April 12, 2023
Bentley Education Announces Winner of Enactus iTwin4Good Challenge

Bentley Education Announces Winner of Enactus iTwin4Good Challenge

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced the winner of Bentley Education’s iTwin4Good Challenge. Organized in partnership with international nonprofit organization Enactus, the iTwin4Good Challenge saw university students in the United Kingdom combine creativity and software development abilities with their passion for environmental and social action to

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TradeKart app delivers materials to site in just two hours

TradeKart app delivers materials to site in just two hours

A new app can deliver more than 40,000 decorating, plumbing, heating, electrical and general building products to tradespeople’s doors in just two hours, with the average delivery time in central London being 57 minutes.  The TradeKart app was launched in December 2021, with a mission to bring convenience and flexibility

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ECOPact Prime AS Named Product Innovation of the Year at edie Awards

ECOPact Prime AS Named Product Innovation of the Year at edie Awards

Aggregate Industries is proud to announce that its market-leading carbon-saving concrete, ECOPact Prime AS, has been named Product Innovation of the Year at the 16th edie Awards, held Thursday 30th March at the iconic Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London hotel. ECOPact Prime AS is the latest addition to Aggregate Industries’

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Why the UK should be investing in SuDS

Why the UK should be investing in SuDS

With an increase in the built urban environment over the UK and plans to build 300,000 new homes every year, the permeable land across the country is diminishing, meaning surface runoff water is overwhelming drainage pipes. What, if anything, can new homes and commercial property developers, local authorities, and planners

Read More »
Actis joins LABC technical roadshow gang to share CPD nuggets

Actis joins LABC technical roadshow gang to share CPD nuggets

Nuggets from a RIBA-approved CPD on changes to Part L will be shared with West Midlands builders, specifiers, building control officers and architects attending LABC’s virtual regional roadshow next week. A mini version of the RIBA-approved Tomorrow’s Insulation Solutions for Future Homes Standards CPD, which covers part L, will be

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Cruden Group begins work on 120 new homes in East Calder

Cruden Group begins work on 120 new homes in East Calder

Cruden Homes, part of the Cruden Group, has started working to deliver more than 120 homes in the heart of East Calder in West Lothian. The new development forms part of a wider masterplan at Raw Holdings which will see a total of 300 new homes created. The development, named Wellwater Grove, is

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Caddick wins Lancaster extra care homes contract

Caddick wins Lancaster extra care homes contract

Caddick Construction has scooped a £23 million contract to deliver Lancaster’s first extra care facility on behalf of Progress Housing Group. Groundwork has now begun on site with completion due in May 2025. Building on Caddick’s existing healthcare portfolio, this development will boost the provision of specialist residential care for

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Latest Issue
Issue 322 : Nov 2024

