National housebuilder Keepmoat Homes has completed the purchase of a site on School Street, Thurnscoe, which will be developed in partnership with Homes England and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. The site, situated within the Dearne Valley on the eastern outskirts of Barnsley, was previously owned by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council,
Steel-frame specialists Wareing Buildings has completed the design and build of a major commercial development for Henco International. The site at Cropper Close on Whitehills Business Park in Blackpool consists of two units totalling 20,000 sq ft, which offer high-quality storage and distribution space for potential occupiers. The first unit,
This month we ask Steve Blacker at award-winning property developers Kebbell to tell us a little more about a day in the life of a site manager. What made you first want to become a site manager? I was actually a carpenter but I was really intrigued about the running
Leading wet civil engineering specialists, Land & Water, has been appointed by Merton Council to build a new road bridge over the River Wandle in Mitcham. The new Bishopsford Bridge will replace the previous structure, which had to be demolished for safety reasons after partially collapsing following heavy rainfall in
Charitable housing association, Yorkshire Housing, has acquired an 18-acre development site on Boroughbridge Road in Knaresborough, where it now plans to build 120 homes that will be available through a wide range of ownership options. Dacre, Son & Hartley’s specialist agricultural and development division has managed the land, which forms
Food production could be in full swing by the end of the year at a giant new Derbyshire industrial site. That’s if a planning application submitted by SmartParc gets the go-ahead in the near future. The company has applied to create a 155-acre, hi-tech food manufacturing campus on the former
STANLEY Security, one of the UK’s leading security providers, has published its annual report looking at security industry trends, challenges and opportunities to look out for in the coming year. The 2021 Industry Trends Report is based on a survey of business decision makers to learn more about organisations’ perceptions
Midlands based company Biosite is working with HS2 developing the new initiative to boost health and safety and competency insight across the supply chain HS2 and its contractors have taken a major step in improving health and safety assurance across sites between London and the West Midlands by introducing a
A digital property management platform which promises to simplify property management transactions for buy-to-let landlords, tenants and trades will soon launch an equity campaign on Crowdcube, the leading crowdfunding platform in the UK. Clooper has been developed to bring property transactions into the 21st century and offers a multi-faceted platform
A property maintenance company is celebrating the academic success of its only female service manager. Stacey Bowling, who works at Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of one of the UK’s largest social landlords, Platform Housing Group – has recently passed an HNC in Construction with flying colours. Stacey – who manages the organisation’s unoccupied properties in both Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, began her
National housebuilder Keepmoat Homes has completed the purchase of a site on School Street, Thurnscoe, which will be developed in partnership with Homes England and Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. The site, situated within the Dearne Valley on the eastern outskirts of Barnsley, was previously owned by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council, and will see 360 brand new homes created in the area. The development will comprise of two-, three- and four-bedroom homes with off-street parking and private gardens, of which 5% will be affordable housing. The £52m development represents the third phase of housing on the wider site and highlights Keepmoat’s commitment to working with Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council to transform the area through the creation of high-quality, modern homes, public open spaces and a children’s play area. As part of their ongoing commitment to the local community, Keepmoat Homes has pledged to support local people and help generate opportunities in training and employment through the use of sub-contractors, work placements and educational visits to the site, which will be delivered throughout the lifetime of the project. Dan Crew, Regional Managing Director at Keepmoat Homes, said: “We’re delighted to be continuing to work in partnership with Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Homes England to deliver our third phase in Thurnscoe. “As a local developer, with our Head Office in Yorkshire, this acquisition is a positive step for our ambitious growth plans in South Yorkshire and following the success of previous developments in the area, it’s a fantastic opportunity to strengthen our presence in the town and cement our relationship with the Council. “The new homes are designed for both first time buyers and those looking to up-size, as well as providing much needed provision of more affordable homes. We are driven to make a big impact to the local area and aim to create a new community with open spaces and park facilities for everyone to enjoy.” The first homes will become available to purchase at the start of 2021 and the development will take around nine years to complete.
