are really excited about the benefits we will be able to offer some of these sectors and in particular, housing associations and care homes. The impact of Covid this year means that a lot of these associations are months behind on their repairs. We will be able to assist with these repairs and help clear the backlog. Longer term, this will improve sustainability as it will be less likely that fixtures will need to be replaced,” said Nick Jones, Managing Director of SD Sealants, on the launch. “By assisting with these repairs, we are hopeful that we can help make cost savings of up to 80% for housing associations. The company can also provide a slip resistant coating for baths and shower trays which it hopes will prove a benefit to care homes in increasing health and safety. Nick continued: “Hospitals and care homes will continue to see a lot of footfall in 2021 so keeping on top of repairs will be imperative. Again, we can help these organisations rescue fixtures and fittings, without the need to replace,” added Nick. Launched in 1973, SD Sealants originated as a family run business in Somerset that specialised in the supply and application of sealant. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength, becoming one of the UK’s largest repairs and sealant companies, with nine offices across England, Scotland and Wales.
