Balfour Beatty’s Midland Metropolitan University Hospital project has been granted the go-ahead from the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust board, to open on 6 October 2024. The project, which forms part of the overall New Hospital Programme, saw Balfour Beatty construct a new nine-floor, state-of-the-art hospital building – the
Wavensmere Homes has submitted plans to City of Wolverhampton Council for the proposed £150 million residential-led Canalside South development. The 17.5-acre former industrial site is located within the city centre and benefits from frontage onto the Wyrley & Essington Canal and the Wolverhampton Branch of the Birmingham Main Line Canal.
Puma Property Finance (Puma) has announced that it has facilitated £20 million in loans (£13 million and £7 million) for Zephyr X to develop two new care homes in the South-East. The projects will create new facilities in areas with a significant shortage of care beds, specifically in Reigate, Surrey,
Sutton Council has appointed Lovell as the preferred bidder to rebuild Elm Grove estate in the town centre. Lovell has been selected to redevelop the existing homes – between Sutton High Street and Throwley Way – at a meeting of the Housing, Economy & Business Committee in July 2024. The
A £2.95 million repair scheme to protect the Filey sea wall from future erosion is to begin next month. North Yorkshire Council has secured a grant from the Environment Agency to carry out the project, which aims to ensure the sea defence remains viable for the next 50 years. The
Yondr Group has secured plans for a third building on its London campus in Slough. Located on the site of a former paint factory, the new data centre will follow the first facility which was completed in July and the second currently under construction. It will be part of Yondr’s
Sunbelt Rentals UK and Ireland has unveiled its new 180,000 sq.ft hire facility in West London, Victory Park North, Wembley. Strategically located less than 11 miles from Central London, it offers convenient connectivity for customers across London and the South East. This one-stop facility brings together Sunbelt Rentals’ Film and
Bellway has completed a land deal on Golbourne Road in Winwick, with planning consent granted by Warrington Borough Council for 153 family homes. The site, which is 15 acres in size, was formerly privately owned farmland. With build due to start by the end of the month, the land will
The Leeds PIPES heat network has gained international recognition as a international exemplar for city-wide heating systems, following a visit from the Canada-based Boltzmann Institute. The delegation attended as part of a pan-European “study tour”, to gain crucial insights to aid in the expansion of Canada’s low carbon energy infrastructure.
Housebuilder Homes by Esh, has brought forward a development of 41 energy-efficient homes in Trimdon Village. The Bluebell Gardens development features a mix of three- and four-bedroom detached homes and two-bedroom terraced bungalows, with nine house types providing a range of choices for potential buyers. The development, which is adjacent
Balfour Beatty’s Midland Metropolitan University Hospital project has been granted the go-ahead from the Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust board, to open on 6 October 2024. The project, which forms part of the overall New Hospital Programme, saw Balfour Beatty construct a new nine-floor, state-of-the-art hospital building – the largest acute care hospital in the region, with approximately 700 beds for inpatients. The new mega-structure has a gross internal floor area of approximately 85,924m² and once open in the Autumn, will serve over half a million people with facilities for acute and emergency care as well as paediatric, maternity, and inpatient adult care. In addition, the site will also be home to a new £18 million learning campus being largely funded from Towns Fund investment, set to open in 2025. This facility will be a game changer for the local population offering further and higher education courses as well as apprenticeship opportunities and employment within the new hospital. Lindsay McGibbon, Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s Regional Buildings business said: “This is a momentous moment for everyone at Balfour Beatty and the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust. “Achieving this milestone was only made possible thanks to years of hard work and dedication from our people, who deserve a special mention for safely and successfully delivering this long-awaited, transformative hospital which will deliver significant benefits for the local community for years to come.” Richard Beeken, Chief Executive of Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust: “This is truly a key moment for our patients, people, and population as we know that this winter, we will be delivering emergency care in an environment which exceeds expectations and delivers benefits in wellbeing both for patients and our staff. “Today our board carefully considered extensive information about all aspects of the programme to deliver the new hospital safely. We are assured of the clinical safety, patient, and staff experience case for opening and transferring patients. “These key milestones mark the final steps in our journey towards opening the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital which is poised to become the centre of acute and emergency care at our Trust.