Anesco has completed the sale of Clayhill to GRIDSERVE for an undisclosed sum, marking a major step forward in Anesco’s transition from asset owner to services provider, and further cementing GRIDSERVE’s leadership position with subsidy-free solar in the UK. Clayhill, located in Flitwick near Bedfordshire, was the UK’s first
Landwood Property Auctions are meeting surging demand for development opportunities – by continuing to stage weekly sales throughout August – when many of their rivals down tools. Summer months traditionally see most auction houses scale back or halt operations entirely. But, Landwood are doing the reverse and maintaining their timetable of
Global building materials supplier CEMEX presents VIAMAIN, a sustainable alternative to conventional materials designed with the utility contractor in mind. The benefits it delivers include improved air void compliance and a reduction in the number of defects associated with trench reinstatements through enhanced workability and compaction properties. Furthermore, the enhanced
To coincide with the August opening of Birch, the ‘next-generation escape’ hotel just outside London, international architecture and interiors practice Red Deer have considered how Covid19 challenges the luxury hotel market. Covid19 has created a distance between us for a period of time, but when we come back together in
The COVID-19 lockdown has significantly changed our daily lives by disrupting and quite often changing our usual work and family routines. The outcome has been new working patterns, changes in the division of unpaid work in the home and a widespread desire for more flexible working and shorter working hours
Work on the restoration of Wolverhampton’s Civic Halls has restarted after an enforced break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. City of Wolverhampton Council has now officially entered into the main contract with delivery partner Willmott Dixon Interiors, who since October had been progressing works on schedule and on budget under
Proposals for a new flagship Dobbies garden centre near Tewkesbury have moved closer with the submission of the detailed designs. The new 75,000 sq ft garden centre with parking for 754 cars will be the largest Dobbies in the South West and the company’s fourth largest in the UK. It
Revised plans have been submitted for a mixed-use development in York featuring a new Roman visitor attraction. The proposed Roman Quarter development is a partnership between North Star and York Archaeological Trust, and is set to bring a news Roman visitor attraction to the city. It aims to regenerate and
The development of more than one million sq ft of new employment space on a site off the M1 in South Yorkshire has been granted planning permission. Harworth Group received approval for development of a site on either side of Dearne Valley Parkway, close to Junction 36 of the M1, at
Lifestyle Appliances Ltd, one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of outdoor leisure products, has seen a surge in online sales during the recent lockdown period, which the company managed with the latest software, cyber security and remote working tools. The award-winning Redditch-based company was formed in 2001 and enjoys a strong
Anesco has completed the sale of Clayhill to GRIDSERVE for an undisclosed sum, marking a major step forward in Anesco’s transition from asset owner to services provider, and further cementing GRIDSERVE’s leadership position with subsidy-free solar in the UK. Clayhill, located in Flitwick near Bedfordshire, was the UK’s first solar farm developed free from government subsidy. Comprising 10MW of solar PV co-located with a 6MW energy storage facility, the site generates enough electricity for around 2,500 homes while saving around 4,500 tonnes of carbon annually. Anesco will continue to provide operations and maintenance services for the site, as part of a 20-year agreement with GRIDSERVE. Mark Futyan, Anesco CEO, commented: “Engineering a subsidy-free development at Clayhill was a landmark achievement for the industry and is something we’re very proud of. It has proven to be a solid investment and we look forward to working with GRIDSERVE to ensure Clayhill continues to generate the optimal financial and environmental returns.” Mark continued: “Moving from being an asset owner to a services provider was always our intention and