Construction work has officially started on Kajima Properties’ major new 84,000 sq ft office and retail development at 77 Coleman Street, London, EC2. The development was designed in collaboration with Buckley Gray Yeoman architects and it will provide a high quality office space in the heart of London, directly overlooking
In 2018, the path towards buying a house looks likely to be strewn with obstacles. Interest rates could rise further in the wake of the base-rate increase from 0.25% to 0.5% The Guardian reports, while Brexit could also weigh down on the market – albeit in ways that currently cannot
Latest figures released by the National Custom & Self Build Association reveal that 33,000 people have already signed up to the Right to Build register since October 2017, which means that at least half of the demand for serviced plots will have to be authorised by October 2019. To support
Salix Homes, the multiple award winning social housing provider has been supporting the work to clear nearly 5 tonnes of rubbish from the streets of Salford. The housing association has been working to support community clean-ups on the Whit Lane Estate in Charlestown. There has also been clear up projects
Housing Association, Salix Homes has been joined by their partner contractors in the launch of a new recruitment drive which is taking place. Salix and team are looking to encourage more women to consider having a career in the construction industry. Salix Homes owns over 8,300 properties across Salford and
The Considerate Constructors Scheme, otherwise known as CCS, has awarded the construction and engineering group Kier with their first Utra site award. This accolade has been given to the construction group for their project in Wales. The Kier Sports Park 2 development is located on Treforest Industrial Estate and has
RCM, the complete through wall solutions provider for the UK construction industry has announced that they have formed a new charity partnership with the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. The DougieMac hospice looks after adult patients with a palliative or end of life diagnosis. The hospice serves people across North Staffordshire and
Story Homes, the award winning house building company has announced that they are focused on improving the experience of their customers. The company has made a move towards these improvements with the appointment of a Head of Customer Experience and Communications and a Quality Assurance Project Manager. Story Homes is
The RSPB has joined forces with Barratt Homes and Manthorpe Building Products to develop a brick that doubles as a nesting box for swifts. The largest nature conservation charity in the UK says that the number of swifts has nearly halved in the last 20 years and that new nesting
Skanska is planning to introduce robotic technology for the next phase of construction of the Battersea Power Station development. Having received a £700,000 grant from Innovate UK last summer to develop the robots, the contractor’s head of innovation, Sam Stacey, says that the technology will be ready to use on
Construction work has officially started on Kajima Properties’ major new 84,000 sq ft office and retail development at 77 Coleman Street, London, EC2. The development was designed in collaboration with Buckley Gray Yeoman architects and it will provide a high quality office space in the heart of London, directly overlooking Coleman Street Gardens and less than a minute’s walk from the new Elizabeth Line station at Moorgate. “77 Coleman Street is well placed to capitalise on the growing demand for multi-functional accommodation in well-connected London locations. Whilst 77 is located in the very heart of the City, and will appeal to traditional Square Mile occupiers, we see it as a ‘London’ building that will attract design-conscious occupiers from across the wider city seeking amenity, flexibility and accessibility. 77 Coleman Street is a genuinely rare occupier opportunity, creating both an outstanding commercial space and an attractive new retail and social destination, right in the middle of London,” said John Harcourt, Head of Kajima Properties. The offices will spread across the ground and seven upper floors, while a 13,000 sq ft retail and leisure space will be accessible off Moorgate. The offices will be accessed through a generous new entrance at 77 Coleman Street, including an integrated café and shared workspace. The development will also offer terraces on the upper floors, with impressive city views over the public realm and gardens, as well as 146 cycle spaces. A new link connecting Coleman Street with Moorgate will also be created by extending Nun Court to give people a quick and bright route. “We are excited to be involved in this prestigious City project and looks forward to working with Kajima Properties to deliver a high end, ’wow factor’ building which not only complements the surrounding area, but looks to the future in terms of functionality, quality and style,” said Stuart Deverill, Managing Director at VolkerFitzpatrick, the General Contractor appointed for the development. The scheme is set to be finalised by the end of 2019.
