Building and civil engineering firm McLaughlin & Harvey has been chosen as the preferred construction partner for City of Wolverhampton Council’s City Learning Quarter. The company will be developing the detailed designs while carry out some minor preparatory works ahead of construction starting in spring. Developed by the Council in
Seven years of transformational development at a game-changing tech campus in Hull is continuing with construction underway on the final office building. The net zero building is the final phase of leading developer Wykeland Group’s @TheDock complex in the city’s vibrant Fruit Market urban village. It will provide a further
Pure hydrogen boilers, manufactured by BDR Thermea Group’s Dutch brand Remeha, supplied with hydrogen via existing natural gas grid Baxi’s parent company, BDR Thermea Group, the leading manufacturer of smart indoor climate solutions, today launches a world-first pilot using its 100% hydrogen boilers in 12 inhabited homes with hydrogen supplied
Salboy, the nationwide property development and funding company, has acquired the former site of the Boddingtons Brewery, a renowned 52,700 sq ft site on the northern edge of central Manchester. With a £195 million GDV, the mixed-use scheme will split across five buildings, including a 26-storey tower, all of which
GAP GROUP PURCHASE ALL DXB INTEGRATE FLEETED 200mm WASTEWATER PUMPSETS AS DEMAND FOR STAGE V PUMPSETS INCREASES DRAMTICALLY IN AMP7 AND BEYOND. With demand for Stage V pumpsets outstripping the supply chains of all European pump manufacturers, GAP Group (GAP) and DXB Integrate Limited (DXBi) have agreed for GAP to
A property maintenance company has had an ISO certificate reconfirmed after a recent audit. Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of Platform Housing Group – has passed an external audit for ISO 45001 by Direct Assessment Services – or DAS – a UKAS accredited certification body for international ISO standards. The company was originally awarded the certification in November 2019; this
Costain is partnering with Heathrow Airport to deliver its new investment programme, which will provide a step-change in the customer experience and transform the airport on its journey to become a net-zero aviation hub. As delivery partner, we will work with Heathrow throughout the project lifecycle to shape, create and
Dynamic Containment is making headlines in the field of batteries, but increasing the yield of the energy market is a much more important topic for investors. A speeding-up UK energy change is uplifting news for battery ventures. Inexhaustible targets are rising quickly. Coal, atomic and CCGT limit is resigning. The
Building and civil engineering firm McLaughlin & Harvey has been chosen as the preferred construction partner for City of Wolverhampton Council’s City Learning Quarter. The company will be developing the detailed designs while carry out some minor preparatory works ahead of construction starting in spring. Developed by the Council in partnership with City of Wolverhampton College, the City Learning Quarter scheme will deliver a purpose-built learning facility for young people and adults at the heart of the city centre to drive up skills levels. “We are delighted to have been appointed as City of Wolverhampton Council’s construction partner for their City Learning Quarter project. This is our thirteenth project under the Crown Commercial Service CWAS RM6088 Framework, having recently completed Darroch House, Edinburgh and UKAEA Material Research Facility. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with the Council on the design and preparatory works,” said Michael Kieran, McLaughlin & Harvey Construction Director. The City Learning Quarter, set over 10,000 square metres, will be situated around the Old Hall Street and St. George’s Parade area of the city centre, incorporating a site on the corner of Garrick Street and Bilston Street, where the former Faces nightclub building once stood. The state-of-the-art education facility will also see investment in the building and public realm around them. It will encompass City of Wolverhampton College’s Metro One Campus, the council’s Adult Education Service and Central Library, creating an enhanced learning environment for everyone as well as significantly paving the way for City of Wolverhampton College to move from its out-dated Paget Road site, which has been identified as land to build much-needed housing. In addition to the new facilities providing educational benefits for the city, the City Learning Quarter will generate and safeguard 750 jobs in the local economy. Initially supported by a £6.2 million investment from the Council and Black Country LEP, the scheme secured a further £5 million in funding from the Towns Fund, as well as £20 million from the Levelling Up Fund and a further £20 million from the Department for Education. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Seven years of transformational development at a game-changing tech campus in Hull is continuing with construction underway on the final office building. The net zero building is the final phase of leading developer Wykeland Group’s @TheDock complex in the city’s vibrant Fruit Market urban village. It will provide a further 11,000 sq ft of prime office space and bring 150 more advanced tech jobs to the area. The building will complete a cluster of prime office space at the @TheDock development, which includes the pioneering Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub. The @TheDock development has regenerated a previously derelict waterfront site and become the catalyst and focal point for Hull’s fast-growing tech sector. Yorkshire-based contractor Castlehouse Construction is delivering the works, with the final building having been designed by leading architectural practice The Harris Partnership, also based in Yorkshire. The