With the recent declarations of the Bank of England to freeze the amounts of interest rates that it normally gives out, it is always useful to seek out advice from someone who knows what they are talking about when referring to how this will affect the different property and construction
Northumberland College has launched a new Apprenticeship Academy and welcomed its 1,000th Apprentice. Northumberland College has recently launched its new Apprenticeship Academy that will focus on meeting the needs of Apprentices and their employers. This new Academy sees Apprenticeship Support Officers and Assessors for all subjects working more closely together.
A number of leading and lucrative businesses from all over the country are pleased to announce their full support and dedication towards the WeAreTheCity project at the upcoming 2017 Rising Star Awards, a ceremony fully dedicated to showcasing the best achievements of women in enterprises from all over the country.
Reams of evidence gathered by the index for the financial year compiled by JLL & Glenigan’s Q4 2016, the amount of commercial construction rates in the United Kingdom has decreased by a very significant amount, falling 14.1 per cent to a total of £16.7 billion. Whilst this might still seem
Infrastructure specialist Balfour Beatty has overseen ones of its more historically intriguing projects, the completed renovation of a structure which dates all the way back from the 18th Century. This structure, known as Tadcaster Bridge, is based in Yorkshire and had been in dire need of repair since December 2015
The city of Romford, in the East End of London, will be investing in a new leisure center for its citizens valued at a grand total of 25 million pounds, which REL Electrical will now be able to contribute towards. The family-run electrical installation business has just signed a contract
Health and safety in the workplace, particularly in the building and construction industries, are of paramount importance to individuals around the world as well as in the United Kingdom. However, alarming figures collated by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) have indicated that despite the continued implementation of
With the end of the financial year approaching Albion Valves (UK) Ltd, a leading UK valve supplier to the building services and industrial markets, has reported phenomenal business growth over the last ten years, with the company having more than tripled their turnover during this period and the workforce at
Leading property companies Dransfield Properties Ltd and Harworth Group Plc have announced a joint venture agreement to deliver a new £50 million retail, office and leisure scheme at Waverley, Rotherham – home to Yorkshire’s largest ever brownfield mixed-use redevelopment. The new 12-acre development is a key part of the strategic
Farmers have pleaded with chiefs for the right to build as they claim they can help to solve the rural housing crisis. Landowners have said they can help solve the crisis and also regenerate countryside communities but the barriers to development need to be lifted. The head of planning at
With the recent declarations of the Bank of England to freeze the amounts of interest rates that it normally gives out, it is always useful to seek out advice from someone who knows what they are talking about when referring to how this will affect the different property and construction industries around the country. Indeed, it seems clear that Mister Russell Quirk sees the bank’s decision to freeze these rates as an encouraging sign to the property and construction industries that this sector of the British economy will prosper as the year goes on. Indeed, Mister Quirk has explained that the housing market itself is in a strong position for the year ahead and the steadiness of interest rates remaining the same is a sign that the economy will be able to put itself back on its feet in terms of allowing more people to buy more homes and allowing the building and construction industries to invest in more projects and initiatives for land and housing development. The Bank of England’s decision, he intimates, will also have a positive effect on those wishing to buy a home for the very first time, but he has explained that people in this position will be more than ever advised to buy within their own affordable means and budget. This is due to the fact that the current interest rates will increase at some point rather than remain in their current static position: Mister Quirk therefore advises first-time buyers to be wary of the fluctuations in the housing market and encourages them to not be foolhardy in their buying enterprises. The same caution ought to be the case with members of the building, design and construction industries. Whilst investment in land capital and various project initiatives is undoubtedly a good thing, the amount of fluctuations within the British economy at this present time means that caution ought to be taken now more than ever before.
