Interserve is targeting work on the Scottish highways network. The firm’s infrastructure boss Chris Tyerman said that the company was winning a number of highways jobs north of the border. He said that the Scottish highways market offered a range of opportunities for the business and that building a presence
Aarsleff Ground Engineering has started its biggest ever UK project, installing piles for homeware retailer The Range’s new distribution centre in Avonmouth, Bristol. The £100 million big shed is being constructed by McLaren Construction for developer Stoford Properties. Work commenced on the site in July this year and Aarsleff is
A joint venture between First Bus and Weston-Super-Mare based Crosville Motor Services, Somerset Passenger Solutions, has been confirmed as the contractor for services to the new Hinkley Point nuclear station. The 10 year deal with EDF Energy will operate high frequency services for employees to Hinkley Point C from dedicated
Construction work has got under way on a £5.5 million operations and maintenance facility in the Wirral for major renewable energy firm DONG Energy. Robertson North West, which is part of the £300 million turnover infrastructure group Robertson, has begun work on-site on the project at Kings Wharf in Seacombe.
United Utilities (UU) has announced in its latest trading statement that it is continuing to accelerate its AMP6 capital investment programme this year. The accelerated programme will allow the firm to deliver operational benefits early customer service, enhancing asset resilience and optimising performance under its outcome delivery incentives (ODIs). Total
An energy expert told delegates at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool that any potential gains from domestic demand side response (DSR) are “limited.” Domestic consumers are not able to shift their demand in the same way as industrial energy users and therefore the savings on offer are relatively small.
Morgan Sindall has been contracted by Heathrow Airport to carry out £7.3 million of refurbishment and improvement work to its stands, runways and infrastructure. Pre-contract enabling works have been carried out to make sure that there is no damage to underground services and the project team has already finished the
The Science and Technology Committee says that the government is “not being clear” on the benefits of smart meters. The Committee said that there are “too many objectives” for the rollout, which could hinder its implementation. The report stated that the government should be clearer about the main purpose of
A joint venture of Swedish giant Skanska with local companies Forest Traffic Services and RK Bell, the Somerset Infrastructure Alliance, has started work on delivering site infrastructure services for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. Somerset Infrastructure Alliance will carry out fencing, signage, landscaping and site road maintenance, and
The latest report by Water UK has found that there is a significant and growing risk of severe drought impacts arising from population growth and climate change. The group believes that concerted action is now required to build resilience of supply as the first of its kind research modelled the
Interserve is targeting work on the Scottish highways network. The firm’s infrastructure boss Chris Tyerman said that the company was winning a number of highways jobs north of the border. He said that the Scottish highways market offered a range of opportunities for the business and that building a presence there was the “natural step to creating organic growth”. Mr Tyerman was appointed as Interserve’s infrastructure head in November 2014 following several years at Costain, where his roles included director of highways maintenance and deputy managing director. Interserve Construction Director, Ian Renhard, said at the time that Mr Tyerman’s appointment was part of the firm’s strategy to grow its infrastructure division, singling out highways work as a particularly important area of strategic planning for the business. In March last year, the firm made the decision to target the Scottish highways sector, with Interserve bidding for its first roads job in the early part of this year after “positive conversations with Transport Scotland and local authorities”, Mr Tyerman said. He continued: “When we look at what projects are attractive to us and we look at who the customer is and what the funding process is… and whether it sits in a range of projects that allows us to operate competently and comprehensively, there are certainly schemes in Scotland that fall within that assessment criteria and that is the reason why we have moved towards that market.” Interserve has already established itself in the highways sector in England by securing a series of local and strategic road contracts over the last two years. In June, it was chosen on four out of six of the highways lots for the £1.5bn North-east Procurement Organisation framework covering infrastructure work throughout the region. The company was also one of five businesses to be chosen in the medium-value lot of Highways England’s £5 billion Collaborative Delivery Framework for work up to £25 million.
