development

Student Development for King’s College London

A student-led mixed-use development scheme in London has secured funding of £125 million. The development, which will be offered exclusively to King’s College London (KCL) students, will feature 654 beds alongside 60,000 sq. ft of Grade-A office accommodation and an incubator space for entrepreneurial start-up businesses. Urbanest’s Aldgate scheme, to

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Milestone Achieved for Leeds Children’s Hospital

The development of a new operating facility for Leeds Children’s Hospital has achieved a major milestone. The occasion was celebrated on site by young patients Ruby and Isabella together with BAM Construction last week as the ground works were completed. “It’s been a complex build but all the hard work

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Wates Delivers Housing Development

Wates Residential is to deliver a new £27 million housing development at Shuttleworth Road in Wandsworth. The project includes 71 affordable new homes in the borough, supporting Wandsworth Council’s target to build 1,000 homes for local residents. At the ground breaking ceremony Paul Nicholls, Managing Director of Wates Residential, said:

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Birmingham Refurbished School Unit Is Open

Morgan Sindall has completed the £1.8 million redevelopment work for the City of Birmingham School Kings Centre pupil referral unit. The work included the renovation of the internal areas, fitting out the food technology and design technology rooms and reconfiguration of the existing floor layout to form a gym area.

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R&M Williams Wins Second Contract for Bristol Airport

R&M Williams has won a second major contract for Bristol Airport to develop the new Administration Building, following the successful completion of the airport’s new £4.3 million fire station earlier this year. The Administration Building will comprise three storeys and become home to the project teams and senior management, as

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Hotel-Led Development Comes to East London

A new hotel-led development in East London has received planning permission. Developed by Rockwell Property, the 30-storey landmark building located at 82 West India Dock Road in Westferry includes a 400-key hotel with a ground floor restaurant, cafe and bar. The site will also house 66 new one, two and

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Kawneer’s Systems All Feature at Bayscape

Leading UK manufacturer Kawneer had its full range of architectural glazing systems specified for a stunning residential development at Cardiff marina. The Kawneer systems were selected for Phase One of Bayscape Ltd’s £40 million mixed-use development, which has been shortlisted for an award. “We specified Kawneer because of the need

Read More »

Perfect Museum Acoustic Solution from Sto

An acoustic system from Sto has been specified for a £7.5 million museum redevelopment project in London. The StoSilent Distance system has been installed in the Garden Museum, which is Britain’s only museum covering the art, history and design of gardens, located at the Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth. “We specified

Read More »

Milestone Achieved on Canary Wharf Development

A residential development in Canary Wharf, London, has reached a significant milestone. With leading developer Canary Wharf group building residential apartment on the 10 Park Drive site, the building has recently been topped out, reaching its full height of 149 metres above ground level. It will offer 345 homes when

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Latest Issue
Issue 331 : Aug 2025

development

Student Development for King’s College London

A student-led mixed-use development scheme in London has secured funding of £125 million. The development, which will be offered exclusively to King’s College London (KCL) students, will feature 654 beds alongside 60,000 sq. ft of Grade-A office accommodation and an incubator space for entrepreneurial start-up businesses. Urbanest’s Aldgate scheme, to be known as UrbanestCity, is being completed by Balfour Beatty with a funding loan from M&G Investments. “This is Urbanest’s most ambitious student-led mixed-use development to date, providing a unique blend of student housing, heritage, entrepreneurial innovation, commerce and leisure space uses which will sit alongside and complement each other in the completed scheme. We are delighted to be working with M&G and KCL again and our aspiration with Urbanest City is to add another landmark location within our expanding PBSA portfolio,” said Vicky Skinner, CFO at Urbanest. The remains of a bastion tower and part of the 4th century wall that encircled the Roman City of Londinium are concealed beneath the Aldgate development. Urbanest is working with Museum of London to incorporate these archaeological remains into the project, which consolidates two former office buildings (Emperor House and Roman Wall House) acquired by Urbanest in early 2017. The Roman remains are set to be made readily accessible to the public for the first time within a three-storey gallery and museum. “Urbanest continues to provide fantastic facilities for students in London and we are delighted to expand our relationship and enable the construction of this exciting development. We continue to see increasing demand for student accommodation in the capital and this deal provides our institutional investors with access to attractive returns secured against high quality real estate in London’s city centre,” added Adam Willis, Associate Director in M&G’s Real Estate Finance team. The building is scheduled for completion in 2021.

