Keepmoat Homes has completed the purchase of a former factory land which built the iconic Spitfire planes used during World War II, from British heritage brand and automotive manufacturer, Rolls-Royce.  Permission was granted by Derby City Council in June of 2020 for the housebuilder to deliver 372 one-and two-bedroom apartments and two-, three- and four-bedroom homes that makes up part of the Council’s wider Osmaston Regeneration Area project and aims to reinvigorate the vacant land that was formerly occupied by Rolls-Royce for 100 years. In keeping with Keepmoat Homes’ commitment to providing high quality and affordable homes, the housebuilder is also working closely with Places for People in allocating a number of additional affordable homes alongside the delivery of 12 bungalows which will be available to rent with Derby Homes. “Our plans for 372 new homes and apartments align with Derby City Council’s objectives of regenerating the Osmaston area and contributing to growing housing market which remains their utmost priority. Keepmoat Homes is honoured to continue the legacy of this historic piece of land that played a vital role in Europe’s victory over 70 years ago, and we’re working hard to ensure that this history is remembered for generations to come,” commented Shaun Fielding, Regional Managing Director at Keepmoat Homes. The aptly named Marble Square development, which was inspired by suggestions from pupils of the local school, Ashwood Spencer Academy, will encompass the previously converted and historic Marble Hall which now houses office and commercial space. Plans also call for a central public square, designed specifically to align with the stained-glass window within the Marble Hall to honour the work Rolls-Royce carried out on the Spitfire fighter planes during WW2. “This is an exciting milestone in developing a site that has been vacant for around 15 years. The Council has been working in partnership with Keepmoat Homes and the local community for a number of years to bring regeneration of this site to fruition, and we’re delighted to see the transfer of land to enable the next stage of work,” said Councillor Steve Hassall, Cabinet Member for Regeneration. Work on the site began last year, after considerable remediation works have been completed, with the first homes due to be available for purchase this August. The completion of Marble Square is due in 2028/29. Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News

Smartroof, UK manufacturer of panelised roofing systems, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, a key milestone for a company that has revolutionised room-in-roof construction in the housing sector with its innovative panel system that can be installed in hours, not days. Established in 2002, Smartroof has grown considerably over the past 20 years from when it secured its first customer, housebuilder Barratt Homes. The company has gone from strength-to-strength and is now supplying over 300 roofs every month, aided in part by the recent £1.5 million investment in its Swadlincote production facility to meet the growing demand for modular roof systems. Throughout this journey, Smartroof has worked hard to forge a reputation for innovation which is at the heart of everything it creates. Research and development ensures its products are well-engineered, well-understood and ahead of the game when it comes to sustainability. The Keystone Group acquired Smartroof in 2012, recognising that the revolutionary Smartroof system complemented its brands and addressed many of the challenges facing housebuilders today; health and safety, speed of construction, skills shortage, cost certainty and product quality. Commenting, Sean Og Coyle, Commercial Director at Keystone Group said: “At the Keystone group we really believe Smartroof has revolutionised the room-in-roof sector. Being able to arrive on site with installers, a lorry with roof cassettes, dormers, roof windows, soffit and fascia, and then installing two plots per day provides our customers and builders with the important consistency of build programme and reliability. The system also improves health and safety, speed of construction and consistency of cost, which at the end of the day provides the builder with peace of mind that their product will be installed as required.” A complete roof solution, Smartroof is designed to offer housebuilders and developers a solution to maximising sellable space by creating rooms in roofs. Comprising a series of factory produced panels incorporating insulation, dormers, spandrels, roof windows and roofline, it is delivered to site and craned into place. Once in place, the roofs simply require tiling. The system has many benefits – less waste, better control of quality, safer to install – and meets the industry’s demand for solutions that allow us to build better quality homes more efficiently. Along with its proven room-in-roof solution, Smartroof’s longstanding success is also as a result of the support it receives from its customers and suppliers who rely on its products. Furthermore, Smartroof has the measures in place with its operations team, site team, and contract managers who go the extra mile to ensure customers get that exceptional level of communication from their first enquiry right through to installation and post-handover support. With a pipeline of projects in the mix for 2022 and beyond, Smartroof has clear ambition and an exciting outlook for the future. Thanks to the unwavering support of its staff, customers and suppliers, Smartroof looks forward to the next 20 years! Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News

