According to figures from tax recovery specialist Brian Alfred, almost £6 million in overpaid tax has been claimed back by UK construction workers this year. The leading tax recovery firm for workers using the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) schemes, has reclaimed rebates of more
Development partners Countryside and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead have successfully submitted proposals for the redevelopment of the York Road site to create 229 homes on the banks of the Maidenhead Waterways. These plans are part of a wider scheme to regenerate York Road in Maidenhead, which will
Spitfire Bespoke Homes, the leading niche home builder, was awarded the Best Family Home under £750,000 accolade for its show home at Highworth in Broadway, Gloucestershire and Best Family Home over £1.5 million accolade for The Pemberley at Glade in The Spinney in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire at the Evening Standard
The ‘Private Development of the Year – Medium’ accolade at the annual Homes for Scotland awards has been handed to David Wilson Homes’ flagship development in the west end of Glasgow. The luxury development beat off competition from across the industry to be crowned as the winner. The ‘Private Development
The construction of a district heating scheme at the Clyde Gateway regeneration project in Glasgow will be supported by a funding deal, agreed by SHARC Energy Systems. The UK green energy firm will use its innovative wastewater heat recovery technology to generate the heating and cooling services for the site’s
When a serious power-outage threatened the Data Centre of one of the UK’s major travel companies, PPS Power’s engineers were the first ones called. An ‘almighty bang’ was heard as one of the two back-up generators at the site failed when switching back to mains power. The site has two
A new research from myjobquote.co.uk looked into the situation faced by those trying to purchase property for the first time in the UK, revealing how much aspiring homeowners from different regions have managed to save over the last three years. Residents from the North East and Scotland have saved the
Rudridge hosted their ninth annual seven-a-side sports event at Southampton FC’s St Mary’s stadium, where they swapped high-vis jackets for football kits. Playing alongside the staff at Rudridge were a number of former football legends, including Franny Benali, who spent most of his playing career at Saints, Paul Walsh, Michael
HFD Property Group (HFD) has announced the successful practical completion of TUV SUD NEL’s (TUV) new test flow laboratory in East Kilbride. The construction work on the base building, known as the Reynolds Building, is finished and TUV have now commenced the fit out of the £16 million Advanced Multiphase
Activity will shortly commence on a new 78 bed care home at the Carpenders Park Farm properties on Oxhey Lane, Watford. Released for sale back in 2016, the construction specialist Mick George Ltd will shortly begin earthworks for the project on behalf of Wildgoose Construction Ltd. Comprising 78 bedrooms with
According to figures from tax recovery specialist Brian Alfred, almost £6 million in overpaid tax has been claimed back by UK construction workers this year. The leading tax recovery firm for workers using the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) schemes, has reclaimed rebates of more than £5.7 million in the last 12 months. “It’s been another big year for rebates, with almost six million reclaimed for our clients, and to be honest that’s the tip of the iceberg. Around a third of workers on PAYE and CIS schemes are overpaying tax, but often don’t reclaim money which is rightfully theirs,” said Derek Kelly, CEO of Brian Alfred. Brian Alfred has broken down the average rebate claim by region over the last 12 months and it found out that Northern Ireland came out on top with £1,979 received from HMRC as a result of overpaid tax. Northern Ireland was followed by South West with £1,727, Greater London with £1,712, Wales with £1,706, North West with £1,683, South East with £1,681, Scotland with £1,678, East Midland with £1,635, North East with £1,635 and West Midlands with £1,631. Since Brian Alfred started they’ve recovered more than £36 million in overpaid tax and Derek added: “Workers often forget to claim back expenses such as travel, uniforms and equipment they’ve had to purchase or even food bought during their working day. There’s a huge range of work expenses where you can claim back the VAT and end up with a nice windfall. On average, workers who come to us recover around £1,500 in tax rebates. This year though we saw some rebates as big as £10,000!” Workers who are either part of the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) or Pay As You Earn (PAYE) are all eligible to apply and rebates can be claimed for the last four tax years. “You can claim refunds for a range of things, but regulations are complicated, and it can take an expert to get the correct amount of rebate from the HMRC,” Derek added.