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Milestone Achieved for Leeds Children’s Hospital

The development of a new operating facility for Leeds Children’s Hospital has achieved a major milestone. The occasion was celebrated on site by young patients Ruby and Isabella together with BAM Construction last week as the ground works were completed. “It’s been a complex build but all the hard work is worthwhile when we see children like Ruby and Isabella, who have personally benefitted from the facilities here at Leeds Children’s Hospital. It’s an honour to be providing a state of the art facility to help improve the lives of children from across Yorkshire and Humber,” commented Daniel Marsh, Senior Site Manager at BAM Construction. The new facility is a purpose-built cardiac hybrid theatre for undertaking complex heart procedures on children and young people, as well as an intraoperative MRI facility for neurosurgery. It is linked directly to the existing theatres in Clarendon Wing and will enable cardiac surgeons and cardiologists to work together during the same procedure which means the skills of both specialists can be employed together, reducing treatment time for patients. “We are very excited to be one step closer to the completion of this build. The new facility is purpose built and designed specifically for the care of children and young people, which gives us a dedicated space to perform this very complex and specialist surgery,” said Carin van Doorn, Consultant Cardiac Surgeon and Clinical Lead for Congenital Cardiac Surgery. “This new facility wouldn’t be possible without the support of Leeds Cares and the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund who have campaigned tirelessly to raise vital funds and to support us in providing the best possible care,” Carin added. The development is being delivered with donations from patients, their families, and the public through the Children’s Heart Surgery Fund’s ‘Keeping the Beat’ campaign and Leeds Cares.

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Wates Delivers Housing Development

Wates Residential is to deliver a new £27 million housing development at Shuttleworth Road in Wandsworth. The project includes 71 affordable new homes in the borough, supporting Wandsworth Council’s target to build 1,000 homes for local residents. At the ground breaking ceremony Paul Nicholls, Managing Director of Wates Residential, said: “Today’s ground breaking event marks an exciting milestone in our delivery of much-needed affordable new homes for local people at Shuttleworth Road. It follows months of collaboration with the Council, members of the community and other local stakeholders to really understand their vision for the area and how we can realise this, both through the design and construction of these homes and looking at ways we can create wider local economic and social value. We look forward to strengthening these relationships as we continue to progress on site.” Wates has been undertaking preparatory works on the site since May 2018. This latest development marks the official beginning of the site’s main construction phase, with completion of the scheme due in the Summer of 2020. “This is another demonstration of our commitment to build 1,000 new homes on our larger development sites, which will help people in the borough buy or rent a home that is right for them. We’re delighted to partner with Wates Residential on this scheme and look forward to strengthening our relationship with them to provide quality housing for local people,” added Wandsworth Council Leader, Ravi Govindia. All social housing that is demolished as part of the regeneration will also be replaced with affordable homes. The completion of these new homes will directly support the borough’s wider Winstanley and York Road Estates regeneration programme by providing affordable homes for those needing to move.

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PLANNING GOES IN FOR 10 & 13 STOREY OFFICE DEVELOPMENT SET TO CHANGE NOTTINGHAM LANDSCAPE & CREATE THOUSANDS OF JOBS

