The total pipeline of Futureal Group’s industrial and logistics property development company, HelloParks, has now reached 900,000 sq m of GLA around Budapest. HelloParks continues its development in the western agglomeration of the Hungarian capital, next to the M1 motorway, in Páty. This is the largest project in the history
GLP, a leading investor and developer of logistics buildings and warehouses, has announced that it has secured planning permission for the development of up to 736,000 SQ FT of warehouse space at G-Park Ashby. The planning consent allows for the development of either one or two units depending on customer
Hart District Council took delivery of 41 new homes at an official event held on Thursday 13 May between representatives of the Council and Berkeley Homes. The collection of new apartments will be let by Bridges, on behalf of the Council, at affordable rents to people from the local area.
To live up to their climate pledge under the Paris agreement, EU lawmakers must ensure all 250 million existing as well as all new buildings in the EU become nearly zero greenhouse gas emitters. In a new report, experts nominated by EASAC’s member science academies call for far-reaching policy action.
Residents, employees and visitors to Longbridge are now able to enjoy new green space in the heart of the town centre after work to create new public space including an extension to Austin Park was completed. In total, the works have seen 46 new trees, 3,500 new shrubs and plants,
Students from Borders College paid a visit to the doctor’s recently, to learn more about how properties can be re-purposed and retrofitted with new technology, such as ground source heating systems, to significantly reduce a building’s carbon footprint. The vacant medical centre in Yetholm, Scottish Borders, which is being converted
Timber frame construction specialist, SO Modular, welcomed Economy Minister and Senedd Member, Vaughan Gething, to its new state-of-the-art, off-site manufacturing facility, located at the ‘Old Metal Box’ factory in Neath. Mr Gething was given a guided tour around the new facility, ahead of its grand opening later in the year. During
Keepmoat Homes continues to grow its development portfolio in the North West after acquiring three new land deals that will see the top ten UK housebuilder deliver 723 new homes, with a combined Gross Development Value (GDV) of £135m. The sites are located in Leyland, Accrington and Stoke on Trent
Landlords have many responsibilities when caring for rental properties. Some responsibility falls on the tenants, but it is ultimately up to you to provide the basic maintenance necessities for them. What a lot of landlords neglect is that this refers to things outside the property as well as things inside
Many of us understand how much it costs to build a property. But when it comes to the purchasing costs, we don’t always know a huge amount. That said, we should. That’s because how much a building costs to purchase matters a lot to clients. They want to know that
The total pipeline of Futureal Group’s industrial and logistics property development company, HelloParks, has now reached 900,000 sq m of GLA around Budapest. HelloParks continues its development in the western agglomeration of the Hungarian capital, next to the M1 motorway, in Páty. This is the largest project in the history of the company and will complement HelloParks Fót in the North and HelloParks Maglód in the East, next to the airport. As a member of Futureal Group, HelloParks continues its development in one of the most developed industrial and commercial zones in the western agglomeration of Budapest, Páty, which is an ideal location for production companies and logistics service providers. Located along the M1 motorway with direct connection and excellent visibility, 6 km from the M0 ring road and 10 km from the M7 motorway, HelloParks Páty is easily accessible also from the downtown of Budapest. The 100 ha site will feature modern warehouse and production space in a total of 400,000 sq m of GLA, which will be developed in several phases. Preparations for the first phase have already begun. The first building will offer 55,000 sq m of modern warehouse space and is expected to be handed over in Q3 2022. The value of this investment exceeds EUR 50 million. HelloParks has recently announced the development of one of the largest industrial and logistics centres in the country on a 76 ha site in Fót and a similar development on a 46 ha plot in Maglód. 33.000 sq m of warehouse and industrial space can be set up in Fót and 193,000 sq m in Maglód. “HelloParks has reached another milestone by investing in the western agglomeration of Budapest, and so far this promises to be our largest development, both in terms of plot size and total facilities.” said Rudolf Nemes, CEO of HelloParks. The minimum rentable area for the so-called Big Box type halls will be 3.300 sq m, while the Flexi Box buildings with a more flexible rental scheme can offer rental properties up to 500, 1,000 or 2,000 sq m for smaller tenants. Like the megaparks in Fót and Maglód, facilities to be built in Páty will also meet the requirements of the BREEAM sustainability standard, thanks to smart solutions that ensure energy efficiency and environmentally friendly operation. Short-term offices, Hello Café and conference rooms with catering services and long-term A-category offices also will be available for the convenience of tenants. HelloParks can build on Futureal Group’s decade-long property development and investment experience. Futureal is one of the leading real estate developers and investors in Central and Eastern Europe and is among the top 10 largest real estate developers in Europe. Since its foundation Futureal Group’s portfolio has included more than 180 real estate projects with a total value of over EUR 5 billion and an area of 3 million square meters.
