A disused site on Weymouth’s coast could be transformed into a picturesque housing and industrial development in multi-million regeneration plans. The land at Newton’s Road off Newton’s Cove was formerly the base of defence research company QinetiQ Bincleaves up until its closure. The disused site has been subject to regeneration
Housebuilder Harron Homes have officially joined Homes England’s Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). Homes England is the Government’s housing delivery agency and one of the largest vendors of residential land. Harron Homes will be joining 65 other developers, suppliers and housing associations in the new £20bn DPS. The Delivery
The first two episodes of a new podcast have already caught the attention of construction bosses this month, exploring urgent issues around the skills shortages in construction and the best ways to train the new generation. The new ‘Construction Talk’ podcast interviewed Alasdair Reisner, chief executive of the Civil Engineering
CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS BUILDER TWO-DAY LIVE ARENA EVENT HOSTED BY CEO OF TRADE MASTERMIND AND WINNER OF BBC’S THE APPRENTICE JOSEPH VALENTE FEATURING GUEST SPEAKERS ALFIE BEST Entrepreneur, philanthropist and TV’s ‘Undercover Big Boss’. Plus KEVIN BYRNE founder and CEO of Checkatrade. February 26th & 27th at East of England Showground
PLP will commence construction of Phase 1 at PLP Milton Keynes in April, having been granted detailed planning consent. The first phase at PLP MK will total 1.05 million sq ft and comprise of 10 units ranging in sizes up to 308,516 sq ft. The target delivery for the first
Akela Construction Ltd, part of the Akela Group, has secured its latest in a series of contracts as part of the creation of a new neighbourhood and community in Penicuik. This new contract for Avant Homes will deliver a further 78 new homes at Mauricewood Road and follows the successful
Concrete Expo (3-4 May Excel.London) makes its debut in London this year with a comprehensive range of more than 100 concrete-related brands and product categories. It’ll be the first major dedicated trade show for the concrete supply chain for more than two years. This year there’ll be a selection of
Partner Housing, in association with Flagship Homes, celebrated the start of works on a new housing development in Necton, Norfolk; The £9.7 million development will see 73 new homes built, with a mix of Shared Ownership and Social Rent properties; Work is expected to finish on the site, called Tower
Civil engineering and infrastructure specialist Barhale will lead a new scheme to protect critical water infrastructure from the impact of erosion on the Suffolk coastline. The programme of works will be carried out at Corton Beach, Lowestoft on behalf of Anglian Water by Barhale as part of the @one Alliance,
Panattoni, the largest industrial real estate developer in Europe, today announced it has begun speculatively developing a 575,000 sq ft logistics park at junction 28 of the M1 in the East Midlands. Panattoni Park J28 Central M1 will comprise two units of 345,000 sq ft and 230,000 sq ft, which
A disused site on Weymouth’s coast could be transformed into a picturesque housing and industrial development in multi-million regeneration plans. The land at Newton’s Road off Newton’s Cove was formerly the base of defence research company QinetiQ Bincleaves up until its closure. The disused site has been subject to regeneration developments after being earmarked for redevelopment in April 2008 to build a new hotel, takeaway restaurant and 110-residential apartment block but development never started. Read more: Inflatable park including 50ft obstacle course and huge slides is coming to Weymouth A separate application to build a care village of 195 supported living units, a 60-bed care home, 34 respite hotel suites, cafe and restaurant was approved in August 2016. Despite the existing premises being demolished, the new development was never built. Since then, the 12-acre site was sold to Juno Developments UK Ltd in 2021 as they unveiled their ambition to regenerate the disused site in a £70milllion project. The Pegasus Group, on behalf of Poole-based Juno Developments UK Ltd, has submitted outline planning permission to Dorset Council to construct a mixed-use development comprising up to 189 dwellings and 65-bed care home, with space for a gym, swimming pool and spa. The application also includes office/light industrial floorspace and a waterside restaurant with associated car parking, with vehicular and pedestrian access from Newton’s Road. The developers add they would carry out cliff stabilisation and sea defence works as well as create pedestrian paths and cycle lanes. The plans show the coastal Weymouth site will have five ‘character areas’, which comprise of a 119-flat residential block, 62-flat residential block, 65-bed care home, home zone comprising of eight townhouses and an employment block of six units. The residential flats will have 58 one-bedroom units, 108 two-bedroom units and 15 three-bedroom units. Developers feel the development would allow Dorset Council to “meet its housing needs and contribute to the vitality and viability of the economy and the social well being of the local residents.” Its design and access statement reads: “Overall, this statement has demonstrated that the siting, alignment, design, scale, mass, and materials used would complement and respect the character of the surrounding area and would actively reinforce the sense of place by ensuring that general design of the proposed buildings would be in harmony with each other whilst also making reference to the former industrial buildings which used to occupy the site. “In conclusion, this application represents an opportunity to contribute to the regeneration of Weymouth town centre with a comprehensive high-quality redevelopment proposal that will provide a sustainable mix of residential accommodation and employment-generating uses.” The application, which is in its public consultation stage, has already attracted one positive comment from a resident has he welcomed the plans for a new restaurant. Luke Brain wrote to Dorset Council: “(I) Love the plans for Newtons Cove. An area which has always looked a little bit drab can, at last, be appreciated. “It would be good to see a tourism aspect as part of the plans. I like the fact it will offer somewhere to grab food or a drink while walking around the Newtons Cove/ Nothe Area.”
