Major refurbishment at iconic 43 Castle Street in Liverpool
A significant refurbishment programme is underway at 43 Castle Street in Liverpool City Centre, as the Local Authority Pension Fund owner invests in upgrading the iconic and well-known office building to meet evolving occupier expectations and needs. The works will focus on enhancing both workspace quality and occupier wellbeing, with a full refurbishment of the first floor alongside the introduction of new end-of-journey facilities. Due for completion in December 2026, the first-floor refurbishment will deliver a range of modern office suites, including spaces with access to private terraces. The redesign reflects changing demand for high-quality, flexible accommodation in central locations. A further phase, completing in Q1 2027, will see the delivery of new basement end-of-journey facilities. These will include showers, secure cycle storage and dry lockers, supporting more sustainable commuting choices and day-to-day convenience for occupiers. The building, located in Liverpool’s established commercial quarter and Castle Street Conservation Area, has already undergone upgrades in recent years, including improvements to the reception and selected office floors. This latest programme represents the next stage in its repositioning. Project management consultancy T&T is advising on the scheme. Simon Hepple, Project Manager at T&T, said: “Environmental and social improvements, including diversity, inclusivity, belonging and equity is embedded in all aspects of our advice and project delivery to enhance sustainability and occupant wellbeing, including access to and around the building.” Letting agent CBRE says the refurbishment is aligned with clear shifts in occupier priorities. Jade Bushell, Surveyor at CBRE, commented: “Occupier requirements have shifted significantly over recent years, with businesses prioritising quality, flexibility, ESG and wellbeing in their real estate decisions. This refurbishment scheme reflects those priorities, helping to create an environment that supports modern working practices and enhances everyday occupier experience.” Suites will be available in a range of sizes, targeting both established businesses and growing occupiers seeking a central Liverpool base with upgraded amenities. CBRE is sole letting agent. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
M Group launches first Sustainability Strategy alongside 2026 ESG Report
Five-year plan commits M Group to 100% electric company cars and a 42% cut in Scope 1 and 2 emissions by FY30, as FY2026 results show emissions are already 20.7% below baseline. M Group, the UK’s leading infrastructure services partner, has launched its first Sustainability Strategy, turning its environmental, social and governance priorities into a clear set of measurable commitments through to 2032. The move comes after the Group unveiled record levels of revenue, profit and order book in its FY26 results. Published alongside M Group’s FY2026 ESG Report, the strategy follows the Group’s first Double Materiality Assessment, carried out with independent sustainability advisers ERM. It focuses on seven material outcomes across three pillars: Environmental Stewardship, Social Responsibility, and Trusted Operations. The Group Operations Board has endorsed the strategy, with each outcome given a named executive owner and sitting within M Group’s risk and assurance processes, with progress reported annually. The strategy’s headline commitments include: The accompanying FY2026 ESG Report records: Andrew Findlay, M Group Chief Executive, said: “We support the country’s critical regulated businesses to deliver vital services for communities across the UK, and they need like-minded partners who can help them deliver their binding environmental commitments. Our ambition is simple: to leave things better than we found them – better infrastructure, better careers and a better business for those who come after us.” Andrew Hunt, Director of ESG and Innovation at M Group, said: “The report shows how we’ve performed; the strategy sets out where we’re going. Each material outcome has an owner and a measurable target or milestone, and we’ll report progress every year. This is the direction our business is heading, will measure, and be held accountable to.” M Group’s Sustainability Strategy 2027-2032 is available here and the ESG Report 2026 is available here Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Shawbrook completes £60.5m refinancing for Grace Real Estate Partners
Five-year facility supports the next phase of Grace’s 832-unit Northern Portfolio strategy Shawbrook has completed a £60.5m, five-year interest-only senior facility for Grace Real Estate Partners, refinancing its 832-unit Northern Portfolio and supporting the next phase of its investment and asset management strategy. The transaction represents the largest facility completed by Shawbrook to date. The facility is secured across a residential portfolio in Newcastle and the wider North East. It provides Grace with a long-term capital structure as it continues to optimise income, invest in the quality and energy efficiency of the assets, and capture further rental and operational upside. Grace, a UK-focused real estate investment and asset management firm, entered the Newcastle market in 2023 with the acquisition of a 478-unit residential portfolio. In June 2025, it acquired a further 354 self-contained studios across three freehold buildings in central Newcastle, creating a residential cluster of 832 units. Following the execution of its value-add strategy, Grace sought to refinance the portfolio’s existing debt and move the assets beyond the acquisition and initial value-creation phase into a period of continued optimisation and income growth. Since acquisition, the portfolio has achieved a c.22% uplift in value over aggregate acquisition value, supported by rental growth, targeted capital expenditure, improved occupancy and the professionalisation of operations. Grace’s modernisation and energy-efficiency programme has also been delivered on time and below budget to date. Shawbrook’s Structured Real Estate team worked closely with Grace to understand the portfolio’s income performance, its vertically integrated operating platform and its wider business plan. The resulting facility was structured to align with the established income profile of the assets and support continued investment across the portfolio. Tirath Singh, Head of Structured Real Estate at Shawbrook: “We are delighted to support Grace with this significant refinancing. The portfolio’s strong performance reflects targeted investment and active management. By understanding the assets and wider business plan, we provided a flexible, long-term facility to support the next phase.” Georges Tohme, Founding Director at Grace Real Estate Partners: “Shawbrook and their professional and dedicated team engaged with both the portfolio and our wider business plan from the outset, and that understanding was central to delivering a transaction of this scale with certainty. Since our initial investment in Newcastle in 2023, we have built significant operational scale, strengthened income performance and continued to invest in the quality and energy efficiency of the assets. The new facility provides an appropriate long-term capital structure for the next phase of our business plan. We are thrilled with the outcome of this refinancing.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