April 12, 2023

Bentley Education Announces Winner of Enactus iTwin4Good Challenge

Bentley Education Announces Winner of Enactus iTwin4Good Challenge

Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the infrastructure engineering software company, today announced the winner of Bentley Education’s iTwin4Good Challenge. Organized in partnership with international nonprofit organization Enactus, the iTwin4Good Challenge saw university students in the United Kingdom combine creativity and software development abilities with their passion for environmental and social action to create infrastructure digital twins that addressed a particular need within their local community. The contest involved 44 students from 18 universities competing to address UN Sustainable Development Goals, such as affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action, using the Bentley iTwin Platform. Announced at the Enactus National Expo at the ExCel London, the winner of the 2023 Bentley iTwin4Good challenge is: The Rubbish Group, Loughborough University The Rubbish Group aimed to reduce littering around Loughborough University’s campus by enabling students to report where litter has been dropped using an interactive mobile app. The app is paired with a digital twin of the campus, allowing litter reports to be mapped to their specific location. The concentration of reports will be logged using a heat map feature that will show the university site team where more litter bins are needed. Over time, an accurate representation of the campus, and where the most litter is dropped, will be provided. The application addressed three main Sustainable Development Goals: good health and well-being, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action. Runner-up: Peaky Ducks, Universities of Southampton, Hertfordshire, Greenwich and Hull The Peaky Ducks aimed to create a smart heating sensor and integrate it into the Bentley iTwin Platform. The project would reduce energy consumption by optimizing heating systems using smart sensors and machine learning algorithms to analyze temperature, humidity, and other environmental factors. The goal of the project is to develop efficient and cost-effective heating systems while reducing energy consumption, ultimately lowering greenhouse gas emissions. Zeljko Djuretic, head of Bentley Education, said, “We want university students to learn more about the infrastructure engineering solutions of the future while solving issues that affect the planet today. Not only have these students shown incredible creativity, but they have also produced genuine solutions that could have a real impact in meeting sustainable development goals. What’s more, by producing their own infrastructure digital twins, these students will have a real advantage when they enter the engineering workforce.” Katriona Lord-Levins, Chief Success Officer, Bentley Systems, said, “Bentley Education programs are designed to help students discover a career in infrastructure and bridge the digital skills gap for organizations. Among engineering businesses in the U.K., 49% are currently experiencing difficulties recruiting workers with the skills they need, contributing to an annual shortfall of GBP 1.5 billion to the U.K.’s economy. Bentley addresses this challenge by building a talent pipeline that gives students the skills and experiences they need for future careers in building the world’s infrastructure. iTwin4Good is one example of how Bentley is using thought-provoking contests, challenges, and hackathons to put cutting-edge technology into the hands of future AEC professionals.”  Enactus is the U.K.’s leading charity using social youth and youth social enterprise that supports thousands of students across the country, delivering hundreds of projects that promote social impact. Last academic year, Enactus worked with 60 teams across the country, delivering over 230 projects created and managed by over 3,500 students. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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TradeKart app delivers materials to site in just two hours

TradeKart app delivers materials to site in just two hours

A new app can deliver more than 40,000 decorating, plumbing, heating, electrical and general building products to tradespeople’s doors in just two hours, with the average delivery time in central London being 57 minutes.  The TradeKart app was launched in December 2021, with a mission to bring convenience and flexibility to tradespeople by making it easier to order from local builders’ merchants in their area. Just over one year on, TradeKart can now deliver to more than 900 postcodes throughout north and Central London, with more being added all the time.  The rapid delivery app for tradespeople was founded by Alistair McAuley, previously Managing Director at AkzoNobel. He started TradeKart to give tradespeople back their valuable time, while also offering local merchants a valuable last-mile delivery solution to attract new customers and delight existing ones. Alistair explains: “Tradespeople lose an average of 3-4 hours each week from having to leave the site to collect materials. That’s a staggering two days every month and a huge financial and time cost. Working closely with a number of contractors, TradeKart has been able to help them reduce the cost of getting materials to site by 80%, saving them each more than £50,000 a year.   “We’re passionate about supporting the thriving building and trade communities right across the UK. That’s why we created TradeKart, to follow in the footsteps of other well-known delivery apps that offer convenience and flexibility. TradeKart is our opportunity to take the hassle out of collecting materials, giving tradespeople back that all-important gift of time.” TradeKart is partnering with local merchants including MP Moran, London Decorators Merchants, Paint Centre, Topdec Decorating Supplies, Nicholls & Clarke and Paint Stop. Through the app, tradespeople get to see live stock availability with access to competitive trade prices across all major brands.  To use TradeKart, simply download the app for free and create an account, then the app will connect you with available local merchants in your area. You simply choose the products you need, then select a convenient delivery slot from within the next two hours if you need the items in a hurry, right through to the following week.  A flat £5 fee is charged for every delivery and, once payment is made, the order is sent straight to the merchant to prepare the items for dispatch. A TradeKart delivery driver will then bring the products directly to your door, with the app allowing you to follow the delivery’s progress in real time. “I use TradeKart for all of my orders. It’s so quick and simple and it saves me so much time. It’s brilliant…my last order arrived in 25 minutes!”, says Nick Dean of InsideOut Decorating. TradeKart is compatible with both iOS and Android devices and can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play. For more information, or to find out if TradeKart delivers in your area, visit www.tradekart.com Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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Digital innovations and A.I. to provide important improvement for site safety