Housebuilder Harron Homes have officially joined Homes England’s Delivery Partner Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS). Homes England is the Government’s housing delivery agency and one of the largest vendors of residential land. Harron Homes will be joining 65 other developers, suppliers and housing associations in the new £20bn DPS. The Delivery Partner DPS is one of Homes England’s main routes for land distribution and it gives house builders such as Harron Homes the ability to bid for these sites. Other public bodies may also use the DPS to procure developers, broadening housebuilders exposure to potential projects. It also allows for potential new members to join at any time – in contrast to the previous framework which renewed every four years. Nick Hague, Land Director at Harron Homes, said “After a rigorous application process, we are delighted that Homes England have accepted us onto its exciting new DPS system. “Being accepted enables us to work dynamically in identifying and procuring residential land. We are already planning on how to take maximum advantage of a framework that unlocks opportunities to be involved with projects which may have previously not come to our attention. “The new framework means benefits are passed onto both landowners and home buyers, new homes can be built quicker”. To find out more about current Harron Homes developments and the homes currently available, visit https://www.harronhomes.com/find-a-home/ or call the sales team on 01777 553390.
The first two episodes of a new podcast have already caught the attention of construction bosses this month, exploring urgent issues around the skills shortages in construction and the best ways to train the new generation. The new ‘Construction Talk’ podcast interviewed Alasdair Reisner, chief executive of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), for its first episode, taking a hard look at the skills crisis in construction and the impact of the Construction Leadership Council (CLC) Skills Plan to support the recruitment and retention of talent in the industry in 2022. Alasdair Reisner talks on the podcast about how COVID-19 acted as a catalyst for a new collaborative approach to skills issues: “As an industry we’ve never been able to work collectively. But through the CLC, it’s been the first chance to say ‘look, we’re all facing a problem with talent’ – there’s not a single bit of industry saying no, we’ve got all the talent we need. Our whole industry really struggles to recruit the employees we need, to deliver what looks like a pretty good future,” he says. “It’s crazy that, until last year, there wasn’t a single plan for our industry about how we were going to do that. So I was delighted when we did publish the CLC’s Skills Plan. For the first time we’ve got a skills plan that covers the whole industry, including measures around the attractiveness and culture of the industry, the routes into the industry and the skills for the future.” The interview goes on to talk about the new Government-backed Construction Talent Retention Scheme and Talentview Construction which gets young people into apprenticeships, traineeships and entry roles, as well as exploring the huge impact of major infrastructure projects like HS2, creating 20-year careers and cutting-edge skills that can be exported around the world. “2022 is the year of recruitment,” says Alasdair Reisner. “The skills shortages have got worse. We really have to go out there and sell this industry. People won’t just come to us because we want them to – we have to go out there and market the brilliant opportunities that are opening up to everyone.” Episode 2 of Construction Talk tells the story of Nicola Bird, director of groundworks contractors K W Bell Group and founder of AccXel, the UK’s first industry-led education centre and a multimillion-pound facility established to tackle industry skills shortages. Nicola describes how she set out initially to develop an apprenticeship scheme to help safeguard the future of the family business, but then became motivated to pursue a much bigger project, funded by government and her local enterprise partnership, to build AccXel – the aspirational and high-tech construction skills accelerator centre based near the Forest of Dene. Nicola Bird also talks eloquently on the podcast about the importance of digital skills in construction and the expectations of young people curious about the sector. “They expect that technology to be in our industry,” she says. “The only way we are going to start getting people inspired by our industry is by a quicker introduction into digitalisation, and it will make us more efficient in the long run anyway.” The bi-weekly Construction Talk podcast forms part of a new community that Causeway Technologies is creating for its customers and the wider industry, including a monthly newsletter with six question quick-fire interviews with guest contributors, and plans for community events like roundtables, dinners and other networking opportunities later in the year. The podcast is hosted by Peter Haddock, a well-known voice in construction, and is freely available via both iTunes and Spotify. Peter Haddock says: “It’s great to be working with Causeway Technologies on creating a community that can share ideas, experiences and views on key topics impacting the construction sector now and in the future. Our podcast guests share their passion for how we improve skills development and technology integration, showing us how we can do things differently, collaborate properly and embrace change.” The most recent episode of the podcast features Mathew Ayres, group managing director at the Bennie Group, talking on the theme of “Winning the competitive edge with early technology adoption.” To listen to the first three episodes of the Construction Talk podcast, go to: https://www.causeway.com/construction-talk-podcast Causeway Technologies was established in 1999. Headquartered in Buckinghamshire in the United Kingdom, it serves over 2,500 customers and has over 350 employees. Causeway provides enterprise and cloud software solutions to the construction and infrastructure maintenance industries and spans the full value and supply chain. www.causeway.com