Northumberland College has launched a new Apprenticeship Academy and welcomed its 1,000th Apprentice. Northumberland College has recently launched its new Apprenticeship Academy that will focus on meeting the needs of Apprentices and their employers. This new Academy sees Apprenticeship Support Officers and Assessors for all subjects working more closely together. Susan Goldstein, Director of the Apprenticeship Academy said: “Apprenticeships offer a fantastic opportunity for employers to recruit and further develop staff with the skills and expertise needed for their organisation’s success.” “For individuals, regardless of their age or background, apprenticeships offer access to structured industry-standard learning and qualifications. Successful apprenticeships are delivered by a robust and cohesive partnership between employer, apprentice and the College. The Apprenticeship Academy will ensure that each partner is clear about their responsibilities and opportunities within this process. Our aim is to support as many Apprentices as we can in achieving their career and educational goals and at the same time help employers to meet current and future skills needs.” Northumberland College is in a unique position to meet skills needs, offering as it does, more than 40 different Apprenticeships at Level 2, 3 and 4, one of the largest ranges of apprenticeship subjects in the region. The College has invested more than £10m in modern learning facilities, plus recently received further funding from the North East Local Enterprise Partnership for a £2.5m science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) centre, which will open later this year. Susan says: “We are constantly reviewing our offer to make sure that it meets the needs of apprentices and contributes to the economic well- being of our region.” National figures show that for every £1 of government investment in Level 2 or 3 apprenticeships, there is typically a return of £26 to £28 and that someone with a Higher Apprentice (Level 4) could earn £150,000 more on average over their lifetime. The Apprenticeship Academy, working in partnership with the College’s Business Training Solutions team provide bespoke information, advice and support to employers and their Apprentices. With a history of delivering training over the last 60 years the College has now recruited it’s 1000th Apprentice, April Halligan. April, aged 18 from Fenham, Newcastle, is a Bricklaying Apprentice with Newcastle City Council. Newcastle City Council Apprenticeship Manager, Paul Maddison said: “Building and Commercial Enterprise and indeed Newcastle City Council as a wider organisation, has supported apprentices for many years and boasts a successful track record of providing opportunities for young people to develop skills and secure employment. “More recently, in partnership with Northumberland College, to increase employment opportunities for local 16-18 year olds, April Halligan has been part of a new Apprentice Pathway Programme that has been developed to provide further placement opportunities for young people within the City, in particular those Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET).” April said: “The programme has provided an excellent opportunity, opening new doors to my career. I’ve improved my skills and experienced different workplaces including maintenance and building sites. I’m a lot closer to my goal of becoming a qualified brick layer and gaining full-time employment thanks to this experience and the support from Northumberland College.” April’s Apprenticeship Assessor, Ged Tait, plays a pivotal role of working with Construction Apprentices including April, on site and at College has a primary role in supporting the learners. He said: “An assessor’s job includes supporting Apprentices while they are at College and in the workplace, by encouraging them and giving feedback to improve their performance and enhance their skills. “Every eight weeks I go out to visit my apprentices for assessment and progress reviews and the learners are able to contact me any time if there is a problem relating to their NVQ qualification. “April is the first female apprentice bricklayer I have worked with. She is making good progress with her qualification and I have received great feedback from her mentors at Newcastle City Works.” Graham Charlton, Northumberland College’s Brickwork tutor said: “April is a model student with a 100% attendance record for her theory, practical and functional skills lessons, she has a fantastic attitude towards her programme of study, both in the classroom and workshop. She has settled in with the group right from day one.” The College is also supporting employers through a range of Government changes to Apprenticeships. One key change is the move towards the use of Apprenticeship Standards. Standards show what an apprentice will be doing in a particular job and the skills they need to demonstrate, in order to be considered competent. Standards were developed by employer groups called Trailblazers. Another change, from 6 April 2017, is the government’s Apprenticeship Levy. This will see all employers with an annual payroll over £3million, contribute to apprenticeship training at a rate of 0.5%. The College’s Business Training Solutions team is currently offering a series of free events for employers to guide them through the Levy and other Apprenticeship changes. Employers wishing to find out more about apprenticeship training and the Levy may contact the College’s Business Training Solutions team on 0170 841 268 or email training@northland.ac.uk
A number of leading and lucrative businesses from all over the country are pleased to announce their full support and dedication towards the WeAreTheCity project at the upcoming 2017 Rising Star Awards, a ceremony fully dedicated to showcasing the best achievements of women in enterprises from all over the country. Such high-profile sponsors of the awards range from leading iconic newspaper magazines The Times and Sunday Times. Indeed, Mister Chris Duncan the MD of Times Newspaper Limited has expressed the newspaper’s all-round satisfaction in being able to lend their help to supporting WeAreTheCity in their efforts to reward the hard-working women working all over the country to expand the country’s place in the world as one of the high-water marks of business and development in the rest of the world. They will not be alone in helping the project and will be joined by various other representatives of Barclays, Bloomberg, Northern Trust, etc, in their support for the WeAreTheCity initiative. Bloomberg themselves will be the company honored to host the final awards ceremony once the nomination processes have taken place and are delighted to form such an important role in this capacity to reward women in design and construction from all over the different workplace sectors of this country. The 19th June will see the announcement of the Top 100 Rising Stars of the year, and Bloomberg’s hosted celebratory event will be held on the 12th July at NewsUK’s base. Having been in existence since the year 2015, the awarding body for this event continue to expand themselves and enhance the different kind of ways in which women in the workplace can be recognized for their hard work over the years, and it is hoped by the organizers of such awards that this will promote gender equality more and more in the workplaces of this country, whether they be in the business, building sectors or whatever enterprise that settles itself on these shores.