the sale of Clayhill forms a significant part of that. This transaction will fuel growth by enabling us to bring new projects into being and to expand our operations and maintenance, asset optimisation and ECO divisions. Overall, creating a truly integrated proposition for renewable energy investors.” GRIDSERVE’s plans include sleeving some of the power generated by Clayhill for its ground-breaking Electric Forecourt® in Braintree, which forms part of its ‘Sun-to-Wheel’ model – delivering net zero carbon electric vehicle charging, powered by clean energy generated from solar power. Jeremy Cross, Chief Commercial Officer at GRIDSERVE, said: “The addition of Clayhill to our portfolio – which marks GRIDSERVE’s first acquisition of an operational solar farm – will enable us to guarantee that the amount of energy used at our Electric Forecourt® in Braintree has been generated from zero carbon solar power. “Our mission is to deliver sustainable energy and move the needle on climate change, and this project will help us to support the UK’s transition to net zero transport in the earliest possible timeframes.” Jeremy added: “GRIDSERVE is in a unique position in the industry, having developed sites at York and Hull at the end of last year, with a further pipeline being built out this year, and now acquiring the only other operational solar-plus-storage project in the UK. We look forward to working with Anesco on this exciting project.” Anesco has developed 115 utility-scale solar and energy storage projects to date, with a total capacity in excess of 750MW. To support the advancement of the UK’s subsidy-free markets, Anesco invested directly in a number of projects but is now selling these assets to focus fully on its core offering: providing full lifecycle engineering services to solar and energy storage markets. GRIDSERVE’s inaugural Electric Forecourt® in Braintree is scheduled to open to the public later this year and marks the first in a planned roll-out of over 100 Electric Forecourts® and electric vehicle charging solutions across the UK in the coming years. Both this acquisition and the roll out of GRIDSERVE’s Electric Forecourt’s® are being supported by GRIDSERVE’s strategic partnership with Hitachi Capital UK, as announced earlier this year.
Landwood Property Auctions are meeting surging demand for development opportunities – by continuing to stage weekly sales throughout August – when many of their rivals down tools. Summer months traditionally see most auction houses scale back or halt operations entirely. But, Landwood are doing the reverse and maintaining their timetable of industry-leading online-only sales every seven days as more and more customers seek to snap up land. Recent auctions have shown how strong the demand for plots is with one in Stalybridge, Cheshire reaching 19 times its £5,000 guide price – selling for £95,000 after 298 bids. Similarly, a further plot of land in Stroud, Gloucestershire went for 3.5 times its estimate – selling for £325,000 following 150 bids. “In times of economic uncertainty like these, you often see increased demand for land as investors see it as a safe place for their money. And we’ve certainly been witnessing plots with residential development opportunities performing particularly strongly recently,” said Landwood Property Auctions Director Kate Lay. “That’s why, while others hang up their gavels over the summer, we’re continuing to hold our auctions on a weekly basis throughout August and into the rest of the year.” Recent highlights from the July 29 sale evidence this strong demand for properties with residential development potential. Two care homes in Cumbria were sold on behalf of Cumbria County Council for £406,000 and £244,000, compared with the guide prices of £100,000 and £125,000 respectively. There was strong interest in the lead up to the auction from residential developers, as well as from those in the care sector. Further recent successes include a commercial unit in High Wycombe, Bucks that went for 25% over the £1million guide price after failing to sell privately. Landwood’s pioneering tech-driven approach dispenses with a physical auctioneer – allowing more bids to be taken in a shorter space of time – maximising potential returns for sellers and giving buyers more opportunities to secure a property. It helped them sell £11million of property during lockdown.