Keystone has picked up an impressive 12 industry awards in the past six months, resulting in a record-breaking year for the Group. Keystone Group brands Keystone Lintels, Keylite Roof Windows, IG Lintels and Keyfix have all come away victorious at recent industry award events, with multiple nominations and shortlist successes in addition to the wins. Keystone Lintels  In recognition of its outstanding customer service, Keystone Lintels was delighted to be awarded ‘Supplier of the Year’ by Buildbase for the second year in a row; an accolade that has never been achieved before in the history of the Buildbase Supplier Awards. The award win came shortly after the brand’s success at the BMJ Industry Awards, where Keystone Lintels was crowned ‘Heavyside Supplier of the Year’ by builders’ merchants across the UK and at the Builders’ Merchants Awards where the brand was shortlisted as one of three finalists for ‘Supplier of Year’ alongside Keylite. More recently, Keystone’s customer excellence has been celebrated at the Fortis Supplier Awards, where the company was honoured with the title of ‘Civils and Groundworks Supplier of the Year’. Keylite Roof Windows  In December, Keylite triumphed at the BMJ Industry Awards, picking up ‘Roofing Supplier of the Year’ for the fourth consecutive year. This was shortly followed by the brand’s unique Integrated Expanding Thermal Collar being crowned ‘Best Roofing System or Product’ at the 2021 Build It Awards. Keylite also came away victorious at this year’s Builders’ Merchants Awards, taking home the title of ‘Supplier of the Year’ at the 20th-anniversary event. Then in the 2022 Housebuilder Product Awards, the brand was awarded ‘Best Building Fabric Product’ for its Integrated Expanding Thermal Collar. Most recently, Keylite was crowned ‘Joinery Supplier of the Year’ at the Fortis Building & Timber Conference Supplier Awards, which are designed to recognise excellence within the Fortis supplier base. Keylite was also selected as a finalist in the 2022 Irish Construction Excellence (ICE) Awards, for its Integrated Expanding Thermal Collar in the ‘Product Innovation’ category. IG Lintels  IG Lintels took home the coveted title of ‘Supplier of the Year’ at the Bradfords Awards for Excellence 2022, demonstrating its outstanding professionalism and commitment to its customers. Keyfix Celebrating excellence in the provision of products and services to the housebuilding industry, Keyfix has been awarded ‘Best Site Product’ in the Housebuilder Product Awards and is also a finalist for Housebuilder’s 2022 ‘Product of the Year’ award.   Just this month, Keyfix was delighted to have been awarded ‘Manufacturing Innovation’ by the Made in Northern Ireland Awards and the ‘Construction Product Innovation’ award at the ICE Awards for its Non-combustible Cavity Tray system. IG Masonry Support IG Masonry Support was also shortlisted in the ‘Product Innovation’ category at this year’s Irish Construction Excellence Awards. Up against both Keylite and Keyfix, the brand’s B.O.S.S. A1 solution was a successful finalist.  Sean Og Coyle, Keystone Group Commercial Director, said: “For over 30 years, Keystone Group has been synonymous with excellent customer service and has put its partners at the heart of the Group’s ethos. We are absolutely thrilled that our dedication to forming strong customer bonds has been rewarded with a staggering amount of recent award wins. “As well as prioritising service, we are continuously investing in research and development to provide our customers with sector-leading solutions. It’s fantastic to see our product innovations being recognised and celebrated by the industry as a whole.” Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News

Bouygues UK’s Business Growth and Social Value Director Leigh Hughes has been awarded Highly Commended at the IoD Wales’ Director of the Year Awards. The awards, which were held at the International Conference Centre at the Celtic Manor Resort, celebrate leadership talent, success, and highlights business excellence and significant contributions leaders can make to the social and economic prosperity in the community. Leigh achieved recognition for his work in helping Bouygues UK achieve its mission to deliver a sustainable built environment and demonstrate its social, economic and environmental commitment to support the communities it works in. Social value is a major strategic priority for Bouygues Construction UK and Leigh, who is also the Welsh chair of the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and the Chair of the Employment and Skills Board and a member of the Economic Growth Partnership at the Cardiff Capital Region, has helped implement many social value initiatives around the UK. Bouygues UK has introduced many education construction initiatives, such as GoConstruct Education – a collaboration between industry and education partners to include construction resources into the Welsh school curriculum in a bid to get more youngsters considering a future career in construction. Bouygues UK also imbeds social value into every project it works on, such as Cardiff University’s Cardiff Innovation Campus which has so far provided nearly 190 weeks of work experience for local people, supported 3,099 apprenticeship weeks, created 545 local jobs and spent more than £74million in the local economy from the project. Leigh also spearheaded Bouygues UK’s sponsorship of the Wizard’s League in schools in Port Talbot to increase sports participation and health and wellbeing in students – a partnership which has now been going for six years. During the pandemic, Bouygues UK shifted its CSR and ESG focus to focus on people, particularly its student and community ambassador schemes around the UK, as well as supporting those most in need to deliver maximum benefit. It also targeted its social value activities around social groups who were disproportionately affected by the pandemic, this included donating PPE to health care workers and the vulnerable and working with young people with little or no qualifications to help them into work, such as gifting laptops and desktop computers. Leigh, who has worked at Bouygues UK for 11 years, said of the award: “It’s an honour to be Highly Commended for Corporate Social Responsibility at the IoD Wales awards. Social value is in the DNA of Bouygues UK and is a major driver and priority for us as a business and an integral part of what we do. To be even named a finalist, never mind be highly commended in this category was such an honour. It is great to be able to fly the flag for construction in Wales in this area and show how innovative and committed we as an industry are to social value. “Bouygues UK has a highly skilled workforce, working on some of the most exciting building projects in the country, but we never stop in trying to increase the social and economic benefits we make on these projects and these communities we work in, as well as imparting the knowledge, excellence and skills we have to others.” Building, Design and Construction Magazine | The Home of Construction and Property News