Reams of evidence gathered by the index for the financial year compiled by JLL & Glenigan’s Q4 2016, the amount of commercial construction rates in the United Kingdom has decreased by a very significant amount, falling 14.1 per cent to a total of £16.7 billion. Whilst this might still seem like an impressive figure, as this is representative of the levels of construction all across the country, there is evidently a large amount of concern from leading figures in the industry itself. Indeed, Helen Gough of JLL explains that whilst levels of residential building might have increased as the year has gone on and somewhat recovered from previous difficulties, the building design and construction of commercial projects has significantly gone down in the last twelve months. As Helen Gough points out, this is clearly a cause of lack of investment from businesses because of fears of economic losses and uncertainty in a post-referendum country. It is therefore to be somewhat expected that construction in the commercial sector has been somewhat more cautious than the building sector in this country might have been used to in previous years. Similarly, the levels of construction in the country have varied on the geographical areas where investment has been greater in some parts of the country than in others as the year has gone by. For example, building activity in the capital of this country went up by 2.7 per cent if one were to compare the levels to the year before, whilst in the areas of Yorkshire and the Midlands, construction levels and investment slumped this year by 22 per cent: so much for the government’s dreams of a Northern powerhouse. On the other hand, construction levels in the infirmary and healthcare sectors went up, as did building for hotel and short-stay accommodation businesses. Indeed, JLL & Glenigan will follow the course of building progress in this year of 2017 with the same interest and zeal.
Infrastructure specialist Balfour Beatty has overseen ones of its more historically intriguing projects, the completed renovation of a structure which dates all the way back from the 18th Century. This structure, known as Tadcaster Bridge, is based in Yorkshire and had been in dire need of repair since December 2015 when violent flooding in the region resulted in part of it being destroyed. Since then, the implementation of works seeking to restore the structure to its original state of glory has been in place with the collaboration and hard work of North Yorkshire County Council. Indeed, whilst old, the structure is a vital necessity in joining the different sides of the region and thus enabling business initiatives and infrastructure in the region such as SMEs in the area to take place and prosper. The council also had the help of Balfour Beatty, who applied their extensive knowledge of how infrastructure works in order to ensure that the bridge was rebuilt safely and effectively to allow for the local economy to benefit the most from its new implementation. Indeed, David Robinson, acting as the Project Director of this ambitious construction project in the North Yorkshire region, expressed his delight and pride that the company was able to get involved with this initiative. As he explains, the fact that the structure itself was of a grade two listing did not deter Balfour Beatty in the slightest, and the company did their utmost to ensure that it was rebuilt with the attention and respect that it deserved. This included using and applying various materials and methods of reconstruction that would have been in use at the time that the bridge was originally built. Even through these perhaps more time-consuming methods of building and construction, and with adverse weather conditions and fluctuating water levels to contend with, Balfour Beatty successfully completed the project in a little over a year, and are very pleased that it is now finished and can now finally be used by the excited locals of the North Yorkshire area where the bridge is located.
The city of Romford, in the East End of London, will be investing in a new leisure center for its citizens valued at a grand total of 25 million pounds, which REL Electrical will now be able to contribute towards. The family-run electrical installation business has just signed a contract to organize the installation and construction of the networks at Romford Leisure Center, which will be overseen by property management business Willmott Dixon, themselves under the watchful eye of Havering Council. The electricals will be designed to eventually enable for the installation of the brand new facilities, among the many which will include such features as a pool for swimmers containing no less than 8 lanes. This will enable those wishing to swim to be able to go at their own comfortable pace, whilst those perhaps wanting to burn more calories will be able to launch themselves bravely and boldly into the faster lanes without knocking into the slowcoaches. In addition to these state-of-the-art pool facilities will be a new fitness suite, a specially built-in rink for ice skaters, as well as an assortment of other sporting activity appliances that the people of Romford will be able to benefit from. At a cost of 2 million pounds worth, REL Electric will plan, install and supervise the entire installation of the electronic side of affairs for the leisure center: this is estimated to take up to as long as an entire year. REL’s MD Mister Toby Buckley has expressed his happiness in being affiliated with the new center, which it is hoped will revitalize and invigorate life into Romford’s infrastructure. Mister Buckley is adamant that the technical conundrums of the installation process will be challenging, but with an already impressive portfolio in developing leisure center space, it seems clear to all involved that REL Electrical are well suited to fulfilling the potential of the new Romford center. If anyone can do it, it’s REL.
Health and safety in the workplace, particularly in the building and construction industries, are of paramount importance to individuals around the world as well as in the United Kingdom. However, alarming figures collated by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) have indicated that despite the continued implementation of health and safety regulations in the workplace, many of these have not been followed or simply been ignored by members of the industry. The evidence based on this alarming and worrying claim is based on the staggering amount of fines accrued by building firms for not carrying appropriate risk assessments or putting their employees’ lives in danger and at great personal risk. The year 2016 recorded a total of 19 fines imposed amounting to sums worth a million pounds or even greater than that, the greatest even reaching to a 5 million pound fine. This is clearly a disgrace to the building and construction industries and demonstrates that not enough businesses in these sectors are regarding the safety and wellbeing of their workers as it should be. It is also worth bearing in mind that fewer fines of staggering amounts were imposed during the year 2015. In fact, not a single fine amounting to 1 million pounds was imposed on a single business in 2014: this is not due to the fact that safety measures were implemented much more in that year than more recently. Rather, the reason for this increase in fines is also that the IOSH is imposing larger penalties than ever before on businesses that neglect the safety of their workers and it is hoped through this that this will be a way of ensuring that businesses regard the safety of their employees more seriously now that they can be fined huge amounts for negligence. Shelley Frost of the directing body of IOSH has explained how injuries in the workplace destroy lives forever and it is therefore essential that all is done to ensure that businesses give health and safety the attention that it deserves.
With the end of the financial year approaching Albion Valves (UK) Ltd, a leading UK valve supplier to the building services and industrial markets, has reported phenomenal business growth over the last ten years, with the company having more than tripled their turnover during this period and the workforce at it’s base in Barnsley growing by over 100%. Albion attributes the secret of success to having a loyal and highly skilled team of people supporting the business and its distributors. During the coming year, one third of Albion staff will have been with the company for ten years or more, with the original core founding team clocking-up over 20 years each in the business. From a commercial perspective, it is Albion’s empathy with customers and their responsiveness to ever-changing industry needs that has helped them build a reputation as a preferred supplier. Whilst the team’s expertise and product knowledge – particularly keeping abreast of new product development has helped the business grow and expand into new areas. The company has also been quick to reinvest in the business. During 2016 Albion invested significantly into expanding its premises in Barnsley, enabling them to increase stock densities and improve stock availability to customers. A new in-house test facility for testing and setting safety valves was also added as was a staff canteen and increased office space to accommodate Albion’s growing team. In recruitment, sustainability has been key in the growth strategy to help ensure the team retains exactly the right balance of skills to best service distributors. Last year Albion recruited dedicated managers in both quality control and marketing for the first time, to further support its sales and operations team. David Keys, Managing Director, Albion Valves UK Ltd commented: “We are very fortunate to have such a great group of people working with us. The team is always willing to go the extra mile for customers and continually strives to provide a first-class service. It is their skills and knowledge that really makes this business the success story it is today. To help us grow further and continue to offer the best possible service to customers, we are also keen to develop young talent and pass the skills developed by our senior staff onto the next generation. As a business, we have always offered apprenticeships and have a one hundred percent track record of extending our apprenticeships into full-time employment. This year we will be recruiting again to fulfill another apprenticeship, as well as adding to our sales team.” Albion currently stocks over 5000 lines of commercial valves, suitable for applications predominantly within the process, water, building services and HVAC industries, all available from its distributor network.
