New development planned on Canary Wharf

John Sisk and Son have been appointed by Rockwell to carry out the pre-construction services of the new 30-storey mixed use tower at Westferry on Canary Wharf, with construction scheduled to begin in autumn.

The new development will provide a range of one, two, and three bedroom apartments, of an impeccably high standard, to be used as part of a 400 bedroom hotel as well as 66 private residential units with a restaurant, café, gym facilities, and a landscaped pocket park included in the building.

As well as this, 35% of the new homes will be classified as affordable housing designated for local families, and the overall development will create 259 new jobs in hospitality and leisure.

The Founder of Rockwell, Donal Mulryan stated: “We are delighted to confirm the pre-construction services appointment of John Sisk & Son for the construction of this landmark development in Canary Wharf.

“Their track record and experience will help us to deliver this significant mixed use scheme which will bring new jobs and businesses to the local area, in addition to much needed homes for the local community. We are immensely proud of this development and look forward to seeing our vision become a reality.”

The rejuvenation of the derelict site on the West India Dock Road, adjacent to Westferry DLR Station, is predicted to generate £172M towards the local economy through construction.

The Regional Managing Director at John Sisk & Son, Ajaz Shafi added: “We are delighted to have been appointed by Rockwell to deliver this important landmark scheme in the heart of East London. We look forward to working in partnership with all our stakeholders and in particular the local community to create a lasting legacy.

Sisk UK South is recognised in the region for the successful construction of hotels, offices, and residential developments over the past 40 years and has recently built the Hilton Hotel at Wembley, London Designer Outlet, and has also refurbished the Royal Academy of Arts building.

Rockwell, the original property developer, is also the leader of various other development sites in London including Quay House on Canary Wharf, Kensington Forum, and Charlton Riverside.

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Demolition begins at London’s biggest regeneration project

Demolition has begun at the site of one of London’s biggest regeneration projects, costing a monumental £1Bn, that will provide approximately 5,200 new high-quality homes over the course of the next 12-15 years.

The scheme is predicted to double the amount of council rented accommodation and will include 126 new affordable homes, more than doubling the current number, with a further 71 homes planned for construction in order to be put up for private sale.

According to plans, there will be developments raised on 12 different sites within the London borough of Havering with the first of these sites being situated in Rainham, where the new Napier and New Plymouth Houses will be built.

At the same time, construction will also be underway at the Waterloo Estate in Romford and at the Serena, Solar, and Sunrise Courts in Hornchurch.

The project is a joint venture between the Havering Borough Council and Wates Residential and will hire local contractor such as Kilnbridge Construction Services and Downwell Demolition to carry out the demolition phases at the Rainham and Hornchurch sites respectively.

The Leader of Havering Council, Councillor Damian White stated: “Today marks a new and exciting chapter in the future of Havering and the Council’s commitment to double the amount of council rented accommodation and more than doubling the number of affordable homes for local people, including former residents, who will get the right to return to a brand new home.”

Site proposals for Phase One of the regeneration project were submitted to a council planning committee back in May and were followed by four ‘Meet the Buyer’ events which were held to inform local suppliers as to where opportunities in the construction process lay.

The Development Director for Wates Residential, Kate Ives added: “Working with local businesses is particularly important for us and we are delighted that Kilnbridge Construction Services has been appointed to carry out the demolition.

“As our long-term partnership with Havering Council progresses, we will continue to increase opportunities for residents and local businesses through our investment in education, training and skills.”

The project includes a guaranteed right to return for all residents who have had to be relocated from any existing estates in order for development to begin, so that they may return to their newly renovated homes if they desire.

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FMB reports concerns over predicted downturn

According to the latest State of Trade Survey for the second quarter of 2019, from the Federation of Master Builders, leaders in the construction sector are preparing their workforce structure and organisation for an impending downturn.

New research has revealed high levels of subcontracting and worryingly low levels of direct employment within the sector, with small construction firms experiencing their first decrease in employment levels in over five years. In fact, 21% of employers reported a reduced workforce.

The Chief Executive of the FMB, Brian Berry stated: “Years of Brexit uncertainty have resulted in construction bosses starting to change how they employ their workforce.

“To ensure their firms are ready for any economic shock-waves later this year, employers are reducing their number of direct employees and relying more on sub-contractors who are easier to shed if work dries up.”

Furthermore, workloads are expected to lessen within the coming few months, as just 37% of construction SMEs reported forecasts of higher workloads within the next three months, whereas last quarter the proportion of construction SMEs reporting this was 41%.

In terms of employees however, bricklayers are currently the tradespeople which are in the shortest supply, with 60% of construction SMEs encountering difficulties while trying to hire. Not so far behind bricklayers though, 54% of construction SME’s also noted difficulties in trying to find carpenters and joiners.

Mr Berry added: “The construction industry has always used a significant proportion of subbies but the fact that direct employment is decreasing, points to Brexit nerves among construction bosses.

“This is the reality on the ground of what happens when years of uncertainty are inflicted on the construction industry. Furthermore, apprenticeship training apprenticeship has taken a hit as construction bosses are reluctant to take on young people when they can’t be sure of future projects going ahead.”

On the brighter side of things, despite a difficult start in regard to workloads in 2019, construction SME workloads did experience a slight degree of growth on comparison to the previous quarter, with 27% reporting higher workloads in contrast to the 22% of early this year.

The FMB’s State of Trade Survey is the only quarterly assessment of the UK nationwide SME construction sector.

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Highways England plan new West Midlands junction

Highways England has entered into a joint venture with Walsall Council to provide a £78M upgrade to junction ten of the M6 as a way of easing congestion and speeding up journeys for thousands of drivers, with preparation work scheduled to commence by autumn.

The scheme has been supported by the Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership and will replace the bridges which run over the motorway, will increase capacity at the traffic bottleneck, and will improve safety, with construction schedule to commence in January 2020 while completion will not be achieved until the summer of 2022.

Contractor, John Sisk and Son has been appointed to design and construct the new junction which will also make the existing junction larger in order to reduce delays for road users, while also facilitating growth at the Black Country Enterprise Zone in Darlaston.

The Managing Director of UK Civils at John Sisk & Son, Paul Brown stated: “Sisk is delighted to be awarded this major highway scheme. The project provides us with an opportunity to further enhance our reputation and continue our excellent relationship with Highways England, following the recent successful completion of the A19 works in the North East.

“We are committed to delivering the project in line with Highways England’s key imperatives and to maximising social value to benefit Walsall Council.”

The existing junction is more than 50 years old, meaning that replacement of the existing bridges will avoid an extensive maintenance project, and, after a public inquiry in April, the Secretary of State confirmed orders to acquire the necessary land for the scheme.

This will only include a small area on a permanent basis, however, as the project uses existing highway land wherever possible.

Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership Chair, Stewart Towe CBE DL added: “News that this necessary upgrade is progressing is excellent. The M6 junction 10 often experiences significant congestion and delays which impacts thousands of motorists.

“The benefits from these alterations will certainly help the region meet economic development objectives and greatly improve accessibility to the area, especially given the proximity of the Black Country LEP funded Enterprise Zones at Phoenix 10, Walsall and i54, Wolverhampton.”

The substantial congestion and delays experienced in the region are one of the main issues highlighted in the West Midlands Strategic Transport Plan.

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Highways England organises ‘construction schools’

Highways England staff in Penrith organised ‘construction schools’ at sites along the £7M M6 improvement works in order to support science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM subjects) in schools and colleges around Carlisle.

Approximately 60 students from Lakes College in Workington and William Howard School in Brampton near Carlisle attended two events concerning construction site health and safety as well as highways engineering, in which the students were allowed to meet construction partners in Highways England’s supply chain.

The two events were hosted by the civil engineering and tunnelling firm AE Yates and ran alongside Highways England’s package of work to resurface sections of the M6, add a new noise barrier, and improve the M6 roundabout to the North-East of Carlisle.