Aarsleff Ground Engineering has started its biggest ever UK project, installing piles for homeware retailer The Range’s new distribution centre in Avonmouth, Bristol. The £100 million big shed is being constructed by McLaren Construction for developer Stoford Properties. Work commenced on the site in July this year and Aarsleff is installing more than 15,000 precast piles to support both the main slab and roof stanchions of the finished structure as well as several peripheral buildings, such as sprinkler tank bases. Most piles for the project will be 250mm section DPC, with the rest being 300mm piles, with ground conditions anticipated to be a significant depth of tidal flat deposits. The piles will be bearing onto Mercian Mudstone, which is typical of the strata suitable for a DPC approach. Aarsleff General Manager, Kevin Hague, commented: “This is the largest piling project that Aarsleff UK has ever undertaken in its 25-year history and is a tremendous vote of confidence in our precast piling solutions. “It is also our first project for McLaren Construction and given the scope of works it highlights the high degree of trust they have put in us, the result of our previous dealings with them and our industry reputation.” Aarsleff supported McLaren’s bid for the scheme to assess the potential cost implications of several loading scenarios for the formerly unconfirmed roof loadings. Aarsleff also highlighted the twin issues of both negative skin friction and the cost implications of using various joint types, to inform client-contractor negotiations. Earlier in the month, Aarsleff Ground Engineering took over A&J Geotechnical Services. Aarsleff managing director Chris Primett said: “The acquisition of A&J Geotechnical Services is a strategic move, which now allows Aarsleff to provide more diverse and comprehensive ground package solutions. He added: “A&J is a perfect fit for Aarsleff. Both companies have a vision of providing clients with a multidisciplinary offer where the best service, techniques and commercial offering is delivered by vastly experienced teams.”
A joint venture between First Bus and Weston-Super-Mare based Crosville Motor Services, Somerset Passenger Solutions, has been confirmed as the contractor for services to the new Hinkley Point nuclear station. The 10 year deal with EDF Energy will operate high frequency services for employees to Hinkley Point C from dedicated park-and-ride sites, staff campus accommodation and from surrounding towns and villages for employees living throughout the region. The joint venture will also provide internal site shuttles and transport for visitors from airports, railway stations and hotels. EDF Energy has estimated that around 25,000 jobs will be created through the construction of the new power station and around 5,600 people will be employed on site during its peak. Somerset Passenger Solutions is starting a recruitment campaign for the 300 staff it will need and is planning to order up to 160 new buses. Jonathan Jones Pratt, chairman, Crosville Motor Services, said: “This is great news for our company and this region of the UK, especially given the local training legacy that we will bring to the table.” “Our joint venture brings together unique skills and experiences. I’m delighted that our partnership and the good work we’ve been doing in providing bus services to the site under the current interim contract has been recognised.” Alex Carter, managing director, First Bus in the South West, added: “This contract is great news for our business and the wider community, and will help to secure and create jobs. We look forward to providing EDF Energy’s employees with simple, seamless, frequent and reliable bus services during the construction period.” Crosville was awarded the interim contract status two years ago and has invited First Bus to form the joint venture, Somerset Passenger Solutions in June 2014 to meet the scale of the main contract.
Construction work has got under way on a £5.5 million operations and maintenance facility in the Wirral for major renewable energy firm DONG Energy. Robertson North West, which is part of the £300 million turnover infrastructure group Robertson, has begun work on-site on the project at Kings Wharf in Seacombe. The facility is situated at the entrance to the Birkenhead dock system. Once complete, it is anticipated that the facility will be home to 45 full-time staff serving the Burbo Bank offshore wind farm along with the new Burbo Bank Extension which is due to be complete next year. Office space, and changing, welfare and ancillary facilities, will be arranged across two floors with an accompanying warehouse. Regional managing director of Robertson North West, Carl Wilde, commented: “We are delighted to start construction on this exciting development that will regenerate a site in an important docklands location. “We look forward to working closely with DONG Energy to deliver this project, and providing them with a quality base from which they can operate and maintain their wind farms.” Senior construction engineer at DONG Energy, Brian McMorrow, added: “It was important for us to use a regionally based construction company so we’re really pleased to be working with Robertson North West. DONG Energy is committed to investing in the UK and we are very proud to be playing an important role in the redevelopment of this part of Kings Wharf.” The project is due to be complete in mid-2017. DONG Energy has also announced plans to build what it claims will be the biggest offshore wind operations and maintenance hub in the UK in Grimsby to support its work in the area. The Danish energy firm announced on Friday that subject to planning approval, the new multi-million pound hub is set to be developed in the town’s Royal Dock and will initially support DONG’s Westermost Rough, Race Bank and Hornsea Project One offshore wind farms.
