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
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
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,
Barratt Developments’ Kirk Raine has been named the Supreme winner at this year’s NHBC Pride in the Job Awards. Kirk was named as the Supreme winner in the Large Builder Category for his work managing The Grove at Doseley Park, near Telford. The NHBC Pride in the Job Awards are
A Northern housing association’s plans to deliver much-needed affordable, highly energy efficient homes in North Yorkshire are well underway as two new housing developments in Hambleton District take shape. Karbon Homes is working with contractor T.Manners & Sons to bring 111 new homes to completion on two sites in Sowerby.
The Ayrshire Hospice officially marked the start of building work on its major £17 million-pound redevelopment project on Wednesday 5th April. Joined by representatives from NHS Ayrshire & Arran and the three local authorities, Ayrshire Hospice Chief Executive Tracy Flynn led the breaking-ground ceremony as work begins to transform the
Stanhope, on behalf of investors Mitsui Fudosan and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), and some of their clients, is announcing today the completion of 1 Wood Crescent at Television Centre in West London and its availability for letting to prospective tenants. 1 Wood Crescent is a new nine storey building
When Designer Contracts, the UK’s largest flooring contractor, embarked on a project which is helping transform a former Liverpool children’s home into a bustling urban village, supply issues threatened to de-rail the tight deadline for fitting hundreds of square metres of carpet tiles and safety flooring. But thanks to a
Planning permission was granted on Tuesday 28th March for the major regeneration of three key sites in the Church Street neighbourhood. This followed a recent positive resident ballot result which saw the community support the revised proposals. The Church Street Regeneration Programme will deliver up to 1,120 new homes and
The outlook for construction investment remains challenging, with little or no growth coupled with persistently high inflation creating stagflation, the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) cautioned in its latest industry report. It found that the dramatic increases in costs of materials were stabilising, but added that products which were energy
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
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
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
Barratt Developments’ Kirk Raine has been named the Supreme winner at this year’s NHBC Pride in the Job Awards. Kirk was named as the Supreme winner in the Large Builder Category for his work managing The Grove at Doseley Park, near Telford. The NHBC Pride in the Job Awards are known as the ‘Oscars of the housebuilding industry’, and to win the Supreme award is to be recognised by the NHBC as the best site manager in the country. This is the sixth time that a Barratt site manager has won the Supreme award in the past eight years. It is also the third time that Kirk has won the award, making him the biggest winner of this prestigious title over the last decade. Kirk was also runner-up five years ago. This year Barratt had 98 of its site managers win a Pride in the Job Quality Award – more than any other housebuilder for a phenomenal 18 years in a row. On top of that five of those winners went on to be named as a Regional winner, with 34 earning coveted Seals of Excellence. The success at the Pride in the Job Quality Awards underlines the commitment Barratt has to delivering high quality homes, and the standard of work that its site teams deliver day-in and day-out, putting the customer at the heart of everything it does. Steven Boyes, chief operating officer at Barratt Developments, said: “We put great store in the NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Awards, as they showcase what building homes is all about – the highest standards of excellence and quality for our customers. For Kirk to win the Supreme award again for a third time is an incredible achievement, and one everyone at Barratt should be proud of.” To mark this achievement and to celebrate the work of all of its site managers, Barratt is making a donation of £25,000 to The Lighthouse Club. This charity is the only one to provide mental, physical and financial wellbeing support to all those working within the construction industry and their families. Barratt has supported The Lighthouse Club for a number of years and, since awarding a £50,000 grant last year, the charity has also been an official partner of the Barratt Foundation. This is in recognition of the value of the support that the charity provides to people throughout the housebuilding industry. Commenting on the Awards, NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: “At NHBC we believe that the calibre of the site manager and the way they inspire their site team has the greatest influence on the quality of the finished home. By promoting friendly rivalry, showcasing best practice and rewarding excellence, Pride in the Job supports the delivery of homes of the highest quality. “Congratulations to all the 2022 Pride in the Job Award winners. The role of the site manager is more demanding than ever, with new methods of construction, new technologies and an increased pace of regulatory change. They are an inspiration to us all and should be very proud of the quality of new homes they are creating.