Digital innovations and A.I. to provide important improvement for site safety

The installation of innovative digital safety features on BCS Group’s latest excavators will significantly reduce risk for personnel approaching plant on site. The construction and safety equipment specialist, which is part of the Barhale group of companies, has installed human form recognition cameras and a Digital Thumbs Up system on six new Kubota KX030s, ten Kubota KX060s and a further ten Kubota KX080s diggers. The digital technologies have been developed by artificial intelligence, autonomous, robotic and environmental solutions business Safety Shield Global. The human form recognition uses artificial intelligence to identify when a person has stepped into an unsafe area around a machine, providing an audible alert to the person in the zone and also to the driver. The system has the capacity to report incidents by type and frequency. The data can then be used to help improve safety behaviours on site. Digital Thumbs Up combines visual and audible signals to let machine drivers/operators advise other personnel wishing to approach their machines know when it is safe to do so. It follows the principles of the established Thumbs Up procedure used across construction but takes it to the next level through the use of unambiguous LED and sonic indicators. Utilising the new system, when a site user wants to approach a machine, they will give a thumbs-up to the operator. Once the operator has seen the thumbs-up signal, they will bring the machine to a controlled stop and will then press the in-cab ‘Thumbs Up’ button to isolate the machine’s controls – effectively disabling it. The digital shield will then display a thumbs-up to show it is safe to approach the machine along the recognised corridor in line with the Thumbs Up procedure. Steve Day, Head of Hire at BCS believes the human form recognition cameras and Digital Thumbs Up system will make an important contribution to site safety. “The Kubota mini-diggers are often employed on quite constrained sites where teams can be working in close proximity so we are always looking out for new measures that can enhance site safety,” he said. “We have been very impressed by both the human form recognition and Digital Thumbs Up systems. They are simple and straightforward and build on the established and familiar Thumbs Up procedure used by all our personnel already.” Dave Lally, Operations Director at Barhale said: “We believe this AI technology will benefit sites and personnel by ensuring the people/plant interface is managed in the safest possible way. “The system will also give us insight into people’s behaviours, opening the door for further improvements in site safety and process. Adopting this kit on both new and existing machinery puts BCS right at the forefront of plant safety and will give our clients the additional peace of mind of knowing we are taking wellbeing to the next level.” BCS Group worked with Leicester based, BTE Plant Sales to arrange the installation. BTE Area Sales Manager, Josh Elliot “It is an exciting time for BCS Group and we are proud to be able to work alongside them and supply the UK’s market-leading excavators. Kubota’s reliability and ease of use, coupled with a new safety system, the Digital Thumbs Up, demonstrates BCS Group’s willingness to put safety at the forefront of their projects, both for site operatives and machine operators. We want to thank BCS Group for their continued business and look forward to supporting them into the future.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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ECOPact Prime AS Named Product Innovation of the Year at edie Awards

ECOPact Prime AS Named Product Innovation of the Year at edie Awards

Aggregate Industries is proud to announce that its market-leading carbon-saving concrete, ECOPact Prime AS, has been named Product Innovation of the Year at the 16th edie Awards, held Thursday 30th March at the iconic Park Plaza Westminster Bridge London hotel. ECOPact Prime AS is the latest addition to Aggregate Industries’ low carbon concrete product range – a unique active setting, carbon-saving concrete with enhanced carbon reduction. Launched in 2022, it is the UK’s first concrete to offer high levels of carbon reduction without compromising on performance, offering over 50% carbon reduction compared with industry standard Portland cement CEMI solution. Both Aggregate Industries and colleagues from Holcim were present to accept the award. Lee Sleight, Managing Director for Aggregate Industries Ready Mixed Concrete Division comments: “With concrete being the second most used resource after water, getting the concrete industry to net zero is vital in supporting global climate change commitments. To this end, we have invested heavily in a range of low-carbon solutions that assist in meeting the sustainability goals of the construction industry. “The most recent of these solutions is ECOPact Prime AS, giving the industry a much lower carbon alternative to standard concrete. Seeing this latest innovation of ours recognised within the edie Awards’ coveted product innovation category validates the endeavours of all at Aggregate Industries who have been involved in its development. I would like to say a big thank you to the judges; the recognition means a great deal to our people and strengthens our firm desire to embed sustainability in the future of construction.” The edie Awards are the world’s largest sustainable business awards scheme. They showcase excellence across the spectrum of green businesses, from the most ambitious net-zero carbon programmes through to cutting-edge green innovations. The edie Awards judges said of ECOPact Prime AS: “This is what sustainability innovation is all about. The product shows great potential to reduce emissions in the cement industry, and the initial results are promising. If scaled up, this innovation could be a real gamechanger on the path to a net-zero construction sector.” ECOPact Prime AS – as with other ECOPact products before it – is already helping to reduce the carbon footprint of projects in which it is used, delivering greater carbon reduction with the same setting time, plus active development of compressive strength to support carbon reduction objectives in the construction industry. For more information on ECOPact Prime AS or to find out about the technical and dedicated support available to ensure the provided solution meets the necessary industry standards, requirements and schedule, visit www.aggregate.com/ecopact. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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Why the UK should be investing in SuDS

