Barhale has been awarded a design and build contract to enable completion of Barking Riverside train station – the new London Overground station that will service over 10,000 new homes planned in East London. Barking Riverside Limited (BRL) has appointed civil engineering and infrastructure specialist Barhale to install a new
Leading air quality specialist Bureau Veritas has welcomed the recent updates to Approved Document F, which is part of significant changes to Building Regulations, as a step in the right direction for indoor ventilation – particularly as the Government announces its ‘Living with COVID’ plan, and an end to COVID-19
GLP, a leading investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks, today announces that it has successfully leased multiple warehouses at Magna Park Lutterworth to top-tier customers, along with commencing speculative development on four units at Magna Park South Lutterworth. Magna Park Lutterworth is the UK and Europe’s largest
THE government’s long-awaited levelling up whitepaper has been unveiled in full at long last. The document outlines the government’s commitments to rebalancing the UK’s services and economies, which is segmented into 12 key mission statements. Gerard Toplass, executive chairman of The 55 Group, which heads a collective of businesses operating
Leading infrastructure, construction and management consultancy, Rider Levett Bucknall UK (RLB UK) has been appointed to key transport operator First Group’s Property Projects Consultancy Framework on its Project Management and Principal Designer lots. The Framework contract, which lasts for two years with a one year option, covers England and Wales
Leading industrial engineering firm, Clade, has opened its newly expanded Technology Centre in Morley, Leeds, boosting production of heat pumps and creating over 300 new jobs in the area. Andrea Jenkyns, MP for Morley, formally opened the factory in a ceremony on 11 February 2022. For over 30 years, Clade
Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes (AIMCH), the three-year project to support the sector to tackle the UK housing crisis, has arrived at an answer to the UK’s chronic housing shortage. Following 18 months of intense collaboration and research, AIMCH partners Stewart Milne Group (SMG) and L&Q have
United Living Group has announced that Ole Pugholm has been appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer. He joins the leadership team following the recent acquisition of Great British Telecoms, which boosted the United Living Group’s turnover to in excess of GBP 0.5 billion annually. The business has also won some
A disused site on Weymouth’s coast could be transformed into a picturesque housing and industrial development in multi-million regeneration plans. The land at Newton’s Road off Newton’s Cove was formerly the base of defence research company QinetiQ Bincleaves up until its closure. The disused site has been subject to regeneration
Mitsubishi Electric has launched a residential range of Lossnay Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems to provide clean and healthy air for homes. The addition to the renowned Lossnay range is designed specifically for the UK housing market and makes energy efficient, super-quiet ventilation accessible to even more homes.
Barhale has been awarded a design and build contract to enable completion of Barking Riverside train station – the new London Overground station that will service over 10,000 new homes planned in East London. Barking Riverside Limited (BRL) has appointed civil engineering and infrastructure specialist Barhale to install a new foul water pumping station at the terminus which is currently being built as part of the £260M extension of the Gospel Oak to Barking Overground Line. BRL is the joint venture between L&Q and the Mayor of London spearheading Barking Riverside, the mixed-use development that will regenerate the 443 acre brownfield site of the former Barking Power Station. Barhale will enter a three month design phase with design partner Nicholas O’Dwyer before the main construction work commences in May 2022. The programme will also include laying a linking length of foul sewer to a new rising main and the drainage within the pump station to connect the incoming sewer to the inlet chamber and to a new emergency storage. A key consideration is overcoming the challenging ground conditions, predominantly tidal alluvium, presented by the location alongside the River Thames. Barhale’s Daniel Meadowcroft, regional manager, explained that the team had been able to bring its experience of similar scenarios to bear in its recommendations. “Our approach will see the originally-specified, shallower-laid, large diameter pipes replaced by a storage tank,” he said. “Given that we are literally working on the banks of the Thames, it will provide a firmer foundation and minimise the risk of settlement. “It’s a great example of how we are able to draw upon our extensive expertise in overcoming engineering challenges to find an optimum solution. “Barking Riverside is a hugely important project to help build the transport infrastructure for a new community in East London. We are very excited to be playing a part.” Barking Riverside station is scheduled to open later this year.
