Leading housing and regeneration specialist Galliford Try Partnerships, which markets its homes under the award winning Linden Homes banner, has today submitted a planning application for 54 high quality new homes on the former St Augustine’s School site in Oldham. The vacant 1.8 hectare site is located at the junction of Grange Avenue and Chamber Road, around 1 mile south of Oldham town centre. The plans outlined to Oldham Council will see Linden Homes North West deliver a mixture of high-quality three bedroom detached/ semi-detached and four bedroom detached homes, which are perfect for families looking to locate to an established residential area. Darren Leary, development director of Galliford Try Partnerships, said: “This scheme is a  positive reflection of the continued growth Galliford Try Partnerships and Linden Homes are currently experiencing across the North West. We have worked in partnership with Oldham Council to develop plans to deliver high quality, traditional family homes that complement the existing neighbourhood. The scheme will increase the range of houses available in this sought after area and will help deliver the Council’s aspirations for new housing in the Borough”. A spokesperson from Oldham Council, said “As part of the application process Linden Homes have estimated 54 opportunities will be created in various capacities such as work experience, apprenticeships and employment opportunities – supporting the council’s Get Oldham Working campaign. The firm have also said they will support local schools, colleges and training providers.” Galliford Try Partnerships is currently building 500 quality new homes under the Linden Homes brand for sale and rent in Brunswick, Manchester as part of a £100m PFI regeneration programme, which is completely transforming the area.

Knight Frank has been appointed to provide estate, property and facilities management services for DP World London Gateway Logistics Park, a new development in Stanford-le-Hope in Essex.   DP World London Gateway has detailed consent to develop nine million square feet (836,000 square metres) of B8 distribution space over 560 acres (226 ha), making it the largest logistics development in the South-East.   The park is next to DP World London Gateway Port, the UK’s newest deep-sea container terminal, which provides fast and direct access into London and the South-East, Europe’s largest consumer market area.    The first building, the 180,000 sq ft DP World London Gateway Logistics Centre, opened in April 2015, and a new speculative B8 unit of 316,000 sq ft will complete very shortly.     Nick Orbell, estates manager at DP World London Gateway Logistics Park, said: “This major logistics park sets a new standard of development, and we are impressed by the recognition and effort shown by Knight Frank to deliver the highest quality estate management services to the Park occupiers and DP World London Gateway’s customers.” Tim Robinson, partner and head of property asset management at Knight Frank, said the deal would help give the firm “the opportunity to demonstrate our extensive surveying, facility management and technological capabilities working in partnership with such an innovative client”.  

Support services group Emcor UK has been awarded a place across three lots for the Crown Commercial Services’ Facilities Management Agreement.   This enables the company to bid for contracts across a broad range of both central government and wider public sector opportunities in the areas of hard, soft, and Total Facilities Management Services.    Emcor UK expects to bid for multiple contracts under this contracting vehicle over the next four years.   Work to be performed by the firm on contracts won is expected to vary based on each contract’s needs, but is likely to include general facility operations and management work ranging from planned and reactive mechanical and electrical maintenance, security, fabric maintenance, cleaning and front-of-house services.   This follows the Emcor’s announcements about a number of new contract awards and contract extensions with public and private sector clients in 2015. These include Thames Water, United Utilities, AWE, BAE Systems, and Northern Powergrid.   Keith Chanter, CEO, Emcor UK, said: “Our depth of experience enables us to add tremendous value on these types of wide-ranging contracts as well as to deliver results in a very cost-effective and efficient manner.”

