Global certification firm Bureau Veritas is urging business to take safety very seriously and ensure they are ‘ISO 45001 compliant’ to help improve standards for all. Although ISO 45001 is not coming into full effect until March 2021, businesses are encouraged to embrace the new standards now to create the
Design plans for a four star luxury, boutique hotel in Milton Keynes are now underway, following successful planning permission. The 250-bed hotel will be located on Marlborough Gate and it will include conference and meeting room services, a gym, spa and pool facilities, as well as a rooftop restaurant that
Award-winning UK construction, refurbishment and fit out contractor, Gilbert-Ash, has recently completed an extensive £16.2m rebuilding and remodelling of UCL’s renowned Faculty of Laws facilities in Camden, London. The works connected the University’s past with its future, fully integrating a Grade II listed building, Bentham House, with a neighbouring mid-20th
The winner of this year’s AJ Small Projects is Wrong House by Matheson Whiteley, a project that includes the construction of a wedge-shaped extension to a semi-detached Victorian townhouse in Hackney, east London, at just £93,000. The practice will receive £2,500 for the award. Now in its 23rd year running,
Leeds City Council has approved Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios’ plans for a £350 million South Bank scheme, which includes the construction of the city’s tallest tower. The plans also cover two office blocks, providing 26,100 m² of commercial and shopping space, together with an extra 103,900 m² of offices, retail,
Haig Housing has drafted the former service veterans to the charity’s biggest new build development in the UK since the 1950s. The 68-home development, located in Morden, aims to help with the issue of the affordable housing shortage faced by the nation’s ex-service men and women. “This is the first
According to the latest figures from the NLA, over a third of landlords in the UK have had property abandoned by tenants. Abandonment occurs when a tenant moves out of a property before the tenancy has ended, without informing their landlord. The issue can be costly as it often occurs
Switzerland’s property markets are currently providing strong growth for investors with the latest data showing total returns of 6.6% in 2015. This was up from 5.2% in 2014, which the index report from investment support tools firm MSCI says reflects continued strong growth in the Swiss properties sector. It also
Browser does not support script. Contact us The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to today’s Budget from the Chancellor George Osborne. RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “The changes to the rules on business rates and national insurance contributions will be well received by RIBA architects working on
The availability of drones for construction surveys is set to grow with the launch of a new service being described as an ‘Uber for drones’. Above: A Future Aerial drone and, below, the controller Uber is a cloud-administered taxi service with a smart-phone app that enables customers to summon a
Global certification firm Bureau Veritas is urging business to take safety very seriously and ensure they are ‘ISO 45001 compliant’ to help improve standards for all. Although ISO 45001 is not coming into full effect until March 2021, businesses are encouraged to embrace the new standards now to create the safest and healthiest environment possible for employees. ISO 45001:2018 was published on the 15th of March this year and it is the world’s first occupational health and safety international standard. It replaces the current OHSAS 18001 and is intended to offer one single set of requirements designed to help organisations of all types and sizes create and implement systems that proactively prevent work-related injury and ill health. “Unfortunately, the reality is that poor workplace safety remains a huge international issue with the estimated global total of fatal occupational accidents and work-related illness increasing by almost a fifth (19%) in the last three years alone,” explained Gregg Elwell, UK technical manager for Bureau Veritas. Customers are also becoming more demanding, which results into tighter deadlines and added pressures. “As such, it is more important than ever for businesses to take proactive steps to improve health and safety management. Although ISO 45001 will only come into effect following a three year transitional period, we would urge businesses to embrace the new standard ahead of time to ensure they are promoting absolute best practice,” added Gregg. To help business understand better this transition, Bureau Veritas has launched ‘Understanding the Transition to ISO 45001’, a paper detailing how the new standard will help organisations improve workplace safety. It explains the benefits of adopting a health and safety management system, while providing information on key differences between the new standard and the existing ones. “The new standards create a fresh framework for excellence and, for the first time, align occupational health and safety certification with other global ISO-certified management systems,” said Gregg. Bureau Veritas supports its clients with the transition to ISO 45001 through the LEAD platform, while also making the paper available for download at: http://bureauveritas.co.uk/white-papers/understanding-the-transition-to-iso-45001-white-paper.