Leading air quality specialist Bureau Veritas has welcomed the recent updates to Approved Document F, which is part of significant changes to Building Regulations, as a step in the right direction for indoor ventilation – particularly as the Government announces its ‘Living with COVID’ plan, and an end to COVID-19 isolation laws. Recent research found that more than 12 million residents in the UK are living with health issues that can be exacerbated by air pollution, and three million working days are lost every year because the UK’s air pollution exceeds the World Health Organization’s recommended limits. The last two years have highlighted the importance of indoor air quality and ventilation and the task at hand now, according to Bureau Veritas, is to take learnings from COVID-19 and the habits formed to manage air flow to ensure compliance to new Part F regulations. Joe Marais, Occupational Hygiene Manager at Bureau Veritas, comments: “Ventilation has become something of a clear focus both within the home and workplace over the last two years, with a greater awareness of poor air quality and ventilation linked to COVID-19. As the Government announces its living with COVID strategy and an end to all remaining restrictions, it’s even more vital that businesses remain alert to the importance of good ventilation in mitigating the spread of the virus – as well as other illnesses such as the common cold – ensuring wellbeing for its staff, and efficiency and productivity for the business. “There are a number of simple steps businesses can take to drive towards greater fresh air ventilation, by opening windows or utilising air handling units – both of which COVID shone a spotlight on. However, the introduction of Part F places strict technical requirements on what must be achieved through ventilation.” Under new Part F regulations, there is a requirement for whole building ventilation to meet a standard of 10 litres of fresh air per person per second, or one litre per second per square metre – whichever is highest (compared to only the former requirement in the past). Common spaces will also require natural ventilation under Part F, with openings equal to at least 1/50th of the floor area or mechanical ventilation to supply 0.5 litres of fresh air per second per m2 of the common floor space area. Joe continues: “The pandemic highlighted that ventilation is a vital component for all buildings, placing a requirement on businesses and building managers to monitor indoor air quality, specifically within ‘high risk’ occupiable rooms, where there is a risk of airborne infection. COVID-19 measures temporarily enhanced standards, with many employers having invested in improved mechanical ventilation and air circulation services to support employee health and wellbeing. However, these temporary standards must become permanent if businesses hope to comply to new Part F rulings, and not slip back to pre-COVID attitudes. “To ensure a robust strategy is in place to promote good ventilation within the workplace, businesses must first ensure a quantitative assessment has been completed within the premises to monitor the ratio of fresh air to the size of the room or number of occupants, as well as qualitative reviews of air handling units to scrutinise their functionality. “This may sound like quite an undertaking, which is why we would always recommend partnering with a third party compliance specialist to complete the relevant audits and assessments, enabling the building manager to focus on creating a strategy to implement any recommendations.” Bureau Veritas’ experienced Occupational Hygiene division has a longstanding history is supporting businesses to protect staff and customers from exposure to poor ventilation, as well as maintaining compliance with relevant regulations. The firm’s hygienists will assess, monitor, and evaluate a business’ current levels of ventilation and air quality, and provide sound advice on how to bring these up to standard to meet Part F regulations, or how they can be further improved. This allows businesses to operate effectively and efficiently whilst protecting health and achieving compliance. Businesses and building managers can also receive further advice and support on Part F from Bureau Veritas, by registering for its free webinar on Thursday 3 March at 11:00am. The webinar will cover what the updates to Part F mean for indoor air quality, what we have learnt from COVID-19 and what is expected from air handling units for new buildings. Click here to register for Understanding Part F updates: The role of indoor air quality to support wellbeing. To find out more about Bureau Veritas’ Occupational Health services or to discuss individual requirements with a member of the team, call 0345 600 1828 or visit www.bureauveritas.co.uk.
