LEADING national housebuilder Lovell Partnerships, has secured planning permission for two significant schemes on key East Midlands-based urban extensions as it continues its rapid growth in the region. The two developments, which will offer plots for the open market in addition to affordable housing, are situated in Branston Locks, Burton-Upon-Trent
THERE is no doubt that many across the construction industry expect The Construction Playbook to be a driver of truly transformational change. One thing that has resonated with national framework provider Pagabo is that ten of the 14 key policies outlined by the government fall within the first of the five phases of procurement.
When working in construction, building is in the company’s nature. However, the skills are attributed to bricks and mortar rather than a digital presence. In today’s climate, though, a firm simply cannot scale its intended heights without setting a good impression online. A solid website can be the foundation of
For certain kinds of business, the cost of warehousing can be significant. If you have a huge volume of stock to keep, even if it’s just for a matter of days, then it’s vital that you make the most of the available space, while still keeping enough capacity available that
Fences are often overlooked as part of a home’s property, but they play an important role. When a fence is deteriorating badly or is simply too old, it can detract from the enjoyment of the backyard. Eventually, it will come time to replace it with something better and possibly different.
LEADING national housebuilder Lovell Partnerships, has secured planning permission for two significant schemes on key East Midlands-based urban extensions as it continues its rapid growth in the region. The two developments, which will offer plots for the open market in addition to affordable housing, are situated in Branston Locks, Burton-Upon-Trent and Priors Hall Park on the outskirts of Corby in North Northamptonshire. Lovell’s Branston Locks scheme will comprise of 190 properties and form part of the wider Branston Locks regeneration which will see the transformation of 400 acres of land to the south west of Burton-Upon-Trent and the total creation of 2,500 new homes. Priors Hall urban extension on the outskirts of Corby received consent for 75 new homes, consisting of open market and shared ownership properties. In total Priors Hall will see just under 3,000 homes built alongside 25.5 acres for recreation, footpath, and cycle networks, nine acres of employment space, plus two schools and two retail areas. Chris Timmins, Area Director East Midlands at Lovell Partnerships, said: “We’re delighted that planning permission has been granted for both Branston Locks and Priors Hall Park, meaning that two sustainable communities are on the horizon in areas where affordable, high-quality housing is in high demand. “Branston Locks is a key regeneration site in East Staffordshire, and we’re thrilled to be playing our part on one of the UK’s first large urban extensions as well as a second substantial urban extension in Priors Hall Park, Corby, reflecting our status as a major partnerships developer. “Increasing our footprint in the East Midlands is a big focus as our reputation and achievements in the West Midlands continue to go from strength-to-strength through the delivery of high-quality mixed tenure developments, land-led contracting and design and build contracting.” Lovell Partnerships has already secured a number of opportunities in the East Midlands, with a pipeline of over 1000 units since the inception of the targeted growth within the region in 2020 spearheaded by Chris Timmins. For more information, please visit corporate.lovell.co.uk.
THERE is no doubt that many across the construction industry expect The Construction Playbook to be a driver of truly transformational change. One thing that has resonated with national framework provider Pagabo is that ten of the 14 key policies outlined by the government fall within the first of the five phases of procurement. With a goal of demystifying the Playbook, Pagabo is leading on a series of webinars over the coming months – the first of which saw executive chairman, Gerard Toplass, being joined by a panel of experts, including Jane O’Leary, strategic advisor for education at ISG; Peter Masonbrook, associate director at Faithful+Gould, and Jan Grant, managing director at ProQual. As well as this, the panel was joined by Fergus Harradence, deputy director for infrastructure and construction at the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), who was involved in bringing the Construction Playbook to publication. Gerard said: “One of the key focuses within the construction industry as we emerge from the coronavirus pandemic is to ‘build back better’. The Construction Playbook is just one way in which the government is showing its commitment to doing this and will be one of the most important building blocks for us to do this – but it will take a joined-up effort from the whole industry.” Cultural and behavioural change will be key Many of the policies outlined in the Playbook will be underpinned by the need for behavioural change. This was highlighted by Peter Masonbrook of Faithful+Gould when it comes to social value and a ‘whole life’ approach. These are terms that the industry is extremely familiar with at this point, but there are still attitude changes needed. There is an appetite from the public sector for social value measurement, but as professionals we need to be measuring that social impact beyond asset delivery. As we would measure ‘whole life costs’ from a capital point of view, we must be considering how the local community will benefit from our projects in years to come. The overriding driver of the Playbook is to maximise the benefit for the public purse – and the Playbook is a clear directive that this cannot stop the moment a project is handed over. There has also been a clear direction of policy set out by the government when it comes to a widespread adoption of modern methods of construction (MMC) with recent legislation, with an expectation for wider adoption to permeate throughout the wider industry. It is important to remember that MMC is not simply ‘big Lego’, but a wider term, embracing a range of manufacturing and construction techniques. Indeed, we are seeing this permeate throughout the industry – with Fergus highlighting the education and housing sectors as particularly strong but noting that other more complex areas of the industry may take longer due to their nature, such as infrastructure. However, the