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A Northern housing association’s plans to deliver much-needed affordable, highly energy efficient homes in North Yorkshire are well underway as two new housing developments in Hambleton District take shape. Karbon Homes is working with contractor T.Manners & Sons to bring 111 new homes to completion on two sites in Sowerby. The plan is part of Karbon’s wider new homes programme in the region, which outlines ambitions to develop over 700 new affordable homes across Yorkshire before March 2028. Zoey Hawthorne, Assistant Director of Development Delivery at Karbon Homes, said: “It’s great to see these two developments progressing at Sowerby, providing much-needed affordable homes for local residents in a district where demand is high. “With a mix of property types and sizes, available for both affordable rent and affordable home ownership tenures, the new homes provide options for a range of households and allow families who would otherwise be priced out to remain in the area.” On a site off Saxty Way in the village, Karbon is building 47 affordable homes consisting of a mix of one-bed flats, two-bed bungalows and two and three-bed family homes. Available for affordable rent, rent to buy and shared ownership, the modern, energy efficient homes will boast a range of enhanced energy efficiency measures, including air source heat pumps and solar PV panels, to cut emissions and help lower residents’ heating bills. Work is expected to complete in early 2024. Just a mile away, a second scheme off Back Lane will bring a further 64 new two, three and four-bed homes. T.Manners & Sons is restarting work on the site after taking over from original contractor Tolent, which went into administration in February. The site will provide new homes available for a mix of affordable rent and affordable home ownership tenures, Rent to Buy and Shared Ownership. Wayne Harris, Construction Director at T Manners & Sons, said: “It’s great to be working with Karbon Homes to bring these two developments to fruition, delivering new affordable homes that will be of great benefit to local people. “Work is well underway at Saxty Way and the reception we’ve received from the community has been really positive. Now we’re taking over at Back Lane, it’s great to be delivering both sites just a mile apart and we look forward to getting work started again.” Both developments are being supported with grant funding from Homes England through Karbon’s Strategic Partnership with the government’s housing delivery agency. The strategic partnership has provided the housing association with £131.5m in funding to deliver 2,200 new affordable homes across the North East and Yorkshire over the next few years. All 111 new homes will be managed by 54North Homes, a subsidiary of the Karbon Group. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Ayrshire Hospice officially marked the start of building work on its major £17 million-pound redevelopment project on Wednesday 5th April. Joined by representatives from NHS Ayrshire & Arran and the three local authorities, Ayrshire Hospice Chief Executive Tracy Flynn led the breaking-ground ceremony as work begins to transform the site ahead of reopening in Summer 2024. Tracy said: “This is a historic milestone for the Ayrshire Hospice and, as a team, we are so excited to start building our new hospice which will be a centre of excellence for palliative and end of life care for the people of Ayrshire and Arran, right here in Racecourse Road.” Site clearing and demolition carried out by McLaughlin & Harvey began in December last year and the ground is now ready for work to begin to deliver a facility Ayrshire can be proud of. John McClintock, McLaughlin & Harvey Operations Director – Healthcare, explained: “McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to have marked the first official milestone of our Ayrshire Hospice project. We bring with us a wealth of previous healthcare experience, and look forward to undertaking the substructure and structural works on this meaningful project in the coming weeks.” The Ayrshire Hospice Board of Trustees and Leadership Team were joined by Provost Iain Campbell and Chief Executive Eileen Howat from South Ayrshire Council, in addition to Craig McArthur, Director of Health and Social Care Partnership for East Ayrshire Council and Russell McCutcheon, Executive Director (Place), from North Ayrshire Council. NHS Ayrshire & Arran Chief Executive Claire Burden was also in attendance to mark the significant milestone in the project. Tom Steele, Chair of the Ayrshire Hospice Board of Trustees added: “The breaking ground ceremony is a seminal moment for our new hospice as work begins to lay down foundations. Although this sub-structure is something that people can’t see, it is arguably one of the most crucial points of the project from which our new infrastructure will be built.” Andrew Baillie, Ayrshire Hospice Trustee and Chair of the Capital Project Governance Committee added: “Breaking Ground is the first major milestone in what will be an amazing new facility for the Hospice. Over the coming months work will progress onto foundations, the superstructure and then the roof before moving into the interior fit-out. “It’s exciting to be not only creating a wonderful facility for patients, relatives and staff but helping to contribute to our sustainable future.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Stanhope, on behalf of investors Mitsui Fudosan and Alberta Investment Management Corporation (AIMCo), and some of their clients, is announcing today the completion of 1 Wood Crescent at Television Centre in West London and its availability for letting to prospective tenants. 