Steel-frame specialists Wareing Buildings has completed the design and build of a major commercial development for Henco International. The site at Cropper Close on Whitehills Business Park in Blackpool consists of two units totalling 20,000 sq ft, which offer high-quality storage and distribution space for potential occupiers. The first unit, comprising 8,000 sq ft with an additional 2,000 sq ft of mezzanine, ‘grade A’ air-conditioned office space, has been let to gift and toy designers/distributors Floss & Rock who will take occupancy of the unit later this year. The remaining unit spans 12,000 sq ft, also offering the option of additional mezzanine offices, and has the potential to be split into two separate units covering approximately 5,000 sq ft and 7,000 sq ft. Both units at 7.5m to eaves benefit from excellent loading facilities with a large yard, including 25m turning circle and loading doors. Wareing Buildings’ role in the development included site preparation and clearance, implementing concrete foundations and strip footings, the fabrication and erection of the steel frame structure and construction of external cavity brick walls. Wareing Buildings also added a concrete floor slab with power float finish, roof and wall cladding and composite sheeting and aluminium-framed glazing. It is the latest in a series of projects that Wareing Buildings, based in Preston, has completed on behalf of commercial development and investment company Henco, which has been operating on the Fylde coast for more than 35 years. Henco owns several developments on Whitehills Business Park, a number of which were built by Wareing Buildings. The contractor was appointed to deliver six units at Apollo Court in 2013 totalling 12,000 sq ft, a four-unit development on Brooklands Way spanning 5,500 sq ft, which completed in 2017 as well as nine units at Juniper Court in 2018 totalling 13,000 sq ft. Whitehills Business Park provides easy access to the M55 which joins the M6 motorway, allowing ease of commuting throughout the North West and beyond. Commuting options are also available to the surrounding towns of Blackpool, St Annes and Lytham. Simon Tickle, estimator at Wareing Buildings, said: “Henco holds an extensive amount of space at Whitehills Business Park because it identified that the area offered fantastic commercial opportunities for businesses wanting to make Blackpool and the Fylde their home. “Since the first spade was put into the ground on the Apollo Court development in 2013, we have worked in partnership to develop spaces that will serve to drive forward the commercial sector in the region and make the area a thriving business hub. “This latest project once again offers something new to occupants, and we look forward to seeing which other exciting businesses take advantage of these high-quality facilities.” Chris Hibbert, Managing Director at Henco International said: “Whitehills Business Park offers a great opportunity for businesses operating on the Fylde Coast with new, high-quality buildings and a central location with easy access, just a stone’s throw from the regions motorway network.” “The Park continues to grow in occupier numbers, with approximately 750,000 sq ft of commercial premises now built, accommodating a diverse range of businesses. With over 2,000 new homes scheduled for development within a 2-mile radius and funding for the long-awaited M55 link road directly connecting Whitehills at Junction 4 to Lytham St Annes now secured, Whitehills provides a fantastic business location for the area.”
This month we ask Steve Blacker at award-winning property developers Kebbell to tell us a little more about a day in the life of a site manager. What made you first want to become a site manager? I was actually a carpenter but I was really intrigued about the running of a site and how it all came together so I progressed to an assistant site manager position and have been a site manager now for 20 years. What skills do you need to be a site manager? A trade background gives you a head start. You need to be knowledgeable about the build process and have some IT skills, to understand what works commercially, be good at problem solving and have a good eye for detail. Strong communication skills, being a team player and a people person are really important. What are your main responsibilities? I am responsible for the day-to-day running of a particular construction project being developed by Kebbell. I have one eye on the timescales and another on the budget of a project, and I manage any delays or problems encountered and deal with all the sub-contractors. I like to get the best out of the people on site and our designs. Encouragement and quality are key. I keep a close eye on snagging and do daily inspections. Tell me about your typical day? Really every day is different depending on things like deliveries, weather, snagging, who is on site, the stage of the development and so on. There is a lot of travel involved because I live in Welwyn Garden City and drive every day, and occasionally at the weekends, to whichever site I am working from. I get to site usually about 07:20 and spend the first part of the morning checking all of the tradespeople are okay and are aware of what the priorities of the