With a successful partnership of delivering high quality estate regeneration projects, Higgins has renewed its place as one of the preferred developers on Notting Hill Genesis’ Development Contractors Framework. The framework, which will run for the next four years, will support the delivery of a variety of vibrant mixed-tenure and
Celebrating its centenary, the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital is in Negrar, Verona, and thanks to the expert team and technology in place, it is considered one of Italy’s top medical facilities, and in fact at European level it is recognised as a leader in the healthcare sector. The
Ibstock plc’s innovative approach to reducing carbon emissions in a high carbon world has been recognised at this year’s BusinessGreen Leaders Awards. The UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of clay and concrete building products and solutions was crowned winner of the Manufacturer of the Year Award, a category which recognises
Harron Homes is celebrating two winners of the National House Building Council (NHBC) 2022 Pride in the Job awards. Both 26 year-old Zak Green based at The Hawthornes development in Carlton and Niall Gibson, 30, who works at Thoresby Vale in Edwinstowe were recognised by the NHBC, the UK’s leading
The Gateshead-based contractor recently published its financial accounts for 2021, with a 7% increase in group turnover to £197.9m, the highest since its incorporation. In particular, the group’s housing division has seen the biggest rise growing by more than 40% in 2021 with a turnover of £66.2m. The group recorded
Panattoni, the largest industrial real estate developer in Europe, will speculatively develop the final two units at its sustainable logistics development in Aylesford, Kent, after agreeing pre-lets for the rest of the space. The two units of 100,000 sq ft and 130,000 sq ft at Panattoni Park Aylesford, which are
“I’m going into a tunnel, so I might lose you” likely to be thing of the past on Britain’s new high speed rail network Passengers using Britain’s new high speed rail network will enjoy seamless mobile coverage delivering uninterrupted streaming and calls as trains speed through its tunnels, cuttings and open
A business event hosted in partnership with Crewe and Nantwich MP, Dr Kieran Mullan, has attracted interest from more than 40 companies in the local area who are all keen to play their part in HS2’s construction and seize the opportunity for future business growth. The event, held at Crewe
Economic recovery, climate change, communities and tackling inequalities high on the agenda. The role that Scotland’s historic environment can play in supporting economic recovery, contribute to agendas such as net zero, to communities, and in tackling inequalities, is being discussed in Edinburgh today, Wednesday, 29th June. Delegates from across Scotland
ONE OF the North East’s most ambitious residential developments is set to begin, with Tolent appointed to commence work. Sunderland City Council has signed a deal that will see North East based Tolent take on the construction of 135 ultra-modern homes that will form the new Vaux neighbourhood at Riverside
With a successful partnership of delivering high quality estate regeneration projects, Higgins has renewed its place as one of the preferred developers on Notting Hill Genesis’ Development Contractors Framework. The framework, which will run for the next four years, will support the delivery of a variety of vibrant mixed-tenure and mixed-use schemes across its large development pipeline, which is made up of affordable and private homes for rent or sale, as well as commercial properties and a focus on creating thriving communities. Notting Hill Genesis plans to deliver 7000 new homes over the next five years, in the Greater London area. Steve Leakey, Managing Director of Higgins Partnerships comments, “We already have a well-established partnership working with Notting Hill Genesis on projects including Peckham Place in Peckham, the recently completed Woolwich Reach in Newham and City Park West in Chelmsford. We are pleased to have secured our position on their development framework and look forward to working together to deliver more homes within sustainable communities. “This framework also gives us the opportunity to work with other registered housing providers operating within the Greater London area who already registered and have access to the framework.” The developments will range from 50-unit urban infill sites to estate regeneration projects creating thousands of new homes. These will be delivered through various development models, including purchasing sites to develop themselves, working with the public sector and other developers in partnership or joint ventures and acquiring section 106 units from private developers. For further information about Higgins Partnerships please visit www.higginspartnerships.co.uk