1 Wood Crescent is a new nine storey building comprising 112,247 sq ft of prime office space located on the west side of the Television Centre campus which includes multiple terraces, all with views over Hammersmith Park and the surrounding White City area and beyond. The building is designed by architects Morris+Company and constructed by Laing O’Rourke. PVH Corp., parent company to brands including Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger, has already leased the top five floors of the brand-new building as its new UK headquarters, totaling 50,000 sq ft of office space. Jonathan Trout, Property & Commercial Director, Stanhope said: “We are looking forward to welcoming PVH Corp. to the completed 1 Wood Crescent building, providing the fashion and lifestyle powerhouse a Grade A, BREEAM ‘Excellent’ building as the base of its UK operations. The creative giant is an invaluable addition both to Television Centre and White City Place which continue to attract global brands as occupiers across the media and sciences sectors.” Tomoo Nakamura, Managing Director, Mitsui Fudosan UK said: “We are proud of the timely delivery of 1 Wood Crescent only two years following the start of construction. It is yet another successful milestone in the redevelopment of Television Centre. Mitsui Fudosan are delighted to be offering world-class facilities to creative companies looking to move to a growing innovation and business hub in West London.” Rupert Wingfield, Real Estate Head, Europe, AIMCo said: “We are delighted that PVH Corp. is relocating its UK headquarters to the new 1 Wood Crescent building. The building completion represents a significant addition to the creative ecosystem at Television Centre and offers new occupiers state-of-the-art office space with sustainability at its heart.” PVH Corp. will be the latest in a growing list of existing fashion and creative occupiers at Television Centre and White City Place, including the BBC and ITV, BBC Worldwide, Publicis Media, Soho House, ME+EM and the White Company. 1 Wood Crescent will take its place at Television Centre, a thriving estate at the heart of an £8 billion regeneration of White City. The unique mixed-use site has rapidly become one of the UK’s most forward-thinking hubs for creative industries, café and restaurants, apartments and a hotel attracting some of the UK’s best creative talent and businesses, alongside the neighbouring business, creative and life sciences innovation district at White City Place. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
When Designer Contracts, the UK’s largest flooring contractor, embarked on a project which is helping transform a former Liverpool children’s home into a bustling urban village, supply issues threatened to de-rail the tight deadline for fitting hundreds of square metres of carpet tiles and safety flooring. But thanks to a lot of chasing, some lucky deliveries and a dedicated team of just two floor layers, the entire project – which included screeding of the ground floor tile areas and fitting 96 stair nosings – was completed in two-and-a-half weeks and came in bang on deadline. From initial inspection to final sign off, the project at the former Fazakerley Cottage Homes, built in 1888, took Designer Contracts around five months after being commissioned to undertake the work by building contractor, Next Big Thing. The work was carried out between October 31, 2022, and November 18 2022 Now known as The Clocktower offices, it is part of a wider redevelopment scheme by Urban Splash to bring new life to an old site, transforming the historic building into one fit for commercial use. Luke Ryan, Designer Contract’s project manager for the installation said: “This was a great project to be part of and involved laying some 1300sqm of carpet tiles and 125sqm of safety flooring. During the fitting stage of the project we discussed changing the original plan of fitting carpet tiles throughout the ground floor communal corridor and decided to leave some of the original floorboards exposed. Keeping some of the authentic character of the building really enhanced the finished look. “To meet the brief we installed Select Carpet Tiles (Anthracite) in a linear pattern to three floors and Altro Wood Safety (Walkway – Manor Oak) in wet areas and kitchens. The site manager made this extremely easy to plan with constant communication of where the renovation was and was going to be at certain points. “We were also in constant touch with the guy running the site about the subfloors to ensure a perfect finish. “Hitting deadline dates at a time of stock issues was the main challenge but with a little luck and a lot of persistence we got there – and the client is extremely pleased with the finished result.” Said John Grugel of Next Big Thing Developments: “The fitting team did a great job on the Grade 2 listed building at The Clocktower. The two-man team fitting the carpets and vinyl throughout the office, toilet and kitchen areas were very efficient and the quality of work was to a good standard.” AddedMiles Pearson,co-owner of Jordan Street Studios at the Clocktower Park Offices: “The Clock Tower building is the centre piece of this 1890 listed estate and required both good design solutions and the highest quality of work along with a high level of durability. We have worked with Designer Contracts on this and other commercial schemes and have always found their product specification and installation to be of the highest quality. Both ourselves as developers and our tenants are extremely happy with the results and we look forward to working with them again on our future developments. I would have no hesitation recommending them and the completion photos demonstrate the high-end finish we were looking for.” From a development that once consisted of 24 cottages that were used as homes for children, The Clocktower now houses the NHS, Liverpool City Council, Fazakerley Special Needs and a private nursery the Clocktower. Redevelopment at the site is ongoing. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Planning permission was granted on Tuesday 28th March for the major regeneration of three key sites in the Church Street neighbourhood. This followed a recent positive resident ballot result which saw the community support the revised proposals. The Church Street Regeneration Programme will deliver up to 1,120 new homes and will ensure the re-provision of all existing council homes with new higher quality council homes for social rent with affordable homes making up over 50% of the homes delivered in the scheme. The approved plans will enable the council to: The plans will transform the three key sites in the Church Street neighbourhood re-providing 228 council homes at a better quality, allowing council tenants the right to return, and delivering at least 156 additional council homes for social rent. A further 169 intermediate rent homes bring the total provision of affordable homes across all three sites to over 50%. Local residents have voted in favour of the Council’s two major regeneration schemes at Church Street and Ebury Bridge. This has unlocked £60m in additional funding from the GLA which has enabled delivery of higher levels of truly affordable housing. Along with the delivery of new homes, the regeneration will also deliver enhanced infrastructure and improvements to Church Street Market (such as increased storage and van parking for market traders) allowing it to continue to flourish and to provide opportunities for increased vibrancy and footfall. Cllr Matt Noble, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Renters and Climate Action at Westminster City Council said: Now planning permission has been granted for Church Street, enabling work at Site A will begin later this year. The planning application submitted was a ‘hybrid’ application that consists of two parts: This means there will be further consultation and design development with the local community for Sites B, C and Church Street market, which will be done in due course. The council launched its new Fairer Westminster strategy in October 2022, which sets out how the council will work with the local community to support them and tackle inequality. The introduction of resident ballots aims to give residents a say on the future of their area and to deliver more council homes for social rent, building a fairer city for people to live in. As part of the new Fairer Westminster strategy, the target is for approximately 70% of affordable homes on council-owned developments to be Council homes for social rent. The council announced its commitment to increase the number of truly affordable homes in Westminster in October last year. The projected GLA funding for both Ebury and Church Street, takes the affordable homes total across all the Westminster schemes to at least 1,400 council homes for social rent. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The outlook for construction investment remains challenging, with little or no growth coupled with persistently high inflation creating stagflation, the Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) cautioned in its latest industry report. It found that the dramatic increases in costs of materials were stabilising, but added that products which were energy intensive were still likely to see some price volatility. BCIS warned it was likely that labour would become the main cost driver in the near term as ingrained worker shortages and high inflation push up nationally agreed wage awards to match site rates for self-employed labour. BCIS head of consultancy Dr David Crosthwaite said: “The outlook for the construction industry at present is fairly bleak and challenging over the next five years. “While the wider economy seems unlikely to fall into a deep recession, a sustained period of stagflation is the best we can hope for, which will make for a difficult environment for construction investment. “New work output is still below the pre-crisis levels recorded in 2017 and forecasts suggest new work output won’t return to pre-crisis levels until 2027, representing ten years with no real growth in the sector and a lost decade. “Output in the largest sub sector, housing, is expected to decline sharply this year, with infrastructure the only sector showing any sustained growth over the next five years, despite recent tinkering with HS2 and the Lower Thames Crossing project. “This is based on our working assumption that the infrastructure and construction pipeline isn’t drastically cut back by the Government when this is reviewed in the autumn.” BCIS said the Office for Budget Responsibility was forecasting just one year of negative growth in 2023 but Crosthwaite feels that the recession may last longer as the fundamentals don’t support this upbeat prediction. In the wider economy, prices tend be sticky and the target of halving the Consumer Prices Index by the end of the year, and returning to long term trend by 2024, looks optimistic based on the data. Crosthwaite added: “Continuing interest rate rises are a blunt instrument and have the capacity to choke the economy. “Inflation is largely being driven by too little supply and not much demand. Any impact on future demand levels with relatively high interest rates impacting the cost of borrowing, could reduce investment levels further and result in increased recessionary pressures and a stagnating economy. “So, in the wider economy we have the prospects of relatively high inflation and the cost of borrowing increasing, combined with little or no growth.” BCIS also found private commercial property had not recovered since the 2008 peak, having suffered the fallout from the financial crash and the recent changes to demand for both retail and office space, which has fundamentally changed following the pandemic. Dramatic increases in material costs are predicted to slow as product supply continues to improve, which should help to offset the worst volatility in prices, which has been at its highest since the mid-1970s. However, most products which are energy intensive are still likely to see some price volatility. The overall size of the construction workforce has shrunk by more than 150,000 since the pandemic, driven by a significant decline in the number of self-employed workers and there remains a shortfall of 46,000 workers in the construction industry. For more information about BCIS, visit the website at www.bcis.co.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals