Relief for construction industry

With Chancellor Rishi Sunak finally unveiling a raft of measures for protection for the self-employed during the Covid-19 outbreak, following on from the announcement of business support, the industry has reacted with relief, with many of its members self-employed.

The measures announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak guarantee self-employed people who work as sole traders and earn up to £50,000 80% of their income. This will be based on their last tax return.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “Construction workers across the country will now be taking a collective sigh of relief knowing they will now be protected in the same way that employees will be if they lose work due to COVID-19. I am delighted that the Chancellor has heeded our calls to be generous with his offer to the self-employed, who make up almost 40% of those working in the construction industry. Building companies will now also be able to close sites to protect workers and public health without having to worry about the losses faced by self-employed workers on those sites. We now urge the Treasury and HMRC to ensure that all support packages are up and running as soon as physically possible.”

While Alex Smith, head of construction at law firm, Shakespeare Martineau, commented: “Finally, the Chancellor has done what the UK construction industry has been crying out for. Those with trading profits up to £50,000 a year will be able to apply for a grant of 80% of their average monthly profits, up to £2,500 a month, for three months up to the end of May (and paid in one lump sum in June). The monthly profits will be calculated using average monthly profits over the last three financial years.

“With self-employed workers forming the backbone of the construction sector, this news will come as a huge relief to all those who felt excluded from the Government’s generous support packages so far.

“Government announcements earlier this week stated that those who cannot do their jobs from home should continue to go to work, suggesting that on site construction work should continue, as long as social distancing guidelines were followed. Consequently, sites were to remain open, with social distance guidelines being followed.

“However, those in the construction industry have raised concerns that the economy was being prioritised over public health, with builders and other construction workers feeling unprotected and under pressure to continue working.

“Up until now, the lack of coherent advice from the Government has meant that firms have been left to take matters into their own hands and make business-critical decisions based on ambiguous criteria. However, difficulties caused by illness, self-isolation, childcare issues, and the inability to obtain building materials are still forcing more and more sites to close.

“Time will tell as to whether these measures are enough to support the construction industry and exactly who will qualify for such additional support during this unusual time. But for now, at least, many workers will be breathing a sigh of relief.”

IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed), has welcomed the government’s announcement today of a “historic lifeline” of financial support for the UK’s self-employed.

Derek Cribb, CEO of IPSE (the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed) said: “We welcome the fact that the government has heeded our calls and actively worked with IPSE in designing a historic lifeline of financial aid for the self-employed.

“This will offer essential support to the many hard-working self-employed people across the country who are losing projects and contracts because of the Coronavirus outbreak.

“We understand this is an immense and complex undertaking, and urge the government to get this vital support to freelancers as soon as practically possible.

“This is an unprecedented package and a very welcome response to our campaign for freelancers and the self-employed.

“While this assistance is practical and wide-ranging it does not, however, cover all self-employed people. We will keep working to fill in these gaps.

“With our mission to support and promote the work of independent professionals and the self-employed, we will keep striving to stop those in need from being left behind.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

All information provided in this article is given in good faith. However, to the extent that any actions taken in relation to matters concerning procurement, the above article does not constitute legal advice to you. The contents of these articles are not to be construed as legal advice or a substitute for such advice, which you should obtain from your own legal advisors if required. We are not and shall not be held responsible for anything done or not done by you as a result of the information provided.

The post Relief for construction industry appeared first on UK Construction Online.

ProCure22 timeline extended

Subsequent to Covid-19 outbreak and the current impact on the UK, the government has announced it will extend its ProCure22 health construction framework.

The Department for Health stated: “Given the current impact of Covid-19 and the resource impact this is having across the health care system it has been decided that the ProCure22 framework is extended for up to 12 months. We also appreciate that this will be having an impact on your bid teams and resource and as such will pause the procurement of ProCure2020.”

The £20Bn seven-year framework was due to begin in September, but it will now be delayed by 12 months. Contractors already holding contracts within the framework include, Interserve, Graham, Bam, Galliford Try, Kier and JV Integrated Health Projects.

“To be clear,” the department has stated, “P2020 will not be cancelled this will still go ahead when pressure is released across the system. We will obviously keep you updated on timescales so that you can plan your resource appropriately.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post ProCure22 timeline extended appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Arup explores potential of hydrogen

Global engineering and consultancy firm, Arup, has been appointed by the Scottish Government to help them explore the potential use of hydrogen within the Scottish energy systems.

The Scottish Government has set targets to achieve net-zero energy by 2045, and is working alongside Scottish Enterprise and Highland & Island Enterprise, to assess the future use of hydrogen in the Scottish economy and to develop an action plan, as well as a policy statement.

Arup, along with project partner E4tech, will carry out an assessment of Scotland’s strengths, assets and factors that will shape hydrogen development across the country. Along with this, they will also explore scenarios for how hydrogen could develop in Scotland to help achieve net zero emissions targets. The in-depth assessment will also establish the potential economic impacts and benefits that investment in the sector could unlock.

The outcomes from the assessment will also be used to help inform the upcoming hydrogen policy statement and action plan – assisting the Scottish Government and its agencies to set a policy agenda for the use of hydrogen over the next few decades.

Claire Lavelle, Head of Energy Consultancy at Arup said: “Hydrogen can bring many benefits as a low carbon energy source – we’re committed to supporting the Scottish Government in exploring how it could potentially help achieve net zero emissions by 2045. Scotland’s natural resources, existing industrial skills and ambitions carbon reduction targets will be key to unlocking the true benefits that the hydrogen economy can bring. We will be applying our extensive experience and knowledge taken from our work with other governments including the UK, Australia and New Zealand, to carry out this assessment for the Scottish Government to support its future policies and plans”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Arup explores potential of hydrogen appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Construction support during Covid-19

With the government releasing a package of help for self-employed, BuildUK – the leading representative organisation for the UK construction industry, bringing together Clients, Main Contractors, Trade Associations – has produced a guide to assistance available to construction companies.

Business rates holiday:

Eligible: Retail, hospitality and leisure sector businesses in England

Guidance: No action required, will be applied to Council Tax bill in April 2020

Cash Grant:

Eligible: Retail, hospitality and leisure sector businesses in England

Guidance: No action required. Local Authorities will notify businesses. Available for each different property dependent on rateable value

Coronavirus Business Interruption Loan Scheme (CBILS):

Eligible: UK businesses with a turnover of less than £45M per year which meet British Business Bank eligibility criteria

Guidance: Available as of 23 March 2020. Loans of up to £5M, 12 months interest free. Find out more from British Business Bank or apply through your current bank or an accredited lender

Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme:

Eligible: All UK employers

Guidance: Employees that you can no longer afford to pay will be designated ‘furloughed workers’. Businesses can claim 80% of their wage costs up to a cap of £2,500 per month.

COVID-19 Corporate Financing Facility

Eligible: All UK businesses

Guidance: Available as of 23 March 2020. Purchase Commercial Paper (CP) during a defined period each business day. Businesses do not have to have previously issued CP. Available from the Bank of England.

Income Tax deferral:

Eligible: Self-employed workers

Guidance: Income Tax Self-Assessment payments due on 31 July 2020 will be deferred until 31 January 2021

MOT Suspension:

Eligible: Businesses utilising heavy good vehicles (HGVs) and public service vehicles (PSVs)

Guidance: Available as of 21 March 2020. Annual MOTs suspended for three months for all HGVs and PSVs. Vehicles to be issued with a certificate of temporary exemption (CTE). Find out more from the DVSA.

Small Business Grant Scheme:

Eligible: Small businesses that occupy property and receive Small Business Rate Relief (SBBR), Rural
Rate Relieve (RRR), or Tapered Relief in England

Guidance: No action required, Local Authorities will contact businesses. One-off grant of £10,000

Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) reclaim:

Eligible: Employers with fewer than 250 employees on 28 February 2020

Guidance: Claim back up to two weeks SSP per employee who is absent due to coronavirus (COVID-19).
Maintain records of absence, no GP fit note required.