Celebrating its centenary, the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital is in Negrar, Verona, and thanks to the expert team and technology in place, it is considered one of Italy’s top medical facilities, and in fact at European level it is recognised as a leader in the healthcare sector. The hospital is made up of eight buildings with more than 30 medical departments, operating theatres, offices, canteens, and conference rooms. In recent years, the hospital has undergone considerable renovation and expansion and along with this the improvement and adaption of the life safety system. The update to the fire detection system is to ensure the best possible protection for the thousands of people who visit the facility every day as well as the preservation of property, patient data and vital medical equipment. The healthcare sector has a duty of care for its patients, staff and visitors as well as having to provide constant protection of its property and assets from the threat of fire. After extensive assessments and a rigorous qualifying stage by the Hospital technical team and Amperia srl, the installation company, Hochiki fire detection systems and equipment were found to offer the best solution and offered the highest quality standards for the hospital. Hochiki is a well-respected name in healthcare across Europe and famed for its reliability in Italy, particularly when it comes to reduction in false alarms. Minimising this risk was critical to the hospital who wanted to avoid unnecessary and hugely problematic evacuation situations, especially where some patients may find moving around independently difficult and, in some cases, impossible, especially for patients in critical care departments. Following consultation, 26 fire detection panels, including Syncro and Hochiki’s Latitude system, and two Vision remote panels were installed in the hospital, all of which were networked. The project brief stated that it was important the systems and any devices used must be installed with minimum impact on the day to day running of the hospital. Hochiki ESP range was recommended because these devices have been specifically designed to be quick and easy to install and therefore ensured minimal disruption was achieved by the team at Amperia srl. Another priority for the project was that any fire detection system needed to be able to alert every person in the building to an emergency, including visually and hearing-impaired visitors. Hochiki’s range of VADs (visual alarm devices) were used to provide a visual indication of an alarm condition to those people who would not normally be alerted to a fire by standard audible-only devices such as sounders and bells. The final key priority was the ability for the entire system to be continuously monitoring 24 hours a day. During the consultation period between the installers and Hochiki, the fire detection system was designed to provide 24/7 monitoring. This was thanks to the I/O modules and technological fault alarm signals which were also implemented and connected to the fire control panel loop. These were then monitored by the personnel 24 hours a day thanks to two supervision systems, one for the fire detection system and one for the technological alarms. This project at the IRCCS Sacro Cuore Don Calabria Hospital was one of the largest and most complex projects that Hochiki have ever been involved in Italy involving the installation of multiple detectors, Detectors, 10 fire extinguishing systems, 14 gas detection panels and 10 aspirating panels. Davide Montoli, Product Manager at Hochiki Italia, explains: “An interesting aspect of our systems is the “Bridge” communication between different generations of fire alarm control panels. In the case of this Hospital, the possibility of connecting the new L@titude control panels to the existing network of Syncro control panels made it possible to expand the system even though many years had passed since the installation of the original control panel. In fact, Hochiki’s L@titude platform can adapt its communication protocol to ensure backward compatibility with previous generation control panels” Thanks to the expert Hochiki team working closely with both the installer and the technical team at the hospital a high-quality installation was achieved, with the best products on the market installed ensuring that fire safety for patients and staff is kept as a top priority. Loris Fornaser, Technical Manager at the installer company Amperia srl, commented: “As you can imagine the fire safety standards of this project were extremely high due to the complex environment in which a hospital operates. This led us to choose a technologically advanced life safety product that would guarantee the client excellent performance and long-term reliability. The manufacturer’s technical support was always precise and Hochiki proved to be the ideal solution” To learn more about L@titude and the ESP range visit hochikieurope.com
Ibstock plc’s innovative approach to reducing carbon emissions in a high carbon world has been recognised at this year’s BusinessGreen Leaders Awards. The UK’s leading manufacturer and supplier of clay and concrete building products and solutions was crowned winner of the Manufacturer of the Year Award, a category which recognises organisations that are pioneering green manufacturing best practices and principles and are producing new clean technologies and products to cut their environmental impact to support the transition to a greener economy. Now in their 12th year, the BusinessGreen Leaders Awards – co-ordinated by the leading green economy publication BusinessGreen – are the UK’s largest and most prestigious green business awards. In a competitive category, Ibstock won over the judges with “their highly innovative approach to slashing emissions in the high carbon world of brick manufacturing, where the company has pioneered a raft of new approaches and provided a crucial template for others to follow.” Well-known brands from a wide variety of sectors were shortlisted for the award including BAT, Meryl Medical and Polypipe Civils & Green Urbanisation. In the last decade Ibstock has invested £115 million in manufacturing performance, implementing decarbonisation measures, production efficiencies and transformational technologies that reduce the carbon intensity and environmental impact of its operations and products