GLP, a leading investor and developer of logistics warehouses and distribution parks, today announces that it has successfully leased multiple warehouses at Magna Park Lutterworth to top-tier customers, along with commencing speculative development on four units at Magna Park South Lutterworth. Magna Park Lutterworth is the UK and Europe’s largest dedicated logistics and distribution park, situated within the Midlands’ ‘Golden Triangle’ of logistics. Home to 36 different customers and occupying over 11 million SQ FT of sustainable floor space across 41 buildings, Magna Park Lutterworth is GLP’s flagship distribution park. The deals in the park include two spec build lettings and a build to suit transaction in the North, plus a letting of an existing building in Magna Park Central: Bleckmann, a fashion and lifestyle supply chain expert, has leased the first of the three “spec builds” in Magna Park North, taking a 200,102 SQ FT building (MPN1) on a long-term lease. The warehouse will be used to service Bleckmann’s increasing number of contracts and will be the company’s second unit leased at Magna Park Lutterworth, after it acquired Tornado-186 18 months ago. Iron Mountain, an information management services company, has signed an agreement to lease MPN3, the third spec building under construction, totaling 297,194 SQ FT. This will support Iron Mountain’s UK expansion strategy. MPN3 is expected to complete by the end of March 2022. LX Pantos has taken a building on a built to suit basis – MPN4, totaling 310,000 SQ FT, which is expected to complete by July 2022. LX Pantos is upsizing from an existing facility and plans to use the warehouse to service LG Electronics, amongst other top brands. In a separate development, GLP has completed the letting of Hurricane-258, a 258,000 SQ FT cross-docked distribution unit located within the Magna Park Central Lutterworth development, to Rhenus Home Delivery. Rhenus intends to operate the unit as a two-man lift operation in response to the further growth of their home delivery business. The letting brings the park close to 100% occupancy, with only MPN2, GLP’s 500,000 SQ FT spec build, available. MPN2 is currently under construction and is expected to complete in March 2022. Following the highly successful development of 1.2 million SQ FT (Phase one) last year in Magna Park South (MPS), GLP has announced it has commenced the next phase (Phase two) of speculative development in MPS, with another 1 million SQ FT being constructed across four buildings. The development will see the construction of 186,000, 211,000, 256,000 and 355,000 SQ FT buildings respectively. Work on-site will commence in Q2 and is expected to complete by Q4 2022. As with all GLP’s developments, the existing and new units follow GLP’s rigorous ESG development standards and benefit from best-in-class specification including wide service yards, significant HGV and car parking allocations, dock levelers, level access doors, increased natural light, electric vehicle charging and abundant power supply. Each development is also BREEAM Excellent, designed to WELL principles and features a range of sustainability and energy efficiency measures. Joe Garwood, Senior Development Director at GLP, explains: “This marks an exciting time in the ongoing development of Magna Park Lutterworth, which has been firmly established as Europe’s leading logistics and distribution park. The park has seen unprecedented development and leasing activity in recent months, with GLP completing eight deals over the course of last year totaling 2.2 million SQ FT. We are delighted to partner with such well-established companies, and we look forward to working with Bleckmann, Iron Mountain, LX Pantos and Rhenus Home Delivery and supporting them as they grow.”
THE government’s long-awaited levelling up whitepaper has been unveiled in full at long last. The document outlines the government’s commitments to rebalancing the UK’s services and economies, which is segmented into 12 key mission statements. Gerard Toplass, executive chairman of The 55 Group, which heads a collective of businesses operating within the construction sector – including national framework provider Pagabo, along with risk, compliance and contract management software company Sypro, social value specialists Loop, and digital-first training platform Tequ – has a positive outlook on the whitepaper. He said: “The levelling up whitepaper has been long-awaited by us all, and it’s great to see it has finally been published in full. While generally speaking, the 12 missions outlined by the government cover pretty much every aspect of daily life, we’re especially pleased to see a number of aims that align with our values. “Our businesses operate nationally but are headquartered in central Hull, which is a city that understands the value that comes from investment – something that we have supported by investing in the transformation of 55 Whitefriargate to bring it back into use. “We are really encouraged by the approach to devolved administrations, decentralising the power from Whitehall and putting it in the hands of people in the areas it is needed. It’s really pleasing that our region is one of the first areas to be able to open negotiations on this topic and we look forward to seeing how this develops in time.” A number of mission statements within the whitepaper focus on improving infrastructure and huge regeneration projects, which will need to be led by local authorities and public sector bodies. Jason Stapley, managing director of national framework provider Pagabo, believes that construction professionals and their expertise will be the key in taking these schemes beyond promises and into reality. He said: “The whitepaper puts great emphasis on restoring local pride, detailing how the government will support 20 towns and city centres with the undertaking of ambitious regeneration projects. It’s a proven fact that positive environments and delivering the infrastructure communities need will elevate an area or region in terms of jobs, productivity and