day are. I order materials, I might deal with local residents or councillors or health and safety officers. Building inspectors do frequent visits at key stages. At about 16:45 I finish on site having made sure everything is locked up and is secure and I then head home and start looking forward to the weekend. I enjoy a clay-pigeon shoot! What are the best and hardest things about the job? The best thing is definitely taking a development from muddy field to building amazing new homes and then seeing buyers and their families move in. I enjoy seeing it all the way through. The hardest thing is when unexpected delays occur. Sometimes contractors or suppliers can’t meet deadlines which means schedules get pushed out which can be frustrating. Kebbell have an exceptionally high requirement level for quality and sometimes tricky conversations have to be had with tradespeople. What have you been working on lately? I have worked at Kebbell for five years, most recently on a new development of 8, two bedroom apartments called Misbourne House in Gerrards Cross which is set to complete in early 2021. One of the main issues I had to deal with on this project was getting hold of the materials we needed during both national lockdowns. I am shortly moving to a new site at Iver which will be a bigger build as a collection of 39, two and three bedroom luxurious apartments in three blocks with basement parking. The bigger project means more tradespeople on site. I like the variety but don’t really have a favourite project although I enjoy high end developments because of the even greater attention to detail needed. What has been your proudest moment? I was chosen for an NHBC Pride in the Job Quality Award in 2019 for the work I did as Site Manager at our Aubury Place development in London. We got top marks from an inspector and then I was chosen as award winner by a director of NHBC. We went to the awards dinner in Brighton and it was one of my proudest moments. How long do you stay on a project at any one time? It really depends on the size and build of the project. For example, I spent three years working on Aubury Place but just one year at Misbourne House. How has Covid-19 affected your job? It has mostly affected our suppliers and several times we have been close to the wire like nearly running out of roofing materials! As Misbourne House is made up of eight apartments social distancing was easily achieved by the tradespeople working separately in each apartment. What do you think makes Kebbell different from other housebuilders? Everyone at Kebbell is a team player and we always strive to deliver the best homes possible. We are always looking for any opportunities to enhance a house. For example, if it is possible to create a little more storage or change the position of a TV point, to maximise the flexibility of a room, we will take the time and effort to do that. It is often me who sees these opportunities whilst we are building so I will consult with Nick Kebbell, our Managing Director, and the rest of the team and together we perfect the change. We always think about how people will actually live in our homes and constantly question “would I be happy with that in my house?” If the answer is no then we make any changes necessary to turn it into a yes! What do you think makes a house a home? Family is what makes a house a home. To find out more visit https://kebbell.co.uk
Leading wet civil engineering specialists, Land & Water, has been appointed by Merton Council to build a new road bridge over the River Wandle in Mitcham. The new Bishopsford Bridge will replace the previous structure, which had to be demolished for safety reasons after partially collapsing following heavy rainfall in June 2019. Land & Water was contracted by Merton Council to carry out the demolition work last spring. Replacing the bridge is a particularly complex task because it influences river flow and has a range of utilities running through its structure. During the project, a temporary cofferdam to the north and south side of the bridge will be installed, while work takes place underwater. The new river crossing, along the A217, will be wider than the previous bridge, to include a northbound segregated cycle lane and a wider shared southbound pavement and cycle space. The new design has a single span, rather than three arches like the old bridge. Land & Water’s ongoing environmental commitment has been reflected in its choice of specialist plant, which minimises noise. The river banks border Watermeads Nature reserve and the plans will help promote biodiversity in the river and on its banks. Construction Director at Land & Water, Kevin Kirkland said: “We are looking forward to returning to Mitcham to build a new bridge at this key river crossing. “It is a particularly challenging project because the bridge influences river flow and has a range of utilities running through its structure. We will be working closely with Merton Council to safely build a new bridge to replace the 200-year-old previous structure. The new bridge is designed both to meet the demands of today’s traffic and to encourage people to make more journeys by bike or on foot. “Land and Water is committed to improving the environment around its engineering works.”