whilst accelerating the businesses journey to net zero. Its achievements include: 17% reduction in CO2 per tonne of production 8% reduction in mains water 13.6% of sales turnover from new and sustainable products 200 tonnes of plastic packing removed Ibstock’s recently launched its Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) strategy to 2030, defining a new era of responsible business and manufacturing, serving as an important accelerator in speeding up the pace of change. Organised under three themes; Address Climate Change; Improve lives; and Manufacture Materials for life, headline ambitions include: 40% reduction in absolute carbon by 2030 20% of sales turnover revenue to come from new products and solutions that deliver customer value and improved sustainability Increase female senior leadership representation to 40% as part of a proactive approach to diversity and inclusion Commenting on the win, Joe Hudson, Ibstock plc’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “As an organisation that is committed to sustainable methods of manufacturing, we are delighted to be recognised as 2022 Manufacturer of the Year at these prestigious awards. Our employees have played a fundamental role in our sustainable success. Engaging and involving our people helps create a better understanding of our goals and ambitions as we work to create a more sustainable future. We are very proud of our progress to date, yet we know that we still have much more to do. Our new ESG strategy to 2030 will take our business on the next stage in its evolution to deliver on the future challenges and opportunities of decarbonisation.” (ends) COMPANY INFORMATION Ibstock is a leading manufacturer and supplier of clay and concrete building solutions to the UK construction industry, specialising in products and systems for the building envelope and infrastructure. Ibstock comprises two divisions – Ibstock Clay and Ibstock Concrete – both with leading market positions in the UK. Ibstock Clay: Our Clay division offers the largest range of bricks manufactured in the UK as well as prefabricated elements, precast solutions and brick-faced façade systems for both low rise and high-rise developments. Ibstock Concrete: Our Concrete division manufactures high quality, precast concrete products for the residential housing and hard landscaping markets and also has a growing position in infrastructure. Ibstock plc is headquartered in Ibstock, Leicestershire, with 36 manufacturing sites across the UK. Ibstock plc’s shares have been listed on the London Stock Exchange since 2015 (symbol: IBST) and it is a constituent of the FTSE 250. Further information can be found at www.ibstockplc.co.uk.
Harron Homes is celebrating two winners of the National House Building Council (NHBC) 2022 Pride in the Job awards. Both 26 year-old Zak Green based at The Hawthornes development in Carlton and Niall Gibson, 30, who works at Thoresby Vale in Edwinstowe were recognised by the NHBC, the UK’s leading home warranty and insurance provider. Its flagship Pride in the Job award is one of the most highly regarded competitions in the industry, showcasing best practice and rewarding excellence. This isn’t the first time Zak’s hard work has been recognised since he started his construction career as an apprentice bricklayer in 2012. The Barnsley local won Apprentice of the Year 2015/16, as well as Assistant Site Manager of the Year in 2018. Zak has been aiming for an NHBC award since he joined the Harron team as Site Manager at its Kings Croft development in Killinghall near Harrogate, in 2020. Zak commented, “I’m over the moon to receive this award! In every job I’ve made it my mission to go above and beyond to create homes of the best quality and that effort is definitely paying off. Of course I couldn’t do it without the brilliant team around me. Everyone on site cares about the quality they are producing on a daily basis, especially my assistant site manager, Simon Giles, and I’m grateful for their hard work and support every day.” Niall started out his career in building maintenance before joining Harron as Assistant Site Manager at Heritage Green in Chesterfield three and a half years ago. In 2020, he joined Thoresby Vale as Assistant Site Manager and within the year he had been promoted to Site Manager. This award comes just a year into his new role. He follows hot on the heels of the development’s previous Site Manager, David Mills, who also won the Pride in the Job Award and went further in the competition to win a Seal of Excellence award. Niall said “This award means the world. I’m absolutely delighted. So much heart and soul has gone into this job and to see that recognised within my first year of being Site Manager feels incredible. “I’ve found working with Harron very enjoyable, it’s a great place to work with a great group of people. I’ve been supported by my fantastic Assistant Site Manager, Simon Noone, who has put in amazing work. I wouldn’t have achieved this without him.” Ian Pendlebury, Group Managing Director said, “We’re very proud of both Niall and Zak. It’s great to see that all the hard work and effort put in by both site teams has been recognised and rewarded with a highly contested and prestigious Pride in the Job award.” NHBC Chief Executive Steve Wood said: “For more than 40 years, Pride in the Job has been an important part of our work to help drive construction quality. Winning Site Managers tell us that it inspires them to give a little extra and to strive harder for ever-higher standards of house building. “Congratulations to all the 2022 Pride in the Job Quality Award winners. They are an inspiration to us all and should be very proud of the quality of new homes they are creating.” For more information on Harron Homes visit: https://www.harronhomes.com/