Development partners Countryside and the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead have successfully submitted proposals for the redevelopment of the York Road site to create 229 homes on the banks of the Maidenhead Waterways. These plans are part of a wider scheme to regenerate York Road in Maidenhead, which will bring new homes, commercial units and a community space into the town centre. “The focus of the new scheme will be on creating a vibrant area alongside the rejuvenated Maidenhead Waterways and a space that links well with the town centre and surrounding area. The new homes are designed with attractive frontages and the public areas will provide well-defined spaces for the local community to enjoy,” said Malcolm Wood, project director at Countryside. Over £1 million of investments will be used to enhance and improve the existing buildings and public realm, uniting areas of the town south of the library and creating new pedestrian-friendly and cycle connection from York Road to the Nicholsons Centre. Out of the 229 homes brought to the town by the scheme, 68 will be affordable homes – a mix of shared ownership, affordable rent and social rent. The council will also be delivering a further 20 affordable homes on site by way of a public subsidy. Alongside the homes will be 20,000 sq ft of commercial space for food and beverage outlets, a new home for Maidenhead Heritage Centre and a community space to relax by the water or host public events. “The regeneration of York Road represents a major part of the wider regeneration plans. It is an excellent opportunity to create a new neighbourhood with a mixture of homes in the town centre. I am delighted the council is able to deliver an additional 20 affordable homes for shared ownership on this site meaning a total of 88 new affordable homes (38%) will be created in the heart of Maidenhead to give residents struggling to get onto the housing ladder a place to call home,” said Cllr Simon Dudley, leader of the Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead. If the planning decision is approved, the building work will start on site in spring 2019, with the first homes completed by autumn 2020. This project is the first on a series of regeneration plans that will bring more than 4,000 homes to the borough.
Spitfire Bespoke Homes, the leading niche home builder, was awarded the Best Family Home under £750,000 accolade for its show home at Highworth in Broadway, Gloucestershire and Best Family Home over £1.5 million accolade for The Pemberley at Glade in The Spinney in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire at the Evening Standard New Homes Awards 2018. The Awards took place at The Dorchester Hotel on Park Lane on Friday the 18th of May and were hosted by comedian Kevin Bridges. Now in their 27th year, the awards celebrate companies that strive to improve standards in all areas of housebuilding industry. “We are absolutely thrilled to have received not one but two awards at such a prestigious and highly respected industry event, the Evening Standard Awards 2018. These awards are a strong endorsement of our continued approach to building beautiful bespoke homes in outstanding locations. Highworth and Glade in The Spinney are both prime examples of superbly designed developments, perfect for modern family life,” said David Jervis, Managing Director of Spitfire. The exclusive development Highworth is located in the Broadway village and is a collection of two to five-bedroom homes which have been thoughtfully designed to complement their stunning rural setting. Each home incorporates classic architectural detailing, with authentic Cotswold stone exterior facades built using locally sourced materials. They also sell bespoke stairlifts. Occupying a secluded and leafy location in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, Glade in The Spinney is an exclusive collection of seven detached executive properties situated on a gated private road. Each home benefits from outstanding design and meticulous attention to detail. Individually designed to offer 3,950 sq. ft. of luxuriously appointed accommodation, the award-winning Pemberley show home is an executive five/ six bedroom house, providing grand and spacious living across three floors. Spitfire is a forward thinking, modern, privately-owned property development company specialising in the construction of sustainable, high-quality bespoke residences, with offices in Coleshill and Maidenhead. As a leading niche homebuilder, the company carefully considers each individual home.
The ‘Private Development of the Year – Medium’ accolade at the annual Homes for Scotland awards has been handed to David Wilson Homes’ flagship development in the west end of Glasgow. The luxury development beat off competition from across the industry to be crowned as the winner. The ‘Private Development of the Year – Medium’ category rewards a private development that hosts between 26 and 99 units and receives the best marks from the judges in regards to the placemaking elements of the development, architectural design quality, commercial success, the impact the development has had on key stakeholders, the supply chain and the industry itself. “The Botanics is the flagship development for David Wilson Homes and to see it celebrated and applauded as the best in the luxury market reflects the hard work of the team at The Botanics who worked tirelessly to bring a luxury vision to life,” said David Scott, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes. “It is exemplary in design, management and build quality which is why we considered it a worth entry for the ‘Private Development of the Year award and we are thrilled that it has been crowned the winner. The finishing of the homes, apartments and the development itself is of the highest quality. This has been recognised previously with the site management team being recognised with two national award wins at the NHBC Pride in the Job awards,” he added. The awards took place on the 25th of May at The EICC, Edinburgh, and it saw 1,100 firms from the property industry come together and celebrate the innovative, design-led work that is currently happening in the sector, while also battling it out to take home the coveted awards of the day.
The construction of a district heating scheme at the Clyde Gateway regeneration project in Glasgow will be supported by a funding deal, agreed by SHARC Energy Systems. The UK green energy firm will use its innovative wastewater heat recovery technology to generate the heating and cooling services for the site’s future occupiers, providing an initial 2MW of capacity, with room to expand further as the development grows. “We are delighted that we have achieved this significant milestone, enabling us to move confidently to construction over the next few weeks,” said Russ Burton, the Chief Operating Officer of SHARC Energy Systems. “It means we are now in a position to get going with the installation of our wastewater recovery systems at what is Scotland’s biggest regeneration project. It is a very exciting moment for all of the team at SHARC.” ““This project will enable us to further demonstrate our contribution to the Scottish Government’s ambitious and exciting energy decarbonisation and transition strategy, aimed at developing a low carbon economy for Scotland,” he added. SHARC has closed the initial funding of £3.7 million with repayable assistance from the Scottish Government’s Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition programme (LCITP), supported by the 2014-2020 European Regional Development Fund programmes. Moreover, the scheme is also supported with commercial loans and investments from the Energy Saving Trust, Clyde Gateway and SHARC International. “We are pleased to be supporting this innovative project in the heart of Glasgow,” said Anthony Kyriakides, Head of Renewables at Energy Saving Trust. “The project, part funded by the district heating loan fund that we manage on behalf of the Scottish Government will reduce carbon emissions, improve local air quality by utilising waste water heat recovery systems and support local jobs.” SHARC’s technology extracts the natural warmth contained within this water and transfers the heat to the clean side of the heating system via a heat exchange mechanism. The recovered heat is then amplified via heat pumps to generate the appropriate temperatures for use in all types of buildings. SHARC provides heating and cooling to customers through a heat supply agreement.
When a serious power-outage threatened the Data Centre of one of the UK’s major travel companies, PPS Power’s engineers were the first ones called. An ‘almighty bang’ was heard as one of the two back-up generators at the site failed when switching back to mains power. The site has two generators that are synced together to provide power to the whole building in cases when mains power is unavailable PPS Power’s engineers arrived on-site at 9pm and discovered that the generator day tank had run out of fuel. Due to the fact that the fuel transfer system is electrically driven, the automatic fuel transfer between bulk tank and day tank was not possible with any mains power available. Moreover, the on-site uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which would provide emergency power during input power source or mains power failures, had only five per cent of autonomy time, equating to just five minutes of available power supply. “When we are called out to work like this we do what is necessary for the client. I wouldn’t describe it as a Mission Impossible but there was obviously a race against the clock and some challenges to restore power and reinstate the fuel transfer system and the generators. As the UPS would only supply power for five minutes, it meant that engineers had to work safely but at speed to beat the clock,” said Ian Townson, Technical Manager for PPS Power. With data at risk, PPS Power engineers arranged a temporary supply from the UPS in order to connect to the fuel transfer system, managing to transfer enough fuel to allow the main generator to be brought back up and running. It also supplied the building’s power needs and then manually transferred fuel during the night to ensure a reliable power supply. Because the source of the original generator’s fault had not yet been identified, during the course of the essential repair work, the data centre was powered by only the back-up generators. PPS Power’s engineers carried out repairs to the fuel transfer system, discovering a defective flow switch, and electrical components. PPS Power’s work ensured that no data was lost as a result of the initial power outage, with engineers working through the night to deliver an outstanding service, and that this major travel company can now be confident that their critical systems will operate as expected.
A new research from myjobquote.co.uk looked into the situation faced by those trying to purchase property for the first time in the UK, revealing how much aspiring homeowners from different regions have managed to save over the last three years. Residents from the North East and Scotland have saved the most, while those in the South East have the smallest sum saved in their accounts. As part of the poll, there were 2,746 people, all aged 18 or over and representing each region in an even selection. All respondents stated that they had been saving towards a deposit for approximately three to four years. When asked how much they have managed to save for a house deposit, the respondents from the North East answered, on average, £9,875; Scotland – £8,327; Yorkshire – £7,939; Ireland – £6,875; South West – £6,328; Wales – £5,374; London – £5,106; North West – £3,879; East Midlands – £3,506; East of England – £2,485; South East – £1,560; and West Midlands – £1,357. After that, they were asked whether or not they will receive any financial help, outside of a mortgage, to which 64% answered with ‘yes’. Parents came out top as being the most likely to be asked for help, with 51% of the vote, followed by grandparents with 29% and extended family members with 16%. Out of all the savers, 54% confessed that they had previously taken money from the deposit savings for other purposes, but only 26% of them said the money was for an emergency. The most likely purchases made with money previously set aside to go towards a deposit on a property were holidays (33%) and nights out/socialising (28%). “It’s not easy to put money aside. Although house prices tend to be more expensive in the south, and in London in particular, this isn’t reflected in the amount that first time buyers are able to save; meaning their journey will be both longer and slower than someone looking to purchase in the north,” said Lisa Evans from www.myjobquote.co.uk.