THE MOST transformational office development scheme to happen in the East Midlands in more than a decade has been submitted to Nottingham City Council, creating thousands of jobs – and setting a ‘cornerstone’ for the city’s Southern Gateway. Developers Peveril Securities and Sladen Estates have lodged a planning application to bring 62,022 sq m of Grade A office space to Unity Square, the 1.14 hectare site in Queensbridge Road, opposite Nottingham Train Station. The eagerly anticipated scheme will advance the £250 million Southern Gateway regeneration project – creating a new business district within an area of the city desperately in need of redevelopment. The planning application encompasses two office buildings – the first being ten storeys and the second being 13 storeys high. The build will be in two phases with landscaping and an attractive urban space connecting Unity Square and the station, creating a stunning entrance to this part of the city. The height and scale of the office buildings, along with urban spaces is set to create a brand new city landscape. Peveril Securities and Sladen Estates purchased Unity Square in 2015 and demolished the derelict car park buildings last year. Unity Square is seen as a crucial area of redevelopment with huge potential – and a cornerstone of Nottingham City Council’s vision for the city’s Southern Gateway, said Ralph Jones, MD of Peveril Securities. Today’s planning application hails the next step of the Unity Square story – and development is likely to commence early in 2019. The contractor is Bowmer & Kirkland. Jones said: “There is significant long-term investment in this area of the city. Nottingham Train Station was the catalyst and coming up is intu Broadmarsh’s forthcoming redevelopment along with other significant schemes expected over the next couple of years. “It is an exciting time for Nottingham with many significant schemes on the horizon and cranes expected on the Unity Square site in the next 12 months. “Looking ahead, the occupiers of Unity Square will be at the heart of this regenerated area of Nottingham, allowing them to take advantage of the multitude of local facilities and excellent transport links.” “The city council has been proactive in supporting the scheme which has generated strong interest from a number of office occupiers. Now that the existing buildings on site have been demolished, it is possible to see the huge potential for not just this site, but for the city as a whole,” said Nick Sladen, Sladen Estates’ chief executive “Unity Square is a major piece in the Southern Gateway jigsaw. “Unfortunately, Nottingham has struggled to provide Grade A office space over the last few years. Unity Square will help to bridge that gap. “With hundreds of people working in offices in Unity Square, we see ourselves as helping bring forward an entirely new business community – breathing new life into the southern gateway – and boosting the Nottingham economy. “There will be significant job creation up to and during the build programme, and once complete local eateries and shops will benefit from the hundreds of people working there. “Unity Square will benefit from Nottingham’s superb transport links – bus, train and tram -and it will create a magnificent backdrop for commuters arriving from Nottingham Station – providing the sort of dynamic surroundings you’d expect to see as you step from the train in one of the UK’s Core Cities. “We have strong occupier interest in the site, which is why we’ve submitted a planning application. Peveril Securities and Sladen Estates have an in-depth knowledge of the local market and national development, along with contracting expertise, and has the scale, expertise and resources to bring this scheme to fruition,” Sladen added. Lorraine Baggs, head of investment at Invest in Nottingham, said: “Unity Square is a prominent high quality development in this significant part of Nottingham – already seeing a massive resurgence in attracting multi-million pound regeneration. “The scheme indicates the growing confidence in Nottingham as a city which is ripe for both occupiers and developers and we anticipate other substantial interest over the months to come. 2019 is gearing up to be a momentous year not just for Nottingham’s regeneration plans as a whole, but for this area of the city to considerably advance its landscape.” Based in the East Midlands, and headquartered in Derbyshire, Peveril Securities and Sladen Estates have an established background in the regional commercial property market. They have a track record of delivering large-scale developments across the UK. Over the last 20 years, they have jointly completed projects worth more than £500 million in sectors including office, industrial, leisure and student accommodation. Peveril Securities and Sladen Estates have a portfolio with a development end value of around £750 million. Peveril Securities and Sladen Estates bought the Unity Square site from Peel Land and Property Group in 2015 for an undisclosed sum. The site came with planning approval for a mixed use scheme of office, hotel, retail and leisure. This new planning submission will supersede the previous application.

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Birmingham Refurbished School Unit Is Open

Morgan Sindall has completed the £1.8 million redevelopment work for the City of Birmingham School Kings Centre pupil referral unit. The work included the renovation of the internal areas, fitting out the food technology and design technology rooms and reconfiguration of the existing floor layout to form a gym area. The tiled roof was also renovated and extensive masonry works repairs were carried out on the existing facade. Delivered on behalf of Birmingham City Council, the project was part of the Constructing West Midlands (CWM) framework and was managed in collaboration with the council’s design and contract delivery partner Acivico. “We’re committed to ensuring that all of our construction projects deliver wide-reaching social value to the communities in which we work, and have routed more than half a billion pounds through local suppliers during our time on the CWM framework,” said Richard Fielding, area director at Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure. “Throughout this refurbishment, the site team has organised several local initiatives, including the donation of a blood pressure monitor to Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield, and a charity football day at St Andrew’s Stadium which the pupils loved. Everyone involved with the project can be rightly proud of the legacy they’ve left; both in terms of the finished building, and the meaningful community engagement throughout,” Richard added. The renovated school unit was officially opened by rugby legend Lawrence Dallaglio. “Today marks two important milestones for our school: the launch of the partnership with Rugby Works, and the official opening of the newly-refurbished ‘wing’ of one of our Centres. This is a strategic step towards providing pupils with outstanding facilities and the widest curriculum offer available. Thanks to Birmingham City Council and Morgan Sindall Construction & Infrastructure for their work on the project,” concluded Steve Howell, headteacher at City of Birmingham School.