The Gateshead-based contractor recently published its financial accounts for 2021, with a 7% increase in group turnover to £197.9m, the highest since its incorporation. In particular, the group’s housing division has seen the biggest rise growing by more than 40% in 2021 with a turnover of £66.2m. The group recorded a £4.0m loss in the period which has been attributed to a perfect storm of adverse trading conditions affecting the entire sector with impacts felt from the pandemic, a bad debt, a loss-making contract and the overall macro-economic environment. Despite recent losses, the underlying business remains profitable with the firm in a robust financial position with management accounts for the current year to date showing the company returning to profitability indicating that the organisation, that employs 400+ staff across the North East and Yorkshire, have weathered the recent economic storm. The uptick in performance has coincided with some strategic changes to the main board which saw Paul Webster move from his position as chief operating officer to chief executive officer and Mark Overton joining the organisation as chief financial officer following over a decade at Colas. Mark Overton, Chief Financial Officer at Tolent, said: “We have worked hard over the last 6 months to financially strengthen the business and increase working capital which has included the renegotiation of our finance facility, a rights issues which raised £3.7m in new share capital and an £8m cash injection following the completion of a land deal which will soon become South Seaham Garden Village.” The group has also been exposed to the repercussions surrounding a large number of developers, contractors and supply chain partners that fell into administration during this period. Following the demise of High Street Group in 2022, Tolent was named amongst the company’s creditors listed in the administration document which resulted in a bad debt of £2.1m. Paul Webster, Chief Executive Officer at Tolent, said: “Our priority moving forward is to secure a sustainable profit, working with trusted clients as we continue to increase our workload within the public sector. We are focused on consolidating our position within the North East and Yorkshire and will continue to deliver some of the flagship projects we have become known for. “Naturally with the increasing pressures on wage inflation, material prices and availability we have to be cautious in our approach to winning new work, however, we have a strong and identified pipeline of just under £1bn across a variety of sectors that provides us with the confidence to be cautiously optimistic for our business over the next few years.” Tolent has recently announced their involvement in a number of local, flagship projects including Vaux Neighbourhood Housing, an ultra-sustainable development providing 135 homes in Sunderland city centre, and South Seaham Garden Village. Construction of the garden village will commence in 2022 and see the firm build 750 homes over a 10-year period.To find out more about Tolent visit www.tolent.co.uk For all media enquires please contact Vibhuti Verma at vverma@tolent.co.uk
Panattoni, the largest industrial real estate developer in Europe, will speculatively develop the final two units at its sustainable logistics development in Aylesford, Kent, after agreeing pre-lets for the rest of the space. The two units of 100,000 sq ft and 130,000 sq ft at Panattoni Park Aylesford, which are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2023, will be built to a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’. They will benefit from 15m clear internal height, 2 level access doors, electric charging points for cars, access to the park’s car share scheme and 50m yard depths. The development of the speculative units follows the success of the recent pre-lets at the park to DHL, Fowler Welch and Evri. Panattoni is in detailed discussions with other occupiers for the remainder of the space at the park. Panattoni is developing a high-quality logistics space on the former Aylesford Newsprint site, close to junction 4 of the M20, to serve London and the south east. Panattoni Park Aylesford is a £180 million investment in high-quality, sustainable logistics development, infrastructure, parking, landscaping and access, including the new £7 million Bellingham Way link road. The sustainability strategy aims to minimise the operational use of carbon, which includes some scope three emissions from tenant activity and installed equipment and systems such as heating and lighting. Every building at the park will have air source heat pumps to control temperature in the offices and photovoltaic panels on the roofs. It is expected that these measures will generate up to 15% reductions in regulated energy use across the building. Panattoni is also working in partnership with Kent Wildlife Trust to achieve a 10% net gain in biodiversity at the site. Tony Watkins, Development Director at Panattoni, said: “Our decision to speculatively develop the final two units at Aylesford reflects the strong demand from occupiers looking to benefit from its excellent location. “In just nine months since we acquired the site, we have let nearly 80% of the space. We are on site delivering multiple buildings with the first ones ready for occupation in the third quarter of this year, we look forward to welcoming them to the Park and other occupiers to follow”. Agents at Panattoni Park Aylesford are CBRE, Avison Young and JLL.
