Remediation work has started for a combined cycle gas turbine (CCGT) power station in Knottingley, Wakefield. Above: CGI of the site The 110-acre former Oxiris chemical works site is being redeveloped by St Paul’s Developments, which has appointed Rotherham-based QDS Remediation to undertake a multi-million pound programme of works which will prepare the site for the power station, to be built by Knottingley Power Ltd.  The earthworks and environmental contract is expected to be finished by the end of the year. Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) lent St Paul’s Developments £2.45m from its Growing Places fund towards the site reclamation works. St Paul’s Developments has already undertaken the demolition and decommissioning of the 25-acre section of the Knottingley site, in the first element of the site’s transformation. The works which are now being undertaken will prepare the way for the potential construction of a CCGT power station on a 50-acre plot.     This article was published on 14 Mar 2016 (last updated on 14 Mar 2016). Source link

New speakers have been announced for the Building Services Summit 2016 which has been launched by three leading industry services trade associations. The Building Controls Industry Association (BCIA), Building Engineering Services Association (BESA) and Electrical Contractors Association (ECA).   The Building Services Summit is taking place on 23 November 2016, at the British Library, London. The conference organised by BCIA, BESA and ECA members will give everyone an opportunity to share ideas by taking part in lively and informative discussions. The speakers will include Roy Evans, of the Cabinet Office who leads on Government Soft Landings (GSL), an objective of the governments 2016-2020 Construction Strategy. Roy will be joined by Dr Karon Buck, founding principal of Medway UTC, a new school for 14-19-year-old students from Medway and the surrounding regions. Dr Susan Scurlock is also joining the speakers’ panel. Scurlock founded primary engineer in response to the government’s call for more young people to be attracted into the engineering profession in 2005. Other industry experts who will be joining the discussion include Bill Wright of ECA, an independent consultant on energy, control and sustainability matters. Graham Wright, legislation specialist of Daikin and president of FETA. Wright is a mechanical engineer who has worked in the air conditioning industry for over 30 years.  David Frise, Head of Sustainability for BESA, and Stephen Hill an associate and building performance engineer for Arup are also part of the discussion panel. The event will be discussing topical questions including: Is the process of construction broken?  Do building regulations stifle innovation?  Why aren’t clients using the technological tools that are available?  What are the alternatives to the current process of construction? Malcolm Anson, president of the BCIA, says: “We have assembled some of the world’s most qualified experts to speak about how building engineering services can operate as efficiently and effectively to reshape the future of our buildings.” “The leading industry experts will discuss the most topical questions in the construction sector and will address the challenges of a long-term building efficiency. The discussion will help the building owners and facilities managers to understand where efficiencies can be made in both new and existing buildings.” Book tickets at www.buildingservicessummit.co.uk. Source link

©Bloomberg Chinese oil companies are closing unprofitable fields and cutting payrolls as sustained low prices force the industry to take the politically difficult step of cutting spending at home. The measures put the oil sector in the same camp as the steel and coal industries, which Beijing has marked for capacity cuts and lay-offs to reduce the drag on the economy of underperforming state assets. Last year, when the crude price slide first hit oil company results, analysts expected political pressure to force the Chinese oil majors to cut capital expenditure overseas but maintain spending at home. More On this topic IN Oil & Gas Sustained low prices, combined with the high costs of ageing and depleted fields, have proved too much for the Chinese oil industry. Announced spending cuts as well as job and salary reductions could further weigh on resource-dependent local economies in north and northeast China, where a decline in coal prices is already battering growth. “Domestic crude oil production growth is slowing and in some cases, costs are high,” said Liu Qiang, an energy expert at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. “Employment related to crude oil extraction will be impacted but the refining and processing industry should hold up.” This week PetroChina, the listed arm of China National Petroleum Corp, reported a $3.8bn asset impairment charge on its international and domestic operations, with net profits last year down 67 per cent. It plans to shut oil and gasfields in China that have “no hope” of making a profit, chairman Wang Yilin said in Hong Kong this week, as he announced the company’s first output cut in 17 years. He did not specify which fields would close but many of the company’s older fields have recorded falling production over the past several years. Wang Dongjin, vice-chairman, said workers at the shuttered operations would be pushed into early retirement or transferred to other divisions of CNPC. Early retirement was a favoured tool during China’s mass lay-offs of the 1990s to avoid swelling official unemployment numbers. In the past few years, CNPC has already seen protests in depressed northeastern oil towns by retired workers angry that their children or grandchildren are not being hired to take their vacant