Charitable housing association, Yorkshire Housing, has acquired an 18-acre development site on Boroughbridge Road in Knaresborough, where it now plans to build 120 homes that will be available through a wide range of ownership options. Dacre, Son & Hartley’s specialist agricultural and development division has managed the land, which forms part of the former Slingsby Estate, in the village of Scriven for more than 30 years and the company negotiated the sale together with a national development promotion company. Detailed planning for the development was approved in August 2020. Yorkshire Housing plans to start work on the two, three and four bedroom homes in January 2021 with the first homes ready to move into by January 2022. The housing association currently owns and manages nearly 20,000 homes throughout Yorkshire. Ian Cox, a director from Dacre, Son & Hartley, who heads up the firm’s agricultural and development team, said: “This is a prime, oven-ready development site that sits just over a mile from Knaresborough town centre, so it attracted interest from a wide range of housebuilders and developers. “Agreeing this sale with Yorkshire Housing will deliver a good mix of high-quality homes that will appeal to all demographics, including many who would otherwise find themselves priced out of the market in this part of North Yorkshire.” Andy Gamble, Director of Development at Yorkshire Housing said: “We are delighted to have completed the purchase of this site and are looking forward to starting our latest development. The 120 new homes will be mixed tenure and will provide homes for shared ownership, affordable rent, rent to buy and market sale. “We want to continue creating new communities that bring more, much needed homes to Yorkshire where our customers are proud to live and call home. The creation of 120 new homes in Knaresborough is another step towards us delivering on our strategic priority of delivering 8,000 new homes by 2030.”
Food production could be in full swing by the end of the year at a giant new Derbyshire industrial site. That’s if a planning application submitted by SmartParc gets the go-ahead in the near future. The company has applied to create a 155-acre, hi-tech food manufacturing campus on the former Celanese site at Spondon. It will provide state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities, start-up incubation units and a potential location for a food manufacturing technology centre of excellence. The idea is to combine purpose-built food production units and a central distribution facility bringing food producers together on one campus. In the process, it is expected to create up to 5,000 direct jobs. The company’s ambition is to provide a sustainable blueprint for the industry. This will harness the latest developments such as vertical farming and smart technology to improve production and energy efficiency, reducing costs and increasing competitive advantage for the site’s tenants. Vertical farming is a new development and is where crops are grown indoors in stacked layers, mitigating the vagaries of the weather and eliminating the need for pesticides. Jackie Wild, SmartParc chief executive, said: “We are delighted to take another step forward in our plans to put Derby at the heart of the UK’s future in sustainable, efficient food manufacturing. “We are liaising closely with local residents and stakeholders to ensure their views are incorporated in our plans to regenerate the site and exploring SME business and university partnerships to bring our collaborative next-generation sustainable food ecosystem to life. We are proud to be partnering with D2N2 and the city council to re-energise the local region.” Plans for the £300 million SmartParc project were first unveiled last August. Money towards the project has come from the Government’s Getting Building Fund via D2N2 and there is £12 million to help launch the scheme. It is hoped that bringing food producers together will reduce food waste, lower carbon output and increase UK food security. The campus would include a shared energy plant, designed to reduce energy consumption by 30%, and would harness the latest technology to improve production and efficiency, lowering costs by 20%. Councillor Chris Poulter, leader of Derby City Council said: “We are hugely excited to see the SmartParc scheme progressing so quickly and positively. The project fits perfectly with Derby’s future ambitions. “Its focus on innovation and lowering carbon outputs ticks key boxes in our economic recovery strategy. If planning is approved, it would greatly assist our efforts to diversify the city economy. And, of course, the project would create thousands of new jobs and rejuvenate a previously blighted but strategically important site.”
