The future of twelve of the UK’s most historic buildings is to be secured with a £12.2 million investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. From Argyll and Cardiff to Belfast and Lowestoft the investment funding will breathe new life into historic spaces, which will be transformed into important assets
Morgan Sindall has been appointed by the City of London Academies Trust (COLAT) and the Department for Education to deliver major upgrades to Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre. The project at the free sixth form college, situated on Barking Road, has been procured through the Department for Education’s (DfE) construction
Southwark Council and housebuilder, The Hill Group, has welcomed residents to their new council homes at Aylesbury Estate. Hill recently completed 229 high-quality homes, exclusively designated for affordable rent, on behalf of the council. Providing 187 apartments, 27 houses, and 15 maisonettes, these new properties include 54 extra-care homes and
A provider of rented retired homes has acquired an apartment development in London. Birchgrove has bought a total of 78 apartments in Hampton Court growing its portfolio across the South-East. The £39 million deal has been completed with Octagon Developments, who design and build high quality homes throughout Southern England.
Oxford City Council has acquired over 100 homes from housebuilder The Hill Group at Oxford North’s Canalside development, south of the A40. The new homes, part of the first 317 energy-efficient new homes that Hill is delivering at Canalside, will bring vital affordable housing to the Oxford market, which currently
Mace has completed the UCL Marshgate building, part of the first phase of UCL’s new campus at East Bank on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Marshgate is UCL’s single largest building to date providing over 35,000sqm of cross-disciplinary teaching, research and learning spaces over eight floors. Designed by architects Stanton Williams
Bruntwood SciTech, a 50:50 joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General, has started construction work on a £42 million, 125,000 sq ft specialist lab space at an internationally significant health innovation campus. With the UK in the midst of a significant shortage of lab space to support the demand
J Murphy & Sons has been appointed to develop a new railway station for Chelmsford’s Beaulieu development in Essex. It is the second of two contracts awarded by Network Rail. The £124 million contract includes main construction work for the new station on behalf of partners Essex County Council and
Housing association B3Living has secured a £50 million sustainability-linked loan from Lloyds Bank to build hundreds of new, affordable properties. Its sustainability-linked loan facility will be measured against three KPIs, which will see B3Living receive discounted funding relative to its performance as against agreed targets. The first KPI relates to
Morgan Sindall has completed work on a new school in Warwick. Kenilworth School and Sixth Form is part of Warwick District Council’s plans to increase school places and improve facilities in the region. The project involved Kenilworth School & Sixth Form relocating from two existing sites to a new facility
The future of twelve of the UK’s most historic buildings is to be secured with a £12.2 million investment from the National Lottery Heritage Fund. From Argyll and Cardiff to Belfast and Lowestoft the investment funding will breathe new life into historic spaces, which will be transformed into important assets at the heart of local communities. Five projects have received a combined total of £10.4m in grants and a further £1.8m has been awarded to seven organisations to develop their plans to revitalise heritage. Chief Executive of The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Eilish McGuinness, said: “Saving heritage is core to what we do, and we look forward to seeing these fantastic projects improving the condition and understanding of the important heritage they guard, reducing the amount of ‘heritage at risk’, and delivering transformational projects for communities across the UK.” The five projects receiving heritage grants are: Historic Ice House, Great Yarmouth (£1,968,061) Built between 1851 and 1892, the site was once used to house freshly caught seafood ahead of transportation to London’s Billingsgate fish market. Led by Out There Arts, the site will be brought back to life as a Centre of Excellence in Outdoor Circus and Arts. The Strand Arts Centre, Belfast (£768,069) Led by Belfast City Council and the Strand Arts Centre, Northern Ireland’s oldest cinema will be transformed with our funding. Visitors will step back in time for a ‘living museum’ experience of a pre-war cinema. Victorian market, Cardiff (£2,091,500) The Grade II* listed market in Cardiff’s Castle Cultural Quarter will be restored by Cardiff Council, revitalising its structure and reducing energy costs. The site opened in 1891 and stands on top of the infamous Cardiff Gaol and gallows site. St. John’s Church in Chatham, Kent (£2,318,287) This ‘at risk’ building is set to become a thriving, sustainable Gateway Community Hub. The project, which will also receive £1m from the future High Streets Fund via Medway Council, will revitalise heritage in Chatham for generations to come. Lowestoft Town Hall, Suffolk (£3,257,512) Vacant since 2015, Lowestoft Town Council will restore the Grade II listed building. It will establish a community venue to engage local people, improve residents’ lives and transform the town’s historic heart. The funding is helping organisations develop their projects. Seven more organisations have been awarded development funding to finalise plans for creating community hubs for engagement, education, creativity and wellbeing: • St Conan’s Kirk, Argyll, Scotland (£93,792) • St Collen’s Church, Llangollen, Wales (£94,886) • Alice Billings House, Stratford, Newham, London (£467,172) • Rock Hall Revival, Bolton (£466,662) • Woodoaks