The £50 million new Oakfield community being built in Swindon by Mi-space was today showcased by the Nationwide Building Society as a potential national blueprint for housebuilders on how to create-energy efficient homes and communities for the future. The brainchild of the Society, the Oakfield scheme aims to be one
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has become the first trade body to adopt a new industry agreed prequalification standard that promises to cut expensive and time consuming ‘red tape’ for contractors. The new Common Assessment Standard, developed by Build UK and endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council, means suppliers
BPC Land and New Homes (part of the BPC Group) is celebrating its 25th year of successful trading and would like to thank all clients, both old and new, for their continued support over the years. Established in 1996 by Managing Director Steve Blight, previous years have seen many changes
Paints and coatings expert, AkzoNobel, has partnered with Alcumus SafeContractor, to manage contractor compliance and support its Health, Safety, Environment and Security (HSE&S) ambitions to deliver zero injuries, reduce carbon emissions and move towards zero waste through operational excellence. Akzonobel is a leading paints and coatings manufacturer, its world class
Junction 32 Yorkshire Outlet Shopping has partnered with Castleford’s Siobhan Murphy, finalist in the BBC’s Interior Design Masters, to create a unique pop-up window display at its centre. ‘The Junction 32 Edit by Siobhan Murphy’ will see the flamboyant star of Interior Design Masters designing a pop-up display in a
The £50 million new Oakfield community being built in Swindon by Mi-space was today showcased by the Nationwide Building Society as a potential national blueprint for housebuilders on how to create-energy efficient homes and communities for the future. The brainchild of the Society, the Oakfield scheme aims to be one of Britain’s largest energy-efficient communities – a development where homes are built to leading environmental standards and future-proofed with a host of green innovations to help people live sustainably. Nationwide, the world’s biggest building society, pledged to share all of its learnings and plans from the development in order to help create positive change and has called on Government, housebuilders and lenders to outline a roadmap which will help deliver homes that are more sustainable. Mi-space, part of the Midas Group, one of the UK’s largest independent construction and property services providers, started work in 2020 on the project, which will create a thriving new community at the brownfield site, with 239 new homes to be developed, including 71 available for affordable housing. Steve Hart, Divisional Director at Midas, said: “We are incredibly proud to be part of this trailblazing scheme and to be partnering with Nationwide as it looks to re-write the rule book on how to create sustainable homes and communities for the future. “Every aspect of the Oakfield project is being considered in the finest detail and as a project team we are continually challenging ourselves as to how we can do things differently and better. It is a unique and exciting process which is drawing on our and our project partners’ experience of good practice, driving innovation and creating a knowledge base from which the wider industry can benefit,” From the outset, Nationwide set out for Oakfield to be an exemplar scheme and to challenge the way housebuilding has traditionally been done. It will see all 239 homes hitting the EPC-A rating, the top level of energy efficiency, compared to a just a fraction of new properties built nationally currently meeting these standards. It is also set to be one of Britain’s biggest off-gas housing developments, with all properties, including affordable housing, having photovoltaic solar panels and air source heat pumps, instead of a traditional gas boiler. And the project is designed with future green innovations in mind too, enabling residents to further green their homes, for example with batteries for surplus energy storage. The development will also be ready for electric cars – charging points will be provided on the street, and homes with on-plot parking will be wired to allow residents to install their own charging points. Sara Bennison, Chief Product and Marketing Officer, Nationwide Building Society, said the Society hoped this new approach to creating community-focused, more environmentally-friendly homes would be the start of a blueprint for newbuild homes across the UK. She said: “Just a fraction of new homes in the UK are built to an EPC-A rated standard. Creating homes today which aren’t fit for the future and will need to be retrofitted in a matter of years is simply not right. We will be calling for Government, house builders and lenders to work together to tackle any remaining barriers to improving the environmental standards of new homes. “Buildings are the second largest source of emissions in the UK. Creating sustainable communities is possible and we are demonstrating this through our Oakfield development – delivering one of the greenest communities in the UK at scale. We all need to play our part in delivering high quality homes that are fit for the future. We will be sharing all our learnings and plans helping developers commit to a clear roadmap for more a sustainable future. “In addition, with more than 1.5 million homes on our mortgage balance sheet, we are also developing new products to help our members make a real difference to the environment by making improvements to existing properties. Together we can tackle the climate crisis and we are committed to helping our members to create greener and more sustainable homes.” Work on the Oakfield development began on site in April 2020. Construction is expected to take about three and a half years, with the first phase of new homes being completed in Spring 2022.
The Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) has become the first trade body to adopt a new industry agreed prequalification standard that promises to cut expensive and time consuming ‘red tape’ for contractors. The new Common Assessment Standard, developed by Build UK and endorsed by the Construction Leadership Council, means suppliers will only need to be certified once a year by a single recognised assessment body before tendering for work with contractors and clients who specify it. This is a significant improvement on the current system where different clients insist on their own prequalification questionnaires being completed meaning contractors are forced to duplicate time and effort. Build UK estimates this wasteful process costs the construction industry as much as £1bn every year. BESA chief executive David Frise said the new approach would transform the prequalification process and make it work better for both suppliers and clients. “By streamlining the process and linking it to a pan-industry agreed standard, it will be quicker and simpler for good quality firms to demonstrate their business credentials and clients will get the reassurance they need,” he said. Build UK deputy chief executive Jo Fautley said the new system was “a huge step towards more efficient working, which is more important than ever in the current challenging economic climate”. Collaborative “Developing the Common Assessment Standard has been a collaborative effort, involving companies across the whole sector. There are already 10 major contractors and clients specifying it and we are delighted that BESA has become our first Trade Association member to adopt it as a part of its membership process,” she added. The standard has been made possible thanks to a data-sharing agreement with the three recognised assessment bodies: Achilles, CHAS and Constructionline. The building engineering alliance Actuate UK has also put its weight behind the new standard, which it said was an example of how cross-industry collaboration could deliver efficiency improvements for the whole construction supply chain. Build UK is also working with the government on having it adopted for public sector projects. “The introduction of data sharing means the long-awaited industry-wide solution to prequalification waste is now in sight,” said BESA’s director of certification Rachel Davidson. “Having an industry approved, single standard will also make it more appealing to main contractors and end clients. We encourage all public sector and commercial clients to embrace this ground-breaking development.” BESA has also recognised the new standard as a way of deeming to satisfy the business management section of its own Competence Assessment Standard (CAS), which companies must achieve to join the Association or remain in membership. Any company that deems to satisfy business assurance by reaching the new standard will save a significant amount of time and duplication of effort because they will also be meeting BESA’s requirements. However, the Association stressed that it would continue to assess the technical competence of its members. “It is important that individual trade bodies continue to take responsibility for the specialist technical aspects of assessing competence,” said Frise. “Our organisations are best placed to oversee whether companies are keeping up with advances in technology and working practices while also investing in training to ensure their workforces are properly equipped to carry out high quality work. “Being able to streamline the business assurance element of pre-qualification will have the added benefit of giving them more time and resource to focus on these technical aspects. This should lead to even more improvements, including better productivity, for clients.”www.theBESA.com
BPC Land and New Homes (part of the BPC Group) is celebrating its 25th year of successful trading and would like to thank all clients, both old and new, for their continued support over the years. Established in 1996 by Managing Director Steve Blight, previous years have seen many changes to the business and the housebuilding industry, and the organisation is enormously proud to have grown from one business to five over the past three years. Despite numerous recessions, property crashes, Brexit and of course COVID-19, the company has evolved to emerge bigger, better and stronger than ever. Every challenge has brought opportunity and the expansion of the original Land & New Homes company has given the business a fresh image. In contrast to its humble beginnings with a small team, the Group now employs almost 40 members of staff and has 2 office locations in Hertfordshire and London. Company founder, Steve Blight prides himself on a transparent, honest and consultative approach and the carefully crafted businesses that all serve the housebuilding industry have a strong team working ethos he is extremely proud of. Tracey Reece – “Group Marketing and Operations Director” “We’ve created a new identity with a clean professional image that takes pride in our past, but with an expansive vision for the future. We intend to continue to strengthen our position within the industry, and work in close partnerships with our house builder clients to offer value added, multi-faceted solutions.” A quarter of a century in business is an amazing achievement for any company and the exciting thing is, this journey has really just began! All details of the brands and services can be accessed through the BPC Group website: www.bpcgroup.co.uk.