The Highways England Project Manager, Jobert Fermilan stated: “The current shortage of around 200,000 workers with STEM skills is set to double during the next decade and it is vital we play our part in encouraging children and young adults to look at engineering as an interesting and rewarding career.

“It was great to meet the construction specialists of the future and to pass on what a rewarding sector it can be to work in. There are lots of routes into the industry and the sector is expected to need about 1.3M new recruits by 2024.”

The event included a demonstration of an impact protection vehicle, a robotic road maker, and a resurfacing paver and roller and was organised by HW Martin, a traffic management supplier, WJ North, road marking specialists, and Aggregate Industries, a resurfacing contractor.

The AE Yates Project Manager, Ruairi Flynn added: “It was really good to see how keen and enthusiastic the students were to learn about civil engineering.

“We emphasised a lot on health and safety and explained how people need to be appropriately trained to work in our industry. We also explained the benefits of choosing a career in construction and how rewarding the construction industry can be”.

William Howard School Year 10 students were later invited to another event regarding ‘women in engineering’ which was all about breaking down the stereotype that engineering is a solely masculine profession as well as being about how technology is making road engineering safer.

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Total value of construction contracts increases in June

According to the latest edition of the Economic and Construction Market Review by Barbour ABI, the value of all construction contracts awarded in June 2019 was approximately £5.2Bn, based on a three-month rolling average, which is 5.5% higher than the figure for May.

In delving further, regional analysis by Barbour ABI showed that the North West had the greatest proportion of contract awards, by way of value, in June with a figure of 36.6%, distantly followed by Greater London with a figure of 13.7% and the South East with a figure if 10.2%. The region with the lowest proportion of contract awards, by way of value, was actually Wales at an amount of 2.3%.

In contrast, by way of sector, infrastructure claimed the highest proportion of contract awards at a figure of 37.2%, though this is mostly a result of the SPRS Construction Programme at the Sellafield site in the North West, possessing a value of £1.5Bn and being the main factor behind the North-Western regional dominance.

Close behind the infrastructure sector in terms of the proportion of contract awards, by way of value, in June was the residential sector with a figure of 33.1%, the education sector with a proportion of 9%, the industrial sector at 8.1%, the commercial and retail sector at 6%, the hotel, leisure and sport sector at 5.2%, and lastly the medical and health sector with a figure of 1.4%.

Throughout June, London held the highest proportion of contract value in just two of the eight sectors, these being residential (26.2%) and commercial and retail (23.7%), while it was the East Midlands which dominated the industrial sector, largely due to investment in warehousing and storage.

Conversely, the South West claimed the highest proportion of contracts by value in the hotel, leisure, and sport sector whereas Scotland took the highest proportion for projects in the medical and health sector and the education sector, signifying that construction activity is spreading evenly throughout the country instead of concentrating in the capital.

The Chief Economist at Barbour ABI, Tom Hall stated, “For the first time this year, we see a shift in the spread of project awards across the country. Likewise, we see infrastructure investment overtake the residential sector, which has been the most active in construction for over six months.”

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Healthcare construction output fell in 2018

The new Healthcare Construction Market Report, published by AMA Research, has revealed that construction output in the healthcare sector in 2018 fell over 15% to an estimated value of £2.5Bn, which is the lowest recorded value of the sector since 2015.

According to the report, alterations in the proportion of investment within the public and private sectors in 2018 is a direct reflection of that which was being shown in the health sector, in which investment focus was shifting away from PF1 and PF2 contracts for large scale hospital developments and more towards small scale local health authority controlled programmes.

As a result, in recent years, the public sector has held the majority of value within the healthcare sector, at a proportion of approximately 60% in 2018, but nonetheless fluctuates as a consequence of budget cuts, meaning that the 2018 figure was down from around 70% in 2017.

This decline in investment within the private sector can be explained by a fall in referrals from the NHS as well as a lower number of overseas patients receiving private treatment in Britain which ultimately means that there is a decreased demand in facility expansion from private healthcare providers.

What this has meant, on the whole, is that the healthcare pipeline is now primarily concerned with lower value extensions and refurbishment projects to healthcare facilities in spite of the fact that urgent investment across the NHS estate in England is needed to ensure that healthcare infrastructure is able to facilitate new health care methods and new models of integrated care.

In order to achieve said infrastructure, as well as resolve the £6Bn maintenance backlog, the government is seeking the necessary funding from various different sources, including the private sector.

Fortunately, however, future projections for health construction output look steady, with moderate annual growth rated forecast to 2023, while output levels in the short term are being fuelled through the steady workload which small NHS frameworks, such as the £4.26Bn ProCure22 programme, provide.

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Digitising offsite construction

David Clark, Manufacturing Director at offsite specialists The McAvoy Group, looks at the latest techniques for digitising construction and how the new technology is taking offsite to the next level.

BIM has been the subject of much debate in recent years but the aim of driving greater collaboration across the disciplines of architecture, engineering, manufacturing and construction has to be the right approach.

Digital transformation is happening all around us and the developing technologies – global connectivity, drones, digital scanning of buildings, satellite images, robotics and electric cars are set to accelerate and will continue to change the way we live.

The construction industry, however, has been much slower to adopt and benefit from the digital transformation. McAvoy’s view is that there is tremendous synergy between offsite construction and the latest digital tools, which give us the opportunity to radically improve the way we design and produce buildings. 

Streamlining Design

Our experience of BIM is much more than the creation of 3D models of buildings. It is about the process of how we deliver projects to our clients in the most efficient way possible.

Harnessing the latest technology has allowed us to streamline processes at the earliest stages of a project, to deliver shorter design periods and buildings that exceed our clients’ expectations. It allows us to collaborate more effectively internally, with our supply chain and with the client.

Shorter design periods are critical for offsite. We need to start manufacturing buildings as soon as the ground is broken. To achieve that, detailed design information has to be released to manufacturing at a much earlier stage than with site-based construction – and that necessitates earlier decision making.

BIM allows better client engagement with the use of 3D models – teachers or healthcare professionals for example, are not trained to read 2D construction drawings. If we use data rich, fully detailed 3D BIM models and walkthroughs, we can communicate design details much more effectively. And the client benefits from better internal communications about their new facilities.

Virtual Reality in Construction

Advances in VR have allowed us to put our clients and end users into their virtual building as part of the design process. They can feel and experience their working environments and are now able to validate instantly whether the layouts work for them.

VR takes client engagement to another level and works alongside BIM. It is another way to communicate with stakeholders, allowing them to engage with and review the design as it develops. It also removes the potential for misinterpretation of drawings and data loss.

Using a headset, you can be in the space in a building. Our customers simply love this. We used it for a major project at Dublin Airport where the client wanted to assess ceiling heights. It provided instant and more informed decision making.

We can set up mobile VR at a client’s office to demonstrate a design to stakeholders. Remote multi-user sessions can be created, linked to our design office for remote design workshops and allowing stakeholders to tour the building. Permanent VR can be installed on site for major projects, hosted at our head office. This all enhances the way our clients visualise a building. The design and its functionality can be assessed to produce even better building designs, more quickly.

A client at an NHS trust recently commented: “Having a virtual reality model of our proposed new facilities was invaluable. It allowed us to demonstrate the clinical environment to our staff and stakeholders, equipping them with all the information they needed while the project was under construction on this fully operational hospital site. As a trust, we are committed to utilising the latest digital technology and will aim to use VR on future development projects wherever possible, following its success on the scheme with McAvoy.”

VR in Manufacturing

We are now looking at building a VR experience for training our production teams in the most efficient and safest processes.

Offsite manufacture has many repeatable operations. We can now take the highest risk activity – such as moving large modules – and build a VR programme around that process to help us continually improve health and safety.

Augmented Reality – The Next Development

AR allows us to project data onto the world around us. We could take AR onto a site and superimpose the building. This provides an excellent planning tool and a new level of client engagement.

We are exploring how AR could allow us to deliver 3D data to manufacturing, potentially cutting out the resource-intensive processes of 2D information. This has huge potential for offsite. By removing the reliance on manual processes, there is less data loss and more informed decision making.

