Top 10 UK homebuilder Keepmoat, has announced the appointment of Tristin Willis as Regional Managing Director (MD) to head up the East Midlands arm of the business. Tristin brings significant experience of growing and scaling business operations, securing land, and building partnerships to Keepmoat. Over the next three years, Tristin
Wyatt Homes is proud to announce that its Charminster Farm development, in Charminster, has received its first Quality Recognition Award. The award, which is ascribed by Premier Guarantee, recognises the exceptional craftmanship provided by the development team, including Site Managers Rod Dunford and Arron Zaple. A presentation ceremony was held
Construction work has commenced on a new Coastal Activity Hub in Redcar. British Triathlon, British Rowing and British Cycling – the National Governing Bodies for their respective sports – have all endorsed the project with a vision of bringing community activities and local, regional, and national competitions to the hub,
Essex based property Beresfords has recently been appointed to market the stunning Woodlands Park development, built by prestigious award-winning house builder Wickford Development. Located in Great Dunmow, Essex, the development currently includes five, four and three-bedroom high-quality family homes – with prices starting at £455,000. The homes are being built
Countryside Properties (Bicester) Limited has commenced work on new facilities for St Edburg’s CE Primary School on the Kingsmere development in Bicester. The company is working in partnership with the Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education to complete the project by September 2024. The new facilities
A new development by real estate company Dominus, which will help solve the student housing crisis in Manchester, has been given the green light by Manchester City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee. The One Medlock Street scheme will provide more than 1,000 beds for the city’s university students, who would
Rushlift GSE, the specialist airport ground support equipment and services provider, has celebrated its tenth anniversary with a grand open-day event held recently at its new state-of-the-art Maintenance & Service facility at Gatwick Airport. Attended by over one hundred special guests – including customers, suppliers, Rushlift staff and management –
McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to announce trainee engineer Christy Dickson has picked up the coveted CECA Scotland’s Most Promising Apprentice 2023 award. Developing the engineering stars of tomorrow is part of the ethos at McLaughlin & Harvey, with the company committed to ensuring 5% of the workforce is made
Bowmer + Kirkland has been selected to develop a 500-home build to rent (BTR) residential scheme in Leeds city centre. The £140 million project at Whitehall Riverside is being delivered by Glenbrook and backed by Legal & General following last month’s announcement of what is Leeds’ largest BTR funding deal
Capital&Centric has submitted plans to Bolton Council for Neighbourhood Bolton, a new concept community. The plans include 160 sustainable homes split across four nearby brownfield plots on the town’s Bradshawgate and Breightmet Street. The community will have 1-4 bed homes with bold designs and high energy performance. They will be
Top 10 UK homebuilder Keepmoat, has announced the appointment of Tristin Willis as Regional Managing Director (MD) to head up the East Midlands arm of the business. Tristin brings significant experience of growing and scaling business operations, securing land, and building partnerships to Keepmoat. Over the next three years, Tristin will focus on expanding Keepmoat, East Midlands to an output of at least 650 homes per year. This will involve identifying and securing suitable land and ensuring the senior management team and wider regional business are aligned. Tristin brings more than 20 year’s experience in the construction industry across a series of senior roles to Keepmoat. Most recently he was Executive Director (Construction) at ilke Homes where he led operations across the UK with a team of over 200 people, and also spent seven years at Crest Nicholson, playing an instrumental part in the successful re-launch of the Chiltern and Midlands regional offices. Commenting on his appointment, Tristin said: “I am very excited to be part of Keepmoat and to head up its East Midlands region. At a time of significant change across the industry, the business is well placed to work with longstanding and new strategic partners to achieve our aims and objectives. Since moving into the housebuilding space in 2007, I’ve developed a passion for driving growth, developing teams and achieving exceptional results. I am looking forward to deploying the experience I have gained to grow the East Midlands region over the coming years”. Keepmoat East Midlands has eight operational sites covering Derbyshire to Lincolnshire. Flagship partnerships are ongoing with a range of key organisations including Gedling Borough Council, Homes England, Leicester City Council, Derby City Council and Bolsover District Council to support Keepmoat’s partnership model which has led to the homebuilder becoming one of Homes England’s largest strategic partners. Tim Beale, Group CEO at Keepmoat, added: “I’m really pleased to see the East Midlands business strengthening its team with Tristin’s appointment. Tristin will play a key role in developing our East Midlands business and his significant experience will be crucial in enabling us to continue to build on our success”. Keepmoat is a top 10 UK partnership homebuilder with a track-record of delivering quality homes in regions across the UK. To date, Keepmoat has built over 35,000 homes, transforming brownfield sites into thriving new communities. With around 70% of Keepmoat’s homes being affordable, the homebuilder is working to deliver high-quality, multi-tenure, new homes nationally. Keepmoat has achieved five star builder status in the National Home Builders Federation Award, receiving a rating of at least 90% in the National New Homes Customer Satisfaction Survey. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Wyatt Homes is proud to announce that its Charminster Farm development, in Charminster, has received its first Quality Recognition Award. The award, which is ascribed by Premier Guarantee, recognises the exceptional craftmanship provided by the development team, including Site Managers Rod Dunford and Arron Zaple. A presentation ceremony was held recently at Charminster Farm, where representatives from Wyatt Homes and Premier Guarantee were in attendance to celebrate this achievement. The Quality Recognition Award is scored during each inspection visit and is based on the following categories: the standard of site management, the standard of workmanship, health and safety, site tidiness, and general cooperation. Tara Kelly, Sales Director at Wyatt Homes said, “We are thrilled to achieve this Quality Recognition Award for Charminster Farm. “Our team has worked incredibly hard to ensure that every aspect of the development, from the design of the homes to the landscaping of surrounding areas, meets our exact standards. This award is a reflection of the commitment and expertise of our team, and we are proud to see their effort recognised in this way.” Aaron and Rod, site managers at Charminster Farm, have been instrumental in ensuring the development meets the high standards required for the Quality Recognition Award. Their attention to detail and ability to manage the complex logistics of a large-scale development has been critical to the project’s success. Rod, Site Manager at Charminster Farm said, “We are delighted to have played a part in securing the Quality Recognition Award. “Charminster Farm has been a truly rewarding project, and we are proud to see it as a leader in quality and craftmanship.” Aaron, Site Manager at Charminster Farm said, “We would like to thank the entire development team for their hard work and dedication, as well as our partners and suppliers for their support throughout this project.” Charminster Farm is a development of beautiful two, three, four and five bedroom homes located in Charminster, Dorchester. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Construction work has commenced on a new Coastal Activity Hub in Redcar. British Triathlon, British Rowing and British Cycling – the National Governing Bodies for their respective sports – have all endorsed the project with a vision of bringing community activities and local, regional, and national competitions to the hub, including the Go Tri series. Local Active Partnership Tees Valley Sport has also offered its support – recognising the role that facilities play in driving participation. The hub could offer the opportunity for local organisations to host a range of other exciting activities, sports and events such as beach volleyball, land yachting and running events, with local sports clubs and community groups already showing interest. The Coastal Activity Hub will be located in a unique shipping container village that can be used as a meeting place and an informal base for clubs, school groups, activity leaders, families, or groups of friends. Coatham beach and the surrounding area is currently used for a wide variety of coastal activities and the hub will provide a base for these existing groups and individuals. Facilities for the Coastal Activity Hub will include a range of indoor and outdoor multi-use spaces, public toilet facilities, showers, lockers, an equipment store, changing facilities and parking. An accompanying catering offer will enhance the experience for visitors. The external space adjacent to the container village will form a flexible event area that could be used for a range of outdoor activities, such as exercise classes, sports, and demonstrations. It could also provide space for an event village, from which competitions could start and finish, including running festivals and triathlons. All attempts will be made to keep disruption to a minimum on site as the site is already cordoned off for other works on Coatham, including the development of Play Park and the Adventure Golf Course. This is part of the Coatham seafront masterplan, which aims to regenerate the seafront along Majuba Road to create a leisure-based destination. The new 100-space car park, which was recently built on the former Coatham Bowl site, will help mitigate demands for parking. The total project cost of the project is £880,000 with £855,000 being met by the Tees Valley Mayor and Combined Authority and £25,000 via the Redcar Town Deal. The Redcar Town Deal is led by a group of industry experts, business leaders, and community representatives, who have volunteered to support the regeneration of Redcar. Alongside the Council, they have helped develop large-scale regeneration plans on how to make Redcar a vibrant, sustainable town. Construction will take approximately six months, with a completion date set for November this year. An operator is currently being sought for the Coastal Activity Hub, which includes two provisionally licenced Food and Beverage units. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Essex based property Beresfords has recently been appointed to market the stunning Woodlands Park development, built by prestigious award-winning house builder Wickford Development. Located in Great Dunmow, Essex, the development currently includes five, four and three-bedroom high-quality family homes – with prices starting at £455,000. The homes are being built using traditional construction techniques, with more than 80 house types available that are aesthetically different to other large residential developments. Traditionally built with high-quality brick and concrete block materials, there are numerous external finishes that have been employed across the varying house types, to give each plot a distinctive feel. To further enhance the character of the estate, rendered finished have been strategically chosen and selected house types include sparse use of Eternit weatherboarding to complement the finishes and colours. The thoughtful architectural designs add to the palette and tapestry of each house, giving Woodlands Park its own unique identity and sense of place. The properties include either sliding sash or casement windows to suit to the style of the house and some have been fitted with bi-fold doors. All the plots have a laid patio and turfed lawn, with planting to the front garden, brindle block paviours laid in the driveways, parking courts and raised road platforms. Beautiful, landscaped gardens are included around and across the development and Wickford Development has planted and nurtured hundreds of trees across the site, to ensure the ambience of the estate is enjoyed by those living and visiting Woodlands Park. As part of its marketing efforts, Beresfords has also designed new branding for Woodlands Park which includes a refreshed logo and updated colour scheme as well as new banners and sales boards across the park. Joe Waller, new homes manager at Beresfords, said: “We’re delighted to be representing Woodlands Park in Great Dunmow, working with Wickford – who we have a long-standing relationship with. “Wickford are passionate about providing excellence in building high-quality homes across its sites. Acting as the agent on behalf of the company and marketing these exceptional, award-winning homes is something we that we are extremely proud of. We look forward to meeting prospective buyers as they look to purchase their dream home in Essex.” Wickford Development prides itself on providing quality from start to finish, and over the last 50 years its top-class team have collectively won more than 41 individual NHBC Pride in the Job awards – including 12 times regional winner and UK finalist. Stephen Hammond, managing director of Wickford said: “Following on our success at Woodlands Meadow, Wickford are delighted to be working with Beresfords at Woodlands Park, Great Dunmow. We keenly anticipate selling our NHBC award winning homes via Beresfords knowing they will provide an excellent service to Wickford and to the new home purchaser.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Countryside Properties (Bicester) Limited has commenced work on new facilities for St Edburg’s CE Primary School on the Kingsmere development in Bicester. The company is working in partnership with the Oxfordshire County Council and the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education to complete the project by September 2024. The new facilities will allow St Edburg’s CE Primary School in Bicester to expand from a two-form entry to a three-form entry school operating across two sites within the Kingsmere development. Commenting on the work Councillor Liz Brighouse, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Youth Services, said: “This extra capacity will have huge educational benefits for pupils at St Edburg’s CE Primary School. It is yet another exciting project from the county council, working with communities and partners on our commitment to provide first class education for Oxfordshire’s children and young people.” Martin Leach, Director, Countryside Properties (Bicester) Limited, said: “We are delighted to have reached another key milestone at Kingsmere. The provision of new facilities for St Edburg’s CE Primary School will provide an enhanced educational offering for residents and the local community right on their doorstep.” Speaking about the features of the project Tony Wilson, Director of Education at the Oxford Diocesan Board of Education (ODBE), said: “The new facilities will be served by air source heat pumps utilising the very latest in green energy technology. With our commitment to confronting the climate emergency, ODBE is delighted that this expansion is designed and built with sustainability as a key consideration. ODBE believes that the pupils of St Edburg’s CE Primary School will thrive and flourish in their new learning environment.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A new development by real estate company Dominus, which will help solve the student housing crisis in Manchester, has been given the green light by Manchester City Council’s Planning and Highways Committee. The One Medlock Street scheme will provide more than 1,000 beds for the city’s university students, who would otherwise be forced to live in privately rented houses. The University of Manchester and Manchester Metropolitan University attract around 45,000 and 36,000 students a year respectively, while only 26,830 professionally managed student beds in Manchester remain available. If current demand levels from students continue to grow at a predicted rate of 3.2% each year, then up to 14,772 additional students will be forced into privately-owned accommodation, taking vital supply away from the broader rental market. Manchester City Council’s recently-published PBSA Study identifies Dominus’ One Medlock Street development as one of the key named sites committed to meeting the city’s needs for student beds over the coming years. The development, which includes two new buildings with 13 and 37 storeys respectively, replaces an existing Premier Inn hotel and is expected to support 475 jobs and provide a £198 million productivity boost to the local area during construction. Jay Ahluwalia, Principal Director at Dominus Real