Paints and coatings expert, AkzoNobel, has partnered with Alcumus SafeContractor, to manage contractor compliance and support its Health, Safety, Environment and Security (HSE&S) ambitions to deliver zero injuries, reduce carbon emissions and move towards zero waste through operational excellence. Akzonobel is a leading paints and coatings manufacturer, its world class portfolio of brands includes Dulux, International, Sikkens and is active in more than 150 countries across 130 sites. With a strong focus on sustainability through its People Planet Paint programme, AkzoNobel has implemented a global people, process and product safety management programme, to ensure that the highest safety standards are applied to its activities and sites. In addition, its Life-Saving Rules programme embeds eight key safety rules that must be applied with zero tolerance, along with a golden rule that all employees are empowered to stop work that they recognise as being unsafe. SafeContractor is a leading provider of technology-led risk management solutions for both contractor safety management and accreditation. The online portal will help AkzoNobel to streamline its vetting and compliance checks across all sites, reduce administration time by up to 50 to 60 hours per month and source local contractors. The SafeContractor accreditation scheme will also provide AkzoNobel with valuable insight to make sure they’re working with contractors who meet their rigorous standards in health, safety and environment management. Nick Turnbull, UK HSES&S Manager at AkzoNobel, commented: “Health and safety are an integral part of how we operate. Being a manufacturing company, this is one of our core values so that we have effective and suitable controls in place for our own employees and contractors to manage health and safety risks across our value chain.” “In our role as a responsible employer, our strategic HSE&S priorities are focused on continuous improvement of standardised company-wide processes. To maintain our strong safety record, SafeContrator will help us to monitor contractor safety and provides clear insight that the contractors we work with have the correct procedures in place and that they are meeting our environmental obligations too.” Helen Jones, Chief Operating Officer, Enterprise at Alcumus, commented: “Compliance assurance is a key HSE&S priority, particularly in such a fast-changing regulatory environment like AkzoNobel operates in. SafeContractor plays a vital role in supporting our clients so they have the confidence that they’re working with prequalified accredited contractors who have the same high standards.” “We’re thrilled that AkzoNobel has joined our community and we wish them every success. More than 480 leading organisations and 35,000 contractors have selected SafeContractor to help create better workplaces, keep people safe, reduce risks and simplify processes.” About Alcumus SafeContractor For organisations that need to demonstrate compliance with increasingly stringent legislation, Alcumus SafeContractor, acts as a Supply Chain and EHSQ+ risk partner. We verify the compliance of your contractors and suppliers and make them available through an easy-to-use online portal. This provides vital insight into your supply chain, enabling you to effectively monitor, manage, and make informed decisions about who you work with.
Junction 32 Yorkshire Outlet Shopping has partnered with Castleford’s Siobhan Murphy, finalist in the BBC’s Interior Design Masters, to create a unique pop-up window display at its centre. ‘The Junction 32 Edit by Siobhan Murphy’ will see the flamboyant star of Interior Design Masters designing a pop-up display in a large shop window, utilising key products from the centre’s homeware, fashion and beauty brands. “I’m absolutely thrilled to be designing some of the window displays for Junction 32. I live here in Castleford and it’s great having such wonderful shops right on my doorstep. I just love being creative so expect to see some flamboyant window displays this summer,” said Siobhan Murphy. Known for her brightly coloured clothing and creativity, Siobhan will inject her maximalist interior style which she incorporated into her own Art Deco house in Castleford, coupled with her favourite aspects of the local community. Visitors will be able to watch Siobhan create the window display first-hand on Wednesday 5th May and the display will be live until Wednesday 23rd June. “We’re really excited to be partnering with Castleford’s own Siobhan Murphy. We know what an inspiration Siobhan was during Interior Design Masters and we wanted to showcase our retailers’ products in a fun and uplifting way,” said Kerry Ford, Centre Marketing Manager at Junction 32. “The window display is designed to inspire our visitors on how they can add their own sense of individualism to a completely blank canvas through their beauty products and wardrobe choices and in their own homes. We hope they join us on Wednesday 5th May to welcome Siobhan to the centre and unveil her pop-up display which we’re confident will truly brighten up everyone’s day.” ‘The Junction 32 Edit by Siobhan Murphy’ follows news of Yankee Candle and Baytree Interiors opening stores at Junction 32 Yorkshire Outlet Shopping earlier this month.