Design plans for a four star luxury, boutique hotel in Milton Keynes are now underway, following successful planning permission. The 250-bed hotel will be located on Marlborough Gate and it will include conference and meeting room services, a gym, spa and pool facilities, as well as a rooftop restaurant that will offer fantastic views over central Milton Keynes. Designed by pHp Architects, the scheme will feature an eye-catching design that will create the illusion of the sun on the east side of the hotel off Midsummer Boulevard. “We are delighted to receive the green light for the Milton Keynes hotel development. Our emphasis is on quality and the entire building design team have certainly delivered above and beyond that in their plans,” said Mark Stuart, managing director at Hotel La Tour, the owners of the development. “Hotel La Tour Milton Keynes will fill a much needed luxury services gap within the area and bring life and connectivity to it. It will also create approximately 200 new jobs as we recruit and develop local talent.” The next stage of design planning has already started for Couch Perry Wilkes (CPW), the engineers providing the mechanical, engineering and plumbing expertise, as well as the BREEAM assessor role. The other companies part of the project are Gleeds, pHp Architects and Scott, White and Hookins Structural & Civil Engineers and Sharps Redmore Acoustics. “We are busy developing client specific solutions to ensure that the guests and staff have the best possible experience when visiting and working in the hotel. We are therefore working with specialist designers for interior design, audio visual, spa specialists and artists working on commissions within the development,” explained Matt Wrate, director at CPW. The cost and project management services for the project are provided by international property and construction consultancy Gleeds.
Award-winning UK construction, refurbishment and fit out contractor, Gilbert-Ash, has recently completed an extensive £16.2m rebuilding and remodelling of UCL’s renowned Faculty of Laws facilities in Camden, London. The works connected the University’s past with its future, fully integrating a Grade II listed building, Bentham House, with a neighbouring mid-20th century building, Hillel House which housed the Gideon Schreier and Graduate Wings, within the predominantly Georgian conservation area. The adjacent building was significantly remodelled including a major extension at the rear and a completely new exterior façade with Portland stone, complementing UCL Laws original historic home. With a growing UCL student and Faculty body, Gilbert-Ash delivered a high-quality, technically advanced, bright space, reflecting modern methods of learning. Working closely with leading architects Levitt Bernstein, the development also comprises a central social hub, state-of-the-art research facilities and cutting-edge office and teaching areas. The two buildings are now linked across all levels, with floor-to-ceiling windows, maximising the natural light and a new spacious atrium improving the student and Faculty experience. The development incorporates sustainability features, including a bio-diverse roof with photovoltaic arrays. Rodney Coalter, Project Manager, Gilbert-Ash, commented, “Working closely with UCL, Levitt Bernstein and the whole redevelopment supply chain, we are really pleased with the high-end teaching facility that has been created. It enhances the learning environment and experience for both students and faculty, as well as visitors and alumni. Recognising the renowned reputation of UCL, the redevelopment also aims to build on the traditions and character of the University whilst providing an extended, modern space for continued ambitious learning and socialising.” Professor Piet Eeckhout, Dean, UCL Laws said: “I am absolutely thrilled to have the pleasure to welcome the Faculty back home to Bentham House. UCL Laws has, at long last, a home fit for our world-leading research, teaching and social enterprise. The project has given the Faculty more than a building: it’s given us an inspiring environment in which our whole community can come together.” Professor Dame Hazel Genn, UCL Project Sponsor said, “At the very core of the vision for redeveloping Bentham House has always been how the building will support, inspire and motivate the world-class teaching and thriving research culture within UCL Laws. “The highly creative plans for the building have seamlessly married the much-loved traditional spaces with bright, modern facilities, giving our Faculty a home that reflects and respects its heritage, while also supporting and driving its forward-thinking, global agenda.” The UCL Faculty of Laws development is part of a larger scheme, Transforming UCL, the largest capital programme in the university’s history. It will see substantial investment of over £1.2 billion over a 10-year period to refurbish and develop some of UCL’s most iconic buildings whilst also bringing forward new world class buildings to enable continued growth. Highly detailed design, advanced logistical planning and development goes into every Gilbert-Ash project, with the team skilled in delivering the finest quality projects in the UK and globally. For more information on Gilbert-Ash visit www.gilbert-ash.com