We are now working with the Manufacturing Technology Centre on an advanced visualisation project to use AR in construction. This aims to develop construction-related engineering skills to address the needs of digital construction.

Embedding Innovation for Growth

We are embedding innovation across the business to help achieve our ambitious plans for growth. The digital transformation will be applied to the manufacturing process – such as using robotics and new materials – to further enhance the efficiency and quality of offsite construction solutions.  Other new technologies we have adopted include:

• Site and manufacturing teams are now equipped with tablets to use digital forms to collate data on health and safety and provide progress reports which is faster and more accurate.
• A cloud-based information management solution has been implemented for sharing, controlling and collaborating on project information with dispersed teams.

As a business, we see tremendous opportunities for digitising offsite construction. We were the first offsite specialist to achieve BIM Level 2 accreditation and our award-winning approach has transformed the way we work with our clients.

As advances in digital technology continue to evolve, we can only see even greater benefits to our customers and stakeholders in the facilities we design and construct offsite.

 

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Museum works pose opportunities in construction

The government has sanctioned extra spending of £44M to maintain and expand Britain’s national museums and art galleries following public pressure to invest more money in the digital, culture, media, and sports department.

The investment is welcomed by the construction sector in providing more opportunities after public spending cuts in recent years hit capital budgets for museum construction.

One of the projects to utilise the extra spending includes the British Museum which will use an additional £12.5M to issue repairs over the next two years, as means of improving fire safety, and will likewise spend an additional £2M for office alterations at the British Museum’s building on 38 Russell Square. Construction of which will begin in early 2020 by Forcia, who has been appointed as the fitting out contractor.

Furthermore, the British Museum will be modernising 3,000 rooms at their Great Russell Street building under the £4.1Bn British Museum Major Refurbishment.

Another project to make the most of the government’s investment is the Imperial War Museum in Southwark, London which has had plans approved for a £3.3M development of a three-storey building and landscaping, which will begin in autumn.

Also, the Victoria and Albert Museum of Childhood in East London will receive a £13.5M redevelopment in the spring of 2020 while the Victoria and Albert Main Museum, in Kensington, will obtain a £2.25M refurbishment later this year.

Further north, the Science and Industry Museum in Manchester will receive a £6M investment to replace the roof while the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool will receive £3.5M for construction on the roof and in the interior of the building.

The York Castle Museum will likewise gain a £1M redevelopment fund so that seven months of construction works may being in early 2020 while under the same refurbishment scheme, the ‘Gateway to Medieval England Castle Keep Development’ scheme, Norwich Castle Museum will receive an £8M, two-year refurbishment contract.

The ‘Gateway to Medieval England Castle Keep Development’ scheme is worth £13.5M and is mostly funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The Natural History Museum will see a £5.5M worth of funding for construction works to its Ornithology Building in Tring and the Perth Museum and Art Gallery in Scotland has appointed BAM Construct UK to carry out £7M worth of refurbishment this autumn.

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Airport construction becomes a promising new work source

Growing investment in UK regional airports is providing the construction sector with a promising new source of opportunities after Carlisle Lake District Airport was re-opened and plans to construct a fourth runway at Heathrow Airport could bring works worth £14Bn.

In fact, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) recently formed a new airport expansion group for its members after expecting a greater proportion of this work-type in the aftermath of Brexit.

One example of the boost in airport construction orders in the past few months can be seen through Severfield, Britain’s biggest steel fabricator, revealing a large project at Heathrow and a new car parking development at Manchester Airport, which is unsurprising considering parking capacity has been a key theme among regional airports planning growth.

Glenigan Construction data has also uncovered the detailed plans that have been granted, with tenders returned, for a £6M long-stay car park with an additional 2,700 spaces for MAG (Manchester Airport Group) Developments in Altrincham. Work on this project is scheduled to begin in the autumn of 2020 and continue for 12 months.

Furthermore, MAG Developments have set up a £700M major capital works framework which will fund projects costing between £3M and £10M at their airports in Manchester, the East Midlands and London Stansted. Tenders on several of these projects have been returned and the framework is set to begin projects in autumn and continue for another five years.

Yet another development worth noting is the construction of a new £2M aviation hangar at John Lennon Airport in Liverpool, for which Williams Tarr & Co. has been appointed the main contractor, while another framework worth mentioning in the West Midlands is that of Birmingham Airport, valued at £5M, to cover small and intermediate expansion projects over the next five year period.

Meanwhile, in the South, Gatwick Airport has appointed Kier Construction as it’s civil contractor to refurbish £6.5M worth of airport stands and Bristol Airport has had tender returned on a new £9M walkway which will begin construction in early 2020 and continue for another two years.

This comes after Bristol Airport was refused planning permission for a £22.24M extension to boost its capacity from 9M to 12M passengers.

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Glenigan predicts gas-fired energy dominance

According to the latest Glenigan Construction Forecast, the value of civil engineering starts in the UK is set to increase by 4% next year, after increasing by a substantial 12% this year, due to workloads provided through gas-fired power stations.

The energy sector is set to dominate the civil sector workload after plans were set in motion for the construction of a series of gas-fired power station projects over the next two years, generating projects worth a potential of hundreds of millions of pounds.

One of these major new projects includes the VPI Immingham gas-fired electricity station in South Killingholme, North Lincolnshire that will produce a 299MW capacity and will cost approximately £250M to develop, earning it the classification of a ‘Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project’.

Plans for the Humberside project have been granted and it is now residing in the pre-tender stage of development, with work scheduled for commencement in autumn 2021 and set to continue for a further 46 months.

Another planned project, submitted by EDF, details a £150M gas-fired peaking plant at West Burton C Power Station in Retford which is designed to meet the needs of the National Grid during periods of high demand, requiring sudden surges of power. Plans for this project schedule a start in autumn 2022, due to last for 24 months.

Yet another project of this like includes the £400M expansion of IntergenUK’s gas-fired power station in Spalding, Lincolnshire, allowing it to generate 900MW of power, for which plans have been granted and the turnkey contract has been awarded to Siemens.

The expansion of the power station, which should subsequently be able to fuel approximately 2M homes, is scheduled to begin in the summer of 2020 and will continue for a further 36 months.

Plans have similarly been submitted for an ambitious project to convert Drax coal-fired power station in Selby, North Yorkshire into a gas-fired power station alongside a battery storage facility, totalling a final scheme cost of £300M. In accordance with the aforesaid plans, construction should commence in late 2021, lasting for a further 36 months.

Meanwhile, down south, plans have been approved for Millbrook Power’s £90M gas-fired peaking power plant at Rookery South Pit near Bedford, construction of which is scheduled for the summer of 2020 with commissioning thereafter predicted for 2022.

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Digital Skills for the Construction Industry

With the advancement of technology, the construction industry must do all that it can to reduce the existing digital skills gap. Richard Anderson at High Speed Training, discusses the importance of gaining valuable digital skills in the construction industry.

There are undoubtedly many benefits that result from reducing this void, including the ability for companies to better attract customers through social and digital media, as well as making recruitment and retention of staff, particularly amongst younger generations, an easier process. Innovation in technology also provides a real opportunity to improve productivity whilst offering a superior level of service and delivery on digital design and architecture.

Across the industry, there has been a large uptake in online training in areas such as Asbestos Awareness, Working at Height, Manual Handling and Health and Safety in the Workplace. Where people may have previously attended face-to-face training courses or learned on the job, they now see the advantages of being able to learn and become certified at their own speed – at a time of their choosing – and by using pretty much any internet-connected device.

The construction industry has traditionally looked at training whereby compliance is the primary motivator. Regular training is necessary to maintain safety standards and, in the case of an accident, demonstrate that measures have been taken to safeguard all members of staff. However, there is a huge opportunity for the industry to develop more well-rounded skills that will keep the workforce motivated, engaged and safe. There’s recently been an increasing number of companies using online training to develop their staff in areas such as leadership and communication skills in order to advance the next generation of leaders in the sector. Companies are now also aware of their responsibility for promoting positive mental wellbeing amongst their staff, especially in a sector where stigma still surrounds mental health difficulties. The industry is therefore seeing a demand for Health and Wellbeing training, to ensure all staff are informed on the subject.