Time to Pay – Tax Service:

Eligible: Businesses that pay tax to the UK Government and cannot pay a current tax bill

Guidance: Arranged on a case by case basis for current or imminent tax payments. Call HMRC on 0800 0159 559.

VAT deferral for 3 months:

Eligible: All UK businesses

Guidance: VAT payments will not need to be made between 20 March – 30 June 2020. You must continue to account for VAT on eligible goods & services. Deferred VAT will be due by April 2021. No penalties or interest will be charged. Vat refunds will be paid as normal. No application required to benefit from deferral.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Construction support during Covid-19 appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Protecting critical infrastructure from flooding

Simon Crowther founder of Flood Protection Solutions looks at ways to protect critical infrastructure from flooding, with the expectation of sea level rises in the near future.

When we think of flooding, we imagine people in wellies with surrounding devastation, but what are the other impacts? There are huge knock-on secondary effects, which can include social, economic and environmental impacts. When critical infrastructure is at risk, the devastation caused by flooding can be huge.

Critical infrastructure is the body of systems, networks and assets that are so essential that their continued operation is required to ensure the security of a given nation, its economy, and the public’s health and/or safety. Flooding is the biggest threat the UK faces as a result of climate change, and yet the response is often reactive rather than proactive.

Recent flooding has shown how vulnerable critical infrastructure can be, along with the disruption to our society.

Water Supplies:

Back in 2007, flood victims in Gloucestershire faced a fortnight without water after the Mythe water treatment plant in Tewkesbury suffered damage. Severn Trent explained that 350,000 people were without tap water, and emergency supplies ran low. Safe water is essential for human life. Each person on Earth requires at least 20 to 50 litres of clean, safe water a day for drinking, cooking, and simply keeping themselves clean. Polluted water isn’t just dirty—it’s deadly.

We also cannot ignore the impact of flooding on other aspects of our water supplies – including dams and reservoirs. In August 2019, more than 1,500 people were ordered to evacuate Whaley Bridge following the risk of potential collapse when very heavy rain caused damage to the auxiliary spillway on the dam.

Transport:

A project led by DEFRA in 2015 found 90% of our imported food and drink comes through our ports, with 57% being channelled through our East Coast ports. This presents a problem for the UK, where a large tidal surge, and subsequent flooding, has long been considered a major threat to East Coast ports. The threat of such a surge is ever increasing with rising sea levels, and climate change. It is so concerning that it was investigated by a DEFRA funded report, which found ports may be closed for between six weeks and three months depending on the severity of the surge. We rely heavily on East Coast ports, with 69% of all pork imports, 65% of all fresh vegetables imports, 53% of all palm oil imports, and 72% of all sugar imports coming into the country this way.

This is likely to become a greater problem with climate change and sea level rise. A major UN report advised that by the end of the century, sea levels could rise by a metre!

The 2012 UK floods, which affected many parts of the country, saw huge effect on the country’s transport system. East Coast Trains were forced to cancel all their services between Edinburgh and Newcastle, with severe disruptions to West Coast services as well. Furthermore, Newcastle’s metro network, Tyne tunnel and MetroCentre, all of which crucial to the city’s transport network were forced to close, along with many roads, leaving the city at a standstill. Landslips caused further disruption to services, causing delays and cancellations across the country, with services in the East Midlands, South West, London and North West all being affected. The Environment Agency (2013) reports that the disruption caused by the 2012 floods, to utility, transport and communication links, cost the UK economy £82M. They estimate the total cost of the 2012 floods to the UK economy to be nearly £600M, £200M of which came from the impact on UK businesses.

Business:

One of the major risks facing modern businesses is the threat of flooding, with many companies located in built up, impermeable areas. It is reported that 300,000 business premises are at risk of flooding in the UK.

One estimate states flooding accounts for 33% of all losses to business property, whereas fires account to just 17%.

Businesses should have a flood plan in place, considering topics such as temporary alternative premises if your offices were flooded. A ‘grab bag’ is also recommended, containing essentials such as torches, antibacterial gel, spare keys, water etc.

To further reduce damage, IT equipment should be placed in racks, above ground level, with cables used sparingly and stored tidily. Businesses should also be backing up important data to cloud or drop box services, to aid recovery following such event. Other measures include flood resistance with equipment such as flood barriers, and resilience, for example raising plug sockets off ground level, using flood resistant materials (eg: tiled floors instead of carpets).

The UK’s threat from flooding is only going to increase, with factors such as climate change, population growth and the way in which we manage our lands, all accelerating the issue. Our infrastructure and transport networks have never been relied on more than they are now, as they connect a global economy dependent on the movement of people, information and goods.

Due to the scale of the problem, and the threat being faced, communities have got to work together to become resilient to flooding. This starts with helping to educate the public, especially in areas that are constantly threatened by flooding. If members of the public are aware of the drivers of flooding in their area, they can help monitor the situation. This will help communities be better prepared if there was to be a flood event and assist in softening the blow to our transport systems which, in the long term, will aid recovery. Education however is only the first step, communities, businesses and agencies need to have the equipment and training readily available to combat flooding.

Flood Protection is available for enable businesses, transport providers and agencies to help protect their major transport routes, homes and businesses – reducing the damage and upheaval that flooding causes. Assets such as these can be deployed very quickly, minimising any down time and reducing the upheaval and expense that flooding causes.

Alongside this, we need to combat climate change and cut carbon emissions drastically to avoid calamity.

Book your place to attend the UK’s leading infrastructure and supply chain event, bringing together  buyers, planners and key decision makers from some of the major infrastructure projects, government organisations and industry bodies from across this £600Bn marketplace: Click here

For exhibition packages to showcase your company: Click here

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Protecting critical infrastructure from flooding appeared first on UK Construction Online.

UKATA encourages workers to upskill while at home

As the country heads into lockdown, the UK Asbestos Training Association (UKATA) is urging workers in construction-related industries and trades to make use of the time to upskill or refresh training.

In line with this, UKATA has approved its 200-member companies and individuals to deliver a number of its approved courses by video conferencing software, including Skype, Microsoft Teams and Zoom.

During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis, UKATA members are approved to deliver the following courses by video conference:

• Asbestos Awareness
• Asbestos Awareness Refresher
• Duty to Manage – Extension to Asbestos Awareness
• Non-Licensable Refresher (Delegates must complete a Training Needs Analysis prior to the training)

The move to temporary video conference training was approved during a recent emergency UKATA board meeting.

A number of quality control measures have also been put in place with members to ensure the training delivered continues to be of a high quality. To support the delivery of courses UKATA is also developing a new, bespoke online examination system.

To ensure that training can continue to be delivered by members, UKATA has also agreed to grant an extension period to members whose membership process deadlines are approaching.

Craig Evans, Chief Operating Officer of UKATA, which is a highly respected, leading authority on asbestos training explained: “These are uncertain times and we have acted swiftly to ensure that workers can access vital asbestos training and that our members can continue to deliver it.

“It’s a distressing time for everyone concerned, particularly self-employed people, but we are urging people to use this enforced downtime to upskill and increase their knowledge and awareness of asbestos.”

He  added: “The industry is going to have some difficult times ahead, from projects being cancelled to shortage of supplies, inevitably meaning works cannot be carried out, but the country and the industry WILL recover and we must all be ready to hit the ground running when that happens.

“UKATA staff are all working remotely to ensure that, as much as possible, it’s business as usual and that we can continue to support our members and the industry during these unprecedented times.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post UKATA encourages workers to upskill while at home appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Mental health in growing construction firms

Some 350,000 construction workers will suffer from severe mental health issues this year, and the industry will likely see over double the national average of suicides.

Lee Bignell, founder and MD of integrated services contractor Mobius Works, explains why more employers need to look at investing heavily in prevention schemes to combat this growing problem within construction.

Attempting to understand the reasons for mental illness, and associated rates of suicide, is complex. No brain is wired the same therefore, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. However, poor mental health is often the result of a combination of influences. Construction can be a lonely place to work, with many employees working alone for long hours but sadly, it can also be incredibly isolating even when surrounded by colleagues.