The winner of this year’s AJ Small Projects is Wrong House by Matheson Whiteley, a project that includes the construction of a wedge-shaped extension to a semi-detached Victorian townhouse in Hackney, east London, at just £93,000. The practice will receive £2,500 for the award. Now in its 23rd year running, the event is a celebration of innovative projects built on a budget of less than £250,000. The jury praised the winning scheme for its ‘humility and restraint’ and the great contribution it made to a London street. Other highly commended schemes were Baxendale’s Riverside Solidarity and the PEER Gallery and Pocket Park by Trevor Home Architects. In addition, the People’s Choice award, voted by 1,700 people, was won by Matt + Fiona’s Made in Oakfield in Hull. “We’re so shocked to win, particularly because it’s such a strong and varied field. There is so much quality in the different schemes and I’m glad the judges recognised we had squeezed some quality out of our situation,” said Matheson Whiteley, director at Donald Matheson. Out of the 200 entries, 20 projects were shortlisted and then presented to the judging panel in Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios’ offices on Tottenham Street, London. Among the other finalists were a photography studio, woodland classrooms and a kindergarten in Fiji. Part of the judging panel were Takero Shimazaki, director of Takero Shimazaki Architects; last year’s winner Kate Darby, principal of Kate Darby Architects; Lendlease’s Jonathan Emery; AJ sustainability editor Hattie Hartman and was chaired by AJ architecture editor Rob Wilson. Past winners include Doma Architects in 2016, Carmody Groarke in 2015, Haworth Tompkins in 2010 and HawkinsBrown in 2000. All shortlisted AJ Small Projects schemes are part of an exhibition at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios’ offices that will remain open until the 17th of May from 9am to 5.30pm, from Monday to Friday.
Leeds City Council has approved Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios’ plans for a £350 million South Bank scheme, which includes the construction of the city’s tallest tower. The plans also cover two office blocks, providing 26,100 m² of commercial and shopping space, together with an extra 103,900 m² of offices, retail, leisure, hotel, health, education and community uses, parking and up to 750 new homes in buildings ranging in height from five to 40 storeys towards the rear of the development. The project is developed by Commercial Estates Group (CEG). “It has been a pleasure to work with CEG, the wider team and the City over the past few years in developing a project that will be key to the regeneration of historic Holbeck and the future transformation of the city centre as a whole,” said Alex Whitbread, Partner at Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios. FCBS’s 40-storey Globe Waterside residential tower is expected to be taller than Leeds’s current tallest building, 32-storey Bridgewater Place Tower, as well as BDP’s 33-storey mixed-use tower proposed for the western gateway to the city centre. “This derelict site is an important core in the west of the city, an area which has suffered from neglect over a number of years. This is set to change,” said David Hodgson, head of strategic development north for CEG David Hodgson. “At the heart of the South Bank regeneration area, our proposals will deliver the same attention to detail and quality as we are delivering at our award-winning Kirkstall Forge development. This will be an exciting mixed-use strategic development of a critical mass and international standard, revitalising the area and reconnecting local communities to the city,” he continued. CEG has also developed the £400 million Kirkstall Forge masterplan to the west of the city centre, which will provide 1,050 new homes, 28, 000 m2 of office space and 9,300 m2 of leisure and retail space once it is completed.
Haig Housing has drafted the former service veterans to the charity’s biggest new build development in the UK since the 1950s. The 68-home development, located in Morden, aims to help with the issue of the affordable housing shortage faced by the nation’s ex-service men and women. “This is the first brick in our largest single building programme since the fifties. It marks a significant point in a concerted period of construction that will add 68 new homes to our Morden estate,” said James Richardson, chief executive of Haig Housing. Contractor United Living pledged to employ local veterans during the construction and residents Pauline Burroughs and Charles Glover joined them at an official ceremony to mark the start of the construction work. Mrs Burroughs has lived as a Haig resident in Morden for 46 years while Mr Glover’s son has just recently passed out of AFC Harrogate and is following his father’s footsteps into the army. To mark this occasion, the contractor brought a commemorative trowel, which will go on display throughout the development. “Rhodes Moorhouse Court is a prestigious development and we’re extremely proud to be constructing these new homes in partnership with Haig Housing. United Living brings plenty of expertise in delivering projects like this, having previously delivered construction training for ex-military personnel on projects and building sites across the country. We see this as another very worthy cause and we’re now in the process of accelerating efforts to recruit more ex-service personnel to help deliver this project,” said Stuart Laird, chief operating officer at United Living. Each property on the new build will be made available for rent for former service personnel. Haig Housing receives around 1,000 applications for housing each year, of which it can help one in seven applicants. As the waiting lists keep growing, securing affordable accommodation for veterans and their families becomes extremely difficult. Starting with June 2019, the mix of properties, from one bedroom apartments to four bedroom houses, will be available for social rent. The scheme is part funded by the Veterans’ Accommodation Fund, which also provided funding for Haig Housing to expand into Colchester, Aldershot and Scotland.
According to the latest figures from the NLA, over a third of landlords in the UK have had property abandoned by tenants. Abandonment occurs when a tenant moves out of a property before the tenancy has ended, without informing their landlord. The issue can be costly as it often occurs when outstanding rent is owed. However, the tenant still has a legal right to return and take up residence at any time and it is a criminal offence for landlords to do anything to prevent the continuation of the tenancy. The only option for a landlord is to go through the legal process for regaining possession of an abandoned property which can take months. A big problem for Northern landlords While on average a third of landlords have had property abandoned before, more landlords in the North East of England have experienced the problem than anywhere else across the UK, with almost six in ten (58 per cent) having had a property abandoned. Just over half (51 per cent) of landlords in the North have also experienced the issue. At the other end of the scale, three in ten (31 per cent) landlords in the South West of England said they have had a property abandoned before – the lowest proportion across the UK – with a third (33 per cent) of London landlords having had to deal with the problem. Tacking the problem The news comes as the Housing and Planning Act – which contains measures to tackle the problem – recently received Royal Ascent. Richard Lambert, CEO of the NLA, said: “The process of recovering an abandoned property is too long, frustrating, and costly for landlords at the moment. Many people will be shocked by just how common this problem is, and landlords will be relieved to know that the Housing and Planning Act will create a new process to deal with the issue, giving them far greater security and peace of mind when recovering properties they believe to have been abandoned”. The Housing and Planning Act also contains proposals to allow local councils to keep hold of the proceeds they make when carrying out landlord prosecutions as well as introducing stiffer civil penalties and banning orders for landlords found breaking the law. Mr Lambert continued: “We’ve long argued that councils should be able to hold on to the money they make when carrying out landlord prosecutions as this better enables them to implement long-term enforcement strategies to tackle the rogues. The Government missed the chance to apply these changes in today’s Queen Speech, but we hope they waste no further time in giving councils these important powers”. Source link