Why the UK should be investing in SuDS

With an increase in the built urban environment over the UK and plans to build 300,000 new homes every year, the permeable land across the country is diminishing, meaning surface runoff water is overwhelming drainage pipes. What, if anything, can new homes and commercial property developers, local authorities, and planners be putting in place to alleviate the strain? Here Raj Somal, Director at the sustainable engineering consultancy, Dice, explores why the UK needs to invest in SuDS. Over the last six years there has been considerable investment in protecting property from the risk of flooding. Government investment between 2015 – 2021 of £2.6 billion has seen over 314,000 homes become better protected with more than 850 new flood and coastal erosion defence projects completed. It’s suggested that this work is estimated to have reduced national flood risk by five percent. But for homeowners living in at risk areas, does this offer enough reassurance that the issue of flooding is being taken as seriously as it should? And is investing in SuDS, Sustainable Drainage Systems, the way we should be going? SuDS mimic natural water systems and are an efficient way to manage surface water drainage.  Here at Dice, we’re committed to the UK investment in SuDS. SuDS are designed with four key components in mind – water quality, water quantity, amenity, and biodiversity.  By designing SuDS which follow these four pillars, they will effectively be used to control, absorb, and treat surface runoff. They are specifically designed to not cause an eyesore to the area, and are integrated through strategic development and planning into the local landscape.  SuDS can be underground and overground, but it’s those on the surface which provide the most opportunity and benefits for treating surface runoff within the built environment.  There are several different types of SuDS which are slowly being implemented across the UK, for both larger and smaller scale projects.  For example, detention basins are storage basins covered in vegetation to capture and store run-off which is then slowly discharged via a restricted outfall, reducing the impact on drainage features downstream.  On a smaller scale, swales are shallow, flat bottomed, vegetated open channels designed to convey, treat, and often attenuate surface water runoff. But why do these urban drainage systems need to be as sustainable as possible? We recognise the importance of protecting our natural environment, and it is becoming increasingly obvious that the UK must protect its existing resources.  One of which is water. Implementing SuDS into the UK’s built environment will allow us to truly make the most of surface water run-off which would otherwise be wasted. SuDS offer great advantages to the local landscape, vegetation, and wildlife, whilst also helping to reduce the impact of ever growing concerns of flooding. .  SuDS can provide better quality spaces to the newly built environment whilst simultaneously being advantageous for the climate and biodiversity of the UK by managing, absorbing and controlling water surface run-off.  Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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Actis joins LABC technical roadshow gang to share CPD nuggets

Actis joins LABC technical roadshow gang to share CPD nuggets

Nuggets from a RIBA-approved CPD on changes to Part L will be shared with West Midlands builders, specifiers, building control officers and architects attending LABC’s virtual regional roadshow next week. A mini version of the RIBA-approved Tomorrow’s Insulation Solutions for Future Homes Standards CPD, which covers part L, will be presented by one of the Actis regional specification team at the monthly LABC technical seminar on Wednesday April 19. The event, aimed at LABC members in the West Midlands, is the latest of LABC’s monthly informative sessions, which are a mixture of face-to-face and virtual activities. This is the fifth year in a row in which Actis is working with LABC as a CPD partner. Delegates drawn from building, specification, building control and architecture backgrounds will be treated to a selection of modules which between them will offer two hours of CPD training. The face-to-face options equate to three and a half hours of CPD training. Actis, along with LABC’s other CPD partners, will each offer 20 minutes of insight into a specific technical issue and a proposed solution designed to educate and inform delegates. Actis’ contribution will focus on insulation to meet the new tighter Building Regulations Part L requirements, while other experts will talk on issues such as warranty defects. The free seminar will also see LABC looking at the latest building regulations news. The roadshows are aimed at helping other industry members gain greater insight into issues affecting the construction sector, with the Actis component focusing on thermal efficiency. The Zoom doors open at 11am and close at 1pm. Reserve your place here. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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Cruden Group begins work on 120 new homes in East Calder

