A £2 million funding boost has been offered to a number of energy projects in the South West. Bristol City, Devon and Plymouth Councils secured a grant from the European Investment Bank and the European Commission to fund new energy efficiency, renewable, sustainable transport and heat networks projects across the region
The first tower crane has arrived at Euston Station, marking a major step forward for the transformation project. The project, which will be completed as part of the HS2 project, will deliver extra capacity to the station. HS2 will now progress with the demolition of One Euston Square and Grant Thornton
The line-up of judges for the 2019 Business Leader Awards has been joined by former Dragons’ Den star, Piers Linney. The entrepreneur and investor is a champion of scale-up businesses and brings a wealth of experience to the judging panel. He qualified as a lawyer and is a former banker
A brand new subscription model for the incoming tenant fee ban has been launched by online letting agency MakeUrMove. With just £12 per month on the ‘Good Landlord’ subscription, landlords will have access to a wide range of services, including Rightmove and Zoopla advertising, tenant referencing, rent collection, legal eviction services,
The South West’s largest independent homebuilder, Torquay-based Cavanna Homes, has appointed Andy Addison to its senior team as Head of Operations. “My priority is to drive-forward the business without compromising on the all-important Cavanna family ethos, which has made this firm such an enduring success over the past 95 years,”
Locals are being invited by Heathrow Airport to give their opinion on its future. The Airspace and Future Operations consultation is asking communities to help shape the plans for the airport’s existing runways, as well as its proposed third airstrip. The consultation will explore the local factors that Heathrow needs
Cavanna Homes, a homebuilders from the South West, has announced another year of steady growth and a record number of sites in development across its region. The Torquay-based firm, which currently has new homes for sale in seven locations in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, will be bringing forward an additional
The refurbishment of Manchester Town Hall has been handed over to Lendlease, who will oversee the project as management contractor. Under the contract, the firm has pledged to create 150 apprenticeships and 45 new jobs for local people. “Manchester Town Hall is one of the city’s most recognisable and well-loved
A contract in Salford, Manchester, to design, manufacture and install almost 9,000 square meters of high-quality façade for Two New Bailey Square, Slaford’s latest sustainable office development, has landed in the hands of a European façade contractor – Staticus. Across an area of 8,700 square meters, Staticus will install a combination of
A new industrial quarter is set to arrive in Redcar with the transformation of a South Tees Development Corporation site. In order to bring the work forward in the first quarter of 2019, the government made an investment of £14 million. “Our investment of £14 million in the South Tees
A £2 million funding boost has been offered to a number of energy projects in the South West. Bristol City, Devon and Plymouth Councils secured a grant from the European Investment Bank and the European Commission to fund new energy efficiency, renewable, sustainable transport and heat networks projects across the region over the next three years. “This is yet another really exciting step towards carbon reduction in Bristol. The scale of sustainable development generated by the last ELENA grant made an enormously positive impact on our ability to deliver clean energy for the city, so we have high hopes for the opportunities that come with this latest round of European funding,” said Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste and Regulatory Services, Councillor Kye Dudd. “It’s great that Bristol has once again been recognised as a national leader in the field of sustainability as our goal to become a carbon neutral city by 2050 moves a step closer. It’s even more exciting now that we are in a position to share our knowledge and expertise with other parts of the region, helping them to reduce carbon and provide clean energy to towns and cities across the South West,” Cllr Kye added. Bristol City Council is the lead organisation, therefore it will manage the projects with its central delivery team. Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, also commented: “The funding will help us to kick start a range of projects which will support the council in delivering its target of reducing the Devon region’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. These projects will also give us more control over energy use, will reduce air pollution from transport and generate energy which will improve the quality of life for Devon’s residents.” “We anticipate that this funding will stimulate Devon’s renewable energy sector and lead to at least £16 million being invested into low carbon projects in the county,” Cllr Roger concluded.
