Kenneth Booth

R G Carter completes brand new £11.4m Digi-Tech Factory

R G Carter has completed the £11.4 million Digi-Tech Factory at Norwich City College which brings together the college’s digital skills provision into a single, purpose-built space, allowing the college to significantly increase the number of students and apprentices studying digital courses.   City College Norwich, New Anglia LEP, and Norwich City Council (through the Department for

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AECB signs UNECE High-Performance Buildings Initiative at COP26 today

AECB official statement supporting the signing of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe High-Performance Buildings Initiative The AECB is delighted to participate in the official signing ceremony for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)’s High-Performance Buildings Initiative hosted by Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) representing Scotland as the host nation for COP26.  The AECB welcomes the creation of a

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Contractor celebrates stellar month with multiple award wins

Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson is celebrating a successful award season after scooping six property and construction accolades, as well as being shortlisted for four national building awards, in less than a month. The contractor, which has offices in Derby, Newark and Birmingham, won two awards and was shortlisted for

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JOHNSON TILES PARTNERS WITH BARRATT ON NEW ZERO CARBON CONCEPT HOME

Johnson Tiles has partnered with leading housebuilder, Barratt Developments, to build a unique zero carbon concept home – ‘Z House’.  Featuring six tile ranges across four rooms, the flagship project is the first new home in the country, built by a major housebuilder, to go beyond the new Future Homes

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PICK EVERARD SECURES AWARD TO TWO KEY CCS FRAMEWORKS

PICK Everard has added two key public sector frameworks to its portfolio following a successful appointment to two of Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) frameworks, allowing it to expand and diversify its service offering for the public sector. Both the Management Consultancy Framework Three RM6187 (MCF3) and the Estate Management Services

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5 Advantages Of Using Fabric Buildings For Mining Sites

Engineering technology in the building and construction industry has been at the forefront of designing efficient structures suitable for all kinds of work. When choosing a building structure, you need to consider things such as environmental friendliness, cost, the time you need to use the structure, and safety when it

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Latest Issue
Issue 343 : Aug 2026

Kenneth Booth

R G Carter completes brand new £11.4m Digi-Tech Factory

R G Carter has completed the £11.4 million Digi-Tech Factory at Norwich City College which brings together the college’s digital skills provision into a single, purpose-built space, allowing the college to significantly increase the number of students and apprentices studying digital courses.   City College Norwich, New Anglia LEP, and Norwich City Council (through the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Towns’ Fund) have collectively invested £11.4m in the Digi-Tech Factory as a direct response to a key skills priority for Norfolk and Suffolk. Growth in the UK’s digi-tech sector has significantly outstripped that of the wider economy and that trend is set to continue. New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership wants to see more of the £100bn worth of economic output nationally being generated in the region – with its Strategic Economic Plan forecasting a need to fill 10,000 vacancies in the digi-tech sector by 2024. The importance of digital skills extends far beyond the digi-tech sector itself, with digital skills increasingly being required throughout the rest of the economy too. Designed by Coffey Architects and in collaboration with Pro:works, R G Carter has constructed the four storey building which is now equipped with £750,000 worth of the latest computer technology. Mario Rackham, Director and General Manager, R G Carter, said: “This cutting-edge building symbolises magnificently the forward-thinking and progressive digital study and discovery that will take place within it and we are thrilled to play a part in enhancing and developing the digital skills of people in Norwich and Norfolk.” Over 60 miles of cable have been installed throughout the building and 220 tonnes of steel were used to construct the factory. It is connected by two walkways to the award-winning Creative Arts Building, encouraging the natural cross-over and collaboration between the college’s University of the Arts London creative arts courses – including art and design, media production, graphic design, music, and photography – and digital skills training. Corrienne Peasgood OBE, Principal, City College Norwich, commented: “The Digi-Tech Factory will play a key role in enabling us to deliver innovative, industry-standard learning, and a digital skills curriculum developed with substantial input from employers. “It’s been brilliant seeing how the new building has been received by our lecturing staff, students, and apprentices, during the first weeks of term, and the difference this is already making to the teaching and learning of a wide range of digital skills. Jon Bonham, Director of Estates and Facilities at City College Norwich added: ‘We are delighted with how the build has gone and with the finished result, which has delivered on the crucial technical specifications as well as creating a stunning, state-of-the-art teaching and learning environment for the college’ Seven former City College Norwich students currently employed by R G Carter worked on the construction of the Digi-Tech Factory, including Assistant Project Manager, Ed Carr and Director and General Manager, Mario Rackham. In addition, four current construction students gained a combined 1,184 hours of work experience with R G Carter on site and the company donated 4,400 bricks to bricklaying students at the college.