panel expect to see an acceleration of MMC throughout the industry – and as more clients and contractors embrace these methods, the quicker adoption will accelerate to a point where they are the primary options. Again, this leans into the cultural and behavioural changes that continue to arise in conversations around the Construction Playbook. Jane O’Leary, strategic advisor education at ISG, highlighted that contractors must make sure that their cultures work with that of the client. Flexibility to client’s requirements must go beyond the project itself and into the way in which we collaborate. The pandemic has shown that construction can prove its reputation wrong by adapting and responding very quickly when needed. A huge part of this has been thanks to digital technology and is an attitude that the industry cannot lose. As an industry, we are second only to agriculture when it comes to digitisation, and through adoption of technology we have the potential to see the kind of step change seen in the retail world during the 1990s – so we need to use the momentum built by the pandemic to drive this even further. Training for the future – Playbook and beyond It’s clear that truly delivering on the government’s agenda here goes beyond simply reading the Playbook. Fergus Harradance detailed the work being done by government to upskill people on the elements within the document to ensure that they are in the best position to adapt to it. The Playbook covers so much ground – taking you from the point where you decide what you want to build, to asset handover and beyond, as well as several key government agendas – so it’s clear that every organisation within the built environment is going to have to adapt its behaviour in some form in response. As the panel agreed, there is a huge emphasis on changing culture and behaviour in order to deliver on the aims of the Playbook, but this goes beyond projects and processes. Jan Grant, managing director of awarding body ProQual, brought a fresh perspective to the discussion, focusing on the need to not just adapt the way the industry works – but how it learns too. ProQual’s digital-led approach ties into the principles of the Construction Playbook, allowing a competency passport to be delivered that gives a visual confirmation of skills and competency, and corroborates the authenticity of an individual and their core skills. The future emphasis, however, is for organisations like ProQual to work closely with the industry to identify what skills are needed, rather than dictate this. This is the only way to develop truly fit-for-purpose qualifications that help the industry progress. This in itself creates opportunity for the industry to lead, adapt and tackle issues quickly through training. An example of this is the current need for recladding buildings following Grenfell, which is an ongoing process that would greatly benefit from more training specific to the task at hand. Through close collaboration, specific qualifications could be developed, accredited, and rolled out to deliver expertise to a specific issue. And another consideration would be to ensure that this – or any new qualification – allows for transferable skills to keep our skilled workers within the industry. Gerard concluded: “To reflect the need for industry wide collaboration to deliver on the principles of the Construction Playbook, we’re really pleased to be bringing together expert panellists throughout this series of webinars on the topic. Together we must work
When working in construction, building is in the company’s nature. However, the skills are attributed to bricks and mortar rather than a digital presence. In today’s climate, though, a firm simply cannot scale its intended heights without setting a good impression online. A solid website can be the foundation of success for all construction businesses, but only when it’s built with the right materials. The following cornerstones are essential. Design First impressions count for a lot in business. The two items are unlinked. Still, many clients will feel that an unprofessional site indicates an unprofessional business. The initial challenge is to ensure that landing pages set the right tone. Colour schemes and website layouts will naturally play huge roles. However, businesses are advised to invest in Magento page speed optimisation practices too. Because if it takes a website longer than 2 seconds to load, clients begin to lose patience. For similar reasons, choosing the right web host is essential. When 404 error messages are displayed, many people will never return. Visibility Even the best website is redundant if nobody knows it exists. As such, construction firms should view visibility as an essential. Search engine optimisation should be at the top of the agenda. Geographic keywords work best unless it is a global organisation. Essentially, traffic coming from Scandinavia is pointless for a company that only works in Swansea. The pursuit of brand awareness should additionally extend to social media. People will often see houses or business venues they like and then search for contractors. Besides, building a strong social media can promote the sense of professionalism and trust. Even if ‘likes’ don’t directly pay the bills. Trust Building The element of trust is essential for all businesses, particularly when the initial interactions are online. So, any opportunity to incorporate testimonials and client reviews should be grabbed with both hands. It goes a long way to calming a lead’s nerves. Their research won’t be limited to seeing what past clients have to say. They will also want to see proof of what can be achieved. A picture paints a thousand words. Sidey’s new site takes this into account with great photos of past projects. Other firms should follow suit. Celebrating qualifications, certifications, and awards is also advised. Clients only want the best for their construction projects. Contact Details Last but not least, construction firms need to appreciate the field they are in. almost all clients will want to speak with an agent and acquire a consultation before signing off on any project. So, website interactions are simply the first touchpoint. With this in mind, contact details should be easily found. Call redirection and virtual receptionists can help companies maintain a strong image even when busy. Meanwhile, Google My Business listings make it easy for users to call straight from their smartphones. Websites are great for lead generation but further contact is needed to gain conversions. The sooner this is accepted, the better.
