Construction works have now commenced on the second phase of The Parklands, a new residential development in Sudbrooke, Lincoln, bringing new homes to the market in 2022. Works started on the 155-home development in 2018 and developer Jackson Living – part of Jackson & Jackson Developments – has now moved
Exclusive opinion poll finds key Red Wall political background seats backing hydrogen heating as a means of hitting Net Zero targets, avoiding unaffordable, upfront costs of the alternatives, saving the UK £35 billion. The YouGov poll was commissioned by not-for-profit trade body Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), to examine a
House building has officially started on the new £3m over 55s development of a small collection of luxury new homes in central Wedmore at Holdenhurst, just off Cheddar Road. The new 1.8-acre Wedmore development, which is named Holden Gardens, will feature a mix of 10 detached, 2- and 3-bedroom homes
Nowadays, architects, property developers and construction companies are embracing more environmentally conscious workflows in an effort to be more mindful of their environmental impact. The Hobs Group have also made some important decisions which highlights their own green credentials. As part of Hobs commitment to the environment they proudly boast
Panattoni, the largest industrial real estate developer in Europe, has begun speculatively developing a 142,000 sq ft logistics facility at Panattoni Park Borehamwood. The new logistics facility will complete the development of Panattoni Park Borehamwood on a 17-acre site, which is located inside the M25, less than a mile from
Cavanna Homes has secured land in the village of Collaton St Mary near Paignton where it will be building new family homes close to local amenities, schools and the South West coastline. The Westcountry homebuilder, whose current developments can be found in Exeter, Newton Abbot, Tavistock and Bude has acquired
In just 11 months since acquiring the former Benthalls warehouse site in Farnborough, Panattoni has developed a 170,000 sq ft logistics facility and let the entire unit to DFS Furniture on a long-term lease, highlighting the speed and success of its speculative build strategy in the UK. DFS commenced its
Kier has just been awarded by Stanhope, Mitsui Fudosan and AIMCo the contract for the construction of 142 new affordable homes for Peabody in two new buildings called Macfarlane Place at Television Centre, London, W12. Construction of Macfarlane Place will commence in March 2022, with delivery expected in early 2024.
Gleeds, the property and construction consultancy, has founded an emerging talent group with the aim of bringing junior staff members from construction consultancy firms together to collaborate, learn and network. The group is the brainchild of Justin Moore, project director at Gleeds, who recognised the need to bring more of
Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson has completed construction works on the new Anker Valley Primary School in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The opening ceremony for the new school took place towards the end of 2021, with MP Christopher Pincher, County Councillor Jonathan Price from Staffordshire County Council, representatives from G F Tomlinson
Construction works have now commenced on the second phase of The Parklands, a new residential development in Sudbrooke, Lincoln, bringing new homes to the market in 2022. Works started on the 155-home development in 2018 and developer Jackson Living – part of Jackson & Jackson Developments – has now moved into the second phase. Sitting north of phase one, phase two of the development will see the delivery of 41 homes, including 11 five-bedroom properties – including a landmark home with a thatched roof – and 12 affordable homes, all overlooking Sudbrooke woodland. The exclusive 46.7-acre development is made up of 24 individual house designs and will feature two, three, four and five-bedroom homes in a unique woodland setting. The final phase, phase three, will commence next year in 2023. Due for overall completion in 2024, The Parklands has taken its design inspiration from the surrounding, historic woodland and traditional village setting and will feature communal outdoor spaces, woodland footpaths, a restaurant, kitchen garden and community allotments. Landscape and green space play a key part in The Parklands. As part of phase one, newly created footpaths were added around the existing ponds, native tree, shrubs, hedgerows and wildflowers were planted. Further work will include community allotments and a kitchen garden including heritage fruit trees, flower beds and space for sheds and glasshouses. Jackson Living worked with Newark-based firm Influence Landscape Planning and Design across all phases at The Parklands with the company designing the on plot gardens and public spaces. As part of phase 2, Influence Landscape Planning and Design produced the landscape plans which include open grass and wildflower areas, native tree planting and mixed shrub planting. “The existing site features of The Parklands, such as the ponds and trees, significantly led the landscape design process as they naturally informed the layout. We then created a landscape masterplan that reflected and respected the historic setting and promoted and enhanced the biodiversity and ecological value,” said Lindsey Arkley, senior landscape architect at Influence Landscape Planning and Design. “Our landscape designs include significant outside areas to encourage natural play and nature and alongside the developer, have chosen to plant species that are appropriate to the local area and are of benefit to local wildlife. We have also worked around existing parkland trees which are a beautiful asset within the development, and new trees are being planted and where relevant, reinstated. We are very pleased to be involved on such a special site.” House prices at The Parklands start from £175,000 and can be reserved through agents Pygott & Crone.