Cruden Group begins work on 120 new homes in East Calder

Cruden Homes, part of the Cruden Group, has started working to deliver more than 120 homes in the heart of East Calder in West Lothian. The new development forms part of a wider masterplan at Raw Holdings which will see a total of 300 new homes created. The development, named Wellwater Grove, is positioned near East Calder Main Street and in close proximity to local schools, leisure facilities, shops, Almondell & Calderwood Country Park and the award-winning contemporary garden, Jupiter Artland.   Situated just two miles east of Livingston, the development benefits from excellent commuter links with Edinburgh, which is less than a 30-minute drive away, with Glasgow just a 40-minute drive away. Cruden Homes is building 45 new homes for private sale and a further 75 affordable homes on behalf of Link Housing – incorporating 42 homes for social rent and 33 for mid-market rent.  Designed by EMA Architects, the development will feature a variety of affordable house types, including one- and two-bedroom cottage flats, two bedroom bungalows, two and three bedroom terraced houses and three bedroom semi-detached houses.  The new private homes will comprise three bedroom semi-detached and four-bedroom detached houses. The detached homes all have ensuites and integrated garages. The show home for the development is expected to launch this summer and the first phase of homes will be completed in autumn this year.  Fraser Lynes, Managing Director of Cruden Homes said: “Wellwater Grove is an exciting addition to the area, bringing 120 much needed mixed tenure high quality and energy-efficient new homes to East Calder. The development is ideally positioned with excellent commuter links and a host of amenities on the doorstep.  The masterplan will also create significant areas of open space, improved cycle routes and improved connections to the wider area.”     Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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Cornish construction consultancy helping young people begin their construction career

Cornish construction consultancy helping young people begin their construction career

A Cornish construction and professional services consultancy is helping young people start their careers in construction through apprenticeships and work placements. In its social value report released earlier this year, Mace Ward Williams Joint Venture (MWJV) revealed that from February 2021 to February 2022 it welcomed 15 new apprentices across its projects with Cornwall Council using local businesses. It has also facilitated 16 work placements and delivered 45 careers events to help inspire the next generation who want to help shape and deliver an improved built and natural environment for the county. A joint venture between Mace and Ward Williams Associates (WWA), MWJV is supporting Cornwall Council on the Built Environment Professional Services Framework, which includes a range of public sector construction and infrastructure programmes. Outreach through in-school events, career fairs, apprenticeship programmes and working closely with colleges and universities has resulted in many students being able to take the first steps in a career in construction. Year 10 Mounts Bay student Ivy Kirk is one of those who has engaged with the scheme through a week-long work placement covering such skills as cost management, project management and design. She discovered the opportunity after an in-school presentation by the MWJV team which helped to break the preconceptions about the construction industry being male-dominated and limited to on-site roles. Alice Taylor is another who joined WWA as a project management apprentice this July. Alice, who is 21, found her start in project management after volunteering at a Covid-19 testing centre before quickly progressing to leading teams and helping with the mobilisation and demobilisation of sites across the South West as a Roaming Deputy Manager. She now works supporting WWA across various projects in Plymouth and with MWJV on its carbon impact and reduction programmes across Cornwall. Alice said: “My time within the Covid-19 testing programme gave me a wealth of experience within management and a huge boost in confidence. It was also important to me that I was helping to make a difference during the pandemic. The experience gave me an insight into project management and confirmed that this was something I wanted to pursue. “I wanted to continue academic studies alongside employment, and a degree apprenticeship seemed like a fantastic opportunity for me. Thanks to WWA, I am on a five-year apprenticeship scheme, working towards gaining a BSc in Construction Management and aspiring to become chartered. I am very grateful to WWA for providing me with a wealth of opportunities and experience in project management within the built environment, as well as the chance to work on some great initiatives like the carbon reduction programme to support our B Corp status.” Newest addition, 17 year old Tobi Crowther, began his T Level apprenticeship with WWA this month in Truro as part of his Design, Surveying and Planning course at Truro & Penwith College. Commenting on the role, Tobi said: “I’m still very new to the team but am having a great time getting stuck in on some practical projects to help support my classroom learning. “I still don’t know what path I want to follow in this sector and the apprenticeship has already given me the opportunity to try lots of different things to see what I like best, whether it’s project management, quantity surveying or something else. “The large-scale community projects like the Boscawen Park development as part of Truro Town Deal with MWJV have been really interesting and exciting to get involved in. It’s great to work on something that I will actually see and take advantage of as a local.” Through the scheme, MWJV is also attempting to improve the awareness of the opportunities in the sector outside of the major cities. In January 2023, trainee Sam Currell will join the company as a Level 7 quantity surveying apprentice, putting his maths degree to good use. The company will be sponsoring Sam’s continued education in the form of a master’s degree. MWJV’s work with the council has also directly resulted in 95 new full-time jobs and £34.9 million created in social value. The full report is available to view and download here.  More information on MWJV is available on its website: http://mwjv.net/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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Environmental Engineering Firm Re-Invents Steam-Era Technology to Restore Saltmarshes