Upskilling existing workers is a simple yet effective way to combat the skills gap. Forward-thinking construction companies are now starting to understand the benefits of keeping staff engaged throughout their careers, and progression has become just as important to staff as their weekly wage. So, in an industry where staff retention is vital, training should be high on the list of priorities when it comes to creating personal development plans for employees.

With digital technology now being pervasive in most people’s daily lives, the construction industry is having to adapt in order to avoid being left behind or obliged to face sudden disruption. As with other industries that are not immediately synonymous with the rapid adoption of digital technology, the advantages of acceptance and the disadvantages of being left behind are clear: competitors with technological expertise may enter the market and potentially squeeze out those more-traditional contractors and suppliers. Those most likely at risk of being pushed out are small firms, as they will struggle to recruit people with the relevant technical know-how.

This is particularly the case when it comes to attracting new recruits, specifically school-leavers, who may consider a traditional contractor role to be an ‘unglamorous’ career path to follow. However, whilst the construction industry may have previously been thought of as laborious and difficult work, there is now a wealth of opportunities for tech-savvy youngsters. Core capabilities in IT and maths are the skills that the construction sector needs to be encouraging. In order to tackle the digital skills gap, it’s vital that the construction industry builds strong partnerships with schools across the country in order to provide relevant careers guidance and to promote the uptake of sector-related subjects at GSCE and A-Level. Training companies can also play a key role in this by offering employability skills and promoting apprenticeship opportunities, both through traditional face-to-face training and online.

If this is done well, the advantages are there for employers, individual workers, consumers and the industry as a whole, allowing the UK to better compete globally and continue to export construction expertise. This is particularly important in the current climate, with regard to the impending question of Brexit. If Britain is going to continue to create opportunities after Brexit, then there may be a need to quickly train and develop British construction workers in order to fill any potential gaps left behind by large numbers of European workers who currently fill key roles across the country. If a coherent strategy is not in place by point of exit, then the existing skills gap issues will simply be compounded.

High Speed Training is a leading online training provider that supports lifelong learning by providing accessible digital training to help individuals and businesses pursue their career goals. The company is the expert authority on personal development and compliance in the construction sector.

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Britain needs a skills upgrade

The UK is in urgent need of a ‘skills upgrade’ to meet the economic challenges post Brexit according to Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, CEO of WorldSkills UK.

The message was delivered as he oversaw final preparations for Team UK – an elite team of 37 highly talented young women and men who take on the world’s best in August.

Speaking to BBC correspondent Simon Lederman he said: “Skills are integral to the UK economy – there is nothing more important to the UK’s future than having an economy that’s functioning and internationally competitive.

“My message to the new PM: we need a skills upgrade and it needs to be world class in technical education. The current government has recognised that through its policy reviews – now it’s time to put that in to action.

“WorldSkills UK and the work we do with WorldSkills internationally can play an integral role in helping the new PM deliver on that to upgrade the skills system and make it world class.

“We have a 66-year track record of competing internationally and winning medals on the world stage. If we want to be really successful as Global Britain and want the economy to grow, then working with WorldSkills UK is part of the answer”

WorldSkills UK selects, trains and manages the nation’s best young students, apprentices (and former apprentices) in dozens of different skills disciplines and harnesses international best practice to help business and education mainstream it to boost productivity and the economy.

Team UK take on the World’s best at the WorldSkills Finals (known as the ‘Skills Olympics’) in Kazan, Russia from August 22 – 27 where they will do battle to win Gold, Silver or Bronze in their chosen skill.

Teams from more than 70 countries and regions will compete in 56 disciplines ranging from cyber security, 3D Game Design, to plumbing, painting & decorating, electrical installation, cooking and floristry in an enormous purpose-built structure outside the Tatarstan Capital, which is 800km east of Moscow.

The members of Team UK have been selected after first excelling in the WorldSkills UK Competitions, which are designed to equip young people with the skills needed to help UK businesses better compete globally, and then the completion of a two-year rigorous training programme devised by WorldSkills UK and has been supported by employers and colleges

Dr Bentley-Gockmann said: “Preparations are going fantastically well – they have been doing huge amounts of training and international pressure testing to get themselves technically ready to compete, but we take a holistic approach to performance.

“We have to learn how to mainstream excellence, that’s our big challenge – we are not doing that consistently enough in this country. The training methodology behind the country being world class sits within this skilled elite.

“We need more young people and their parents to start thinking about apprenticeships and technical and are using the brilliant young people in Team UK to be icons to attract the next generation to follow in their footsteps.”

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Kier celebrates topping out at Arena Central

Celebrations occurred at Arena Central in Birmingham on Tuesday 23^rd July 2019 after Kier and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs marked the start of construction of Building 3AC with a Topping-Out Ceremony.

Building 3AC is currently under construction through the contractor Galliford Try and will be occupied by HMRC, comprising of the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), with HMRC and the DWP set to move into the building upon its completion in early 2020.

HMRC’s Regional Implementation Lead for West Midlands, Ann Roberts stated: “I’m pleased to be celebrating, with colleagues from the DWP and VOA, this significant milestone. We can really start to look ahead to the modern, flexible and collaborative working environments we will be working from.

“Once complete there will be a range of staff from across the West Midlands based in this state-of-the-art building delivering vital services for the public. We are excited to reach the next milestone, when HMRC assume responsibility for the building and the internal fit out starts, bringing us a step closer to achieving our transformation.”

Kier Property bought Arena Central from Miller Developments back in February 2019 and utilised the acquisition to gain the rights to develop a further three phases on top of those detailed in the site’s existing master plan, which thus far detail the current construction works.

The Managing Director at Galliford Try West Midlands, Simon Burton added: “We are delighted to be able to celebrate this milestone with all of the stakeholders involved in Arena Central. This development is a key part of our growing portfolio of work within Birmingham and we look forward to continuing to build on our excellent working relationship with Kier Property to deliver this fantastic new facility for HMRC.”

The site is close to well known local buildings such as the International Convention Centre (ICC), The Library of Birmingham, the Arena Birmingham, the Bullring, the Mailbox, and Brindley Place, as well as transport links including New Street Station and Snow Hill Station.

The Managing Director North for Kier Property, Tom Gilman concluded: “The site is within the Birmingham City Centre Enterprise Zone and therefore benefits from simplified planning.

This scheme significantly enhances our activities in the West Midlands and is part of a major redevelopment of 10 buildings consisting of offices, residential, hotels and a university research & business hub through to Q4 2026.

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Scottish fire safety standards improve for high rises

Fire safety standards for new high rise buildings in Scotland become more stringent and disabled facilities are improved in larger new buildings following the changes imposed building standards that were published on Friday 12^th July 2019.

The bolstered new fire safety provisions primarily concern external wall cladding systems and will be implemented through the revisions published in the Building Standards Technical Handbooks on Tuesday 1^st October 2019.

Provisions featured within these new revisions include additions of further escape stairs, introducing evacuation alert systems, and storey identification signs which will be useful to fire and rescue service teams in the improbable event of partial or full-scale evacuations.

The provisions will also lower the minimum building height at which non-combustible wall cladding is to be fitting to high rises from 18 metres to 11 metres.

The Scottish Housing Minister, Kevin Stewart stated: “The tragic events at Grenfell Tower just over two years ago was a painful reminder how important building and fire safety is.

“That is why we established our Ministerial Working Group and undertook a thorough and critical review of the regulations we have in place. I’m pleased to see the first phase of this work completed and changes to the building standards and guidance published today.”

And, furthermore, after a separate ‘Changing Places and Toilets consultation’ the range and accessibility of sanitary facilities for individuals with more complex care needs in larger new buildings is to be increased.

Minister Stewart added: “In addition, I am delighted this new guidance will help to increase the provision of much needed Changing Places Toilets, following our consultation earlier this year. This will improve the lives of thousands of families who are severely restricted by a lack of facilities and as a result find themselves excluded from their communities and travel.

