A survey of Build UK members has found that the shortage of skilled labour has become more severe since Brexit, despite the EU referendum outcome not having an immediate slowdown in work for UK contractors overall. The survey shows that in the three months following the referendum, labour costs are
Construction firm Beard has been awarded a £1.6 million contract to build and refurbish the existing facilities at Guildford Cricket Club’s pavilion. The pavilion, which was built in 1938, will be upgraded to create new larger, more contemporary changing rooms and a modernised events space, connected to a viewing balcony.
Asian investors have agreed a deal to invest billions of pounds into East London construction over the next five years. The deal was signed in London yesterday with Chinese developer ABP pledging to invest £1.7 billion over the course of the next eight years in its Royal Albert Dock project.
Seven recently completed three-storey town houses in Brighton are setting high design and construction standards aided by the stylish finish achieved through the application of weberpral M, the innovative one-coat, through-coloured monocouche render from Saint-Gobain Weber. These new four-bedroom properties, built by Lewes’-based developer Cross Construction (Sussex) Limited, have light
In response to the Welsh Government’s newly published budget, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru has said that the announcement of a new £111 million fund for apprenticeships must be followed by a sector-specific plan as to where this training will be targeted. Director of FMB Cymru, Ifan Glyn,
Introducing the World’s First Elevated Home: Is It the Answer to the UK’s Housing Issues? While some industries are constantly heralded as holding the keys to a bright and progressive future, others are derided as moribund and increasingly irrelevant in the modern age. Take manufacturing, for example, which despite accounting
A slowdown in the construction industry since the EU referendum has seen CITB revise down the number of workers needed by 2020 by a third. The CITB’s latest Construction Skills Network report has shown that construction output over the next five years is set to average 2%. This is a
Graham Construction has secured a nuclear contract extension as the LOW Level Waste Repository (LLWR) has signed the second half of its major four year framework deal. LLWR operates the nuclear waste site at Drigg, West Cumbria, which takes low level radioactive waste from the nuclear sector, hospitals and industry.
A number of major construction industry forecasts suggest strong growth in the UK’s infrastructure spending in the coming years. It is hoped that this would mitigate the faltering commercial industry which is predicted to worsen as the effects of Brexit take its toll. New reports indicate that this influx of
A survey of Build UK members has found that the shortage of skilled labour has become more severe since Brexit, despite the EU referendum outcome not having an immediate slowdown in work for UK contractors overall. The survey shows that in the three months following the referendum, labour costs are on the rise and there has been a significant increase in the number of contractors unable to bid for jobs because they cannot afford the workforce. At the end of June, the UK voted in favour of leaving the European Union in a referendum and while it will be at least two years before the UK actually leaves the EU, there is still uncertainty about what the impact will be in the end. Trade deals will need to be put in place that will determine the extent the UK will continue to support the free movement of people and goods. Build UK’s state of trade survey for Q3 of 2016, covering the months straight after the referendum (July to September) show that while members of Build UK saw their workloads increase immediately after the vote, there were more and more difficulties in recruiting skilled operatives. However, the survey does not shed any light on whether the result of the referendum may have in any way contributed to the recruitment problems recently experienced by the construction industry. An unrelated report from brokers Willis Towers Watson on the implications of Brexit for the UK construction industry states that the industry is currently relying on foreign labour from within the EU, with migrant workers currently filling around 12% of the 2.9 million UK construction jobs. The Build UK survey does show that labour shortages stopped a quarter of contractors from bidding for work during the third quarter of this year, a number that has increased from 16% in Q2.
Construction firm Beard has been awarded a £1.6 million contract to build and refurbish the existing facilities at Guildford Cricket Club’s pavilion. The pavilion, which was built in 1938, will be upgraded to create new larger, more contemporary changing rooms and a modernised events space, connected to a viewing balcony. The project will see the creation of a new, wheelchair-accessible layout of the building, with a new ground floor lobby and a lift to the first and second floors. The building will also feature an additional second floor with an external seating area, a meeting room and bar. “This scheme will upgrade one of Guildford’s best-loved clubs,” Contracts Manager for Beard Guildford, Trevor Smallpiece, commented: “This scheme will upgrade one of Guildford’s best-loved clubs, providing modern new facilities which everyone will be able to access and enjoy. “We are pleased to be working with Guildford Borough Council on this fantastic new building refurbishment which is due for completion in July next year.” Architects practice Rolfe Judd says that the extention has been “sensitively designed to complement the current building and will incorporate smart timber cladding across the extended north front. Modern external stairs will replace the dated staircase. Robert Charles, chairman of Guildford Cricket Club, added: “This is a tremendously exciting project. The new pavilion will make Woodbridge Road into a superb cricket ground, worthy of hosting first class and top-level club cricket. It will also be a fantastic facility for the local community.” The new pavilion is expected to be completed at some point in 2017, and it is an exciting prospect for both the cricketers and fans alike as they await the new facilities. Earlier this year, Beard appointed David Sershall as managing director as it seeks to maintain its strong growth. Sershall joined the family-owned business from Hertfordshire-based engineering and construction company VolkerFitzpatrick, where he was managing director of the building division.