In 2018, the path towards buying a house looks likely to be strewn with obstacles. Interest rates could rise further in the wake of the base-rate increase from 0.25% to 0.5% The Guardian reports, while Brexit could also weigh down on the market – albeit in ways that currently cannot be easily foreseen. These twin spectres could necessitate homebuyers becoming more particular regarding where in the country they buy; the following areas look set to be relatively promising property hotspots in 2018. Croydon, London The recent arrival of the Boxpark retail centre in Croydon has helped this London borough to enjoy something of a renaissance in reputation. Another shopping centre, Westfield, is also on the way and should further help nudge up property prices in the area. In an Express article, Tim Mycock, Development Director at Reditum Capital, observes that those prices are currently roughly £185,000 beneath the London average. This helps to explain why you can expect great value for money in Croydon, despite a 20% rise in its property prices in 2016. Salford, Greater Manchester Media giants the BBC and ITV have recently chosen the Greater Manchester city of Salford as an office base. Furthermore, largely due to the £1 billion investment recently poured into Salford’s MediaCityUK development, Manchester has cemented its place among the UK’s leading tech hubs. Therefore, Salford is an ideal place to move to should you be eyeing a creative or digital career; Amion forecasts that Greater Manchester’s workers in these sectors will number 27% more by 2034. Liverpool, Merseyside With much housing currently being regenerated in Liverpool, you shouldn’t be surprised if the Merseyside city’s property prices soon rise. In fact, those in the L1 postcode area recently have – by a staggering 41.2%. Hence, you might want to buy a Liverpool home sooner rather than later. The city is also an ideal place to invest in student property – as, while house prices in Liverpool are low, the large number of students has helped make rental values – and, thus, rental yields – high. Luton, Bedfordshire Like Croydon, the Bedfordshire town of Luton warrants shaking off its negative image from the past. These days, Luton could be deemed unjustly overlooked; it is well-supplied with good schools. That should hearten parents; several secondary schools locally have attracted “good” ratings from Ofsted. Property here is varied, too. Whether you want a new-build home, Thirties semi or something in-between, you’re covered. However, the town’s average house price remains a low £252,896. Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire Though less well-known than St Albans in the same county, Berkhamsted offers more for the money you would pay. Local attractions include the National Trust-run Ashridge Estate and twice-weekly market. Jamie Dyson of estate agents Brown & Merry has praised Berkhamsted to the London Evening Standard, calling the area “the perfect commuter town”. Homes here are varied, and improving them doesn’t have to be hard. Despite the town’s country location, a local resident can still easily receive a folding door to be fitted by Bifold Shop.
Latest figures released by the National Custom & Self Build Association reveal that 33,000 people have already signed up to the Right to Build register since October 2017, which means that at least half of the demand for serviced plots will have to be authorised by October 2019. To support more people in their desire to build homes in the region and inspire remodelling projects, The National Homebuilding & Renovating Show is returning to the NEC, Birmingham from 22-25 March 2018. Over four packed days, visitors will benefit from more than 500 exhibitors and 16 free daily seminars and masterclasses in the extended venue. The event is a best-in-class marketplace for all the latest products and services provided by specialist companies in industries ranging from kitchens; bathrooms; doors and windows; heating; energy efficiency; architecture; design; financial services; planning permission and much more. Aside from providing advice and guidance, real case studies will be at the show to discuss the dilemmas they faced during their self-build/renovation experience, helping visitors with similar problems. On site, visitors will be able to book bespoke consultations with celebrity experts who present their favourite TV property programmes. Charlie Luxton, sustainable architectural designer and presenter of Channel 4’s ‘Best Laid Plans’, will be on-hand to discuss homes of the future, new architectural ideas and eco living. Julia Kendell, interior design expert for BBC’s ‘DIY SOS The Build’ and ITV’s ’60 Minute Makeover’, will also be there to meet with visitors and talk about trendy interior adaptions and offer inspiration to anyone who wants to revamp their home. The Advice Centre, a drop-in hub for one-on-one impartial guidance, is open to people who are interested in running ideas past property specialists with years of experience in their field. This show area will see the return of the Ask the Builder zone, where visitors will be given tips on locating approved construction workers from members of the Federation of Master Builders. Visitors who are interested in free one-on-one appointments with chartered specialists from RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) will want to stop by the Ask the Architect area, which will cover a wide array of topics such as extensions, new builds, internal alterations and much more. For objective tailored advice, the Ask the Expert zone will provide 15-minute consultations via interactive sessions with some of the UK’s leading property specialists. Visitors will be able to talk through their plans with Michael Holmes (director of content and product development for Homebuilding & Renovating magazine); Jason Orme (editorial director of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine; Mariana Pedroso (interior designer and architect); Hugo Tugman (chair and founder of Architect Your Home); Tim Pullen (eco-expert of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine); Bob Branscombe (building expert of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine); Allan Corfield (self-build expert of Homebuilding & Renovating magazine) and Sally Tagg (an expert on planning permission). Across the four days, Oakwrights Design Consultation and The Potton Lounge will be offering free consultations with members of their design teams. They will help visitors envisage, create and deliver their own tailored new home from scratch. Attendees who are interested in these consultations can pre-book an appointment on the event’s website. The show app is also available for download on Android and iPhone. The app will facilitate consumers visiting the venue, having the option of scheduling and sending alerts for key seminars and masterclasses, browsing through the list of specialists available at the Advice Centre, and accessing the latest offers and travel information. Standard tickets are £12 in advance or £18 on the door (children under 16 go free). For further information visit www.homebuildingshow.co.uk/national or call the ticket hotline on 0844 854 0503 (calls cost 7p per minute plus network extras).
