One of the UK’s leading green construction companies is celebrating after recording its most successful business year to-date. Dura Products, which manufactures sustainable road kerbs and drainage solutions using recycled polymers, has sold over 100,000 units (over 50km) of Durakerb & Duradrain during the past year, up by almost 70%
London based metal window refurbishment specialist, Associated Steel Window Services (ASWS) has successfully completed two very demanding phases of work in refurbishing the exterior facades to the ASOS premises in Watford; renewing a past working relationship with main contractor ISG, while demonstrating its ability to embrace contemporary contracting techniques as
Developer Richardson Barberry today announced it has secured detailed planning consent for a £100 million development of eight warehouse units at a major North East business park. Durham County Council has approved the company’s plans for the first phase development of 830,500 sq ft of warehouse/logistics space on 42-acres of
Construction materials supplier Euroform has introduced a new direct render base board called Versarend®. An A1 non-combustible exterior grade board, Versarend® is cement based yet light weight with ‘score and snap’ workability, so is quick to install. Already tested with a range of polymeric renders, Versarend® has been tested by
Sainsbury’s has put forward plans to build a new store in Arborfield Green as part of a development plan for the Berkshire village. The proposal has been made as part of the development of the new district centre in Arborfield Green. The supermarket has said it plans to open a
A public consultation has launched over proposals outlining investment plans in and around Gorton District Centre. Manchester City Council has developed an initial strategy for the areas in Gorton and Belle Vue that highlights potential new public spaces, homes and employment opportunities. It is these early ideas that are open
Galliford Try has teamed up with Siemens to accelerate the integration of digital technologies across the lifecycle of water and wastewater projects. The new model brings together the companies’ complementary solutions and expertise in the water sector to help water companies meet the regulatory, environmental and operational pressures in modernising
Plans to develop a new secondary school fin the Burgess Hill area have been approved. West Sussex County Council and co-applicant Homes England’s plans to create a zero-carbon school were approval by Mid Sussex District Council’s planning committee on 15 December 2022. Committee members praised the ‘excellent’ and ‘unique’ designs
One of the UK’s leading green construction companies is celebrating after recording its most successful business year to-date. Dura Products, which manufactures sustainable road kerbs and drainage solutions using recycled polymers, has sold over 100,000 units (over 50km) of Durakerb & Duradrain during the past year, up by almost 70% on 2021 figures. This follows on from a sustained period of growth in 2020, during which the business grew by over 60%. Sustainability has never been more important in the construction industry. With the UK now committed to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, fundamental changes are required to the way we live and work, particularly in construction. The built environment currently accounts for around 33% of carbon emissions in the UK, meaning actions taken by the sector make a big difference to the outcome. As a result, demand for Dura Product’s solutions in 2022 has been significant. In the UK alone, the business has supplied many innovative and game changing projects like the McDonald’s drive-thru in Market Drayton, Shropshire, the UK’s first net zero restaurant. More than 500 metres of the eco-friendly Durakerb was supplied around the drive-thru and customer parking areas. Duradrain, the company’s pioneering kerbside drainage product, was also recently installed at the UK’s largest drive-thru of Canadian donut chain Tim Hortons, in Trafford Park, Greater Manchester. The installation has helped towards Tim Horton’s sustainability strategy, in which it claims to have “an obligation to address climate change head on”. In addition, 2,680 metres of Duradrain, has been installed by UK infrastructure contractor, Colas, for its latest highways project on the A46 at Stoneleigh, reducing scope 3 Co2e emissions by over 82,000kg. This involves the construction of a new bridge over the A46, and the realignment of slip roads to form the basis of a new gyratory system, which will reduce delays and improve road safety in the future. Commenting on the success of the business in the UK, Dura Products Managing Director, Steve Bennett said: “We are delighted with the way the company has performed this year. There has been a noticeable shift towards green construction over the past few years and this has been reflected in sales of our sustainable solutions. We are very much looking forward to seeing what 2023 brings.” Outside of the UK, Dura Products has also been very active driving sustainable construction in Europe. 12 countries now enjoy the widespread benefits of Duradrain – which comprises 70% recycled material in every 500mm unit – including the UK and Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Hungary, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Romania. Notable installations include the biggest single infrastructural investment ever undertaken in County Mayo, Ireland. The 20.3km dual carriageway formed part of Wills Bam JV’s €241 million N5 upgrade project. Meanwhile, in Landgraaf, Netherlands, Dura Products’ solutions were used to install a safe cycle lane running adjacent to a key stretch of road. The company has also recently partnered with MY Plast, a specialist high tech manufacturer operating in Romania to produce, stock and deliver the combined kerb and drainage system across mainland Europe and Ireland. Sales within the EU now account for up to 50% of all sales, and with a centrally located factory, the company is ideally set-up to support new projects within Europe and further afield. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