Exclusive opinion poll finds key Red Wall political background seats backing hydrogen heating as a means of hitting Net Zero targets, avoiding unaffordable, upfront costs of the alternatives, saving the UK £35 billion. The YouGov poll was commissioned by not-for-profit trade body Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA), to examine a range of questions about the UK’s energy future. Excluding ‘Don’t Knows’, 85 per cent of the 1600 residents across 18 Red Wall seats in the north of England back Government plans to allow hydrogen to be blended with natural gas to reduce carbon emissions in the home, from 2023. This figure rises to 92 per cent of Labour voters. These findings support the recent publication by the Energy Networks Association of their “Hydrogen Blending Delivery Plan” launched last week. Hydrogen can be safely blended into the natural gas network at levels up to 20 per cent without any changes required to gas boilers, cookers or fires, meaning consumers can reduce their carbon footprint automatically. Across the UK, this offers the potential of a 6 million tonnes a year carbon saving. “We have always believed the great British public want to do their bit on reducing carbon but are worried about the costs and don’t trust some new technologies. Blending hydrogen into the gas network has been given a huge thumbs up from voters,” commented on these findings, Mike Foster, CEO of EUA. “They can continue to use their gas boilers, cookers and fires as they do now, and their carbon emissions will be cut, with them doing nothing. It’s a real win-win situation that is recognised by voters, already struggling with energy bills and having no spare cash for expensive alternatives to gas boilers.” “And the impact is huge. Across the UK’s 23 million homes, it amounts to 6 million tonnes a year saved – the same as taking 2.5 million cars off our roads. Instead of switching 3.5 million homes from gas to heat pumps, to save the same amount of carbon, at a cost of £35 billion, consumers can simply keep warm knowing that the switch to hydrogen is helping to save the planet.”
House building has officially started on the new £3m over 55s development of a small collection of luxury new homes in central Wedmore at Holdenhurst, just off Cheddar Road. The new 1.8-acre Wedmore development, which is named Holden Gardens, will feature a mix of 10 detached, 2- and 3-bedroom homes which are located around a landscaped communal garden and summerhouse. Halsall Construction, the established South West construction firm, are now on site building the homes to Blue Cedar Homes’ high-quality specification and finish. “Today marks a real milestone in the delivery of our vision for these homes at Wedmore – the creation of an outstanding community which people will want to make their home. The guys on site have made a tremendous start and you can already see the quality of what will soon stand here. We are looking forward to seeing the foundations being laid and then the completion of the first home,” said Paul Lacy, Operations Manager at Halsall. Designed to cater for an active retirement, the new homes will benefit from a local Estate Manager, who will maintain the communal garden, private gardens, boundaries, and property exteriors. The energy efficient, freehold detached homes will predominantly be two/three-bedroomed with adaptable interiors to meet changing future needs and enable longer independent living. They will also feature a garage, additional parking space and private garden. At the end of December, Paul Lacy, Operations Manager at Halsall was joined on site with David Millar, Senior Quantity Surveyor and Project Manager at Blue Cedar Homes and Chris Fayers, Director of Sales and Marketing at Blue Cedar Homes to officially break ground and celebrate having the site work commence. Chris Fayers, Sales and Marketing Director at Blue Cedar Homes, said: “We are delighted to have started work on Holden Gardens. Our lead contractor, Halsall, was appointed following negotiation and it’s exciting to see them bringing our vision for these ten bespoke homes out of the ground.” Chris continued: “Wedmore is a very charming village, with a vibrant community life and excellent travel connections, typical of the locations our customers love to call home. “The new properties at Holden Gardens have been carefully designed to reflect and respect their setting and we are already receiving significant levels of interest from those considering a move to an ‘age-appropriate’ property, but also from those helping relatives to plan for later life.” Blue Cedar Homes was established in 2008 and has completed 24 age-exclusive developments.