STANLEY Security, one of the UK’s leading security providers, has published its annual report looking at security industry trends, challenges and opportunities to look out for in the coming year. The 2021 Industry Trends Report is based on a survey of business decision makers to learn more about organisations’ perceptions about, interest in and adoption of security technology. This years’ survey included 2,404 respondents across Benelux, France, the Nordics, United Kingdom and United States. Respondents represented organisations of all sizes. Collating and analysing the data from the survey, STANLEY Security has identified several trends that it considers will be increasingly important factors in organisations’ security considerations in 2021. Top of this list is the use of security to mitigate health & safety risks, which is a direct response to the global pandemic. It has resulted in a fundamental shift in the way organisations leverage security solutions to help them ensure the health of their people and visitors. From health questionnaires and temperature screening to contact tracing and controlling people flow, security solutions are now serving as organisations’ first line of defence against health and safety risks. Although these have been implemented in direct response to COVID-19 workplace safety, it will no doubt have a lasting impact on the way organisations view and use security for the foreseeable future. The pandemic has also led many organisations to deploy threshold management solutions – such as health questionnaires, temperature and face mask screening systems and wellness-based credential activation – that automate processes, enforce policies and integrate with other security and business systems. The balance of the focus has moved from visitor management to managing any individual crossing an organisation’s threshold, but without significantly impacting throughput and operations. Health and safety protocols – and the new social distancing norm – has accelerated a long overdue transition to touchless and mobile-first security solutions which will no doubt gain in popularity even more in 2021. These include touchless doors, mobile credentials or NFC-powered access control, automated screening systems and more. The rise of cloud solutions and the XaaS delivery model is a clear trend that has emerged, as more organisations have come to realise that cloud solutions are a lot more resilient than an on-premises service, leading to the accelerated adoption of both cloud-hosted solutions as well as remote services. This is creating more demand for the as-a-service (XaaS) delivery model, which offers cost predictability – particularly important for small to medium-sized businesses. Controlling costs is especially critical as businesses recover from the impact of COVID-19. Further trends highlighted in the report include the increased demand for outsourcing of security management; leveraging security data to help improve processes, increase efficiencies and make more informed business decisions; and an increased demand for flexible, scalable and integrated solutions that enable organisations to quickly adapt to changes in circumstance. Commenting on the release of the report and its contents, Dan Hindley, STANLEY Security UK Commercial Director, said: “Security solutions are more critical than ever to a business’ operations. As organisations continue to face an unpredictable future, we’ll see an increased demand for systems that can help them mitigate risks and future-proof their operations. Additionally, there is a pressing need to manage these systems remotely so that they can have 24-hour coverage – increasing the need for services, such as remote guarding and remote video verification to take over the duties of physical security guards.” To download the STANLEY Security 2021 Industry Trends Report, please visit www.stanleysecurity.co.uk/home/2021-industry-trends
Midlands based company Biosite is working with HS2 developing the new initiative to boost health and safety and competency insight across the supply chain HS2 and its contractors have taken a major step in improving health and safety assurance across sites between London and the West Midlands by introducing a new health and safety passport system. The new digital ‘Health and Safety Passport System’ (HSPS) will be used initially by all of HS2’s Main Works Civils Contractors to share vital health and safety information across contractors. The contract to develop and deliver the new system has been awarded to Solihull based company, Biosite Systems Ltd – the UK market leader in workforce management systems for construction.. HS2 contractors, and their staff, may be working across multiple sites and multiple contracts on the new high speed rail route and the new digital passport system will establish a central database of critical workforce information across the HS2 supply chain. The collection and synchronisation of data from local level to project wide will help to ensure consistency of standards and performance. As well as ensuring only operatives with the correct credentials and skills are permitted access to site, this approach will allow HS2 to track workforce data around areas such as competency mapping, health and safety assessments and fatigue management across the whole project. Where supplier companies and operatives are working across multiple locations, the new system will flag fatigue risks across the project. The software will also de-duplicate worker profiles to establish a single record for each operative, including as they potentially move between contractors working on the project. The introduction of the HSPS is part of HS2’s commitment to become the UK’s safest ever major project, putting safety at the heart of everything on the project. This includes ensuring the safety and welfare of everyone working on the project, right through to protecting the health and safety of the communities where HS2 is being constructed and will operate. The workforce management software solution developed by Biosite will link biometric data directly to operative information and site access for real-time visibility and traceability. Operatives will be required to complete a central online pre-induction before undertaking a local site induction and provide biometric information to generate their global identification or digital ‘passport’. It will be the first time that workforce data will be available to view across a major project via a consolidated platform. The data collated can also be anonymised and provide a learning legacy for future major projects. Emma Head, HS2’s Safety and Assurance Director said: “Health and Safety is at the heart of everything we do as we build Britain’s new high speed railway. We aim to lead by innovation at HS2 and the new Health and Safety Passport System is a pioneering way for us to further our best practice approach to workforce health and safety management. We are pleased to be working with Biosite to deliver the initiative, bringing workforce management for complex projects such as HS2 to the next level.” The a project team consisting of HS2 Ltd, Biosite and HS2’s contractors is now working together to implement the system across HS2 contracts. Li Wang, Managing Director at Biosite Systems Ltd, comments: “We were able to utilise our experience working across HS2 projects to-date to recommend a software solution that will bring together silos of data from JV projects in a central, cloud-based portal through a combination of online induction, biometric data capture through various access control points at site level, and business intelligence software. The solution will focus on ensuring data integrity and synchronicity at every point, to ensure the team at HS2 have access to accurate data that will deliver valuable insight and help support project safety, efficiency and compliance.” The HS2 HSPS initiative is scheduled to go live in spring 2021 with HS2’s Main Works Civils Contractors working on Phase One. It will then be rolled out across the project including to the Station Construction Partner Contractors.
