Willmott Dixon has been selected by Bridgend College for the £60 million project to build its new Town Centre Campus development. The College is relocating from its current base at Cowbridge Road Campus to a site previously occupied by the former Police Station and a multi-storey car park at Cheapside,
Beard Construction has commenced restoration work on the historic Hilsea Lido for Portsmouth City Council. The contractor was appointed to the multi million pound project, through Pagabo frameworks procurement process, shortly after opening its new Southampton office. The scheme is expected to be complete by spring 2025, with the lido
Caddick Construction has been appointed to build a new 24,000 sq ft extension at Loreto Sixth Form College in Hulme. Work is now underway on the new three-storey campus building, which is being constructed on Moss Road West adjacent to the existing campus on Chichester Road South. Planning permission for
Colchester City Council has approved outline planning permission for Weston Homes new £220 million (GDV) residential development for Viridis in Stanway. The new scheme will feature a mix of 420 private units and 180 affordable units, complete with large areas of high-quality public realm and landscaping, including ponds, play areas
A £28.7 million apartment scheme developed by Clegg Construction in Sheffield has been named as a finalist in the Yorkshire Energy Efficiency Awards. The Ironworks, featuring 229 one and two-bedroom apartments, has been shortlisted in the Regional New Build Project of the Year category. Completed by Clegg Construction last year
Salford City Council has approved plans to redevelop part of Walkden Town Centre. Acting on behalf of the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, Derwent Estates submitted plans to demolish circa 180,000 sq ft of the current retail space within Egerton Walk and Victoria Square. Advised by Savills planning department, the plans
Refurbishment work is to commence on a multi-million-pound investment in housing blocks in St Jude’s, Bristol. Five council housing blocks will soon be part of a major refurbishment programme aimed at improving standards for those living there. Over the next three to five years, Bristol City Council will carry out
Harworth Group has secured a resolution to grant planning permission from North Yorkshire Council for the development of a major rail-connected industrial and logistics hub at its 185 acre Gascoigne Interchange site in Leeds. The approved plans will see the development of up to 1.5 million sq. ft. of industrial
Developer HBD, part of Henry Boot, has selected Sheppard Robson to lead on the design of its second phase of the landmark Golden Valley scheme in Cheltenham. The architecture practice will be responsible for the design of the next two buildings to come forward, with partner David Taylor leading a
Plans have been put forward to regenerate Teviot Estate in Poplar, East London. The £800 million redevelopment by The Hill Group and Poplar HARCA will provide around 1,900 new homes with 35% affordable, over four phases. This will be complemented by new open green and play spaces, shops, and community
Willmott Dixon has been selected by Bridgend College for the £60 million project to build its new Town Centre Campus development. The College is relocating from its current base at Cowbridge Road Campus to a site previously occupied by the former Police Station and a multi-storey car park at Cheapside, in the heart of Bridgend. The new 13,000 m² development, which Willmott Dixon was procured to build under the SEWSCAP 3 framework, will target net zero in operation when completed in the summer of 2026. Encompassing two new buildings, it includes a 200-seat theatre, hair and beauty salons, recording and dance studios, design workshops, flexible meeting spaces and more. Willmott Dixon is teaming up with Rio Architects on the new campus, providing exceptional teaching and learning facilities for a wide range of courses for post-16-year-old education in Bridgend. It represents one of the biggest-ever investments in Bridgend for the training of young people and members of the community who need to retrain and gain valuable employability skills. Neal Stephens, managing director for Willmott Dixon in Wales: “We are delighted to be chosen for this transformational project in Bridgend. With a strong presence across south Wales, it follows our work to deliver the Police Learning Centre for South Wales Police in Bridgend, which was completed three years ago. “Just like then, our focus will be on supporting the ‘local pound’ by using regional supply chain partners where possible and working with students at Bridgend College to support their own learning journeys.” The redevelopment is partly funded by the Welsh Government’s Sustainable Communities for Learning programme and will play a key role in the regeneration of Bridgend Town Centre, supporting local businesses and utilising public transport links into the town. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Beard Construction has commenced restoration work on the historic Hilsea Lido for Portsmouth City Council. The contractor was appointed to the multi million pound project, through Pagabo frameworks procurement process, shortly after opening its new Southampton office. The scheme is expected to be complete by spring 2025, with the lido open to the public for the summer season in time for its 90th anniversary celebrations. The lido opened in 1935, hosting a demonstration by the Olympics British diving team a year later. Beard is starting the work with the removal of some of the fountain parts at the west end of the site as pipework under the fountain needs to be taken out. Portsmouth based stonemason Darren Somerville is creating an exact replica of the fountain which will be restored in pride of place in the middle of the site when the project is complete. Pat Hughes, Southampton Director, said: “Beard is hugely honoured to be chosen to complete this wonderful restoration project which will be the first to be run out of our new Southampton office. It is a fantastic way to mark the opening of the office and will allow us to