Scotland’s Private Rented Sector (PRS) Champion Gerry More has broadly welcomed the further clarity given by today’s publication of the Private Housing (Tenancies) Bill but emphasised the importance of balancing the needs of tenants, landlords and investors if the Scottish Government is to achieve its objective of significantly expanding capacity in this fast growing sector. Having been tasked with attracting long-term institutional investment to enable the development of professionally managed purpose-built private rented housing at scale, Mr More said: “There is much to be welcomed in today’s announcement on updating the tenancy regime with initial rents continuing to be market-led. “However, we now need to work through the detail, particularly in relation to the use of rental caps and how student tenancies are ended, in order to ensure Scotland remains competitive relative to other countries. “The Scottish Government is working with the sector on a cohesive range of measures including exploring the development of a rental income guarantee mechanism and the Chief Planner has also this week sent a letter to Local Authority heads of planning encouraging them to consider the role new build PRS homes can play in meeting housing need and demand in their areas. “Scotland needs a modernised system which helps increase the supply of much needed housing. I therefore look forward to continuing positive discussions with the Scottish Government on how this can be achieved.”

G4S Facilities Management, the FM business of global security company G4S, has appointed Peter Jones as its managing director for UK, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man. Jones, who joins the company on 8 October, will be responsible for leading the FM business that employs more than 7,200 staff across these regions. G4S FM delivers integrated facilities management, security, front of house, hard FM, cleaning, catering and service desk services in the corporate, healthcare, education and central government sectors. He has more than 23 years’ experience in the property, FM and engineering sector at national and international level, and was most recently MD of CBRE’s integrated facilities management business across EMEA. Before that he held several leadership roles in his eight years at Carillion, with responsibilities including infrastructure services, property services and FM. In his earlier career, Jones worked for Barclays Bank, where he led the FM strategy, and at Johnson Controls, delivering FM across EMEA. He has expertise in business leadership, market growth and acquisition, client relationship management, major outsourcing and real estate and facilities change. Jones said: “At G4S I will have the opportunity to grow our FM business in the UK and Ireland, and help to develop our overall FM offering in other key markets, as clients are increasingly looking for us to provide additional integrated solutions. “With security and FM services accounting for 59 per cent of group revenue globally, G4S has an unrivalled platform to respond to our customers’ increasingly complex requirements.” G4S regional president, UK & Ireland, Peter Neden, added: “I would like to welcome Peter to G4S. The FM business has been identified as one of the key growth opportunities, both within the UK and the broader G4S Group.” –

Much has been made of the Conservative government’s attempt to take advantage of the enfeebled state of the Labour opposition by moving to plant its flag in the centre ground of British politics. And no policy embodies this more than the introduction of a ‘living wage’. The summer Budget saw George Osborne introduce plans to ramp up the minimum wage for over-25s to a living wage with the first increase from the current £6.70 to £7.20 an hour in April, planned to be a staging post on the way to £9 an hour by the end of this Parliament in 2020. There are many reasons for doing this, partly to improve the lot of the worst-paid, but also to make working more attractive to those whose benefits are being squeezed. But for businesses whose operations are labour-intensive, the living wage threatens to pose significant challenges. Some argue that it will create more loyal workforces and reduce turnover of staff, but it will also pose challenges to profit margins as wage bills look set to soar. Indeed, business groups such as the Confederation of British Industry have described the move as a ‘gamble’ that could harm the UK employment market with those offering care services in particular likely to have to pass on costs to government clients. And recruitment company Manpower waded into the debate earlier this month by saying the move was likely to hamper job creation. With a 7.5 per cent wage rise for those on the lowest wages baked in for 2015, companies are going to have to look hard at areas of their businesses where they can make commensurate savings, or look to pass on the additional cost to their own customers. Interserve reckons it will see its wage bill rise by between £10 million and £15 million next year – the news sent its shares tumbling recently. The company reckons 10,000 of the 15,000 it employs in the UK will see their wages leap, and margins will suffer as a result. Mears Group estimates its extra costs at £5 million, or 10 per cent of profits. The problem for many FM firms is that such is the rivalry in the sector they could struggle to pass on such costs to customers and will have to take a margin hit. Outside the FM sector, Whitbread, which runs coffee shops, hotels and restaurants, also admitted it will take a significant hit from the living wage – but it vowed to pass on costs to customers. Retailer Next devoted a significant portion of its results to discussing the effect that the living wage could have on its business and margins. With the dual effect of wages rising sharply ahead of the prevailing rate of inflation and prices also potentially rising to cover such costs, the government’s initiative could have the effect of reawakening inflation. Coupled with the fact that commodity prices, oil in particular, cannot stay this low, we could see inflation creeping back, which may allow FMs with inflation-linked contracts to recoup some of the extra costs. It could also pave the way for the Bank of England to set in train interest rate ‘normalisation’, although what that really means now after six years of near-zero interest rates is difficult to quantify. Essentially, while the living wage is to be welcomed, it will bring big challenges for the FM sector for several years to come.

Hamburg, 8th October 2015. The British Automatic Fire Sprinkler Association (BAFSA), the Fire Industry Association (FIA) and the International Water Mist Association (IWMA) have joined forces to organize the “UK Water Mist Seminar 2016”. The event will take place at BRE in Watford (near London) on 8th March 2016. There will be no admission fee. Delegates can register via the FIA webpage. During this one-day seminar speakers will explain the meaning of this technology in the firefighting world. They will list fields of application and talk about systems in practice and maintenance requirements. Delegates will also be able to update their knowledge on standards, guidelines and approvals and listen to the insurances’ point of view. “Fire protection using watermist is a maturing technology. This conference aims to educate and inform on how, why and where watermist fire protection works, and advise on best available practice being adopted  by the industry leaders and reflected in the new British Standards. Specifiers, designers, engineers, and auditors will benefit from the knowledge shared on the understanding of watermist fire protection technology and its effective application for domestic, residential, commercial and industrial applications” says Bob Whiteley, Chairman British Standard FSH18/5 Watermist Committee. The seminar will be accompanied by an exhibition during which manufacturers will show their products and explain their projects. The call for papers has just been released. The programme will be published in December.

Lendlease, the integrated property and infrastructure group, is launching the first National Skills Academy for Construction in North Wales as part of its community engagement programme. The North Wales Prison project has been awarded the prestigious Skills Academy status from the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) enabling real employment and skills opportunities to happen on site throughout the duration of the build. Launching October 7, the National Skills Academy will help create jobs for the local workforce, creating high quality apprenticeships and delivering industry-led, first-class training in real-life environments.  A dedicated Project Skills Co-ordinator, funded by CITB, will ensure that employment and skills opportunities are tailored and delivered on site at the right time and in the right place. A purpose built Learning and Ambition centre, will also be launched on October 7 and will be based on site during construction of the North Wales Prison.  Developed and co-funded by Lendlease and the North Wales Economic Ambition Board (NWEAB), the centre will specialise in essential construction training that will benefit both the locality, and the wider region.  A qualified team of industry-focused instructors will also provide Health & Safety, leadership, management and sustainability training. Commenting on the new National Skills Academy for Wrexham, Simon Caron, Lendlease Project for Director North Wales Prison, said:  “We are very proud to have received National Skills Academy for Construction status, the first project in North Wales to receive the prestigious accolade.  As one of the largest leading employers in the country, we are committed to maximising the benefits of this major project for the local community.” Iwan Thomas, Regional Skills & Employment Coordinator, on behalf of NWEAB added: “We are really pleased to be working with Lendlease on behalf of our regional partners, to now be in a position that this is the first Academy in North Wales to receive this status. The donation of this facility to the region will certainly make a difference to sustainable skills and learning both now, and as we also look forward to other large construction projects across North Wales once the Prison build is complete.” Mark Bodger, Strategic Partnerships Director for CITB Cymru Wales, said: “The North Wales prison development will provide a substantial boost to the industry in North Wales and we want to ensure that the local community and construction sector maximise on the benefits from this landmark project. The granting of Skills Academy status will help Lendlease and its contractors give young people a wide range of opportunities through the project, including developing skills that will last them a lifetime.” This latest initiative builds on the strong progress already being made with the Employment, Skills and Engagement Symposium. The Symposium is also indicative of Lendlease’s wider commitment to providing significant employment and business opportunities for the immediate community and wider North Wales region. The commitments include 100 new apprenticeships and 500 work placement days per year.