Farm, Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire (£201,392) • Ellesmere Yard, Shropshire (£409,993) • Napper Cottage, Guildford – England’s first Cottage Hospital (£58,700) Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Morgan Sindall has been appointed by the City of London Academies Trust (COLAT) and the Department for Education to deliver major upgrades to Newham Collegiate Sixth Form Centre. The project at the free sixth form college, situated on Barking Road, has been procured through the Department for Education’s (DfE) construction framework. Work will take place across two buildings, with the former East Ham Police Station set to be refurbished and a new structure built at the rear of the building, providing a new, high quality teaching space for students. The two buildings will be connected via a glass façade dining hall. Across both the new structure and refurbished building, Newham Collegiate will benefit from an additional 11 classrooms and four seminar rooms, creating an additional 60 places for the school. Two new cycle stores will be built to encourage healthy and sustainable travel for prospective students. Morgan Sindall will also install a green roof with over 100 sq. m of photovoltaic (PV) panels across all roofs on site. As part of Morgan Sindall’s commitment to delivering social value to the communities in which it operates, the project team are already underway in engaging with the local Newham community. To date, the tier one contractor has hosted four different events at local schools and provided students with the opportunity for work experience and mock interviews. Throughout the project, the Morgan Sindall team will continue to generate social value in Newham, educating the next generation on careers in the construction industry that they may not have previously considered. Morgan Sindall is working alongside engineers Ingleton Wood and architects Rivington Street Studios. Alongside the work at Newham Collegiate, Morgan Sindall is delivering a new residential development in Newham that will bring hundreds of much-needed affordable homes to the area. Manor Road Quarter, from The English Cities Fund (ECF), is currently under construction and when complete will deliver 804 homes, of which 50% are affordable, to the London Borough of Newham. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Southwark Council and housebuilder, The Hill Group, has welcomed residents to their new council homes at Aylesbury Estate. Hill recently completed 229 high-quality homes, exclusively designated for affordable rent, on behalf of the council. Providing 187 apartments, 27 houses, and 15 maisonettes, these new properties include 54 extra-care homes and seven homes designed to enable people with learning difficulties to enjoy independent living. A combined heat and power energy centre will help improve energy efficiency, and new community facilities include a landscaped central park, play areas, and a community centre. These homes are just one phase of the wider regeneration of the Aylesbury Estate which is being managed by Southwark Council. The total redevelopment will see 3,575 new homes and 7,800 sqm of employment, retail, healthcare and community spaces built over the coming years. The overall masterplan aims to create new neighbourhoods which are integrated into the wider network of streets and spaces in Walworth. The Una Marson library on the estate was recently finished and will be opening to residents before Christmas. The library is named after Una Marson, who was the first Black female presenter on the BBC during World War II. Cllr Helen Dennis, Southwark’s Cabinet Member for New Homes and Sustainable Development, said: “It’s really exciting to see residents moved into these wonderful new council homes and celebrate the start of a new chapter in the story of the Aylesbury Estate. I can see the difference these new homes are making to the lives of our residents and it’s fantastic to be able to celebrate that here in the brand new community centre at the heart of this latest development.” Oluwakemi Odutayo, a resident who moved into her new home on Aylesbury Estate in March, said: “I’m really pleased with my new home. It’s spacious, it has a garden, my kids are enjoying it, and our lives have much improved since moving out of temporary accommodation.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A provider of rented retired homes has acquired an apartment development in London. Birchgrove has bought a total of 78 apartments in Hampton Court growing its portfolio across the South-East. The £39 million deal has been completed with Octagon Developments, who design and build high quality homes throughout Southern England. Octagon Developments will deliver the apartments on a turnkey basis by 2025. This is Birchgrove’s eighth development with their equity partners Bridges Fund Management and follows the successful exit of its first two neighbourhoods to M&G last year. The debt is provided by Beaufort Capital and is their fourth deal with Birchgrove. The project’s GDV is forecast to increase to £68m once all units are fully let. The development will provide 78 contemporary, self-contained assisted living one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments available to independently minded renters aged over 65, together with extensive communal facilities including a restaurant, club room, licensed bar, wellness suite, library and landscaped gardens. Honor Barratt, Chief Executive, Birchgrove said: “Our new site at Hampton Court will encapsulate all the benefits of the Birchgrove offering: beautiful, purpose-built apartments, a flexible rental model, publicly accessible communal spaces and a development that frees up homes for local families. Imagine being able to sit on your balcony and look over the Thames into the back garden of Henry VIII – who wouldn’t want to live like that? “With more and more retirees looking to rent, London is firmly in our sights to expand our portfolio, and having secured sites in Chiswick and Hampton Court we look forward to announcing further exciting news in the capital soon.