Estate, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with Whitbread to create a mixed-use scheme that will provide an attractive, sustainable and well-connected hub for work, study and living. Our aim is to provide a huge boost to Manchester’s Southern Gateway, contributing to the continued regeneration of the First Street area. “Our One Medlock Street scheme will bring high-quality and flexible Grade A offices, much-needed student housing at a location supported by the City Council and a better street-level experience for all. “Dominus Real Estate’s portfolio ranges from hotels to residential and office spaces, and we are constantly expanding our £2.4 billion pipeline by working with universities, local councils and other local stakeholders to meet the most pressing demands of those communities. “We are delighted that Manchester City Council have resolved to grant planning permission at Planning Committee. We look forward to starting on-site and delivering this exciting project.” As well as student accommodation, the development – being delivered alongside partners Whitbread – also includes office space with room for 2,200 jobs, a landscaped pocket park and rain garden, and “green streets” connecting the site to the wider First Street Regeneration Area. There will also be a nine-story piece of public art to enhance the site. Once completed, the scheme is expected to contribute £1.6 million in business rates each year. The plans have been designed by award-winning architects Jon Matthews Architects, who have delivered a number of transformative regeneration projects in Manchester including Axis, Oxygen and Brazennose House, and Planit-IE. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Rushlift GSE, the specialist airport ground support equipment and services provider, has celebrated its tenth anniversary with a grand open-day event held recently at its new state-of-the-art Maintenance & Service facility at Gatwick Airport. Attended by over one hundred special guests – including customers, suppliers, Rushlift staff and management – the newly opened service centre provided the perfect venue to celebrate the company’s great success story, to date. Welcoming guests, Tim Willett, General Manager and Director of Rushlift GSE, said: “After ten years of continued growth, it seems highly appropriate to hold this celebratory open-day party with our team and partners at our very latest 36,000 sq ft Service facility at Gatwick. The fact that this is now our fifth such facility here at the UK’s second busiest airport helps demonstrate the growth that we have achieved over the last ten years and our steadfast commitment to supporting our clients well into the future.” Illustrating Rushlift GSE’s recent successes, the company has just secured a 56-month extension to its successful, long-running GSE contract with Europe’s leading short-haul airline, easyJet. The new multi-million pound deal continues a pre-existing five-year agreement with Rushlift GSE to supply, manage and maintain easyJet’s ground-handling fleet at London’s Gatwick Airport. In total over 600+ ground support assets are managed by Rushlift GSE under a progressive program of innovation and equipment enhancement, which includes an on-going transition from diesel to electric vehicles. Further success came less than two years ago with Rushlift GSE’s entry into a six-year global framework agreement with airport ground services company, Menzies Aviation, to supply GSE equipment. Under the arrangement, Rushlift GSE initially leased 650 brand-new vehicles to Menzies Aviation’s ground handling operations at Heathrow and Gatwick airports. At the open-day event, Daniel Chapman, easyJet’s Regional Operations and Contracts Manager, said of the new service centre: “The value-add of a facility such as this is being able to strip down pieces of GSE equipment that have been running for several years and then refurbish them to a standard that is going to support us over the next five years – and to do it at some scale.” Ian Baker, GSE Asset and Lease Manager at Menzies Aviation, said: “It’s a great facility, and with this 10-year anniversary it’s good to see Rushlift thriving and investing for the future. We have been working with Rushlift for almost two years, mostly at Heathrow, but our involvement with them is growing at Gatwick and elsewhere in the UK. Some of the new equipment we are bringing in is now electric, replacing old diesel units, which is better for the environment and, importantly, they’re intrinsically safer – as with the new belt loaders and stairs.” The new Maintenance & Service Centre is a long-term investment by Rushlift GSE involving a £250,000 comprehensive upgrade of the facility: including the installation of LED lighting, an uprating of the electrics with a move to three-phase power, the provision of vehicle charging points, a pumped waste-oil tank, and a vehicle exhaust extraction system. To further increase operational resilience, the number of on-site service engineers working across the three Rushlift GSE sites will be increased to 41. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
McLaughlin & Harvey is delighted to announce trainee engineer Christy Dickson has picked up the coveted CECA Scotland’s Most Promising Apprentice 2023 award. Developing the engineering stars of tomorrow is part of the ethos at McLaughlin & Harvey, with the company committed to ensuring 5% of the workforce is made up of apprentices, students and graduates on formalised training schemes. Christy Dickson is clearly making his mark in that 5% having joined McLaughlin & Harvey in 2019. Initially gaining experience with the team at the Bushmills Distillery Offsite Maturation Facility site followed by a brief spell with the estimating department, he then joined the Hawick Flood Protection Scheme which has been a focal point of his work since September 2020. Despite balancing working away from home on challenging projects and the impacts of Covid, Christy sailed through his Higher Level Apprenticeship (HLA) Foundation course and moved straight onto the HLA in Civil Engineering. He is currently in his second year and attends university every Thursday during term time. Always willing to help encourage more people into the industry, Christy has frequently put himself forward to take on the additional responsibilities of mentoring and supervising young people or work-returners brought on-site for work experience, site visits or work placements. In 2022, Christy helped guide eight S3 girl pupils from Hawick High School on-site as part of the CECA Scotland endorsed What-IF programme. Upon completion, the S3 girls were keen to explore opportunities in construction, with each offering compliments to and of Christy. Robin Erskine, Senior Contracts Manager at McLaughlin & Harvey, said: “I have had the opportunity to work with Christy at the Hawick FPS for the past two and a half years and I’m very proud of how he has developed into a very competent young engineer. From day one, he has shown a real willingness and eagerness to learn and advance his knowledge in civil engineering. His attitude, dedication and work ethic are exemplary. He works every other weekend on-site in Hawick due to his mid-week college day commitments back in Belfast. He has an excellent relationship with his peers, colleagues, subcontractors and client team, and I am delighted that he has picked up CECA Scotland’s Most Promising Apprentice award – thoroughly deserved.” Commenting on his award win, Christy Dickson said: “I am very honoured to have won this year’s CECA Scotland award for Most Promising Apprentice. I cannot thank Seamus Devlin and the team at McLaughlin & Harvey Ltd enough for all the training, support and opportunities they have given me. As well as my family and friends who have helped guide me throughout these early stages in my career as a Civil Engineer.” Christy received the award at the annual CECA Awards Dinner, held at the Doubletree by Hilton in Glasgow at the end of March. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Bowmer + Kirkland has been selected to develop a 500-home build to rent (BTR) residential scheme in Leeds city centre. The £140 million project at Whitehall Riverside is being delivered by Glenbrook and backed by Legal & General following last month’s announcement of what is Leeds’ largest BTR funding deal and the pair’s first venture together. Over the last decade, Glenbrook has established itself as one of the UK’s most active BTR developers, delivering over 1,500 homes to date. Whitehall Riverside represents the company’s first residential scheme in Leeds with a further 618-home development to come forward at Kirkstall Road later this year. In February 2023, Bowmer + Kirkland announced the practical completion of High Definition, a 280-apartment build for sale scheme at MediaCityUK, which the contractor delivered for Glenbrook on behalf of Latimer, Clarion Housing Group’s development arm. Danny Roberts, development director at Glenbrook, said: “With planning permission secured and the funding agreement with L&G now in place, we’ve immediately moved forward with the delivery of Whitehall Riverside and are working towards a completion date of April 2026. “Given the scheme’s extensive sustainable credentials, it was vital that we had a best-in-class contractor in place with similar values. We have a well-established relationship with Bowmer + Kirkland and this appointment provides certainty to the market that we will be delivering a high-quality product and provide an even broader range of choice for people in the city.” The project team includes Sheppard Robson, Curtins, Abacus, Re-form, Crookes Walker Consulting. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Capital&Centric has submitted plans to Bolton Council for Neighbourhood Bolton, a new concept community. The plans include 160 sustainable homes split across four nearby brownfield plots on the town’s Bradshawgate and Breightmet Street. The community will have 1-4 bed homes with bold designs and high energy performance. They will be set alongside safe streets fit for kids to play out, community amenity spaces where residents can get together, shared green areas and new workspaces for creative small and start-up businesses. Neighbourhood Bolton will kickstart reinvigoration of the key interchange area surrounding Bolton’s bus and train stations. It will be made up of Neighbourhood Trinity Gateway – the site on Bradshawgate – and Neighbourhood Trinity Village – a cluster of sites around Breightmet Street. Richard Spackman, Development Director at Capital&Centric, said: “It was just weeks ago we announced these plans and we’re already on with a planning application. We wanted to get the Neighbourhood concept spot on, with bold, contemporary homes, community amenities and workspaces set to totally change the feel of the area around Bolton’s train and bus stations. For us, this is all about taking the design-led approach you see in some of the exemplary city centre developments and bringing it to life in the suburbs. “A big part of Neighbourhood Bolton is to bring something totally different to what’s already on offer locally. We’ve worked at real pace to bring forward plans that will ultimately help meet Bolton’s growing housing need. “There’s places up and down the country that have these challenging brownfield sites in prime, town centre locations, crying out for a creative approach to regeneration. We’re rising to that challenge here and delivering a neighbourhood with a sense of community, excellent sustainability credentials and a distinct design edge.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