GLP, a leading investor and developer of logistics buildings and warehouses, has announced that it has secured planning permission for the development of up to 736,000 SQ FT of warehouse space at G-Park Ashby. The planning consent allows for the development of either one or two units depending on customer requirements. The 66-acre development site at G-Park Ashby is centrally located in North West Leicestershire at the heart of the Golden Triangle for logistics. The site was formerly occupied by ‘The Lounge Coal Preparation and Disposal Point’ and will now be re-developed to provide Grade A modern logistics space in a prime location. The park benefits from excellent access being directly adjacent to the A42 and A511 with links to the M42 to the South, and M1 and East Midlands Airport 10 miles to the North East. The new unit(s) will be built to GLP’s enhanced specification including an 18 M clear internal height. In line with GLP’s sustainability commitment, the development will be built to BREEAM UK Excellent level standards and will include a range of innovative environmental features, such as rainwater harvesting and an online energy dashboard to help customers proactively manage their energy consumption. Gwyn Stubbings, Planning Director, GLP, said: “The proposals to redevelop a brownfield site will deliver significant economic benefits to the area including improved local infrastructure and creating almost 1,000 new jobs, at a time when the need for logistics has never been greater. The logistics industry will continue to play a vital and important role in supporting the economic recovery in the UK and this development will respond to the significant outstanding demand for modern and sustainable warehouse space.” Planning and development consultancy Turley provided planning, strategic communications, EIA, and sustainability services for the scheme.
Hart District Council took delivery of 41 new homes at an official event held on Thursday 13 May between representatives of the Council and Berkeley Homes. The collection of new apartments will be let by Bridges, on behalf of the Council, at affordable rents to people from the local area. The affordable apartments come in a range of one and two-bedroom layouts set in two attractive buildings. Residents will become part of the thriving new community at Edenbrook Village, which includes the 82-acre country park, a brand new leisure centre, sports pitches, BMX track and other recreational facilities. All homes come with the high-quality interior specification that Berkeley is known for as well as dedicated car parking. Throughout the development of Edenbrook Village, Berkeley has worked very closely with Hart District Council to create an outstanding place to live with a wide range of valuable amenities for existing and future communities, with a strong emphasis on the natural environment. Cllr John Kennett, Chairman of Hart District Council said: “There is growing demand for affordable rental homes in the district especially among young people, so it is great to have this range of apartments at Edenbrook Village completed and ready to move into. With the popular country park and other amenities already up and running, it is a fantastic place to live and we are pleased to take ownership of these new homes.” Harry Lewis, Managing Director of Berkeley Homes (Southern), commented: “We are delighted to have completed these homes for Hart District Council. We shared a vision with the Council to deliver homes for local keyworkers and today that vision has been realised. As a well-balanced new community, Edenbrook now provides homes for all comers, from large private family houses to tenure blind affordable apartments for local young people and everything in between.” When complete, Edenbrook Village will have a total of 600 new homes in a wide range of designs and sizes to appeal to all residents. Built to the highest architectural standards and designed to blend in with the natural surroundings, all of the homes at Edenbrook Village are carefully crafted to suit modern lifestyles. The country park, green open spaces and leisure facilities have improved the quality of life for residents and the wider community, while making a significant contribution to nature and biodiversity. Living at Edenbrook Village is convenient and well-connected. Fleet town centre is just two miles away, offering a wide range of shops and amenities. Rail connections are easy with Fleet station just a five-minute drive away, from where journeys into London Waterloo take around 40 minutes. Guildford, Reading and Woking are all around half an hour away by car. The new affordable rented homes at Edenbrook Village will be available from Hart District Council through Bridges – see www.bridges.co.uk. For further information about Edenbrook Village and other homes currently available, please visit www.edenbrookvillage.co.uk.