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AECB signs UNECE High-Performance Buildings Initiative at COP26 today

AECB official statement supporting the signing of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe High-Performance Buildings Initiative The AECB is delighted to participate in the official signing ceremony for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE)’s High-Performance Buildings Initiative hosted by Construction Scotland Innovation Centre (CSIC) representing Scotland as the host nation for COP26.  The AECB welcomes the creation of a collaborative global network of 26 international Centres of Excellence of High Performance Buildings (including CSIC) to provide education, training, and other critical resources to regional building industry practitioners, supporting local industry in the rapid development of buildings consistent with the UN Framework for energy efficiency standards in buildings.   The AECB is launching the AECB CarbonLite™ Training Centre consolidating AECB’s professional advanced retrofit training recognised by the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the UK Government’s Heat and buildings strategy (October 2021) with reference to the e-learning AECB CarbonLite™ Retrofit course launched in 2016.   BEIS identifies the urgent UK demand: “A current lack of installers, retrofit assessors, and retrofit co-ordinators is a major barrier to decarbonising the UK’s building stock.”  The AECB has long championed a fabric-first whole-buildings and whole-system approach identified as the No.1 policy focus in the UK Government’s strategy. The AECB has developed a set of building standards and guidance including the unique self-certification AECB Retrofit Standard published in March 2021. These standards tackle historic underperformance and the performance gap when designing buildings, developed to equip UK construction to deliver better energy efficiency for a low carbon future. AECB is redeveloping the Low Energy Buildings Database (LEBD) as an international platform showcasing exemplar low energy buildings case studies.    AECB is the longest established network of UK construction professionals dedicated to building a low carbon future. To accelerate the UK’s journey to Net Zero carbon, the AECB runs highly professional e-learning retrofit training. The success of the e-learning AECB CarbonLite™ Retrofit course has resulted in a strong community of CarbonLite™ Graduates across the UK AECB has launched CPD capabilities with the new annual CPD Cert. Building Energy Modelling using PHPP with TU Dublin. AECB is developing a package of existing and new training aligning with the UK PAS 2035 framework.   Andy Simmonds, CEO Association for Environment Conscious Building (AECB) 3rd November 2021 For details of UNECE and the Sustainable Development Goals  please click here

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Contractor celebrates stellar month with multiple award wins

Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson is celebrating a successful award season after scooping six property and construction accolades, as well as being shortlisted for four national building awards, in less than a month. The contractor, which has offices in Derby, Newark and Birmingham, won two awards and was shortlisted for a third at the Bricks Awards, was crowned a winner at the East Midlands Property Awards and scooped three regional awards at the LABC Building Excellence Awards. At the Bricks Awards, G F Tomlinson was named as Responsible Business of the Year and Overall Winner on the night. The company’s Nottingham Castle transformation project was also shortlisted under Sustainable Development of the Year. Winners were announced at a ceremony held at Trent Bridge Cricket Ground in September. The contractor achieved further success with its flagship project at Nottingham Castle – winning Regeneration and Restoration Project of the Year at the East Midlands Property Awards, and Best Non-Residential Conversion at the LABC Building Excellence Awards. Nottingham Castle, which reopened to the public earlier this year following lockdown, has recently undergone a £31million redevelopment – with construction and restoration being carried out by G F Tomlinson acting as main contractor. The redevelopment saw careful restoration of the Castle’s 17th century roof, a new extension to house exhibition galleries, and the construction of a visitor centre with a ticketing office, café and outdoor seating area. The contractor has also won two further accolades at the LABC Building Excellence Awards – naming its Tower Gardens Pavilion project in Skegness as Best Public or Community Building, which was successfully delivered via the company’s ongoing involvement on the Scape Regional Construction framework, and the Medical Technologies Innovation Facility for Nottingham Trent University as Best New Build. Due to its regional LABC success, the company is now shortlisted for three national awards which are due to be announced 28th January 2022 at the Park Plaza, Westminster Bridge in London. G F Tomlinson’s fourth national shortlisting is at the prestigious Building Awards – with Nottingham Castle named as a finalist in the Refurbishment Project of the Year category. A black-tie ceremony announcing the winners took place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London 2nd November. Chris Flint, managing director of G F Tomlinson, said: “We are absolutely delighted with our award achievements this year – it is great to be recognised at all of these acclaimed regional awards, coming up against strong competition that showcases all the fantastic work that has been happening in the industry over the last year. “Despite the challenges that COVID-19 has posed, the industry remains buoyant and has delivered a number of exceptional schemes across the East Midlands and we are pleased to have played our part. “It is also exciting to be shortlisted for the national Building Awards and LABC awards – Nottingham Castle is our flagship project to date and we were pleased to work with so many different local and regional specialists and teams to complete the work on time. Throughout the project we ensured that labour was sourced from local businesses and organisations and we are proud to say we were able to recycle 97% of the onsite construction waste as we continue to take responsibility of our sustainable footprint. It is also rewarding to see a relatively small project like the Tower Gardens Pavilion in Skegness pick up so many regional awards and go on to national recognition. Working jointly with our partners, Scape, this project has a strong community story to tell.” G F Tomlinson works across multiple sectors within the construction industry including education, healthcare, residential and heritage. Over the years, it has partnered with a number of framework clients including Scape’s Regional Construction framework, delivering local projects with the aim of providing social value initiatives in order to benefits the communities, environment and economy within the midlands region.

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Plymouth’s journey to net zero progresses thanks to new partnership with Vital Energi

Vital Energi are helping Plymouth City Council achieve their goal of a net zero city by 2030 by delivering carbon savings of just under 300 tonnes a year through the installation of advanced renewable energy technologies across five of their buildings and the combined law courts. Low carbon heat will be delivered to six of Plymouth’s key city centre buildings, including Ballard House, Plymouth City Council’s 7-storey head office, Crownhill Court, Grade II* listed Victorian townhouse, Elliot Terrace, and the Guildhall, which is a Grade II listed building owned by the council, linked by a heat network to the Council House and Plymouth Combined Court. This is part one of a larger programme of decarbonisation by the Council. The buildings currently rely on individual gas fired boilers for heat, which release combustion gases and carbon emissions to the atmosphere via a flue in each building. Vital Energi are providing the complete design, supply, delivery, installation, testing, commissioning, and monitoring for the installation of Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) which will be connected to the existing heating system. ASHPs are one of the most effective technologies for reducing carbon. They absorb heat from the outside air, transfer it to a liquid and compress it to heat the temperature further.  The heat is then transferred from the liquid to water and distributed throughout the network to provide heat to the connected buildings. ASHPs can still extract heat when air temperatures are as low as -15°c, which is far lower than Plymouth ever gets! Vital Energi are also undertaking alterations to parts of the heating system pipework and controls within the existing building; this is to reduce the heating system operating temperatures to support the lower optimum ASHP operating temperatures and maximised efficiencies. All four sites will be remotely monitored via a building management system (BMS) too, so performance can be monitored over time and amendments can be made to controls settings and software remotely. Rob Callaghan, Managing Director of Vital Energi for the London and Southern Division, said: “We are grateful to Plymouth City Council for giving us the opportunity to work in the team that is focused on carrying out this important retrofitting work to Plymouth public sector estate.” Councillor Maddi Bridgeman, Cabinet member for the Environment and Street Scene, said: “This is a huge step forward in plans to tackle the climate crisis and I’m really pleased we’ve been able to secure the funding. “I know that for a lot of people out there, the Council changing how it heats its buildings isn’t ground-breaking news. But for us, it’s about setting an example.” This project, which provides further opportunities to extend a heat network within Plymouth city centre as a comprehensive redevelopment programme to serve other developments in the future, received grant funding from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS), which is administered by Salix on behalf of the Government’s Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).