“I’m going into a tunnel, so I might lose you” likely to be thing of the past on Britain’s new high speed rail network Passengers using Britain’s new high speed rail network will enjoy seamless mobile coverage delivering uninterrupted streaming and calls as trains speed through its tunnels, cuttings and open sections. Journeys on HS2 will make the days of hearing refrains familiar to many who travel by train today, such as, “I’m going into a tunnel, so I might lose you” a thing of the past. To watch movies, get facetime with friends, family or work, or just make calls, passengers can simply link their device with the train’s onboard Wi-Fi. From its earliest days of development, HS2’s infrastructure has been designed to include technology that provides seamless and uninterrupted passenger comms. In a step-change from the line-side railway signalling operated on the conventional network, HS2’s will be radio based. A sequence of masts sited at 2-3km along the route and radio feeder cables running the length of its tunnels. This infrastructure has been developed to also deliver mobile connectivity for passengers. Both will be picked up by each train’s radio antenna as it traverses the new route at speeds of up to 225mph. The train’s onboard equipment will transmit the passenger signal throughout the train to help ensure a seamless connection. People using HS2 stations will also benefit from the same level of coverage. HS2 engineers believe that the train picking up the signal from the railway’s telecoms infrastructure is superior to just leaving it to passengers’ own mobiles and tablets to link with each passing mast, which could be prone to occasional drop outs, and also reduces bandwidth. HS2’s head of project delivery for communication systems Richard Kirkham said: “The massive advantage of taking a clean sheet of paper and developing a new railway network for the 21st century, to operate in the twenty first century, is that we can build in the things people expect, like modern telecoms. “In practice that means HS2 tunnels, open route sections, stations and trains all include telecoms in their design specification, which enables the railway to operate as a single system.” Richard also explained how HS2’s design has been developed to provide flexibility to support the full generational range of mobile technologies. “To accommodate fast moving mobile telecoms technology, we’ve designed HS2 to be flexible so that it can incorporate future generations as well as supporting earlier generations people will continue to use.” A further benefit of HS2’s designers’ far-sighted approach will see the benefits of improved passenger connectivity potentially extend to areas along the route. That is because anyone’s device that can pick up the signal can use it.