I love construction and take my responsibilities towards my team, both as colleagues and individuals, very seriously but, no matter how much I, or any other employer, adores the job, if we ignore the issues in our industry, there will be no industry left. Men working in manual trades, particularly construction, are three times more likely to commit suicide than the national average; closely followed by those working in finishing trades, such as plasterers, painters and decorators, whose risk is twice the national average.

There has never been a more pressing time to implement workplace mental health tools and schemes. Each and every part of our industry can help, whether that’s leaders of businesses driving local or industry initiatives, or individuals encouraging us all to look out for each other, listen, share experiences and help stamp out outdated stigmas.

I don’t have all the answers, but I have the passion to work alongside others to make a difference. These are three key initiatives Mobius Works is championing in 2020, which we invite our industry, and others, to explore:

1) Mental health checks in appraisals
Staff appraisals are a key part to any business, allowing you to check in on your employees, their performance and their progression. However, excelling or struggling in the workplace is usually interlinked with wellbeing.

This year, we have introduced mental health checks into our appraisal process. There’s no point reviewing an employee, setting objectives and sending them away; this should be the time to sit with them and talk through their feelings, thoughts and needs in an open discussion, building upon good times and guiding through any difficulties. These mental health appraisals are also structured differently to our usual reviews, they aren’t only once every six months, we ensure we are ready to talk with any employee as little or as often as they need.

2) Mental health “toolboxes”
There are many businesses out there that specialise in equipping teams with the tools, skills and methods they need in order to build resilience and understanding around mental health.

One company we have worked with, Bristol-based Discover Your Bounce, run workshops to support the Mobius Works team with the following:
• Wellbeing and resilience training for office staff
• An emotional intelligence ‘Lunch and Learn’ for better communication
• Mental health awareness toolbox talks
• Manager training on how to support staff with their mental health
• Email support for individual staff members

These workshops not only help staff with practical wellbeing like improving sleep and reducing stress, they also encourage a culture of open communication and positive conversations, a key bridge into building a secure foundation for a healthy working environment.

3) Fundraisers and campaigns
Engaging in events, awareness days and fundraisers are a fantastic way to boost team morale, and there is an abundance of campaigns around the UK from a multitude of charities which businesses can get involved in.

Good mental health doesn’t only come from doing things for yourself, many people identify that positive wellbeing has a link with doing something good for someone else. Activities such as fun-runs, marathons and bake sales not only help to raise money for amazing causes but also allow employees to take part in feel-good enterprises that lift spirits.

For example, this year we are working with our partner charity, Bristol-based Empire Fighting Chance, aiming to raise £10,000 in ten events. Ranging from skydives to quizzes to runs, we’re spending from now through until December working together and working hard for a simply amazing cause, helping those who are less fortunate and who require our upmost love and support.

What’s important is that no matter what businesses do, big initiatives or small steps, every movement towards better mental health in the construction industry, and beyond, is a step in the right direction. So, keep talking, keep sharing and keep going. Share your positives internally and externally and shout about those little wins.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Mental health in growing construction firms appeared first on UK Construction Online.

CLC release site advice during Covid-19

The Construction Leadership Council’s Co-Chair Andy Mitchell has published updated procedures for site operation during the Covid-19 outbreak.

He says: “We are in exceptional circumstances, and are doing our utmost to keep construction sites operational wherever it is practical and safe to do so. Whilst the guidance from Public Health England may change in future, for the time being construction sites of any size that are operating during the Coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic need to ensure they are protecting their workforce and minimising the risk of spread of infection.

“To implement the Government’s social distancing recommendation the Construction Leadership Council has now published Site Operating Procedures. I would strongly recommend that these procedures are implemented by every operational construction site, with the aim of us having a standard approach across the industry that all firms and workers can adopt.

“It is also vital that the health and safety requirements of any construction activity must not be compromised at this time. If an activity cannot be undertaken safely due to a lack of suitably qualified personnel being available, or social distancing being implemented, it should not take place. We are aware that emergency services are also under great pressure and may not be in a position to respond as quickly as usual.”

Download the document here:Site Operating Procedures – 23 March 2020

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post CLC release site advice during Covid-19 appeared first on UK Construction Online.

SOCOTEC delivers AMP6 project for Southern Water

SOCOTEC has delivered a Ground Risk Management project following a five-year collaboration with CMDP (a Costain – MWH Treatment Joint Venture), on Southern Water’s AMP6 framework.

Work involved ground risk management and surveys at over 70 Southern Water sites in Kent, Hampshire, Sussex and the Isle of Wight. The Ground Investigation team used a variety of techniques such as Geobore S rotary drilling, cable percussion drilling, driven windowless sampler boreholes, trial pitting and concrete coring to recover ground samples. These were then submitted to SOCOTEC’s in-house laboratories for environmental and geotechnical analysis.

Working via Early Contractor Involvement as a key supplier, SOCOTEC provided CMDP with crucial information on a range of ground conditions in order to meet particular project requirements. This included determining foundation requirements for new assets, deciding whether specific protection was required to install ferrous pipelines and ensuring that Waste Acceptance Criteria (WAC) of surplus excavated material was responsibly removed from the site and transferred to the appropriate licensed facility.

“We are proud to have established a close working relationship with CMDP by assisting with the management of ground risk over the last five years,” said Clare Chapman, operations director, Ground Investigation, SOCOTEC UK. “The collaboration across the AMP6 framework recently hit a £1M value of work, with zero health and safety-related incidents being reported across all 70 sites, all contributing to SOCOTEC’s status as a market leader in site investigation and health and safety compliance.”

“Over the last five years, SOCOTEC’s Ground Investigation team has always been on hand to provide professional geotechnical support to the various projects CMDP have completed, as well as supporting other elements to de-risk our projects into delivery, such as asbestos surveys”, commented Brian Penny, Construction & Delivery Lead, CMDP. “Discussions are now ongoing as to how we can increase our collaborative efforts with SOCOTEC moving forward, and we look forward to maintaining a strong working rapport with the organisation in the future.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post SOCOTEC delivers AMP6 project for Southern Water appeared first on UK Construction Online.

BRE launch Home of 2030

Home of 2030 is a government-sponsored competition which is currently inviting housing providers, designers and others within these areas to submit proposals for the design and delivery of new homes, by responding to two Grand Challenges which will affect future housing needs:

• An ageing society; and
• Clean growth.

The competition is to be run by a consortium which will be led by BRE, alongside partners Design Council and MOBILE.

The Home of 2030 is a cross-departmental initiative between the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), and, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The industry is being asked to propose practical as well as scalable ideas for housing that are sustainable for all ages and are environmentally sustainable over their entire lifespan.

Head of Building Performance Group at BRE, Alan Somerville said: “Making news homes desirable to all demographics is key to the Home of 2030 challenge. We nee to ensure that homes can positively impact people’s lives and communities and adapt to changing needs resulting from developments such as an ageing society. Home 2030 is an exciting opportunity to show how homes should be designed for the future.”

The designs will be assessed against a wide range of criteria, including:

• Scalability
• Sustainability
• Accessibility and;
• Durability

Affordability and heath integration will also be key factors, along with solutions that can be adapted to the needs of changing demographics. Through the competition’s dialogue with industry and consumers, successful consortia will be created to produce and showcase housing solutions for mainstream adaption.

The initial stage of Home of 2030 is an Innovation Challenge, which is now open to applicants. Those who enter the Innovation Challenge and meet the criteria, will be included in a directory of market-ready innovations. The directory will be provided to entrants of the two-phase Design and Delivery competition which began in January 2020.

The Home of 2030 competition is also pleased to announce that due to the high levels of interest in the competition, they will be extending the deadline for Phase I submissions. Entries now have up to Friday, March 27^th, 2020 to raise any questions they have, with the date for Phase I submissions to enter being Wednesday May 13^th, 2020 at 2pm.

The full timetable for the competition can be seen here. With any other information on Home of 2030 being found here.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post BRE launch Home of 2030 appeared first on UK Construction Online.

St Modwen Park Chippenham

St Modwen is continuing to strengthen its south west portfolio with the commencement of steelworks at its first speculative 106,000sq ft unit, St Modwen Park Chippenham.