economic boost. “Such large-scale ambition for regeneration is met with the detail of dozens of local authorities set to be supported by the High Streets Task Force to transform town centres. For built environment specialists, our support of public sector bodies for the delivery of such schemes will be key – and ensuring the gold standard of procurement will make sure that true value can be delivered to communities in a way that creates maximum positive impact, while streamlining processes and budgets. “Equally, there is a focus on levelling up infrastructure and transport connections. With net zero carbon targets also set in place by government, it is these large-scale projects that provide huge opportunity for decarbonisation, along with an approach to refurbishment and retrofit to make sure existing building stock also minimises impact on our environment. “Our frameworks are placed to support with all of these aims, with the ability to track all-important KPIs around a scheme as required, such as social return on investment, carbon reduction and local impact. We are set to go live with our civils and infrastructure framework in the coming weeks, which has been designed with these kinds of schemes in mind – so we look forward to working with clients on their projects that will work towards the levelling up agenda.” Social value is a hot topic within the industry, and one that will extend into every reach of life. One of The 55 Group’s businesses is social value calculation specialist, Loop. With several of the mission statements outlined by the government focussing on social-led topics, making sure that organisations are able to identify the actual positive impact of their work on communities will become a big operation. Angus Townsend, group social value lead, said: “Some of the missions outlined within the whitepaper may appear to some as ‘softer elements’, such as improving life expectancy. However, these elements are all interlinked and very much tied to social value and the types of outcomes we help our clients demonstrate from their operations. “It’s likely that generating social value and delivering the levelling up agenda will become synonymous with each other – but the responsibility on doing both will be on all of us. It will be important to make sure we can examine the impact of everything we do and how that plays into the core mission statements from the whitepaper. As ‘the social value people’, we are primed and ready to work with our clients to help demonstrate both quantitative and qualitative evidence to show how they are helping to work towards these outcomes.” Gerard concluded: “There has been a mixed reaction to the whitepaper so far, but we are hopeful that it will mark a moment where direction changes towards making actionable change to rebalance the country. The key will be ensuring it delivers what it promises – and it will be up to us all to keep momentum and hold leadership accountable to making process. “Of course, a lot of our operations are within the construction industry so there are ample ways our work will be able to support the aims around regeneration and infrastructure. However, our work stretches far beyond this, working on key areas including social return on investment and seeking to modernise skills and training to make it fit for the modern world. “Seeing a focus on research and development and improving education standards is hopeful – but will largely rely on adequate funding. Part of levelling up is putting the power into the hands that need it, so making sure that we are working towards practises fit for the future will be a huge part of the journey. For example, in the construction sector there is an ongoing shortage of skills that training courses are simply not fit for purpose in tackling due to relevance, complexity or overall length.
Leading infrastructure, construction and management consultancy, Rider Levett Bucknall UK (RLB UK) has been appointed to key transport operator First Group’s Property Projects Consultancy Framework on its Project Management and Principal Designer lots. The Framework contract, which lasts for two years with a one year option, covers England and Wales and spans all First Group’s existing railway property including more than 400 stations managed across the UK network. RLB was awarded the framework based on the extensive experience of its team on project managing works and maintenance across the railway infrastructure. This team experience includes projects such as Crossrail, High Speed 2, Midland Metro Alliance, East West Rail, Network Rail Infrastructure Projects, Network Rail platform extension programme and the Manchester Piccadilly station. As well as their reputation within the industry, RLB’s award-winning team is spread across 12 national offices combining global best practice and innovation with local knowledge and complementing the First Group’s regional footprint. Stuart Parker from First Group commented, “We wanted to work with partners who not only understood the transportation and property sectors but also had an in-depth knowledge of best practice across the built environment, and a complementary added value attitude to provide better rail services, keep people moving and communities prospering across the country. RLB’s breadth of service delivery and range of sector experience as Project Managers and Principal Designers, alongside the outstanding technical expertise of their proposed team, made them an obvious choice to be involved in the framework.” Simon Pledger, RLB Project Management lead for Infrastructure and National Framework Project Management Account Manager for First Group comments, “Transportation infrastructure is more than a way of getting people from A to B. It works towards driving social equality, boosting the economy and bringing accessibility to all. We are delighted to be supporting First Group in ensuring it provides optimised facilities across its railway estate, in retaining a leading position in the thriving UK rail market, and in improving their customer experience offering.”