London Co-Living Could Gain Faster Planning Route Under New Draft London Plan
London’s fast-growing co-living sector could benefit from a clearer route through the planning system under proposals contained within the new draft London Plan, potentially helping developers unlock more purpose-built shared living schemes across the capital. The emerging policy introduces an important change for Large-scale Purpose-built Shared Living (LSPBSL), the planning terminology used for developments commonly known as co-living. Under the proposals, co-living schemes would ordinarily continue through the viability-tested planning route and make a payment towards conventional affordable housing. However, developments providing conventional affordable housing on site at the relevant threshold could instead qualify for the Fast Track Route. For developers, investors and design teams operating in the co-living market, the change could provide another option when structuring schemes and their affordable housing provision. The Fast Track Route is designed to provide greater planning certainty for developments meeting the required affordable housing and other policy criteria, reducing the need for the detailed viability information associated with the viability-tested process. The proposal comes as London continues to explore different housing models capable of responding to demand while making more effective use of constrained urban land. Co-living has emerged as one such model, typically combining private living accommodation with considerably larger communal areas and shared facilities. Developments can incorporate lounges, co-working areas, kitchens and dining spaces, gyms, terraces and landscaped areas, with the buildings generally operated under a single management structure. The draft London Plan places considerable emphasis on the quality of these environments. Proposed policy requires shared living developments to focus on communal living, with internal and external spaces designed to encourage social interaction, alongside functional private living areas. Schemes would also need to be carefully located, designed and managed to complement mixed and inclusive neighbourhoods. Management is another important element. Large-scale shared living developments would be required to operate under single management, supported by a management plan addressing the continued quality and maintenance of the building, security, safety and service arrangements. From a built environment perspective, the proposals could have implications extending beyond planning. Greater certainty around co-living development could create opportunities for architects, contractors, consultants, interior designers, landscape specialists and property management businesses as schemes move from feasibility and planning into construction and long-term operation. Co-living is particularly suited to complex urban regeneration and mixed-use developments where residential accommodation can be combined with commercial uses, active ground floors, amenities and new public realm. The draft policy specifically recognises that purpose-built shared living can form part of mixed-use regeneration and redevelopment schemes where locations are well connected to local services and public transport. The wider draft London Plan was published on 16 July 2026 and remains under consultation until 15 October, meaning the policies are proposals rather than adopted planning requirements. If carried through into the final plan, the new approach could give co-living developers a more defined choice over affordable housing delivery while further establishing purpose-built shared living as part of London’s evolving residential and BTR landscape. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Arada submits planning applications for £2.5bn Thameside West, unlocking nearly 1,500 homes, affordable housing and new waterfront park at East London regeneration project
Arada, the leading international master developer, has submitted a series of planning applications to the London Borough of Newham to advance the delivery of Thameside West, one of London’s largest and most ambitious regeneration projects, with proposals that would unlock the delivery of affordable housing and connect the area between the Thames and Royal Docks for the first time. Spanning over 47 acres in London’s Royal Docks, Thameside West has a Gross Development Value of £2.5 billion, with the potential to deliver at least 5,000 homes as part of a vibrant new district of East London. Building on the existing hybrid planning permission, the plans set out Arada’s landscape-led approach to the first stage of the project. This stage comprises nearly 1,500 new homes across six buildings, the first two of which will now be 100% social rent and will include three and four bedroom family homes. The plans are also designed to improve the permeability between buildings, which are organised around a network of streets, gardens, parks and shared spaces. New ground floor units facing onto the park will provide space for amenities, such as cafes and restaurants. A coherent architectural character has been applied, which responds to the individual positioning of each building along the dock-facing edge, park and Bell Lane, which now forms part of the site. At the heart of the proposals will be a new seven-acre park, alongside around 1,000 new trees, creating a greener, more biodiverse environment for residents and the wider community. The park will serve both recreational and everyday needs, framed by smaller gardens and planted edges to enhance biodiversity, as well as dedicated play spaces including adventure-filled woodland areas, play trails and play-on-the-way spaces. This is further complemented by a kilometre of active waterfront and a riverside walk along Bell Lane, which marks the south-east border of the site. A community design group of 20 local residents is working with Arada to help shape a section of park around local needs. A series of workshops is now underway, giving residents the opportunity to share local knowledge, explore ideas and inform the design of a welcoming and inclusive public space. Accessible public realm and landscaping sit at the heart of Arada’s vision for Thameside West, creating a new destination for recreation, leisure and community use and forging a new connection between the Thames and the Royal Docks. The rich industrial heritage of Silvertown will be woven into the design through the use of ropework-inspired detailing and paths. This underscores Arada’s commitment to unlocking and delivering high quality, genuinely affordable new homes that meet local need with a focus on nature and wellbeing. Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, Group CEO of Arada, said: “Thameside West is a landscape-led masterplan, composed by nature, open to all and made for London. “This is London’s next social gateway: a new riverfront neighbourhood inspired by the future, where local life meets global ambition once again and where homes, wellness, water, culture and community are connected by design. “This is one of London’s most significant remaining riverfront regeneration opportunities – more than 5,000 homes, over one kilometre of river frontage and over six hectares of publicly accessible amenity. We have the ambition to create more than a new residential district. Thameside West is planned as a neighbourhood within the city, not an enclave at its edge: a new piece of East London where the quality of everyday London life comes first.” Tom Copley, Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development, said: “Tackling London’s housing crisis is the Mayor’s top priority and Thameside West will help deliver the new homes Londoners deserve, including much needed social rent and family housing. “By combining affordability, high-quality design and generous green spaces, Thameside West will transform a key brownfield site in the Royal Docks into a thriving new neighbourhood and help build a better, fairer London for everyone.” Situated across the river from Greenwich Peninsula and Canary Wharf, with Royal Victoria Dock, City Hall, Excel and Silvertown to the north and east, Thameside West sits at the meeting point of the Thames, the Royal Docks and some of London’s most significant transport, cultural and regeneration infrastructure. Arada is progressing design development with Transport for London (TfL) on a new DLR station, a major piece of public infrastructure, which it is intended to open in time for the arrival of the site’s first residents. The DLR is one of the UK’s busiest light rail routes with 97.8 million passenger journeys recorded during the year ended March 2025.[1] The wider area is well served by public transport, and a new station will offer enhanced accessibility for future Thameside West residents and nearby neighbours and businesses. Thameside West is being brought forward in partnership with the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) Royal Docks Team, reflecting a shared commitment to delivering new homes, public infrastructure and long-term economic growth across the Royal Docks. Global architecture firm Gensler, global built environment consultancy Arup, and landscape architects Planit are advising on the scheme. [1] Department for Transport, Light rail and tram statistics, England: year ending March 2025 Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Willmott Dixon Tops Out £140m Derriford Emergency Care Centre in New Hospital Programme Milestone
Willmott Dixon has reached a major construction milestone at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, topping out the £140 million emergency care building that is set to transform urgent and emergency healthcare provision across Plymouth, South Devon and Cornwall. The project represents the first Wave 1 scheme within the Government’s New Hospital Programme to reach this stage, marking significant progress for one of the NHS’s major healthcare infrastructure investments. Representatives from Willmott Dixon, its supply chain and the wider design team joined University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust (UHP) and hospital staff to celebrate completion of the building’s structural frame. Construction of the frame has required approximately 10,900 cubic metres of concrete and 1,900 tonnes of recycled steel reinforcement, with reducing embodied carbon forming an important part of the structural design from the outset. Around 55% of the cement content has been replaced with ground granulated blast-furnace slag (GGBS), a by-product of iron and steel production. This approach has resulted in an estimated carbon saving of 1,625 tonnes from the concrete used on the project to date. The sustainability strategy forms part of a wider drive to reduce the environmental impact of new NHS infrastructure. The Derriford development is one of the first New Hospital Programme schemes designed to meet the NHS Net Zero Building Standard, placing energy performance and carbon reduction at the heart of its design and construction. Once completed in April 2029, the new building will provide four clinical floors of modern, purpose-built accommodation for urgent and emergency care. An expanded Emergency Department will occupy the ground floor, increasing capacity and providing facilities designed specifically around modern emergency healthcare requirements. Following completion, the hospital’s existing emergency department will be reconfigured to create a dedicated Paediatric Emergency Department. The investment will provide an important upgrade to Derriford Hospital’s healthcare estate while supporting services for patients across a wide regional catchment. Delivery of the £140 million scheme is being undertaken through the ProCure23 framework, which is used by NHS organisations to procure healthcare construction and development projects. With the structural frame now complete, attention will increasingly move towards the building envelope, mechanical and electrical services, internal fit-out and the extensive specialist clinical infrastructure required before the new facility can become operational. The topping out represents an important step towards the April 2029 completion target and provides a significant early construction milestone for the wider New Hospital Programme. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals