Water Eaton development to bring £24.6m investment and up to 400 affordable homes to Oxfordshire
More than £24.6 million will be invested in local infrastructure as part of the planning agreement for a community of up to 800 new homes which is set to be built in Water Eaton. Bellway and Christ Church Oxford have worked together on the plans to create a sustainable community on land to the east of Oxford Road. The development will provide up to 400 affordable homes and serve as a new gateway to the city of Oxford. Cherwell District Council’s planning committee first gave its backing to the outline plans in June 2024. The formal planning agreement has now been issued, detailing the wider commitments Bellway and Christ Church have made. Financial contributions include £7.74 million for primary education, £5.86 million for secondary education, more than £6.5 million towards roads and transport and more than £2.2 million for sports facilities. The development will enhance biodiversity on the land by more than 20 per cent and has been awarded a Building with Nature design accreditation. Paul Smits, Managing Director for Bellway Northern Home Counties, said: “This new community in Water Eaton has been designed to bring benefits to local residents and to the environment. “This requires more than simply building homes. Our plans demonstrate how the foundations will be laid for a new neighbourhood featuring vast areas of parkland, orchards and play areas, a community area and school, as well as new housing, all connected by walkways and cycle paths to encourage green modes of travel. “Wildlife habitats will be created and enhanced, while historic features such as the underground remains of historic barrows will be protected. “The provision of up to 400 energy-efficient affordable homes, as well as the significant financial support for local services, will deliver tangible benefits to people living in this part of Oxfordshire.” Wilf Stephenson, Chief Information Officer for Christ Church, said: “Four hundred affordable homes in Oxford is a significant number, and one that reflects Christ Church’s genuine commitment to the communities around its landholdings. “Sustainability has been central to the design of this development from the outset: our Responsible Ownership Policy for Property sets rigorous standards across ecology, energy, carbon and wellbeing, and those standards have shaped every decision taken at Water Eaton. “We look forward to seeing a community built here that benefits both the people who live in it and the environment around it.” The development will provide land for a new primary school and funding towards land for a secondary school. Financial contributions will also support household recycling, road and transport improvements, and a community development worker. The outline planning consent gives formal approval to the masterplan and core areas of the development. Detailed plans for each area will be prepared by Bellway and submitted to Cherwell District Council for approval before work begins. The first detailed planning application for infrastructure is due to be submitted in the coming weeks, with a residential application to follow soon afterwards. Bellway hopes to start work later this year. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Broad Marsh Revival Moves Forward as Homes England Seeks Developer Partner
Homes England has launched the search for a development partner to help restart the long-awaited transformation of Nottingham’s former Broad Marsh shopping centre. The government housing agency began preliminary market engagement at UKREiiF as it looks to bring forward a major mixed-use regeneration scheme on one of Nottingham’s most prominent city centre sites. The former shopping centre has remained partly demolished since the collapse of retail group intu in 2020, leaving the site in limbo and creating a major gap in the city’s urban fabric. Homes England stepped in last year to acquire the site from Nottingham City Council, including land west of the Green Heart, a multi-storey car park, Severns House and a former college site. The wider Broad Marsh vision is expected to deliver around 1,000 new homes, alongside up to 20,000 sq m of retail, office and community space. The project is also set to include Grade A offices, leisure uses, improved public realm and new green spaces. The latest market engagement is aimed at identifying an experienced master development partner capable of helping to accelerate delivery and unlock the site’s potential as a new city quarter. Demolition works, expected to cost around £30m, are already well underway. The scheme is being brought forward through a collaboration between Homes England, Nottingham City Council and the East Midlands Combined County Authority. The partners hope work on the main redevelopment can begin in 2028. Plans for Broad Marsh focus on reconnecting key city centre destinations and improving routes for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users. New public spaces will be shaped around Nottingham’s “green heart”, helping to create a more open, accessible and sustainable part of the city centre. Homes England Executive Regional Director for the Midlands, Jo Nugent, said: “Broad Marsh presents a transformative opportunity for Nottingham. “Our partnership with Nottingham City Council, and now the East Midlands Combined Authority, formalised through our Collaboration Agreement, reflects a unified commitment from the public sector to bring this project to market successfully. “We are now focused on securing an experienced Master Development Partner who shares our vision and will work collaboratively with us to deliver a vibrant, mixed-use city quarter that Nottingham can be proud of for generations to come.” If delivered as planned, the Broad Marsh redevelopment will mark a major step forward for Nottingham’s regeneration ambitions, turning a stalled retail site into a new destination for homes, jobs, leisure and community life. Development timeline Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Novus Property Solutions chosen to deliver upgrade programme for Aspire Housing