Leading industrial engineering firm, Clade, has opened its newly expanded Technology Centre in Morley, Leeds, boosting production of heat pumps and creating over 300 new jobs in the area. Andrea Jenkyns, MP for Morley, formally opened the factory in a ceremony on 11 February 2022. For over 30 years, Clade has been leading energy transformation in heating and cooling using cutting-edge natural refrigerants. In order to furthersupport the UK’s transition to a greener economy, the new 29,000 sq foot factory will be dedicated to the production of Clade’s range of industry-leading CO2 heat pumps. Demand for Clade’s range of natural refrigerant heat pumps has grown across, commercial and industrial sectors. The expansion will enable Clade to significantly increase production by 400%. In addition, the company is creating over 300 new jobs over the next four years, split between factory floor and office roles. As a sustainable company, Clade ensures that its production processes are as green as possible. This includes the installation of solar PV to help generate clean energy, fitting electric vehicle charging points, using LED lighting and implementing waste reduction strategies. Alongside this, the company maintains its operation-wide policy for offsetting carbon generation through tree planting, with over 1000 trees planted, removing CO2 from the atmosphere and creating space for wildlife. On the factory opening, Dean Frost, Managing Director at Clade, said: “Opening this new technology centre is an important step for us to take. The last few years have been challenging for everyone, so it is fantastic to be able to share this celebration of success with our valued stakeholders, staff, customers and suppliers who have been with us on this journey, and will be for many years to come. “We are committed to tackling the challenges of climate change and our new facility will enable us to increase production, develop innovative new products and support the local community through job creation and subsequent impact on the supply chain” Dean added. Tim Rook, Chief Markets Officer at Clade, said the new facility will enable the company to accelerate the adoption of green heating technologies:“As the importance of tackling the climate emergency has become more urgent, Clade have developed high-performance heat pumps which will decarbonise heat in buildings and industrial processes throughout the UK and beyond. Heat makes up 40% of the UKs carbon footprint and heat pumps are the only viable solution, readily available and able to be deployed at scale quickly enough to make a difference.” “We are passionate about making our products work in the real world, supporting customers to get the very best long-term value from them and are looking forward to being able to expand our production, enabling more people to benefit from the carbon savings heat pumps create,” Tim concluded. For more information visit www.clade-es.com
Advanced Industrialised Methods for the Construction of Homes (AIMCH), the three-year project to support the sector to tackle the UK housing crisis, has arrived at an answer to the UK’s chronic housing shortage. Following 18 months of intense collaboration and research, AIMCH partners Stewart Milne Group (SMG) and L&Q have developed housing blueprints for developers, housing associations and SMEs to bring affordable homes to market quickly and cost effectively. The affordable housing pattern books, featuring 24 designs, have been created to facilitate the construction of cottage flats, bungalows, semi-detached and terraced houses, all of which offer the flexibility to meet planners needs, and to fit in with local character. Designs from the pattern book can also be pieced together to accommodate a range of elevations and streetscapes. A central element of the type approved housing collections is their use of closed panel MMC timber technology, optimised to meet 55% PMV (Premanufactured Value), a requirement of Homes England grant funding. Their 0.20 U-Value provides a fit-and-forget, fabric first approach to energy efficient building envelope, set to comply with new Jun 22 Part L building regulations. Both gas and ASHP heating options are factored into the designs, and the layout and fabric efficiency of the building envelope ensures that homes in the pattern books are heat pump ready as we move towards zero gas developing, making it easy to use the technology now or retrofit in the future. In creating the pattern books, the developers have leveraged learnings from Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA), Design Standardisation and Product Families (Kit of Parts) and BIM (3D modelling) outputs. AIMCH developers plan to exploit the standard house type pattern books on their own sites, or through strategic partnerships with other developers and clients. Through Stewart Milne Timber Systems, some of the homes will be available under free of charge license agreement, for other developers to use, as a whole house MMC supply chain solution. This novel approach, means SMEs, smaller HA/developers and new entrants, have immediate