London based metal window refurbishment specialist, Associated Steel Window Services (ASWS) has successfully completed two very demanding phases of work in refurbishing the exterior facades to the ASOS premises in Watford; renewing a past working relationship with main contractor ISG, while demonstrating its ability to embrace contemporary contracting techniques as well as traditional trade skills. The property, which dates from late 1990’s, not only required re-glazing and extensive mastic renewal and replacement to its original aluminium curtain walling system, but the articulated, stepped and brise soliel structure also presented real logistical challenges for ASWS, in terms of access and the very tight programme timetable. Initially, ASWS was engaged to carry out a full survey of the property’s curtain walling, to determine its general condition, highlighting specific areas of damage and deterioration, as well as any glazing units which might require replacement. This included a full external survey using MEWPS and photography. The company was then awarded the contract for the first phase of work under competitive tender, which addressed the whole building envelope across all elevations and roof works. Its team of twelve highly experienced operatives then proceeded to carry out the repairs utilising half a dozen different types of access equipment, including scissor lifts, HGV mounted Broncos and other types of MEWPS, including the specialist Spider equipment, which is designed to work at extreme heights in narrow areas that normal access equipment wouldn’t be able to operate in. This required the ASWS team to be specifically trained in IPAF 1b to be able to operate the spiders. The largest IG unit fitted was a 3m long by 2m high, weighing over 300kg. Kris Bennell, Contracts Director for ASWS, explained: “Aside from having carried out past projects for ISG, we were awarded the ASOS contract on the basis of our overall capabilities and being able to show the ability to work in challenging circumstances as well as to tight programmes. “While we have extensive experience of renovating different types of metal window – from the earliest wrought iron and steel windows, through to contemporary aluminium systems – access issues were a major element to this job: involving getting to different heights, dealing with the variable ground conditions, the various weights of machine, and employing crane mounted glazing machines. Not only that the job was completed over one of the coldest winters in recent memory! We are delighted to say that the project was completed on time and practical completion was achieved by our client.” The Project Manager for ISG, Dragos Caraimaneanu commented: “This was a very demanding job where we were completing the full Cat. A and Cat. B fit out on behalf of ASOS. Despite the difficulties ASWS performed very well, even repairing and reglazing an extremely large window that was broken. The client was also very happy with the results.” ASWS was duly awarded the second phase of the project a year later, which addressed the next building that ASOS took possession of next door in Leavesden Park. ASWS has since gone on to win other work with ISG. And elsewhere across the country, the company has continued to carry out a diverse range of work for both private and commercial clients: much of it involving the detailed repair or installation of new traditional style steel windows. For more information on ASWS, please visit asws.co.uk. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Developer Richardson Barberry today announced it has secured detailed planning consent for a £100 million development of eight warehouse units at a major North East business park. Durham County Council has approved the company’s plans for the first phase development of 830,500 sq ft of warehouse/logistics space on 42-acres of the 116-acre site at Forrest Park. Earthworks/construction is expected to begin on site in 2023. Forrest Park (Newton Aycliffe) Limited, a joint venture by Durham County Council and local landowners the Forrest family, has signed a development agreement with Richardson Barberry. The ambition is that, over the next 10 years, the park will provide 1.8 million sq ft of industrial space and create more than 3,000 jobs, boosting County Durham’s economy by almost half a billion pounds. Overall, the development will extend Aycliffe Business Park to become the largest in the North East and will accommodate a range of business, industrial, warehouse and trade units, roadside restaurant and retail space next to the A1(M). Jonathan Robinson, Barberry Industrial development director, said: “Our Phase 1 Reserved Matters planning consent marks a major step forward for what is a hugely important development for the region. We are excited at the prospect of starting work soon to deliver one of the North East’s premier business parks, which will stimulate economic growth and create thousands of new jobs. We are speaking with several occupiers who are interested in the scheme and hope to announce some more good news during 2023.” He added: “Forrest Park is a highly attractive location for a range of major businesses. £13 million of infrastructure has been installed on the site, including 24 MVA substation and utility connections, and a new signalised junction providing access to and from the rest of Aycliffe Business Park and the A1(M). The first eight units will be available in a wide range of sizes, from around 37,000 sq ft to 260,000 sq ft. We’ve already had interest from local, regional, national and international occupiers in this prominent, motorway-connected, serviced and consented site. It is oven-ready for development and has access to an excellent, skilled labour demographic.” Mark Watkins, representing the Richardson family, said: “Forrest Park is part of the council’s long-term ambitions to create a thriving environment for businesses and investors to develop and grow while creating and safeguarding more and better jobs. This will also be crucial to the county’s economic recovery from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It is great to be on the brink of finally getting started on this exciting development.” A roadside retail development by Euro Garages, including a petrol filling station, a convenience store and a KFC drive-thru restaurant, has already been built on the first plot at the site. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Construction materials supplier Euroform has introduced a new direct render base board called Versarend®. An A1 non-combustible exterior grade board, Versarend® is cement based yet light weight with ‘score and snap’ workability, so is quick to install. Already tested with a range of polymeric renders, Versarend® has been tested by a number of leading render system suppliers. Versarend® has achieved A1 Euroclass reaction to fire classification, making it suitable for a direct render carrier board where a non-combustible façade is required, providing all other components are non-combustible, says Euroform. It is UKCA marked according to BS EN 12467:2012+A2:2018 ‘fibre cement flat sheets’ “Versarend® is particularly innovative, because it can easily be cut with a utility knife and snapped to size without the requirement for power tools as is usually the case with traditional render base boards, thereby minimising dust and noise, and greatly increasing speed of installation,” said Roland Culverhouse, technical product manager at Euroform. Versarend® is manufactured via a unique process combining Ordinary Portland Cement and a reinforcing matrix that enhances the workability and handling properties over traditional fibre cement boards. It is a 12mm board in sheet size of 2400 x 1200 that is compatible with standard stud spacings/layout. Versarend® is highly moisture tolerant and will not rot or degrade. For technical data visit https://www.euroform.co.uk/ Euroform has been developing, fabricating and supplying materials for the construction industry since 1995. Euroform specialises in ensuring fire and thermal compliance across its product range. Each product is supported by an experienced and knowledgeable technical team to provide advice and guidance. Based at Warrington, Euroform is part of Performance Technology Group an SIG Trading Ltd group of companies specialising in supporting the construction industry to meet acoustic, fire, thermal and vibration challenges. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Sainsbury’s has put forward plans to build a new store in Arborfield Green as part of a development plan for the Berkshire village. The proposal has been made as part of the development of the new district centre in Arborfield Green. The supermarket has said it plans to open a ‘neighbourhood hub’ store, which would be a larger version of its convenience stores. It will create 40 jobs in the area and offer a click-and-collect service for customers. “The store would form part of the district centre off Nine Mile Ride Extension, which we’ve awarded outline planning permission and are now awaiting a more detailed submission from developer Crest Nicholson. The development is required to include this, which we imposed to ensure residents are served by high-quality infrastructure alongside new housing which the Government requires us to take,” said the Wokingham Borough Council. “We welcome Sainsbury’s news as it shows the financial uncertainty caused by coronavirus and Brexit, which is why the district centre has been delayed, is improving. Further details will come through a separate planning application.” Crest Nicholson exhibited revised plans for Arborfield Green’s district centre and is now seeking people’s feedback before it submits a planning application to the council. The plans include a supermarket, smaller shops, a square, a community centre, a pub and green space and allotments. Since the plans were first put forward the developer has proposed a different layout and new pedestrian areas. The plan is running behind schedule due to the coronavirus pandemic. The council has apologised to residents for the delay. It said: “We know there’s been frustration at how long this has taken, so we’ve met Crest to discuss these delays and will be pressing them to move as quickly as possible. This project fell behind schedule, in part, due to reasons beyond the developer’s control. The coronavirus pandemic made retailers reluctant to open stores so it was very hard to attract interest from supermarkets. “Without an ‘anchor’ tenant to attract others, which was also partly down to Brexit, the scheme was unviable for a while. Government guidelines require us to be fair so we didn’t take any further action. However, as time moves on and the national situation improves, we’ll stay in touch with Crest to ensure there are no unnecessary delays.” Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A public consultation has launched over proposals outlining investment plans in and around Gorton District Centre. Manchester City Council has developed an initial strategy for the areas in Gorton and Belle Vue that highlights potential new public spaces, homes and employment opportunities. It is these early ideas that are open to consultation to gather vital feedback from the people who live, work and use the areas daily. “Gorton has seen some really exciting investment in recent years from the Belle Vue Sports Village, the recent opening of the Gorton Hub and the new Coop Academy school that will open soon. We have an opportunity to capitalise on this momentum and develop an ambitious plan for the local area – creating a district centre that can help the area to meet its potential,” said Cllr Gavin White, Manchester City Council’s executive member for housing and development. “This consultation gives local people a general flavour of the kind of investment we want to make in their community – but the feedback we get from local people will help us guide the development as plans progress. As ever, I would urge as many people as possible who live in, work at or shop in the district centre to give us your thoughts. As someone who uses the area daily your insight is invaluable.” What the proposals want to achieve: • Make the centre greener, including quality green space and tree planting Create a more attractive local area that is comfortable and attractive to spend time in • Support new events and activities to attract people to visit in the evenings and weekendsCreate a new heart of the