The construction of new apartments in Birmingham is being supported by a funding deal worth £21 million. The new capital has been received by Cedar Invest, who will use the funding to support its project to build 140 new apartments in Digbeth. The five-storey development, named The Forge, consists of a
SIX NEW classrooms and a 690 m2 sports hall at Henlow Church of England Academy, Bedfordshire have now completed, completely reimagining the 600 pupil school’s teaching facilities and sports opportunities. PCMS Design designed the modern, new extension to the original school site, with Building Services Design (BSD) providing mechanical and
A £2 million funding boost has been offered to a number of energy projects in the South West. Bristol City, Devon and Plymouth Councils secured a grant from the European Investment Bank and the European Commission to fund new energy efficiency, renewable, sustainable transport and heat networks projects across the region
Around £7 million of funding is to go to three culture and tourism projects in Yorkshire. £6.9 million have been confirmed by Sheffield City Region to go towards Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Gullivers World and Vulcan to the Sky, which will also see almost 500 new jobs created. The funding for
Councillors must start working with local builders and developers to make better use of the existing town centre buildings, advised the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Following the recent announcement of Budget 2018, FMB CEO Brian Berry was speaking on the development of space above shops. “It is important that
Santander Corporate & Commercial has financed around £2 million in growth capital funding and working capital facilities to Cardiff, Wales based Forward Waste Management (FWM). The Welsh waste and recycling firm, which offers services specifically for the manufacturing sector, will use the funding to help develop its regional waste collection
A charitable organisation helping children and families in the North East by giving them help to improve and build new relationships is now moving to the next phase of development. Changing Futures North East will deliver its Hartlepool Healthy Relationships scheme, which was supported by a £1.56 million grant, as
Good news for the construction sector; it has been reported that 90% of those which have applied for the CITB Skills and Training Fund have most recently seen the approval of such applications. In effect, the fund, offered by the Construction Industry Training Board, offers the opportunity for organisations with
Recommending that the Crossrail 2 project should move forward to the construction phase as soon as is possible, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has urged for funding to be made accessible as soon as is possible to support the planned development. In line with this, it is also hoped that
Nodding to the increasing importance for expansive, affordable housing assets to solve the modern-day housing crisis, circa £25m has recently been made available through the newly announced Rural Housing Fund. Expected to support the delivery of increased long-term, affordable housing assets in the countryside, the fund looks to provide grant-based
The construction of new apartments in Birmingham is being supported by a funding deal worth £21 million. The new capital has been received by Cedar Invest, who will use the funding to support its project to build 140 new apartments in Digbeth. The five-storey development, named The Forge, consists of a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments and a 42-space car park and is set for completion by the end of 2020. Providing new homes for more than 226 residents, Cedar Invest said it had already sold 107 of the 140 homes at the site in Bradford Street. “The Forge Digbeth is set to be a transformative development in the city, regenerating a currently underutilised piece of land to provide a range of luxury new homes. By securing backing from Frontier Development Capital and Coutts, we have been able to get spades into the ground – a significant milestone for Cedar but also Birmingham as we contribute to its ongoing growth,” said John Whateley, director at Cedar Invest. The new investment comprises a £17.5 million loan from Coutts and £3.5 million from Frontier Development Capital, with Cedar Invest investing £6 million. The funding has allowed construction to commence at the previously disused ‘Park Works’ brownfield site, supporting more than 300 jobs in the construction phase. “This investment in Cedar Invest will be crucial in allowing the developer to deliver this flagship development, a strong platform from which it can bring forward more schemes across the Midlands and wider UK. The volume and quality of residential development in Birmingham is on the rise, driven by developers like Cedar Invest. We look forward to working with the team as this scheme takes shape and delivers much-needed homes in the city,” added Nick Oakley, head of property investments at Frontier Development Capital. Working alongside Cedar Invest on the regeneraion project are GJL Property Developers and BJD.
SIX NEW classrooms and a 690 m2 sports hall at Henlow Church of England Academy, Bedfordshire have now completed, completely reimagining the 600 pupil school’s teaching facilities and sports opportunities. PCMS Design designed the modern, new extension to the original school site, with Building Services Design (BSD) providing mechanical and electrical (M&E) engineering support for the project. “The six classrooms and sports hall are a standalone block,” explained Adam Middleton, senior electrical engineer at the national M&E practice, BSD. Adam continued: “The new sports hall comprises four new Sport England compliant courts, which are to be used for both the school’s own netball, basketball and hockey teams as well as for community hire; making it an incredibly inclusive space – and one which will support not just the school but the wider Henlow population. “There are also attached changing rooms as well as a 88 m2 storage facility.” BSD provided technical support to PCMS Design to ensure that the delivery of the M&E engineering services for electricity, gas, water and the fire alarm system ran smoothly and to specification. “There were a couple of challenges on this project; time constraints meant that the scheme had to be completed for the beginning of term but, through working closely with the delivery team, we managed to complete the project on time and on budget. “The new building is a standalone building, separate to the main school. Services had to be provided to the new site and connected to existing services without impacting on the school’s day to day operations,” added Adam. The sports hall has a standing seam zinc roof, which is curved to the hall and pitched to the storage room, as well as architectural louvres which allows for air flow through the area. Alex Bond, PCMS design director and project manager said: “PCMS Design engaged BSD to advise on the performance specification for the mechanical and electrical installation on a large educational sports hall and classroom block project at Henlow Church of England Academy. “We found its services to be invaluable in the early planning stages, and throughout the specification process when specialised M&E skills and knowledge were needed.” Head teacher Caren Earp said: “Thanks to the incredible design team, we now have a fantastic new building which is going to be of huge benefit to our children, increasing the number and range of opportunities for sport that we can now offer.” The project was funded by Central Bedfordshire Council and the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA).
A £2 million funding boost has been offered to a number of energy projects in the South West. Bristol City, Devon and Plymouth Councils secured a grant from the European Investment Bank and the European Commission to fund new energy efficiency, renewable, sustainable transport and heat networks projects across the region over the next three years. “This is yet another really exciting step towards carbon reduction in Bristol. The scale of sustainable development generated by the last ELENA grant made an enormously positive impact on our ability to deliver clean energy for the city, so we have high hopes for the opportunities that come with this latest round of European funding,” said Cabinet Member for Energy, Waste and Regulatory Services, Councillor Kye Dudd. “It’s great that Bristol has once again been recognised as a national leader in the field of sustainability as our goal to become a carbon neutral city by 2050 moves a step closer. It’s even more exciting now that we are in a position to share our knowledge and expertise with other parts of the region, helping them to reduce carbon and provide clean energy to towns and cities across the South West,” Cllr Kye added. Bristol City Council is the lead organisation, therefore it will manage the projects with its central delivery team. Councillor Roger Croad, Devon County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, also commented: “The funding will help us to kick start a range of projects which will support the council in delivering its target of reducing the Devon region’s carbon emissions by 80% by 2050. These projects will also give us more control over energy use, will reduce air pollution from transport and generate energy which will improve the quality of life for Devon’s residents.” “We anticipate that this funding will stimulate Devon’s renewable energy sector and lead to at least £16 million being invested into low carbon projects in the county,” Cllr Roger concluded.
Around £7 million of funding is to go to three culture and tourism projects in Yorkshire. £6.9 million have been confirmed by Sheffield City Region to go towards Yorkshire Wildlife Park, Gullivers World and Vulcan to the Sky, which will also see almost 500 new jobs created. The funding for the projects is part of the Sheffield City Region’s Local Growth Fund (LGF) allocation, funded by the Government. Funding of £5 million was approved for the Yorkshire Wildlife Park, £1.5 million for Gullivers Valley, and £400,000 for the Vulcan to the Sky project at a Mayoral Combined Authority (MCA) meeting. “It’s great to be able to fund such a diverse range of projects, which will create new jobs, boost our visitor economy and complement the existing range of fantastic arts, culture and heritage sites we have here in our region. Not only do cultural attractions enrich our quality of life, but they act as a driver for economic growth. By working together, we can be more than the sum of our parts,” said Mayor Dan Jarvis, who chaired the MCA meeting. Yorkshire Wildlife Park in Doncaster will add an additional 150 acres to the current site providing a new entrance, expanded car parking, new animal reserves and a large lake, all due to the funding. There will be also a visitor hub incorporating a 148-bedroom hotel, an events and conference venue, restaurants and shops, with aims to grow to 1.2 million visitors by 2022. The Gullivers Valley project will receive £1.5 million towards the £7.5 million cost of the whole theme park project, which will offer rides and attractions aimed at children aged from two to 13. The resort will also offer family-friendly accommodation, and is expected to create around 250 new jobs. Meanwhile, funding for the Vulcan to the Sky project will help to create a permanent home in Doncaster for the restored Vulcan XH558 bomber. “We are obviously thrilled that the Sheffield City Region has recognised the significance of the region being the permanent home to the Vulcan by the award of a significant grant towards the new hangar. The funding from the Sheffield City Region will be vital in delivering this heritage hangar, ensuring that XH558 is given the home she deserves and that the public can once again visit this iconic aircraft,” commented Dr Robert Pleming, on behalf of the Vulcan to the Sky Trust.
Councillors must start working with local builders and developers to make better use of the existing town centre buildings, advised the Federation of Master Builders (FMB). Following the recent announcement of Budget 2018, FMB CEO Brian Berry was speaking on the development of space above shops. “It is important that the Chancellor has recognised the importance of investing in our high streets. He has announced a £675 million Future High Streets Fund to allow councils to rejuvenate town centres. It is estimated that as many as 300,000 to 400,000 new homes alone could be created by making use of empty spaces above shops on our high streets. This is space just waiting to be turned into residential accommodation. There is a pressing need to re-invent many of our town centres in light of changing patterns of retail and leisure. The Government should be applauded for its ambition to safeguard the life of our high streets,” said Brian Berry. “A recent report titled Homes on our High Streets from the FMB puts councils at the heart of the solution and suggests some practical ways for them to facilitate the development of wasted space above shops. Retail will always be an important element of vibrant high streets, but there is plenty we can do on a small scale to help convert unused and under-used space in to attractive residential units. This will both boost the supply of new homes and help breathe new life back into our high streets. What we must avoid is perfectly good space lying empty and achieving nothing in terms of boosting the local economy or housing individuals,” he added. The FMB CEO has also welcomed the Chancellor’s announcement of £1 billion to guarantee capacity to support lending to the SME housebuilding sector. “Many small-scale house builders continue to experience real difficulty in accessing the finance they need to build homes, and it is often the smallest scale builders that experience the greatest problems. This new funding will help to speed up the delivery of homes and lead to a more diverse and resilient housing supply,” Berry concluded.
Santander Corporate & Commercial has financed around £2 million in growth capital funding and working capital facilities to Cardiff, Wales based Forward Waste Management (FWM). The Welsh waste and recycling firm, which offers services specifically for the manufacturing sector, will use the funding to help develop its regional waste collection and processing facilities extending from South Wales to the West Midlands. Established in 2006, FWM provides an end-to-end service to UK manufacturers, including the management of hazardous waste materials. With a substantial increase in environmental regulation over the past decade, FWM said that it has expanded significantly as the demands on its clients have grownenabling it to capitalise by advising clients on their total waste management strategy via a single point of contact. The firm’s current clients include British Airways, Ricardo, Federal Mogul, Sony and Actavis. The Growth Capital funding from Santander is being used in particular to fund FWM’s operations in the West Midlands as the business develops a growing customer base in the region. Santander’s Growth Capital loans are targeted at businesses with annual turnovers of up to £50 million which have a demonstrated history of high year-on-year growth in turnover, profit or employment. The facility is part of the bank’s Breakthrough support programme, which is aimed at fast-growth, ambitious businesses and includes funded overseas trade missions, Masterclass events and also provides graduate interns to SMEs. FWM added said that it also incorporates its own waste handling equipment division, Enviroquip, manufacturing and refurbishing a wide range of machinery including waste compactors, balers and containers. Lyndon Ward, managing director of Forward Waste Management Ltd, said: “We are a dynamic business operating in growth driven by the increasingly significant waste and recycling regulatory and compliance requirements for our customer base.” Peter Abel, Director, Growth Capital, Santander Corporate & Commercial added: “This is a business we have known and tracked for a while…. They operate in a sector with exciting opportunities.”
A charitable organisation helping children and families in the North East by giving them help to improve and build new relationships is now moving to the next phase of development. Changing Futures North East will deliver its Hartlepool Healthy Relationships scheme, which was supported by a £1.56 million grant, as two new experienced professionals join their management team to help carry on its pioneering work. The organisation was set up under its current system two years ago and was initially set up as ‘Headland Future’ before being rebranded and opened up to people who live throughout the North East region. Along with carrying out ground breaking work in their Healthy Relationships project, the organisation has a team of staff and volunteers who support and help families and children who need help to overcome challenges they face in their lives. The charity also provides family mediation along with other types of help under their Moving On scheme to separated couples, including mediation to help them avoid going through court. The Early Action Neighbourhood Fund has provided the £1.56 million grant, which is a funding pot contributed to by the Big Lottery Fund, the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation and Comic Relief. With this investment, Changing Futures North East is well positioned to help people have even healthier relationships and hopes to ultimately ease the demand on public services. Graham Alton, Chief Executive of Changing Futures North East, said: “We are in an excellent position, and our aim to make sure we are always helping everyone involved in Hartlepool’s Children & Families Workforce to build on the good work they do and be even more effective at helping families and children have a range of happy, healthy relationships. “Hartlepool, like other areas, faces huge social and financial challenges, and limited money means that it can be difficult to support people early enough, before their problems get worse.”
Good news for the construction sector; it has been reported that 90% of those which have applied for the CITB Skills and Training Fund have most recently seen the approval of such applications. In effect, the fund, offered by the Construction Industry Training Board, offers the opportunity for organisations with below 50 employees to access some £5000 in budget to facilitate the training and development of their respective workforce. The success of those applying for funding has been received as a great success, not solely for those organisations to have applied and succeeded, but also to herald the potential for the budget to offer a much-needed resource to a majority of firms. From those bids submitted, a total of forty three were accepted out of a total of forty eight bids. Not only does the success of those forty three sit well in providing the scheme to be quite open for organisations to secure funding from, but the level of interest is also noteworthy and highlighted as a great success for the CITB; this then highlights the level of interest held by smaller organisations in ensuring their staff are equipped with proper skill-sets so as best to represent, and grow their business. Of course, core to opening up the fund to smaller organisations lies within the process itself, with more complex and detailed applications often putting smaller organisations off from pursuing such schemes entirely. In accordance with this notion, CITB’s Head of Economic Analysis and Research, Geeta Nathan, stated: “We have simplified our funding applications for firms of all sizes, and we want even more firms to apply for this fund when the next round opens in mid-April.” Of those which have applied, and succeeded in securing funding, Insitu Technical Services, a civil engineering practice based out of York has been confirmed to have secured some £5000 for the provision of training and qualification in the arena of Personal Track Safety certification; a move expected to develop new opportunities for the company in the times to come.
Recommending that the Crossrail 2 project should move forward to the construction phase as soon as is possible, the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) has urged for funding to be made accessible as soon as is possible to support the planned development. In line with this, it is also hoped that the submission of a hybrid bill can then be placed in 2019, with the scheme then reaching the completion of construction by 2033. As a stated ambition, Crossrail 2, expected to cost some £32bn, is hoped to offer the city of London a brand new rail artery to effectively to provide a link between the south west and north east network lines. This will see the line operating through a new tunnel between Wimbledon and Tottenham Hale, which will expand the capacity for people to access London city centre by approximately 270,000 in morning peak times. This will effectively take a great deal of the strain presently on the London rail networks off, as well as facilitating extra capacity as a whole. When asked for its opinion on the scheme last year, the National Infrastructure Commission also suggested for the Department for Transport to property identify key proposals in a bid to maximise both the benefits and deliverability of the scheme. As part of this, a number of suggestions were made to reduce the costs of the scheme and improve affordability of it, as well as developing funding strategies and the placement of homes along the route to develop usage of the line itself. Lord Adonis, Chairman of the National Infrastructure Commission commented that: “By the 2030s London will be a megacity of more than 10 million people.” He then highlighted the importance for planning ahead for Crossrail 2 as early as possible as, even when considering planned investment and the addition of the east-west Crossrail line, the impact of reduced infrastructure in comparison to population density and commerce would be undeniable in holding the capital back.
Nodding to the increasing importance for expansive, affordable housing assets to solve the modern-day housing crisis, circa £25m has recently been made available through the newly announced Rural Housing Fund. Expected to support the delivery of increased long-term, affordable housing assets in the countryside, the fund looks to provide grant-based financial support for both the construction of new housing and also of developing existing properties into suitable housing. Effectively, the fund can be defined by two different mediums of support. The primary purpose of the fund is to offer direct support through loans and grants as aforementioned, however access will also be provided to an additional feasibility fund of up to £10,000 which will exist to provide property developers with the ability to assess prospective schemes whilst then also developing full, proper applications for the main funding on offer. This, in effect, allows developers at various stages, both those already invested in the area, and those looking to develop into new, “unknown” areas, to have a degree of support and protection for their endeavours. As mentioned, levels of support is also to be made accessible for the redevelopment of existing, empty properties and also the use-conversion of non-residential properties into that of residential housing asset; the properties then to be placed on the market for either rent or sale, provided that it is at an affordable level. As for who will be eligible for the fund itself, it has been confirmed that the support will be accessible to legally constituted bodies, including development trusts, housing trusts, developers and landowners; collaboration is also encouraged between these relevant different parties in a bid to support a robust approach to delivering the much-needed housing assets. Commenting on the importance of the fund in supporting the development of such properties in the countryside, Margaret Burgess, Housing Minister commented that: “We know building affordable housing in rural areas presents different challenges compared to urban areas.” As such, the fun is positions to provided this stream of support to make up the difference in commercial viability between the two different geographic archetypes.