developer’s agent for the project is LHL Group, again Yorkshire-based. A total of around 300 workers will be on site across the various stages of the construction process, with the building scheduled to be completed in summer 2023. John Gouldthorp, Asset Manager at Hull-based Wykeland, said: “It’s great that work is now underway on this exciting development. “@TheDock has been a tremendous success and this latest phase underlines our confidence in the continuing growth of the tech sector in Hull and the wider region. “Our previous investments on this site have generated dozens of new digital businesses and hundreds of highly-skilled tech jobs. This final building will create exciting new opportunities to be part of one of the UK’s most successful tech communities within a building with exceptional sustainability credentials.” Site preparation and groundworks have been completed and piling work has now begun on site. Castlehouse Construction was previously contracted by Wykeland to deliver the first phase of the £20m transformation of the former Northallerton Prison site in North Yorkshire into the award-winning Treadmills mixed-used development. Phil Dewell, Construction Director at Castlehouse Construction, said: “Having previously worked with Wykeland on the first phase of The Treadmills development in Northallerton, we were delighted to be chosen for this project. “Wykeland has a track record of delivering developments which have a significant economic impact on the area they serve. The @TheDock tech campus is a perfect example of that and we’re delighted to be finishing what has been a transformational development for the city.” The new building will have exceptional sustainability credentials, making it one of Hull’s most environment-friendly developments as well as increasing its appeal to potential occupiers keen to reduce their carbon footprint. The building will be powered by renewable energy generated via an array of roof-mounted solar panels. A green roof formed by flowering plants and a green wall section will also support biodiversity, while adding to the building’s insulation. The building will be rated BREEAM “Very Good” – a sustainability assessment that will put it in the top 25% nationally for non-domestic buildings. It will have an EPC energy rating of A – the highest possible to achieve – and will be mechanically heated, cooled and ventilated by a system that uses air source heat pumps and takes heat energy from extracted air and uses it to pre-heat incoming air. The undercroft car parking will feature electric vehicle charging points and cycle storage spaces, while energy efficient sensor lighting will also be installed within the building to reduce its carbon footprint. The project is supported by funding received from the European Regional Development Fund. The building is available for let to either a single business or multiple tenants, with suites from 2,250 sq ft to the full 11,000 sq ft. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Pure hydrogen boilers, manufactured by BDR Thermea Group’s Dutch brand Remeha, supplied with hydrogen via existing natural gas grid Baxi’s parent company, BDR Thermea Group, the leading manufacturer of smart indoor climate solutions, today launches a world-first pilot using its 100% hydrogen boilers in 12 inhabited homes with hydrogen supplied via an existing natural gas grid. The pioneering pilot in the eastern Dutch town of Lochem is the first time hydrogen heating is being tested at this scale anywhere in the world. The detached listed houses, all built around 1900, will each be equipped with one of the boilers, which burn pure hydrogen with zero carbon emissions. The hydrogen is fed into the existing gas grid at a nearby industrial zone. A collaboration between BDR Thermea’s Dutch brand Remeha and grid operator Alliander, the pilot will run for three years, ensuring extensive testing in wintertime, when heat demand peaks. The houses were deliberately chosen as older residential housing stock, with restrictions to the changes that can be made to them due to their heritage status. Bertrand Schmitt, CEO of BDR Thermea Group, said: “Heating of buildings and water contributes significantly to energy use and CO2 emissions: space heating accounts for 63.6% and water heating 14.8% of EU residential energy use. Decarbonising buildings is therefore an urgent imperative, and hydrogen is one of the key technologies to do this, alongside heat networks, all-electric heat pumps and hybrid solutions that twin heat pumps with gas boilers.” The landmark pilot builds on a raft of exploratory projects involving Baxi and the wider BDR Thermea Group. Baxi is currently participating in the Government-funded Hy4Heat programme, which sees the manufacturer showcase prototype hydrogen boilers at the UK’s first 100% hydrogen public demonstration in Low Thornley, near Gateshead. Meanwhile, its boilers are also being used for the world’s first green hydrogen-to-homes heating network pilot, involving 300 homes in Levenmouth, Fife, and are set to be used for the UK’s first ‘hydrogen village’ in Whitby, Ellesmere Port, in 2025. Karen Boswell, Managing Director at Baxi UK & Ireland, adds: “The pilot in Lochem demonstrates our ongoing commitment to exploring installer-friendly home heating solutions for the future – in this case supplying hydrogen via the familiarity of an existing gas network. We recognise the important role a hydrogen-compatible grid could play in decarbonising UK homes and will use insights from this pioneering trial to accelerate that drive.” As part of BDR Thermea Group, Baxi is pioneering a greener future through a series of commitments to sustainability in addition to its pilot projects. The business has committed to be carbon neutral across its operations by 2025, while every product it manufactures from 2025 will work with low carbon energy. Recent research commissioned by the European Heating Industry and published by consultancy firm Guidehouse shows that a mix of heating technologies is the fastest way to cut natural gas consumptions in 2030 by 45%, and would generate an aggregated cost benefit of over EUR 520 billion until 2050. Heat pumps play a key role in decarbonising heating and are perfect for well-insulated houses and newbuilds. Hybrids can reduce carbon emissions quickly in less-insulated existing buildings, reducing gas use by up to 70%. In time, the remaining gas use can be cut by using renewable gases, such as green hydrogen. To find out more about Baxi, visit www.baxi.co.uk
Salboy, the nationwide property development and funding company, has acquired the former site of the Boddingtons Brewery, a renowned 52,700 sq ft site on the northern edge of central Manchester. With a £195 million GDV, the mixed-use scheme will split across five buildings, including a 26-storey tower, all of which will comprise 556 new homes for sale and rent, 31,000 sq ft of commercial and retail space, and residents’ amenities that include rooftop terraces and landscaped gardens. The scheme, which will be named in due course, forms a major part of Manchester City council’s long-planned, residential-led regeneration of the site that was home to the Boddingtons Brewery until 2005. The Council first published its strategic regeneration framework of this site in 2015. Located adjacent to the site of Manchester College’s new £100 million city centre campus, and in short walking distance of the city’s vibrant Northern Quarter, the scheme is expected to attract students and young people among whom demand for good quality accommodation in central Manchester has never been higher. A recent report by JLL* confirmed Manchester’s status as the fastest growing city among the UK’s ‘Big Six’ cities outside London, recording 34% growth in the last ten years and the largest employment and population growth in that time too. Data from urbanbubble shows that available rental properties hit record lows in the third quarter of 2022 while achieved rents rose above asking rents for the first time.** Simon Ismail, Co-Founder & Managing Director of Salboy, comments: “We are delighted to be the new owners of the Boddingtons site – an ideal location for urgently needed regeneration thanks to its close proximity to city centre leisure, business, higher education and transport links. The future of this site has been the subject of local speculation for too long and we are excited to mobilise construction as soon as early 2023 to bring more sought-after homes to people who want to work, live and study in Manchester.” The scheme will be built by Salboy’s dedicated construction partner, DOMIS with construction with mobilisation due on site early 2023. To date Salboy has delivered over 2,750 new homes to Manchester and neighbouring Salford. The group has £1 billion across 11 schemes of property currently in development or planning in the North West, London and Cornwall, all of which are due to add more than 2,000 more homes to regions most impacted by the national housing shortage. Construction at Salboy’s mixed-use Viadux scheme continues and in June 2022, the Salboy team entered a joint venture agreement with Relentless, the property development company owned by Gary Neville, to deliver Manchester’s long-anticipated St Michael’s development, a scheme comprising a 5* hotel, 180 residences and leisure spaces. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
GAP GROUP PURCHASE ALL DXB INTEGRATE FLEETED 200mm WASTEWATER PUMPSETS AS DEMAND FOR STAGE V PUMPSETS INCREASES DRAMTICALLY IN AMP7 AND BEYOND. With demand for Stage V pumpsets outstripping the supply chains of all European pump manufacturers, GAP Group (GAP) and DXB Integrate Limited (DXBi) have agreed for GAP to purchase the existing fleet of high head and high flow DXBi 200mm sewage pumpsets to service the rapidly expanding hire demand from GAP’s customers. The pumpsets being bought from DXBi are identical to the 200mm pumpsets that GAP bought from DXBi in 2022, and will instantly add 40% more to the GAP fleet. This allows the hire company to support the demands for clean engine pumpsets on major projects stipulating Stage V. All the 200mm pumpsets have been designed and manufactured by DXB Pump & Power, the manufacturing division of the DXB Group that has supplied almost 150 Stage V pumpsets to GAP over the last 12 months, enabling them to make a huge impact in the UK’s water industry. Mark Anderson, GAP’s Managing Director for the North commented, “We have seen a good deal of trouble-free success with these 200mm pumpsets powered by Stage V engines, and by purchasing the existing DXBi 200mm fleet, it allows us to quickly fill the growing demand that may have been impacted by engine deliveries, which have always been challenging.” He continued “DXB have done well to supply us around 150 pumpsets this year whilst building their new factory at the same time, which we know was a major challenge in these economic conditions. This purchase enables us to keep driving forward aggressively whilst we wait for the next round of pumpsets which we should have in Q1 2023.” Simon Ruffles, Managing Director of DXB Integrate said “GAP Pump Services is now a major player in the UK pump industry, having only started in 2021, and this is great credit to Mark and his business for having the vision to see the environmental opportunity of Stage V, or electric dryprime pumpsets and committing to it so aggressively.” He continued, “GAP is now the leader in the market in terms of Stage V pumpsets by far and this investment works for both companies, allowing DXBi to focus on more niche market applications such as the high pressure quarrying or oil & gas applications, and the very challenging geotechnical markets where our most recent fleet investments have been made.”