“We want to see greater accessibility in all areas of Scotland, and I would encourage all businesses and organisations to help make this a reality for people.”

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Decision times for developments in Scotland published

According to government statistics, the average decision time for Local Developments in Scotland in 2018-19 matched the quickest average time since 2012-13, while the average time for Major Developments in Scotland in 2018-19 was just over a week quicker than the previous year.

Specifically, figures showed that the average decision time for 25,244 Local Developments was just 9 weeks, the exact same duration as the previous year, and is the fastest annual decision time since 2012-13, when data pertaining to decision times first began being collected.

Although, the actual number of Local Development decisions in Scotland in 2018-19 has actually decreased by 2%, said 2% consisting of 518 applications, with a further 8% of local applications being subject to processing agreements, this totalling a number of 2,129.

Conversely, local housing applications in Scotland experienced a slight increase in decision time from last year, going from 12.2 weeks on average in 2017-18 to 12.3 weeks on average in 2018-19, following a five year period of annual decreases in average decision times. This, however, may have been influenced by a minority of decisions which took an unusually lengthy amount of time.

Strangely, and in spite of the above statistic, the proportion of local housing applications with decisions within just two months increased by 1.8% in 2018-19, from 54.9% in 2017-18 to 56.7%.

Comparatively, the average decision times for 207 Major Developments in 2018-19 was more than a week faster than the previous year at 32.5 weeks, while the duration for 2017-18 averaged at 33.6 weeks.

Similarly, to the figure for Local Developments, the number of Major Development decisions in Scotland in 2018-19 has likewise decreased by 2%, this proportion equalling six applications, while a further 36% of major applications were subject to processing agreements, the 36% translating to 118 applications.

Furthermore, major housing application decisions were decided in an average of 35.1 weeks, measuring more than 3 weeks faster than 2017-18 in which the duration was 38.2 weeks, and is now the quickest annual decision time since 2012-13.

Ultimately the overall rate of approvals for all types of applications in Scotland in 2018-19 was 93.7% whereas the delegation rate was 95.8%, the highest rate since 2012-13.

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Kier delivers adult day care centre

Kier has delivered its 1000^th Scape Minor Works Project, through the Scape National Minor Works framework, to Flintshire County Council with the contracting of the Flintshire Adult Day Care Centre.

The centre will provide state-of-the-art day care facilities and social care services for vulnerable adults with differing levels of learning disabilities after having been designed with recommendations from service users, users relatives, and staff following the previous centre’s descent into disrepair.

The Frameworks Director at Kier, Deane Hudson stated: “We’re thrilled to have handed over our 1000th Scape Minor Works project. The Flintshire Adult Day Care Centre will provide much-needed support to vulnerable adults in the area.”

“We are proud to partner with Scape Group and continue to deliver value for money projects ranging from £50k to £4m for our public sector clients across the UK.”

In the coming months Kier is set to deliver 80 projects under the Scape National Minor Works framework, with some of these works including the new MRI facility at St Richard’s Hospital in Worthington, the five new primary school extensions for Oxford County Council which will provide a further 500 pupil places, and the two new business enterprise centres for Somerset County Council.

The Scape Group Chief Executive, Mark Robinson added, “We are very proud of the number of successful projects delivered via our National Minor Works frameworks.

“The 1,000th project is a real milestone for both Kier and Scape Group and I am very pleased that the Flintshire Adult Day Care Centre will give vulnerable adults access to opportunities that would not have been afforded to them without the new facility.

“Scape’s Minor Works framework continues to deliver exceptional project outcomes whilst embedding social value at the heart, we recognise the importance of engaging with local communities to create sustainable socio-economic outcomes that last way beyond the projects’ completion.”

Kier was appointed to the first-generation Scape Minor Works framework back in 2011 and eventually became a delivery partner on the second-generation of the framework, which expires one decade after Kier joined the first generation in 2021.

During the second-generation of the framework Kier has raised a sum of more than £350M in SME social value and has provide more than 550 jobs.

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Sheds demolished ahead of HS2 super-hub

HS2 has taken another leap forward with the help of early works contractors, Costain and Skanska, in West London with the demolition of the Great Western Sheds, over the past four months, in preparation for the construction of the new super-hub at Old Oak Common.

The sheds that were cleared in the demolition process were large enough to park more than 600 double decker buses inside and the contractors also managed to clear Heavy Maintenance and Wheel Lathe Sheds while also removing 40,000 tonnes of concrete slabs.

Furthermore, 98% of the material that was removed in the demolition of the sheds and associated buildings was recycled or reused, with surplus tracks being donated to heritage railways across the country and with the former train that was in the depot being carefully deconstructed and moved to Penzance where it has been installed in a new depot.

The Costain-Skanska (CSjv) Programme Director, Peter Jones stated: “The successful delivery of this challenging project shows just what can be done when you get the right team together.

“Alongside HS2 Ltd and Erith, I’m proud to say we’ve built a diverse team at Old Oak Common, including local people, female engineers, apprentices and people with previous careers in the armed forces. Our colleagues are working hard to encourage more people from under-represented groups to consider careers in our industry.”

The Old Oak Common super-hub will be a one kilometre long station that is designed to link HS2 with the Elizabeth Crossrail line services to Heathrow, central London, Wales, and the West of England. It is also predicted to be one of the busiest interchanges in the country, having approximately 250,000 commuters passing through every day.

So far, two thirds of the demolitions for HS2 in London have been completed, employing 1,500 people to assist in the project, and the resulting regeneration of the Old Oak area is predicted to create a further 65,000 job and 25,500 new homes as a part of the wider Old Oak and Royal Park development.

HS2 Ltd Programme Director, Matthew Botelle added: “HS2 will transform Old Oak Common, unlocking thousands of new jobs and homes around the station and improving journeys for millions of people travelling to Heathrow Airport, London, the Midlands and the North.

The sheds were built in 1906 by Great Western Railway to serve as a depot for steam locomotives.

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Highways England makes efforts to protect bees

Highways England has invested £3.5M in a package for improvements to the A66 in Cumbria which will begin on Monday 29^th July 2019 and will include the development of habitats for bees and other pollinators.

The improvements in question will mostly concern the upgrading of junctions between Workington and Cockermouth, with the main works officially starting in autumn, while, in conjunction with this, habitats will be improved for pollinators along 6.5 miles of the route between Workington and Papcastle.

Specifically, Highways England has spent £1.5M on improvements to the A595/A66 Fitz roundabout near Papcastle and has spent a further £1.25M on the widening of the A66/A595 junction at Great Cliffton whereas environmental improvements will include the creation of lawns, grassland, glades, and winter refuges.

The Highways England Project Manager, Heather Ashurst stated: “This is one of the biggest packages of improvement and maintenance work we have ever delivered in this part of Cumbria.

“It represents an important investment in tackling congestion and providing safer, smoother journeys in a very busy part of our road network serving key towns like Cockermouth, Workington, Whitehaven and major employment centres like Sellafield.”

The ecology works are a part of Highways England’s commitment to enhance road network environments while also reducing the impact of traffic on habitats and communities, being carried out at these projects in partnership with the Cumbria Wildlife Trust and with the support pf the Cumbria Local Nature Partnership’s ‘Get Cumbria Buzzing!’ Project.

‘Get Cumbria Buzzing!’ Project Manager, Tanya St Pierre added: “We are delighted. This work will provide much-needed pollinator-friendly havens and wildflower-rich corridors, enabling our bumblebees, butterflies and hoverflies to move more freely across north west Cumbria.

“Working together with Highways England we’ll be creating short flowering lawns, flower rich grassland, sunny banks and glades, and overwintering refuges, helping our pollinators to survive and thrive.”

The projects at Fitz roundabout and the Great Cliffton junction are being funded through a national reserve of £220M for the resolution of congestion ‘hotspots’, £27M of which has been marked for spending in the North West.

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Kier sells Normanton industrial development

Kier Property have embarked upon a joint venture with Maple Grove Developments, and their partner Yorvale, to sell their Tri-Link140 industrial scheme in Normanton, near Wakefield in West Yorkshire, to the Huntingdonshire District Council for a figure that is yet to be disclosed.

The industrial scheme itself sits upon a six acre plot of land and offers 142,338sq ft of industrial and distributional space located just one minute away from junction 31 of the M62 motorway.

The Tri-Link140 development itself will include two storeys of office accommodation, 13 dock level loading doors, and 160 parking spaces that will all be within the centre of Wakefield’s Europort, providing direct access to the Europort Freight Terminal.

Kier Property’s Managing Director for the North, Tom Gilman stated: “Selling this scheme to Huntingdon District Council demonstrates our ability to offer quality products to the market with a long-term investment angle. This strategy continues to promote our ethos as a leading UK trader developer.”

In the sales process the vendors were represented by JLL while the Huntingdonshire District Council was represented by DTRE as the council acquired the scheme through their Commercial Investment Strategy which they began back in 2014 after being advised to spread investment risk by investing in a range of properties across different areas.

Through this strategy, the Huntingdonshire District Council has invested approximately £30M in a mix of industrial, retail, and office accommodation with another example of a development bought under it being the Rowley Arts Centre in St Neots.

Huntingdonshire District Council themselves added: “The Tri-Link 140 acquisition forms part of the District Council’s Commercial Investment Strategy and Business Plan. The primary aim of the strategy is to generate an income stream that supports and secures the delivery of Council services into the future.”

Within the industrial sector, Kier has developed an area totalling more than 6Msq ft through its Trade City and Logistics City brands and currently has a pipeline of £1.8Bn across all of its assets over the next decade.

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ISSG publishes report on construction culture change

The Industry Safety Steering Group (ISSG) have published their report on how the construction industry is delivering the culture change to support greater building safety on Monday 22^nd July 2019.

According to the report, the ISSG has been pleased with the considerable progress made by the majority of representatives who have attended meetings and consultations with the Competence Steering Group (CSG) having made significant proposals for an overarching system for competence.

The ISSG also recognises that, for some areas to progress in raising competency levels, more time must be given for this to be resolved as the diversity of subsectors within the overarching construction industry requires a variety of approaches.

Furthermore, the ISSG welcomes the work of other groups such as the Early Adopters in taking early action on prioritising building and fire safety however they have noted that progress in this area has been slow across parts of the industry due, in part, to its fragmented nature.

Ultimately, a lack of leadership and collaboration within the industry has led to incoherencies in approaches towards building and fire safety between the different companies and subsectors which make up construction.

In concluding their report though, the ISSG admits that there is still much work to be done in order to ensure that there is a culture change across the entirety of the construction industry.

The formal consultation process on the new regulatory framework did represent a substantial milestone in this culture change but it is still important to ensure that standards are raised across the industry and not just by those who attend the consultations and proactively engage with the government.

A key recommendation in the report, for the coming months, was the need to be receptive towards learning from other sectors as the ISSG will hear from organisations across the industry and review topics including industry qualifications, how the industry is preparing for the new duty holder roles, and responsibilities.

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Government spends nearly £3M on flood measures

The Environment Minister, Thérèse Coffey, announced, on Monday 22^nd July 2019, that the government is investing £2.9M into the research and uptake of property-level flood resilience measures to improve the protection of homes and businesses.

The allocation of funding followed a competitive evaluation process which saw Yorkshire, Cornwall and Devon, and central England each receive up to £700,000 in order to fund new research initiatives, demonstration centres, and advice portals that can help people to recognise the benefits of installing home measures.

Property-level flood resilience measures are used to reduce the potential impacts of flooding in buildings are can include a wide variety of means such as flood doors, hard floors, and the raising of electrics off of ground level, with the ultimate goal of these measures being to reduce the amount of time people are forced from their homes after flooding.

Minister Coffey stated: “I am delighted to award funding to the pathfinder flood resilience projects in the Ox-Cam arc, Yorkshire and the South West.

“I expect the councils and organisations involved will increase the take up of property resilience measures by homeowners and businesses, making their properties safer, and quicker to return to if flooding does happen.”

The Oxford-Cambridge Pathfinder, led by Northamptonshire County Council, shall be centred around the construction of 1M high-quality homes in the area by 2050, with ten communities already identified for engagement.

The Yorkshire Flood Resilience Pathfinder project, led by the City of York Council, will encourage more people to apply flood resilience measures to their properties through construction of a community hub and learning lab that will be key facilities in a large scale training programme.

And, lastly, the South West partnership project, led by Cornwall County Council, enhance future application of flood resilience measures through construction of a demonstration hub and creation of a web portal for online learning and information.

Chair of the Environment Agency, Emma Howard Boyd added: “This new funding is a welcome step forwards for our efforts to boost the uptake of property-level resilience measures in homes and businesses across the country.

“The Environment Agency will work closely with the local authorities and organisations taking forward the Pathfinder projects to support their work and share lessons learnt. Our experience shows that making these small changes in the home can make a huge difference to people’s lives when flooding takes place.”

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Highways England announce new contracts

Highways England have announced the signing of 18 contracts with supply chain partners who will carry out projects amount to a grand total of £8.7Bn worth of work on England’s motorways and major A-roads in an announcement on Monday 22^nd July 2019.

The first contract, out of the 18, to be announced detailed major upgrades to the A46 Binley in Coventry which should transform the bottleneck which has former there and will be carried out by the Highways England supply chain partner, Geoffrey Osborne Ltd, for a value of £61.4M.

Whereas the second contract to be announced was awarded to VolkerFitzpatrick at a total value of £52.4M and will involve the construction of a series of improvements along the A27 Lewes in East Sussex.

The two projects are also considered as part of the Road Investment Strategy (RIS) and will commence in the spring of 2020 with completion scheduled for the spring of 2022.

The Highways Director at Geoffrey Osborne Ltd, Jamie Harrison stated: “We are delighted to have signed the contract and look forward to embarking with our partners, Highways England, on the A46 Coventry Junctions upgrade scheme at Binley. Winning this work sees us continuing to work with Highways England, who recognise and value the collaborative approach we bring.”

To be specific, the scheme to upgrade the A46 will primarily concern the improvement of junctions along the road, including those at Binley and Walsgrave, while the work to be carried out on the A27 will likewise involve the upgrade of various junctions along the nine mile section of motorway between Lewes and Polegate.

However, the project at the A27 Lewes will also involve the construction of a new dual carriageway on a short section west of Polegate as well as the creation of enhanced walking and cycling facilities along the entire stretch.

The two contracts are the first under the ‘Routes to Market Regional Delivery Partnerships’ which Highways England announced last year, involving 13 supply chain partners known as Delivery Integration Partners (DIP) that will work on delivering the aforementioned 18 packages of schemes.

The Highways England Major Projects Executive Director, Peter Mumford added: “This is clear evidence that new ways of working are being embraced by the market, which is now seizing the opportunity to work in a more collaborative way with Highways England, representing a fundamental change in the way we deliver our road projects.”

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New homes planned at disused quarry site

Onward Holdings Ltd, a company that is renowned for developing and operating warehousing and industrial units, plans to apply for the construction of hundreds of new homes on a 22-acre, former quarry site in Scunthorpe.

Onward Holdings is proposing to apply to the North Lincolnshire County Council for the multi-million-pound project before then seeking to employ a housebuilder for the construction of approximately several hundred new properties.

Through carrying out this project, on the aforementioned brownfield site, Onward Holdings Ltd is hoping to regenerate the local area and thus provide a welcome boost to the local economy and, of course, to the area’s housing stock.

The Director of Onward Holdings, Neil Storey stated: “On a national scale there is a recognised shortage of housing. When submitted and if approved by North Lincolnshire Council it will lead to much-needed new homes for the region.

“We’ll be looking for expressions of interest from housebuilders when we can progress a planning application to move the project forward and create an economic buzz for the area.”

The company is already a stakeholder in the local economy due to their ownership of the nearby retail development, Glebe Park, which is currently occupied by various national retailers including the likes of Bathstore, Farmfoods, and Johnstone’s Decorating Centre.

As well as this, Onward Holdings Ltd have had previous success with the regeneration of disused mining sites as evidenced by the successful Onyx Retail Park, at Wath-upon-Dearne in the Barnsley area, which had previously been an abandoned coal mine until the company took on the project to revitalise the land it was on.

Onward Holdings similarly specialises in operating highly competitively-priced industrial warehousing in the North of England and offers a range of logistical options and added-value warehouse services in order aid other companies in gaining a strong position in the northern supply chain.

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Department for Transport announces £348M funds

The Department for Transport is injecting £348M of funding into local authorities within the next four year period as a way of tackling issues surrounding road maintenance and repair, it has been announced on Saturday 20^th July 2019.

The funding in question will be available for local authorities to bid for and will also be offered in two sets at two intervals of two years, over the aforementioned four years, of which the grand total of £348M will be up for bidding.

The first pot of investment, named the Challenge Fund, is going to be available this year and the next and will have just less than £200M on offer, with the substantial figure in question being marked for projects that will improve the quality of roads and surrounding infrastructure, including structures as large as bridges and viaducts.

The second pot of investment, called the Pinch Point Fund, will be available in 2021/2022 and in 2022/2023 reaching a total figure of £150M that will be reserved for projects designed to ease congestion on some of the country’s busiest roads.

The Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling stated: “Local roads are the backbone of the transport network for drivers up and down the country, but we know that some aren’t up to the standard they need to be.

“Whether it’s congestion or quality, we need to empower local authorities to invest in these roads and make journeys safer and stress-free.

“That’s exactly what this funding will do – over 4 years we’re providing more than a third of a billion pounds to make sure local authorities have the cash they need to make this a reality.”

One previous example of a project that was funded by the Pinch Point Fund includes the improvement of links between the A12 and A143.

These latest announcements are part of a series detailing funding investments that the Department of Transport are making into ensuring that the nation’s roads are all fit for purpose, all of which are part of the £6.6Bn which the department is investing between 2015 and 2021.

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Department of Transport uses AI to repair roads

The Department for Transport has invested £2M into using artificial intelligence for the mapping of British local road markings, sections of the National Cycle Network, and the country’s footways it was announced on Saturday 20^th July 2019.

According to the announcement the investment will be used for the national examination of road markings which will involve the analysis of the quality of nearly 100,000 miles of road to create a clearer-than-ever picture of where investment is most required.

The information that is compiled will then be used to advise local councils on where investment will be most useful and shall likewise be utilised to improve the user safety of some of the country’s busiest roads.

The Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling stated: “Road markings play a vital role in keeping everyone who is using the road safe, so making sure they’re up to standard is imperative.

“This funding will allow for advanced AI learning technology to assess the condition of the markings to improve the safety of our roads for all users.”

The Department of Transport will carry out the road markings examination in conjunction with the Local Conditions Roads Innovation Group (LCRIG) which will in turn employ the services of Gaist, an SME based in North Yorkshire which specialises in artificial intelligence technology.

The Managing Director of Gaist, Paula Claytonsmith added: “We are using over 146 million HD road images from our national databank and cutting-edge AI technology to assess over 96,000 miles of classified roads as part of this project.

“This is the largest exercise in assessing road marking readiness ever undertaken in England. Gaist are proud to have the AI capability that puts an SME UK business at the forefront of technological advances.”

Reports of poor road markings have been increasing drastically in recent times due to the presence of ‘ghost markings’ as a consequence of developments on existing roads, as well as general road deterioration.

This announcement arrives at the same time that bids open over the next 4 year for £348M worth of funding to revitalise British roads, through the Challenge Fund and Pinch Point fund.

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House builders ordered to protect wildlife

The Communities Secretary, Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP, ordered house builders to do more to protect Britain’s cherished wildlife in an announcement on Sunday 21^st July 2019 which set out the government’s expectations for the protection of specific species.

The Secretary spoke on behalf of the Department of Housing, Communities, and Local Government and recommended the application of ‘hedgehog highways’ for new housing estates in addition to hollow ‘swift bricks’ which allow swifts and other birds to coexist with the new homes both during and after the building process.

Creating hedgehog highways simply involves the forming of gaps in fences so that hedgehogs can move freely throughout gardens and the wooded areas between in order to forage for food and make nests whereas swift bricks can be attached to the outer walls of buildings so that swifts can nest safely.

Secretary Brokenshire likewise placed emphasis on the necessity to produce innovative ways for allowing nature to thrive such as the creation of drainage areas which make attractive wetlands for birds and amphibians to live alongside housing developments.

And finally, he called for developers to plant more trees and green meadows as a means of giving important insects such as British honeybees a safe haven to thrive.

Specifically, he stated: “Building the new homes this country needs must not come at the detriment of our natural heritage.

“It’s right that as we deliver houses for people, we must also provide homes for wildlife too – whether that’s for hedgehogs, frogs, newts or birds.

“The public have told us that protecting wildlife is important to them, so my message to house builders is to harness this support and get building in a way that protects the environment for the next generation.”

The announcement comes after a significant degree of interest was raised in regard to the protection of Britain’s much loved animals, with one petition receiving support from more than half a million people.

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Railway investment in South Wales

The UK government revealed that millions in funding is being spent on transforming the South Wales rail network in an announcement by Transport Secretary, Chris Grayling, on Monday 22^nd July 2019.

In the announcement, Secretary Grayling detailed that up to £58M of funding was to be spent on significant upgrades to Cardiff Central Station as a means of improving access and constructing platforms that will be suited for longer trains.

Furthermore, Secretary Grayling went on to mention that the UK government is progressing plans for a new West Wales Parkway station situated near Swansea that will reduce journey times to West Wales and also stated that improvements could result in a journey reduction time of up to 14 minutes between Cardiff and London from December 2019.

He stated: “Passengers in Cardiff deserve a modern, accessible station at the heart of their vibrant city centre. This funding has the potential to deliver just that, ensuring more reliable, comfortable and faster journeys into and out of the capital.

“It is imperative that the two governments in Wales work closely together because, in doing so, this strengthens the Union and I look forward to receiving the proposals for an ambitious and deliverable business case.”

The respective projects will go ahead subject to assurances that the schemes will represent value for money by easing crowding and congestion at Cardiff Central Station at peak times, by driving regeneration, by introducing more reliable and faster services, and by boosting connectivity and capacity for passengers across the South and West of Wales.

The Secretary of State for Wales, Alun Cairns, added: “We’re committed to improving standards of service for rail passengers across Wales.

“This funding will allow Cardiff to become an attractive tourist and commuter destination at a crucial time in the city’s regeneration. We are also committing to progressing plans for a West Wales Parkway station, which will deliver time savings of up to a quarter of an hour from Pembrokeshire to Cardiff and increase local connectivity around Swansea to provide greater opportunities for the whole of the Swansea Bay City region.”

Investment in the rail network builds upon the £5Bn that the UK government is investing on improving journeys for passengers on the Great West Mainline between South Wales and London.

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Highways England rebuilds Chieveley roundabout

Highways England has rebuilt the major Chieveley roundabout at junction 13 where the M4 motorway meets the A34 in Berkshire with the reopening of the roundabout having occurred on Monday 15^th July 2019.

The maintenance work that was undertaken included the complete resurfacing of the roundabout, after it needed frequent repairs over the last few years and has been the most significant maintenance operation on the site since it was first constructed in the 1970s.

Work began on Friday 7^th June 2019 and lasted for six weeks as Highways England set about resurfacing the entire roundabout with the renewed road achieving an ‘as new’ condition that will help to prevent further potholes.

The road closures which occurred where a necessity in order to accommodate the several items of heavy machinery which were required to excavate the surface and concrete base of the Chieveley roundabout down to a depth of 350mm.

It is hoped that the new road surface will provide drivers with more efficient journeys, safer road, and what will ultimately become a more pleasant driving experience that will not deteriorate as quickly as that which preceded it.