access to a range of fully considered, efficient and technically robust affordable homes, for use on their site, reducing development costs and fast-tracking appraisals and planning consents. Pattern books feature: L&Q range – 6 designs ● Two and three bedrooms ● Two storey accommodation, suitable for terracing ● All homes 100% compliant with NDSS ● Beyond the AIMCH R&D project, further L&Q typologies are planned. SMG House Range – 18 designs ● Wide mix of one to four bedroom homes ● Two storey accommodation, suitable for terracing ● Broad range of typologies including bungalows and cottage flats ● Homes offer 85% and 100% NDSS compliance Stewart Milne Group (SMG) and L&Q are confident that the pattern book route will guarantee fast delivery of high quality homes at reasonable cost and plan to deploy the designs in their own development portfolio from Spring 2022. In the case of Stewart Milne Homes, current affordable housing developments are being remixed or designed from scratch, using the new range of homes. L&Q are similarly rolling out their range on all new sites, as these come through their production pipeline. Stewart Dalgarno, Director of Innovation and Sustainability at Stewart Milne Group, and AIMCH Project Director said, “Typically, in the affordable homes sector, design and housing procurement are done on an isolated project-by-project basis, which potentially leads to higher costs, inefficiencies and variability in quality. Because of this, AIMCH sees enormous potential for accelerated use of pattern books in the sector. “Homes England affordable housing funding is already encouraging a more diverse mix of affordable home providers – SMEs and new entrant developers. This group is unlikely to have in-house technical teams to develop house type designs and associated collateral, so being able to reach for pre-configured, pre-approved housing designs, that can be deployed at pace, to accelerate and increase overall housing output is going to be an attractive option. “Furthermore, through endorsement from regulators, funders, and insurers, AIMCH believes that housing pattern books and standardised products will become commonplace in the affordable housing sector.” Wayne Hill, Production Strategy Director at L&Q said, “L&Q is proud to be leading the way in the adoption of off site technologies in the affordable housing sector. These developed approaches offer a clear way for housebuilders, housing associations and local authorities to adopt MMC methods, and the efficiencies which come with them, to build homes for those who need them the most. We have an ambitious roadmap which is seeing us roll out MMC across our development programme, and look forward to utilising the great learning of this project in our portfolio this year.” AIMCH see pattern books, together with the use of standardised product families, DFMA and BIM, developed in an earlier part of their research, as key ingredients in transitioning residential construction towards, industrialisation and off-site manufacturing, transforming how homes are delivered.
United Living Group has announced that Ole Pugholm has been appointed as Group Chief Financial Officer. He joins the leadership team following the recent acquisition of Great British Telecoms, which boosted the United Living Group’s turnover to in excess of GBP 0.5 billion annually. The business has also won some major contracts over the last few months including a 10-year £160 million partnership with Lewisham Homes, delivering major refurbishment works to its existing housing stock, a 432 new home development in Cardiff, worth £55 million and a £1.6 million deal on a district heating project at the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland (AMIDS) – which has a total project value of £150 million. In addition, it has secured places on the £750 million Fusion 21 Decarbonisation framework and the £5 billion SCF Residential framework. Ole’s extensive experience, spanning more than 15 years in CFO level roles, includes working with private equity and Global Fortune 500 multinationals, most recently working as CFO for the Marine Division of Survitec Group Limited, a global organisation with a presence in 96 countries. He has a significant background in turnaround management, acquisition and growth – supporting both the commercial and operational aspects of business – and an impressive track record of building strong performing finance teams, whilst creating business value through both buy and build, and organic growth. Neil Armstrong, Chair and CEO, United Living Group commented: “I am delighted to welcome Ole to the team. His exceptional track record and experiences will bring significant value to the business and support our further development plans, helping to set us up for future success.” Ole Pugholm added: “I am pleased to be joining United Living Group at an exciting point in the company’s development. I very much look forward to working with Neil and the wider Executive Team on developing its growth potential and building on the considerable success the group has achieved so far.”