Global building materials supplier CEMEX presents VIAMAIN, a sustainable alternative to conventional materials designed with the utility contractor in mind. The benefits it delivers include improved air void compliance and a reduction in the number of defects associated with trench reinstatements through enhanced workability and compaction properties. Furthermore, the enhanced durability means VIAMAIN has a significantly decreased whole life carbon footprint compared to traditionally used materials. This can be further reduced by the use of a Warm Mix version VIAMAIN ECO. “For our customers the risk of defects associated with trench reinstatements is one of the major issues they face and by using VIAMAIN they’re seeing a reduction in both visual and core defects, which saves their business money in defect charges and rectification,” explained Martin Ashfield, National Technical Manager (Asphalt & Surfacing) for CEMEX UK. “The sustainability benefits are an added advantage, as we are seeing more and more customers looking to choose more eco-friendly options for their projects. We offer a wide range of sustainable products to our customers for all types of work and we continue to collaborate with others to increase our eco range.” CEMEX customers, D T Hughes Contractors and Ryeland Developments, are two out of 120 that have switched to VIAMAIN for their multiple trench reinforcement projects. Liam Cannon, Reinstatement Manager at D T Hughes, said: “VIAMAIN has lowered air voids by roughly 50% and lowered the number of defect complaints received. It’s an all-round better product visually and because it passes the air content test saving the company money and time.” CEMEX has partnered with Shell Bitumen as their leading Bitumen supplier in the UK and Carl Platt, Director of Asphalt, Paving, and Building Products for Europe, said: “It’s important to us that we offer sustainable and durable solutions to customers. We’ve been working with Shell Bitumen in the UK for a long time and they understand our business and strategic priorities. Increasing our sustainable product range aligns to our strategy and Shell’s robust supply chain and quality products support us to deliver a reliable high standard to our customers.” VIAMAIN mixes are fully compliant with the requirements of the Specification for the Reinstatement of Opening for Highways and mixes are available as a 20mm binder course and a 10mm & 6mm surface course, all of which fully conform to BS EN 13108-1. The product is providing customers with a lot more confidence in the durability of their reinstatement work and Ryeland Developments Operations Manager, Callum Whitfield, said: “VIAMAIN is far superior to standard 6mm batches, operatives prefer to lay the material and customers are happier with the end-product.”
To coincide with the August opening of Birch, the ‘next-generation escape’ hotel just outside London, international architecture and interiors practice Red Deer have considered how Covid19 challenges the luxury hotel market. Covid19 has created a distance between us for a period of time, but when we come back together in the coming years, Red Deer believes that a new shift in the luxury market will emerge from our time apart. Red Deer consider the term ‘luxury’ as degraded through overuse, and the parameters of what constitutes a ‘luxury hotel’ can be tricky to define. The concept can be specific to each individual guest, based on their own expectation, habits and culture. For Red Deer, luxury comes from the creation of a meaningful emotional connection between the hotel guest and the space they inhabit. Forbes contributor Pamela N. Danziger writes: “Millennials represent only about 32% of spending in the personal luxury market, but by 2025 they are expected to make up 50% of the total market. Some 130% of market growth in the next seven years will be attributed to the Millennial generation.” The luxury industry has often aligned with indulgence and excess rather than sustainability and connections. Quality craftsmanship and experiences may continue to command a premium price tag, however, Millennials are creating a new focus towards sustainability. Both Millennial and Gen Z groups’ expectations from luxury brands are very different from those of Gen X and Baby Boomers who favour traditional wealth values. Social connections and insider knowledge are of more importance to these younger consumers who are more likely to make value-based acquisitions and purchases. Luxury weaves its way through their experiences, free time, travel, community, self-growth and security. For the Birch hotel project, Red Deer deconstructed the meaning of a hotel and pieced it back together to ensure that no element was intrinsic without careful consideration. The obvious need for a bed and bathroom are present, however, more attention was given to the contemporary ‘luxuries’ such as a TV, telephone and smart lighting systems to ascertain their place in a luxury hotel for an increasingly younger generation of guests. As the landscape for luxury hospitality has evolved, the onus is now focused on creating a unique and personalised one-to-one experience for guests. This bespoke experience is a key driver throughout the design of Red Deer’s projects. With Birch, Red Deer felt it crucial to collaborate with local artists and makers to create some unique pieces in the rooms and challenge the idea that uniformity was essential for large batch furniture specification. The most prominent of these pieces is a bespoke valet stand constructed by Jan Hendzel Studio, utilising recycled plastic orbs by sustainable material designer Charlotte Kidger, textured vases by ceramicist Emma Louise Payne and hand-beaten copper bowls by metalsmith Lucie Naujalis. It’s a piece that is intimate and personal, telling a story of three different elements brought together in a single form that is simultaneously light and robust, whilst able to be easily taken apart when required and updated over time. It’s a piece designed to stimulate the guest’s senses and spark their curiosity. Before the pandemic, the global luxury market was predicted to reach €1.3 trillion by 2025. As the hospitality industry enters a challenging period in Q2/3 2020 it is ever-important for the designers and hotel investors to consider the changing market needs and place social connections and insider knowledge alongside premium experiences at the forefront of their business models. Hotels aren’t just bedrooms with smart technology, but memory-making experiences that create value and loyalty. Red Deer believe Birch to be an example of how hospitality projects should be approached, considering a long-term commitment to sustainability within a renovation or new build as a crucial component of architectural design.
The COVID-19 lockdown has significantly changed our daily lives by disrupting and quite often changing our usual work and family routines. The outcome has been new working patterns, changes in the division of unpaid work in the home and a widespread desire for more flexible working and shorter working hours in the future. The University of Kent and the University of Birmingham have undertaken research to understand how employees working from home have coped during the COVID-19 lockdown. Specifically, the research explored how employees perceived the support they received from managers and organisations, how employees shared housework and childcare (if applicable) between them and their partner, the impact on productivity and what their attitudes to flexible working in the future were following the COVID-19 lockdown. What have we learned? Rather expectedly, the data collected from the survey confirmed that mothers were taking on a lot more housework and childcare during lockdown. In fact, during lockdown, mothers were also likely to undertake their paid work in the evenings to cope with the increased childcare. However, our research also found that Dads stepped up during lockdown, taking on more childcare. Interestingly, the data also showed that fathers that took more than two weeks leave (more than two weeks paternity leave) after the birth or adoption of their child were more likely to have their female partner report that childcare was being shared equally during lockdown (compared to fathers that did not take more than two weeks leave). Were employees more productive during lockdown? Due to an increased need to balance work with housework and childcare, one may have thought that productivity would have suffered during this time, but actually, productivity improved for many in the sample. Overall, 30% of our sample reported that their productivity increased during lockdown. Indeed, many in the sample outlined that they wished to work from home in the future ‘to be more productive’ (40% for mothers, 43% of fathers, 49% of women without children, 46% of men without children). What is novel about this research? Unlike other research that has been undertaken during the COVID-19 lockdown, our research has looked into managerial support as well as the tools and support organisations supplied their employees during lockdown. 72.7% of those working from home said they felt their manager cared about the effects that work demands had on their personal and family life during lockdown where 65.9% said their managers has cared prior to lockdown. This suggest that the experience of lockdown has led to a broader understanding among managers of their employees responsibilities outside work. Another key finding from our research showed the change in the level of support being supplied by organisations during the COVID-19 lockdown. Organisations moved quickly to support their employees to be able to fulfil their jobs. Only 41% of employees said they were supplied appropriate tools for homeworking before lockdown but during lockdown this increased sharply to 62%. Effective support for using those tools also increased from 47% to 65%, which demonstrates that organisation have made significant investments into homeworking and the infrastructure around homeworking and flexible working have been greatly increased across the country, so it is likely that working from home will continue to be popular in the future. All groups of workers want more opportunities to work flexibly in the future The experience of being with family and loved ones for a prolonged period of time during lockdown led 76% of mothers and 73% of fathers to suggest they would like to work more flexibly in future so they can spend more time with their children. Furthermore, 64% of fathers and 59% of mothers also said that they would like to reduce their working hours to spend more time with family. This reflects a possible shift in how housework and childcare may be shared between partners in future. 58.5% of non-parents also said they would like to work flexibly in the future in order to spend more time with family. 55% of respondents are now intending to apply for flexible working on return to the Office so the Future of work could look very different. Dr Holly Birkett and Dr Sarah Forbes
Work on the restoration of Wolverhampton’s Civic Halls has restarted after an enforced break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. City of Wolverhampton Council has now officially entered into the main contract with delivery partner Willmott Dixon Interiors, who since October had been progressing works on schedule and on budget under a pre-construction service delivery agreement. The grade II-listed halls are being transformed into an entertainment venue. The revised timetable for the project now means the newly-refurbished Civic Halls are expected to reopen to the public in early 2022. City of Wolverhampton Council cabinet member for city economy, Cllr Stephen Simkins, said: “I am delighted to see Willmott Dixon Interiors back on site to continue the crucial restoration and improvement of this much-loved, grade-II listed 82-year-old venue. “Covid-19 has had an unprecedented and unavoidable impact on major construction projects nationally and internationally in terms of time and financial cost. “But, after being hit hard by covid, regeneration projects like the Civic Halls are even more important to our city’s economic recovery. “We are creating a truly outstanding entertainment venue, in the heart of the city centre, which will bring in millions of pounds to our local economy and safeguard hundreds of jobs.” Phil Crowther, director at Willmott Dixon Interiors, added: “The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for construction. “The safety of our team remains the highest priority to us which is why we’ve adopted government-backed safety measures across the site, including social distancing practices. “Our people and supply chain partners have quickly adapted to the new ways of working and have embraced technology to keep everyone safe. “It’s great to be fully operational again and bring the project back on track. We’re incredibly passionate about this project and the opportunity it brings to help improve the lives of local people. “We can’t wait to deliver a world leading cultural facility that everyone in Wolverhampton can be proud of.”
Proposals for a new flagship Dobbies garden centre near Tewkesbury have moved closer with the submission of the detailed designs. The new 75,000 sq ft garden centre with parking for 754 cars will be the largest Dobbies in the South West and the company’s fourth largest in the UK. It will be sited at Junction 9 of the M5 and adjacent to the A46 and the existing M&S Simply Food, Starbucks and BP petrol station. The reserved matters application submitted by developer Robert Hitchins Ltd provides detailed information for the garden centre development, including layout, landscaping, scale, car parking and elevations in line with the outline planning permission already secured. “We’re delighted to be welcoming Dobbies to this new development near Tewkesbury which will provide a huge economic boost to the local area. Despite Covid, a lot of work has been carried out behind the scenes to ensure we are on target to start building later this year and to be opening the doors to the public in 2022,” said Simon Tothill, property and development director for Robert Hitchins. The new garden centre will share the same overall 180-acre site as the proposed 195,000 sq ft Designer Outlet Cotswolds which will feature some 90 retail units, restaurants and cafes along with 850 new homes, a school and a local centre. Infrastructure works are due to commence later this year with both the garden centre and outlet village planned to open in the autumn of 2022.
Revised plans have been submitted for a mixed-use development in York featuring a new Roman visitor attraction. The proposed Roman Quarter development is a partnership between North Star and York Archaeological Trust, and is set to bring a news Roman visitor attraction to the city. It aims to regenerate and revitalise Rougier Street, as well as provide a major two-year archaeological dig on the site. Three properties on Rougier Street – Northern House, Rougier House and Society Bar – would be replaced with a new building incorporate cutting edge sustainable technology and features. The scheme will include apartments, retail units, office space, leisure space, alongside the visitor attraction. “We want to deliver this exciting project as quickly as possible which is why we have amended the plans. In the post-Covid uncertain economic times, we feel that this project will be a major boost to York city centre and help with York’s economic recovery,” said a spokesperson for North Star. “It will raise the city’s profile, create a fantastic new educational and cultural attraction and will show the city moving forward. We’ve taken on board comments about the height of the development and have now lowered the proposals to make this building the lowest of the four large buildings in the immediate vicinity. We strongly believe that this addresses the main issue that was raised.” Following feedback from the council, stakeholders and other consultees, amended plans have been lodged with City of York Council to address issues raised. The height of the development has been reduced to make it lower than the adjacent Aviva Offices, Yorkshire House (soon to be the Malmaison hotel) and The Grand Hotel. Changes have been made to the design, with more stone and less glass, to complement the two taller existing buildings either side of the new development. The overall massing and width of the building has also been decreased and the mix of the apartments has been altered to provide larger, family-style. The total number of units has been reduced from 290 to 250. It has been estimated that the development would create more then 450 jobs and inject an extra £250m into the region’s economy over the next 30 years, as well as adding to York’s cultural offer. “We have had a superb response to the concept of the Roman visitor attraction, and indeed, enormous excitement about the potential of the archaeology that we will be uncovering during the dig if the plans are approved,” commented David Jennings, chief executive of York Archaeological Trust. “We know that this site has had many uses over the last 2,000 years, and we are very pleased to be partnering with an organisation that sees the building as an integral part of the city’s future – helping to regenerate this area, a fascinating and important place in the city at various points in history, with a building that fits into the urban landscape of Rougier Street and Tanner’s Moat.”