The Highways England project manager, Katarina Saradinova stated: “Most resurfacing just replaces the top layer of a road surface. For this major maintenance we have gone right down to the road’s foundation – more than 35 centimetres – and replaced the road layer by layer. By doing this we have made a long-lasting replacement that will minimise the need for future maintenance and will mean less disruption for the thousands of drivers who use it every day.

“I would like to thank people in and around Chieveley and on the diversion routes, for their patience over the last six weekends, as well as drivers on the M4 and A34.”

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Entry level skills in construction: Making effective use of graduates and apprentices

The construction industry has a long tradition of bringing in entry-level workers at both apprenticeship and graduate level. However, are such workers currently offering employers the skills that they need? Tristram Hooley, Institute of Student Employers’ chief research officer, reports on recent research to provide some insights on current trends in the sector.

The Institute of Student Employers regularly surveys members to find out who they are recruiting and what issues they are having with the new staff that they are hiring.

Recruitment is up

In our mid-season pulse survey, conducted in January, we found that employers were intending to recruit 18% more graduates this year than they did last year. They also reported that the apprenticeship levy was encouraging them to focus on apprenticeships causing numbers to soar by 47%. In the construction sector the increase in both types of hire was similar with employers predicting 24% more graduates and 21% more apprentices. This may be because other sectors are running to catch up on apprenticeships. ISE members in the built environment spent an average of 45% of their levy. This is higher than all members who spent an average of 33% and the national average of all employers, which is closer to 14%.

Construction sector firms proved effective at filling all of their posts last year. One area of concern was the fact that only 84% of graduates and 88% of apprentices accepted job offers and the sector seems to suffer from higher than average levels of reneges (disruptive last minute drop outs by candidates).

Looking forward, employers in the construction sector were slightly more concerned than average that Brexit might impact on the level of their recruitment. Most employers in the sector were either concerned about finding the right candidates after Brexit or unsure as to what the impact would be. They expected that Brexit might impact on the recruitment of both entry-level hires and experienced hires.

Skills

The ISE Development Survey 2019 provides us with further insights as to how this recruitment actually works out when the candidates start. Unsurprisingly, employers in the construction sector found graduates to be more skilled than apprentices when they started. Graduates were seen as being particularly strong in numeracy, IT and digital skills, data handling, writing, teamwork and problem solving. They outperformed apprentices most strongly in terms of knowing how to dress and present themselves in the workplace, having good presentation skills and being able to take responsibility. However, graduates also had weaknesses and employers reported they were often weak in business appropriate communication, commercial awareness, emotional intelligence, managing up and self-awareness.

Construction employers also viewed apprentices as having strengths in teamwork, numeracy, IT and digital skills, writing and problem solving and weaknesses in business appropriate communication, commercial awareness, emotional intelligence, managing up, self-awareness and dealing with conflict. While there are a number of areas where graduates out perform them, there are also a lot of areas where employers don’t report any major differences between the two types of hires e.g. their ability to stay positive, listen, use Excel and time management.

The fact that graduates are more skilled at the point of entry needs to be balanced against the advantages that apprentices bring. Employers are typically paying graduates a lot more as a starting salary (almost double in some cases). Furthermore, our data shows that apprentices are typically more loyal with employers reporting that 74% of apprentices are still employed by their firm five years after they are hired, while only 60% of graduates stay.

Development

Our development survey also provides some good insights into the approaches that employers are using to develop the skills and capabilities of entry-level hires. Construction employers are most commonly training both graduates and apprentices in business appropriate communication, interpersonal skills, presentation skills, commercial awareness and job-specific technical skills.

The desired outcomes of development for both groups of hires are remarkably similar. But there are some differences in how the training is organised. Employers make extensive use of classroom-based training, online learning, mentoring and volunteering for both groups. However, they are far more likely to offer apprentices dedicated self-study time and encourage them to form peer support groups. There is agreement amongst construction employers that classroom learning is an essential part of the development mix with other approaches that are identified as having an impact including encouraging peer-learning support, registration for external qualifications and rotation between different business functions.

A challenging future

Our data suggests that the construction industry is currently investing in people. This is both in terms of a growth in recruitment numbers and in terms of spending on the development of entry-level hires. While there are several concerns about the skills of entry-level hires, firms are taking proactive action to train and develop them in response to this.

If there is a recession, it is likely that such investment in people will decline somewhat. But, the evidence from previous recessions suggest that those firms that emerge most effectively from downturns take a long-term view and continue to ensure that they have sufficient skills and people at all levels in their organisation.

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Winchester City Centre plans regeneration

The Winchester City Council has employed the services of a property advisor company, JLL in partnership with Arup, as strategic placemaking consultant in the regeneration projects that are planned around the city.

The Central Winchester regeneration project has been proposed as a means of creating new retail, residential, and cultural developments to Winchester City Centre in conjunction with an enhanced public realm. Winchester City Council is operating alongside Hampshire County Council on a jointly-funded Movement Strategy for the city.

One of the current regeneration projects that are underway in Winchester includes that of the new Winchester Sport and Leisure Park which is being constructed alongside an extensive building programme to build a further thousand homes across the district.

Chas Bradfield, of Winchester City Council, stated: “JLL and Arup will help us deliver our ambitions for the city as it evolves and grows. We are committed to creating a sustainable destination for visitors and businesses, while protecting our environment and enhancing the quality of life for our residents.

“We have made significant progress this year with the completion of our Chesil Lodge extra-care development, the start of works on site for our new sport and leisure centre, and the interest already attracted toward our proposals for Station Approach.”

As well as this, Winchester City Council is also in the process of considering delivery options for the planning application of the new Station Approach scheme which is an office led development that is planned to be situated next to the Winchester Railway Station.

The development will consist of 140,000sq ft of Grade A office space in addition to restaurants, retail space, and an overall improved public realm. More than 20 interested parties attended a viewing events for potential investors and developers for the project back in June.

David Roberts, Development Consulting Director based in JLL’s Bristol office, added: “City centres across the country are evolving rapidly, thanks to changes in technology, shopping and leisure habits. Together we will develop plans to ensure Winchester continues to build on its considerable strengths as a fantastic place to live, work and spend leisure time.”

High environmental standards have been cited as a necessity by the council as they have joined the growing number of local authorities to declare a climate emergency.

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Time reduced on viaduct improvements

Highways England have utilised new and innovative technologies to complete imperative renewal work on the Hill House viaduct in Suffolk, a task normally requiring three months, within just four weeks.

By applying the new technique of hydro-demolition and applying new materials such as the new rapid drying concrete to the £1.2M project on the A14 route over the River Gripping, Highways England were able to achieve the project over the course of two weeks and two additional weekends.

Hydro-demolition, or hydro-blasting, is a removal technique through which deteriorated and sound concrete is removed through the use of high-pressured water whereas the rapid drying concrete is exactly as described, with 19 tonnes of the material taking just four hours to dry whereas traditional concrete would take up to seven days.

The Assistant Service Delivery Manager at Highways England, Ashley Prigmore stated: “Of the thousands of drivers that cross the Hill House viaduct daily, I’m sure most of them don’t give much thought to the joints supporting their crossing. They’re vital components and are designed to be replaced from time to time.

“We understand how important the A14 is to local people as well as business at home and abroad. By hydro-blasting and using a rapid drying concrete we were able to take a vital road upgrade that may have taken up to 12 weeks and completed them over the course of four weekends. This not only drastically minimised disruption to drivers, but meant the road remained open at peak times.”

Approximately 60 people were onsite every weekend throughout the project as a means of ensuring that the key components which required replacement on the bridge were safely delivered on time so that the A14 was able to be driveable ahead of the following morning.

Councillor Gary Green of Suffolk County Council added: “I would like to record my thanks for Highways England working closely with the local councils to ensure that the disruption to the residents of Stowmarket was kept to the minimum.”

The project was funded through part of a £55.8M investment fund for the improvement and maintenance of trunk roads and motorways in the East of England.

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