This unit will form part of the first phase of the development in the 73-acre site which involves comprehensive site wide preparation, including new roundabout access. The scheme looks to be ready by September 2020.

When the site is complete, the scheme is expected to create about 1,300 jobs along with skills, training and apprenticeship opportunities via a partnership, which has been planned, with Wiltshire College during construction.

In the longer term, St Modwen Park Chippenham looks to generate significant forward investment for the local area. The site will be located off J17 of the M4, in the heart of the South West logistics triangle, which serves the M4 corridor and between Bristol and Swindon. Work is now underway on the scheme, with build-to-suit opportunities available immediately ranging from 100,000sq ft to 1,000,000sq ft.

Peter Davies, Development Director at St Modwen Industrial and Logistics said: “The first phase of development at St Modwen Park Chippenham is an exciting start to his key strategically located logistics employment site, which already has a significant amount of interest due to its excellent location and high-quality speculative build programme.”

Neil Bannerman, Project Manager at Winvic Construction Ltd added: “We are proud to be delivering this high-quality unit as part of a phase one in Chippenham, one of a number of schemes Winvic is currently constructing as St Modwen’s partner. We hope to continue to work with St Modwen across their UK portfolio and exceeding expectations along the way.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post St Modwen Park Chippenham appeared first on UK Construction Online.

CCG begins North Lanarkshire Council housing

CCG (Scotland) has begun work on a new £10.6M affordable housing development as part of North Lanarkshire Council’s strategic partnership.

The beginning of works were marked in a sod-cutting ceremony earlier this month in Wishaw. In attendance at the ceremony were Councillor Heather Brannan-McVey, who is Convener of Housing and Regeneration, also in attendance were CCG Director, Calum Murray and the Dimsdale Road site Manager, Logan Boyle.

Councillor Brannan-McVey said: “Today (Friday March 13^th, 2020) marks the first of a number of exciting events planned by our new build team signaling the real progress we’re making in providing fantastic new homes for our residents.

“Our new build homes are built to the highest standards with energy efficiency measures to help save on running costs for tenants and they all meet Housing for Varying Needs, which means homes are more accessible to adapt to tenants’ mobility needs. They are built for the future and will last for generations to come. We’ve just received confirmation that two of our new build developments have been shortlisted as finalist for the Scottish Homes Awards – testament to the first-class new builds we’re delivering.

“I look forward to watching the progress on this site and to visiting the tenants making our new builds their homes.”

The new development on Dimsdale Road, Wishaw, will feature 61 two-, three- and four-bedroom homes, two houses, and two bungalows which will be fully adapted for wheelchair users. Building works are due for completion in Spring 2021.

CCG Director, Calum Murray added: “Dimsdale Road represents the second development to get underway as part for CCG and North Lanarkshire Council’s strategic partnership that will see not only the creation of high-quality, energy efficient, affordable homes, but also a wide range of community benefits including jobs, apprenticeships and locally-based investment. We thank North Lanarkshire Council for their ongoing support as we move towards the completion of Dimsdale Road in early-2021.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post CCG begins North Lanarkshire Council housing appeared first on UK Construction Online.

‘Temporary buildings’ could offer a solution to the UK housing crisis

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of modular buildings. Often referred to as ‘temporary buildings’, these structures are prefabricated offsite to a set of measurements and can be disassembled and reused or recycled afterwards. They are widely used at sporting events, in industry and anywhere else where buildings need to be erected quickly and for limited amounts of time. Modular buildings are now so advanced that they often do not even look like temporary structures.

And in fact, they need not be temporary buildings, and often are not. Increasingly, people are turning to modular buildings as a long term solution, including for housing.

In September 2019 the BBC reported that 3.6M people in the UK are living in an overcrowded home, 1.4M are in poor quality homes, and 400,000 are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

As flexible, green and cost effective buildings that are quick to assemble, modular buildings could offer one solution to tackling the UK housing crisis.

The benefits of modular buildings as housing

Traditional brick and mortar houses take years to design, plan, and build. In the meantime, there are still thousands of people waiting for homes. With modular, prefabricated buildings, councils can quickly react to increased demand for housing, offering people safe, clean and warm places to stay, both on a temporary and a longer term basis.

As modular buildings are produced in parts in a factory and assembled on site, how they are used is extremely flexible. Extra units can be added onto existing structures as individual families or whole communities grow. Likewise, if need for housing drops in one area and rises in another, structures can be disassembled and set up elsewhere.

Modular buildings are a lot cheaper to produce, due to the materials used, the efficiency of the process and the reduced amount of labour required. With council budgets always tight and a shortage of cheap housing, affordability is key for both councils and tenants when creating new homes.

Councils are coming under increasing pressure to meet goals for sustainability, and modular buildings could go some way to helping achieve them. Because they are manufactured using CNC machinery, materials are cut very precisely, leading to fewer mistakes and wasted materials. Any offcuts can be recycled in-house too. Offsite construction of building components also means lower emissions as there are fewer vehicles travelling to and from site.

Examples of modular housing solutions

Around the world, people are already starting to turn to modular buildings to create low cost housing.

Nest Living Homes is a concept created by Brooks and Scarpa architects in Los Angeles, a city which has a big problem with homelessness. They describe Nest as a ‘toolkit’ for creating a variety of different housing solutions, rather than one fixed building prototype. It was created as a direct response to Los Angeles’ housing crisis and offers buildings that are made of stackable, prefabricated units that can be configured differently depending on the area and local requirements.

For example, Nest can be used to create homeless shelters, single room occupancy buildings or more traditional apartment buildings, depending on local demand. Whatever in which it is used, the main aim of the project is to provide low-cost shelter and homes, and ultimately dignity, for homeless people.

The Homes for Hope project, which is also based in Los Angeles, is the brainchild of MADWORKSHOP and the USC School of Architecture. Again, this project is made up of modular prefabricated units, and is designed to provide temporary accommodation for around three to six weeks as transition homes for people living on the streets, before they move into permanent accommodation.

The units are made offsite and forklifted onto sites, which are typically small plots of unused land. The units can be stacked or arranged side by side, and each development will include offices for community support services.

Closer to home, it may come as no surprise that one of the leaders in prefabricated housing is the king of flat-pack, IKEA. Together with UK contractor Skanska, they own BoKlok, which builds ‘flat-pack’ modular homes to offer low-cost, environmentally-friendly places to live. With the cost of the building based on an average salary and living costs, they aim to offer comfortable homes with affordable rents and mortgages.

BoKlok have already built 11,000 homes across Scandinavia and have now purchased three initial development sites in the UK, in Worthing, Bristol, and Peacehaven. If planning permission is achieved, these developments will provide 400 new homes.

If projects such as this are successful, there could be a real growth in the number of similar projects offering affordable, modular housing in the UK. Not only would this be good news for people on precarious living conditions, but a rise in this type of modular building would also be a great step towards a more eco-friendly and sustainable way of building and creating homes.

Article submitted by Andy Morley, from the temporary building and warehouse manufacturer HTS Industrial.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post ‘Temporary buildings’ could offer a solution to the UK housing crisis appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Contract awarded for Motherwell Station redevelopment

Work on the redevelopment of Motherwell Station is due to go ahead this summer after the contract for the project was awarded to Balfour Beatty.

ScotRail, North Lanarkshire Council, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), and Transport Scotland have teamed up to create a gateway to the Glasgow City Region at Motherwell station.

Work on the £14.5M new regional transport integration hub will see the station undergo redevelopment work, as well as an overhaul of the public realm outside the station building, improving links between bus and train services as well as reducing congestion.

The project will be delivered in two phases, with work on the station redevelopment due to start by Summer 2020, and the transport integration works following in 2021.

Kirsty Devlin, ScotRail Head of Projects, said: “Motherwell is ready for a railway station that matches the dynamic and forward-looking development of the town. Our close collaboration with North Lanarkshire Council, SPT, and Transport Scotland will deliver the best possible improvements to facilities and integrated transport options at Motherwell station.