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Wavensmere Homes has submitted plans to City of Wolverhampton Council for the proposed £150 million residential-led Canalside South development. The 17.5-acre former industrial site is located within the city centre and benefits from frontage onto the Wyrley & Essington Canal and the Wolverhampton Branch of the Birmingham Main Line Canal. Over 530 high EPC-rated homes, seven acres of vibrant green space, and a range of commercial amenities are proposed to regenerate the site, which has lain derelict for 15 years. Designed by Glancy Nicholls Architects, the low-rise development plans emulate the surrounding conservation area and maximise the canalside setting. The scheme is also set to open up a new walkway to the city core, reducing the previous walk time by 20 minutes, and igniting investment into a commercial corridor. The waterfront development opportunity sits on the eastern edge of the city centre and is made up of the Canal & River Trust-owned former Crane Foundry site, and the Council’s former British Steel site and land off Qualcast Road – all brought together to ensure a comprehensive development takes place. Wavensmere Homes is proposing 378 two-and three-bedroom townhouses, designed to target an EPC-A rated specification, together with 145 one-and two-bedroom apartments. A building of 10 co-living units – each containing six bedrooms – is also proposed. The multi-award-winning urban regeneration specialist has also submitted plans to redevelop and reanimate disused railway arches on the site into 1,338sqm (14,400 sq ft) of lettable commercial space. Wavensmere Homes proposes future-proofing the Canalside South site by installing electric only heating systems. A range of technologies will be utilised across the development, consisting of air source heat pumps, solar panels and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery (MVHR). The development plans also feature EV charging to each house or parking space, alongside an array of EV chargers for visitors. The overall vision for the Wolverhampton Canalside masterplan is the delivery of around 1,000 homes to meet both the city and wider region’s housing needs, with sustainability and place-making at its heart. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Puma Property Finance (Puma) has announced that it has facilitated £20 million in loans (£13 million and £7 million) for Zephyr X to develop two new care homes in the South-East. The projects will create new facilities in areas with a significant shortage of care beds, specifically in Reigate, Surrey, and Whitchurch, Reading. The £13m loan will deliver an 80-bed all electric new care home in Reigate, Surrey, the site of a former independent hospital. The new home will include amenities such as a hairdresser, cinema/entertainment room, private dining room, café area and a gym. With 100% wet room provision the new home will address the significant shortfall in the well populated Reigate area with only 25% of the existing supply having been built since 2000 and a 474 wet room shortfall1. Construction is underway and the care home is expected to reach practical completion in December 2025. The £7m loan will deliver a new 45-bed care home in Whitchurch, Reading to address significant demand in the area. In particular, there is a notable shortfall in ensuite wet rooms, with only 29% of the existing supply providing this product. The new care home is being built in a well populated area where the demand for care beds exceeds 800 per 100,000 people1. The home will offer all ensuite wet rooms, plus extensive amenities for residents including lounges, dining rooms, therapy room, hair salon plus a café/bistro. Construction is progressing and the care home is expected to reach practical completion in January 2025. Puma has now supported Zephyr X on four care home developments. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Sutton Council has appointed Lovell as the preferred bidder to rebuild Elm Grove estate in the town centre. Lovell has been selected to redevelop the existing homes – between Sutton High Street and Throwley Way – at a meeting of the Housing, Economy & Business Committee in July 2024. The new homes will meet high sustainability standards meaning more comfort, energy efficiency, and lower heating bills for residents. The Elm Grove scheme will be located next to another key council project at Northern Gateway, opposite Asda, which will provide new high-street premises in the historic White Building for Sutton College, the borough’s adult education centre. Both projects are key parts of the Council’s plans to transform the town centre. In the past few months, several key projects have started coming to life: the co-working and wellbeing space at Oru Sutton in the old BHS building opened to the public; works have started at the Northern Gateway and 137-145 High Street sites; and the new Throwley Yard cinema launched this summer in the former Chicago’s nightclub. 79% of residents voted in favour of the plans to redevelop Elm Grove in March 2022 and works are scheduled to start in May 2025. All existing eligible residents choosing to stay on the estate will be offered a new home. Councillor Jake Short, Chair of Sutton’s Housing, Economy and Business Committee, said: “This is a really exciting step forward in the Council’s plans to build new quality and affordable homes for our residents in the heart of Sutton town centre, and tackle the Housing Crisis. “Our new council homes across the borough have already been recognised for their high design and environmental standards. The selection of an experienced development partner means our goal to deliver incredible homes and open spaces for Elm Grove residents can now move to the next stage.. “We have been driven by what Elm Grove residents want their future homes to look like and now this vision is set to become a reality with construction works currently scheduled to start early Summer 2025.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A £2.95 million repair scheme to protect the Filey sea wall from future erosion is to begin next month. North Yorkshire Council has secured a grant from the Environment Agency to carry out the project, which aims to ensure the sea defence remains viable for the next 50 years. The scheme will cover a 1.1-kilometre stretch of the coast between Coble Landing in the north and Royal Parade in the south. The defences were built between the 19th and 20th centuries, protecting 626 residential and 166 non-residential properties, as well as five Yorkshire Water assets, including sewage pumping stations. Executive member for highways, transport and coastal protection, Cllr Keane Duncan, said: “We are pleased to be able to begin the essential repair scheme which will enhance the condition of the sea wall by replacing damaged blocks, slipways and steps. “Extensive preparatory work has been carried out to ensure the stability of the wall and public safety. This includes comprehensive surveys and investigations to enable us to choose the best construction method and equipment. “We are also addressing concerns around erosion at St Martins Gill where the slipway meets the softer undefended cliffs. These vital improvements aim to bolster the integrity and resilience of our coastal defences, ensuring better protection for our community, infrastructure, and coastline.” The council has worked closely with its delivery partner and local businesses to minimise disruption. The project is due to begin on 24 August, but construction won’t start until mid-September to avoid the peak tourist season. The Filey sea wall scheme is due to be completed by the spring of next year, and earlier this month Jackson Civil Engineering Limited was appointed to carry out the work. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Yondr Group has secured plans for a third building on its London campus in Slough. Located on the site of a former paint factory, the new data centre will follow the first facility which was completed in July and the second currently under construction. It will be part of Yondr’s proposed 100+MW capacity campus, continuing to position the West London location as one of the most prominent data centre hubs in Europe, with Yondr as a key player in that market. Yondr has worked collaboratively with Slough Borough Council and the Canal & River Trust to develop a design for the building that enhances the canal bank and biodiversity, improving both views and access for local residents. Despite limitations, Yondr was able to install a green wall on the facade, placing it on an independent structure. The green wall will face out towards the canal and provide visual and acoustic shielding, as well as enhancing biodiversity on the site. The design also includes additional landscaping beyond the border of the data centre site, with trees and shrubs selected to be sympathetic to local plant species and wildlife. Residents will benefit from a new walking and cycle route, creating a convenient cut-through that will shorten journeys and encourage active travel. Energy efficiency also lies at the heart of the design for Yondr’s BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rated data centre facility, in line with the company’s sustainability strategy and 2030 target for Scope 1 and 2 carbon neutrality. Solar panels will be installed on the building’s roof and the facility will boast industry-leading power utilisation efficiency (PUE). Carl Fisher, Design Director EMEA from Yondr commented: “With the design for the third building on our London campus we have taken learnings from the previous two buildings and considered challenges to develop an exceptional data centre design that will set the standard for environmental best practice in the data centre sector. “The design that has been approved will enhance the canal-side walks, protect the canal, and enhance both vistas and pedestrian/cycle access for local residents, while increasing data capacity with an energy-efficient and resilient data centre asset. “With this project, we are proving that data centre performance, environmental responsibility, aesthetics and sensitivity to local residents can all be factored into progressive data centre design, and we’re looking forward to delivering on every one of those objectives as this project advances.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Sunbelt Rentals UK and Ireland has unveiled its new 180,000 sq.ft hire facility in West London, Victory Park North, Wembley. Strategically located less than 11 miles from Central London, it offers convenient connectivity for customers across London and the South East. This one-stop facility brings together Sunbelt Rentals’ Film and TV business with the company’s wider offerings, such as Power, HVAC, and external training, ensuring an exceptional customer experience. This new facility is set to be the epicentre for Sunbelt Rentals’ sustainable net-zero and low-carbon equipment solutions, featuring their clean energy and sustainable location services. “The scale of the new location means we can offer an exceptional customer experience,” explained Mike Pollard, Managing Director of Film & TV at Sunbelt Rentals. “Along with the expansive warehouse and range of specialist equipment available equipment, customers can also use our test rooms, viewing theatre, creative hub and meeting rooms for enhanced creative collaboration.” With significant investment in both equipment and infrastructure, this new Film and TV facility will ensure customers receive everything they need with unmatched efficiency and sustainability at the core of their offering. They also aim to support the industry through partnerships, training and addressing skills shortages in Film and TV industry. The new location marks the first Sunbelt Rentals lighting team to be located in London, creating local employment and further opportunities for business growth and development across the region. For their grip services, they’ve expanded their fleet to include more crane services and telescopics than ever before, making it one of the largest fleets in the UK. Furthermore, the investment in the Camera and Lenses department ensures that customers have access to the latest and most innovative equipment. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Bellway has completed a land deal on Golbourne Road in Winwick, with planning consent granted by Warrington Borough Council for 153 family homes. The site, which is 15 acres in size, was formerly privately owned farmland. With build due to start by the end of the month, the land will be transformed into a picturesque development comprising a mix of three and four bedroom homes. The new development will be known as St Oswalds Place, and appealing to a family audience, will offer an array of semi-detached and detached houses, all providing garages and/or off road parking. Each property at St Oswalds Place has been expertly designed to an exceptionally high standard, with the development benefitting from a lovely open aspect yet well connected to local transport links, including the M6 and M62 motorways as well as Winwick Quay train station. Garce Yarlett, Sales Director at Bellway, said: “Winwick is a wonderful location for a new residential development. It is a particularly popular place to live for families, so we expect our range of three and four bedroom homes to be in demand once released for sale. Having only just completed on the land deal, we are thrilled to be making an immediate start on site at St Oswalds Place.” With construction commencing imminently, it is anticipated that the two stunning showhomes will open in June 2025, along with first occupancy. Bellway plans to release for sale the first few properties later this year, in November. In addition to the new development in Winwick, Bellway has made several significant Section 106 contributions, totalling more than £2m. Some of these include £897,241 towards primary and secondary school education, £154,154 towards healthcare, £120,000 towards highways and £321,082 towards sport. Bellway worked with APD Architects and Gateley Solicitors on the scheme. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The Leeds PIPES heat network has gained international recognition as a international exemplar for city-wide heating systems, following a visit from the Canada-based Boltzmann Institute. The delegation attended as part of a pan-European “study tour”, to gain crucial insights to aid in the expansion of Canada’s low carbon energy infrastructure. Leeds PIPES, one of the UK’s fastest growing, major heat networks provides homes, businesses and public buildings with affordable, reliable, low carbon heat and hot water through the use of recovered heat from a nearby Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility. Being delivered by Vital Energi, in partnership with Leeds City Council and Ener-Vate, the scheme was responsible for a near 6,000 tonnes of carbon reduction in 2023 alone, and has delivered over 430 green jobs across the Leeds city region. Its current customers include some of the city’s most notable organisations, including Leeds Playhouse, Leeds Beckett University and St James’s University Hospital. Connecting over 2,300 homes and 28 key buildings across the city centre, the city-wide heating network has attracted national recognition, having recently won the ‘Energy Project of the Year – Residential’ category at the prestigious Energy Awards in London. The project is also making significant local impact through inspiring the next generation of heating and electric engineers, as well as aspiring design and construction professionals. 40 students from the Urban Energy Systems course at the University of Leeds also had the opportunity to tour the network in action and gain unique insights from senior staff at the organisation. Representatives from The Boltzmann Institute visited energy facilities across eight countries in Europe in advance of their ambitious plans for district energy expansion across Canada, helping the country reach its goals for net zero emissions by 2050. Richard Gilbert, Director at the Boltzmann Institute said: “We had an incredibly worthwhile visit with Vital Energi to learn more about Leeds PIPES as part of our Europe-wide study tour, gaining invaluable insight to input into our wider plans for district energy expansion in Canada. We were particularly impressed by our tour of the Recycling and Energy recovery facility, which really demonstrated the brilliant innovation happening both in the city of Leeds, and in our sector.” Mike Cooke, Managing Director from Vital Energi said: “We have seen great progress for the Leeds PIPES network since the project began in 2018. We are proud of our collaboration with Leeds City Council and Ener-Vate and the impact it has on the international effort to achieving Net Zero. The recognition for the scheme is a real reflection of the team’s dedication to innovation in the green transition, and to providing flexible, resilient and future-proofed energy schemes for our clients. We are incredibly proud to see the real impact that Leeds PIPES is having on so many people within the city, and we will continue our work to support as many local businesses, and local lives, as we can.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Housebuilder Homes by Esh, has brought forward a development of 41 energy-efficient homes in Trimdon Village. The Bluebell Gardens development features a mix of three- and four-bedroom detached homes and two-bedroom terraced bungalows, with nine house types providing a range of choices for potential buyers. The development, which is adjacent to Salters Lane in Trimdon Village, has good connections to the A1 and A19. Homes by Esh has opened the market for the site’s first properties, providing buyers the opportunity to reserve off-plan. Buyers can also benefit from Homes by Esh’s Mortgage Subsidy Scheme, which makes the first two years of mortgage repayments easier with a £250 contribution towards your payments. Stamp duty on all four-bedroom homes will also be paid for. Part exchange options are available while flooring and integrated kitchen appliances can be factored into bespoke purchase packages. Homes by Esh’s Deputy Managing Director, Colin Willetts, said: “As mortgage lenders put forward more favourable mortgage rates and the Bank of England cut inflation back to 5%, now is a good time to act for those who are looking to buy their first home, upsize or even downsize. “By merging our expertise with technological upgrades, the homes have been constructed with the latest features to reduce energy consumption.” Each home has been designed with expert technology and energy efficient features, including electric vehicle charging points, solar photovoltaic panels, smart technology and secure bike storage. The homes will be compliant to the 2022 Building Regulations Uplift – bringing increased insulation, improved ventilation and enhanced energy efficiencies – as well as the Nationally Described Space Standards and M42 building regulations. Every property that Homes by Esh builds undergoes thorough quality control checks before it is handed over to buyers and comes with a 10-year NHBC warranty. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