A business event hosted in partnership with Crewe and Nantwich MP, Dr Kieran Mullan, has attracted interest from more than 40 companies in the local area who are all keen to play their part in HS2’s construction and seize the opportunity for future business growth. The event, held at Crewe Alexander’s Mornflake Stadium, gave businesses of all sizes the opportunity to understand more about HS2’ current and future pipeline of contract opportunities so they can be among the first to benefit. Dr Kieran Mullan MP said: ‘’It was great to see the enthusiasm displayed at the event and I am keen to see businesses here in Crewe benefit from HS2. “Hearing the success stories from companies delivering work on the first phase of the project is extremely encouraging. I’m grateful to HS2 for working with me to host this event so that our local businesses are in the best possible position to benefit.” With plans already in place to extend the HS2 network to Crewe, and the Bill to extend the railway between Crewe and Manchester currently going through Parliament, Crewe finds itself in an enviable position at the heart of Britain’s new high speed network. The town is already among three in the Midlands and the North set to benefit from contract awards supporting the manufacture and maintenance of HS2’s fleet of 54 high speed trains, which will be the fastest in Europe and among the world’s most energy efficient. Crewe’s Alstom factory secured the contact to make the trains’ bogies, bringing the manufacture of these vital components back to the UK for the first time in over 15 years, supporting jobs and opening opportunities for more local businesses across the supply chain. Matt Hadlington, Senior Business Engagement Manager at HS2 said: “Getting job-ready for the thousands of upcoming HS2 contract opportunities is vital, and this event was designed to help businesses in Crewe understand exactly how to do that. “Over 2,500 UK business are already engaged in our supply chain, but we want to see more companies in Crewe stepping forward to take advantage of the opportunities on their doorstep.” As part of its continued drive to help local businesses win work, HS2 is now working with closely with South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership to host a roundtable session with HS2’s civils construction partners. This will allow greater insight into the tier two and three contract opportunities that they will be creating in the months and years ahead. For more information about joining HS2’s supply chain visit hs2.org.uk/supply-chain/
Economic recovery, climate change, communities and tackling inequalities high on the agenda. The role that Scotland’s historic environment can play in supporting economic recovery, contribute to agendas such as net zero, to communities, and in tackling inequalities, is being discussed in Edinburgh today, Wednesday, 29th June. Delegates from across Scotland are gathering at Dynamic Earth to discuss the future contribution and direction of Scotland’s historic environment sector, as part of a planned review of Scotland’s strategy for the historic environment ‘Our Place in Time’ (OPiT). The strategy, which was Scotland’s first for the historic environment was launched in 2014, and set out a shared vision for the sector, with key deliverables over that period focussing on areas including Heritage Tourism, Built Heritage Investment, Climate Change, Volunteering, and Skills & Expertise. It also set out a framework for a collective approach to be taken by the sector on a range of areas, as well as providing a platform to bring other sectors into the work of the historic environment sphere. The refreshed strategy, which will set out the ambitions for the sector for the next five-ten years, will build upon the key successes of OPiT, as well as recognising and reflecting on the last two years, since the covid pandemic. This will include a focus on prioritising activity that supports recovery and renewal, as well as further enhancing the contribution the sector makes to national priority areas, and to Scotland and its people. Historic Environment Scotland (HES), as Scotland’s lead body for the historic environment, has been asked by the Scottish Government to lead on a review of the strategy, with the event at Dynamic Earth, forming part of a wider series of engagement, before the draft strategy goes out for wider public consultation later this year. Alex Paterson, Chief Executive of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) said, “The historic environment and our built heritage is important and valuable in its own right, and part of Scotland’s story, but it also plays a key role for Scotland against a number of core agendas, from tourism and skills to green recovery and contributing to net zero. “We have of course lived through, and are continuing to experience, historic times, with the pandemic and growing costs of living, alongside other factors, providing challenges to those operating within the sector and beyond, as well as serving to further highlight inequalities in our society. “Today is a key step in a wider process for us to collectively shape our future ambitions for the sector, and to reflect and reimagine what we want the contribution of Scotland’s historic environment sector to be, as we respond to these challenges and opportunities to use the past to build a better future.” The opening address was delivered by Neil Gray MSP, Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development and Minister with special responsibilities for Refugees from Ukraine. Culture Minister Neil Gray said: “I commissioned Historic Environment Scotland to lead the review of Scotland’s “Our Place in Time” strategy, and that review provides an opportunity to redefine the context and set the direction of this important strategy. In particular, the shift in prioritisation to activity which supports recovery and renewal will help to create a more resilient and sustainable sector. “For a nation of our size, Scotland has a diverse and impressive wealth of heritage and culture; from World Heritage sites and major archaeological locations to smaller community heritage projects. By working collaboratively we can promote the positive contribution that the historic environment makes not only to Scotland’s economy but to the wellbeing of Scotland’s people and our route to net zero.” For more on Our Place in Time visit Our Place in Time | About Us | Historic Environment Scotland.
