B&M Waste Services is celebrating after landing an internationally recognised award for demonstrating high health and safety standards for five consecutive years. B&M has received a RoSPA Gold Medal (5 consecutive Golds) Health and Safety Award for working hard to ensure its staff get home safely to their families at
Vaillant has announced it has been awarded the contract to supply 239 of its low carbon heat pumps to a new build housing development in Swindon, which is being led by Nationwide Building Society. Located on the outskirts of Swindon, the off-gas Oakfield development, a 239-plot development, is being managed
Building and developing land is a rewarding career but also requires a lot of hard work. Creating any type of structure requires careful attention to detail and the right skill set and knowledge. If you want to have a successful construction project and outcome then there are a few steps
If you are like most people out there, then you might feel like starting a home business is an excellent way to boost your income. However, it is not that easy. You will have to deal with a number of things, including paperwork, recruitment, budgeting, and marketing. In order to
Wendy’s is opening five restaurants in the UK, including in London and Reading. American burger restaurant Wendy’s is set to reopen in the UK, two decades after it closed down. The fast food chain is known for its iconic square burgers and is still going strong in the US, but
Thermal Earth has begun work on a ground source heating system for 170 sustainable homes in Wales. Specialists in renewable heating and cooling systems, Thermal Earth have recently begun the process of drilling over 100 boreholes at the largest development in the Cardiff Living housing scheme. The boreholes will provide
Caddick Construction’s North West team is making great progress on the expansion of Alpla’s Warrington UK manufacturing facility in Golbourne. Global packaging and recycling specialist, Alpla, appointed Caddick Construction to deliver the multimillion pound Design and Build contract. It covers a series of phases, including a bridge link over the
A firm offering specialist services in land procurement and development opportunities has launched in Birmingham, enabling landowners, investors, builders and developers to capitalise on the growing opportunities in the city and beyond, as the development landscape looks to be ramping up after a pandemic-induced dip. Atlas Land & Planning, based
The Faculty of Construction Crafts at Leeds College of Building recently held its first-ever Institute of Carpenters (IOC) City Hub Event. The virtual session exposed students to the varied career opportunities available to qualified carpenters and joiners. Using Microsoft Teams, the College’s Level 2 Bench Joinery & Shopfitting group met
Living spaces have been getting smaller over the years. We can’t overlook the perks of this growing trend. For instance, it’s a great way to start if you’re passionate about adopting a minimalist lifestyle. More so, it can help you reduce your carbon footprint. A lot of homeowners with tiny
B&M Waste Services is celebrating after landing an internationally recognised award for demonstrating high health and safety standards for five consecutive years. B&M has received a RoSPA Gold Medal (5 consecutive Golds) Health and Safety Award for working hard to ensure its staff get home safely to their families at the end of every working day. Organisations receiving a RoSPA Award are recognised as being world-leaders in health and safety practice. Every year, nearly 2,000 entrants vie to achieve the highest possible accolade in what is the UK’s longest-running H&S industry awards. B&M Services Director, Mick Ashall said: “We are thrilled to have upheld our excellent health and safety performance and to have been awarded RoSPA Gold Award for the fifth-year running is an amazing achievement. The last year has been tremendously challenging due to the COVID-19 pandemic but our team has been steadfast in its commitment to ensuring safety at work for all our colleagues.” Julia Small, RoSPA’s achievements director, said: “The RoSPA Awards scheme is the longest-running of its kind in the UK, but it receives entries from organisations across the globe, making it one of the most sought-after achievement awards for health and safety worldwide. “RoSPA is very proud of the achievements of its entrants, and with this award we recognise the best of the best, those organisations that have gone the extra mile, raising the bar for the delivery of safety in the workplace. Employees, wherever they may be, should be able to go to work safe in the knowledge that they will return home unharmed and healthy at the end of every day. Our RoSPA Award winners are central to achieving this goal. By entering they are driving up standards and setting new safety benchmarks for organisations across the world. Currently, around 7million people are directly impacted by the RoSPA Awards, but the scheme’s global influence is even wider – with nearly 2000 organisations from 46 countries represented this year. I would also particularly want to thank our main sponsor NEBOSH, the National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health – for their continued support for the 16th consecutive year.”