CONSTRUCTION BUSINESS BUILDER TWO-DAY LIVE ARENA EVENT HOSTED BY CEO OF TRADE MASTERMIND AND WINNER OF BBC’S THE APPRENTICE JOSEPH VALENTE FEATURING GUEST SPEAKERS ALFIE BEST Entrepreneur, philanthropist and TV’s ‘Undercover Big Boss’. Plus KEVIN BYRNE founder and CEO of Checkatrade. February 26th & 27th at East of England Showground Arena, East of England Way, Peterborough, PE2 6HE. The biggest live construction event is taking place at Peterborough’s East of England Showground Arena on February 26th & 27th. It promises to be the ultimate showcase for business owners in the construction industry from all over the UK. Trade Mastermind CEO Joseph Valente has helped thousands of construction businesses to scale-up and triple annual turnovers, and this live two-day event is going to be the biggest and best yet. More than 200 plumbers, boiler installers, landscapers, builders, painter and decorators and many others, will be arriving in Peterborough to participate. The event is also going international and is being shown live around the world for those unable to attend. Joseph Valente, from Peterborough who won BBC’s The Apprentice in 2015 said: “I’m so excited to be hosting our live arena event in Peterborough over two days. And to have industry figureheads and leading entrepreneurs Alfie Best, plus CEO and founder of Checkatrade Kevin Byrne join us too, has seen a significantly huge demand from business owners to attend. The live two-day event is aimed at all construction business owners who are determined to get off the tools and increase turnover – we have helped thousands of tradespeople scale-up to become successful businesspeople. Our Construction Business Builder event will provide all the expertise advice and education you will ever need to achieve it.” “The demand to attend has been immense, so we’ve decided to offer virtual attendance for business owners around the world who can’t be here in person. The response from within the construction industry has simply been incredible,” he added. For full details and to book a seat at the live Construction Business Builder event, visit: www.construction-event.com Joseph Valente is available for immediate interview. For more details email: paul.fenech@trademastermind.co.uk FOR A PRESS PASS TO THE EVENT: paul.fenech@trademastermind.co.uk The live event is scheduled for February 26th & 27th at the East of England Showground Arena, East of England Way, Peterborough, PE2 6HE.
PLP will commence construction of Phase 1 at PLP Milton Keynes in April, having been granted detailed planning consent. The first phase at PLP MK will total 1.05 million sq ft and comprise of 10 units ranging in sizes up to 308,516 sq ft. The target delivery for the first units will be in Q1 2023. The reserved matters approval launches construction of the first phase of the 135-acre site, which will be delivered within PLP’s Carbon Net Zero Commitment. PLP MK is wholly focused on providing customers with a best in a class working environment, market leading flexibility and uncompromised design. Adhering to the UK Green Building Councils Net Zero Buildings Framework. PLP’s carbon net zero (CNZ) framework combines CNZ construction with CNZ ready design, to enable future occupiers to achieve CNZ operation by utilising built-in renewable energy features and procuring appropriate renewable energy supplies. Phase 2 at PLP MK will follow Phase 1 and is available to deliver Design and Build units up to 1.15 million sq ft on 43.5 acres. PLP Milton Keynes, was acquired in 2021 by PLP’s flagship investment vehicle, the PLP UK Logistics Venture (UKLV), which is owned by majority investor Ivanhoé Cambridge alongside Peel L&P, Macquarie Asset Management (MAM) and PLP senior management. Edward Jackson at PLP, said: “Milton Keynes is a premier logistics location and will provide best in class space to our customers serving London, the South East, Midlands and beyond. We intend to speculatively develop the consented 10 buildings immediately to meet the extremely high levels of demand from local and national businesses. PLP MK is going to be a best in class working environment, raising the bar and setting a new standard for our customers and our ESG targets. We look forward to working with Winvic Construction Ltd on the Infrastructure and welcoming businesses to PLP MK.” Richard Saul at Ivanhoé Cambridge: This achievement marks a major milestone in the Business Plan for Milton Keynes. The site and its design will mean that we are delivering, alongside our partners, the very best in class park and buildings meeting the demands of our customers. Incorporating PLP’s Net Zero commitment alongside Ivanhoé Cambridge’s recently announced ESG commitments means we are delivering a logistics park for the future.” Burbage Realty, Savills and Kirby Diamond have been appointed as marketing agents for the scheme.