To live up to their climate pledge under the Paris agreement, EU lawmakers must ensure all 250 million existing as well as all new buildings in the EU become nearly zero greenhouse gas emitters. In a new report, experts nominated by EASAC’s member science academies call for far-reaching policy action. “Policymakers have long focused on creating energy-efficient buildings that reduce the need for heating and air conditioning or generate renewable energy on site. But the energy used for operating buildings is only part of the story. We must urgently broaden the scope and look at emissions embodied in construction materials and methods – both for new buildings and building renovation.”, says William Gillett, EASAC’s Energy Programme Director. Currently, between 1 and 1.5% of the European building stock is being renovated annually. “To meet the goals of the Paris agreement, that rate should be two or even three times higher”, points out Gillett. “But more importantly, we need to factor in the massive emissions of the construction industry and supply chain, when calculating the climate impact of buildings. Renovating a building to reduce its energy consumption makes little sense if there is no control of the carbon-intensive materials and components used for the renovation, and if these are transported over long distances.” So far, EU policies have centered on the concept of ‘Nearly-zero energy buildings’ with a focus on reducing the consumption of energy used to provide comfort to building occupants. According to EASAC, this notion is outdated: “Instead, the indicator to be used now for assessing the climate impact of a new building or renovation should be cumulative greenhouse gas emissions, including embodied emissions produced by the building works and operating emissions produced by the building in the years following those works. As there are only about 10 years left before the door closes for limiting global warming to less than 1.5 oC, there is an urgent need over this period to limit the creation of embodied greenhouse gas emissions when renovating to produce nearly zero emission buildings” Buildings should be designed to be disassembled and recycled at end of their lifetime The report points out that most of the built environment is still designed using a linear take-make-consume-dispose approach. Transitioning to a circular economy would not only allow to reduce resource consumption and carbon footprint, but also address the waste problem. “Circularity has many facets”, explains Prof. Brian Norton, Co-chair of EASAC’s Working Group. “Many building materials can be reused, recycled and recovered. To start with, buildings and their components should be designed to be easily disassembled at the end of their use.” Renovating existing buildings must be at the heart of the EU’s strategy, the scientists argue. “It’s important to consider the re-use of existing buildings rather than replacing existing buildings with new ones,” says Norton. “There is a lot of embodied carbon in a building structure, especially in the concrete and steel. With today’s technologies and digitalized processes, renovating has become a lot easier and sustainable. We have to stop the current practice of knocking down structures to rebuild from scratch.” The report also argues that legislation must put a limit of embodied carbon per m2 of floor area that is brought into a building when it is constructed or renovated. Climate neutrality by 2050 requires renovating more than 90.000 homes – per week In 2020, the European Commission presented its ‘Renovation Wave’ strategy to boost energy renovation of buildings in the EU. It intends to revise the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive as one of the cornerstones of that strategy. “While a Directive on the energy performance of buildings has been in place since 2002, recast in 2010 and revised in 2018, the results so far have been underwhelming”, says Gillett. The challenge, however, is huge. „75% of the buildings Europeans live in are estimated to have a poor energy performance. To renovate them would require 146 million renovations in only 30 years. Member States’ current efforts are not sufficient,” explains Norton. “Achieving climate neutrality implies we need to renovate more than 90.000 homes per week across the EU – in itself an enormous challenge.” Buildings are an emission source that municipalities have a lot of control over While the authors address their policy recommendations primarily to the European Union, they also make clear that cities have a big role to play. “Municipal Councils and urban planners have tremendous influence on procurement specifications. They can stimulate the renovation and construction of nearly zero GHG emission neighbourhoods with integrated energy and transport systems and adequate green spaces. They can facilitate up-grading existing district heating and cooling systems or build new ones with optimised use of renewable energy, including PV, heat pumps, solar and geothermal heating, waste heat and natural cooling. And they are particularly well-placed to oversee renovations of social housing and subsidise the deep renovation of private housing where necessary to reduce energy poverty.” says Norton. EASAC’s messages to policymakers: Phase out fossil fuels by 2030, increase integrated supplies of decarbonised electricity and heat to buildings, industry and transport, and accelerate the deployment of carbon capture and storage. Use grants and incentives to trigger, leverage and de-risk private financing for deep energy related building renovations. Regulate levels of embodied GHG emissions in building materials and components, and promote recycled materials, re-used building components, and renovation instead of demolition. Refocus building regulations, certification schemes and incentives to deliver new and renovated buildings that operate with nearly zero GHG emissions. Promote health and wellbeing to double / triple rates of renovations that improve air quality, increase access to daylight, and avoid draughts and overheating as well as reducing GHG emissions. Champion public authorities and cities, facilitate and support their commitments to decarbonise buildings and reduce energy poverty. Expand and modernise the building industry to operate using circular business models with 3 million more jobs (including high quality jobs) to deliver new and renovated buildings with nearly zero GHG emissions Improve access for building owners and professionals to certified data on the embodied
Residents, employees and visitors to Longbridge are now able to enjoy new green space in the heart of the town centre after work to create new public space including an extension to Austin Park was completed. In total, the works have seen 46 new trees, 3,500 new shrubs and plants, 6,500 new bulbs and several species of wildflowers planted, while new bespoke seating has been designed and installed for up to 80 people to relax on. The scheme has been created to provide a place where people will want to explore and spend time, enhance the quality of the town centre as a whole and provide an attractive space for visitors and residents of Longbridge to enjoy. Improving the landscape will also provide several environmental benefits including creating a healthy green space within the town centre which will improve the environment, air quality and biodiversity, while supporting the wellbeing of the community. Rob Flavell, Senior Director for Regeneration in the Midlands and North for St. Modwen, said: “As we continue the redevelopment of Longbridge town centre, it’s vital that we are providing spaces which will bring huge benefits to those who live in, work in and visit the town, and this new public realm is a fantastic example of that. “The new space acts as an attractive centre piece for the town centre and provides a welcoming space to relax in and enjoy, in addition to bringing substantial environmental benefits. High-quality green spaces are key to the future success of our town centres. “We’re thrilled to have completed this new public space in time for the summer months, and we’re looking forward to seeing visitors exploring and enjoying it.” To date, St. Modwen has overseen the regeneration of around half of the wider Longbridge works which it bought in 2003. Once complete, it is expected to create up to 4,000 new homes, two million sq ft of commercial development and 10,000 jobs, transforming Longbridge into a modern, attractive community to live and work. For more information about Longbridge, go to www.longbridgebirmingham.co.uk
Students from Borders College paid a visit to the doctor’s recently, to learn more about how properties can be re-purposed and retrofitted with new technology, such as ground source heating systems, to significantly reduce a building’s carbon footprint. The vacant medical centre in Yetholm, Scottish Borders, which is being converted into a residential property, is owned by local housing association, the Eildon Group. The conversion is an example of the type of project the organisation is working on to develop a low carbon property portfolio. Commenting on the need to lower the carbon footprint within housing, Chief Executive Officer of the Eildon Group, Nile Istephan, said “Building new homes and adapting our existing homes to meet carbon reduction targets is a major challenge, but also a massive opportunity. By working together across the Scottish Borders with partner organisations, not only can we play our part in slowing the impact of climate change, we can also make great strides towards a zero carbon economy” The Eildon Group, in partnership with Borders College and Scottish Borders Council, recently hosted a Sustainability Summit where a variety of public and third sector organisations were joined by private sector businesses, to discuss how to better work together to achieve net zero targets within the housing sector. The aim of the Summit was to use the affordable housing sector as a catalyst to reshape the supply chain and the workforce response, to low carbon across the board within housing. The Sustainability Summit included keynote presentations by representatives from Northern Powerhomes and Construction Scotland Innovation Centre, both of whom covered examples of sustainable work in practice and future development opportunities. Identifying and addressing the skills gap in sustainable new builds and retrofitting existing stock to become low carbon, was discussed at the Summit. Borders College, who recently launched their Sustainability Strategy, confirmed their commitment to continue to develop and deliver the skills that address the needs of the construction industry, and ensure there is an adequate workforce pipeline to meet the demand now, and in the future. Angela Cox, Principal of Borders College said: “Borders College have been at the forefront in responding to the training needs of the construction sector. Our investment in sustainability technologies, hosted in our Hawick STEM and Passive House facility, and in the development of programmes designed to upskill the current and future workforce, mean that we are ready