“The improved integration of transport services and infrastructure will transform the relationship between the station and the town centre. It will open up a wealth of possibilities for Motherwell, creating more options and better connections for our customers; for business and leisure travel, and encourage more people to travel in a low-carbon way. It will create a gateway to Glasgow and beyond.”

Councillor Paul Kelly, Depute Leader of North Lanarkshire Council, said: “This project sees a significant investment in Motherwell town centre to create a modern rail station with improved facilities for passengers, linking to a high-quality bus, train and cycle transport interchange.

“It will provide increased access for local people to jobs, education and training opportunities in Lanarkshire and the rest of central Scotland.

“The new facilities will also link to the council’s other Glasgow City Region City Deal projects which will deliver new roads connecting Cumbernauld, Airdrie, Ravenscraig and the M74, bringing new business and jobs to the area, opening up links with the rest of the Scotland and the UK and giving a major boost to the local economy.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Contract awarded for Motherwell Station redevelopment appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Highgate inpatient facility to be built by BAM Construction Ltd

The London boroughs of Camden and Islington are set to benefit from the recent appointment of the contractor company BAM Construction Ltd to a project that will deliver a new mental health inpatient facility to the area of Highgate.

Going into more detail, the construction of the Highgate inpatient facility has been commissioned by the Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust and is set to commence later this year following the granting of planning approval by the local authorities.

Furthermore, the new inpatient building will replace the current mental health wards at St Pancras Hospital and will likewise feature a new, purpose-built facility, with five wards, a gym, dedicated activity spaces, and a community café.

The Trust Chief Executive, Angela McNab stated: “This appointment marks another exciting milestone in our plans to deliver a brand new inpatient mental health facility for people in Camden and Islington.”

The Trust’s St Pancras Transformation Programme Director, Malcolm McFrederick, commented:  “Our aim is to develop a modern, therapeutic facility that supports wellbeing, recovery and enables staff to provide the best possible care. We are delighted that a contractor has now been appointed to turn year-long co-production discussions, into a reality.”

The Trust Project Director, Akin Durowoju added: “In appointing a contractor we considered not only their experience in mental health facility design and construction, but also how key responsibilities, such as those to the environment and local communities, are met.  We are confident that BAM Construction will deliver on all of those things.”

The Construction Director for BAM, Rod Stiles concluded: “Our experience combined with a highly modern and sophisticated approach is what the healthcare sector demands because of the range of sensitive environments patients and medical professionals experience.

“Our main concern is working closely with the Trust, understanding their needs clearly and thoroughly, and seeking ways to use the opportunity that building these new facilities brings to benefit others.

“We are eager to develop the strong relationship we have started to forge with the Trust and its partners so that many good things can develop from it, for the Trust, for its patients, and for the people who live and work in the area.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Highgate inpatient facility to be built by BAM Construction Ltd appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Building diversity in Construction

Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann, OBE, Chief Executive, WorldSkills UK, writes about the huge recruitment challenge facing the construction industry ands how improving diversity could be the answer.

The construction industry is faced with a huge challenge in tackling skills shortages and a huge opportunity to fix it: diversity and inclusion. Women make up only 14% of the workforce, while just 5.4% of workers are from BAME communities. If the construction industry is to successfully tackle the skills shortage that is threatening to cripple it, the sector needs to demonstrate to young people, from all backgrounds, that a career in construction is right for them.

At WorldSkills UK we work to inspire millions of young people to consider apprenticeships and technical careers as a prestige route to career and life success. We achieve this through skills competitions, live and digital careers advice and peer-to-peer role modelling. We pride ourselves on being as inclusive as possible in our work but the demographics from young people entering our competitions, particularly in construction, showed that we are not hitting the right mark.

That’s why we commissioned The Social Innovation Partnership (TSIP) to look at our programme model to better understand the challenges and opportunities for inclusion. Evidence shows that our competition activity is beneficial to all, with 97% of competitors in our UK national competition finals from last year stating that they felt inspired for their future after competing, while 95% said their personal and employability skills had improved. This is why we want to ensure our work is reaching all young people and their employers, so more get the opportunity to benefit from our work to improve skill standards.

In particular, I was interested in how the findings could be used to shape our work with CITB, who we partner with to run our construction competitions, known as SkillBuild, and our wider partners to engage more young people in construction and make our competitions more inclusive.

The research identified that BAME young people only make up 10% of apprentices in construction, IT and engineering, which was having a knock-on effect on those young people who were registering for our competitions. It is suggested that the low take up of apprenticeships amongst women and BAME in construction is the result of existing stereotypes and pre-conceptions. I know WorldSkills UK has an important role to play in working with partners in the construction sector to help tackle these and change the outdated views on careers in construction. And to my mind, this starts with making apprenticeships and technical education more prestigious in general.

That’s why we recently launched the WorldSkills UK Centre of Excellence, in partnership with NCFE, to allow us to drive up quality of training and hence prestige. This new centre will allow us to transfer our knowledge of training young people to meet global industry standards and transfer that know-how to training professionals in networks of colleges and training providers. By using our unique insight gained from participating in the international WorldSkills Competition, known as the ‘skills Olympics’, we are seeking to create a new cadre of world-class technical education teachers, including in construction, to improve the quality of teaching, training and assessment. I believe this will therefore help boost the prestige of apprenticeship and technical careers and encourage more young people, from all backgrounds, to consider careers in construction.

Alongside this development, we want to emphasise the importance of role modelling in helping young people realise their full potential. At WorldSkills UK LIVE, our major annual skills and careers showcase, last year, 33% of young people arrived hoping to learn about apprenticeships. And, after watching their peers in the national skills competitions finals and speaking with the UK’s leading employers, including BAM Nuttall, HS2 and Balfour Beatty, 68% left planning to investigate apprenticeships as a career option.

The inspirational apprentices and learners taking part in our competitions at WorldSkills UK LIVE which helped convince visitors that apprenticeships can deliver rewarding careers, are now in training with us for WorldSkills Shanghai 2021. While I am proud that we have better representation of young women in painting, tiling and building information modelling, it is my ambition that by WorldSkills 2025, we will have diverse representation from young people across all skills, including construction.

To help us make this a reality, we need construction companies to enter the WorldSkills UK Competitions, which are open until 2 April.  By making a commitment to enter more female apprentices, more young people from disadvantaged areas, who are BAME and identify as LGBT, we can celebrate these fantastic role models and use their inspirational stories to attract more young people to careers in construction.

Opening young people’s minds to all career possibilities, will help create a pipeline for a more diverse, inclusive and productive workforce of the future which is integral to the success of the construction sector and the economy.

To enter WorldSkills UK Competitions visit www.worldskillsuk.org

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

 

The post Building diversity in Construction appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Adjudication & Stays of Execution

Adjudication is designed to be a quicker and cheaper alternative to pursuing the same dispute through the courts. Most construction contracts will contain a right to take a dispute to adjudication because of the statutory entitlement imposed by the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 (HGCRA 1996). A decision is usually given within 28 days of a party referring the dispute to an adjudicator and any such decision is supposed to be binding on the parties until it is overturned or declared as unenforceable.

This article looks at what happens after an adjudication decision has been reached and the successful party seeks to enforce that decision where the losing party is ordered to pay, but refuses to do so.

We won, but they won’t pay, so what now?

On most occasions, a party who is unsuccessful in adjudication pays up and everyone moves on. However, there are circumstances where the losing party simply does not accept the adjudicator’s decision, refuses to pay, and decides to challenge it. Unfortunately, an adjudication award lacks the bite of a court judgment handed down by the courts, which is perhaps one of the prices to pay for getting a matter resolved so quickly. This means that a successful party cannot just enforce it like you would a court judgment, for example, by seeking a charging order, an order for sale of an asset, or sending in a bailiff to take control of the losing party’s assets. If you need to enforce it, you therefore have to turn the adjudication decision into a court judgment. You can do this by making an application to enforce the adjudication decision in the courts (through the specialist Technology and Construction Court (the TCC).

A particular procedure has been adopted by the TCC that is designed to expedite the enforcement process. The successful party applies for a summary judgement by showing that the losing party has no reasonable prospect of overturning the adjudication decision at trial and that there is no other reason why the dispute should be heard in a full trial. It has been previously stated by the courts (in AMEC v Thames Water) that because adjudication is designed to be a quick and inexpensive resolution procedure, it would be contrary to public policy if adjudicators’ decisions were not enforced by way of summary judgment. If successful, the party then has a judgment that can be enforced in the same way as a court judgment.

In most cases, for the losing party to try and overturn an adjudication decision, there usually must be a problem with how the adjudicator exercised the powers given to him under the contract in deciding the dispute (an issue with his jurisdiction), or that the decision fell foul of the rules of natural justice in some way.

What is a stay of execution?

Sometimes, even if summary judgment is obtained, the unsuccessful party might still ask the court to grant what is called a ‘stay of execution’. This suspends the obligation for the losing party to pay what they have been ordered to by the adjudicator and prevents the winning party from enforcing their judgment until the stay is lifted, or the dispute has been finally determined by the court.

The usual grounds for the court awarding a stay of execution are:

1. the probable inability of the successful party to repay the judgment sum if the adjudication decision was then overturned when the dispute is finally resolved; or
2. fraud or a risk of dissipation of the judgment sum that leads the court to believe that the paying party would be unlikely to recover its money if the decision was overturned; or
3. if the paying party would suffer severe financial hardship by paying the sums due; or
4. there will be an imminent resolution of related court proceedings.

The impact of insolvency

If the successful party is insolvent or in an insolvency process (eg. in liquidation, administration, subject to a winding up petition or in a company voluntary arrangement) upon issuing enforcement proceedings, then it will usually be determined as unable to repay any judgment sum awarded and the adjudication decision will not be enforced.

The court will not grant a stay of execution automatically in any circumstances. It is at the discretion of the court in every case. The above are just the factors the court will consider when deciding whether one should be ordered.

How can I resist an application for a stay of execution?

You may well be thinking “what if the reason I am in financial difficulty is due to the non-payment by the party that I went after in the adjudication?”

This question has been addressed by the courts and offers hope to those who have been left in financial hardship themselves by those who have refused to pay-up previously. If the evidence shows that the successful party’s financial position is due to the other party’s failure to pay-up in the adjudication, the court may not grant a stay. This means that where the other party has caused the financial problems, they cannot just decide not to pay and use this as a basis to apply for a stay of execution. In other words, they have to pay now and argue later, should they decide to issue a claim regarding the enforceability of the adjudication decision.

Conclusion

The purpose of this article is not to persuade anyone against taking their dispute to adjudication. In the majority of cases, the losing party will simply pay up and much of what has been discussed here will not need to be considered. However, it is useful to understand the potential obstacles that may arise should the losing party decide not to pay.

Article submitted by Mark James, partner in the Real Estate group at Coffin Mew.

 

 

 

The post Adjudication & Stays of Execution appeared first on UK Construction Online.

BAM appointed to Globe Point development in Leeds

The property development company CEG has recently appointed the contractor company BAM Construction to their Globe Point development in Leeds City Centre as part of a £350M contract.

Going into more detail, the construction of the new Globe Point development will entail the delivery of 37,810sq ft of space over seven floors and will incorporate office space with ground floor break out space, retail units, and leisure space, with construction scheduled to commence at the start of this month and continue until 2021.

The Development Director of CEG, Nick Lee stated: “We have taken a different approach to the design of our first development at Temple, with occupiers front of mind. We are harnessing everything we have learnt about what our customers need for their business to thrive and will deliver it in a contemporary, flexible and unique way.”

The BAM Regional Director for the North East, John Phillips commented: “BAM is the ideal fit for CEG’s ingenious vision for Leeds. Being not only an historic company here, but also highly modern in our methods and collaborative in our approach, really matches the qualities of the building and its wider context.

“We have built many of the most recognisable buildings in the city, but you are only as good as the next one you build; and as ever, it is the quality of your relationships that drives the quality of your work. There is genuine excitement at BAM about being a part of this tremendous and far-sighted development that really connects to the soul of the city.”

The Director of the property agency Fox Lloyd Jones, Paul Fox added: “There is an acute supply gap of new and refurbished Grade A office buildings in Leeds. We are also seeing rising demand, particularly following Channel 4’s announcement that the city would be its new headquarters.

“Of the Grade A stock currently available, which typically accounts for 60 per cent of total take up, headquarter-style properties under 50,000sq ft are limited to just a handful of options. This undersupply, combined with Temple’s unrivalled location, just minutes’ walk from Leeds City Station and the commitment to build speculatively, is very exciting, and we are engaging with pre-let interest.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post BAM appointed to Globe Point development in Leeds appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Crumb technology boosts sustainability

Society’s expectations of roads and the materials used to create them are changing. Roads are increasingly seen as a service and users have high expectations in terms of smoothness, safety and sustainability. With respect to improving the sustainability of asphalt roads, it is worth noting that asphalt is already 100% reusable and we are well on our way to achieving the goal of a truly circular economy in the sector, writes Dr Erik Denneman, Technical Manager for Middle East and Asia Pacific, at Puma Bitumen.

When the time comes to replace an asphalt pavement, the material is milled out, and after the addition of some virgin bitumen, or rejuvenator, can be fully reused in new asphalt. In addition, the asphalt industry has a track-record spanning decades in recycling waste streams from other industries. Examples include fly ash, steel slag, post-consumer glass, and more recently, plastics. Crumb rubber, for instance, made from waste tyres is used on as large a scale as an elastomeric modifier for bitumen.

Each year billions of tyres reach their end-of-life across the globe, many of which end up in landfill or are burned as fuel for heavy industry. In contrast to this wasteful destruction of a valuable resource, crumbing tyres and adding the rubber to bitumen is a very beneficial application of this material. What’s more, it is also part of the potential solution for the large stockpiles of tyres building up around the world that represent a significant a fire hazard, which once alight are notoriously hard to extinguish.

Rubber and carbon black make up about 70% of the weight of a tyre and when added to bitumen, the rubber improves the elastic performance of the binder, while the carbon black acts as an antioxidant, increasing the durability. To add this tyre rubber to bitumen, the tyres are processed to crumbs with a maximum size of about 2 mm. The usual process involves mechanically shredding the tyres at ambient temperature, removing fibres and metal, and grinding the rubber down to the desired crumb size. There are various approaches of adding the rubber to bitumen. The rubber can be added directly to the pug mill at an asphalt plant, where it will react with the bitumen during asphalt mixing. Alternatively, the rubber can be preblended with bitumen in a blending unit at the site of the asphalt plant, reacted for a longer period and then introduced as a well reacted modified binder to the mixer. A third way to add rubber to bitumen is blending it in at a bitumen terminal, reacting for a desired period after which it can be transported to the asphalt plant and used there as a premade asphalt binder. Each of these approaches of crumb rubber addition to bitumen results in a modified binder with unique properties. Other determining factors for the resulting material properties include reaction time, temperature, rubber content and crumb size.

As a rule, crumb rubber modified bitumen offers improved durability, better elasticity and resistance against cracking reflecting through from deeper pavement layers. The benefits of crumb rubber for asphalt and sprayed seals are well understood and documented, and crumb rubber modified bitumen is widely used in countries like the US, Australia and South Africa.

Given the advantages of crumb rubber binder technology both in terms of its quality and sustainability gains, it is no surprise that there is a renewed interest in crumb rubber modified bitumen in European countries. As always, when introducing recycled materials to asphalt, it is critical that we do so for the right reasons and without negatively affecting the lifecycle of the product. As an industry, it is essential that we guard against the introduction of materials that adversely affect occupational health and safety (eg: through emissions), our ability to use the material repeatedly, or the technical performance of the asphalt. Incorporating waste in asphalt makes for good media stories, but if it decreases the performance of the material, it is unlikely to be truly sustainable.