places. PetroChina’s announcement follows reports that its main rival Sinopec will mothball smaller, older fields in Shandong, near its flagship Shengli operations. The closures would be the first since drilling began at Shengli, or “Victory” fields, 50 years ago. Sinopec reports its 2015 earnings next week. The cuts are not limited to the majors. Yanchang Petroleum, China’s largest regional oil company, is cutting managers’ pay by 10 per cent and withholding half of all employees’ pay for several months, Chinese media reported, as it struggles with mounting losses. It warned last month that it would report a “significant” impairment charge on its operations in Madagascar and Canada. China’s third oil major, Cnooc, was more aggressive than its larger rivals when it cut capex by 38 per cent last year. Cnooc said this week it still expects to reduce spending for 2016 another 10 per cent at its listed unit, which includes most of its offshore oil and gas operations but does not reflect its substantial onshore gas operations. “In an environment of low oil prices, the company has done a lot. We have greatly cut capex and we guard our free cash flow with extreme care,” Yang Hua, Cnooc’s chairman, told reporters. “Everyone is having a hard time, and in such hard times we should be patient.” Additional reporting by Luna Lin in Beijing and Yuan Yang in Hong Kong Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

8 July 2016 | Jamie Harris The FM industry must remain ‘professionally focused’ in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, according to an FM consultant. Joanna Lloyd-Davies, FM consultant and BIFM International special interest group member, was speaking ahead of World FM Day, where the group is hosting a series of events, including a lunchtime event on the impact of the referendum result. Lloyd-Davies said: “This is a particularly interesting event as I didn’t want to leave Europe but the country has voted otherwise. We Brits are resilient and we will work through all the challenges. This industry must remain professionally focused.” The International special interest group is hosting three events throughout the day next Wednesday as part of World FM Day. The events are to be held at communications services provider Polycom’s London office, where the group is also inviting people to join via an online stream. A breakfast event from 8:30am sees the launch of a paper following an FM Leaders’ event discussing international FM practices. The group’s lunchtime event is based on the EU referendum result. David Massingham, a political analyst, examines the impact on the UK and the FM industry of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union. The group’s evening event is to focus on empowerment and productivity, with consultant Leesman Index, sharing its international productivity index. International group committee member Claire Sellick said: “Our three events on 13th July are an opportunity to discuss issues for FMs working internationally whether that is building an effective team, outsourcing services or dealing with the fall out from the referendum to leave the EU.” For more information about the special interest group’s World FM Day events, click here. More information about World FM Day can be found at www.globalfm.org Source link

The number of first time buyers in the UK increased in March to a total of 32,500, the highest figure since June 2014, according to the latest tracker report. Overall first time buyer volumes grew by 47.7% on a monthly basis and as well as cheaper prices the burden of deposit costs and mortgage payments dipped, the data from the Your Move and Reeds Rains report shows. This means that, between February and March, the total flow of buyers managing to step foot on the ladder for the first time grew by 10,500 and on an annual basis, the total number of first time buyers in March grew by 34.9% compared to March 2015. Adrian Gill, director of estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, pointed out that while much was made of March being the month of the buy to let landlord and the second home buyer due to the April deadline for additional stamp duty, the surge was not at the expense of the bottom rungs of the ladder. He believes that a continuation of the broadly positive economic climate has likely been a factor spurring would-be first time buyers. ‘However, what’s really getting those numbers up is the fact that the range of support options available to first time buyers is at last beginning to be recognised and utilised,’ he said. ‘The Help to Buy scheme is assisting those with limited capital recognise their dreams, while the Government’s offer of cut price homes for first time buyers is easing supply in a part of the market that typically struggles to match roaring demand with constrained supply,’ he added. The data also shows that March has seen a lightening of home ownership costs and the charges associated with it. The average purchase price paid by first time buyers in March stood at £166,559, down 1.2% in absolute terms compared with February which previously marked the highest average price on record. But on an annual basis, the average purchase value of a first time buyer property rose by 9.2%. Deposit and monthly mortgage payment costs also declined. First time buyer deposits averaged £28,233 in March, down 4.1% compared with the previous month. In addition, the proportion of an average first time buyer’s monthly income that is consumed by deposit costs fell 3.1% between February and March from 74.9% to 71.8%. Meanwhile, over the same period, monthly mortgage payments accounted for a steadily decreasing amount of average first time buyer income, falling from 20.4% of monthly income in February to 20.3% as of March. Besides the falling costs