Environmental Engineering Firm Re-Invents Steam-Era Technology to Restore Saltmarshes

60% of the Saltmarsh habitats around the UK have been lost since 1945, and without some inspired interventions significant further losses will continue, fuelled by coastal squeeze (development), increased wash from boats, extreme climatic events (climate change influences) and rising sea levels. Leading wet civil engineering firm, Land & Water, alongside the new sister company Earth Change, (which was set up to optimise the natural capital solutions for distressed land), has re-invented a drag box solution dating back to the early 1900s to restore the UK’s Saltmarshes, with the first full-scale trails, permitted by the MMO (Marine Maritime Organisation), completed in March 2023. Saltmarshes provide incredible environmental benefits including acting as a natural flood defence, an absorbent of harmful nitrates and phosphates and a haven for wildlife to increase biodiversity. Land & Water, and Earth Change, have partnered with Chichester Harbour Conservancy as part of the Solent Seascape Project for trials to restore the saltmarsh in Chichester Harbour. The need to restore this valuable environment follows the loss of 250ha of Saltmarsh in Chichester alone since 1945. The UK dredges approximately 20 million tonnes of silt and mud a year maintaining our ports, harbours and marinas. The majority of this material is disposed of offshore, in designated disposal sites. The new technology allows this valuable resource to be reused for an environmental gain, and crucially “at scale”. Restoring Saltmarshes within an intertidal habitat is not straightforward. The large barges and ships used in commercial dredging operations cannot directly access the shallow waters and mudflats where Saltmarsh proliferates. The use of the drag box enables the larger vessels to deposit their muddy cargoes close to the Saltmarsh at high tide, for retrieval once the tide has ebbed away. The drag box methodology was used by Victorian engineers to dredge lakes, dragging a skid between two traction engines to recover silts and sediments ashore. Land & Water has borrowed modern hydraulic winching technologies from the Canadian Forestry Industry, coupled with a new/enlarged drag box design to enable the efficient recovery of large quantities of sediment in very short timescales, and with negligible environmental impact. (See below link) James Maclean, CEO of Land & Water, says “This exciting new development shows how we can reuse materials from one industry in a positive way to increase the value of our nation’s Natural Capital. Our works are being underpinned by a team of national experts and we are delighted to have worked with a wide group of stakeholders to unlock this concept. “Helping nature to help herself is hugely gratifying and finding an opportunity to provide an alternative beneficial reuse of what is usually a waste material that would previously be disposed of at sea is a truly circular economy concept at work. “From trials conducted over eight years ago we know we can recolonise the Saltmarsh naturally with carefully crafted new landforms made from the silt, which is a totally natural product. This process provides knock-on benefits to water quality, bio-diversity net gain, reduce coastal erosion, improve sea defences, create green space habitats and carbon fixing… accessing new funds from developers, who can show corporate responsibility by funding nature’s recovery close to their new schemes.” Chichester Harbour has a very high nature conservation value and is highly protected. But it has also lost nearly 60% of its Saltmarsh since 1946 (established using wartime military aerial photography as highlighted in Natural England’s Condition Review of Chichester Harbour SSSI February 2021). Similarly worrying levels of decline in Saltmarsh have been documented around the Solent, and more widely around the sensitive estuaries of the UK. The research for the trials will be led by Angus Garbutt at The Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), and Christian Dunn at Bangor University with Jo Preston at University of Portsmouth. Once finished, it will look to validate the nutrient and carbon uptake of the restored habitat and provide a basis for a new nutrient and carbon code for habitat trading. By validating the carbon and nutrient absorbing capacity of this Natural Capital asset, the credits from the re-creation will be offered to frustrated developers to offset the impacts of their new developments and stimulate nature’s recovery “in their own back yard”. Tom Godfrey, Co-Founder of Earth Change, commented: “This has proven an incredibly efficient and low carbon method of reusing a material that’s usually deposited at sea to regenerate a failing SSSI Saltmarsh. “Earth Change is very happy with how the saltmarsh restoration drag-box trial has gone to date. As a result, we have generated interest from other parties to use this method. I would like to thank our partners, Chichester Harbour Conservancy, Blue Marine Foundation, Endangered Landscape Programme and East Head Impact who have helped make this trial possible and to Land & Water who has delivered this innovative solution.” Sarah Chatfield, CHaPRoN Manager, said: “CHaPRoN is very excited about the saltmarsh restoration project at West Itchenor. It has been a success so far and we look forward to seeing the saltmarsh begin to recolonise over the summer and reviewing the outcomes of the project with our statutory partners. We need to find different ways of working if we are to reverse the declining trend in biodiversity and we hope we can continue with this approach of saltmarsh restoration in Chichester Harbour in the years to come.” Louise MacCallum, Solent Project Manager of Blue Marine Foundation, said: “It’s so inspiring to see the Solent Seascape Project being kicked off with such an innovative model to restore saltmarsh in one of the Solent’s most beautiful  harbours. I am looking forward to revisiting the site in the months and years to come to watch its colonisation by saltmarsh plants.” Land & Water and Earth Change are set to undertake similar, full-scale trials at Lymington Harbour during the summer. For more information about the trials at Chichester Harbour, please click here: www.solentseacape.co.uk. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals 