ONE OF the North East’s most ambitious residential developments is set to begin, with Tolent appointed to commence work. Sunderland City Council has signed a deal that will see North East based Tolent take on the construction of 135 ultra-modern homes that will form the new Vaux neighbourhood at Riverside Sunderland, the first of 1,000 homes planned for the area as part of ambitious plans to double the number of people living in the city centre. The £40m project will see Tolent construct the stunning sustainable houses using modern methods of construction, renewable energy and smart technology to reduce the carbon footprint of the development, producing high quality, low carbon properties in the heart of the city. The homes will stand alongside The Beam and City Hall – the latest development to rise from the ground at Riverside Sunderland. One of four new communities that will take shape at Riverside, construction work on the scheme is expected to commence within weeks, forming the first of the new distinct neighbourhoods that will create city centre housing for up to 2,500 residents. The homes will provide a future living offer that will attract new and existing Sunderland residents to live in the vibrant city centre, with the homes sitting alongside the orchards and allotments of Kingsley Gardens and nearby Riverside Park, which is continuing on its journey towards an accessible, attractive and ecologically diverse parkland. The Vaux neighbourhood will be the site of the Expo Sunderland in 2024 which will showcase the new homes and the aspirational lifestyle offer that Sunderland will provide. Included in the scheme will be a cluster of award-winning dwellings, that were selected as the best in the national Homes of 2030 Design Competition – which explored how homes will look and function in the future. The properties are based on the winning designs in the Homes of 2030 competition, which was launched in March 2020, and managed by the Royal Institute of British Architects, to encourage the design of environmentally-friendly homes that support people in leading independent, fulfilling lives as society ages. +Home designed byigloo Regeneration with Useful Projects, Expedition Engineers and Mawson Kerr andConnector Housing designed by Openstudio with Hoare Lea, LDA Design and Gardiner & Theobald were the joint winners of the competition, and it is their designs that will stand proudly on the site if approved, shining a spotlight on future living and showcasing the ambitious plans the council has to make Sunderland a world-class place to live, work and play. Councillor Graeme Miller, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “We’re absolutely thrilled to have taken this final step to get work started on our flagship residential scheme at Riverside Sunderland. The housing developments on Riverside Sunderland will be world-class, and Tolent is an ideal partner to deliver them, based locally and capable of building these aspirational homes. “We’re innovating with this scheme, using modern methods of construction, renewable energy and smart technology that align to our low carbon and smart city ambitions, and that will also allow the next generation to learn how to build the homes of the future, as we also push ahead with the Housing Innovation and Construction Skills Academy (HICSA), an important part of the housing ecosystem we’re trying to create in Sunderland.” HICSA is backed by the Government’s Levelling Up Fund and will create a state of the art learning space at Sheepfolds, where – in partnership with Sunderland College and the Ministry of Building Innovation and Education (MOBIE) – the council will ensure that the city’s residents are trained up in modern construction methods that will enable them to build many of the 1,000 homes set to be developed on Riverside Sunderland, as well as elsewhere in the city. As HICSA prepares to take shape, Tolent – a firm that will deliver significant social value – will ensure that the first new homes deliver the maximum local advantage, with a range of commitments to work with local people and support the local supply chain, as well as voluntary and community organisations across Sunderland. In all, over £17m of social value activity – including supporting local jobs for a range of people including apprenticeships and placements, a commitment to spend in the local area through the growth of regional supply chains and a variety of schemes to engage with local community groups – will be delivered during the construction phase of the project. Paul Webster, chief executive officer of Tolent, said: “Vaux neighbourhood is an amazing project that showcases the strides being taken in Sunderland to modernise the city centre. The world-class houses being built will provide a community fit for the future and an archetype for sustainable housing. As a truly local business, we are proud to be involved in the project and to showcase our ability to meet and exceed the capabilities of national contractors on a local level. The project will complement a number of local landmarks that we have constructed including The Beam, Beacon of Light and Echo Building. We have been working closely with the entire team since being appointed preferred bidder back in September and we can’t wait to get started!” Construction work on the development is due to commence during the summer and the first tranche of homes will be completed by the end of 2023. The housing is part of an ambitious and exciting masterplan for Riverside Sunderland that will include residential, commercial and leisure developments. It is part of a programme of development projects in the Riverside Sunderland area that, taken together, aim to double the residential population in the city centre and increase employment by 50 per cent and also fits with the city’s housing strategy, which will see 7,000 new homes build by 2030. To stay up to date with Riverside Sunderland developments, visit www.riversidesunderland.com or follow @RiversideSund on social media.