When it comes to crumb rubber, much work has been done to address concerns with regard to asphalt performance and repeated reuse. There have also been extensive studies into adverse health effects related to the use of tyre derived rubber in bitumen for road construction. The majority of these studies did not find significant differences in the emissions from crumb rubber modified binders compared to controls with conventional binder. Rubber does have a distinct odour, which becomes more noticeable at high asphalt manufacturing and laying temperatures. To prevent concerns around emissions and odour, the production of crumb rubber modified asphalt as a warm mix is on the rise. For every twelve degrees reduction in asphalt production temperature, fuming and emissions are cut by half. Some jurisdictions now mandate the use of warm mix technology with crumb rubber asphalt, by regulating maximum production temperatures.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Crumb technology boosts sustainability appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Whitby Hospital receives upgrade

Whitby Hospital in North Yorkshire is set to undergo an upgrading process as part of a £13M scheme this month, entailing the modernisation and remodelling of the ‘tower block’ structure on the Springhill hospital site.

Going into more detail, the NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has worked in close partnership with the NHS Hambleton, Richmondshire, and Whitby Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to appoint the contractor company BAM Construction the Whitby Hospital project, which is expected to begin shortly and continue until the summer of 2021.

The Principal Construction Manager at NHSPS, Peter Todd stated “Our strategic teams have worked tirelessly to move us into the exciting delivery phase of the project. The completed facility will be a fantastic resource for the local people of Whitby and secure local service delivery for years to come.

“This will not be the first or the last. Whitby’s modernisation sits within a significant NHS investment programme of healthcare redevelopment works across England. NHSPS is delighted to be supporting investment specifically in primary and community estate infrastructure with a multi-million pound programme over the next five years.”

The BAM Project Manager, Gerry McFarlane commented: “It is very good news that we can start work in earnest in this historic part of England. With more than 400 hospital and health schemes to our credit BAM has always been prominent in the health sector, but what we know is that every scheme is different, and there is nothing more complex to build than a hospital.

“These are special buildings and we will draw on all our skills and experience to create exactly what the NHS, its people and patients want and need for the future.”

The Chief Executive of Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust, Michele Moran added: “We are proud to be the lead tenant for this new chapter for Whitby Hospital. We are delighted to reach this important milestone for the project and look forward to providing services from a modern, fit-for-purpose building that will meet the needs of the local community.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Whitby Hospital receives upgrade appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Bold vision for water resources

The Environment Agency has published its National Framework for Water Resources. The policy aims to help reduce demand, halve leakage rates, develop new supplies, move water to where it’s needed and reduce the need for drought measures that can harm the environment.

The latest predictions estimate that if further action is not taken, between 2025 and 2050 we’ll need more than 3.4 billion additional litres of water per day to meet future demand for public water supply. The National Framework for Water Resources brings together industry, regulators and government to transform the way we use and look after our water supplies.

The framework introduces an ambitious aim for water companies to help consumers cut wastage and to use water more wisely in order to reduce our average water use from 143 to 110 litres per day. Five regional groups across the country will work up plans tailored to the specific needs of their individual area, bringing together the 17 English water companies, industry regulators, government and other water users. The framework will guide these groups and deliver a national blueprint for future water resources planning from 2025 to 2050 and beyond.

The framework also sets out the challenges that water-intensive industries such as agriculture and power generation are likely to face across different parts of the country as a result of climate change, and how we can overcome them.

Commenting on the framework, National Infrastructure Commissioner Dame Kate Barker said: “With demand for water growing and the stability of supply under challenge from climate change, we need a coherent long term plan that ensures England’s water system is resilient to drought while continuing to provide a reliable supply to families and businesses.

“We welcome this framework’s bold vision, in line with the conclusions in our National Infrastructure Assessment. It is clear about the need to protect our natural environment and promotes collaboration between water companies, regulators, government and major users to reduce demand, increase supply and better share scarce water resources.”

In its 2018 National Infrastructure Assessment, the Commission made a series of recommendations to boost the resilience of the water supply in England to the impacts of climate change, including drought. These included halving leakage by in the water network by 2050, additional supply infrastructure by the 2030s and a national water transfer network to ensure an extra 4,000 Ml/day of supply by 2050 and reduce the need for reliance on emergency drought measures.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

 

The post Bold vision for water resources appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Laying the foundations for the future of housing

Housing charity Shelter has estimated that the UK will need three million new social homes over the next 20 years to address and solve the nation’s considerable housing shortage, writes Kenny Ingram, Global Industry Director at IFS. Young people and families are being priced out of the housing market, heavy regulations complicate planning applications, and the number of rough sleepers in London rose to a new high in Q4 2018, up 25% over 12 months.

There are, however, a number of other challenges which currently dog innovation in the construction sector and housing development. First, the industry is heavily reliant on migrant labour; non-UK nationals accounted for 40% of the buildings workforce in London, for example. With Brexit on the horizon, the UK could well experience a talent drain, with labourers choosing countries with more attractive (and guaranteed) career opportunities. Construction companies are already struggling to recruit skilled labourers; a situation which could easily worsen.

Second, the sector has been slow to adopt new technologies and approaches. According to one estimate, almost two thirds of those working in the sector believe it is behind others when it comes to adopting digital technology. Slow adoption of new software, innovative materials and digital-first techniques means many companies are still reliant on spreadsheets and manual, outdated methods of data gathering. As a result, they lack visibility into their operations which creates a major stumbling block to managing and monitoring projects, their workforce and their finances. Indeed, the collapse of Carillion last year can in some part be attributed to the fact that the company simply couldn’t see the severity of the situation it had gotten itself into, until it was too late. And it’s not the only one; in the wake of Carillion’s liquidation, the UK saw a reported 20% spike in the number of UK building firms becoming insolvent.

Finally (and linking the above two), a hesitancy to adopt (or lack of knowledge of) new technologies may also have an impact on the make-up of the workforce, compounding the current skills shortage. Why would the digital-first generation of school leavers want to work in an industry whose outlook and IT infrastructure are dated, when they can choose other industries which have embraced digital disruption and invested in R&D and cutting-edge tech?

Building a case for digitalisation

But it’s not all doom and gloom. Despite the slow adoption of new technologies and processes, there is at least a real recognition that doing so is crucial to firms’ success: almost three quarters of construction companies believe that those which do not implement digital ways of working will go out of business. Change is taking place in the industry through the arrival of new players – as well as old faces keen to compete. These names include Amazon, which in 2018 invested in California-based modular house building firm Plant Prefab; and  BoKlok (jointly owned by IKEA and construction firm Skanska), which has signed a deal with Worthing Council to deliver affordable factory-built homes.

Rather than being indicators of a growing and diversifying sector however, the arrival of companies such as Amazon will strike fear into many of the traditional operators in the construction industry. Where Amazon leads, others follow – and the same applies here, as the company’s move reflects an emerging trend: modular construction.

This is a 21^st century re-imagining of the post-war boom in prefab homes which saw over 150,000 houses spring up between 1946-47. In the 1940’s they provided a solution to rapidly house those who’d lost their homes during the war, and today, modular construction could be the answer to a very similar housing shortage in the UK. The difference ends there though, as new approaches are facilitating the production of cost-efficient, high-quality homes, using the latest technologies and minimising waste material. Building homes in factories also requires less labour and is a far more efficient process, with work unaffected by adverse weather and the logistics problems that impact on-site builds. Finally, project timescales are dramatically reduced and both the delivery of the projects and the resulting constructions are more eco-friendly and safer than traditional builds.

Post-war pre-fab to high-tech fabulous

Change may be gradual – but it is happening. Berkeley Group, for instance, has established Berkeley Modular and has a purpose-built manufacturing facility in Kent; Swan Housing Association/NU BUILD opened an offsite modular factory in Basildon in 2017 and have been delivering high-spec homes since; with while companies like nHouse and Go Modular are creating environmentally-friendly homes in a fraction of the time of traditional builds.

Modular house-building may help tackle the UK’s housing shortage, but the new approaches involved are not without their challenges. Approaches include using virtual reality and 4D planning in the design stage; procurement and manufacturing involving 3D printing; delivering building information modelling (BIM) data on projects; and the use of robotics and drones.