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Oxford City Council has acquired over 100 homes from housebuilder The Hill Group at Oxford North’s Canalside development, south of the A40. The new homes, part of the first 317 energy-efficient new homes that Hill is delivering at Canalside, will bring vital affordable housing to the Oxford market, which currently ranks among the most unaffordable places to live in the UK. Of the 111 homes, 89 will be made available for social rent and 22 on a shared ownership basis. Hill, which has a strong track record of delivering high-quality homes within the Oxford area, secured detailed planning permission at Canalside in September 2022 and commenced work on the new homes in January 2023, with the first homes due to complete in the spring of 2024. The council’s housing company OX Place are acting as development managers for the acquisition. Andy Hill OBE, Group Chief Executive Officer of The Hill Group, commented: “Canalside at Oxford North represents a landmark residential development for the City, and we are delighted to agree on the delivery of the project’s affordable housing to Oxford City Council. This agreement ensures local people will have access to sustainable, well-designed homes on an affordable basis, built to the high standards for which The Hill Group is renowned.” Homes at Canalside have a strong emphasis on sustainability, going above and beyond Oxford City Council’s progressive environmental targets thanks to a range of low-carbon features. These include air-source heat pumps, photovoltaic panels, and living green roofs. The development also boasts water consumption reduction measures, electric car charging points, and ample cycle storage. As part of the wider Oxford North development, Canalside will help deliver a minimum 5% biodiversity net gain, ensuring residents and nature can thrive in harmony. Homes are designed around a large landscaped communal park with play areas, meadow grassland, and an activity lawn. Extensive tree planting of over 200 species is planned across the site, including the introduction of a new orchard. Additionally, an intricate network of pedestrian and cycle paths will be integrated into the development, promoting active lifestyles and sustainable modes of transportation. The construction phase brings with it local economic benefits through the recently published Oxford North Phase 1 Community Employment Plan (CEP) to maximise the opportunities created for local people and businesses during the next 18 months of construction. The CEP covers local labour, supply chain, and procurement, as well as engagement with educational institutions, youth and apprenticeships, and disadvantaged communities. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Mace has completed the UCL Marshgate building, part of the first phase of UCL’s new campus at East Bank on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Marshgate is UCL’s single largest building to date providing over 35,000sqm of cross-disciplinary teaching, research and learning spaces over eight floors. Designed by architects Stanton Williams to provide new spaces for collaborative thinking, Marshgate unites activities across the arts, technology and science under one roof. Enabling students and staff to immerse themselves in innovative activities and cutting edge research. The floors are clustered into a series of ‘neighbourhoods’, each with its own double-height collaboration space to encourage cross-disciplinary knowledge share. The lower levels of the building include a network of publicly accessible spaces, with a café, exhibitions, art programmes, and activities, designed to draw the public into the heart of the building. The building creates a key interface with the wider Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park community. Its publicly accessible lower floors feature a curated programme of art and activities, including works by local artists, and landscaped outdoor settings providing a newly animated and accessible public realm. During construction Mace partnered with the UCL Plastics Waste Innovation Hub to replace all single-use plastics with fully reusable modular hoarding panels, recognised by LLDC as the new standard for all hoarding across Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Reflecting UCL’s overarching mission to embed sustainability through its campus and culture, durability and energy efficiency were central to the design approach. The BREEAM Excellent-rated building is powered in part by renewable electricity, with the aim to reach net zero carbon by 2035 in keeping with the district’s wider sustainable energy strategy. Terry Spraggett, MD Public Sector Construction, Mace said: “Together with UCL, the project team and our supply chain partners’ we’ve delivered an outstanding building. We are immensely proud to be part of this journey. Marshgate is exceptional in its vision – championing collaboration not just between the students and academics but including the wider public. Working closely with the community has been key for us to ensure we create long-term social value for the wider campus. I can’t wait to see Marshgate open and all the great ideas and innovations come to life.