Nowadays, architects, property developers and construction companies are embracing more environmentally conscious workflows in an effort to be more mindful of their environmental impact. The Hobs Group have also made some important decisions which highlights their own green credentials. As part of Hobs commitment to the environment they proudly boast an ISO 14001 accreditation (Environmental Management Systems), as well as the ability to internally produce and deliver a complete FSC accredited project. Furthermore, Hobs’ recent partnership with PrintReleaf is their next big commitment to reducing their environmental impact. “The environmental impact that any business makes should be taken very seriously, and this is such an exciting partnership and an opportunity which every client of Hobs can feel equally as proud of. The work that we print on our clients’ behalf is being of proactive help to the future of our planet,” noted Craig Horwood, Managing Director of Hobs. PrintReleaf is the first automated platform that converts paper consumption into planting actual trees in aid of global reforestation. Based on a theme of “you print one, we’ll plant one,” PrintReleaf leverages Hobs’ paper usage and equates the number of trees needed to reforest that usage on an equivalent basis, in geographic areas of need. To date they have helped to plant over 1,400 trees in Mexico, Madagascar and Ireland. Hobs’ clients can also get involved in this partnership by creating their own personalised company dashboard, and help to collectively plant even more trees. “Now more than ever customers are seeking new and innovative ways to be more mindful and sustainable in their operations and purchasing decisions – including printing. PrintReleaf is proud to partner with the Hobs Group to ensure their delivery of print management and commercial print for all of their customers is certifiably reforested and, as a result, lightening the impact on the environment now and for future generations,” added Jordan Darragh, CEO of PrintReleaf.
Panattoni, the largest industrial real estate developer in Europe, has begun speculatively developing a 142,000 sq ft logistics facility at Panattoni Park Borehamwood. The new logistics facility will complete the development of Panattoni Park Borehamwood on a 17-acre site, which is located inside the M25, less than a mile from the A1 and two miles from junction 23 of the M25. This makes it a prime opportunity for occupiers looking at serving the London and south east markets. It is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. “Panattoni Park Borehamwood is a fantastic location for an urban logistics occupier serving London and an excellent base for a national logistics operation requiring access to the south east,” said Anthony Watkins, Development Director at Panattoni. The development will benefit from an extensive 48m yard, 13 dock doors, 6 level access doors, 94 car parking spaces and impressive 15m clear internal height. The unit will be built to a targeted BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’ with many sustainable features such as EV van and car charging points, 15% roof lights, LED lights and rain water harvesting systems. The first phase of development at the park comprised a pre-let, 36,000 sq ft facility for UK Power Network and a 159,000 sq ft facility, which is available for occupation. Buckingham Group Contracting has been appointed as main contractor, while the letting agents are JLL and Cushman & Wakefield.
Cavanna Homes has secured land in the village of Collaton St Mary near Paignton where it will be building new family homes close to local amenities, schools and the South West coastline. The Westcountry homebuilder, whose current developments can be found in Exeter, Newton Abbot, Tavistock and Bude has acquired a site with planning permission for 100 new homes, with 30 percent marked as affordable housing for local people. The land located on the north of Totnes Road, includes a hectare of brownfield land and more than half of the site will be retained as open green space and for agricultural purposes. “Acquiring 11 acres with planning consent close to our Head office is fantastic. Our last new homes development in the vicinity was in Paignton on Brixham Road which completed in 2020, so we’re looking forward to delivering more high-quality, family homes in the Torbay area,” said Cavanna Homes’ Director of Land & Design, Michael Newman. As part of the firm’s community contributions, Cavanna Homes will be providing funding towards local highways infrastructure and education facilities. Measures to protect the Greater Horseshoe Bat population will also be implemented by the construction of a new bat barn, as well as enhancing the landscaping and outdoor space for new and existing residents to enjoy. The forthcoming homes will be a mixture of detached, semi-detached and terraced properties and designed to suit all buyers’ requirements. Cavanna Homes is preparing for its centenary in 2023 where the Cavanna family and employees will be celebrating 100 years of the firm building high-quality, family homes across the South West. Cavanna Homes’ land team are actively seeking more land in areas across the Westcountry to bring forward exceptional homes and new communities for families and local people.
In just 11 months since acquiring the former Benthalls warehouse site in Farnborough, Panattoni has developed a 170,000 sq ft logistics facility and let the entire unit to DFS Furniture on a long-term lease, highlighting the speed and success of its speculative build strategy in the UK. DFS commenced its fit out within the building in December. As demand for large logistics facilities in the UK continues unabated, Panattoni is helping some of the largest companies to expand their operations by developing high-spec logistics facilities at scale in some of the most strategically important locations around the country. Located on the M3 corridor, Farnborough 170 serves Europe’s largest consumer markets and was one of the only large units speculatively delivered in the Thames Valley in 2021. Commenting on the project, Alex Mitchell, Development Associate at Panattoni, said: “The letting of the speculatively developed Farnborough 170 to DFS Furniture in such a short period from our purchase of the land to development of the facility is indicative of the high demand that we’re experiencing from tenants for immediately available logistics space and justifies our commitment to a speculative development programme in the UK”. In 2017, Panattoni made a UK-wide commitment to speculatively develop more than 3 million sq ft of space annually, purchasing new sites and committing to development straightaway. Panattoni now dominates the logistics development market in the UK, speculatively developing 5 million sq ft annually, on average, to meet the growing occupier demand for space. Panattoni Farnborough 170 has been built to a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’ with low carbon in mind, using technology such as roof-mounted, mono-crystalline photovoltaic panels and solar thermal panels. It also has a 15m clear internal height, 12 dock doors, nine level access doors and up to 2.5 MVA of power. Letting agents on the scheme were DTRE and Savills. DFS was advised by Savills.
Kier has just been awarded by Stanhope, Mitsui Fudosan and AIMCo the contract for the construction of 142 new affordable homes for Peabody in two new buildings called Macfarlane Place at Television Centre, London, W12. Construction of Macfarlane Place will commence in March 2022, with delivery expected in early 2024. The buildings form part of the wider Television Centre development which will eventually have c 950 homes in total. Stanhope is the development manager for Television Centre and Cantillon was the demolition contractor for the multi-storey car park. Designed by Maccreanor Lavington Architects, the new buildings will replace the now demolished former BBC multi-storey car park on Wood Lane, W12, opposite Westfield. The new buildings will provide 71 London Affordable Rent, 34 London Living Rent and 37 homes for Shared Ownership. The buildings will provide 68 x 1 bed, 67 x 2 bed and 7 x 3 bed apartments, with new public realm and retail space retained by the JV fronting Wood Lane. Peabody will be responsible for managing the homes when completed. The JV is working closely with Transport for London, who own the adjacent arches below the elevated Hammersmith & City line, to help improve the wider area for the local community. “Construction of 142 affordable homes, and the ongoing construction of a new office building at 1 Wood Crescent, Television Centre, shows the healthy state of the property market in White City. We are looking forward to working with Kier and delivering much needed affordable homes for residents in Hammersmith & Fulham alongside Peabody who share our confidence and long-term commitment for the area,” commented Jonathan Trout, Property & Commercial Director at Stanhope. Stanhope, Mitsui and AIMCo are the developers of the 14 acre site at Television Centre, including 500,000 sq ft of offices, 950 new homes, Soho House, three state of the art BBC studios, the HQs of BBC Worldwide and Publicis Media. 432 homes have been completed in phase 1, the vast majority of which are now sold. Phase 2 comprises 500 homes, including 142 affordable.