Leading property companies Dransfield Properties Ltd and Harworth Group Plc have announced a joint venture agreement to deliver a new £50 million retail, office and leisure scheme at Waverley, Rotherham – home to Yorkshire’s largest ever brownfield mixed-use redevelopment. The new 12-acre development is a key part of the strategic regeneration of the 740 acre Waverley development, just two minutes from Junction 33 of the M1. The planned high-quality local centre is expected to bring hundreds of new jobs to the region and will deliver: A 24,500 sq. ft. food store High quality office space Medical centre Transport hub A new hotel 70,000 sq. ft. of further retail space A gym as well as good quality restaurants and coffee shops 470 car parking spaces The development will formally link the internationally renowned Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) and the residential area through a masterplanned retail and leisure development, incorporating much-needed community facilities. Shops, restaurants and cafes will be set around a central car park area with a good mix of independent and national names. There will be high quality office space created above the retail units as well as attractive walkways, landscaped piazza areas with water features and a “town square” where regular Farmers’ Markets can be held. A planning application is scheduled to be submitted in Spring 2017 and will include a transport hub for Rotherham to improve connectivity to the region as well as a hotel and a new medical centre to serve the growing business and residential area. This is the latest phase of Waverley’s development. Yorkshire’s leading brownfield development is already home to 600 homes and the AMP which includes world-leading firms including Rolls-Royce and Boeing. The next 15 years will see up to 3,400 further homes built, in addition to a further 1m sq. ft of manufacturing space to further grow the AMP. It also marks a further high-profile development for Dransfield Properties, which has just opened the company’s flagship Fox Valley development in north Sheffield on a former steelworks site. It has also won a number of awards for similar developments elsewhere, including a BCSC Gold Award for its Marshall’s Yard scheme in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. This is a really exciting project to be involved with. Mark Dransfield, Managing Director of Dransfield Properties, said: “This is a really exciting project to be involved with. We are delighted to work alongside Harworth, bringing our team’s experience and knowledge of delivering retail developments to this new community. “Waverley is an exciting development which has great potential for creating a high-quality retail and leisure environment, designed to support the growing community and the wider region. We look forward to being a part of this project.” Owen Michaelson, Chief Executive of Harworth Group plc, said “We are delighted to partner with Dransfield for this significant development on our flagship site, given their track record across the UK and their absolute focus on quality. “We expect the local centre to become central to the Waverley community, as it co-joins the AMP and the residential area, offering a range of essential facilities and bringing hundreds of job opportunities to the region.” About Harworth Group Listed on the main market, Harworth Group plc is one of the leading regeneration specialists in the UK. Harworth owns and manages over 22,000 acres of land across 150 sites, ranging from residential development land to commercial properties, low-carbon energy schemes and agricultural estates. To find out more about the company visit www.harworthgroup.com Harworth Group is the landowner and developer of Waverley. The development to date includes 600 homes and the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) which is home to world-leading firms including Rolls-Royce and Boeing. The next 15 years will see up to 3,400 further homes built in addition to a further 1m sq. ft of manufacturing space to further grow the AMP. About Dransfield Properties Formed in 1992 Dransfield Properties is a South Yorkshire based company which specialises in retail led regeneration, primarily focussed on town and district centres. The company works with some of the leading names in the retail industry and has a property portfolio which includes award winning centres in both Morpeth in Northumberland and Gainsborough in Lincolnshire – a sympathetic redevelopment of a former industrial site, which won the BCSC Gold Award. In the last 12 months the company has also launched its flagship Fox Valley development in Stocksbridge, north Sheffield on a former steelworks site. To find out more about the company visit www.dransfield.co.uk
Farmers have pleaded with chiefs for the right to build as they claim they can help to solve the rural housing crisis. Landowners have said they can help solve the crisis and also regenerate countryside communities but the barriers to development need to be lifted. The head of planning at the Country Land and Business Association, Fenella Collins, has noticed that the growing attention to problems relating to the affordability of housing are causing strain in the rural communities. Members of such communities want to work in a countryside that is socially diverse and thriving economically and developing housing is a great way to do this, however, the planning system has brought frustration to landowners and their plans. Over half of all permitted development rights applications to convert farm buildings into dwellings are still being turned away. And whilst calls have been made on the government to intervene and change regulations to offer clearer guidelines for planning bosses. However, it’s becoming seemingly obvious that are exceptions being made for rural sites. Housing development on rural sites is only allowed if its affordable as seen with statistics surrounding Cornwall and Northumberland. The latter has had no sites built since last year, while 300 homes were allowed to be built in Cornwall. There has also been calls for affordable housing to be made exempt from capital gains and inheritance tax in a bit to make it seem financially attractive. Whilst house building did increase last year, it was down by almost a quarter on pre-recession levels with house prices rising 7% from October 2015 and October 2016. Sheep farmer William Ashley has developed housing on rural land by converting two barns into three dwellings and chicken sheds into a further 12 live-in work units. Mr. Ashley has claimed there is a desire to develop but people are being put up against a brick wall and a frustrating one at that as there is a sense of desperation for housing and farms are being prevented from helping. Instead, housing developers such as Strata Homes and the government are building on brownfield sites as this is a lot cheaper than building on green land. There is a strong local interest to build thousands of homes on hundreds of brownfield sites in the coming years. This will be part of a government strategy to help first time young buyers afford a home whereas on a great site, they would massively struggle to afford the housing. Up to thirty areas across England will receive funding from the Start Homes Land Fund which is said to be a project worth £1.2 billion. Not only are brownfield sites more affordable but it also allows housebuilders to be in closer proximity to the urban amenities. However, planning brownfield land cannot solve the housing crisis alone and does come with its own issues. Planning on such land is an extremely lengthy and complex process due to the heritage impact on the land