Salix Homes, the multiple award winning social housing provider has been supporting the work to clear nearly 5 tonnes of rubbish from the streets of Salford. The housing association has been working to support community clean-ups on the Whit Lane Estate in Charlestown. There has also been clear up projects held around Duchy Road, with residents working together in these areas in order to clear the neighbourhoods of old furniture, dumped rubbish and other fly-tipped waste. Helping in this tremendous clean-up effort, more than 20 local children worked to help, getting involved in the clearing of two tonnes of waste from the area. The neighbourhood manager for Duchy, Kersal and Langworthy from Salix Homes, Mick Walsh has said that it is great to see so many children getting involved in the clean-up of their community. The dedication that has been shown by children and adults alike in this clean-up session has showed just how important it is to maintain a clean community environment, and how this action can bring a community closer together. The children that got involved in this project were rewarded for all of their hard work and enthusiasm with some fruit bags that have been donated by McDonalds. In Charlestown, the residents and staff from Salix Homes worked together in order to clear away two and a half tonnes of rubbish, leaves and other debris from the Whit Lane estate area. It has been great to see how many people came out to tidy up their community, and make it a better place to live. Salix Homes has issued a thanks to everyone who came out to lend a hand at both sites. The valuable time that has been given to help support the community will have environmental benefits as well as keeping community relations strong and create more of a sense of belonging in the residents.
Housing Association, Salix Homes has been joined by their partner contractors in the launch of a new recruitment drive which is taking place. Salix and team are looking to encourage more women to consider having a career in the construction industry. Salix Homes owns over 8,300 properties across Salford and has announced that they are inviting applications from both male and female candidates for their latest intake of apprentices. The applicants will, if successful, have the opportunity to get involved with their multi-million pound investment programme. The Housing Association has already committed to creating two new apprenticeship places for every £1 million that has been invested. The apprenticeships will be perfect opportunities for local people to begin a career in this industry. The commitment has been made by Salix as part of their Earn as you Learn initiative. Salix are proud to be working alongside their partner contractors in order to offer a range of training and employment opportunities for local people. Research has shown that only 14% of the workforce in the construction industry is female. Salix Homes believes that this needs to be changed and that women should be encouraged to pursue a career in the construction industry. The Earn as you Learn initiative offers an amazing opportunity for young people, that teaches them valuable skills, experience and qualifications while earning a wage. On offer is either two or three year apprenticeships in offered by the procurement consortium Procure Plus. Available is a range of principal trades such as plastering, gas engineering and site logistics. Apprentices on these courses will be working towards their NVQ Level 2 and 3 qualifications while gaining experience and earning money. Over the course of the past two years Salix Homes has recruited 45 apprentices to work across their organisation and their partner contractors.
The Considerate Constructors Scheme, otherwise known as CCS, has awarded the construction and engineering group Kier with their first Utra site award. This accolade has been given to the construction group for their project in Wales. The Kier Sports Park 2 development is located on Treforest Industrial Estate and has managed to become the only site in the whole of Wales to be given the title. For a site to be considered to the Ultra award, the main contractor must get all of the subcontractors, designers and suppliers for the construction work to sign up to the scheme. This means that everyone working on a project are then able to all work together in order to make sure that they achieve the highest score possible. Kier managed this by putting a number of measures in place and also worked in collaboration with the supply chain for the Sports Park 2 in order to ensure everyone is working together to achieve the best score they can. As part of the work towards the Ultra award, Kier installed on the site an interactive hoarding to be used by the public. This feature allowed people near to the site to be able to see what the scheme will look like when construction work is completed. On the hoarding there was a painted silhouette of a sea telescope that acted as a viewing hole, encouraging people to look into the box weatherproof box that contained a digital picture frame loaded with computer generated images of the finished site. Since the scheme began Kier have been focused on looking at a number of different ways in which the sirte operations can be improved as well as improving public engagement. Being able to achieve the CCS Ultra scheme is great news for the company and the site as it reflects the hard work put in by subcontractors and workers on the site as well as the opportunity to meet their own business targets.
RCM, the complete through wall solutions provider for the UK construction industry has announced that they have formed a new charity partnership with the Douglas Macmillan Hospice. The DougieMac hospice looks after adult patients with a palliative or end of life diagnosis. The hospice serves people across North Staffordshire and offers free care and support 24 hours a day and 7 days a week through the help and support of staff and volunteers working diligently to have a positive impact on the lives of and journeys of their patients. The hospice sports those living with cancer as well as other non-cancer illnesses that are life limiting. The DougieMac hospice was established in 1973, serving primarily the North Staffordshire area for more than 40 years. The hospice the only one of its kind to offer care only to adults in this area therefore all of the help and work that goes into delivering the proper care is vital. The DougieMac relies heavily on donations from the local community. This is because they need to source 75% of their running costs from voluntary donations in order to keep the hospice running. At the moment it has been calculated that the operational costs for the hospice are just under £12 million a year. RCM have committed to raising as much as possible for the local hospice, and a dedicated to supporting this charity and the good work that they carry out for palliative care patients in the area. As part of their efforts to fundraise for the charity, RCM will be hosting a Corporate Charitable Golf Day to raise money for DougieMac. This event will be held in September and will offer the construction supply company the opportunity the chance to give back to the local community in North Staffordshire.