The development of more than one million sq ft of new employment space on a site off the M1 in South Yorkshire has been granted planning permission. Harworth Group received approval for development of a site on either side of Dearne Valley Parkway, close to Junction 36 of the M1, at meeting of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. The 95-acre site represents the second and third phases of the Gateway 36 development.The hybrid application includes outline plans for 1.1 million sq ft of space for business, general industrial, and storage and distribution space, together with associated internal access roads, landscaping and drainage. The indicative masterplan for the development shows ten units in a range of sizes. Detailed plans are included for earthworks and the creation of access points, including a new roundabout on the Dearne Valley Parkway, and link road. It has been estimated that the development could support the creation of about 2,500 jobs. The council’s Planning Regulatory Board unanimously voted to approve the scheme, subject to conditions, at the meeting. Gateway 36 is being developed on the former Rockingham Colliery site. Phase 1, comprising 198,000 sq ft of commercial space, was approved in March 2015. Barnsley Council has taken three units developed as part of the first phase for the R-evolution @ Gateway 36 scheme.
Lifestyle Appliances Ltd, one of the UK’s largest independent suppliers of outdoor leisure products, has seen a surge in online sales during the recent lockdown period, which the company managed with the latest software, cyber security and remote working tools. The award-winning Redditch-based company was formed in 2001 and enjoys a strong reputation in the retail, leisure and hospitality, and industrial sectors. In the past quarter, Lifestyle Appliances’ business has experienced growing online demand as more of us stay at home and many of its retail customers started buying online rather than visiting the showroom. The company already used a range of Managed IT services from its Kidderminster-based technology partner of 12 years, OGL Computer, including IT Support, Office 365, Cloud Recovery and Proactive Administration, to manage business processes. But it was OGL Computer’s ERP software that helped Lifestyle Appliances manage the online spike in sales. OGL’s integrated CRM, accounts and purchasing ERP (enterprise resource planning) solution combines data from all sales channels into one platform. By bringing together information from many different systems, Lifestyle Appliances was able to process orders more efficiently. Frank Spencer, Lifestyle Appliances Director, explains: “OGL Software really came to the fore as it enabled us to track stock movements quickly and keep our customers up to speed with the daily fluctuations in stock availability, so we could pass this accurate information on to our customer base.” While OGL Computer’s Cloud Recovery solution gave Lifestyle Appliances’ peace of mind with automated off-site backups of its data, Office 365 supported the company’s flexible remote working environment. Frank explains: “A small number of staff utilised mobile VPN set ups to work from home and this enabled them to access the OGL platform real-time from a remote location to process sales orders and purchase orders. This kept the flow of orders to be dispatched going into the warehouse so that delivery time promises for our internet customer base were maintained. “Our view on remote working has totally changed. We feel that as we transit out of the pandemic and return to what you might call the “new normal”, practices implemented during the pandemic and lockdown will be maintained as standard working practice as a result of them being recognised as a far more efficient way of conducting our business.” Lifestyle Appliances has also recently invested in technology from OGL Computer’s Cyber Security division, CyberGuard Technologies’ with next-generation anti-virus, Carbon Black Defense, to help protect its network via real-time monitoring and advanced security measures. A cost-effective first line of protection, Carbon Black Defense provides real-time monitoring of user behaviour to identify and report suspicious or malicious activities. By protecting user endpoints and offering a rapid response to suspected threats on mobile devices and BYODs, since implementation Carbon Black Defense has already reduced the amount of virus-attacks Lifestyle Appliances had previously encountered. Nick Davies, Head of Software Development at OGL Computer, concluded: “With our range of IT support services and security solutions in place around our ERP software, Lifestyle Appliances is better able to manage expectations of customers, partners and staff. We’re finding that more distributors, like Lifestyle Appliances, are coming to us wanting to improve or even set up e-commerce stores, so our e-commerce team is very busy. Using our services, those distributors are safe in the knowledge that their IT infrastructure is robust, secure and stable, so their teams can easily increase sales without any additional administration effort or cost.”