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Bruntwood SciTech, a 50:50 joint venture between Bruntwood and Legal & General, has started construction work on a £42 million, 125,000 sq ft specialist lab space at an internationally significant health innovation campus. With the UK in the midst of a significant shortage of lab space to support the demand and burgeoning growth of the life sciences sector, Citylabs 4.0, located within Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s (MFT) Oxford Road Campus, will offer world-leading, highly specialist space specifically designed to support companies working in precision medicine, including those in diagnostics, genomics, biotech, medtech and digital health. The seven-storey development incorporates infrastructure to accommodate CL2 labs and specialist equipment, including increased floor loading, enhanced cooling systems and ventilation provisions, and a large platform lift. Businesses that locate here will also benefit from 100GB superfast connectivity, shared breakout spaces, an internally secure cycle storage with showers and kit drying room, and have access to the campus’ 150-person event space, multiple meeting rooms, cafes and supermarket. The campus, created in a joint venture partnership between Bruntwood SciTech and MFT, provides innovative life science and healthcare businesses with a unique opportunity to gain direct access and collaborate with the UK’s largest NHS Trust. As part of the support provided by the joint venture, businesses receive access to R&D and funding support, as well as opportunities including joint clinical trials, sample supply, diagnostic collaborations and medtech adoption, faster than anywhere else in the UK. They can also access the world-class talent and research capabilities of MFT, the University of Manchester, and Manchester Metropolitan University. Citylabs is surrounded by some of the UK’s most eminent teaching hospitals including the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital, Manchester Royal Infirmary (with emergency helipad access), Saint Mary’s Hospital and the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, and is located in the heart of the city’s Oxford Road Corridor innovation district, home to 50% of the city’s life science businesses and is Europe’s largest clinical academic campus, generating around £3bn GVA each year. The campus is also a government-designated High Potential Opportunity Zone for Diagnostics and Healthy Ageing, and a named Enterprise Zone. Sitting at the heart of the city’s health and life science cluster, it is surrounded by world-class research centres including Manchester Centre for Genomic Medicine, The University of Manchester Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health, the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Manchester Clinical Research Facility, and the Pankhurst Institute. It is also home to the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. The development of Citylabs 4.0, the third phase in the Citylabs masterplan taking the campus from 192,000 sq ft to 327,000 sq ft, will build on and enhance the existing health innovation cluster at Citylabs, which is home to more than 20 life science and healthcare businesses including global molecular diagnostics company Qiagen who opened their Global Centre of Excellence for Precision Medicine at Citylabs 2.0 in November 2021, new generation molecular diagnostics business Apis Assay Technologies, ophthalmic instrument manufacturer Takagi, and one of Europe’s largest contract research organisations MAC Clinical Research. It will also contribute to the creation of more than 300 additional high value jobs. Citylabs 4.0 is expected to achieve net zero carbon in construction and operation in its shared spaces and will be 100% electric. As a highly energy efficient building, it is targeted to be EPC A and include 208m2 of solar panels, enough to charge an average electric car approximately 1235 times. The building’s cladding system will be made from 75% recycled end-of-life aluminium (post-consumer scrap), meaning its content will have one of the smallest carbon dioxide footprints worldwide; seven times less than the global average for aluminium production. Contractor GMI Construction Group has been appointed to build the Sheppard Robson-designed development and local teams also working on the development include Arup, Hilson Moran, Gardiner and Theobald, and Layers. It is expected to open in Spring 2025. The development of Citylabs 4.0 is supported by a £42m loan from the North West Evergreen Fund, managed by CBRE’s Investment Advisory team, which is part of CBRE Capital Advisors. Dr Kath Mackay, Director of Life Sciences at Bruntwood SciTech said: “There has never been a greater opportunity for the UK and Manchester to support the life science sector as there is currently by investing in the much needed specialist lab space and infrastructure companies need to scale and collaborate. Manchester’s life science ecosystem continues to thrive and at Citylabs through our partnership with MFT we can provide businesses with direct access into the NHS and have tests and treatments adopted at a faster pace and scale here more than anywhere else, resulting in improved healthcare for the people of Manchester and wider region.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
J Murphy & Sons has been appointed to develop a new railway station for Chelmsford’s Beaulieu development in Essex. It is the second of two contracts awarded by Network Rail. The £124 million contract includes main construction work for the new station on behalf of partners Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council. This phase of the work includes the construction for the new station facility, the associated infrastructure, and progress towards opening to train services for the benefit of passengers. As part of a wider regeneration scheme, the new station has been designed to support the economic development of the Beaulieu area and its construction will include: Beaulieu Park station is currently expected to be completed by end of 2025. Once open, the station will be managed by Greater Anglia and served by its fleet of new trains with services into London. Katie Frost, Network Rail’s route director for Anglia said: “J Murphy and Sons have made an excellent start with the enabling and civils works and this contract award will allow us to seamlessly continue to deliver this amazing new station for Chelmsford without pause. “Beaulieu Park station is an excellent example of what the railway industry can do when working in partnership with local organisations to improve the railway for the benefit of communities and businesses by delivering a new station for the Beaulieu community.”
Housing association B3Living has secured a £50 million sustainability-linked loan from Lloyds Bank to build hundreds of new, affordable properties. Its sustainability-linked loan facility will be measured against three KPIs, which will see B3Living receive discounted funding relative to its performance as against agreed targets. The first KPI relates to retrofitting existing stock to ensure the housing association is going above and beyond the current minimum regulations to bring all of its properties up to at least EPC C by 2028. T B3Living supports around 12,000 people in 5,000 homes among communities in Broxbourne and the wider south east Hertfordshire area and is currently rated as ‘Silver’ via the SHIFT sustainability framework (which amalgamates 15 separate ESG KPIs into one overarching score). Its aim is to enhance its SHIFT score year-on-year with the ambition of achieving a stretching SHIFT “Gold” status in 2024, and continuing to target a further numerical uplift in following years. Finally, B3Living aims to build at least 50 energy-efficient, affordable new build homes a year by 2028, of which 70% will be in Broxbourne to help tackle the ongoing shortage of affordable housing in the borough. Alex Shelock, B3Living’s executive director for finance, said: “In this current operating environment of high inflation and interest rates coupled with political and economic uncertainty, organisations like ours have a tough balancing act in terms of protecting financial resilience whilst delivering for our customers and communities. “The transition towards net-zero carbon is a key strategic priority for B3Living, and this type of flexible and incentivised loan is an excellent avenue for us to stretch our ESG ambitions and deliver benefits for existing customers as well as those yet to be housed. It also strengthens a nearly decade-long partnership between Lloyds Bank and B3Living.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Morgan Sindall has completed work on a new school in Warwick. Kenilworth School and Sixth Form is part of Warwick District Council’s plans to increase school places and improve facilities in the region. The project involved Kenilworth School & Sixth Form relocating from two existing sites to a new facility at Southcrest Farm, Glasshouse Lane in Kenilworth. Spanning over 36 acres of land, the new three-story campus offers 2,200 places, an increase of 440, helping to cater for the growing population in Kenilworth, a market town six miles southwest of Coventry. Procured through the Pagabo Framework and delivered for Kenilworth Multi Academy Trust (KMAT) and Warwick District Council, the school is now one of the largest in the UK. The design includes extensive teaching and social provision including two floodlit all-weather pitches, natural grass pitches and hard-court areas; a dining room with “grab-and-go” options, hall and theatre, community sports and changing facilities, and a special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) suite. Following completion, the community and local sports clubs will have use of new sports and leisure facilities, and community groups will be able to hire the hall/theatre and other facilities at the school. The local air cadet group, 496 (Kenilworth & Balsall Common) Squadron, have also been invited to share the facilities. Richard Fielding, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction, said: “KMAT already had an existing reputation as one of the best schools in the area, so it was an honour to be a part of developing it even further. The completion of the new school marks exciting progress in the provision of public services for the growing town of Kenilworth. We are delighted to have completed construction works on one of the largest schools to have been built in the UK, and to deliver facilities which will benefit not only students and staff at the school, but the wider community for years to come.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