A digital property management platform which promises to simplify property management transactions for buy-to-let landlords, tenants and trades will soon launch an equity campaign on Crowdcube, the leading crowdfunding platform in the UK. Clooper has been developed to bring property transactions into the 21st century and offers a multi-faceted platform connecting landlords, tenants, trades and homeowners to facilitate transactions. The platform will bring benefits to tradespeople who will be able to use the app to connect with landlords and tenants and view and quote for upcoming maintenance and building projects, as well as manage their appointments. The app will streamline all projects, creating jobs alerts and even preparing proposals. Payment requests will also be sent via the app and landlords then also pay via the app. Landlords will be able to share tradespeoples’ details with tenants who can rate their work once it’s complete. Speaking about the upcoming Crowdcube funding launch, founder of Clooper, Toks Adebiyi said, “We are really excited to be bringing Clooper to market. We look to create customer value in everything that we do and we know that the platform will make a huge difference and improve the experience of landlords and tenants whilst bringing fantastic opportunities for tradespeople. It’s a win win all round.” The platform, Clooper, has already received a significant investment from leading property entrepreneur, Paul Rothwell of Empire Property. Rothwell has over a decade of experience in the build to let market and knowledge of the financial investment having raised over £35m through mini bonds. To register your interest on getting exclusive first access to the Clooper Crowdcube funding campaign, please sign up here. Investments of this nature carry risks to your capital. Please Invest Aware.
A property maintenance company is celebrating the academic success of its only female service manager. Stacey Bowling, who works at Platform Property Care – a subsidiary of one of the UK’s largest social landlords, Platform Housing Group – has recently passed an HNC in Construction with flying colours. Stacey – who manages the organisation’s unoccupied properties in both Lincolnshire and Leicestershire, began her career in social housing 12 years ago at the age of 17. She explained: “Working in social housing has been the best career decision I could have made. To begin with the jobs I worked in provided back office support within Repairs and Maintenance; I was keen to develop my skills however and ultimately move into a more technical role. As I had no specialist trade experience or qualifications I thought my options would be extremely limited; I couldn’t have been further from the truth!” All employees at Platform Property Care receive a career development plan with the chance to gain formal qualifications. Stacey has been supported in her studies – including an NVQ Level 3 in Management, a BTEC Level 3 in Workforce Development and a Level 2 Certificate in Contracts Law – culminating in a BTEC Level 4 Higher National Certificate in Construction and the Built Environment, giving her an indepth knowledge of subjects including construction technology and surveying. Stacey is now studying for an NVQ Level 4 in Construction Site Supervision. Malcolm Kaszics, Assistant Director of Property Management and Growth at Platform Property Care said : “We are so proud of Stacey; her success is testimony to her hard work and dedication. Interestingly, women make up a mere 11 per cent of the construction workforce in the UK and just 1 per cent of workers on site; indeed, the proportion of those with specialist skills such as roofers, bricklayers and glaziers are so low they are practically unmeasurable. However, here at Platform Property Care we strongly feel that the role of women in construction is critical for equality, fairness, parity and impartially within the construction sector. Congratulations to Stacey and we look forward to her continuing career success.” Stacey concluded : “I am proud to work for Platform Property Care and hope my contribution will help us to achieve our aims as a social housing provider. I have never felt that my gender or age has held me back and I am passionate about women developing careers in what are seen as traditional male roles. My aim is to continue to learn and improve every day and be part of something that really does change lives.” Platform Property Care continues to grow and has ambitious plans to deliver the majority of its maintenance and compliance activities to all its customers and joint venture partners. For further information please contact Stacey Bowling, Service Manager, Platform Property Care on 0121 788 7804 or email her at stacey.bowling@platformhg.com.