Vaillant has announced it has been awarded the contract to supply 239 of its low carbon heat pumps to a new build housing development in Swindon, which is being led by Nationwide Building Society. Located on the outskirts of Swindon, the off-gas Oakfield development, a 239-plot development, is being managed by property developers, Igloo Regeneration, and construction partner, Mi-space, and the first homes will be available in 2022. With a focus on sustainable living, this forward-thinking development features a range of properties from one-bedroom apartments to 2, 3 and 4 bed houses. In addition, the project has also committed to ensuring 30 per cent of properties are allocated to affordable housing. All properties regardless of tenure have been designed to run as energy efficiently as possible ahead of the Government’s 2025 deadline for the Future Homes Standard. As part of this eco-friendly project, Vaillant will be supplying 221 of its aroTHERM plus air source heat pumps. The remaining 18 properties, which are in an apartment block, will use Vaillant’s aroTHERM split air-to-water heat pump. Here, properties located on the ground floor have had heat pump units installed on the ground, while the remainder have been installed on the roof of the apartment block. The aroTHERM plus and aroTHERM split heat pumps offer an ErP rating of A+++ and A++ respectively and are Quiet Mark accredited, meaning they were the ideal solution for the eco-friendly Oakfield project. Working closely with Igloo and the project design consultants, CBS consultants, Vaillant has been involved in the project, to ensure the heating systems selected were able to run as energy efficiently as possible both now and into the future. Steve Cipriano, Commercial Director at Vaillant said: “With government targets to reduce carbon emissions in new builds by 31 per cent by 2025, we’re increasingly seeing housebuilders and developers invest heavily in low carbon technologies, such as heat pumps, to reach these objectives. “The specification of our aroTHERM plus and aroTHERM split heat pumps at the Oakfield project is a shining example of how property developers are looking at innovative ways of sustainable living both for today and into the future. By working with the team at Igloo right from the onset of the project, we have been able to ensure the project and its future homeowners are benefitting from the most sustainable heating solutions available.” In addition to the heat pumps, Nationwide Building Society has also committed to ensuring each property achieves an EPC-A rating. To achieve this target, the properties on the Oakfield development will also benefit from the installation of other sustainable technologies such as solar PV. Houses will be wired to allow residences to add their own electric car charging points and batteries to store energy. To find out more about the range of products and services available from Vaillant for housebuilders and specifiers, please visit here.
Building and developing land is a rewarding career but also requires a lot of hard work. Creating any type of structure requires careful attention to detail and the right skill set and knowledge. If you want to have a successful construction project and outcome then there are a few steps you must follow in the process. Your goal is for all to go smoothly and run into as few issues and glitches as possible. The right approach and considering particular factors that play a role in how it goes will be key to a successful end result. Make A Plan As a property developer, you must have a business plan in place and an idea of what you want to achieve before you tackle your construction project. Write it down and be specific about the details about how you’ll get from one step to the next. Make a to-do list and a timeline for what needs to be done and by when. Outline how you want the structure to look and who you’ll work with to design it. Think through all the resources and requirements you’ll need to ensure your project turns out well and on time. Create A Budget You can have a successful construction project by creating and following a budget. Your end goal is to be profitable and not struggling to make up for losses. You must know what money you have to work with and how much funding you’ll need to make your vision a reality. Consider turning to a company such as Salboy to get the money you need to follow through with your construction project. You need the right support and financing if you’re going to be able to meet your goals and objectives. Hire the Right Team Your construction project will be more successful when you have a skilled team of workers to help you get your structure up and running. Make sure you vet the right people for the job and hire workers who you trust to get the project done efficiently and correctly. Conduct interviews and know your worker’s skill sets and abilities so you have people assigned to the project who can execute the plans properly. You want to minimize the risk for any errors or setbacks so you can stay within budget and your projected timeline. To streamline this process, consider partnering with a construction staffing agency. They can provide quick access to pre-vetted professionals skilled in commercial construction, ensuring your project stays on track without the hassle of extensive individual screenings. This way, you focus more on the project’s progress and less on the complexities of workforce management. Monitor Progress You want your construction project to go smoothly and as planned so you can market your property one day in the future. The reality is that there may be glitches to deal with or obstacles you need to overcome along the way. What’s most important is that you take an active role in your project and proactively monitor the progress throughout the entire build. It’s your job as the person in charge to anticipate any challenges and have a game plan for prevailing in the face of adversity or uncertainty. Go back to the drawing board or business plan if you need to and make necessary changes as you see fit. The better you can keep track of how the project is progressing and what needs your attention the most, the better outcome you’ll have in the end.