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Caddick wins Lancaster extra care homes contract

Caddick wins Lancaster extra care homes contract

Caddick Construction has scooped a £23 million contract to deliver Lancaster’s first extra care facility on behalf of Progress Housing Group. Groundwork has now begun on site with completion due in May 2025. Building on Caddick’s existing healthcare portfolio, this development will boost the provision of specialist residential care for those aged 55 and over in Lancaster, providing a safe and comfortable space for those requiring varying levels of care. The project will see the construction of a 92-unit extra care scheme incorporating one and two-bedroom apartments, with three of the one-bedroom apartments designed to be wheelchair friendly. Two existing buildings will also be converted into 16 one and two-bedroom general needs flats. Additional features such as assisted bathing, spa bathing, hairdressing facility, a games room, roof terraces and a laundry room will also be incorporated. External work will include alterations and remodelling of the existing and stone boundary wall, landscaping, a car park with EV charging points, restoration of all historial sandstone buildings and the installation of external lighting. Ian Threadgold, Managing Director of Caddick Construction for the North West commented: “Extra care facilities such as these are a vital necessity in any community and we’re pleased to be bringing this much needed development to life, on behalf of Progress Housing Group. Caddick’s extensive expertise in the healthcare sector is what has led our specialist team to this development and we’re thrilled to form an integral part of this project.” Rebecca Field, Head of Development at Progress Housing Group, said: “We are delighted to be working with Caddick Construction on our first Extra Care scheme facility and the first in Lancaster. “The scheme will provide homes for people aged 55 and over, with on-site, tailored care and support packages available to help residents live independently. It is hoped that the scheme will be completed by Summer 2025.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals

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