A £15 million Capital Grant Fund has been allocated to develop an additional 21 community hubs and learning centres throughout Wales, confirmed Education Minister Kirsty Williams. Part of the 21st Century Schools and Education Programme, the fund is a small part of the total of £3.7 billion that aims to replace and
A contract to build Powys County Council’s first affordable housing development for social rent in over 40 years has been awarded to a Welsh building company. Port Talbot-based Jistcourt has been appointed as lead contractor to build a three-storey building containing 26 one-bedroomed flats in Newtown. The company, who are
In order to jump start growth across Wales, the tolls for the Severn Bridges have been officially removed. Reports suggest the removal could boost the Welsh economy by up to £1 billion and deliver over £1,400 a year in savings for drivers travelling between England and Wales. Turley’s director and head of
Edenstone Homes’ first ‘green’ house is now on sale in Aberthin, with a promise that the Magor-based home builder will offer carbon zero homes across its developments by 2021. Its very first eco-friendly house has been built at its Llanfair Meadow development in Aberthin. The four-bedroom ‘Tewkesbury’ home is one
Passengers have been urged by Network Rail to plan their journeys in advance as the rail company delivers more than 400 projects, part of a £84 million investment across the country. A 9,600-strong workforce will work around the clock over the bank holiday weekend to deliver more reliable infrastructure, improved
Self-employed tradesmen in Wales are benefitting from a year on year increase in earnings compared with colleagues in England, according to the latest interactive pay trends index. Developed by Hudson Contract, the ‘Construction Pay Trends’ index has revealed that Welsh workers have experienced a 5.3% rise year on year in
A £15 million Capital Grant Fund has been allocated to develop an additional 21 community hubs and learning centres throughout Wales, confirmed Education Minister Kirsty Williams. Part of the 21st Century Schools and Education Programme, the fund is a small part of the total of £3.7 billion that aims to replace and refurbish education buildings throughout Wales. “Our 21st Century Schools and Education programme is already making a huge difference to pupils, teachers and local communities throughout Wales; giving them access to state of the art educational facilities. Schools play a vital role within a community, and I’m fully aware of the importance of ensuring that our schools are not only fit for purpose, but are able to cater to the needs of local communities,” said Kirsty Williams. “That’s why we’ve committed to introducing more community learning centres, and plan to make community focused projects a key aspect of the second wave of the programme,” she added. The £15 million fund will be primarily used for projects that cater for the local community. This could be through adapting existing buildings for wider use, such as increasing the size of a school hall, by providing specialist facilities that widen use or enhanced sporting facilities, which can be used by local people. In addition, funding will also be used to create spaces that meet a specific need within the local community, such as learning new languages or vocational skills.
A contract to build Powys County Council’s first affordable housing development for social rent in over 40 years has been awarded to a Welsh building company. Port Talbot-based Jistcourt has been appointed as lead contractor to build a three-storey building containing 26 one-bedroomed flats in Newtown. The company, who are committed to using local sub-contractors, is a major player in the building and civil engineering industry and have worked with a number of councils and housing associations in Wales. The £3.5m development, which is being built on land adjacent to Newtown Bowling Club at Back Lane, will provide low-carbon accommodation available at an affordable rent. Home grown timber will be used as part of its construction with timber being used for both the primary structure and external materials, including windows and doors, which supports the council’s Wood Encouragement Policy. The Welsh Government has granted almost £2.2m in funding through its Innovative Housing Programme towards the development of the flats. Cllr James Evans, Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “I’m delighted that Jistcourt (South Wales) Ltd have been appointed as the lead contractor for this exciting and innovative social housing development project. “This development, which will meet the needs of the local community, is just the first of many housing developments that we are planning across the county. It will also help meet our Vision 2025 – to build a minimum of 250 affordable homes across the county by 2023. “We are looking forward to working with Jistcourt for the duration of this construction project.” Rob Norman, Chairman of Jistcourt, said: “We are looking forward to working with Powys County Council on this exciting new development to provide 26 new affordable housing units in Newtown.”
In order to jump start growth across Wales, the tolls for the Severn Bridges have been officially removed. Reports suggest the removal could boost the Welsh economy by up to £1 billion and deliver over £1,400 a year in savings for drivers travelling between England and Wales. Turley’s director and head of planning in Wales, Huw Jones welcomed the news but called for further investment in regional infrastructure. “A serious plan to drive regeneration across the region requires a much more holistic approach than simply waiving the tolls. It’s a first step that needs to be supported by a range of other measures if there is to be any significant impact. What we need is joined-up planning policy on both sides of the Severn Bridge. One that is responsive to changing market conditions. Sustained investment in infrastructure is critical,” he said. “We would like to see progress on a number of fronts, including the delivery of the M4 Relief Road, electrification of the Swansea to London railway line, improved capacity at Cardiff and Bristol airports, the provision of new metro stations, and road improvements in the west of England on the M4 and M5 networks. “There is a great deal of work to do if we’re going to see the much-anticipated Western Growth Engine come to fruition. Without a clear vision, and an appetite to invest in infrastructure, our region won’t capture the opportunity to drive growth,” Huw Jones concluded.