to build on the valuable partnerships we already have with Eildon Housing, other RSLs and Scottish Borders Council in response to the collective challenge we have in achieving net zero.” Councillor Sandy Aitchison, Scottish Borders Council’s Executive Member for Sustainable Development, said: “The future of the Scottish Borders truly depends on us all making strides towards reaching net zero and many job and economic opportunities will be connected to this. “The Council will shortly set out it’s Climate Change Route Map which will outline various milestones and actions emphasising that we will all need play our part in to tackle the climate emergency.” An outcome of the Summit was acknowledgement of the positive work being carried out across the South of Scotland, and the clear focus by many organisations to place achieving net zero at the forefront of their future plans. Further events are planned in order to consolidate the work, with the three partners taking a ‘stronger together’ approach in dealing with the climate emergency.
Timber frame construction specialist, SO Modular, welcomed Economy Minister and Senedd Member, Vaughan Gething, to its new state-of-the-art, off-site manufacturing facility, located at the ‘Old Metal Box’ factory in Neath. Mr Gething was given a guided tour around the new facility, ahead of its grand opening later in the year. During his visit, he was shown SO Modular’s latest investment in new equipment and explained its plans for the site – where it will be producing sustainable, innovative, modular wood panel systems and roof trusses for use in the wider construction industry. The regeneration of the ‘Old Metal Box’ factory into SO Modular’s new facility has been made possible due to a substantial £900,000 Property Business Development Grant through the European Regional Development Fund. In addition, loan funding support worth over £2.8 million, provided through the Welsh Government’s Innovative Housing Programme (IHP) to Tai Tarian Housing Association, has facilitated further investment in plant and machinery to increase its capacity. This increased capacity will allow SO Modular to help tackle the local and national housing shortage, by creating affordable, sustainable, and environmentally friendly housing. Economy Minister, Vaughan Gething, said: “This government is committed to backing Welsh business and as we emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic one of my priorities is to kickstart Wales’ economic recovery, ensuring it becomes an engine for sustainable, green growth. “SO Modular is a well-established company anchored in the local community. They are an important employer in the region, and I am delighted our support will help them to grow their business and further their decarbonisation ambitions.” SO Modular and J. G. Hale Construction chairman, Jonathan Hale, said: “It was wonderful to be able to welcome Mr Gething to our brand-new site at the newly regenerated ‘Old Metal Box’ factory. The investment received through the Property Business Development Grant and the Welsh Government’s IHP scheme has made an enormous difference to SO Modular’s capacity. “Regeneration of the ‘Old Metal Box’ factory and, subsequently, increasing capacity at SO Modular are both integral to the economic recovery Wales very much needs. The facility’s sustainable, eco-friendly products will also go some considerable distance to helping Wales achieve its future zero-carbon housing targets.”
Keepmoat Homes continues to grow its development portfolio in the North West after acquiring three new land deals that will see the top ten UK housebuilder deliver 723 new homes, with a combined Gross Development Value (GDV) of £135m. The sites are located in Leyland, Accrington and Stoke on Trent and have all obtained planning approval from local authorities. The three schemes are: A 520-plot development Farington Mews, Leyland A 157-plot development at Biddulph, Stoke on Trent A 46-plot development Acorn View, Accrington The developments will offer two, three and four bedroom homes which will be available in multiple house types and various purchasing options from open market sale to shared ownership. Homebuyers will also be able to benefit from the Government-backed mortgage guarantee, allowing first-time and current homeowners to obtain a 95% mortgage from lenders. Gareth Owen, Land & Partnerships Director at Keepmoat Homes, said: “Our team has been working hard over the 6 months with local authorties and registered providers and the latest acquisitions are a testament to their efforts. We’re delighted to have aquired these three significant sites, all in ideal locations, which brings our total of active developments in the North West to 15. “As a business, our ethos is to not just build homes, but transform communities and improve the lives of local people. We’re driven to deliver increasingly sustainable and affordable homes and we’re taking action to reduce carbon emissions from our operations, our supply chain and the homes we build and adapt our operations and homes to our changing climate. Our Acorn View development in Accrington will feature car charging points for those with electric vehicles at each of the homes and we take pride in providing green open spaces for both residents and the local community to enjoy. “We can see from our existing developments, across the North West in particular, that demand for new homes is increasing and following these successes, we’re driven to remain active across the region and are seeking new land opportunities for residential led developments.”