Asian investors have agreed a deal to invest billions of pounds into East London construction over the next five years. The deal was signed in London yesterday with Chinese developer ABP pledging to invest £1.7 billion over the course of the next eight years in its Royal Albert Dock project. This scheme will be supported by its partners CITIC Group and Thai company Charoen Popkhand Group (CP Group). The agreements were confirmed as part of the Chinese Vice Premier Ma Kai’s visit to the UK at the East London – China Investment Summit The £1.7 billion Royal Albert Dock investment will fund construction of up to six of the first phases of the project with work starting early next year. Chinese business CITIC is the main contractor on the job where Multiplex is also working on phase one. ABP, CITIC and CP Group have also set-up the The East London Development Group which will invest in other infrastructure and housing projects in the area. Mr Xu Weiping, Chairman of ABP, commented: “These major investments are a vote of confidence to the UK and London market following the Brexit vote. “East London is fast becoming one of capital’s most exciting places to do business and we are pleased that other Asian companies have seen the potential and are also now investing in the area.” Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, said: “The project will start construction early next year, and is designed as a comprehensive business-led mixed used development including up to 845 new homes. “It is expected to create 20,000 full-time jobs, which is great news for the people of Newham.” Britain’s relationship with China is still “golden”, the prime minister said as she welcomed a Chinese developer’s plans to build a £1.7bn business district in east London. Theresa May, who held talks with Ma Kai, China’s vice-premier, in Downing Street on Wednesday night, is keen to show Britain remains open to investment from China.
Seven recently completed three-storey town houses in Brighton are setting high design and construction standards aided by the stylish finish achieved through the application of weberpral M, the innovative one-coat, through-coloured monocouche render from Saint-Gobain Weber. These new four-bedroom properties, built by Lewes’-based developer Cross Construction (Sussex) Limited, have light textured facades and razor sharp features that achieve a striking contemporary visual impact. Designed by architectural practice Turner Associates of Hove, East Sussex, the properties meet Code for Sustainable Design standards and provide spacious town centre living. Factory produced to ensure product consistency weberpral M is a cementitious, through-coloured render suitable for one-coat application to suitable brick or block work substrates. Produced from carefully selected raw materials weberpral M monocouche render is formulated for pump application which makes quick and efficient installation that contributes to shorter construction programme periods, reducing associated scaffolding and site costs and permitting the completion of ground works at an earlier state. It is supplied ready-mixed with only the requirement of clean water to be added on site. Saint-Gobain Weber is the first manufacturer of monocouche renders to be awarded an A+ rating as defined in the BRE Global 2008 Green Guide to Specification. This audited material helps specifiers to make selections that will collectively reduce the environmental impact of their buildings while achieving a higher number of BREEAM material specification credits. Weberpral M has excellent weather resistance and durability whilst allowing the structure to breathe. Its through-coloured characteristic requires no decoration, is truly low maintenance and offers a variety of ways to achieve architectural features. It is available in a wide palette of 24 attractive colours. Weberpral M is applied in a two pass operation to a thickness of 20-28mm and then scraped when green giving a minimum render thickness of 15-25mm. On the recommendation of specialist applicator Complete Rendering Systems of Lewes, East Sussex, the properties were fully meshed with reinforcing meshcloth to protect against movement in the substrate and ensure maximum durability. “We advised the client that this is a recognised and recommended procedure on a rapid build project and we are confident that the excellent finish will be maintained,” said Bradley Halls, Director, Complete Rendering Systems. “Applied in Chalk, to the structural substrate of 70Nm medium density concrete blockwork, the light fresh colour has contributed to the sharp, contemporary appearance of these attractive properties.” For more information about this project, or for technical support, please contact Saint-Gobain Weber on 08703 330 070, or visit www.netweber.co.uk. Customers in Ireland should call 028 9335 2999 or visit www.weber.ie A free download of the new weber.app for iPhone and iPad users is also available from iTunes and from Google Play for Android smartphones and tablet users. Follow Saint-Gobain Weber on Twitter @SGWeberUK for the latest company news and updates.
In response to the Welsh Government’s newly published budget, the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) Cymru has said that the announcement of a new £111 million fund for apprenticeships must be followed by a sector-specific plan as to where this training will be targeted. Director of FMB Cymru, Ifan Glyn, said that they welcome the Welsh Government’s announcement of a new £111 million apprenticeship fund, aimed at creating 100,000 all-age apprenticeships. He added that is it now important that the Welsh Government focuses on the task of allocating those funds to training in industries where skilled workers are needed most and where the impact will be most beneficial for the wider economy. Glyn said that for that reason, it would be helpful to provide a sector break down of where these 100,000 apprenticeships will be created, so that key industries and businesses can plan ahead. Glyn concluded: “In particular, the construction industry is still waiting on a clear skills strategy from the Welsh Government. Our sector is already suffering from an enormous talent shortage, and this is only likely to worsen as the Welsh Government embarks on its drive to build more homes in addition to the obvious pressures that will be created by major infrastructure projects such as the new Wylfa nuclear power plant. “Businesses need to know whether the projected number of construction apprenticeships to be funded will be adequate to plug this skills gap. At a time of continued reductions in UK-wide spending and economic uncertainty in the wake of Brexit, creating jobs with a virtual guarantee of high value, well paid employment that will help generate activity throughout the Welsh economy is a no brainer. Few industries are better placed to provide such opportunities than construction. This is something which we hope the Welsh Government recognises.”
Introducing the World’s First Elevated Home: Is It the Answer to the UK’s Housing Issues? While some industries are constantly heralded as holding the keys to a bright and progressive future, others are derided as moribund and increasingly irrelevant in the modern age. Take manufacturing, for example, which despite accounting for 52% of UK exports and generating 2.5 million jobs in the UK is still viewed as a declining entity. A similar gap between perception and reality is also evident in the construction sector, particularly as the demand for new homes has suffered in line with rising price points. Despite this and the challenges created by Brexit, however, the construction sector actually showcased impressive growth while the Markit/CIPS purchasing managers’ index increased to a healthy 52.6. The World’s First Elevated Home, and What Will it Means for the UK? While supply, demand and determinism shape the robust nature of the construction sector, however, there is another important factor at play. This is innovation, which was in evidence recently as a UK developer applied for planning permission to construct an experimental property that can rise on jacks in the event of a flood. Although still at the planning and stage, the idea is the subject of both domestic and international patents and it has the potential to revolutionise the property market (particularly in the UK). The structure itself, which will be built in Spalding, Lincolnshire once planning permission has been granted, will sit on a steel ring beam instead of conventional foundations. It will also boast a modular, steel-frame design that can be easily disassembled at will, while the mechanical jacking system (which includes eight individual jacks) will be powered by a central metre and elevate the property by up to 1.5 metres. According to moderate estimates, this system can fully elevate the property within a period of five minutes, enabling home-owners to react to unexpected flooding and safeguard their home before seeking out temporary accommodation. Are There Any Potential Issues with the Build, and How Might it Influence the Marketplace? Aside from planning delays and potential construction issues, there are other issues that may prevent this innovative project from coming to fruition. To begin with, the cost of the build is likely to be high, particularly when you scale the idea and factor in features such as integrated, rooftop solar panels and complex pipe networks. Given the challenges that construction firms face when attempting to budget their working capital across large-scale projects, an inflated cost base could make the completion of multiple units unlikely in the near-term. With that being said, however, there is no doubt that this ground-breaking concept could have a seminal impact on the housing market in the UK. Not only could it increase the level of demand for property in coastal areas, for example, but it may even enable private sector firms to build on land that is currently inaccessible due to the risk of flooding. With demand currently outstripping supply in the housing market, elevating homes could correct this imbalance and lower price points accordingly. This is a long way off, of course, and there are many challenges to overcome before the first elevating house can even by built. If the concept is a commercial and theoretical success, however, it could open up more land to construction firms and help to re-establish a viable equilibrium in the property market.