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JOHNSON TILES PARTNERS WITH BARRATT ON NEW ZERO CARBON CONCEPT HOME

Johnson Tiles has partnered with leading housebuilder, Barratt Developments, to build a unique zero carbon concept home – ‘Z House’.  Featuring six tile ranges across four rooms, the flagship project is the first new home in the country, built by a major housebuilder, to go beyond the new Future Homes Standard by delivering a carbon reduction of 125%. The products used were selected to support the project’s goals to use sustainable materials and reduce build time.  Johnson Tiles is one of over 40 partners from across the housebuilding, sustainability and technology sectors invited to collaborate on the project. Built on the University of Salford’s main campus as a showcase home to demonstrate what is achievable in sustainable living, it will be occupied and monitored to assess its performance, with lessons learnt shared across the industry. Built using modern methods of construction, a mix of Johnson Tiles’ UK manufactured and UK stocked wall and floor tiles were selected for the hall, kitchen / dining area, family bathroom and en-suite.  “We’re delighted to have been involved in the Z House project, our commitment to sustainability is at the core of everything we do and the opportunity to support the industry as we learn together from this project is incredibly exciting.” says Johnson Tiles’ Managing Director, Stephen Dixon.  “Supporting the project’s goal to use sustainable materials, each tile is manufactured to last the lifetime of the building, containing between 20 and 40% recycled content and delivered in 100% recyclable packaging.” Each room features tiles in colours reflective of materials and tones found in nature, including the award-winning UK made South Bank collection of small format, glazed ceramic wall tiles and the UK made Drift collection of wood effect ceramic wall tiles. Z house concept home features: Hall/cloakroom South Bank, UK made slim format tiles in Whisper and Pewter Kielder, UK stocked wood effect tiles in Frosty Oak Kitchen/dining Refine, UK stocked porcelain floor tiles in Pewter En-Suite Ashlar, UK made textured concrete effect tiles in Crafted Grey Refine, UK stocked porcelain floor tiles in Pewter Family bathroom Drift, UK made wood effect ceramic wall tiles in Summer Shadows Minerals, UK stocked stone effect tiles in Flint  1. The Future Homes Standard ensures that all new homes built from 2025 will produce 75-80% less carbon emissions than homes delivered under current regulations. 2.Delivering 100% regulated and 25% unregulated energy using heat recovery, low carbon and renewable technologies).

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Development agreement signed to bring forward affordable homes on Meridian Water