Landlords have many responsibilities when caring for rental properties. Some responsibility falls on the tenants, but it is ultimately up to you to provide the basic maintenance necessities for them. What a lot of landlords neglect is that this refers to things outside the property as well as things inside it. You may have no problems scheduling regular boiler checks for your properties, but have you thought about garden maintenance? If your rental property is occupied by one tenant, they should handle the maintenance of the outdoor space. This relates to instances where you rent out a typical family home, for example. However, if you own a block of flats or there are shared outdoor spaces between multiple tenants, the onus is on you to provide maintenance. It’s not a luxury that you add on to make it seem like you’re a good landlord – garden maintenance should be essential, and here’s why… Attract more tenants Do you have vacant properties that need filling? It’ll be hard to attract tenants if the garden and outdoor spaces are a complete mess. Regular garden maintenance makes your property more desirable and marketable, encouraging more people to enquire about it. If you’re been struggling to generate interest around your rental property, now’s the time to get all your outdoor power equipment parts together and tend to the garden. Once everything is neat and tidy, take new property photos and see the instant impact this has on inquiries. Retain tenants for longer People won’t want to live in a rental property when a shared garden is completely unkempt. It’s not just the garden that’s the issue, it’s any greenery and trees that exist on the property as well. If everything becomes overgrown and unsightly, people want to leave. It annoys them to come home to a property where the lawn is a foot high and all the bushes are overgrown. From their perspective, it makes them wonder what their rent is going towards. Sure, it goes towards the property, but they aren’t getting any extra help from the landlord, so why bother staying? Regular garden maintenance puts an end to these thoughts and encourages people to stay for longer, maximizing your income. Prevent accidents Lastly, garden maintenance reduces the risk of accidents and injuries happening on your property. An overgrown tree with low-hanging branches can very easily cause a personal injury. Long grass or weeks can be considered trip hazards – as can lots of wet fallen leaves in the rainy months. If you want to prevent accidents on your property, you must maintain a neat garden and the surrounding outdoor space. At first glance, something like garden maintenance seems like a trivial thing. By all means, you should not feel responsible for keeping a garden tidy if you rent out a home with just one family or tenant living there. This is more aimed at landlords that own an apartment building or any other property with a garden shared by tenants. Don’t neglect regular maintenance as it can be highly beneficial to keep things in order.
Many of us understand how much it costs to build a property. But when it comes to the purchasing costs, we don’t always know a huge amount. That said, we should. That’s because how much a building costs to purchase matters a lot to clients. They want to know that they are getting a good return on their investment. So what purchase costs do we need to take into account following the construction of a building. Perhaps the biggest issue is the cost of capital for the downpayment – usually around 20 percent for most commercial projects. Those buying commercial buildings will need to consider the opportunity cost of putting this money into commercial real estate equity versus investing it elsewhere, such as the stock market. Other cost considerations include valuation fees and loan agreement legal fees. As the following infographic shows, these can be up to 1 percent of the purchase price of the construction. There are many other costs too, such as fire insurance, loan instalments, interest and utility deposits for electricity and water. It’s also worth noting that commercial rates for utilities are often considerably higher than they are for residential properties. So when clients consider the levelised cost of purchasing a new construction, they will take this into account as well. If all this sounds a little complicated, don’t worry. The following infographic breaks it down. It shows the likely costs of purchasing a property and how much you’re likely to spend in a country like Malaysia. By PropertyGuru Group