What all these examples have in common – and what is still lacking in much of the sector – is their use of and reliance on, enterprise-wide technology. Modular house-building also demands standardisation of processes and components in a controlled factory environment. This cannot be achieved with the traditional approaches and tools many construction firms still rely on today. Instead, a single centralised software platform is required to provide proper governance and management of projects, and to ensure complete visibility into all components and operations in real time.

An enterprising approach

This will sound daunting to many firms. But the approaches listed above don’t all have to be adopted at once. Introducing enterprise resource planning (ERP) technology that’s suited to the needs of the business and industry will help reduce timeline and budget failures, eliminate non-value-added work, compress timelines and let contractors deliver more value to asset owners with fewer resources.

Whether it’s modular homes or more traditional builds, having an insight into the complete lifecycle of a project is key – and it’s only by investing in new software and technologies that you’ll get that ‘single source of truth.’ And whichever party leader gets the keys to number 10, I hope to see a commitment to delivering affordable housing coupled with investment in new technologies and approaches – in both the public and private sectors.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Laying the foundations for the future of housing appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Upgrades planned for the A19 Norton to Wynyard in the North East

The contractor company Balfour Beatty has recently announced that Highways England have appointed them to a £63M contract to deliver improvements to a section of the A19 dual carriageway between Norton and Wynyard in the North East of England.

Going into more detail, the A19 Norton to Wynyard upgrade scheme has been organised and funded through the British Government’s Road Investment Strategy and will entail an increase in the number of lanes on each side of the dual carriageway from two to three, while also involving the use of noise-reducing concrete for the benefit of local residents.

Works are scheduled to commence in the Spring of 2020 and will continue for approximately two years until the Spring of 2022, with the construction process utilising local small-to-medium sized (SME) enterprises and creating a total of 18 paid and unpaid work experience positions, 15 full time contractor positions, and six apprenticeships for local people.

Specifically, SMEs in the local area will mostly be utilised for tasks such as drainage, fencing, and kerbing to support the construction of the new road lanes.

The Managing Director of Balfour Beatty’s Highways business, Phil Clifton stated: “This vital project is critical to the Government’s initiative for growth in the North East of England.

“We are delighted to be able to provide the road-user with a more sustainable road network which will ease congestion and improve journey times as well as working with the local community to give back to the areas in which we operate.”

The Highways England Project Manager, Keith Bradley added: “Drivers who use this busy route have had to put up with congestion, particularly during rush hour, while the road surface has caused a noise issue for people living nearby.

“Our improvements address the unreliable journey times and the noise, and allow us to support the Tees Valley economy, ahead of proposed employment and housing developments in the area.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Upgrades planned for the A19 Norton to Wynyard in the North East appeared first on UK Construction Online.

SEGRO Park Freight Terminal officially opens in East Midlands

An official opening ceremony recently took place to mark the completion of the SEGRO Park Freight Terminal in the East Midlands, with notable attendees including the likes of the Rail Minister Chris Heaton-Harris and high-ranking personnel from the SEGRO Group and the contractor company Winvic Construction Ltd.

Going into more detail, the construction of the SEGRO Park Freight terminal has involved the laying of seven kilometres of railway track to link to the Castle Donnington Freight Line, with the express purpose of this private freight line being to serve the 770-acre SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway.

The Winvic Project Manager, Mark Skelton stated: “This project is awesome in both senses of the word and it’s been a privilege to have worked on a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. The project statistics go some way in describing what goes into delivering a 700-acre vision but, in reality, it is a far-reaching team of expert and committed people who carefully craft successes like SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway.

“Winvic has elevated its status from leading shed-specialist to a creator of enormous schemes and much is owed to our robust partnerships with SEGRO, Maritime, other end-users and scores of agencies and community members. While this element of the project took three years, Winvic remain on site to continue construction of the fifth industrial unit and spur road; seeing huge trains coming in and out of the interchange is a welcome daily reminder that we really have achieved something momentous.”

The Chief Executive Officer of SEGRO, David Sleath added: “The new rail freight interchange is a fantastic addition to SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway and makes it a true multi-model ‘in-land’ port which facilitates the efficient and sustainable movement of goods around the country.

“We are keen to build on the success of East Midlands Gateway by continuing to grow our footprint in the Midlands. We have planning consent to create almost 15Msq ft of industrial or logistics space in the region in the coming years which will represent around £1Bn of further investment and bring significant long-term benefits for the economy, our customers and local communities.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post SEGRO Park Freight Terminal officially opens in East Midlands appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Paddington Square development well underway in London

Construction of the second phase of the Paddington Square development in London has recently been completed by a partnerships of the property development company Sellar and the contractor company Mace Construction Ltd, with the two companies themselves operating on behalf of Great Western Developments Ltd.

Going into more detail, the Paddington Square development is being constructed under a £350M and is currently being built in a stage-by-stage process, with the first phase entailing demolition and piling works while the recently concluded second phase involved the completion of preparatory works such as excavation.

As well as this, the construction of Paddington Square is reported both on time and on budget, which is expected when considering the fact that the developer company overseeing the process, Sellar, was responsible for the development of the infamous London Shard.

Once completed, Paddington Square will be a 360,000sq ft mixed-use development spread over a total of 18-storey, containing office spaces and retail units in addition to a new concourse for the London Underground Bakerloo Line.

The Construction Director at Sellar, Paul Flexney-Briscoe stated: “We have worked extremely closely with Mace over the past year to frame a plan that is immediately actionable, on time and on brief, and we are happy to confirm today that it is to be delivered on budget. This is an important moment for the development, one that keeps us on track towards a successful build and completion and marks the point that our vision for Paddington Square starts to become a tangible reality.”

The Mace Chief Executive for Construction, Gareth Lewis added: “The delivery of Paddington Square promises to create a new icon for the London skyline and create a new mixed-use neighbourhood in Paddington. The agreement of this contract is a major milestone that brings us closer to the completion of the scheme. Like the Shard before it, Mace is very proud to be working alongside Sellar to bring their ambitious vision for this new site to life.”

Completion of the development is scheduled for 2022.

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Paddington Square development well underway in London appeared first on UK Construction Online.

Housing Infrastructure Fund boost for Purfleet

A £75M boost has been given to the regeneration of Purfleet-on-Thames town centre via the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

Purfleet Centre Regeneration Ltd (PCRL) welcomed the Chancellor’s pledge to support the £1Bn regeneration project, which will help transform the Essex town into a world-class creative hub.

Measures addressing the housing crisis have been hampered by lack of infrastructure in prime development areas, the Housing Infrastructure Fund has been designed to address this. The funding for Purfleet will be used to provide vital infrastructure including replacing the level crossing with a bridge over the railway and a new health centre, river wall, drainage and other important utility infrastructure.

Bid proposals for the redevelopment were submitted in 2018 by Thurrock Council, who are working with development partner PCRL, a joint venture between Swan Housing Association and mixed-use regeneration and social infrastructure specialists Urban Catalyst. Together, the two organisations are creating a vibrant new riverside community in Purfleet-on-Thames.

Once completed, the £1Bn regeneration will deliver a new town centre complete with shops and restaurants. Up to 2,850 new homes will be provided as well, alongside an integrated medical centre, improved transport infrastructure and a new primary school.

Later phases will deliver a new university campus creating a world-class education facility with a focus on health and the creative arts.

The green light was given to the regeneration’s first phase in January, with preliminary works on the first phase, which include 61 new family homes, are anticipated to start on site this summer.

Sir Tim Laurence, chairman of PCRL, said: “The Chancellor’s pledge of £75M towards key elements of the regeneration of Purfleet-on-Thames, including a bridge over the railway, a new integrated medical centre and other social infrastructure, is a huge vote of confidence. It demonstrates that infrastructure investment is not just about the big flagship projects like HS2, it’s also about making a real difference to peoples’ lives here in the Thames Estuary and in other regions of the UK. This is a prime example of the Government, Local Authority and private sector working together at all levels to unlock the huge growth potential in this fast-developing area.”

If you would like to read more articles like this then please click here.

The post Housing Infrastructure Fund boost for Purfleet appeared first on UK Construction Online.