community, delivering a new civic square and public realm • Deliver new mixed tenures homes to match local housing demand (including affordable housing such as Social Rent and Shared Ownership) • Make the centre more accessible by safe walking and cycling • Encourage a broader mix of uses that will attract different communities and age groups. There has been some high-quality investment in the Gorton neighbourhood in recent years and the intention is to ensure that the District Centre is a destination of choice for local people, which is also well-connected to the wider area. • Improve the transport links to fantastic community facilities, including Gorton Hub, Belle Vue Sports Village, Gorton Youth Zone, and the New Co-op Academy • Better walking and cycling routes to local green spaces, including Debdale Park, Gore Brook Valley and Fallowfield Loop. • Focusing on key locations for improvement that cover (from west to east) Belle Vue Station, Gorton Hub, Garratt Way (including market and former library), Wellington Street crossroad and Chapman Street crossroad • Particular focus on Garratt Way as the focal point for the district centre Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Galliford Try has teamed up with Siemens to accelerate the integration of digital technologies across the lifecycle of water and wastewater projects. The new model brings together the companies’ complementary solutions and expertise in the water sector to help water companies meet the regulatory, environmental and operational pressures in modernising their infrastructure while reducing time, cost, risk and carbon. The joint digital tools and sector experience will help water companies solve a range of challenges, such as the ability to identify potential blockages in sewer networks, improve operational efficiency of treatment works and become a net zero industry by 2030. Due to the early collaboration between Siemens and Galliford Try in advance of future projects, the partnership is estimated to speed up delivery of new tech enabled infrastructure developments significantly. The partnership will focus on three use cases. Firstly, it will enable optimisation of the wastewater treatment process using mechanistic digital twin technology. The solution optimises energy by up to 20%. It operates in real-time with integration of the control system, or offline and the solution can be offered to support a specific project or offered as a service integrated with sensor and model management. The second use case reduces storm overflows and pollution incidents. The end-to-end solution, from sensor installation to an application, uses artificial intelligence (AI) to find nine in 10 blockages and automates reporting of overflows in real-time. This is coupled with the opportunity for a UK company to be the first to deploy a proven solution, already operational globally, for catchment level integrated control that reduces overflow volumes from existing infrastructure by 80% in light rain and 19% in heavy rain. The third use case focuses on reducing the risk and maintenance of sewage pumping stations. This retrofit solution for pumping stations reduces pump blockages by 80% and improves pump performance and risk. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Plans to develop a new secondary school fin the Burgess Hill area have been approved. West Sussex County Council and co-applicant Homes England’s plans to create a zero-carbon school were approval by Mid Sussex District Council’s planning committee on 15 December 2022. Committee members praised the ‘excellent’ and ‘unique’ designs before voting unanimously in favour. The ambitious design will allow the school to generate its own renewable energy on site without using any fossil fuels. It aims to be the first school in West Sussex to achieve Passivhaus certification, the highest standard of energy efficiency a building can reach, and offer excellent educational facilities to 900 local children. The school will be created at Homes England’s new Brookleigh development near Burgess Hill to provide a high-quality education to families of the 3,500 homes and the surrounding area. “Planning approval marks a major milestone in our ambition to create an environmentally-friendly and high-quality new secondary school in Mid Sussex. It is uniquely designed to achieve Passivhaus certification and lead the way in energy efficiency. In addition, Brookleigh families will be able to walk or cycle to their new place of education, again demonstrating the County Council’s commitment to significantly reducing carbon emissions as part of our Climate Change Strategy. By creating this modern and high standard school, we are investing in our children’s future and in the long-term future of our county,” said Nigel Jupp, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Learning and Skills. West Sussex County Council has approved capital funding of £57.060m to build the secondary school, making it the largest capital project the council has delivered. This includes a £18.159m contribution from Homes England as part of the overall development. The new secondary school is being delivered through the County Council’s multi-disciplinary consultancy partnership with Faithful+Gould, with Atkins and Cundalls leading on the design. The school will include a Special Support Centre enabling children with special educational needs and disabilities to be supported to learn in a mainstream school. Net-zero in operation, the building has energy efficiency at the heart of every area of its design. Its position will provide maximum sunlight to nearly 1,000 solar photovoltaic panels generating an estimated 296,000 kWh of energy a year. The LED lighting will be controlled automatically by daylight and movement detection. The main building will have fresh air ventilation, keeping the school a comfortable temperature, even in extreme heat. “This is a really positive step forward for the proposed school which has been designed to promote well-being and educational attainment for all learners who use the building and create a project with a low environmental impact,” concluded Richard Christmas, lead designer at Atkins. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