Switzerland’s property markets are currently providing strong growth for investors with the latest data showing total returns of 6.6% in 2015. This was up from 5.2% in 2014, which the index report from investment support tools firm MSCI says reflects continued strong growth in the Swiss properties sector. It also says that the strength of Swiss property market signals that the sector benefited from the Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) move last year to scrap the franc’s peg to the euro and lower interest rates. The figures showed that government bond yields and property yields both declined in 2015 from 2014, to -0.04 from 0.38%, and to 4.4% from 4.8%, respectively. The spread between the government yield bonds and property yields increased to 4.45% in 2015 from 4.4% the year before. The strong total return was fuelled by robust capital value growth, which rose to 2.4% from 1% in 2014. This capital value growth marks the second highest growth in the three, five and 10 year average. Residential properties remained the strongest sector in 2015, representing 47% of the measured universe in the index. Total return in this segment rose to 8.4% from 6.1% from the year before. The capital value growth in residential properties reached 4.1, marking the best performance since the index began. Moreover, office property returns recovered in 2015, achieving total return of 5.0%, compared to 4.2% in 2014. However, office property total returns remained below the five year average of 5.1%, and the 10 year average of 5.8%. Across the different sectors, rental growth weakened slightly. Net income return dropped to 4.1%, from 4.3% in 2014. ‘The Swiss property market enjoyed another robust year as the market continues to attract capital. The strong capital growth is a result of increased yield compression following investor demand. This is especially true for the major cities of Switzerland, such as Zurich, Bern, Basel or Geneva,’ said Justus Vollrath, MSCI executive director. ‘What’s particularly interesting is that the move by Swiss central bank to unpeg the Swiss franc and lower interest rates led to slight widening of spreads between government bond yields and property yields. This created an additional incentive for investors,’ he explained. ‘We also see that the residential market showed particular resilience and enjoyed exceptionally strong capital value growth,’ he added. BOOKMARK THIS PAGE (What is this?) Source link
Browser does not support script. Contact us The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has responded to today’s Budget from the Chancellor George Osborne. RIBA President Jane Duncan said: “The changes to the rules on business rates and national insurance contributions will be well received by RIBA architects working on their own or at smaller practices. “Planned investments to infrastructure projects in London and the North of England are a welcome boost to capacity. Further devolution deals will be an ideal opportunity for architects to work with communities on housing, planning and transport issues that ensure we get more high quality affordable homes for everyone. I’m also pleased the importance of protecting our homes and businesses against flooding has been recognised. “But, there are too many unanswered questions about how the Government plans to address the housing crisis affecting every part of the country. Councils need to be given greater borrowing powers to invest in new housing. The continued focus on home ownership means that there are huge parts of the market where private developers and housing associations either can’t or won’t invest.” ENDS Notes to editors For further press information contact Howard Crosskey in the RIBA Press Office howard.crosskey@riba.org Full 2016 Budget report is available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/budget-2016-documents The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) champions better buildings, communities and the environment through architecture and our members www.architecture.com Follow us on Twitter for regular RIBA updates www.twitter.com/RIBA Posted on Wednesday 16th March 2016 Source link
The availability of drones for construction surveys is set to grow with the launch of a new service being described as an ‘Uber for drones’. Above: A Future Aerial drone and, below, the controller Uber is a cloud-administered taxi service with a smart-phone app that enables customers to summon a cab, thanks to Uber’s network of independent owner-drivers. Similarly, Future Aerial has created its Drone Operations Network (DON) to create a central register of independent and one-man-band drone operators. Future Aerial says that tis operations model, coupled with Future Drone Cloud, its cloud based technology, enables any company to commission multiple fleets of drones at any one time. It also standardises the quality of data capture, analysis and delivery. Andrew Blogg, David Bush and Jan Domaradzki launched Future Aerial in June 2014 to provide drone services to local authorities and surveying companies. Andrew Blogg said: “We’ve been obsessed by drone tech from the beginning. We are operators ourselves and can see first-hand how large corporates will benefit from a network of drones to check assets such as bridges, pylons or roof-tops of buildings.” Future Aerial currently has over 20 fleets of drones signed up in the UK. One of these, Chris Fenton, technical director at Octovision Media, said: “Drone operators are usually one-man-bands. Future Aerial has helped me turn my love for drones into a viable commercial micro-business. It was difficult to get interesting work from large companies before because it is hard for them to work with individuals. FA removes that barrier and allows me to make a living from flying drones.” Marek Rozycki, non-executive chairman at Future Aerial, and a former vice president with Amazon.com, said: “People often talk about drones in a military or a novelty context. These guys are one of the first teams in the world to bring a viable and scalable commercial model for large organisations, operating nationwide”. Future Aerial says that all of its drone operators comply with the ‘dronecode’ set by the UK Civil Aviation Authority or relevant airspace regulator. Further Images This article was published on 1 Dec 2015 (last updated on 1 Dec 2015). Source link