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R&M Williams Wins Second Contract for Bristol Airport

R&M Williams has won a second major contract for Bristol Airport to develop the new Administration Building, following the successful completion of the airport’s new £4.3 million fire station earlier this year. The Administration Building will comprise three storeys and become home to the project teams and senior management, as well as offer services such as meeting and training rooms. The office structure is the latest project in a series of developments aiming to modernise and expand Bristol Airport and demonstrate its continued investment into sustainable, low carbon systems. Designed with energy efficiency in mind, the new building has a carbon emission reduction of 23% over facility-building regulations. “We are proud that this type of high quality, fast-track construction is one of our business strengths and we look forward to further cementing our reputation with Bristol Airport, with the successful delivery of both the fire station and administration block schemes. It’s a really state-of-the-art facility and we can’t wait to see the project take shape in the coming weeks,” said Darryn Parry, Managing Director of R&M Williams. A very modern façade has been designed by Bristol architects Stride Treglown for this project, establishing the new office as a signature building on entrance to the airport. “We are delighted to be working with R&M Williams on this second project. The Administration Building will be the welcome that staff, airline and business partner guests will see and we wanted the building to visually blend in with the local environment whilst providing a state-of-the-art energy efficient facility,” commented Andrew Goodenough, Development Director at Bristol Airport.

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Hotel-Led Development Comes to East London

A new hotel-led development in East London has received planning permission. Developed by Rockwell Property, the 30-storey landmark building located at 82 West India Dock Road in Westferry includes a 400-key hotel with a ground floor restaurant, cafe and bar. The site will also house 66 new one, two and three bedroom apartments. “Our vision for 82 West India Dock Road will breathe new life into a neglected site that has been derelict for many years. This inspiring new building includes a hotel that will bring new jobs and business to the local area, in addition to much needed new homes for the local community in an inspiring new building. We are dedicated to delivering this exciting, high-quality development and look forward to turning this site into a place that locals can be proud of,” said Donal Mulryan, Founder of Rockwell. Designed by UK architects SimpsonHaugh & Partners, the development includes: ground floor retail or community space, activating the street and providing a local amenity; extensive public realm and landscaping works, both on site and in the surrounding area to significantly improve place-making and provide a more connected, safe, cohesive and green environment; half an acre of gardens and 48 additional trees including the introduction of an urban arboretum, residents’ garden and over 220m of children’s play space; and over £7 million in Section 106 and Community Infrastructure Levy to fund local infrastructure improvements, training programmes for local residents and support for local recruitment. “We have worked closely with Rockwell Property to design a high quality, mixed-use scheme that will improve connections across West India Dock Road, providing new homes, employment and training opportunities, whilst creating a safer and more secure public realm environment for the community,” added Mark Savage, Partner, SimpsonHaugh. Construction work is due to start on the site in Summer 2019 and once completed, 250 jobs are expected to be created in the hospitality sector.

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Kawneer’s Systems All Feature at Bayscape

Leading UK manufacturer Kawneer had its full range of architectural glazing systems specified for a stunning residential development at Cardiff marina. The Kawneer systems were selected for Phase One of Bayscape Ltd’s £40 million mixed-use development, which has been shortlisted for an award. “We specified Kawneer because of the need for a high-quality and trusted product. Crisp detailing was important in the overall design concept and aluminium was essential for the marine environment,” said Andrew Baker, Director of Rio, award-winning architects who have used Kawneer systems on numerous projects. The two blocks of luxury apartments – Whitewater House and Waterford House – both used Kawneer’s AA®100 mullion-drained curtain walling with 50mm sightlines, thermally superior AA®720 tilturn and side-hung casement windows, and AA®545 open-out swing doors. Whitewater House, so named because it also overlooks Cardiff International White Water Centre, was first to complete, offering 56 generously-proportioned one, two and three- bedroom apartments including two penthouses. Meanwhile, Bayscape offers a total of 115 apartments, with optional private moorings, across seven and eight-storeys of apartments which are joined by an elevated garden podium. The ground floors feature a coffee shop, waterside bar and restaurant, commercial/retail units and marina management facility. The luxury apartments, which all feature private balconies or terraces, start at £175,000 and range from up to 624 ft2 for a one-bed, 990 ft2 for two bedrooms and 1,119 ft2 for a typical three-bedroom. Residents also benefit from undercroft parking, a concierge service and lift access to all floors. The impressive floor to ceiling double glazing in every apartment ensures they are light and airy and residents can enjoy the stunning views. The Kawneer systems were installed over five months by a team of up to eight operatives from approved dealer Dudley’s Aluminium for main contractor BECT Building Contractors. Dudley’s, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year, also worked with Kawneer and BECT on another Cardiff project – One Canal Parade. Bayscape was shortlisted for residential development of the year in the 2018 Wales Insider Property Awards.