Enfield Council and Vistry Partnerships have completed a development agreement which will see at least 250 affordable homes built on the next phase of the borough’s transformational Meridian Water programme. The development agreement which was signed on Wednesday 20th October will mean all the homes on the site of the development – known as Meridian Two,  will be affordable with half offered at London Affordable Rent and the other half offering shared ownership and homes at London Living Rent levels. The scheme will also provide 3,000 square metres of commercial space which the Council hopes will become a hub for creative industries. An operator will be appointed to manage the space in the near future. The Leader of Enfield Council, Cllr Nesil Caliskan, said: “This is great news for Enfield and its residents, we are forging ahead with Meridian Water and making rapid progress to provide a range of housing for local residents. “Meridian Two is important because every home will be genuinely affordable homes for Edmonton residents and those across the borough. “The site is adjacent to the area that is intended to become a new park at Meridian Water. This will be a fantastic feature alongside the new homes. I am looking forward to seeing the construction progress quickly and to residents moving in.” Meridian Two is on Leeside Road, next to Pymmes Brook and adjacent to the next phases of Meridian Water, which includes up to 2,300 homes and extensive parkland. With this being the second Development Agreement entered into on Meridian Water, the project now has 1,200 homes under contract to be delivered. Vistry Partnerships were selected as the preferred bidder last year following a competitive process through the Greater London Authority’s London Development Panel 2. The GLA is also providing grant funding to enable the scheme to be taken forward. On completion of the homes by Vistry Partnerships, the properties will be acquired by Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing, a Registered Provider who will own and manage them. Subject to a detailed Reserved Matters Application being approved, work on building the first homes is expected to start in the middle of 2022 with the first dwellings and workspace expected to be completed in 2024.

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Renewable Parks signs up for major expansion at Canmoor’s Westway Park

As COP26 arrives in Scotland, Canmoor is delighted to announce that leading wind energy supply chain specialist, Renewable Parts has agreed terms for a five-fold expansion of operations at Westway Park in Renfrew. Renewable Parks has been based at Westway since 2015 and will move to Unit G1, which extends to 24,000 sq ft, an expansion of almost 20,000 sq ft from the 5,000 sq ft it currently occupies. The lease term is 15 years. The move is set to take place next year, with Renewable Parts undertaking sustainable fit out works prior to officially opening the new unit in the spring of 2022. Renewable Parts is the UK’s leading supplier of parts to the wind energy sector, supporting all the major turbine brands, including Vestas, Siemens-Gamesa, Senvion, Nordex, and GE.  It supplies new and refurbished parts, consumables, and major components to utilities and a range of service providers, as well as offering bespoke supply chain management solutions. The company has undergone rapid expansion over the past 18 months, this move will allow further development of its offshore wind and supply chain service capabilities, alongside its new offering of major component storage and ancillary services.  The new facility will also enable the company to continue growth in Europe and South America as well as enter into new markets including North America. It will also facilitate Renewable Parts’ recently opened Innovation Centre in mainstreaming its unique sustainable, refurbishment and remanufacture, supply chain across the UK, directly reducing carbon emissions from the Operations and Maintenance of renewable energy. Commenting on the Westway expansion, James Barry, Chief Executive of Renewable Parts said: “We are very excited about the continued expansion of our business, which has grown rapidly over the last few years. The move to our expanded Operations Centre at Westway will greatly enhance the capability we can provide our customers.  Not only will it offer superior capacity, but crucially, 40t heavy lift capability to support main component storages services for UK based operators.  This key development will help us meet the next stage of our journey to become the leading independent supplier of new and refurbished parts to the wind industry within Europe. “The growth of renewable energy over past ten years is a testament of the world’s commitment to reduce their carbon footprint and work to create a better world for future generations. Renewable Parts is proud to be part of this global movement to create a cleaner, greener, and fairer society. So far, we have worked with our customers to reduce carbon footprints by 170 tonnes and diverted over 100 tonnes of material away from scrap and landfill. “With COP26 currently being in Glasgow, we are optimistic about the future, with renewables and sustainability being even more firmly in focus, as we help customers achieve a greener, more sustainable future and move closer to achieving their net zero carbon footprint goals.” Toby Saul, Asset Manager of Canmoor added: “Renewable Parts has been a top Westway occupier for more than six years now and it is great to see this aspiring business continue to expand operations here. “It is a further boost for the park, following the completion of over 365,000 sq ft sq ft of lettings this year, with further deals anticipated before the end of the year. “We are committed to investing and improving the park and have recently completed the £3m refurbishment of Block D. Development work is also continuing on the brand new 120,400 sq ft Filshill Distribution Centre, which is scheduled to complete shortly.” Westway Park was acquired by Canmoor in 2018. It is a key strategic industrial and distribution location that offers excellent connectivity to the whole of Central Scotland, with Junction 27 of the M8 only three minutes drive away. It is located in the heart of the Glasgow Airport Investment area, which is one of the key City Deal projects that will benefit from £39.1m of inward investment over the next ten years. This will deliver significant infrastructure investment to the area including a new two-lane bridge over the White Cart, directly linking Westway with the investment area and airport. Westway also benefits from refurbished modern open place office suites ranging in size from 100 – 4,000 sq ft.  Renewable Parts was advised by PJ Leggate, Canmoor’s joint agents at Westway Park are JLL and Colliers and the park is managed by Knight Frank. For more information on Renewable Parks’ Road to COP26, please visit: COP26 – The Road to Net Zero (renewable-parts.com)