Gleeds, the property and construction consultancy, has founded an emerging talent group with the aim of bringing junior staff members from construction consultancy firms together to collaborate, learn and network. The group is the brainchild of Justin Moore, project director at Gleeds, who recognised the need to bring more of the younger member of Gleeds’ own team together to nurture those future leaders, as well as collaborate with their peers and those in other disciplines within the construction consultancy sector. The group is aimed at anyone within the early stages of their career, for example Apprentices or Trainees, recent Graduates, Assistant Project managers, /Quantity surveyors or those at a similar level. “This industry is growing rapidly and here at Gleeds we felt we needed to invest more into our younger team members to ensure that they are getting all of the career development opportunities we can give them,” said Justin Moore. “Covid restrictions have hindered the networking and learning opportunities usually afforded to those new to the industry and so we thought it important to create a group where we can specifically give back to these new team members and allow them to learn from their peers, build their confidence, gain new ideas or perspectives, as well as gaining more knowledge at the same time.” Gleeds already has seven team members from its Cardiff office in the talent group and are looking for more to join them at the various events and seminars that will be held over the coming months. Gleeds’ project manager Ryan Lester is chair of the Emerging Talent Group (ETG) and has been helping to set it up: “Being a part of the group is a real privilege as it shows Gleeds’ belief in our abilities as future leaders. It also provides us with a platform to develop and enhance relationships with our peers across the region, with the aim of targeting fellow future leaders in other disciplines.” Graduate quantity surveyor Darcie Walbrook joined Gleeds during Covid so has really benefitted from the networking and collaboration that the ETG offers: “Since the group has been established, we have developed our internal relationships with one another, which will support us in building and maintaining our external relationships. “I feel the ETG has boosted my confidence and sets a good environment to develop and grow as a future leader at Gleeds. I look forward to the progression of the group and building connections with other disciplines across the industry.” Gleeds is also working in collaboration with the University of South Wales and the University of the West of England to encourage more talented graduates to join their ranks. Justin explained: “The skill shortage within the construction industry is well known and it is the same situation for us in construction consultancy, that’s why it’s important that we nurture the young team that we have here in Cardiff, and we hope to do the same across the rest of the Gleeds group to ensure that we attract the best of the best to our ranks. “I am proud to say that at our Cardiff office, out of 33 members of staff, seven are in this emerging talent group, which I think demonstrates how Gleeds is investing in bringing new talent into the industry and that we plan to do so for many years to come.”
Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson has completed construction works on the new Anker Valley Primary School in Tamworth, Staffordshire. The opening ceremony for the new school took place towards the end of 2021, with MP Christopher Pincher, County Councillor Jonathan Price from Staffordshire County Council, representatives from G F Tomlinson and Head of School Natalie Horlor in attendance, as well as 50 guests. “We are very pleased to see the newly-built Anker Valley Primary School now open, on behalf of our client Entrust for Staffordshire County Council, through their Construction Project framework,” said Chris Flint, managing director of G F Tomlinson. “We have strong experience in educational projects across the Midlands and are delighted to have delivered this brand-new primary school to the Staffordshire region, providing much-needed school places for young children in the local area.” “The school sits within a new residential development in a great location close to the centre of Tamworth, and will provide high quality educational facilities for the growing community here. The opening ceremony was a wonderful way to mark the special occasion, and it was great to see the smiles on the children’s’ faces as they sang for attendees and explored their new school.” The occasion was marked with speeches and a presentation of the school’s journey, as well as a special ceremony awarding 24 pupils with medals made especially for the occasion. The children also put on a singing performance for everyone attending the event, before the school was officially opened by MP Christopher Pincher and County Councillor Jonathan Price. Construction of the £5million, two-storey school was led by G F Tomlinson, on behalf of its client Entrust for Staffordshire County Council and offers 210 places, including 26 nursery spaces. It was built in response to Tamworth’s new housing developments creating an increased need for additional school places in the area. The school is being managed by Fiertè Multi Academy Trust – which currently has seven other schools in the Tamworth and Burton area. “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work and so many people have worked tirelessly behind the scenes for almost three years to create this dream. The incredible Anker Valley team, along with the fantastic builders, went above and beyond unpacking deliveries, assembling furniture and getting every room ready for the arrival of our first cohort of children in September 2021,” said Natalie Horlor, Head of School at Anker Valley Primary School. “Everyone has a dream but not everyone can make it happen. As Eleanor Roosevelt said: the future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams and at Anker Valley, we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for helping us to achieve our dream.” This is one of a number of educational schemes that G F Tomlinson is involved with in the West Midlands alongside Entrust, as the Derby-headquartered firm is also constructing Bramshall Meadows First School in Lichfield and Fradley Park Primary School in Uttoxeter for Staffordshire County Council.