If you are like most people out there, then you might feel like starting a home business is an excellent way to boost your income. However, it is not that easy. You will have to deal with a number of things, including paperwork, recruitment, budgeting, and marketing. In order to do that properly, you have to educate yourself on the basics of running a home business. Fortunately, this article should help you do just that quickly and effectively! Here, you will find a list of tips for starting a home business! Check it out! Keep Your Business Safe For starters, you will need to make sure that your business is safe. There are many things that you will have to do, such as installing locks on the doors that lead to your office, buying a reliable home security system, and keeping your blinds closed in the evenings. In addition to that, you should keep an eye out for potential thefts in your neighborhood. If a burglar robbed a nearby house, they might try to do the same thing to you. The fact that you are running your own business might make the burglar think that you are rich. Lastly, you should invest in insurance. Most insurance experts out there say that it is one of the most important things that a business owner needs to take care of. There are quite a few types of business insurance, which should make finding one that fits your needs easy. In order to get an insurance policy for your business, you will have to ask your bank or your insurance agent about it. They will help you determine what kind of coverage you need and how much it will cost you. Set Up a Comfortable Home Office It might be tempting to work from the comfort of your bed. However, it is not that great when it comes to work-life balance. It might encourage you to work late into the night, cause sleep problems, and stress you out, among other things. Because of that, you should have a separate room where you will set up a comfortable and cozy home office. It will help you concentrate on your work and keep your work and life very balanced, as well as aid with keeping your paperwork organized. You should pay a lot of attention to the interior design of your office. The walls should be painted in warm colors, such as orange and red. On top of that, you should invest in very warm lighting. This combination should make the office feel welcoming and cozy. Hire the Right People If you decide to hire people to help you with your business, you should make sure that they are reliable and a great fit with your company culture. That way, you will avoid ending up in awkward or stressful situations caused by their behavior or poor performance. You can do that in a variety of different ways. For instance, you can hire a recruiter to take care of hiring people for you. That way, you will not have to spend time on the recruitment process and will be able to take care of other things. Other than that, you can look for employees on your own. There are quite a few platforms that are meant to help you find qualified candidates, such as LinkedIn and Indeed. You just have to be able to write a professional-sounding advertisement! Document Transactions and Pay Your Taxes If you do not want to pay fines or end up in debt, you will need to keep track of transactions in your home business, and that includes both the sales and the purchases. You can do that by collecting relevant invoices and bank statements. Next, you will have to pay your taxes on time. There are many ways in which you can do it. If you have a bank account and know how to use online banking platforms, you can pay via an electronic funds withdrawal or via a direct deposit. If the options mentioned above are not available to you, you can pay your taxes with your debit or credit card online, by phone, or with a mobile device. You can pay in cash, too! You just have to visit your local participating retail partner. Create a Marketing Campaign If you want your home business to succeed, you will need to advertise it. There are plenty of ways in which you can do that. In fact, quite a few of these options are completely free! You just have to create a website and a few social media accounts. Once you do that, you should start posting relevant content, such as photos of whatever it is that you are selling or blog posts that are relevant to your niche. For instance, if you want to start selling jewelry, you can create a blog post about caring for gold jewelry. Next, you can spend your hard-earned money on advertising. Many social media platforms out there allow for targeting the people that are most likely to buy your products with special advertisements, and it can cost as little as just a few hundred dollars! In Conclusion In conclusion, there are quite a few things that you will need to take care of when starting a home business, ranging from investing in insurance to creating a marketing campaign. If it appears to be a very overwhelming task, do not worry! First of all, there are many people out there that can help you with each of the tasks listed above. For instance, you can hire a professional recruiter, an accountant, and a marketing agency to take care of the recruitment, finances, and advertisements. Second of all, there are many other people who were in a similar situation, and yet they were able to make the most out of it and create very successful businesses! You just have to stay organized and ready to tackle challenges head-on!
Wendy’s is opening five restaurants in the UK, including in London and Reading. American burger restaurant Wendy’s is set to reopen in the UK, two decades after it closed down. The fast food chain is known for its iconic square burgers and is still going strong in the US, but hasn’t been here since 1999. Just as life is starting to return to normal after the pandemic, the company plans to open up to 400 outlets nationwide. The plans will roll out over the next few years and are expected to create at least 12,000 jobs. And it’s good news for any Wendy’s fans living around Reading, as the first new restaurant will open up in the city next month. Full list of Wendy’s opening in the UK While there are big plans to open hundreds of restaurants up and down the country, these are the only confirmed locations so far: Reading (opened June 2) Stratford (opening in the second half of 2021) Oxford (opening in the second half of 2021) There are also two more restaurants opening in the UK this year, but the locations have not been confirmed. Steven Derwoed, Vice President, Global Design and Construction for Wendy’s, said: “We’re very proud of our restaurant design in Reading, and I’m confident that we’ve built a place that our customers will love to go and our employees will love to work. “The interior has a cool vibe with a focus on natural wood, dark contrasts, comfortable seating and fun art making it feel fresh and current. “Creating a frictionless and convenient experience for our customers is at the heart of our design, whether a customer places their order via mobile before they set foot in the restaurant, at a kiosk once they arrive or at a traditional front counter with one of our friendly team members. “We’ve even incorporated an exterior walk-up window to create speedy access for delivery providers so customers can get their Wendy’s food even faster. We look forward to serving customers soon!” Wendy’s bosses first revealed the firm was returning to the UK in late 2019, with the chain currently running 6,700 outlets across 30 countries.
Thermal Earth has begun work on a ground source heating system for 170 sustainable homes in Wales. Specialists in renewable heating and cooling systems, Thermal Earth have recently begun the process of drilling over 100 boreholes at the largest development in the Cardiff Living housing scheme. The boreholes will provide ground source heating and hot water to 170 new homes on the former site of Eastern high school. The boreholes will be configured in arrays of shared ground loops which will be connected to individual MasterTherm AQ17i ground source heat pumps installed in each of the properties, giving residents complete control over their own climate preferences and energy usage. The AQ17i from MasterTherm is one of the smallest ground source heat pump models available in the UK, making it a key contender for the replacement of gas boilers in new build residential properties as the gas boiler ban rapidly approaches in 2025. Shared ground arrays provide savings for the installation of highly efficient ground source heating systems and enable installation to be deployed at scale. This solution will play a key part in the UK government target to install 600,000 heat pumps a year by 2028, which is part of the 10-point plan to reach carbon net zero by 2050. The Cardiff Living development which is being managed by Wates Residential, has been awarded £4.1m of funding from the Welsh Government Innovative Housing Programme (IHP) and will take energy performance standards to a new level as each of the homes will incorporate renewable technologies and smart energy management systems to reduce the energy demand on the grid, as well as helping to tackle fuel poverty by significantly reducing energy bills. Thermal Earth is working with Cardiff-based sustainable energy services company, Sero to incorporate low carbon technologies into the development of all the new homes including ground source heat pumps, smart thermal storage, electric vehicle charging points, solar panels and smart controls for residents. Sero will provide an innovative grid energy control network that will intelligently draw, discharge and anticipate energy demands, almost completely avoiding the National Grid at peak times.
Caddick Construction’s North West team is making great progress on the expansion of Alpla’s Warrington UK manufacturing facility in Golbourne. Global packaging and recycling specialist, Alpla, appointed Caddick Construction to deliver the multimillion pound Design and Build contract. It covers a series of phases, including a bridge link over the highway to connect Alpla’s existing production facility with the adjacent former Carlsberg unit (GB4) which the company acquired in 2019 as its new logistics hub. The Caddick Construction team is delivering the latest phase, which includes a substantial expansion of the logistics hub, along with associated external works. Work will complete in autumn 2021. Ben Edwards, contracts manager at Caddick Construction, said: “The team has already started the delivery of the bridge link and is delighted to have secured this latest phase, expanding the company’s logistics facility. “The project will allow this family-firm to expand in the UK in response to a rising demand for it’s products, creating new employment opportunities and boosting the local economy. The bridge link will also create business efficiencies, enabling products to be safely conveyed between Alpla’s manufacturing and storage facility without the need to hand transport between the buildings.” Alpla produces innovative packaging systems, bottles and moulded parts for a wide range of customers, including packaging for hand sanitisers and cleaning sprays. The company is headquartered in Austria and employs more than 20,000 staff worldwide. Alpla occupies a number of manufacturing and distribution facilities at Stone Cross Business Park in Warrington, close to junction 23 of the M6. Pozzoni Architecture designed the expanded facility and bridge link. Caddick Construction has delivered a series of retail, manufacturing and production facilities for clients around the UK, including Carlsberg, Arla Foods, Heineken, Tesco and Morrison.
A firm offering specialist services in land procurement and development opportunities has launched in Birmingham, enabling landowners, investors, builders and developers to capitalise on the growing opportunities in the city and beyond, as the development landscape looks to be ramping up after a pandemic-induced dip. Atlas Land & Planning, based on Cornwall Street in the heart of Birmingham’s finance district, offers a personal, exclusive and highly efficient approach to every stage of land disposal and development planning. Its portfolio of potential buyers, with whom the firm has built strong relationships over many years, benefit from the fact Atlas is part of a wider network of specialists providing access to finance, tax advice and specialist risk and insurance services. Headed up by Phil Roberts – an expert in land procurement who has worked in the industry for almost a decade – including at Fine and Country Land and New Homes – Atlas offers a personalised service to clients, from smaller developers through to national house builders, PLC organisations and national registered providers of affordable housing. Phil explained: “The pandemic has brought many challenges to the development landscape, including furloughed staff causing delays in development or planning application progress, and a shortage of building materials causing a price hike and impacting profit margins – also exacerbated by Brexit. At the same time, as restrictions now ease, the development opportunities are soaring as land becomes available again. “Land that was earmarked for office development is now likely to be re-purposed for residential use, while property such as disused office space as a result of the remote working scenario will also be ripe for redevelopment. Additionally, with the plans around HS2, city living will become a much more attractive prospect. There is also of course a real housing shortage, and we work closely with providers of affordable housing. All of this is great news for developers and we think there is a rapidly growing appetite and that the market is set to accelerate again,” he added. Atlas prides itself on dealing exclusively with a landowner, working with them to manage expectations around land worth – all off market to avoid de-valuing the land – and can choose the best buyers based on the firm’s connections. Atlas works proactively, rather than waiting for buyers, and works all at risk as it does not command any up-front fees. This ensures transactions are seamless, efficient and fast – all important factors in this industry. Atlas is part of the ARMCo group, which combines specialist lending, corporate support and insurance services, so can arrange for funding to be in place if needed by the developer – as well as tax advice or specialist risk insurance. ARMCo founder Russell Martin commented: “Atlas Land & Planning is a great addition to our group, and significantly aids our clients who benefit from this central services approach. The opportunities in the property and development market are currently there to be capitalised on, and we are confident that our offering is the best solution to the specific needs of this sector – regionally and nationally.”
The Faculty of Construction Crafts at Leeds College of Building recently held its first-ever Institute of Carpenters (IOC) City Hub Event. The virtual session exposed students to the varied career opportunities available to qualified carpenters and joiners. Using Microsoft Teams, the College’s Level 2 Bench Joinery & Shopfitting group met industry innovators and heard from employers about the latest techniques and materials. Speakers included representatives from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB), Historic England, Structural Timber Association (STA), MEDITE SMARTPLY, IOC, Trussed Rafter Association, and Timber Trade Federation (TTF). The event kicked off with a welcome by Derek Whitehead, Leeds College of Building Principal, and an introduction by Geoff Rhodes, IOC President. This was followed by a range of 20-minute seminars from other carpentry and manufacturing experts. Programme topics covered: national career opportunities in the construction-related sector; specialist handcraft-skills; working as a builder in the heritage sector; the Housing and roofing sector and innovative new materials; ground-breaking MDF and OSB panel products; sustainability, renewables and certification; and TTF statistics covering the scale of the global timber industry. This virtual event is just one of the latest IOC enhancements to the student experience at Leeds College of Building. Through the partnership, Carpentry and Joinery students now have free membership to the IOC. The affiliation lasts for the duration of their studies and for a year after graduation. The IOC showcases the industry as a modern and exciting route into trades. It supports innovative new construction methods, including research into waterproof timber structure at a molecular level. Geoff Rhodes, IOC President, said: “For two years now, we have been developing and rolling out our national programme of IOC City Hub meetings with FE colleges across the UK in order to add meaningful value to the learning experience of all student learners. The partnership with Leeds College of Building is another great example of seeing this reality in action.” Derek Whitehead, Leeds College of Building Principal, said: “Leeds College of Building was delighted to host this first virtual IOC City Hub; our students greatly benefitted from the collective knowledge shared by all the industry experts who contributed. The students gave very positive feedback about the training session, as did the presenters who benefitted from networking themselves. I’d like to express enormous appreciation to the IOC for creating this initiative and the fantastic support shown to the College. We look forward to more initiatives like this in the future.” Michael Martin, Leeds College of Building Curriculum Manager added: “I’m thrilled this event came to fruition after nearly a year of planning and being stalled by the COVID-19 pandemic. What was meant to be a fair of industry stallholders and specialist seminars instead became a virtual event of experts across diverse fields. “This event was a fantastic opportunity for our learners to find out more about the wider industry and global career opportunities before they progress to Level 3 in September. We now have solid foundations to build upon and next year we intend to have a face-to-face event. The hope is to bring carpentry and joinery professionals together with the next generation of craftspeople.”
Living spaces have been getting smaller over the years. We can’t overlook the perks of this growing trend. For instance, it’s a great way to start if you’re passionate about adopting a minimalist lifestyle. More so, it can help you reduce your carbon footprint. A lot of homeowners with tiny apartments often look for space-saving furniture that will complement other home décor elements. This type of furniture is the key to keeping your home organized and will make your stuff easily accessible. Fortunately, brands like Furco.co.uk are proactive about providing functional solutions for small spaces. It’s imperative to invest in the furniture pieces we’ve listed below. 1. Sofa beds Sofa beds are both practical and comfortable. They are now a favorite piece for small apartments and families of all sizes. A sofa bed will offer a 3-in-1 function comprising of a bed, sofa, and storage option. The creative storage solution is useful for storing your bedding and other items. Corner sofa beds are versatile and will come in handy when you’re alone or in the company of your family or guests. 2. Floating desk A floating deck is a practical, convenient, and cost-effective solution for reading and working. Some wall-mounted models feature storage sections. The good thing is that this piece of furniture will only take minimal space in your home. You can install a floating desk in your living room, bedroom, or home office. It comes in different variations, so it’s best to assess your needs and the space you can spare before making a purchase. In case you’re planning to use it for work, go for an option that is large enough for your PC and a few supplies. 3. Wardrobes Built-in wardrobes remain one of the top modern living ideas. You can incorporate double hanging to maximize your space. Another space-saving hack is to place storage baskets on top of the wardrobe for storing accessories. Install hooks on the inside of your wardrobe door to keep jewelry and other accessories. It’s ideal to use the floor space in your wardrobe creatively too. Try decluttering your wardrobe from time to time. This will save you time and space. 4. Wall-mounted ironing board We usually pass a message to others with our choice of clothing. Clothes that are crispy and wrinkle-free will boost your confidence, thereby making you irresistible. This type of ironing board is a must if space is at a premium in your laundry room. Install a quality one in the right spot, and remember to fold it once you’re through with ironing. New models of wall-mounted ironing boards have features such as flexible board, adjustable height, built-in hanger, and can even double as a mirror. 5. Murphy bed A murphy bed will ensure that you have enough space to entertain your guests and sleep comfortably. This furniture piece relies on a smooth mechanism that enables it to emerge and retract seamlessly. It’s suitable for individuals who want to use their guest room as office space without trading one for the other. Most murphy beds come with features like shelves, drawers, and desk flaps.