Story Homes, the award winning house building company has announced that they are focused on improving the experience of their customers. The company has made a move towards these improvements with the appointment of a Head of Customer Experience and Communications and a Quality Assurance Project Manager. Story Homes is in the prestigious position of being one company of only 14 across the entire of the UK that holds a five star rating for their customer service. The five star Homes Builders Federation 5 Star Builder award has been retained by the company for the past four years. This industry awarded accolade is great news for this well known company, who has already managed to develop a reputation for the quality of the houses they build as well as the service that is offered to their customers. The House building company is keen to maintain and develop on their customer service reputation with these two new senior management appointments. Story Homes also the proud holder of the Gold and the Outstanding accreditation’s from In-house Research which is another customer satisfaction body operating in the residential property sector. Story Homes has expanded recently, beginning to operate in Scotland, the North East and the North West in more recent years. However the developer that is headquartered in Carlisle is still looking to make sure that their expansion plans don’t impact on their customer service levels. The developer have promoted two of their existing employees into the roles of Head of Customer Experience and Communications and a Quality Assurance Project Manager. Tracy Calvert has been working for the company for four years and has been appointed as the Head of Customer Experience and Communication. Adam osliff has been appointed into the Quality Assurance Project Manager role after working in the the site-based production team at Story Homes for 13 years. Both new appointments will bring experience and expertise to their roles and will no doubt aid Story Homes as the company continues to expand.
The RSPB has joined forces with Barratt Homes and Manthorpe Building Products to develop a brick that doubles as a nesting box for swifts. The largest nature conservation charity in the UK says that the number of swifts has nearly halved in the last 20 years and that new nesting boxes are required to help recover the numbers as they return to the UK every summer to breed. Swifts embark on a 6,000 mile migration to nest in the UK, however falling population numbers mean that there are now fewer than 90,000 breeding pairs arriving in the UK, which is down from nearly 150,000 pairs 20 years ago. The decline is partially linked to a reduction in the number of potential nesting sites. Manthorpe Building Products, a British based manufacturing firm, has worked with Barratt Homes and the RSPB to produce the new swift brick, which is designed for easy incorporation during the construction of new homes. The first batch of new swift nest boxes have just been fitted at the Kingsbrook development in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire and overall Barratt will install up to 900 swift boxes in new homes at Kingsbrook. One of the primary aims of the RSPB and Barratt Homes partnership since it launched two years ago has been the provision of more nesting sites for swifts. By working in partnership, they commissioned the Manthorpe project to develop a new swift nest box design that is easy to install during construction. Barratt Developments Group Design and Technical Director, Michael Finn, commented: “The bricks are an industry first – they are fully drained, ventilated and are unobtrusive, by matching the colour of the bricks. They also help nurture chicks by giving them room to stand when they hatch. “Crucially too, they are much, much cheaper than any other swift brick on the market, which will help their uptake.”
Skanska is planning to introduce robotic technology for the next phase of construction of the Battersea Power Station development. Having received a £700,000 grant from Innovate UK last summer to develop the robots, the contractor’s head of innovation, Sam Stacey, says that the technology will be ready to use on the project in the space of nine months. Mr Stacey reaffirmed that Skanska is the preferred bidder for the second phase of the Battersea Power Station project and if appointed their advanced robot techniques will be ready to be used on the work for the scheme. He estimates that ‘utility cupboards’, which house M&E components for individual apartments, would be delivered 20 times quicker if they were to use robots rather than in-situ methods, adding that the company’s flying factories base in Slough had reduced cupboard construction times by 65%. In the first phase of the Battersea scheme, Skanska built 300 cupboards in situ because of constraints on the site, while 440 were built off site, which allowed them to compare the two construction methods. The cupboards manufactures offsite took 18 man hours to construct compared with 42 hours for the ones built on site. Furthermore, Stacey revealed that they were almost 50% cheaper including factory overheads and had 73% less defects. However, by using robots in factories, the company believes it can cut the amount of man hours that are required to build the cupboards to just two hours. Skanska is also looking for ways robotic technology can be used in other areas, which may soon start to appear on construction sites in the UK, while in Norway the company is working with high tech start up nLink (a mobile drilling robot firm) to develop robots that can be used to fix and drill soffits. Furthermore, the firm has been working in conjunction with ABB for the development of a robot that can set out rebar cages in Sweden.