Edenstone Homes’ first ‘green’ house is now on sale in Aberthin, with a promise that the Magor-based home builder will offer carbon zero homes across its developments by 2021. Its very first eco-friendly house has been built at its Llanfair Meadow development in Aberthin. The four-bedroom ‘Tewkesbury’ home is one of the first new build zero carbon homes to be released for sale in Wales, designed to produce more energy than it will require over the year. “When people think of a zero carbon home they tend to assume that it will have a much more contemporary design, but that doesn’t have to be the case. The zero carbon home we have built at Llanfair Meadow looks just like the other homes, but has the ‘hidden’ benefit of being kinder to the environment. It has a dual benefit in that while saving energy, it should also save on running costs,” said Martin Taylor, Managing Director of Edenstone Homes. “We are committed to sustainability and take our environmental responsibilities very seriously. Our vision is that by 2021 we will have carbon zero homes on every development we create,” he added. The zero carbon home includes 27 PV panels capable of producing 8.64kW of energy, with an innovative home battery system to store the electricity generated. Hot water and heating will be provided by an air source heat pump and there is even an electric car charger built in to the garage. Edenstone has calculated that someone buying the zero carbon home would pay £1,399 less on running costs compared with if they bought the same property built to current regulations. Priced at £535,000, the carbon zero Tewkesbury is one of the final few homes to be released at Llanfair Meadow. Featuring a lounge to the front, with combined kitchen, dining and family room spanning the width of the property, the Tewkesbury also provides a practical utility and convenient cloakroom. With the master and second bedroom each having an en-suite, just two bedrooms will be served by the main bathroom. The master also benefits from a dressing room. Perfectly positioned on the edge of Aberthin, the homes at Llanfair Meadow are surrounded by a beautiful scenery, enabling homeowners to embrace modern village living at its very best.
Passengers have been urged by Network Rail to plan their journeys in advance as the rail company delivers more than 400 projects, part of a £84 million investment across the country. A 9,600-strong workforce will work around the clock over the bank holiday weekend to deliver more reliable infrastructure, improved facilities and better services for passengers, all part of Network Rail’s Railway Upgrade Plan. The major investment projects this August include: The replacement of a vital junction outside of London Euston station at North Wembley to improve reliability of services. This will see London Euston station closed not only over the bank holiday weekend (25 – 27 August), but also the 18 – 19 August and 01 – 02 September. The £200 million investment to transform the track and signalling through the Derby station area will continue over the bank holiday weekend. The 79 days of engineering began on Sunday 22 July and runs until Sunday 07 October. The investment is a key part of the biggest upgrade of the Midland Main Line, which will support better journeys between Sheffield, Derby, Nottingham and London. The replacement of track near Coventry to improve the reliability of services through the area. Passengers travelling to Birmingham International Airport are advised to plan their journeys in advance as buses will replace trains between Birmingham International and Rugby. “This bank holiday weekend, thousands of rail workers across Britain will be delivering essential improvements that will lead to faster, better services and help relieve overcrowding to respond to the huge growth on Britain’s railways. While it will be business as usual on most of the network, we urge all passengers to check before they travel,” said Andy Thomas, Network Rail managing director of England and Wales. Some routes will see significant changes to normal services; therefore passengers should plan ahead of travelling this August bank holiday weekend.
Self-employed tradesmen in Wales are benefitting from a year on year increase in earnings compared with colleagues in England, according to the latest interactive pay trends index. Developed by Hudson Contract, the ‘Construction Pay Trends’ index has revealed that Welsh workers have experienced a 5.3% rise year on year in their wages. This is in comparison to 1.8% nationally throughout England. The index collates data from more than 2,000 building companies throughout England and Wales. It shows weekly pay differences by sub sectors, age and region, such as joinery and bricklaying through to surfacing and roofing contractors. The sharpest drop in average weekly pay was experienced in the North East, where earnings declined by 2.1% for the year to date in 2016 compared to last year. Furthermore, London experienced a 0.4% fall. Wages in the roofing industry overall increase by 6.2%, followed by 4.8% in plastering and 4.2% in scaffolding. Those working in the Equipment and Operator Hire industry saw a 4.1% average fall in earnings for the year to date in 2016 compared with last year. This was followed by a yearly pay fall of 1% in bricklaying and just a 1.1% average rise in earnings for Civil Engineering tradesmen. Managing Director at Hudson Contract, Ian Anfield, commented: “We’ve developed the Construction Pay Trends index to provide the most comprehensive insight into pay levels across the industry. It has revealed some fascinating trends on both a national and regional level, with tradesman in Wales experiencing the sharpest annual growth in earnings. “The index will update monthly to reveal the latest pay trends – providing the perfect online career resource for building apprentices through to industry analysts assessing the ongoing health of the construction sector.” Meanwhile, West Wycombe-based construction firm H&L Construction Solutions and Lancashire’s Matthews & Leigh have each gained a funded apprentice for a year after benefiting from a national scholarship scheme. The initiative, launched by Hudson Contract to celebrate its 20th anniversary, provides two young apprentices with a 12-month opportunity to take their first steps on the construction career ladder.