A property maintenance company has had an ISO certificate reconfirmed after a recent audit. Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of Platform Housing Group – has passed an external audit for ISO 45001 by Direct Assessment Services – or DAS – a UKAS accredited certification body for international ISO standards. The company was originally awarded the certification in November 2019; this latest review means the certificate is now valid for the next three years. The audit – which took place between 23 and 26 September this year – covered a vast geographical area in Lincolnshire, from Grimsby to Skegness and beyond. ISO 45001 is the world’s international standard for occupational health and safety, issued to protect employees and visitors from work related accidents and diseases. Mark Lane, QESH Manager at Platform Property Care said : “It’s a true measure of a great team effort to achieve recertification of this internationally recognised standard; it demonstrates our ongoing commitment to all stakeholders and external regulators in relation to health and safety. For our many customers, it also gives reassurance that all our work will be undertaken safely with attention to detail. It places the customer at the very heart of what we do. We are justifiably proud to have been awarded this certification again.” The audit – which took place over a six day period – involved interviews with senior managers, lead engineers, service managers and trades people with 19 key people involved; nine workplace site inspections to observe safety working practices also took place. Preparation for the audit began in May 2022 and involved compiling appropriate policies, procedures and systems; the process looked at how Platform Property Care demonstrates compliance with the clauses of the ISO45001 standard and related evidence. Mark concluded : “This standards give assurance to the Board and the wider Platform Housing Group business, that Property Platform Care is a sector leading organisation. External audits give a completely impartial measure of a business and we are proud of our achievements. Our thanks and congratulations go to all those involved.” For further information please contact Mark Lane, QESH Manager at Platform Property Care on 01684 579398 or email him at mark.lane@platformhg.com. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Costain is partnering with Heathrow Airport to deliver its new investment programme, which will provide a step-change in the customer experience and transform the airport on its journey to become a net-zero aviation hub. As delivery partner, we will work with Heathrow throughout the project lifecycle to shape, create and deliver asset renewal and construction projects procured through the Terminal Asset Renewal Partner and Major Project Partner lots of the H7 framework. Costain has been awarded its first commission, early contractor involvement in the design phase of the upgrade of baggage handling facilities and systems at Terminal 2, via the Major Project Partner lot. Sue Kershaw, managing director for Transportation at Costain, said: “I am delighted that our construction, consulting and digital experts have been selected to help Heathrow transform its performance. Our integrated team will work closely with Heathrow to address the challenges of rebounding from COVID, transforming to a net-zero airport and attracting new customers and airlines to give passengers a world-class airport experience.” Our Heathrow team will work across the lifecycle of renewal and construction projects, implementing a systems approach to identify efficiencies, streamline the delivery of works and provide a blueprint for sustainable operations. We will play the role of integrator within an enterprise model, ensuring that the delivery and operation of new infrastructure meets the requirements of the customer, supply chain, operator and passenger. Included in the scope of works are: Leading the H7 contract for Costain is Andy Clarke, integrated transport director, who added: “We’ll use digital processes and systems, such as digital rehearsals and building information modelling, to enable cost and carbon savings during the design and delivery stages of both asset renewal and construction projects.” Heathrow’s Chief Solutions Officer Helen Elsby said: “We have bold plans to improve Heathrow over the next four years, making sure journeys are smooth, safe and reliable. We are pleased to appoint a range of excellent partners on the vital infrastructure upgrades that will underpin this, and will continue to work with our regulator on a deal that supports this important work. We’re pleased to welcome Costain back to Heathrow and to be working in partnership with them to improve passenger experience in the airport.