showcase more than a century of skills and experience in delivering exceptional builds. This includes our work on outdoor public swimming venues in the UK. We look forward to working with Portsmouth City Council and all parties to deliver the exciting vision for this iconic attraction.” The spectator stand at the north of the site has been declared unsafe and will be demolished. Other work includes clearing away the old pool equipment which will be replaced with a modern filtration system. The pool will also be drained, ready for work to stabilise the base and restore the original lagoons that had been removed. Once the initial phase of the work is complete, Beard will move into the build stage where new pipework will be installed in deep trenches. This delicate part of the project will involve installing a new pool inside the existing pool, with a significant amount of dowels drilled in the base of the old pool beforehand, to prevent water leaking and the new pool lifting. Beard will also build new modular changing units. International construction and consultancy firm Mace is also driving the restoration through project and cost management services for the Portsmouth City Council through the SCF Consult Framework. Mace also lead the Design Guardian Team, ensuring all design aligns with the vision. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Caddick Construction has been appointed to build a new 24,000 sq ft extension at Loreto Sixth Form College in Hulme. Work is now underway on the new three-storey campus building, which is being constructed on Moss Road West adjacent to the existing campus on Chichester Road South. Planning permission for the expansion was secured in September last year, following which Caddick Construction undertook a series of preparatory works under a pre-construction services agreement. With an emphasis on environmental sustainability and minimising operational carbon, the new campus building will have 39.8% of its electrical demands met by renewable sources. Features include air source heat pumps, solar panels, passive ventilation systems and night cooling. Sustainable forms of transport will also be encouraged as part of the campus investment with the introduction of EV charging and bike storage for 100 bikes. The new building will sit alongside the existing college building, with facilities to enhance the learning environment and curriculum delivery. These include 20 classrooms, a lecture theatre with a seating capacity of 200 and a new study centre. The work will also include partial refurbishment of existing college buildings with new science labs, new catering facilities and a 110 sq m outdoor canopied seating area. A science garden and landscaped reflection spaces will also be created to maximise the use of green space. Throughout the building work, Caddick Construction will work with Loreto College to ensure the students are engaged in the project, including opportunities to complement the teaching curriculum. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Colchester City Council has approved outline planning permission for Weston Homes new £220 million (GDV) residential development for Viridis in Stanway. The new scheme will feature a mix of 420 private units and 180 affordable units, complete with large areas of high-quality public realm and landscaping, including ponds, play areas and extensive pedestrian and cycle routes throughout. Viridis will offer a variety of housing options: two, three and four-bedroom houses for private ownership, and one and two-bedroom apartments and two, three and four-bedroom houses as affordable housing. The project, designed by PRP Architects, will create a vibrant community with beautifully designed homes surrounded by nature and will fulfil part of a government requirement for Colchester City Council to build 920 homes annually. All the homes will feature Weston Homes’ premium, fully inclusive specification, high ceilings, large windows, and open-plan layouts to maximise natural light. The development will also offer fibreoptic superfast broadband, ensuring residents stay connected. Additionally, there will be a wide choice of on-trend finishes for personalising the interiors, which are all included within the price. The scheme is also designed to provide an abundance of green open space, with an emphasis on sustainability and providing homes with numerous eco-friendly features. Viridis is ideally located just a four minute drive from Marks Tey Station, which provides direct train links to London Liverpool Street in under an hour. This prime location makes it perfect for commuters. Bob Weston, Chairman and Managing Director of Weston Homes said: “Weston Homes is delighted by the resolution to grant outline planning consent for Viridis, which underlines our dedication to developing affordable, well-connected homes perfect for modern living. This new development in Stanway, Colchester is part of our ongoing major growth and expansion. We are looking forward to beginning the delivery of this fantastic new community for the people of Essex.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A £28.7 million apartment scheme developed by Clegg Construction in Sheffield has been named as a finalist in the Yorkshire Energy Efficiency Awards. The Ironworks, featuring 229 one and two-bedroom apartments, has been shortlisted in the Regional New Build Project of the Year category. Completed by Clegg Construction last year for Rise Homes, it includes a range of sustainability features such as a biomass energy centre providing hot water and heating throughout the building, with the intention to connect to the city’s district heating system in due course and use hot water generated from the city’s waste plant. Each apartment has a central thermostat that is linked to an app on the resident’s phone, allowing the heating to be carefully and remotely controlled. The flow rates and temperature of water going into and leaving every apartment are monitored daily and a monthly report provides data on areas where the efficiency of the system can be improved. Other environmental measures include flow rate restrictors, electric vehicle