For certain kinds of business, the cost of warehousing can be significant. If you have a huge volume of stock to keep, even if it’s just for a matter of days, then it’s vital that you make the most of the available space, while still keeping enough capacity available that you can cope with new orders without any disruption. So how might you rearrange your warehouse for the sake of maximum efficiency? Let’s take a look at a few considerations. Assessing the Floor Plan Your floor plan should make it easy for you to store as many items as possible. But that’s not the sole consideration; your staff will also need to be able to easily access the goods they need. This might mean generous walkways, and traffic being directed to make sure workers aren’t getting in the way of each other. Ensuring that traffic is able to easily flow from one section of the warehouse to the next will minimise disruption and help the entire facility to operate that little bit more efficiently. Before deciding on any changes, it’s worth taking a walk around the warehouse floor, and talking to the people who’ll actually be living with the benefits and drawbacks of any changes. Improving Inventory Management Inventory management has come a long way over recent decades, thanks to a rapid proliferation of technological tools. Nowadays, there’s no need to remember where every single item is, because a computer can do it for you. What is more, the items on your shelves don’t need to be in any particular order, so long as they’re appropriately coded so that every given item is where the computer says that it is. Your inventory and asset tracking management system should follow the Pareto principle, that 80% of outcomes come from 20% of inputs. In this case, it means that a minority of your stock accounts for most of the movement. Generally speaking, the items that are most frequently reached-for should be the ones that are most easily reached. If a worker needs to make ten trips for one item for every one trip for another, then differences in location can have a disproportionate impact on productivity over the course of a working day. Capacity If you need your premises to be able to cope with surges in demand during particular times of year, then investing in temporary buildings might be worthwhile. These buildings can be easily thrown up for just a few weeks, and then disassembled. They can be useful if you need to bridge a gap during a specific period where stock is at a high. Efficient Shelving As well as assessing the larger-scale layout of the warehouse, it’s also worth assessing the shelving more closely. Different kinds of shelves are capable of storing certain items far more efficiently than others. Think about the amount of empty space that’s going unused and look for solutions that will fill that space.
Fences are often overlooked as part of a home’s property, but they play an important role. When a fence is deteriorating badly or is simply too old, it can detract from the enjoyment of the backyard. Eventually, it will come time to replace it with something better and possibly different. Here are four reasons for homeowners to upgrades their fences. 1. Improve Appearances for the Home & Garden When you have already purchased the property and it either lacks a fence, or it is sagging badly and is damaged, it’s time for a rethink. Delineating the property line or boundaries isn’t just useful for the parcel of land; it’s also something that is visually a good thing to do for you and the neighbors. It can avoid confusion and potential disagreements over where their property line ends and yours begins. When replacing the fences or putting one in for the first time, consider what type of fence is best. They come at various price points and are available in wrought iron, vinyl, and chain-link. Each adds a different aesthetic to the backyard, so it’s worth considering how a style will fit into it. To get an idea about the various fence styles, check out northlandfence.com. 2. Increase the Value of the Home A home’s value won’t stay the same when there’s a poor-quality fence or none at all in some places. The valuation is likely to increase by as much as half of the cost of the fence. If it’s a privacy fence that reaches from 4 feet up to as much as 9 feet tall, it’ll be important to provide seclusion for you and possibly your family if you have one too. Choose a fence style that’s in keeping with the rest of the home. It’s likely to have the most upside potential for the expenditure. 3. Prevent Infestation by Termites When there’s an old wooden fence surrounding the property line, it has been susceptible to both the elements and any insects for years. A wooden fence can potentially have suffered a termite infestation because they love wood of all kinds. Even when the wooden slates were originally treated to avoid this, that won’t ward off the risk completely. It would be best to use concrete posts for your fence to make it stronger and stand against termites. 4. Let Your Dog Out with a Safe Place to Run Dogs need a safe place to run around, play fetch, and maybe do a bit of enthusiastic digging too. It’s a great thing to let them burn off some energy if you’re short of time to take them for a walk that day. Let’s face it – dogs love getting outdoors and running around in virtually any weather except perhaps snow. So, a fenced-in garden that’s too high for them to leap over allows the homeowner to let them get more outdoor time. Then they can be walked later in the day when the schedule allows for it. While it’s always hoped that a fence will be of high quality and durability with new homes, many people purchase new-to-them homes as the second owner or later buyer. Depending on the age of the home and the quality of the fences, they may not have held up. Homeowners should avoid waiting until part of the fence has collapsed before thinking about its replacement.