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PICK EVERARD SECURES AWARD TO TWO KEY CCS FRAMEWORKS

PICK Everard has added two key public sector frameworks to its portfolio following a successful appointment to two of Crown Commercial Service’s (CCS) frameworks, allowing it to expand and diversify its service offering for the public sector. Both the Management Consultancy Framework Three RM6187 (MCF3) and the Estate Management Services (EMS) framework from CCS are accessible to all public sector organisations in the UK. Pick Everard has been appointed to two lots on the MCF3, covering Business (Lot 1) and Environmental Sustainability and Socio-Economic Development (Lot 9). This framework agreement will run for four years. Lot 1 covers a diverse range of business services provision and will see Pick Everard delivering services including – but not limited to – business case development, business processes, change management, operational planning and improvement, programme and project management, and value for money reviews. Meanwhile Lot 9 will cover a wide range of environmental sustainability and socio-economic services, such as climate change adaptation, carbon management and reporting, natural resource management, pollution control, policy development, and social value. CCS supports the public sector to achieve maximum commercial value when procuring common goods and services. In 2020/21 CCS helped the public sector to achieve commercial benefits equal to £2.04bn – supporting world-class public services that offer best value for taxpayers. Alastair Hamilton, partner at Pick Everard, said: “We are thrilled to have secured these appointments and to be able to support the public sector through these key, central government-led frameworks that will undoubtedly benefit communities around the country. “Our appointment to MCF3, which is utilised by big players in the market and household names like HS2, will see us acting as cost and project managers in a much wider context, diversifying and expanding the services we offer beyond the property realm in which we have historically worked. “This secures us among the top project management suppliers in the UK – something we are very proud of – and opens new doors to us as a firm, along with the opportunity to bring the decades of public sector experience within the team to a new portion of the market. “Using this framework as a delivery vehicle for environmental sustainability services helps secure our continual commitment to sustainability and work towards net carbon zero. We understand how important this is to the public sector at the moment and look forward to supporting those clients in achieving their sustainability goals.” The firm has also secured Lot 4 of the Estate Management Services framework, namely ‘surveying and strategic advice’ with a term of three years (36 months) with an option to extend by a further 12 months. This multi-lot framework supports UK public sector bodies and future successor organisations, which includes central government departments. It is also available for use for the bodies and agencies connected with those departments as well as the wider public sector, including, but not limited to local government, health, education, emergency services, housing associations and charities. Services will be delivered primarily within the UK, with some limited requirements overseas. David Harris, partner at Pick Everard, said: “This marks a significant development in our on-going partnership with CCS, being the first time we have been selected to the Estate Management Services framework. It will allow us to maintain and develop existing relationships within CCS while building new ones within this specific area. “As well as extending our portfolio of work, these appointments will also solidify Pick Everard’s position in the market and will allow us to continue the growth in the strategic advisory, surveying and asset management areas of the business too. Our multi-disciplinary nature as a firm allows us to provide added value, being able to draw on our in-house expertise for all the commissions we deliver. And ultimately, this allows us to save costs, while maintaining a diamond standard of delivery.”  Pick Everard employs more than 600 staff across its 13 offices, providing a range of project, cost, and design consultancy services. For more information, please visit www.pickeverard.co.uk.

