A site manager in charge of a new homes development in Nottinghamshire has won one of the most prestigious accolades within the housing industry for the third year in a row. Gary Archer, who works for Bellway’s East Midlands division, is one of just 26 site managers in the National House Building Council’s East region to achieve a Seal of Excellence in this year’s Pride in the Job Awards. The 54-year-old is site manager at Sherwood Gate in Linby – a development of three, four and five-bedroom homes off Papplewick Lane. The winning site managers were announced on Friday 8 October at the NHBC’s East regional awards ceremony at the Athena in Leicester. “It is an honour to receive another Seal of Excellence Award from the NHBC. This means I have won three in a row for the work myself and my team are doing at Sherwood Gate. In all, I have won six Seal of Excellence Awards since I joined Bellway in 2014. I won two at Wheatley Fields in Ruddington, and one at our development in Farnsfield. That is a record I am proud of but one I feel I can improve on,” said Gary. “I have not yet won a NHBC regional award during my time at Bellway but I know that with the support of the company and my team, which is always forthcoming, I will have a very strong chance of achieving that goal. This award is an accolade that is achieved by all of the team at Sherwood Gate rather than just me as an individual, so many thanks to all of them once again.” The Seal of Excellence Award is given to select finalists who achieved a Pride in the Job Quality Award in June. The award recognises site managers who provide new homes of outstanding quality. “A NHBC Seal of Excellence Award has to be earned through hard work and sheer dedication to your craft and Gary has not only won one this year, but this is his third in a row and his sixth since he joined us. That is a huge achievement and is indicative of the very high standards that he sets himself,” added Lee Wilkinson, Construction Director for Bellway East Midlands. “This year’s award also recognises that Sherwood Gate, where Gary is the site manager, is a development where buyers can be guaranteed an exceptionally high standard of build and customer service. We are very lucky to have a site manager like Gary who is consistently at the top of his game. This benefits us as a company and our customers who get to buy top quality homes.” There’s currently a selection of four-bedroom homes available at Sherwood Gate.

Housebuilder Bellway is helping to meet the growing need for new housing in West Midlands – where the population is predicted to grow by more than 200,000 in the next decade. The housebuilder has committed to deliver hundreds of new homes to support the region’s growth – which looks poised to play a major role in the UK’s economic recovery in the post-pandemic era, according to a new report by estate agents Knight Frank. The report – which includes figures from Experian estimating that the West Midlands population is set to rise from 5.94 million people currently to 6.15 million by 2030 – suggests that population growth and growing residential demand in the region will come as highly-skilled new workers from areas including government, finance and life sciences are attracted to the area. “This new research confirms what we have known for a while and that is that the West Midlands has a very bright future and in fact, is already experiencing something of a boom. New housing will be needed to keep pace with the rising demand generated by a growing population, which is why the West Midlands is a key area for us. We have a strategy that will deliver hundreds of much-needed new homes in Birmingham, Solihull, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and Shropshire over the next few years,” said Marie Richards, Sales Director of Bellway West Midlands. The Knight Frank report says that Birmingham is currently the most popular destination for those moving out of London, ahead of other major cities such as Bristol and Manchester, based on figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Average house prices across the West Midlands have increased by 32 per cent over the last five years, compared to a 25 per cent rise across the UK as a whole during that period. “House prices rising by almost a third in five years shows strong confidence in the property market and is positive news for those who have already invested in their own home here. Meanwhile, the good news for potential buyers is that prices remain relatively affordable, with the ONS figures showing that the average cost for a home in the West Midlands is £229,590, while the London figure is £509,566. This means the area is well placed to attract employees from the capital working in the high-skill industries which are thriving in the region,” Marie added. The Knight Frank report cites the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership’s prediction that the West Midlands’ life sciences sector is set to expand, with up to 10,000 new and replacement life sciences jobs needed within the region by 2030. In the technology business arena, the report also highlights that Birmingham was recognised as the UK’s regional start-up capital for the seventh year running, with 18,394 new enterprises starting life in the city in 2020, according to UK think-tank Centre for Entrepreneurs. With homes currently for sale at 15 developments, Bellway West Midlands also has plans in the pipeline for several further sites in the region, including 169 homes at Astley Fields, which will see the regeneration of a former colliery site in Bedworth. The housebuilder is also set to start work on 181 homes off Caverswall Lane in Meir, Stoke, to be known as The Crescent development, and has submitted detailed plans to deliver 159 new homes on a development off Gipsy Lane in Nuneaton.