Rudridge hosted their ninth annual seven-a-side sports event at Southampton FC’s St Mary’s stadium, where they swapped high-vis jackets for football kits. Playing alongside the staff at Rudridge were a number of former football legends, including Franny Benali, who spent most of his playing career at Saints, Paul Walsh, Michael Thomas, John Salako and Matt Le Tissier. Rudridge’s annual event is supported by former England player Tony Cottee. For the event, the company was joined by a number of its customers and suppliers from across the country. In total, there were 10 teams, each of which included one of the ex-pros, competed in a series of matches throughout the afternoon, testing their skills and prowess alongside the legends. The winning team, which included Tony Cottee, was announced as Stanton Strikers who narrowly beat last year’s victors Wavin Wanderers 2-1. The wooden spoon award went to The Aco Avalanche. “Our annual seven-a-side football event is always a hugely enjoyable and competitive event. It is great to see everyone getting into the spirit of things and taking on the former football pros with such enthusiasm and determination. Congratulations to Stanton Strikers, who really gave the rest of the teams a run for their money,” said Clive Summerfield, Regional Director at Rudridge. Rudridge is a civil engineering groundwork material specialist that has four branches across the South East in Farnham, Horsham, Brentford and Gravesend.
HFD Property Group (HFD) has announced the successful practical completion of TUV SUD NEL’s (TUV) new test flow laboratory in East Kilbride. The construction work on the base building, known as the Reynolds Building, is finished and TUV have now commenced the fit out of the £16 million Advanced Multiphase Facility (AMF) in East Kilbride. Once the fit out is completed, the AMF’s test range capability, including operating pressures, temperatures, flowrates and metrology will be beyond anything currently available in the world. Operating at pressures up to 150 bar, the facility will double current capabilities to replicate extreme production conditions experienced by the oil and gas production industry. The AMF will provide opportunities for industry-led projects, training and academic research. It will create at least 17 new jobs and safeguarding 82 and it will futureproof the delivery of innovative technical services to the oil and gas production market for the next 25 years, and position Scotland as a world leader in multiphase flow measurement. “HFD are delighted to be part of a Scottish led project of such international import; HFD as a group prides itself on working with occupiers to ensure our buildings meet their needs in full. In this instance the challenges were both technical and timebound; and we are delighted to have succeeded in delivering this key milestone for TUV. HFD has a wealth of experience working with Oil & Gas occupiers and having provided this platform for the project, we will continue to support TUV throughout their fit out and beyond,” said Matt Bellshaw, Property Director of HFD Property Group. The 20,000 sq ft building has been under construction since September 2017 and despite major weather disruption during the winter months, the work was completed on time and on budget to a short 6-month programme. The AMF development was supported by Scottish Enterprise with £4.9 million of research and development funding, while TUV’s parent company, TUV SUD AG is investing £11.1 million. The project marks the largest capital investment to date in the company’s UK business.
Activity will shortly commence on a new 78 bed care home at the Carpenders Park Farm properties on Oxhey Lane, Watford. Released for sale back in 2016, the construction specialist Mick George Ltd will shortly begin earthworks for the project on behalf of Wildgoose Construction Ltd. Comprising 78 bedrooms with en-suite facilities for the elderly, specifically for nursing and dementia care, with associated amenities that include car parking and a private landscaped residents garden, the Carpenders Care home is the latest development to be added to the Frontier Estates portfolio, with the scheme developed in conjunction with Baycroft Care Homes. The care home will be built on the site of a former dairy; therefore its design takes cues from the existing agricultural vernacular to reminisce a series of barns and farm buildings. The scheme utilises glazed links, horizontal timber boarding and zinc dormers to provide a stunning design. “Increasingly our services are being utilised towards the London region for varied contracting provisions. Earthworks is one of our more established offerings and I’m sure that recognised in the quality delivery of this project,” said Michael George, Contracts Director at Mick George Ltd. Baycroft create luxury care homes and senior villages in beautiful surroundings, designed to cater to the varying and individual needs of all residents, providing the highest levels of care. Created by One Housing, one of the UK’s largest housing associations, the group possesses over 50 years’ experience, managing 15,000 homes in the South East.