United Utilities (UU) has announced in its latest trading statement that it is continuing to accelerate its AMP6 capital investment programme this year. The accelerated programme will allow the firm to deliver operational benefits early customer service, enhancing asset resilience and optimising performance under its outcome delivery incentives (ODIs). Total regulatory capital investment for 2016/17, including infrastructure renewals expenditure, is anticipated to be around £800 million, which is similar to last year. This continued high investment level will help UU to improve and maintain customer services, deliver more environmental benefits and provide a major contribution to the regional economy. The firm said it has seen continued strong performance in the areas of pollution incidents and private sewers. It added that the modernisation programme at its Davyhulme wastewater treatment works is also progressing well. UU said in a statement that its current trading is in line with group expectations for the six months ending September 30, 2016.It continued to deliver improvements in operational performance and customer service. Earlier in the year, UU attained ‘industry leading company’ status, as measured through the annual assessment of the Environment Agency, and earlier in the month it retained its Dow Jones Sustainability Index ‘World Class’ rating for the ninth year in succession. The firm said it was also encouraged by Ofwat’s 2016/17 first wave service incentive mechanism (SIM) qualitative score, which highlights more improvement in customer satisfaction in comparison with the previous year. The company said it will also continue to invest in its ‘systems thinking’ approach, which integrates the use of its assets, leverages data intelligence and employs new work processes and technology to support operational performance enhancement. It will roll out additional new capability later in the year, supporting its drive for more improvement. Group revenue is expected to be slightly lower than the first half of last year, reflecting the accounting impact of UU’s Water Plus business retail joint venture, which completed on June 1, partly offset by its allowed regulatory revenue changes.
An energy expert told delegates at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool that any potential gains from domestic demand side response (DSR) are “limited.” Domestic consumers are not able to shift their demand in the same way as industrial energy users and therefore the savings on offer are relatively small. Richard Howard, Policy Exchange Head of Energy and Environment, said that their ability to actually shift their demand is not that good as most of the time in a household when you need energy, you need energy. He added: “There are a few things that you could shift; you could set your dishwasher to run at a different time and things like that, but you can’t set your lights to run at a different time because actually you need them to see.” Even when domestic customers are offered time of use tariffs and do their best to play around with their energy usage “over the whole year they might save £50”. “That’s not a level of saving a lot of households would find attractive for that amount of effort.” He said the “big opportunities” could instead be found in managing the demand of large industrial energy users. Lucy Symons, Head of Policy at Open Energi, said that they started out in fridges, so they started making fridges demand responsive, but they were making three pounds per fridge per year which is not a business case. Nevertheless, she said the economics had “gotten better” and that domestic demand management is still worth pursuing in the long run: “I think we can stagger this. We don’t have to take on this challenge immediately.” Last week the Science and Technology Committee called on the government to be clearer on the benefits its hopes to secure from the smart meter rollout. The government lists 11 different objectives for the project, including saving customers’ money on energy bills.
Morgan Sindall has been contracted by Heathrow Airport to carry out £7.3 million of refurbishment and improvement work to its stands, runways and infrastructure. Pre-contract enabling works have been carried out to make sure that there is no damage to underground services and the project team has already finished the first phase of the scheme, which involved resurfacing the T5 end of the southern runway. The runway was resurfaced with a new polymer modified bitumen (PMB) asphalt, designed to use specifically in airports because of its high levels of strength and crack resistance. The next stage of the project will involve working directly in front of the British Airways Engineering line maintenance base to replace underground stone water-drainage pipes. The site team will work through the night and has constructed a purpose-built route to allow aircraft to reach the base, therefore minimising disruption to one of the busiest areas of the airport. Morgan Sindall is one of four contractors on the Q6 framework, appointed to deliver a £1.5 billion upgrade and improvement framework at Heathrow Airport by 2019. Keith Cannin, managing director of aviation at Morgan Sindall, said: “We have a long standing relationship with Heathrow Airport and a track record of successfully delivering this kind of work. Our site team understand the pressures and considerations involved working in a live airside environment and always take the necessary measures to mitigate interruptions at the airport.” The work is due to be finished by the end of next year and comes after the refurbishment and resurfacing of the airport’s Sierra Taxiway as part of a £16 million contract completed last year. Last month, Heathrow has suffered its worst August for four years, with traffic growth practically coming to a standstill at Britain’s biggest airport last month. The west London hub handled 7,338,852 travellers during the peak summer month, which although a fresh record was just 5,752 more than August last year, a rise of less than 0.1pc.
