In a bid to enhance the practical knowledge and on-site safety of those involved in temporary works, PERI regularly delivers product awareness training workshops. Last week, the formwork and scaffolding specialist held its first training workshop for temporary works engineers, site managers and designers at Laing O’Rourke. The hands-on training
Forty-four families are settling into their new homes following the completion of a new housing development in greater Bristol Housing association Bromford has completed its project to regenerate Hampton Close in Cadbury Heath, by building 44 modern, energy efficient homes. The affordable homes, built by Bromford’s development partners EG Carter,
On 26th September, the Liverpool City Region Sustainable Property Group hosted the second-annual conference, welcoming over 200 attendees to debate the sustainability challenges facing the built environment. Recognised by the UN as part of its Global Goals Week, the ‘Building Sustainable Cities Beyond 2030’ conference brought together industry leaders, innovators
The OurJay Foundation based in Rugby, Warwickshire has partnered with master developer Urban&Civic and Turtle Defib Cabinets, to introduce the country’s first wind and solar powered defibrillator cabinet on a residential development site. The sustainably heated, public defibrillator cabinet has been installed in Urban&Civic’s new community of Houlton in Rugby.
In a bid to enhance the practical knowledge and on-site safety of those involved in temporary works, PERI regularly delivers product awareness training workshops. Last week, the formwork and scaffolding specialist held its first training workshop for temporary works engineers, site managers and designers at Laing O’Rourke. The hands-on training took place at PERI’s training facility and exhibition hall in Brentwood, building on a series of similar successful events previously held for other sub-contractors in the industry. Hands-On Training Focus The one-day workshop, delivered by PERI’s Field Services Manager and experienced scaffolding instructors, covered a wide range of practical and theoretical topics designed to improve the group’s understanding of equipment safety and proficiency when designing solutions and carrying out temporary works checks on site. Key training activities included: The workshop was attended by engineers and temporary works designers at various stages in their career, highlighting the importance of continual professional development at both graduate and more experienced levels in the construction industry. The training was particularly valuable for those involved in checking temporary works systems on-site prior to concrete pours, ensuring that any potential damages or deviations from the drawings could be identified and corrected. Anu Adeyemi, Graduate Engineer at Laing O’Rourke said, “My role involves carrying out temporary works checks, so workshops like this help to simplify the terms and system components you come across on site. Everything is broken down so it’s easier to understand.” Terry Hall, Field Services Manager at PERI UK emphasised the importance of hands-on experience in an industry where many engineers may only have classroom-based training or experience with 3D drawings. “It’s critical for people to see and handle the actual materials and equipment they will come across on projects. A lot of people may not have this practical knowledge, yet they are tasked with reviewing drawings. For many, this is the first practical training programme that has helped to bridge that gap,” Terry explained. He added, “By seeing the issues on-site, such as deviations from drawings or improper practices, attendees gain a better understanding of how to refer back to the drawings for best practices. This is key to maintaining safety and quality.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Forty-four families are settling into their new homes following the completion of a new housing development in greater Bristol Housing association Bromford has completed its project to regenerate Hampton Close in Cadbury Heath, by building 44 modern, energy efficient homes. The affordable homes, built by Bromford’s development partners EG Carter, have replaced 10 garages and 24 1950’s properties that were demolished at the end of 2022. The new homes are a mix of one-bedroom flats and two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, all of which have been made available for social rent. The first customers received the keys to their new homes in December 2023 while the final customers moved in last week. Before the final customers moved in, Bromford invited customers, local stakeholders and project partners to have a look around the finished homes. Among them was Bromford customer Gerald Woodman, who lived in the street for more than 45 years. “I am so impressed with these homes,” he said. “They are very smart and well-designed. The gardens are spacious with lots of room, and the addition of off-road parking