charging, Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR), bat boxes, and automatic light movement sensors. Rise Homes is now seeking BREEAM in use and FITWEL accreditations and the consultants submitting these believe the development should achieve ‘Excellent’ ratings. Michael Sims, Managing Director at Clegg Construction, said: “We are thrilled to hear that The Ironworks has been shortlisted in the Yorkshire Energy Efficiency Awards in the Regional New Build Project of the Year category. “It’s a stunning development, with a wide range of sustainability features, and Clegg Construction is very proud to have delivered the apartment scheme on behalf of Rise Homes.” The project has also been shortlisted for an Insider Property Dinner South Yorkshire award, having been named a finalist in the Sustainable Development of the Year Award. The Yorkshire Energy Efficiency Awards finals ceremony takes place at Leeds Marriott Hotel on Thursday 27 June 2024. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Salford City Council has approved plans to redevelop part of Walkden Town Centre. Acting on behalf of the Albert Gubay Charitable Foundation, Derwent Estates submitted plans to demolish circa 180,000 sq ft of the current retail space within Egerton Walk and Victoria Square. Advised by Savills planning department, the plans also included the construction of a contemporary new façade providing a new entrance to the Centre with landscaped public realm space to the front. Scott Hall, Asset Manager at Derwent Estates said: “We fully understand the importance of Walkden Town Centre to the local area, which is why we have taken this proactive decision to significantly improve its current offering to create a more contemporary and attractive yet sustainable environment for both retailers and visitors. We recognise the changing attitudes and expectations of all stakeholders, which is why these plans are so imperative to ensuring a vibrant future for the Centre.” Designed by architectural practice, RGP, Derwent Estates will now look to appoint a contractor to carry out the demolition works and is currently liaising with tenants as part of its relocation programme. The scheme is being project managed by Artal. Barker Proudlove and Graham Sibbald are the retained letting agents. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Refurbishment work is to commence on a multi-million-pound investment in housing blocks in St Jude’s, Bristol. Five council housing blocks will soon be part of a major refurbishment programme aimed at improving standards for those living there. Over the next three to five years, Bristol City Council will carry out extensive refurbishment of Charleton House, Haviland House, Langton House, John Cozens House and Tyndall House. The £18 million investment in these blocks will provide residents with much-needed improvements to their homes and communal areas. New internal windows and doors, electrical works, along with a range of other upgrades will improve the insulation of the buildings. These insulation improvements mean residents will have warmer homes that are more cost-effective to heat. Refurbishment works also include improvements to the roofs of each block, updating several vital internal systems, internal and external decoration and repairs. John Smith, Executive Director of Growth and Regeneration, said: “For the past twelve months, work has been underway within our Housing and Landlord Services Team to plan for a major refurbishment of five council housing blocks in the St Jude’s area. I am pleased that we are now able to share with residents the news that we are taking the next steps with this promised refurbishment programme. “I’m aware that for many of you these works are long overdue, and I acknowledge the length of time it has taken to get to this stage. I wish to reassure residents that any delay to the beginning of these works is solely down to the time it takes to agree on the finances required to fund a major refurbishment, along with the availability of the technical skills needed to prepare and plan such a large undertaking. These refurbishments will be delivered in phases, to limit the amount of disruption to our residents’ daily lives.” Contractors have begun to set themselves up across the five blocks as they start to carry out initial works. The opening phase of this refurbishment programme will be to complete a set of building surveys at each block. To finish these surveys quickly and to a high degree of accuracy, the council will reach out to 14 households to discuss the potential of carrying out this extensive survey work in their flats. Any residents whose property is required for the surveys will be provided with temporary serviced accommodation whilst investigations at their property are carried out. Residents will only be moved in temporary serviced accommodation for a maximum of three months, and no other residents are due to be asked to leave their flats. Contractors aim to begin refurbishment work on three blocks: Charleton House, Haviland House and Langton House before moving on to John Cozens House and Tyndall House. Refurbishment plans will also be announced later in the year for Ropewalk House which is also located in St Jude’s. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Harworth Group has secured a resolution to grant planning permission from North Yorkshire Council for the development of a major rail-connected industrial and logistics hub at its 185 acre Gascoigne Interchange site in Leeds. The approved plans will see the development of up to 1.5 million sq. ft. of industrial and logistics space at Gascoigne Interchange, in line with the Group’s strategy to increase its direct development of industrial and logistics space from its extensive landbank, and has the potential to deliver up to £190 million gross development value (GDV). The proposal is the delivery of seven units, ranging from 57,000 sq. ft. to 1.0 million sq. ft., all built to Grade A specification, with Harworth expecting to start on site in 2025. The brownfield site is one of Harworth’s next-generation of development sites and is situated in Selby, to the east of Leeds and