of home ownership, lending conditions for firs time buyers have remained favourable. The average loan to value (LTV) ratio reached 83% in March, marking a 0.5% uptick on the previous month, meaning first time buyers will be able to borrow more against the value of the home they wish to purchase. The average first time buyer mortgage rate continues to fall, dropping from 3.14% in February to 3.13% in March. Equally, the size of the average first time buyer mortgage remains large standing at £138,326 in March. While the figure marks a 0.5% dip on February’s figure of £139,088, it also represents an increase of 8.6% on March 2015’s average of £127,327. ‘With a combination of high LTV lending and low mortgage rates, securing the finance for a first home is within the reach of many. There are also encouraging signs that rising home values are beginning to cool. This is partly a result of the Government backed affordable home scheme increasing supply at the lower end of the market and partly an indication that those setting foot onto the ladder are toughening up their act by driving harder bargains with vendors or finding good value locations in which to become a home owner,’ said Gill. ‘While deposit costs are considerable and continue to consume a large chunk of first time buyer income, there are signs that the financial burdens they impose are gradually lightening. As wages steadily rise and inflation remains very low, many first-time buyers are finding that, in real terms, they are getting better off. So, even if deposit levels aren’t quite falling at the rate many would like to see, those looking to own a home for the first time are finding that the economic climate is making them better able to carry the cost,’ he explained. A breakdown of the figures show that in London the average value of a first time buyer property hit £321,247 in the three months to March 2016. The South East is the second most expensive region, with average first time house prices at £214,574 over the same period. Conversely, the North East and Northern Ireland rank as the least expensive regions for first time buyer properties. Average first time buyer property values stand at £113,909 in the North East and £99,298 in Northern Ireland. Across the UK, the average price for a first home stood at £154,889 in the three months to March 2016. On average, Londoners put down by far the largest deposit of any region in the three months to February 2016 at £73,676, more than five times the size of the average first time buyer deposit in Wales at £12,872. The second largest deposits are paid by South Eastern first time buyers, who paid an average of £39,663 to secure their first home in the three months to March 2016. Nationwide, the average first time buyer paid out £25,270 in deposit costs. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?)      Source link

According to the latest analysis from North-East based sales and lettings firm KIS, average rents in the region rise above £600 for the first time – taking average rental yield to record 4.6%. The data also revealed that a summer slump for North East values fell by an average of 2.3% a month throughout July and August. The fall all-but wipes out the post-Brexit surge of 4.8% recorded in June with the average North East house now valued at £157,438. House values fell in every single one of the twenty areas surveyed, with the exception of Whitburn, which saw prices rise by 0.05%. The sharpest areas of decline were Durham City (4.2%), Houghton-le-Spring (3.7%) and Darlington (3.5%). The regional fall in house prices contrasts with a rise of 5.2% recorded in the same period last year, when prices rose by 3.8% in July and 1.8% in August. The average house price in the North East is currently 3.8% lower than the rate recorded at the end of August 2015. With a price fall of 8.3% over the course of the summer, Durham is named this month’s “Best to Buy”. Properties in the city had previously boasted capital appreciation of 11.5% over the past 2 years. Rental Market Analysis The average North East rent continued to rise by £10 per calendar month of the course of the summer, reaching £610pcm – the first time it has exceeded £600 since our records began. Rents have risen by 7.4% from the £565 recorded in August 2016 – a rise of £45 a month. Blyth (£397) remains the cheapest place to rent in the North East out of the areas surveyed, with Tynemouth (£1125) continuing to be the most expensive. Peterlee continues to be the region’s Buy to Let capital, offering rental yields of 6.1% to investors. Other strong performers continue to be Gateshead and Killingworth (5.9%) and Sunderland (5.3%). Landlords in Whitley Bay however, can expect to see returns on their investment of just 3.5% – with other comparatively weak performers Morpeth (3.7%) and Blyth (3.9%). The falling property prices mean the average North East rental has soared to 4.6% over the course of the summer – the highest recorded by KIS Housing Now. Sunderland’s is named this month’s “Best to Invest” as a result of strong student letting demand, a 4% drop in house prices over the course of the summer and a rise in average rental yield from 4.4% in August 2015 to the current rate of 5.3%. Ajay Jagota, founder and Managing Director of KIS had this to say: “The current strong performance of the North East rental market is no surprise to us here at KIS where we saw a 15% year-on-year rise in transactions in July, with August continuing that trend. There’s a hypothesis to be made that the Brexit vote has strengthened the rental sector while slowing growth in residential sales as people put off making long-term decisions like buying houses, but it’s important to remember that regional house prices are essentially unchanged since the vote, a clear sign that some of the more apocalyptic predictions have not even come close to coming true. There can be no question that rising demand for properties has taken average rents above £600 a month for the first time. Obviously renters will not want to see this, but this rise is broadly in line with inflation and of course rents in our region remain close to 20% lower than the national average. From a landlords perspective there couldn’t be a better time to invest with strong rental demand and rental yields in the North East at an all-time high and property values dipping slightly following a period of consistent capital appreciation.” Source link

