London Stadium is on track to become one of the most environmentally-friendly sports and concert venues globally as work begins on installing 6,500 square metres of solar membrane panels. This green initiative, known as the LLDC Solar Membrane Project, is the first to receive funding from the £500 million Mayor
The University of Warwick has announced a £700 million investment in its West Midlands campus as part of its Connect Programme, the largest single investment in the university’s 60-year history. This transformative initiative aims to enhance facilities for Social Sciences and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), fostering interdisciplinary education
Rendall & Rittner has been chosen to manage the first collection of private sale homes at Brent Cross Town, the £8 billion, 180-acre park town development in north London being delivered by Related Argent, in partnership with Barnet Council. Brent Cross Town is guided by four pledges: to be London’s
Castlemere Developments has secured a prime location in London for its latest residential project. The company plans to construct five one-bedroom airspace apartments at Nicholas Court, Burnt Ash Hill, in Grove Park. The £1.35 million development will follow Castlemere’s signature approach, utilising offsite construction methods. Once completed, the prefabricated units
MC Construction has completed work on a multimillion-pound school extension in Cheshire to create additional places for children with severe learning difficulties and complex needs. The scheme at Springfield School in Crewe will help address an urgent need for extra provision in the Cheshire East area, with demand at an
Willmott Dixon has secured a multi-million-pound contract to construct a new 28-bed secure children’s home in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, aimed at providing enhanced facilities for young people. The project, procured through Pagabo’s Major Works Framework, saw Willmott Dixon chosen by Lincolnshire County Council last year to develop design proposals for the
Construction work on a new low-carbon industrial park at the site of former council offices on Blackbird Road in Leicester is almost complete. Leicester City Council is developing the Blackbird Industrial Park on the location of a previous housing depot, situated near the city centre. It features four buildings that
A project in the centre of Sunderland has reached another key milestone. Plans for the re-development of the former Sunderland Civic Centre building were revealed in March 2021, as part of the council’s move to new premises on the former Vaux site, just north of the city centre, in November
A significant milestone has been reached in the development of Orchard House, a new £16m special high school which is due to open in Miles Platting, Manchester next September. A special beam-signing ceremony has been held at the school to celebrate the completion of the building’s steel frame, with employees
McLaren Construction has commenced works to deliver Phase 2 of the industrial and distribution hub, Horizon 29, in Bolsover, Derbyshire, have commenced. Horizon 29 is a new landmark distribution development located one mile from Junction 29A of the M1. Once fully complete, it will span 1,150,256 sq. ft and have
London Stadium is on track to become one of the most environmentally-friendly sports and concert venues globally as work begins on installing 6,500 square metres of solar membrane panels. This green initiative, known as the LLDC Solar Membrane Project, is the first to receive funding from the £500 million Mayor of London’s Green Finance Fund, which provides low-cost financing to help public sector bodies accelerate the city’s decarbonisation and transition to Net Zero. The £4.35 million project will enable the stadium to cut over 200 tonnes of carbon emissions annually and generate enough energy to power all of its major events. The solar energy produced is expected to provide 850,000 kWh per year, which will cover the power needs for approximately 20 football matches, four concerts, two MLB games, and one international athletics event. This initiative is part of a broader effort to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions at London Stadium. In addition to the solar panels, energy-saving measures include LED lighting upgrades, improvements to chillers and air handling systems, and energy-efficient kiosks. Stadium staff are also being encouraged to adopt energy-saving practices. These combined efforts will reduce the stadium’s energy consumption by 1.9 million kWh by March 2025, with the solar panels expected to further reduce usage by 0.8 million kWh annually, cutting electricity costs by 10%-15%. By 2026, the stadium will have reduced its reliance on the national grid by 3 million kWh, lowering its annual energy draw from 11.5 million kWh to 8.5 million. Ameresco, a leading energy service company specialising in cleantech and renewable energy infrastructure, has been awarded the contract to install, operate, and maintain the solar membrane panels. The stadium’s roof design has been adapted by Populous, the original architect of the venue for the 2012 Olympics, to accommodate the lightweight thin-film photovoltaic (PV) panels while ensuring compliance with fire regulations. The installation, set for completion by summer 2025, will make London Stadium the Premier League ground with the largest solar array, positioning it as a leader in sustainability for major sporting and entertainment events. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
The University of Warwick has announced a £700 million investment in its West Midlands campus as part of its Connect Programme, the largest single investment in the university’s 60-year history. This transformative initiative aims to enhance facilities for Social Sciences and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), fostering interdisciplinary education and research. The first phase of the investment, called the STEM Connect Programme, will create cutting-edge facilities, including new teaching spaces and laboratories, designed to bolster the university’s world-leading research and education programmes. The facilities will cater to both undergraduate and postgraduate students, enhancing learning opportunities and supporting innovative research. Professor Stuart Croft, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Warwick, highlighted the programme’s long-term vision: “The Connect Programme demonstrates how we are fostering curiosity and creativity, equipping our students, researchers, and partners to tackle the urgent global challenges of today and tomorrow.” Professor Mark Williams, Academic Director for the STEM Connect Programme, said: “Through the STEM Connect Programme, Warwick will maintain its position as a global powerhouse for STEM research and education, creating partnerships to address the world’s pressing challenges.” Beyond education, the Connect Programme is set to create over 1,500 construction-related jobs and foster collaboration with businesses, local authorities, and communities across the West Midlands and beyond, contributing to the UKs knowledge economy. The programme also aims to attract the world’s brightest students and build on Warwick’s history of pioneering research, from medical innovations to addressing social isolation as a human rights issue. Further announcements regarding the Social Sciences Connect Programme are expected later this year. Construction for the STEM Connect Programme is expected to commence over the coming 12 months. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Rendall & Rittner has been chosen to manage the first collection of private sale homes at Brent Cross Town, the £8 billion, 180-acre park town development in north London being delivered by Related Argent, in partnership with Barnet Council. Brent Cross Town is guided by four pledges: to be London’s home for participation in sport and play, to be a place where people can flourish, to be a net zero carbon town by 2030 and to drive physical and social connectivity. Through this appointment, Rendall & Rittner will be managing a selection of 277 private sale apartments and a wide range of amenities. Brent Cross Town, when complete, will comprise 6,700 new homes, over 50 locations for retail, food and drink, best-in-class workspaces for over 25,000 people and build a community around health and wellness with fantastic new amenities, including 50 acres of parks and playing fields. Rendall & Rittner’s role at Brent Cross Town began earlier this year with a focus on mobilisation ahead of an expected handover later this year. Once residents move in, Rendall & Rittner will be responsible for the management of a variety of on-site amenities including a residents’ gym, communal courtyard, residents’ lounge and dining room, rentable parking space, and co-working areas. Rendall & Rittner will also be providing staffing solutions for the development including a Building Manager, Concierge team, Cleaner, and Estate Operatives, together with sustainability initiatives that will complement the scheme. Richard Daver, Group CEO at Rendall & Rittner commented: “With its ambitious vision to create a new park town for London, Brent Cross Town has placed community, wellbeing and sustainability at the heart of its design. Reflecting our own commitment to enhancing the experiences of residents and the wider communities in which we operate, we are delighted to be working with Related Argent as we prepare to welcome the first residents to their new homes.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Castlemere Developments has secured a prime location in London for its latest residential project. The company plans to construct five one-bedroom airspace apartments at Nicholas Court, Burnt Ash Hill, in Grove Park. The £1.35 million development will follow Castlemere’s signature approach, utilising offsite construction methods. Once completed, the prefabricated units will be lifted into place to finalise the project, in line with the company’s other airspace schemes. This innovative construction method allows for efficient use of space and minimal disruption to the surrounding area, contributing to London’s growing need for residential housing. Nicholas Court, which is a three-story apartment block, will deliver aspirational and affordable modular penthouse living. The project is expected to be completed by early 2025, with the apartments expected to be on the market for around £260,000 – £270,000 each. Kris Collett, managing director of Castlemere Developments, said: “We have exchanged contracts on securing Nicholas Court and will be delivering properties that are focused on being starter homes and that appeal to first time buyers. “The price of these one-bedroom apartments is going to be very reasonable based on the London property market. “There is a huge demand for residential properties and we will continue to source suitable locations that we can develop to help meet this need.” Nicholas Court will be built off-site as Castlemere Developments purposely choses off-site MMC so that it can deliver projects much quicker than onsite developments, reduce the disruption to current residents, and ensure its developments are as environmentally friendly as possible. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
MC Construction has completed work on a multimillion-pound school extension in Cheshire to create additional places for children with severe learning difficulties and complex needs. The scheme at Springfield School in Crewe will help address an urgent need for extra provision in the Cheshire East area, with demand at an all-time high. MC Construction, working on behalf of longstanding client Cheshire East Council, built a wrap-around extension to the existing sports pavilion to create eight additional classrooms, new ancillary spaces including calm rooms, a sensory room and a therapy room, along with new hygiene suites and toilets, and improved kitchen facilities. A ceremony to mark the official opening was attended by pupils, staff, MC Construction team members involved in the project, local councillors and Cllr Sally Graham, deputy mayor of Crewe. Springfield School, whose motto is ‘Every day is a new chance to shine’, caters for pupils aged from four to 19 with severe learning difficulties and complex needs, including autism. It is rated as outstanding by Ofsted and was named 2022 School of the Year at the National Schools Awards. The expansion of Springfield School increases its capacity from 170 to 250 pupils. During the works at Springfield, MC Construction supported the school with a variety of social value initiatives. These included drawing competitions, creating a suite of awards to recognise pupil progress, environmental projects and the creation of a forest school area. On Friday, October 25, a team of 16 volunteers from MC Construction, consultants who worked on the extension project and council representatives will take part in a volunteer day to work on the new forest school. Lisa Hodgkison, headteacher at Springfield School, said: “Our new extension enables us to greatly improve and expand our educational provision for those children who require specialist support. We have moved our secondary and sixth-form pupils into the new block, creating more space in the main body of the school. “This fantastic expansion offers our pupils new, larger classrooms and direct access to the sports facilities alongside a new food technology room. Pupils love the feel of the new high school and what it has to offer.” MC Construction’s contract with Cheshire East Council was procured through the North West Construction Hub framework. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Willmott Dixon has secured a multi-million-pound contract to construct a new 28-bed secure children’s home in Sleaford, Lincolnshire, aimed at providing enhanced facilities for young people. The project, procured through Pagabo’s Major Works Framework, saw Willmott Dixon chosen by Lincolnshire County Council last year to develop design proposals for the facility, situated on Bonemill Lane at the edge of Sleaford. Funded by the Department for Education, the home will cater to some of Lincolnshire’s most vulnerable children and serve as a national resource for secure accommodation. It replaces an existing smaller site that is coming to the end of its useful life and will help meet rising demand from a national increase in the number of children requiring both criminal justice and welfare placements. It will deliver a truly ground-breaking service, becoming a flagship project for the sector. The home is designed to reach net-zero in operation, providing an innovative partial grid solution, which will be supported by extensive solar panels and state-of-the-art power storage. The home has been designed by Kier and is due to be completed in late 2026. Nick Heath, director at Willmott Dixon, said: “This is a hugely significant scheme, not only for Lincolnshire to address an acute need for secure accommodation, but also for the wider country as it will bring together best practice from across the UK and Europe. “It will help young people get their lives ‘back on track’ using a whole host of facilities including on-site education, wellbeing, vocational and sports facilities, as well as delivering against important sustainability credentials to make the building’s legacy especially evident.” Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Construction work on a new low-carbon industrial park at the site of former council offices on Blackbird Road in Leicester is almost complete. Leicester City Council is developing the Blackbird Industrial Park on the location of a previous housing depot, situated near the city centre. It features four buildings that will provide more than 30,000sqft of light industrial workspace across 21 separate units aimed at local start-ups and growing businesses. All the buildings incorporate a range of low carbon, energy efficiency measures. These include roof-mounted photovoltaic panels, super insulation, and low-energy smart lighting. Chargers will be provided for electric vehicles in a new parking area, along with safe storage for bicycles. The 21 new units are due to be available for lease from winter 2024. They range in size from the smallest at 750sqft to the largest at between 2,050 to 2,500sqft. Annual rents will vary from £11,250 to £30,000, and at full occupancy the new industrial park could bring in over £400,000 in rental income. The £6.25 million development on Blackbird Road has been backed with government cash following the city council’s successful bid for new investment from the Levelling Up Fund, in 2021. City Mayor Peter Soulsby, said: “This new and much-needed industrial park will breathe new life into a vacant council site and help meet the demand for commercial and industrial workspaces for start-up and growing businesses in Leicester. “Along with supporting local employers and the creation of new jobs, this development also demonstrates our ongoing commitment to investing in cleaner, greener and low carbon infrastructure to support the future prosperity of our growing city.” Leicester City Council appointed locally-based Brackley Property Developments Ltd as its development partner for Blackbird Industrial Park following a competitive tendering process. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A project in the centre of Sunderland has reached another key milestone. Plans for the re-development of the former Sunderland Civic Centre building were revealed in March 2021, as part of the council’s move to new premises on the former Vaux site, just north of the city centre, in November that year. Permission was granted to Vistry North East, part of the Vistry Group, to replace the old 1960’s buildings with a vibrant city centre community of 265 homes in April 2022. Demolition started in October and was completed in February of this year, with the construction of the new West Park Quarter moving forward at pace. Now, the first of the high-quality new properties have been released for sale under the Linden Homes brand. They include a selection of three and four bedroom homes offering choice for both first time buyers or those looking for a larger, family home close to the city centre and with access to scenic and accessible open green spaces. Sean Egan, Managing Director with Vistry North East, said: “This is a flagship project for our business and we are delighted to now be in a position to release the first properties for sale. We expect the first customers will be moving in later this year and at the start of 2025. “A complex scheme, working in close partnership with Sunderland City Council, we’ve been able to support the move to Riverside Sunderland’s City Hall and unlock the potential of the old civic site in a way that will re-energise this part of the city centre. “West Park Quarter is delivering homes for sale, private rent and affordable rent and our mixed tenure approach has enabled us to deliver the new homes at pace. The properties will be set around public, open green spaces and will offer excellent links to both the high street and to local transport infrastructure. By improving the choice and standard of new homes in the centre of Sunderland, we aim to create a vibrant community for people to live in and enjoy.” Part of the project will see works to recreate Saint George’s Square – bomb damaged during the Second World War and lost to redevelopment in the 60s – with the Grade II listed Saint George’s House as the focal point. The architecture and streetscapes being constructed have been planned to be sensitive to existing structures, the park side location and the Ashbrooke Conservation Area. The development is also incorporating plenty of cycling and pedestrian links, improving public access to and from the city centre. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
A significant milestone has been reached in the development of Orchard House, a new £16m special high school which is due to open in Miles Platting, Manchester next September. A special beam-signing ceremony has been held at the school to celebrate the completion of the building’s steel frame, with employees from main contractor ISG and the North West Construction Hub joining members of the city council and the Prospere Learning Trust on site to mark the event. Once completed, Orchard House will cater for boys and girls with an Education, Health and Care Plan for significant additional needs, with space for 150 pupils aged between 11 and 19 years old. The Prospere Learning Trust has been chosen to run the school and has worked with the project team as part of a collaborative design process to ensure teaching methodologies and aspirations are met through the building and its facilities provision. The single-storey building, designed by JM Architects and Ridge and Partners, additionally functions as a key community hub, and outside of school hours its double-height main hall space and external games areas will be available for use by a wide range of local groups and clubs. The new school’s classrooms will have direct access to dedicated outdoor teaching areas, with external spaces subdivided to create both secure and safe spaces for pupils. Each classroom will also have its own group room, to facilitate additional one-to-one teaching support, and specialist teaching spaces have been designed in consultation with the Trust to create areas that are tailored for the individual needs of pupils. With modern facilities and a high-quality environment, the new school will enable more Manchester children to meet their full potential and benefit from the city’s growth. The scheme is also fully aligned with Manchester’s Low Carbon Strategy and designed to meet the stretching BREEAM ‘Excellent’ environmental target, creating an educational asset with long term operational and environmental performance. Linda Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Prospere Learning Trust, said: “We’re really excited at the difference Orchard House is going to make, both to pupils and the community in Miles Platting. We’re looking forward to welcoming our first pupils next year and helping them succeed and achieve in what promises to be a fantastic new building, firmly rooted within the local community.” Funded by the city council the school is scheduled for completion in summer 2025. It joins a family of special schools in Manchester that currently includes five primary schools, two all-through primary to secondary schools, and seven high schools. The construction of the new school by main contractor ISG was procured by the city council through the North West Construction Hub. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
McLaren Construction has commenced works to deliver Phase 2 of the industrial and distribution hub, Horizon 29, in Bolsover, Derbyshire, have commenced. Horizon 29 is a new landmark distribution development located one mile from Junction 29A of the M1. Once fully complete, it will span 1,150,256 sq. ft and have a total of eight warehouses, delivered over three phases by our McLaren Construction (Midlands and North) division, on behalf of clients BGO Wire PropCo Ltd and Equation Properties. Phase 2 is the construction of two single-storey base build distribution warehouses. Units 7 and 8 will be 249,995 sq. ft and 249,866 sq. ft respectively, and each will include a two-storey office, with associated mechanical and electrical installations, 23 loading docks and a transport office. The team will deliver earthworks, CMC and VSC piling, concrete foundations, steel framing and cladding, lift shaft and stair installations. All external works are also being undertaken by McLaren (Midlands and North) and include general hard standings, car-parking, landscaping, mains services and drainage. There will be cycle racks for 60 cycles per warehouse and a gate house. Sustainable features will include solar PVs, air source heat pumps, enhanced cladding, responsibly sourced sustainable materials, LED lighting, electric vehicle charging points, and bird and bat boxes. The units will be constructed to a BREEAM Rating of ‘Excellent,’ with an EPC ‘A’ Rating. Phase 2 has a 49-week build programme. Gary Cramp, managing director of McLaren Construction (Midlands and North), said: “Horizon 29 is going to be a premier distribution centre for Derbyshire and the wider East Midlands. It provides an ideal opportunity for tenants looking for direct and easy access to the M1 north and south. “Progressing on to Phase 2, we are building two more units at the site – and as with earlier phases – they will be highly energy efficient buildings, with the potential for the whole of the roofs to be used to gather energy from PV to not only power the units, but to put energy back into the National Grid. “We were pleased to be working alongside BentallGreenOak and Equation Properties for the next phase of this landmark scheme.” Phase 1A and 1B of Horizon 29 completed in February of this year, which comprised four warehouse units (units 1, 2, 4 and 5). Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