A disused site on Weymouth’s coast could be transformed into a picturesque housing and industrial development in multi-million regeneration plans. The land at Newton’s Road off Newton’s Cove was formerly the base of defence research company QinetiQ Bincleaves up until its closure. The disused site has been subject to regeneration developments after being earmarked for redevelopment in April 2008 to build a new hotel, takeaway restaurant and 110-residential apartment block but development never started. Read more: Inflatable park including 50ft obstacle course and huge slides is coming to Weymouth A separate application to build a care village of 195 supported living units, a 60-bed care home, 34 respite hotel suites, cafe and restaurant was approved in August 2016. Despite the existing premises being demolished, the new development was never built. Since then, the 12-acre site was sold to Juno Developments UK Ltd in 2021 as they unveiled their ambition to regenerate the disused site in a £70milllion project. The Pegasus Group, on behalf of Poole-based Juno Developments UK Ltd, has submitted outline planning permission to Dorset Council to construct a mixed-use development comprising up to 189 dwellings and 65-bed care home, with space for a gym, swimming pool and spa. The application also includes office/light industrial floorspace and a waterside restaurant with associated car parking, with vehicular and pedestrian access from Newton’s Road. The developers add they would carry out cliff stabilisation and sea defence works as well as create pedestrian paths and cycle lanes. The plans show the coastal Weymouth site will have five ‘character areas’, which comprise of a 119-flat residential block, 62-flat residential block, 65-bed care home, home zone comprising of eight townhouses and an employment block of six units. The residential flats will have 58 one-bedroom units, 108 two-bedroom units and 15 three-bedroom units. Developers feel the development would allow Dorset Council to “meet its housing needs and contribute to the vitality and viability of the economy and the social well being of the local residents.” Its design and access statement reads: “Overall, this statement has demonstrated that the siting, alignment, design, scale, mass, and materials used would complement and respect the character of the surrounding area and would actively reinforce the sense of place by ensuring that general design of the proposed buildings would be in harmony with each other whilst also making reference to the former industrial buildings which used to occupy the site. “In conclusion, this application represents an opportunity to contribute to the regeneration of Weymouth town centre with a comprehensive high-quality redevelopment proposal that will provide a sustainable mix of residential accommodation and employment-generating uses.” The application, which is in its public consultation stage, has already attracted one positive comment from a resident has he welcomed the plans for a new restaurant. Luke Brain wrote to Dorset Council: “(I) Love the plans for Newtons Cove. An area which has always looked a little bit drab can, at last, be appreciated. “It would be good to see a tourism aspect as part of the plans. I like the fact it will offer somewhere to grab food or a drink while walking around the Newtons Cove/ Nothe Area.”
Mitsubishi Electric has launched a residential range of Lossnay Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) systems to provide clean and healthy air for homes. The addition to the renowned Lossnay range is designed specifically for the UK housing market and makes energy efficient, super-quiet ventilation accessible to even more homes. The residential Lossnay is designed to extract stale air continuously and efficiently from spaces like bathrooms, kitchens, toilets, and utility rooms where air can become polluted with high humidity, fumes and chemicals. The system replaces indoor air with filtered fresh air from outside. It also minimises the amount of energy lost by recovering the heat from the extracted air and transferring it to the supply of fresh air, so that it is nearer to the required indoor temperature. “The quality of indoor air is an important factor for health and wellbeing and the new residential Lossnay can help to ensure there is a constant flow of fresh air in our homes, and that potentially harmful pollutants and chemicals are being removed” said Hern Yau, Product Manager for Ventilation at Mitsubishi Electric. “Designed with energy efficiency in mind, the heat recovery feature also ensures as much energy as possible is reused from the extracted air”. The system is designed to operate continuously at ultra-low noise levels, making it the ideal solution for residential homes and apartments where comfort is key. Occupants can enjoy all the super-quiet, fresh air benefits of effective ventilation, without wasting energy. The new residential range comes with optional NOx (nitrogen oxide) and particulate matter filtration, with a unique third filter pocket which can be used for additional filtration of NOx emissions. This means that buildings in even the most polluted environments can be supplied with clean, healthy air, and the inbuilt filter provides easy access for regular maintenance. “Ventilating our indoor spaces is more important than ever, but we also need to be as energy efficient as possible” adds Hern Yau, “This new Lossnay will deliver good indoor air whilst recovering energy to minimise waste.” A built-in automatic summer bypass also allows the units to bring in fresh air from outside without recovering heat, in order to reduce the risk of overheating. This provides the ideal solution for cooling down a dwelling that may have overheated during the day once the outside temperature has dropped in the evening. Using temperature sensors, the unit can automatically enter bypass mode when it detects the space is hotter than desired and the outside air is cool enough. A built-in LCD controller allows for easy control and commissioning of the unit, and offers a clear display showing normal, boost, and purge modes. Up to four speed settings can be commissioned digitally to ensure constant and accurate settings. Click here for more information on the Lossnay range.