Akela Construction Ltd, part of the Akela Group, has secured its latest in a series of contracts as part of the creation of a new neighbourhood and community in Penicuik. This new contract for Avant Homes will deliver a further 78 new homes at Mauricewood Road and follows the successful delivery of phase one of Avant’s Carnethy Heights Development. The Company is currently providing civil engineering services to three major housebuilders – Cala Homes, Avant Homes and Bellway Homes – worth a combined contract value of £28 million, resulting in approximately 500 new homes being built in the area. Nearly a decade and half after plans were initially submitted to Midlothian Council, works commenced onsite in 2018. One of the challenges overcome by the Akela Construction team was to maintain the existing Talla Aqueduct which has been operating since 1905. Critically, the Talla Aqueduct provides the Glencorse Water Treatment Works with raw water and the treatment plant is the primary source of water for the Greater Edinburgh area. The first phases of both Cala and Avant sites are due to complete at the end of 2022, however subsequent phases will be ongoing until 2026. The development will provide 57 affordable homes with provision for electric vehicle charging facilities for future tenants. Other environmentally friendly features on this site include solar panels, air source heat pumps and value engineering methods to reduce surplus soil to landfill. Mark Markey, Akela Group Managing Director, said: “Akela Construction Ltd has a significant role to play in the delivery of the Mauricewood Road development that will provide over 500 new homes to the north Penicuik area, including much needed affordable housing. We are delighted to continue our strong working relationships with Avant Homes, Bellway Homes and CALA Homes to drive the creation of this new neighbourhood and community. “This latest contract win, to deliver an additional 78 new homes as part of the Penicuik masterplan, is a testament to the successful delivery of house building projects we have already delivered for house building clients. This builds on our ambitious plans to continue to grow this area of our business, both in Scotland and in the north of England from our Leeds base.”
Concrete Expo (3-4 May Excel.London) makes its debut in London this year with a comprehensive range of more than 100 concrete-related brands and product categories. It’ll be the first major dedicated trade show for the concrete supply chain for more than two years. This year there’ll be a selection of concrete batching plant suppliers, admixtures, additives and chemicals, concrete pumps, concrete mixers, volumetric mixers, formwork, lifting and handling concrete, precast equipment and accessories, tools, testing services – in fact just about everything needed to produce, deliver and install the most widely used building material to construction sites.
Partner Housing, in association with Flagship Homes, celebrated the start of works on a new housing development in Necton, Norfolk; The £9.7 million development will see 73 new homes built, with a mix of Shared Ownership and Social Rent properties; Work is expected to finish on the site, called Tower Mill, in early 2024 United Living New Homes subsidiary Partner Construction and leading housing provider Flagship Homes held a ground-breaking ceremony this week to celebrate the start of works on the brand new £9.7 million Tower Mill housing development in Necton, Norfolk. The ground-breaking ceremony was attended by Frank Lincoln, Regional Managing Director of Partner Construction | United Living New Homes, and Tony Tann, Managing Director of Flagship Homes, to celebrate this milestone. On behalf of Flagship Homes, Partner Construction is creating 73 new homes on North Pickenham Road in Necton, delivering much-needed affordable housing for the local community. The residential development will feature a mix of two-bedroom bungalows, one-bedroom walk-up flats, and two, three-, and four-bedroom houses. Supported by Homes England funding, the properties are 100% affordable, with a mix of Shared Ownership and Social Rent ensuring genuine affordability for residents. The development is in a beautiful rural location and includes green open space, with landscaping plans to ensure the scheme looks attractive and in keeping with the surrounding area. This is one of two projects delivered in close partnership between Partner Construction and Flagship Homes, with a second scheme in Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex. The £8.4 million, 100% affordable development will create 53 new homes to provide much-needed new housing for the local area. Frank Lincoln said: “We are delighted to celebrate the start of construction works at Necton with a turf cutting ceremony. Working collaboratively with Flagship Homes, we look forward to delivering high-quality new homes that will provide a welcome housing boost to the local community. “We pride ourselves on supporting people with our affordable homes and employing a workforce on site that will be made up of local labour and contractors. With our homes, we are determined to ensure that the housing market better serves young first-time buyers and families on low to average incomes.” Tony Tann said: “We are delighted to have commenced construction on this site in Necton with Partner Construction. The development following a competition within our Development Team is named “Tower Mill” to associate it with the local Mill and the Village and we see this as the start of its integration within the community. The development provides essential housing to the area while respecting the beautiful rural landscape. We’re building a mix of 73 Shared Ownership and Social Rent properties to make sure that many local people and families will have access to quality affordable housing. It’s fantastic to see this development underway and are pleased to have Partner Construction working with us to share in that vision and provide a huge housing boost to the area.” The new homes are due to be completed in early 2024. You can find out more by visiting www.flagship-group.co.uk, and @_FlagshipGroup on Twitter and Instagram.