The first tower crane has arrived at Euston Station, marking a major step forward for the transformation project. The project, which will be completed as part of the HS2 project, will deliver extra capacity to the station. HS2 will now progress with the demolition of One Euston Square and Grant Thornton House, which stand above the entrance and exit to Euston’s old underground taxi rank. It is expected to take 10 months to complete. “HS2 will transform Euston, delivering much-needed extra capacity and better journeys for the 44 million people who use the station every year. We are already hard at work, delivering essential pre-construction work, including archaeology, utility diversions and of course, the demolition of the two Euston towers. The opening of the new taxi rank and the delivery of the project’s first tower crane is a significant milestone for HS2 and I would like to thank everyone involved in making it happen,” said HS2’s London Programme Director, Rob Carr. Early works contractor, a Costain and Skanska joint venture (CSjv), is currently working with expert subcontractors McGee, stripping out the interiors and erecting the scaffolding that will support acoustic screening around the buildings. “Costain and Skanska have successfully delivered many major infrastructure projects and are pleased to be delivering the HS2 enabling works programme in London. Our work continues to gather pace and constructing this temporary taxi rank to replace the underground taxi rank is vital to allow us to demolish the two large office towers at Euston,” commented CSjv’s Programe Director, Peter Jones. These landmark steps come after the station’s new taxi rank was opened to the public on Sunday 06 January. The new rank, delivered alongside TfL and Network Rail, has capacity for around 40 vehicles and has been designed to incorporate as many of the existing trees as possible.
The line-up of judges for the 2019 Business Leader Awards has been joined by former Dragons’ Den star, Piers Linney. The entrepreneur and investor is a champion of scale-up businesses and brings a wealth of experience to the judging panel. He qualified as a lawyer and is a former banker and fund manager with extensive experience in corporate finance and M&A. Piers is also a Non-Executive Director of the government-owned British Business Bank, which has facilitated more than £12 billion of financing for UK SMEs. “I am a passionate believer in the importance of SMEs to the success of the UK economy and I am committed to helping ambitious businesses scale-up. The Business Leader Awards is a great way to recognise some of the UK’s most dynamic start-up and scale-up businesses,” Piers Linney commented. The Business Leader Awards champions British business across all sectors and is open to companies large and small, with 16 categories and a special ‘Business Leader of the Year’ accolade. “Starting and running a high growth business is exciting but also very challenging, and Piers is known for providing practical, no-nonsense advice and support. His experience and passion for scale-up business will be a real benefit to the judging process,” said Andrew Scott, Founder and CEO of Business Leader. A panel of judges independently assess award entries and the winners are announced at a prestigious gala awards dinner at the Hilton on Park Lane, London, on 21st June 2019.
A brand new subscription model for the incoming tenant fee ban has been launched by online letting agency MakeUrMove. With just £12 per month on the ‘Good Landlord’ subscription, landlords will have access to a wide range of services, including Rightmove and Zoopla advertising, tenant referencing, rent collection, legal eviction services, property licence checking, as well as documents and renewals. “The tenant fee bill is going to affect the whole property industry. The most innovative agents will look to technology to reduce costs. We’re at the forefront of this as the first agent to come out and support the tenant fee ban. As a tech platform, we’re constantly developing and will be adding new features as standard to our package. We want to be a landlord platform rather than a letting platform,” said Alexandra Morris, Managing Director at MakeUrMove. Moreover, the subscription offers optional bolt ons, such as guaranteed rent for up to six months in the case of a tenant failing to pay and annual gas safety certificates, for a small additional cost. MakeUrMove conducted a research that showed 25% of landlords and a staggering 85% of tenants didn’t understand the upcoming ban. “We’re confident that our new subscription model will do this, while providing peace of mind and security for landlords, knowing that they will pay a fixed cost of £12 per month with no prices increases over the term of their subscription, as well as benefiting from referencing, legal eviction cover and renewals included as standard. This whole focus behind these packages is to try and mitigate costs for landlords when it comes to having an empty property, as well as supporting them and reducing the risk of non payment of rent,” explained further Alexandra. The £12 per month subscription model will be offered alongside a basic package, which will include advertising and one downloadable tenancy agreement. There will also be a standard package offered at a one-off cost of £96, which will also include tenancy documents and deposit lodging, rent collection for 12 months and advertising with the major property portals.