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5 Advantages Of Using Fabric Buildings For Mining Sites

Engineering technology in the building and construction industry has been at the forefront of designing efficient structures suitable for all kinds of work. When choosing a building structure, you need to consider things such as environmental friendliness, cost, the time you need to use the structure, and safety when it comes to adverse weather conditions.   Activities such as sports and mining prefer to use easy to construct and relocate types of buildings because these activities are scheduled to last for a certain amount of time. As a result, permanent concrete and steel buildings may not be economical. If you’re planning to begin mining works, before then, you may need to shop for a fabric building for mining operations to house your workers, machinery, or other in-house works in your mining site.   If you’ve never used fabric buildings before, in this article, you’ll learn the advantages that come with deploying fabric buildings for mining activities.   1. They Are Recyclable And Sustainable   The material that’s used in the manufacture of fabric buildings is easily recyclable. As a result, once you’re done using your building, you don’t need to worry about safe ways of disposing of a building that seems too old for continued use. What you need to do is to identify a recycler to whom you can sell the material.   Besides most manufacturers help their customers to get a recycler. On the other hand, some vendors own recycling plants, thus, you can sell the old structure back to them for recycling works.   Moreover, suppose a section of your canvas building gets torn while the rest of the parts are still strong. In that case, you can patch that section which is also referred to as ‘reskinning.’ Additionally, the polyethylene fabric material emits very low amounts of toxins, making it sustainable, health-friendly, and easily recyclable.   2. Easy To Construct And Relocate  One reason that makes fabric buildings preferred in mining operations is that you can easily set them up, unlike concrete buildings. The parts are already designed to fit into each other once assembled. As a result, you don’t need to delay your mining operations because you’re waiting for a construction building. The simple building structures can take a few hours to construct, while the more complex buildings can take you a couple of days to complete. It’s generally believed that fabric buildings are three times faster to construct compared to their concrete counterparts.   Moreover, if you want to shift operations to a different mining site, it’s easy to pull down the structures and relocate them to your new site. This isn’t possible with concrete buildings as you have to abandon them altogether or destroy the building, which might be a huge loss to your budget.   3. They Are Energy Efficient  Fabric buildings can work well with different types of weather. The material of fabric buildings is non-conductive. As a result, during hot temperatures, the inside of the building can be cool. While during the cold season, the interior can be warm compared to the outside. Therefore, if your mining site isn’t located in very extreme temperatures, you may not need to invest in an HVAC system.   Additionally, fabric buildings can help you save a lot in terms of lighting. The material can allow up to 12% of light to pass through due to its translucent nature. As a result, you can use natural light during the day instead of artificial light. Moreover, their windows are entirely transparent, allowing a lot of light. These characteristics of fabric buildings help you to save costs associated with artificial lighting.   4. They Are Durable   The canvas used in the manufacture of fabric buildings can stay for decades without tearing and can withstand adverse conditions. As a result, they can stay for a long time without needing replacement. Additionally, the frame that supports the canvas is made of strong steel, which has been used in the construction industry for a long time. If you intend to use your frames to support heavy loads, you can buy frames that meet building standards for such activities.   5. Cost-Effective  Unlike wooden, metal, or concrete buildings of similar sizes, fabric buildings use less expensive materials that require little architectural planning and less construction time. Because of the less time you need in building fabric buildings, you’re able to save on labor costs. Additionally, fabric buildings need little maintenance costs.   Conclusion  When you’re choosing a building, particularly for mining sites, many aspects come into play. If you’re planning to spend some months or a couple of years, then going for fabric buildings may be the best option for you. With fabric buildings, you’ll be able to cut construction costs, reduce artificial lighting expenses, relocate your building from one place to another easily, and enjoy general, cost-effectiveness.  

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Glasgow street shows the only way to install 600,000 heat pumps each year and hit net zero is to replace the UK’s gas grid

Green Street in Glasgow, just a stone’s throw from COP26 will show that the only way to install 600,000 heat pumps a year and hit net zero is by replacing the UK’s current gas grid. The inner city street will be brought to life using pioneering augmented reality to show how networked ground source heat pumps that mimic the current gas network are the cheapest way to decarbonise heat and could save the UK an estimated £1bn a year to 2050. The solution shifts responsibility from consumers getting rid of their gas boilers and installing individual infrastructure for ground source heat pumps on an ad-hoc house-by-house basis, to the pre-installation of utility-scale underground infrastructure that allows consumers to easily and cheaply change to ground source heat pumps when they’re ready. The infrastructure is funded, owned and maintained by an energy or water company, local authority or private investor removing the cost from consumers who pay a standing charge similar to gas. Simon Lomax, CEO of Kensa, the UK’s only manufacturer of ground source heat pumps, said: “It isn’t possible to reach critical mass or secure the cost reductions expected by government by adopting a house-by-house approach, placing responsibility to deliver our climate targets on individuals. “To really kick-start the transition to heat pumps, the government needs to work with the energy industry and suppliers to popularise a networked ground source heat pump where the cost of infrastructure is divorced from the heat pump in a split-ownership approach. “Running costs and carbon emissions will be far lower than any other heating choice. Pre-installation of the infrastructure means whole communities such as tower blocks can switch to individual networked heat pumps simultaneously, as well as enabling households to easily and affordably make the transition from their gas boiler to a heat pump when they’re ready to change, with minimal disruption.” Kensa’s ‘Welcome to Green Street’ launching on 1 November at COP26, created by Emmy award winners Alchemy Immersive, will prove how a whole systems approach to decarbonising how we heat our homes can unlock benefits across communities and compliment and balance the electric network as we come to reply more heavily on it with heating and electric vehicles. Simon added: “Green Street is our way of setting out a virtual street map that proves any street can be a Green Street, by showing how the ground beneath our feet can transform how we heat and power our homes and accelerate progress on climate change through the lowest carbon, cost and electrical grid compact solution. “By utilising waste heat and low-temperature ambient loop systems our solution connects homes and businesses to deliver sustainable heating and cooling that’s highly efficient, low carbon and low cost for all stakeholders and enables the balance of energy supply and demand.” Kensa has been engaging with energy suppliers, the UK and Scottish governments and other leading organisations and continues to make progress to making the ‘Green Street’ solution a national reality. Thousands of properties across the UK are already enjoying the benefits of networked heat pumps. Thenue Housing which has homes in Green Street, said it welcomed innovative and trailblazing solutions to the global climate emergency including those which relate to domestic energy consumption. Eleanor Derbyshire, Head of Property Services at Thenue Housing, said: “Thenue Housing is delighted that one of the streets where we have our housing stock should be showcased in this way as the way forward in terms of energy consumption and conservation. We recently invested in our on-site heating so while we are currently not planning to make energy-related changes to our homes in Green Street, we think there is no better-named street anywhere in the city to highlight this work. “As a housing provider which has strong historical links with Glasgow and its heritage, we readily acknowledge the need for action at this game-changing summit where so much can be gained by global co-operation on climate change.” Since 1999 Cornwall’s Kensa has saved over 1 million tonnes of carbon through ground source heat pump installations across social housing, new build and retrofit homes and businesses. It was the first company to prove a solution for flats and apartments through its small ‘Shoebox’ heat pump, used by many city councils and recognised by the Greater London Authority as the most efficient, lowest carbon, lowest cost solution for heating and cooling high-rise buildings. To experience Green Street please visit www.welcometogreenstreet.com

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