adjacent to Sherburn Industrial Estate. It is one of the most strategically located, rail-connected sites in the region, enabling future occupiers to utilise the existing main line rail connection from the site for a wide variety of uses, including low carbon freight movement. The site, which is accessed via Junction 42 of the A1(M), has an extensive collection of rail sidings on either side of Network Rail’s Leeds to Hull main line route, with current operational connections into the northern and southern plots on the site. The rail access to the north of the site offers scope to create a dedicated railhead serving the buildings on site, with the ability to handle containers, bulk commodities or next-generation express freight services, and puts most of the UK within three hours of the site. The plots to the south of the site benefit from 1,200 metres of frontage onto the main line with connections at either end capable of accommodating a major intermodal terminal for on-site and off-site customers. The absence of speculative institutional funding and increasing tenant prioritisation for highly sustainable space is forecast to underpin strong demand for strategically-connected, Grade A industrial units in the Yorkshire region over the medium term, according to Knight Frank. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Developer HBD, part of Henry Boot, has selected Sheppard Robson to lead on the design of its second phase of the landmark Golden Valley scheme in Cheltenham. The architecture practice will be responsible for the design of the next two buildings to come forward, with partner David Taylor leading a team of six. The firm joins the Golden Valley team alongside architect BDP, which is already well progressed with designs for the Innovation Centre and mobility hub, which will form the first development phase. Golden Valley is one of the country’s most high-profile schemes; a once-in-a-lifetime project at the heart of the UK’s National Cyber Strategy. Once complete, it will deliver 1million sq ft of commercial space and is expected to create 12,000 new jobs. The masterplan also includes the development of 1,067 low carbon homes nestled within green space and with various community services and amenities. HBD is delivering the development alongside Cheltenham Borough Council and key local partners. Planning permission for Golden Valley was submitted in October 2023 and a second application specifically for the National Cyber Innovation Centre will follow this summer. Sheppard Robson will play a key role in meeting HBD’s sustainability goals for Golden Valley, targeting BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings for office buildings. The practice will carefully consider the building’s fabric from the outside in, maximising energy efficiency and ensuring the space achieves best-in-class sustainability credentials. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Plans have been put forward to regenerate Teviot Estate in Poplar, East London. The £800 million redevelopment by The Hill Group and Poplar HARCA will provide around 1,900 new homes with 35% affordable, over four phases. This will be complemented by new open green and play spaces, shops, and community and faith facilities, alongside improved infrastructure. As one of the largest estate regenerations in London, the redevelopment of Teviot will transform the area with upgraded designs and enhanced community amenities, creating a safer and better place to live. Hill and Poplar HARCA have worked closely with Teviot residents at every stage to ensure the plans meet the community’s needs and aspirations. The partnership has submitted an outline planning application for all phases of the masterplan, including detailed proposals for the first phase of development. Phase 1 is set to deliver 475 homes, 45% of which will be affordable. Subject to approvals, the project is scheduled to start onsite at the end of 2025, with the first homes expected to be completed by 2028. The entire project is forecast to be completed by 2042. The proposals provide a wide range of benefits for local residents including provision for an improved mosque that will be at the heart of the development and delivered in the third phase. Green open spaces will be prioritised, with substantial improvements to Langdon Park brought forward in phase one and an informal play area for public use. Extensive landscaping is planned with green corridors which will boost biodiversity, greener streets and a new public square that will create a place to socialise and relax. The masterplan for the project, designed by leading architects BPTW, covers eight hectares and offers a wide range of homes from studios and apartments to family houses. The regeneration will feature new shops and commercial spaces, as well as a new multi-use community centre. New infrastructure and public realm design focuses on creating safer streets with better pedestrian routes to Langdon Park station and a new foot-tunnel under the A12, with enhanced lighting and CCTV to help reduce anti-social behaviour. The regeneration has already invested £427,500 to local projects through the Teviot Community Chest Fund. Over its 15-year duration, the initiative is set to generate over £278 million in social value, which covers a wide range of community projects. such as a new pontoon on the Limehouse Cut Canal, planned to open later this year that will increase community access to water sports. Andy Hill OBE, Group Chief Executive at The Hill Group commented: comments: “The regeneration of Teviot is going to change the lives of thousands of residents, bringing high-quality homes and improved wellbeing. The community has been at the heart of the plans since conception and we are committed to delivering on our promises to residents, collaborating to create an improved neighbourhood for all. We know that people not only want better quality, energy-efficient homes, but also improved access to jobs, more support for young people and less fear of crime, so we are pleased to reach this important milestone in rewriting the future for this community.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