The South West’s largest independent homebuilder, Torquay-based Cavanna Homes, has appointed Andy Addison to its senior team as Head of Operations. “My priority is to drive-forward the business without compromising on the all-important Cavanna family ethos, which has made this firm such an enduring success over the past 95 years,” said Andy. “By continuing to focus on the delivery of high quality new homes in great Westcountry locations, we will build the Cavanna brand and strengthen the company’s reputation right across the region. It’s a really exciting time to join this thriving regional company – and to be working with Keith once again.” Andy will support Managing Director Keith Miller in a strategic role with operational and commercial responsibilities to ensure that the third generation family firm achieves its ambitious centenary year goals for 2023. Andy’s core focus will be on the firm’s Technical, Commercial and Design expertise. “We strive to attract, retain and promote the best people in homebuilding and Andy’s enthusiasm for the sector is what makes him really stand out. Andy’s appointment coincides with the launch of our new ‘Westcountry Collection’ portfolio of new homes and the launch of our new Cavanna Homes brand,” commented Managing Director Keith Miller about the appointment. With over 16 years’ board level experience in the housebuilding sector, Andy has most recently worked as the Regional Director of Churchill Retirement Living. He has also previously worked with Keith Miller for national homebuilder Redrow.
Locals are being invited by Heathrow Airport to give their opinion on its future. The Airspace and Future Operations consultation is asking communities to help shape the plans for the airport’s existing runways, as well as its proposed third airstrip. The consultation will explore the local factors that Heathrow needs to consider in different geographic areas in order to deisgn the flight paths, as well as examine ways to manage noise and minimise impact through runway and airspace alternation, once all three are operational. Marked as the latest milestone in Heathrow’s £14 billion expansion, the Airspace and Future Operations consultation will run for eight weeks and span more than 30 events across the local boroughs surrounding the airport. “Heathrow’s aim is to design a sustainable, fair and more efficient future airport while connecting the UK to global growth,” said Heathrow’s executive director for expansion, Emma Gilthorpe, who is urging locals to get involved and offer their take on the development. “It is crucial that our plans maximise the benefits of expansion across the country, including for the communities closest to us—and working in partnership with our neighbours is just one way of ensuring they do so. We are committed to delivering expansion responsibly, and we encourage everyone to have their say and take part,” she added. Receiving green light in Parliament last summer, the Heathrow Airport project submitted an application for development consent straight after. A previous consultation, conducted this time last year, collected views on how the airport should deliver the expansion while keeping to promises made to locals and meeting strict environmental tests.
Cavanna Homes, a homebuilders from the South West, has announced another year of steady growth and a record number of sites in development across its region. The Torquay-based firm, which currently has new homes for sale in seven locations in Devon, Cornwall and Dorset, will be bringing forward an additional five sites this year, including Wincanton in Somerset, making it the busiest construction year in the company’s 95 year history. Pre-audited figures show a £64.7 million turnover in 2018 which represents a 6.4% increase on the previous year. Moreover, a total of 290 new homes were sold; 201 open market and 89 affordable homes for rent or shared ownership through a housing association. Last year’s results have been welcomed by the company, especially in light of the decline in the property market. “It’s been well publicised that nationally the housing market has taken a bit of a downturn, and the South West is no exception. The uncertainty over a Brexit ‘deal or no deal’ is causing people to wait and see what this will mean for the country and their own personal circumstances. Whilst there has been a dip in numbers of visitors to our showhomes over the last few months, the prospective buyers we’ve seen have been extremely positive of both the quality and specification of our new homes as well as the overall developments,” explained Cavanna Homes’ Managing Director Keith Miller. For 2019 the company has a range of new homes for sale at seven Westcountry locations: Bodmin in Cornwall and Holsworthy, Barnstaple, Stoke Gabriel, Paignton, Torquay and Newton Poppleford in Devon. Cavanna is also bringing-forward a further five new developments; Barley Meadow at Dawlish, Cavanna@Wolborough Hill, Newton Abbot, Broadleigh Park at Tavistock, Bellevue at Bude and Cales Reach at Wincanton. “Our business plan for 2019 has been adjusted to reflect the current market conditions, especially in the first quarter,2 said Looking forward, Keith Miller. “Whilst we anticipate a slowdown, we are proceeding with cautious optimism during this unprecedented and unpredictable period.” Cavanna Homes’ 95th anniversary was market by the launch of a new brand and a new portfolio of house styles – The Westcountry Collection – which can be viewed at new showhomes opening in the New Year at Kings Orchard – Stoke Gabriel, Alfred’s Gate – Newton Poppleford and Moorland Vale – Bodmin.