adds convenience. The solar panels are fantastic; they don’t just benefit the environment but also help residents cut down on energy bills.” Bromford has fitted energy efficient gas boilers, solar panels, waste water heat recovery systems in all 44 homes. As a result 70% of the new homes have energy efficiency ratings of A, with the rest achieving B ratings. All the homes have also had electric vehicle charging ports installed. Project manager Noreen Twomey said: “It’s wonderful to see these homes completed and families living happily here. These are some of the most energy efficient homes we’ve built in South Gloucestershire and it should mean that customers are not paying as much to keep their homes warm “We’ve received huge demand for these homes, with some properties attracting more than 280 enquiries from prospective customers. It shows the very real need for more affordable housing in South Gloucestershire and we look forward to working with the council and other stakeholders to build more homes over the months and years ahead.” Councillor John O’Neill, cabinet member responsible for housing at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “I’m delighted to see this regeneration project which has delivered high quality and accessible homes completed and the first families moving in. “This scheme offers a range of housetypes that will meet the needs of families, single people, and couples, and supports the objectives of the council’s HomesWest Partnership and the council’s Housing Strategy and commitment to delivering new affordable homes. “Importantly, these homes will meet the needs of those on the council’s Housing register and in need of rented affordable housing in South Gloucestershire.” Bromford is the largest housing association in South Gloucestershire, providing homes to more than 20,000 people. It is one of the country’s largest developers of affordable housing and is currently working with partners to build new homes in the greater Bristol area in Whitchurch, Bedminster and Cribbs Causeway. Earlier in the year Bromford completed a deal to acquire land in Yate for more than 100 homes and is aiming to start work on site before the end of the year. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
On 26th September, the Liverpool City Region Sustainable Property Group hosted the second-annual conference, welcoming over 200 attendees to debate the sustainability challenges facing the built environment. Recognised by the UN as part of its Global Goals Week, the ‘Building Sustainable Cities Beyond 2030’ conference brought together industry leaders, innovators and professionals from across the property and construction sectors. Held in Liverpool’s St Georges Hall, the event facilitated crucial discussions on embedding sustainability in the city region’s property sector, ensuring it plays a central role in driving positive change. Key learnings to emerge were: The importance of engagement with stakeholders emerged as crucial, particularly with the communities impacted; How vital it is to collaborate, sharing best practice, experience and resources, given how common so many of the issues and opportunities are to all businesses, regardless of size, sector or specialism; That we must co-ordinate our efforts if we are to achieve the significant targets that everyone in the room and beyond is committed to. Included in the UN’s calendar of events as world leaders gathered in New York at the United Nations General Assembly, the conference was held as part of Global Goals Week: Liverpool and Liverpool Climate Week to support the only agreed blueprint for the planet – the Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals). Key topics discussed this year were the significance of heat networks, the need to build sustainable homes and retrofit existing housing cost effectively, the importance of workforce and upskilling, and the necessity for education, with a variety of experts sharing their experience and perspectives. These included Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council; Simon Mansfield, Sustainability Manager, Liverpool City Council; Ian Stenton, Head of Estates Sustainability, NHS England; John Moffat, Managing Director, Capital&Centric; Dr Michaela Gkantou, Associate Professor, Liverpool John Moores University; Kane Greenhough, Supply Chain Sustainability Manager, Morgan Sindall Construction; and Harriet Fisher, Sustainability Analyst, Morgan Sindall Construction. Karl Clawley, The Momentum Group’s Associate Director, said: “The recognition of the ‘Building Sustainable Cities Beyond 2030’ conference by the UN as part of its Global Goals Week has given the Liverpool City Region Sustainable Property Group a real boost in achieving our objective of tackling climate change in the region’s property and construction sector. This conference, which was bigger and better than last year, was a key step on that journey, a journey we are all committed to completing.” The Liverpool City Region Sustainable Property Group group aims to create a mutually supportive forum where property, construction and facilities management companies can understand their carbon footprint and design out fossil fuel related impacts to mitigate climate emergency and meet City decarbonisation targets. Headline Sponsors of the conference included The Momentum Group, Morgan Sindall Construction, CIR, The Consortia Group, Fleeetsolve, Steven A Hunt & Associates, Liverpool City Council and 2030hub. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The OurJay Foundation based in Rugby, Warwickshire has partnered with master developer Urban&Civic and Turtle Defib Cabinets, to introduce the country’s first wind and solar powered defibrillator cabinet on a residential development site. The sustainably heated, public defibrillator cabinet has been installed in Urban&Civic’s new community of Houlton in Rugby. OurJay and Urban&Civic had already worked together in recent years to install defibrillators in the new community at the local schools and the village centre at Houlton. But with another 4,000 homes still to build at Houlton, the charity approached the developer to introduce Turtle and their new solar and wind powered cabinet solution to enable defib access in construction areas. Designed and manufactured by Turtle, the solar defib cabinet is the twelfth to be installed in the UK, and the first on a residential development site. Turtle’s combined solar and wind power technology ensures a cabinet can be kept heated 24/7, even when there’s no electricity supply. Defibrillators must maintain a temperature above 0 degrees, but above 10 degrees is recommended, so they need to be kept indoors or be in a heated cabinet if external. Solar power alone cannot guarantee the maintenance of temperature in dark and cold UK winters, but this new technology is enabling defibrillators to be installed in areas where electricity supply may be restricted like construction areas. For every minute that someone’s in cardiac arrest without receiving CPR or having a defibrillator used on them, their chance of survival decreases by 10 per cent. The OurJay Foundation was founded by Naomi, a Rugby resident, after she sadly lost her son Jamie due to the lack of an accessible defibrillator nearby, which could have saved his life. It proudly stands as one of the Houlton community’s chosen charities. Naomi Rees-Issitt, the founder of the OurJay Foundation, said: “We are so grateful to the team at Urban&Civic for seeing Jamie’s legacy and inspiration and making sure we could achieve this vital piece of life saving equipment for the Houlton community. Heart safety is becoming so much more important to people and through our partnership with Urban&Civic, Houlton now have a defibrillator for every 300 units – this is very unique and we are very proud of this. Thank you also to Turtle for manufacturing such a fantastic idea in this sustainable defibrillator option.” A video featuring Naomi speaking about OurJay Foundation’s work and the wind and solar powered cabinet at Houlton can be found here. Sonia Nakra-Norman, Communications and Partnerships Manager at Urban&Civic explained: “We’re proud of our ongoing partnership with the OurJay Foundation in Houlton – it has been informative and inspiring to work with this local charity and whilst we always hope not to have to use our defibrillators, they provide reassurance to our community and those working on our development sites.” Mike Dowson, Founder and MD of Turtle Defib Cabinets, who designed, engineered and installed the wind and solar powered defib cabinet technology, commented: “Developers and contractors can deliver far greater reaching benefits when they partner with local charities, and bespoke needs – like a lack of community accessible defib cabinets – can be uncovered and addressed. We’re delighted to help OurJay and Urban&Civic achieve their goals at Houlton and applaud them for their partnership. Location and an electricity supply is no longer a barrier when it comes to being prepared for cardiac arrest emergencies, and we thank OurJay Foundation for championing this message with our wind and solar powered defib cabinet in Houlton.” Located on the former Rugby Radio Station site to the eastern edge of Rugby, the development of Houlton is a joint venture between master developer Urban&Civic and Aviva Investors. With over 1200 families now living on site as well as a village centre, community centre, two schools and a nursery, the Houlton community continues to grow with outline planning permission for 6,200 homes over the next 10-15 years. To learn more about Houlton and Urban&Civic, visit www.urbanandcivic.com. Visit www.ourjay.org.uk to find out about and support the OurJay Foundation. For more information about Turtle’s defib cabinets, bleed control cabinets and the equipment to place inside, please visit www.turtledefibcabinets.co.uk, or follow on LinkedIn, Facebook and X. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