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Perfect Museum Acoustic Solution from Sto

An acoustic system from Sto has been specified for a £7.5 million museum redevelopment project in London. The StoSilent Distance system has been installed in the Garden Museum, which is Britain’s only museum covering the art, history and design of gardens, located at the Church of St Mary-at-Lambeth. “We specified the StoSilent Distance system for a number of reasons,” explained Alun Jones of Dow Jones Architects. “The building work involved the creation of a cluster of copper-clad pavilions around a cloistered garden area. These house two new educational spaces and a cafeteria, and they are connected by a number of covered walkways. These spaces feature concrete floors and floor-to-ceiling glazing, so in order to achieve an acoustic environment with a reverberation time of less than 0.8 seconds we used a Sto seamless acoustic ceiling. Having used the Sto solution on a previous project we were confident that it would be perfect for the museum, and Sto worked closely with us to create a balanced acoustic system which would satisfy all the different requirements.” The StoSilent Distance system provides a modern, clean, monolithic alternative to the standard options. It is ideal for situations where, as with the Garden Museum, these surfaces must be suspended to accommodate services, and where the ceilings were being used as negative plenums for air extraction and movement. The StoSilent Distance system utilises its own Sto SC400 metal framework, and StoSilent Distance 110 boards. The boards are manufactured from 96% recycled glass and can be integrated with lighting, grills and other M&E considerations. StoSilent boards are permeable, and have a honeycomb-like structure which allows noise and sound to dissipate through a void space and so balance the acoustic environment. StoSilent Distance is a lightweight system, and unlike exposed grid and soft tile alternatives, the boards will not sag or delaminate. It can be used to create many different design features, including seamless, inclined planes or curves, or sharp and consistent joints. The benefit to the architects and end user is that the system can also be repaired and refurbished throughout the lifetime of the building without greatly negating the value of the acoustics, wherever the system has been installed.

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Milestone Achieved on Canary Wharf Development

A residential development in Canary Wharf, London, has reached a significant milestone. With leading developer Canary Wharf group building residential apartment on the 10 Park Drive site, the building has recently been topped out, reaching its full height of 149 metres above ground level. It will offer 345 homes when completed in the final quarter of 2019. “This is an exciting step in the construction of 10 Park Drive, both for the area and for us at Canary Wharf Group as we top out our first residences on the Estate. The work that has gone into the development so far has been phenomenal, and we look forward to it reaching completion and for the first residents to move into Canary Wharf,” said Brian De’ath, Director of Residential Sales at Canary Wharf Group. “Some of our purchasers camped out overnight to be able to secure a home at 10 Park Drive which I strongly believe says a great deal about the quality of the offering here. The extensive calendar of events, diverse community and excellent transport links on the Estate are making it an increasingly hard location to beat within the London property market,” Brian added. 10 Park Drive has been designed by Stanton Williams Architects and it forms a key part of Canary Wharf’s new residential district, Wood Wharf, alongside neighbouring residential development, One Park Drive. It will comprise 74 studios, 115 one-bedroom apartments, 141 two-bedroom apartments and 15 three-bedroom apartments. The apartments’ design maximises the light and vistas of the surroundings at every opportunity, with interiors developed by Make Architects. Residents of 10 Park Drive will have access to a private sky terrace on the 13th floor, with bookable facilities and free use of shared spaces. The development sits adjacent to South Dock and is linked to the water by landscaped gardens and parks. Purchasers will also have access to a state-of-the-art new health and fitness club with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, sauna, steam room and fitness class studio.

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