The refurbishment of Manchester Town Hall has been handed over to Lendlease, who will oversee the project as management contractor. Under the contract, the firm has pledged to create 150 apprenticeships and 45 new jobs for local people. “Manchester Town Hall is one of the city’s most recognisable and well-loved landmarks. Lendlease has a long track record of working with heritage buildings and enhancing them for contemporary use and we will bring all of this experience to bear at Manchester Town Hall,” commented Neil Martin, Managing Director, Construction at Lendlease, Europe. As part of the work done to refurbish the Town Hall, parts of the Grade I-listed building will be restored. The project aims to safeguard the building for current and future generations and improve public access, as well as enhance Albert Square. “This appointment is an important milestone in the Our Town Hall project to improve access to this icon of Manchester and safeguard it for current and future generations,” said Councillor Nigel Murphy, Deputy Leader of Manchester City Council. “There aren’t many construction firms with the expertise and resources required to deliver a heritage project of this scale and complexity on behalf of the city and after a rigorous selection process we are confident that Lendlease offered the best overall value. There will also be millions of pounds worth of opportunities for local businesses and people to get involved in the project through this contract, including apprenticeships and other training opportunities,” the Councillor added.
A contract in Salford, Manchester, to design, manufacture and install almost 9,000 square meters of high-quality façade for Two New Bailey Square, Slaford’s latest sustainable office development, has landed in the hands of a European façade contractor – Staticus. Across an area of 8,700 square meters, Staticus will install a combination of unitised timber and aluminium stick façades, with panels being manufactured in its Lithuania-based factory before being delivered to the site. “An interesting aspect of this project is the external structural steel frame with its visible connections and splices left exposed and protruding from the façade. Whilst this is unique and looks extremely striking, it means that we will need to use special sealing and prefabrication techniques to build the cladding units and overlay the façade panels. It is an extremely complicated installation,” explained Staticus’ UK MD Paulius Gurksnys. Apart from the external structural steel frame, there is another interesting element of the development included in its timber features on the ground and first floor. Staticus will install aluminium façade onto the timber profiles, milling connection joints into the profiles to create an aesthetic, natural view of the timber framing. “Two New Bailey Square is a fantastic project and winning it marks a fitting end to 2018. We have grown our presence in the UK exponentially this year, opening a new office in London and taking on lucrative contracts in the City, Manchester and Liverpool. This positions Staticus strategically for further expansion in the first quarter of 2019, so we are looking forward to what we anticipate will be a very successful year,” added Paulius. Part of the masterplan for Salford Central, the Two New Bailey Square development will deliver 9,500 new jobs and 180,000 square metres of commercial space.
A new industrial quarter is set to arrive in Redcar with the transformation of a South Tees Development Corporation site. In order to bring the work forward in the first quarter of 2019, the government made an investment of £14 million. “Our investment of £14 million in the South Tees Development Corporation demonstrates this government’s commitment to building a stronger more resilient economy in the Tees Valley and across the Northern Powerhouse,” commented Jake Berry MP, Northern Powerhouse Minister. “This government is firmly behind the Tees Valley, and I’m determined to ensure its people get the most out of the exciting growth opportunities available on their doorstep. It’s a further demonstration of how we’re helping to build a new golden era for the North East as part of our Industrial Strategy, and ensuring the Tees Valley is truly open for business as we are set to leave the European Union,” Mr Berry added. Work to establish construction access and utilities, as well as a new spine road and a roundabout will begin shortly, with new commercial tenants expected on site from 2021. Once completed, the quarter will help create 500 new jobs and ttract over half a billion pounds of private sector investment. “Government has committed £137 million to the Development Corporation over the last year, and this latest £14 million funding is vital to kick-start immediate work to redevelop land to help spearhead the transformation of the area. These huge schemes will deliver hundreds of quality jobs for local people, drive growth for the Tees Valley economy and continue our history of manufacturing excellence,” said Tees Valley Mayor and Chairman of the South Tees Development Corporation, Ben Houchen. “This £14 million shows government is continuing to listen to us and this is another step closer to the Development Corporation becoming a massive success story for not just the North East but for the UK,” Mr Houchen concluded.