Maintenance, refurbishment and fit-out contractor Novus Property Solutions has secured a new contract with Aspire Housing to deliver improvements across the housing association’s portfolio of homes in Staffordshire and Cheshire. With many of the windows and doors across the portfolio now more than a decade old, the improvement works are essential to improving building efficiency and performance, alongside occupant comfort and safety. As an experienced maintenance and refurbishment contractor, the Novus team will carry out these essential works sensitively to minimise disruption for residents. As the efficiency of homes comes under greater scrutiny en route to net-zero, the improvements carried out by Novus will contribute towards the longevity of social homes within Aspire Housing’s portfolio. “We’re really pleased to be working with Aspire Housing to deliver new windows and doors across their homes,” says David Barnes, Operations Manager at Novus Property Solutions. “Many of their properties are close to our head office, making this a local project for us and an opportunity to make a difference in our own community and beyond. That makes it an opportunity to deliver a high standard of improvement works that make a genuine impact on residents in our local community. “We’d like to thank Aspire Housing for selecting us as one of two contractors for this project, alongside Anglian Windows. Together, we’ll be upgrading windows and doors across approximately 200 properties, making a real difference to occupant comfort while ensuring these homes are fit for purpose for years to come.” Project mobilisation is already underway for the projects, with improvement works due to commence in July. As part of Novus’ commitment to supporting the next generation of skilled workers in the construction industry, an apprentice will work alongside the highly experienced team to deliver works across the project. Aspire Housing has more than 9,500 homes in its portfolio and is committed to putting its 19,000 customers first with the delivery of safe, decent homes. To find out more about Novus Property Solutions and its work in the social housing sector, visit: www.novussolutions.co.uk Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
HMS selects Totalmobile to strengthen maintenance operations across Torus Group
New platform to support repair services across more than 40,000 homes Housing Maintenance Solutions (HMS), Torus Group’s in-house building and maintenance contractor, has partnered with Totalmobile to enhance housing repair services in the North West. Supporting around 83,000 tenants across more than 40,000 homes, HMS will adopt Totalmobile’s award-winning Field First platform to streamline job tracking and provide real-time updates for its operational teams. Through the partnership, HMS will bring job management, mobile working and real-time operational insight into a single system, giving teams clearer visibility of work in progress, supporting more efficient scheduling and helping ensure repairs are completed more quickly and consistently for residents. David Webb, Managing Director for Housing at Totalmobile, said: “Across the sector, expectations around repairs and maintenance have shifted. Housing providers and their maintenance partners need to be able to see what’s happening in real time, respond quickly and maintain control over increasingly complex operations. Partnerships like this are about putting those foundations in place, so services can be delivered consistently and residents know what to expect.” John Barrow, Managing Director at HMS, said: “By partnering with Totalmobile, we’re building a strong foundation for the future of our repairs and maintenance service. With the Field First platform, we will have full operational visibility, which will help us respond more effectively and keep customers informed as issues are resolved quickly.” As housing providers continue to scale operations and respond to rising expectations, there is an increasing focus on improving efficiency, visibility and service consistency across maintenance delivery. For Totalmobile, the partnership reflects continued growth in supporting housing maintenance organisations responsible for large-scale property operations. For more information about Totalmobile, visit the Field Service Management Hub Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
New applications brochure from Polypipe Building Services simplifies water system designs