A slowdown in the construction industry since the EU referendum has seen CITB revise down the number of workers needed by 2020 by a third. The CITB’s latest Construction Skills Network report has shown that construction output over the next five years is set to average 2%. This is a fall of 2.5% in comparison with the CSN report in January. As a result, the CITB has revised down the number of workers needed in the sector by 2020 from 232,000 to 157,000. Steve Radley, CITB Director of Policy, said the figures reflected the uncertainty caused by the Brexit vote. Radley commented: “Delays and uncertainty over investment decisions and access to migrant labour will likely intensify as Brexit nears. “While employers’ main focus in the short term will be to weather the storm, it’s also important that they equip their workforce with the right skills for the challenges ahead.” Average growth rates throughout the UK have stayed varied, with areas such as the South West (2.8%) and North West (2.2%) showing a positive growth over the next five years. However, the East Midlands (0.2%), the North East (0.1%) and Scotland (0.6%) are all expected to contract. London experiences the largest shift, where growth for the next five years has gone down by two percentage points to 1.5%, which was down from 3.5% in January. As a consequence just 25,350 new workers will be needed each year in England, in comparison with 34,950 in January. Meanwhile, Wales will need 3,540 workers (down from 5,440), Scotland will need 1,810 (down from 4,270) and Northern Ireland will need 650 (down from 1,760). The CITB said infrastructure projects such Hinkley Point C have boosted its growth forecast. However, the body added that the infrastructure was still likely to contract further than previously anticipated because of pauses in road building and a weak performance in the electricity sub sector.
Graham Construction has secured a nuclear contract extension as the LOW Level Waste Repository (LLWR) has signed the second half of its major four year framework deal. LLWR operates the nuclear waste site at Drigg, West Cumbria, which takes low level radioactive waste from the nuclear sector, hospitals and industry. The contract was split into two parts, with LLWR having the option to carry on with the second half of the contract based on performance. Graham Construction, a family owned firm, was awarded the engineering, design and construction framework two years ago. Since then the two organisations have formed an integrated team to work on schemes such as site infrastructure improvements, repository development and security enhancement. LLWR’s Head of Site, Paul Pointon, commented: “The signing of this contract extension is a measure of the confidence we have in Graham Construction to continue to carry out extensive works on our site over the next two years. “The single team approach is working well and producing results and I want to thank all involved for their efforts. We expect the relationship between the two organisations to flourish over the next two years, building on the experience gained in the past two years.” Graham Construction is based in Northern Ireland and has worked hard to integrate into the community of West Cumbria. Earlier in the year, Graham Construction had 44 employees working on the framework, of which 32 were local. More than 80 people were also supported through sub-contracting, of which 90% were small and medium sized businesses. With support from LLWR, the company has also developed three science and engineering ambassadors to work in schools, supported Drigg Gala Day and visited many schools and colleges to talk about the benefits of engineering. Graham Construction’s Stuart Robertson, commented: “We are delighted that the relationship with LLWR is going from strength-to-strength. There is much to achieve over the next two years, but working closely with LLWR, I’m sure we will continue to produce results.”
A number of major construction industry forecasts suggest strong growth in the UK’s infrastructure spending in the coming years. It is hoped that this would mitigate the faltering commercial industry which is predicted to worsen as the effects of Brexit take its toll. New reports indicate that this influx of monies into the sector could result in a post-Brexit growth of between 0.2% and 0.3%. A sharp deviation from the predicted 3.6% growth before the referendum. Figures from the CPA suggest that a majority of the industry activity in the interim are being sustained by the work on projects that were agreed on or started before the referendum. The construction forecast posits Construction output to rise 0.6% in 2016, 0.3% in 2017 and 0.2% in 2018 Offices construction to increase 8% in 2016 before falling 3% in 2017 and a further 10% in 2018 Factories construction to fall 5% in 2016 and 2% in 2017 Infrastructure work to rise by 6.2% in 2017 and 10.2% in 2018 Private housing starts to rise 2% but remain flat in 2017 and fall 2% in 2018 Retail construction to fall 8.0% in 2016 before falls of 4% in 2017 and 2% in 2018 This implies continued activity in the industry for the first half of next year. The second half though, does not bode well for privately funded construction sectors who are poised to suffer more from the uncertainty of the current times. Noble Francis, the economics director at the CPA predicts that industrial construction outputs could fall as much as 11% by 2018. This he argues is because large players in the industry would likely make fewer major investments as a result of the economic uncertainty that has gripped the industry. Reports indicate that it is vital that the Chancellor, for the upcoming autumn statement, focuses on reducing uncertainty for the private sector and ensure the delivery of projects that are already in the pipeline if the industry is to survive the times.