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Dynamic Containment is making headlines in the field of batteries, but increasing the yield of the energy market is a much more important topic for investors. A speeding-up UK energy change is uplifting news for battery ventures. Inexhaustible targets are rising quickly. Coal, atomic and CCGT limit is resigning. The cold, low wind, and atomic blackouts have seen the network giving six power edge see across Winter 2020-21, with market cost signals answering appropriately. As sustainable volumes develop and firm limit resigns, there is set to be a primary expansion in these times of snugness, bringing about rising returns for adaptable resources. UK battery returns have been out of this world across the colder time of year, principally because of high incomes from the new Dynamic Containment (DC) recurrence reaction administration. In the present article, we take a gander at the elements set to disintegrate the DC party excitement. We likewise backtest battery gets back from wholesale & balancing markets and set out why this is a more significant story for battery financial backers. Dynamic containment is evolving National Grid presented another DC recurrence reaction administration in Q4 2020 which has considerably expanded UK battery incomes. Graph 1 shows Grid’s interest in this assistance (concealed in green – up to 1.4GW) which as of now altogether surpasses the battery limit ready to supply DC (the light blue line – around 0.7GW). Graph 1: Pricing & Volume of Dynamic Containment Source: National Grid ESO What might be compared to 150 £/kW/year in annualized income terms? DC incomes at these levels are altogether higher than both: Therefore it right now pays for battery administrators to concentrate on DC versus energy market choices, despite the fact that we are beginning to see more cross-market streamlining. Prior to dashing out to put resources into batteries to gather these profits, there are a few changes coming to the DC market that mean a lot to process. The network has hailed a bunch of DC rule acclimations to produce results from late this mid-year. These include: The point of these progressions is to boost battery administrators to offer the minimal expense of administration arrangement, better objective necessities, and lessen by and large expenses. Benchmarking battery revenue shows that the progressions will likewise reasonably drive more batteries into the energy market at night tops, which are for the most part a time of lower recurrence reaction interest, expanding cross-income stream enhancement. The auxiliary services party is beyond midnight Dynamic Containment is endorsing exceptionally sound battery returns in 2021. However, incomes at current levels are a transitory peculiarity. The rollout of the new battery limit in the UK is set to rapidly surpass Grid’s interest in DC administration services (which is probably going to remain somewhat steady). At the place of immersion, premium returns in the DC market will be disintegrated away and this is probably going to happen generally rapidly. There is as of now a little more than 1 GW of battery limit on the web. Another GW will go far to depleting the DC punch bowl. When DC immersion is reached, the evaluation of DC (and its cousin FFR) will be driven by the gamble-changed assumptions for incomes in the lot further energy market (for example discount and adjusting markets). This doesn’t imply that recurrence reaction incomes vanish out, however, they are set to be consigned to ‘side show’ status comparative with energy market returns in the income stack. The DC party might be seething right now, however, the shrewd financial backer cash is looking past DC to the discount and adjusting incomes that drive battery venture cases. So we should investigate how energy market incomes have been advancing behind the fervor of DC. Backtesting battery energy market incomes Graph 2 shows our examination of feasible battery incomes, expecting enhancement against verifiable wholesale and Balancing Mechanism (BM) costs across the most recent 5 years for a 90-minute length battery. Graph 2: Backtested battery energy market incomes (90-minute length) Source: Timera Energy This examination is run utilizing Timera’s stochastic battery dispatch advancement model. This model has upheld interest in many battery projects across Europe. Its remarkable component is it reproduces the viable dynamic interaction that a merchant faces while dispatching a battery (for example catching cost vulnerability and defective foreknowledge). We know this since we work straightforwardly with a few exchanging work areas dispatching batteries. The backtesting investigation includes improving the dispatch of the battery against authentic costs. Our methodology successively ventures through Day-Ahead, Within-Day, and BM optimization (plus the last re-advancement following BM dispatch). At each moment, choices are made in view of accessible market data (flawed premonition). The most frequently cited authentic benchmark for high adaptable resource edges is Winter 2016-17, driven by French atomic blackouts. 2018-19 was a more troublesome period for flex resource returns in the UK, with warm and blustery circumstances and a hearty limit-hold edge. Battery incomes rose altogether in 2020 and have been fundamentally higher across Winter 2020-21, outperforming levels of Winter 2016-17. As a benchmark, battery energy edge found the middle value of 6.8 £/kW/month in Q1 2021 (82 £/kW/year on an annualized premise). This mirrors the fixing UK market balance (with the conclusion and retiring of coal, CCGT, and atomic plants) as well as a quickly rising infiltration of renewables. These patterns are set to characterize the development of the UK power market for a long time to come. DC is getting battery titles in 2021, however, fundamentally expanding energy market returns is a significantly more significant story for financial backers. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