The BBC today unveiled an innovative, architect-designed mobile recording studio, commissioned for BBC Radio 4’s The Listening Project. The design was selected as part of an international design challenge organised by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Designed by London architecture firm JaK Studio in conjunction with innovation consultancy Seymourpowell, and taking the form of a speech bubble, the Listening Booth will tour the country to record and share conversations with people around the UK for broadcast by the BBC. The Listening Project Booth will be officially launched with a special live BBC Radio 4 broadcast on Tuesday 9 June at 9am outside BBC New Broadcasting House, with Fi Glover. Inspired by the iconic Airstream ‘caravan’, the lightweight, aerodynamic booth has been hand crafted on a standard trailer base. Behind the speech bubble’s plain polycarbonate ’skin’, lies an interactive light sculpture, created by Light IQ, that responds and reacts to conversations happening inside. Internally, sophisticated acoustic treatments – perforated ceiling rafts, insulation, acoustic furniture – have been carefully integrated. The result is a warm, intimate and accessible environment where people can feel relaxed, uninhibited and comfortable opening their hearts and conversations up to the nation. The ambience has been designed to engender a ‘home from home’ feel; a log burner and decorative flying ducks add warmth and a touch of nostalgia. RIBA President Stephen Hodder said: “The Listening Project Booth is a brilliantly witty project and a great piece of product design. It was the unanimous choice of our competition judges and I’m sure will inspire those who see it on the road and share their stories within it.” Tony Phillips, Radio 4 commissioning editor and one of the judges on the panel that awarded the design commission to JaK Studio, adds: “I’m delighted that we are now able to share the wonderful Listening Project Booth with the world. “The idea behind the Booth was to bring The Listening Project to people up and down the country and to create a unique and welcoming place for them to share significant moments in conversation. The JaK Studio design achieves exactly that and is a fitting beacon for The Listening Project as it moves into its next phase.” Jacob Low – Partner, JaK Studio said:“To be selected to design an environment for such a unique and special project has been a privilege and a pleasure. Beyond the practicalities, we wanted to create a booth that celebrated the power and intimacy of conversation. From the reactive light sculpture that visually captures the dynamics of speech to the home-from-home touches that make the interior space a cosy cabin in which to retreat. For the ensuing months that the speech bubble booth will be on the road, it will be the definitive place for people to share with us the story of their lives, and we’re thrilled that they will be doing so in an environment that represents so many heartfelt moments of our own.” – Ends – Notes to editors 1. For further press information contact Melanie Mayfield, RIBA Press Office melanie.mayfield@riba.org 020 7307 3662Conor Dwan, BBC Radio 4 Press, conor.dwan@bbc.co.uk 07714 956 797Tim Duncan, TDC PR, on behalf of JaK Studio tim@tdcpr.com 07729 479166 2. Images of the Listening Project Booth can be downloaded from https://riba.box.com/s/26yjxs9zpyuzdbeko7fkaz7t90efk24w 3. JaK Studio’s design for the Listening Project Booth was selected as part of an international design challenge launched by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) in 2013. RIBA Competitions delivers variety, inspiration and value through expertly run design and architectural competitions. For further details visit www.architecture.com/competition 4. The Listening Project, presented by Fi Glover, is a Radio 4 initiative launched in 2012 in partnership with BBC Local Radio and the Nations, in which people across the UK volunteer to record a conversation with someone close to them about a subject they’ve never discussed intimately before. The conversations are being archived by the British Library and used to build up a collection of voices capturing a unique portrait of the UK in the second decade of the millennium. The project has had an impact on many people’s lives already, as well as producing some truly memorable radio moments. Now it is getting ready to go on the road, travelling around the country to enable as many people as possible to become involved. 5. Listening Project Booth credits:Architects & designers: JaK Studio Llp www.jakstudio.co.ukProduct designers: Seymourpowell www.seymourpowell.comEngineers and Coachbuilders: Spectra www.spectra.uk.netLighting designers: Light IQ www.lightiq.com Branding: Brash Brands http://www.brashbrands.comSound consultants: Delicious Digital www.deliciousdigital.comConsulting structural engineers: Car Ltd www.carltd.comApproved inspectors: Thames Building Control www.thamesbuildingcontrol.co.uk 6. The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members www.architecture.com 7. Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA Posted on Tuesday 12th May 2015 Source link