Civil engineering and infrastructure specialist Barhale will lead a new scheme to protect critical water infrastructure from the impact of erosion on the Suffolk coastline. The programme of works will be carried out at Corton Beach, Lowestoft on behalf of Anglian Water by Barhale as part of the @one Alliance, the collaboration of consultants and contractors working together to deliver more than half of Anglian Water’s capital investment programme. Continued coastal erosion has made it necessary to move three sewer pipes that currently run along the beach to a new route approximately 100 metres inland. They include the primary 700mm Lowestoft domestic wastewater pipe which runs to the Lowestoft Water Recycling Centre (WRC) to be treated before being taken away by a second 800mm pipe to the Nesspoint outfall. A third pipe (300mm), dedicated to the nearby Birds Eye factory will also be moved. The replacement pipework will be laid through opencut to a depth of 2.5m in ductile iron with a special lining to protect against saline water. The new route will take the pipelines through the Gunton Warren Nature Reserve and the project has been subject to intensive involvement from East Suffolk Council, ecologists, arboriculturists and Suffolk Wildlife Trust to ensure there is minimal impact on the environment and ecology found in the reserve. It has also led to the agreement of a five year plan on completion of the project that will deliver a net biodiversity gain of 10%. Barhale’s contract manager, Stuart Kempster underlined the importance of the works and of proactively managing the risks presented by coastal erosion. “This is a critical project to protect the water infrastructure of Lowestoft and the surrounding area,” he said. “Anglian Water’s early intervention will significantly extend the life of the existing assets and ensure that the retreating coastline does not have any impact on waste water management. “Anglian Water and the @one Alliance have been very mindful of the new pipeline route and have worked closely with stakeholders to create a post-completion ecology programme that will actually enhance biodiversity. We are proud to be playing our part not only in leading these important works but also helping to make sure that we leave the site with ethe best possible future.” Work is scheduled to start in early 2022 and to take approximately 12 months.
Panattoni, the largest industrial real estate developer in Europe, today announced it has begun speculatively developing a 575,000 sq ft logistics park at junction 28 of the M1 in the East Midlands. Panattoni Park J28 Central M1 will comprise two units of 345,000 sq ft and 230,000 sq ft, which are expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year and will be built to a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’ and an EPC rating of ‘A’. The 345,000 sq ft facility will benefit from 15m clear internal height, 32 dock doors, 4 level access, 291 car parking spaces, including electric charging points for cars and vans and 49 HGV spaces. The 230,000 sq ft facility will benefit from 15m clear internal height, 22 dock doors, 3 level access, 260 car parking spaces and 41 HGV spaces. Buckingham Group Contracting has been appointed main contractor on site. Junction 28 of the M1 is an important logistics location in the East Midlands, as it is almost equidistant between Birmingham and Manchester, the UK’s second and third largest cities, and offers the ability to easily serve from the Midlands to Yorkshire. The park lies to the east of the junction, fronting the A38, which links it directly to Birmingham via Derby. The M1 link puts both Sheffield and Nottingham within easy reach. Andy Preston, Development Director at Panattoni, said: “This is a key logistics location in the UK, as 71% of the UK can be reached within a 4.5-hour HGV journey. The park can serve as a centre for same day e-fulfilment operations or as a national and regional distribution hub. “We are excited to be bringing forward Grade-A buildings in a supply-starved market and we are already having conversations with potential occupiers, struggling to find suitable existing buildings”. Panattoni Park J28 Central M1 is part of Panattoni’s commitment to a significant speculative development programme in the UK in response to strong demand from occupiers for immediately available space. Letting agents are FHP and CBRE.