When it comes to environmental change, sisters are doing it for themselves – and for future generations, particularly in sustainable retrofits. Greta Thunberg inspired a global youth movement that has shamed governments around the world for their lack of commitment to the environment. Norway’s first female Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, coined the UN’s definition of sustainable development (“meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”). Kenya’s Wangari Maathai founded a movement that has led to over 51 million trees being planted. Here in the UK, it was a group of women – The Nanas – who stopped fracking in the North of England. And now new data from proptech firm houzen has shown that women are driving change within the home as well, leading the country’s sustainable retrofits. According to research undertaken by houzen co-founder Robert Csercse, women aged 30-45 are sharply focused on the issue of retrofitting home energy systems to deliver enhanced energy efficiency. houzen helps people understand the impact of sustainable retrofitting on their home. Doing so can lead to growth in the property’s value (houzen has seen growth of 6-12% in value for sustainable retrofitted units when it comes to investor’s ROI). It also, of course, provides a quantifiable energy efficiency increase, delivering savings on energy bills and environmental benefits including the reduction of the home’s carbon emissions. Through its sustainability reports, houzen helps owners get to grips with the full cost of sustainable retrofitting, as well as the timescales involved and the overall savings/return on investment that doing so can generate. Unlike EPC reports, which offer a one-time snapshot of the current situation and short-term issues, the sustainability reports support owners to prepare for the future, offering clear, actionable recommendations and quantifiable outputs for the medium- to long-term. They include a timeline, cost estimate, assessment of the availability of contractors and details of the availability and price fluctuations of materials (such as cement and plywood). The latter allows owners to optimize the price they pay for materials. All of this makes it easy for homeowners to see precisely what is involved in making their property more sustainable, but houzen’s service doesn’t stop there. The company also advises on financing (including potential government grants) and can plan, execute and manage the retrofitting on the homeowner’s behalf.

Johnson Controls, the global leader for smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, has announced that its OpenBlue digital platform technologies will be rolled out across Derwent London portfolio. This rollout will drive the digital transformation of Derwent London’s estate, enabling new possibilities for operational efficiency, occupant experiences and sustainability in one dynamic solution. After a successful pilot at its White Collar Factory building, Derwent London is adopting a suite of Johnson Controls OpenBlue technologies – including OpenBlue Enterprise Manager and OpenBlue Central Utility Plant optimisation – across 22 of its buildings in London. This represents approximately 55% of its total estate by area and includes Derwent London’s net zero carbon development The Featherstone Building. OpenBlue Enterprise Manager is a comprehensive suite of applications from Johnson Controls designed to monitor and improve energy efficiency, tenant satisfaction, asset performance, maintenance operations, space performance and ultimately the comfort of all occupants. Enterprise Manager delivers the next generation of intelligent building capabilities. The system uses cloud-based AI and advanced analytics to deliver a complete holistic view of energy consumption, energy efficiency improvements, equipment faults and resource breakdowns by building, floor and tenant. Overall, Johnson Controls OpenBlue solutions will enable Derwent London to deliver high value ROI-driven business cases. OpenBlue Central Utility Plant is responsible for the efficient and effective management of the biggest consumer of a building’s energy – the Central Plant. Using AI and Machine Learning, the software constantly adjusts and optimises thousands of variables every 15 minutes, significantly reducing baseline energy load, while keeping occupants comfortable. Johnson Controls OpenBlue digital platform and services for optimising buildings are capable of driving significant improvements in energy efficiency and corresponding carbon emissions. “We’re pleased to partner with Derwent London by implementing our OpenBlue solutions to deliver smart, healthy and sustainable buildings, all underpinned through cutting edge technology,” said Mike Ellis, chief customer & digital officer at Johnson Controls. “The challenges of COVID-19 and the drive to get ahead of climate change have made us all rethink both the spaces we occupy and the wider environment around us. Across our built environment digital solutions are rising to the fore as a tangible means of making our infrastructure more sustainable and future-fit while helping us get more from the spaces we interact with every day.” “Our OpenBlue solution represents an exciting technology ecosystem with huge potential to help map out new capabilities for both spaces and places as we look to build the world of tomorrow today. Now more than ever, as we lean into technology to take smart from a concept to reality, we have an incredible opportunity to set a new standard in buildings that puts power in the hands of those who occupy them.”

Construction has started on the transformational development of 170 new homes at the former Swinden Technology Centre in Rotherham. Housing developer, Keepmoat Homes is delivering the regeneration scheme in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council. The plans include the conversion of Lodge House, Swinden House, Sitwell House, and the former Stable Building at the Swinden Technology Centre into high quality apartments. Two – four-bedroom houses will also be delivered onto the site, and a proportion of the homes will be available for affordable housing with Auxesia Homes. The top 10 national homebuilder has also confirmed the development will preserve any mature trees at the site. As part of their commitment to the local community, Keepmoat Homes has pledged to support local people and help generate opportunities in training and employment through the use of sub-contractors, work placements and educational visits to the site, which will be delivered throughout the lifetime of the project. “We are very excited to have started work on our Moorgate Boulevard development in Rotherham, in partnership with Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and Auxesia Homes. We have a strong track record of delivering new houses across the country, particularly on brownfield land such as this and strive to ensure the heritage at the site is preserved,” said Daniel Crew, Regional Managing Director at Keepmoat Homes. “This development means more to us than just delivering quality homes to the area. Being our first site in Rotherham for over a decade, we’re driven to make a big impact to the local community and deliver real value to real people, whether that’s through training and career opportunities or supporting local community groups. We are confident that the development will benefit not only the area, but the lives of those who choose to live there.” Keepmoat Homes completed the purchase of the site from Tata Steel in October 2021 for an undisclosed sum. Harris Lamb acted as agents on their behalf. Work at the development is expected to take four years to complete, with the first homes becoming available to purchase late Summer 2022.