The Science and Technology Committee says that the government is “not being clear” on the benefits of smart meters. The Committee said that there are “too many objectives” for the rollout, which could hinder its implementation. The report stated that the government should be clearer about the main purpose of smart metering and use this to drive evaluation of the project. It added: “Smart meters need to be clearly understood by the consumer and provide information in a format that the customer finds helpful. In order for consumers to benefit directly from smart metering there will need to be appropriate investment in customer engagement, given that this is being introduced in an era of low public trust in utility providers.” The government has listed 11 different objectives for the scheme, including saving money for customers’ energy bills, despite the amount of money saved by individual consumers set to be small. The report says that the major benefits will be in paving the way for a smarter energy system where to enhance energy security and reduce pollution. However, the report supports the use of in-home displays are part of the rollout as they provide a “necessary feedback mechanism” on energy consumption, despite some stakeholders criticising this. They also discussed smart meter security and members met with the government’s security experts from GCHQ which have the Committee “confidence that security is being taken seriously.” Tania Mathias, Interim Chair of the Committee, commented: “It would be easy to dismiss the smart meter project as an inefficient way of saving a small amount of money on energy bills, but the evidence suggests there are major national benefits, including establishing a smarter, more energy secure grid. “The smart meter mass rollout has been delayed, but the government and suppliers must not skimp on engaging with customers in the rush to fit 50 million more meters by 2020. The evidence shows that homeowners and businesses need to receive tailored advice about how they can benefit from smart metering.”
A joint venture of Swedish giant Skanska with local companies Forest Traffic Services and RK Bell, the Somerset Infrastructure Alliance, has started work on delivering site infrastructure services for the Hinkley Point C nuclear power project. Somerset Infrastructure Alliance will carry out fencing, signage, landscaping and site road maintenance, and will also deliver a number of logistical services to help move vehicles around the site, including minor civil works, winter maintenance, traffic management, site cleaning and footway and carriageway maintenance. The alliance will also be responsible to the co-ordination of all work carried out away from the main construction areas. Simon White, Operations Director at Skanska, commented: “We are proud to be contributing to this project. The unique alliance arrangement that has been created with our local partners is aimed at delivering the project in a highly collaborative way whilst building a local legacy of skills and employment.” Meanwhile, Forest Traffic Services Managing Director, Ross Williams, said they are pleased to be part of the alliance which will deliver site infrastructure services for such an important scheme, adding: “We are looking forward to working in this innovative and collaborative way with our alliance partners to provide a best quality and highly responsive service. “This major opportunity gives us the confidence to make a major investment in recruiting and training additional local staff.” RK Bell managing director Nick Bell added: “This is a fantastic opportunity to move into the new nuclear build sector in a collaborative way, sharing skills and knowledge along the journey. “It has given us an opportunity to continually raise the bar across the business whilst enabling us to invest in higher levels of training and apprentice schemes. Choosing the right partners, who can work well together to deliver on the client’s requirements, has been a clear priority.”
The latest report by Water UK has found that there is a significant and growing risk of severe drought impacts arising from population growth and climate change. The group believes that concerted action is now required to build resilience of supply as the first of its kind research modelled the possible effects of climate change, population growth, environmental protection measures and trends in water use to produce a wide range of future scenarios. It deployed new modelling techniques to look 50 years ahead across the whole of England and Wales. The results suggest that, in some situations, we are facing more frequent, and longer lasting acute droughts than previously thought. The South and East of England are the driest areas of the country and face a greater risk of more severe droughts than those previously experienced, while North and West regions of England also face greater exposure to the prospect of future water shortages. The modelling indicated that extensive measures to manage demand are required, along with enhanced supplies of water, to reduce the risk of droughts. Demand management schemes, such as promoting more efficient water use in homes and businesses, or improving building standards and widespread use of metering, must be used along with ambitious supply plans. These include moving more water from one region to another through existing waterways and new pipelines, building new reservoirs, treating more water for re-use and building desalination plants to make use of sea water. The author of the report concludes that, by adopting a step by step approach, the added cost of making the water supply more resilient to severe droughts would be equal to around £4 per year per household. By contrast, the impact on the economy of inaction could be very high, costing an estimated £1.3 billion per day during the most widespread situations of severe drought modelled in the report.