Polypipe Building Services has launched a new applications guide designed to help specifiers, consultants, contractors and any other party involved navigate the complexity of water supply system design, with a clear, practical route to selecting high-performance, sustainable solutions. Titled ‘A guide to water supply applications’, the brochure matches common system requirements, including boosted cold water, domestic hot water, heating systems and chilled water, with the best-suited solutions from its MecFlow supply systems range. By aligning product selection with real-world applications, the guide aims to simplify decision-making across a wide range of building types. The guide responds directly to the challenges faced on modern construction projects, from labour shortages and tighter site constraints to evolving regulatory and sustainability requirements. And with pressures around carbon reduction, water quality and long-term system performance continuing to grow, it demonstrates how the pipework specification can directly influence the efficiency, sustainability, and reliability of water supply systems. As well as outlining key considerations for each application, the brochure highlights how plastic pipe systems can support the long-term health of a system and how material selection can contribute to more efficient, lower-maintenance solutions, supporting both operational performance and whole-life sustainability. “Specifying water supply systems is becoming increasingly complex, with more variables to consider across performance, compliance and sustainability,” explained Scott Clark, Senior Product Manager at Polypipe Building Services. “This guide is designed to bring clarity to that process, helping our customers match the right solution to the demands of each application, while also considering long-term system health and efficiency.” The brochure features Polypipe’s MecFlow Press and MecFlow Fusion systems, both engineered to support reliable, high-performance installations across a range of applications. To learn more, read the new brochure here: https://www.polypipebuildingservices.com/applications/application-brochure/ Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
wienerberger begins construction on world’s first fully electric roof tile kiln at Broomfleet
wienerberger UK & Ireland has begun construction on the world’s first fully electric tunnel kiln for the manufacture of clay roof tiles at its Broomfleet roof tile manufacturing site in East Yorkshire, marking a major milestone in the company’s long‑term decarbonisation strategy and its ambition to transform heavy clay manufacturing. The electric kiln in “Factory e” will replace the conventional natural‑gas-powered firing processes with a 100% electric, renewable‑powered system. Once operational, the new kiln is expected to reduce Scope 1 carbon emissions from this factory production line by 75%, saving 4,700 tonnes of CO₂ per year, while maintaining product quality and performance. The project represents a £37 million investment in UK manufacturing, with £4.3 million funded through the UK Government’s Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), which supports industrial fuel‑switching and energy efficiency projects to help decarbonise hard‑to‑abate sectors. By removing natural gas entirely from the roof tile firing process, Factory e will play a critical role in supporting wienerberger’s transition to net‑zero carbon emissions, while strengthening the long‑term future of roof tile production at Broomfleet. Factory e will replace a disused factory line at Broomfleet, during which the old manufacturing equipment will undergo complete replacement, enabling the move to electric firing to be delivered without interrupting ongoing product. Construction activity is now underway on site, with the former factory building cleared and extensive civil engineering works in progress. Key equipment has begun arriving on site in preparation for installation. Keith Barker, Chief Operating Officer at wienerberger UK & Ireland, said: “The start of construction at Broomfleet represents a pivotal step in our journey to decarbonise heavy clay manufacturing. Factory e demonstrates how electrification can deliver substantial carbon emission reductions while maintaining product quality, operational resilience and long‑term competitiveness. Alongside our hydrogen brick kiln project at Denton, it underlines our multi‑technology approach to achieving net zero and our commitment to building for what’s next.” Mark Brook, Operations Director at wienerberger UK & Ireland, added: “Factory e will fundamentally change how roof tiles are made at Broomfleet. We are installing the first electric kiln of its kind for clay roof tiles, alongside modern automation and control technology that improves safety, efficiency and consistency. The same raw materials will be used, and extensive trials and testing give us confidence that product quality will remain unchanged. We are also investing significantly in our site workforce, creating development opportunities as we upskill teams to use the latest technology.” The Factory e project is planned to be completed in 2027, reflecting the complexity of delivering a fully electric tunnel kiln and the associated upgrades required to power the new factory line. As part of the transition, production and engineering teams are being trained and upskilled to operate and maintain the new, more automated equipment. The electrified line will primarily manufacture plain tiles and related accessories, fully replacing the existing gas‑fired kiln previously used for this production. The Broomfleet electric kiln forms a key part of wienerberger UK & Ireland’s wider decarbonisation programme, alongside its hydrogen‑fuelled kiln project at Denton brickworks. Together, these investments showcase a multi‑technology pathway to reducing industrial emissions and accelerating the transition to low‑carbon manufacturing across the company’s UK operations. To discover more about wienerberger’s ambitions to decarbonise operations as part of its sustainability strategy, please visit www.wienerberger.co.uk/sustainability. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals