Civil engineering specialist GRAHAM has commenced work on an upgrade of the M25 junction 28 for National Highways. Junction 28 plays a major role in connecting the A12 and the M25, as well as providing access to Brentwood via the A1023. Up to 7,500 vehicles currently travel through the junction
Aggregate Industries will be showcasing its wide range of green construction material innovations and vast expertise in the road surfacing sector at the Highways UK 2022 exhibition as it continues in its mission to fast-track sustainability in the future of construction. Taking place on 2nd – 3rd November at the
Two employees at a Midlands housing association have been announced as finalists in a top awards scheme. Joe Henshaw and Andy Hibbert – colleagues at Platform Property Care, a subsidiary of one of the UK’s largest housing associations, Platform Housing Group – have been shortlisted in The Team of the Year category in The 2022 Direct
Wates Living Space, social housing repairs and maintenance provider, has been awarded three projects, collectively valued at around £33 million, on behalf of Brent Council, St Mungo’s and mhs homes. The projects include the refurbishment of four high rise blocks on behalf of Brent Council, as part of a new
A public consultation has been launched on plans for a new housing scheme at Peel L&P’s Trafford Waters development. Trafford Housing Trust, part of L&Q, is bringing forward proposals for 83 apartments on the Trafford side of the Manchester Ship Canal within Trafford City, next to The Trafford and Trafford
Civil engineering specialist GRAHAM has commenced work on an upgrade of the M25 junction 28 for National Highways. Junction 28 plays a major role in connecting the A12 and the M25, as well as providing access to Brentwood via the A1023. Up to 7,500 vehicles currently travel through the junction roundabout every hour at peak times, which is already operating at capacity, with motorists regularly experiencing congestion and delays. GRAHAM’s work involves the creation of a two-lane loop road with a hard shoulder for traffic travelling from the M25 northbound carriageway anti-clockwise onto the A12 eastbound carriageway towards Essex. This will include the construction of new bridges to take the loop road over or under the other road links and the Weald Brook, along with new signage and changes to the landscape. GRAHAM’s project team will also change the position of the A12’s eastbound exit slip road and the M25’s anti-clockwise entry slip road to allow for the new loop road. In addition, work will involve widening the M25 anti-clockwise carriageway to provide more space for traffic leaving the A12 heading eastbound. The majority of the construction work will take place off the road network, with the new loop road and links being almost fully completed before any work takes place that will impact drivers. Work on the scheme is expected to take 36 months, with an anticipated completion date of summer 2025. Discussing the scheme, GRAHAM Highways Director, Dave Brown, said: “We are pleased to have begun work on the upgrade of the M25’s junction 28. “National Highways is a valued and longstanding client for GRAHAM, and this scheme will play a major role in improving journey times for those travelling on one of the country’s busiest junctions. Dave added: “We’ll be delivering the project with a collaborative and safety-led approach, working as part of an integrated team with National Highways to ensure the upgrade is completed with disruption to motorists minimised as much as possible.” National Highways project manager Zach Pepper said: “These improvements will provide safer journeys for thousands of drivers, cyclists and walkers who use this route every day as part of our wider investment to enhance capacity at this vital junction. “Improving the flow of traffic and allowing more capacity on the exit slip roads will provide a safer and more integrated network for everyone. There will also be less likelihood of traffic queuing back onto the M25 once this upgrade and reconfiguration of the junction is complete.”
Aggregate Industries will be showcasing its wide range of green construction material innovations and vast expertise in the road surfacing sector at the Highways UK 2022 exhibition as it continues in its mission to fast-track sustainability in the future of construction. Taking place on 2nd – 3rd November at the NEC, Birmingham the Highways UK exhibition brings together all key stakeholders responsible for planning, developing, managing, maintaining, and future-proofing the nation’s road networks. Since launching in 2015, it has quickly become the most popular annual event in the industry’s calendar. Located at stand G11, Aggregate Industries’ Surfacing Solutions senior leadership team will be on hand during the two days to discuss the business’ wide range of innovative sustainable road surfacing solutions, along with the business’ renowned contracting services. Key green innovations set to be discussed at Aggregate Industries stand include SuperLow-Carbon – the industry’s first biogenic asphalt – along with Foamix, which uses up to 95% recycled or reclaimed products in the mix design. Visitors will also get insight on the business’ warm mix asphalt range, now available as standard, providing a more sustainable solution for surfacing applications. “We’re thrilled to be returning to Highways UK this year where we will be showcasing our full scope of sustainable solutions designed for the sector,” said Thomas Edgcumbe, Managing Director for Surfacing Solutions at Aggregate Industries. “Greener highways may be high on the list as Britain looks to its net zero future, but it still faces some important challenges. One of the most pressing of these is transitioning to credible low-carbon solutions that deliver the same structural integrity as traditional ones while delivering on wider net zero aims. Adding further complexity is the challenge of tight deadlines, restricted budgets and economic uncertainty. As we see it, our job is to make easier work of this shift by not just developing innovations to meet the future challenge, but the expertise to deliver them at scale and pace.” For Aggregate Industries it isn’t just about helping the industry building greener now but inspiring and empowering the next generation. This is seen as, as part of the show’s Exhibitors’ Trail; the business will host three groups of local school children who will learn more about carbon reduction in construction and the wide variety of job opportunities available through Aggregate Industries’ apprenticeship scheme. Alongside this, the children, as with all attendees, will get a chance to take part in the ‘Carbon Conundrum’ game which involves creating a road scheme and being awarded a traffic light rating on carbon and social value. As a key event sponsor, the company’s Sustainability Director, Kirstin McCarthy will also be hosting an expert talk at the event entitled ‘Transition to Net Zero’ covering the latest sustainable construction solutions and processes on the market and the role they can play in accelerating the net zero trajectory. Talking of the show, Kirstin adds: “Drawing on our rich legacy of working on some of the biggest road surfacing projects in Britain, we continue to invest heavily in developing and delivering the innovation needed to enable a greener highways future. Highways UK offers the ideal platform to demonstrate our ever-expanding portfolio and provide expert consultancy, and we look forward to meeting as many attendees as possible.” Aggregate Industries’ expert ‘Transition to Net Zero’ speaker slot will take place on 2nd November at 2.50pm. To find out more visit www.highways.co.uk. Alternatively, for more information on Aggregate Industries’ Surfacing Solutions visit www.aggregate.com
Two employees at a Midlands housing association have been announced as finalists in a top awards scheme. Joe Henshaw and Andy Hibbert – colleagues at Platform Property Care, a subsidiary of one of the UK’s largest housing associations, Platform Housing Group – have been shortlisted in The Team of the Year category in The 2022 Direct Works Award. The winners will be unveiled at a ceremony in Manchester on Monday 14 November. Lee Duty, Head of Programme at Platform Property Care said : “Following our merger, there was a huge amount of work to do and staff to recruit in order to create one accredited and compliant team. It was at this time that Joe and Andy both stepped forward to – not only continue carry out their roles as qualifying supervisors – but support those in our other localities which were not as well served.” Their dedication and commitment has resulted in achieving the following in the short timescale of three months: Consistent inspection of all electricians; Introduction of relevant software across the board to ensure consistency and remove the paper trail; Provide relevant recommendations and improvements for all electricians; Develop a performance database for all electrical work; Compliance with NICEIC criteria, which confirms competence when undertaking electrical work. Lee concluded : “We are so proud of both Joe and Andy and how they have gone above and beyond in their roles, ensuring that we are now moving forward as one robust and compliant organisation. Well done both! We wish them all the luck at the forthcoming awards evening!” Direct Works acts as the leading voice for specialists in social housing maintenance; its awards scheme provides an opportunity for colleagues to recognise and reward each other on a national scale. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Wates Living Space, social housing repairs and maintenance provider, has been awarded three projects, collectively valued at around £33 million, on behalf of Brent Council, St Mungo’s and mhs homes. The projects include the refurbishment of four high rise blocks on behalf of Brent Council, as part of a new major works programme that includes external wall insulation, heating and lift refurbishments. Work for Brent also includes retrofit installations to increase home efficiency following Wates’ successful retrofit pilot on behalf of Brent Council, which reached completion at the end of 2021. The project saw the Wates Retrofit team install energy efficiency measures in void properties, taking them from an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of E to B, exceeding the Government’s 2030 target for social housing. “We are very proud to be growing our portfolio in the south and look forward to working with our clients to provide safe, secure, comfortable and efficient homes. These contracts represent a combination of new partnerships with St Mungo’s and mhs to existing partners like Brent Council where our team can showcase their capabilities to deliver at scale. Our customers have to balance many different aspects to property management, and this balance is reliant on maintenance providers that have the capacity and expertise to deliver services efficiently and to a high quality,” commented James Gregg, Managing Director of South Planned Maintenance at Wates Living Space. Also included in Wates Living Space’s new contacts is a six-month programme to install new kitchens and bathrooms in properties across North London on behalf of St Mungo’s. The team is also preparing to mobilise a two-year contract to install new kitchens and bathrooms for mhs homes properties in North Kent. The new projects add to Wates Living Space’s current portfolio, which includes repairs and maintenance for 500,000 homes on behalf of 60 social landlords. “Retrofitting homes is becoming an increasingly pressured priority for social landlords with many making great headway in improving the efficiency of their housing stock. Nevertheless, traditional planned maintenance programmes remain important, and their concurrent delivery alongside retrofit work is absolutely vital to our clients and their customers. We are very proud to be growing our portfolio in the south and look forward to working with our clients to provide safe, secure, comfortable and efficient homes,” James concluded. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A public consultation has been launched on plans for a new housing scheme at Peel L&P’s Trafford Waters development. Trafford Housing Trust, part of L&Q, is bringing forward proposals for 83 apartments on the Trafford side of the Manchester Ship Canal within Trafford City, next to The Trafford and Trafford Leisure Village. “This is a great opportunity for people to see and comment on our plans prior to a planning application later this year,” said Ben Townsend, new business director (NW) at Trafford Housing Trust. The scheme, in Redclyffe Road, intends to bring forward one and two-bedroom homes for shared ownership, subject to approval from Homes England for grant funding. The proposals are part of the wider Trafford Waters development, a scheme that will create 3,000 homes, more than 100,000 sq ft of amenity space and 850,000 sq ft of offices in the area. Moreover, the development is estimated to create more than 5,000 jobs and will include a primary school plus 20 acres of open spaces. Work has started on phase one infrastructure at Trafford Waters to make way for the first 350 new homes which includes THT’s affordable housing development. “Part of our vision to create a new sustainable community at Trafford Waters is to provide homes that suit a range of needs and we are pleased to be working with THT to help deliver much-needed affordable housing at this site,” said James Whittaker, Peel L&P’s Executive Director for Development. “We have started infrastructure works with new roads, pedestrian and cycle routes together with large areas of public realm assisted via a match-funded grant from Homes England to enable the delivery of over 350 homes from the first few phases of housing to be developed.” The public consultation will take place virtually online, and residents are being encouraged to email any questions they have to THT before the plans are finalised and submitted for planning permission later this year. The consultation will run until 6th November. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
