Willmott Dixon Appointed to £20m Facility

Willmott Dixon is pleased to announce that the company has been given the go-ahead to start work on a new £20 million facility for Humberside Police’s control centre and other specialist services.

The 107,000 square foot, three-storey operational support building will be constructed next to Humberside Police’s existing facility at Melton West Business Park, near Hull, and it will accommodate over 500 members of staff. As well as this, the building will contain a new control room, which will handle all telephone calls and public contact.

The new building will also house specialist units, such as major crime investigation, to free up space in other buildings to accommodate the uplift in police officer numbers, which have increased by about 500 since 2016.

The new development is a joint project between Humberside Police Force, Melton West landowners and developers Wykeland Group, supported by planning consultants DLP, and will be designed by Bond Bryan Architects. The design will include sustainable features such as energy efficient heating and lighting systems, plus use of environmentally friendly material and facilities to encourage staff to cycle to and from work.

The contract was procured via Major Works England and Northern Ireland, a part of the Scape National Construction framework. It is scheduled for completion and opening in 2022.

Police and Crime Commissioner Keith Hunter, who has responsibility for the force estate said: “I am delighted that planning permission has been granted for the new police building at Melton. At this moment of national crisis our thoughts and efforts are naturally on dealing with the tragedy affecting many families and coping with the stresses on our NHS and other public services.

“It is nevertheless hugely important to consider how we emerge from this and position our public services for the future, in what will inevitably be a challenging time as businesses try to rebuild and people who have lost jobs try to regain their former employment or seek new work. Being able to confirm this new building will now go ahead is therefore a great announcement for our area. It will create jobs and boost supply lines throughout the Humber region. This go-ahead is a statement that we will emerge, and Humberside Police will continue to drive forward its ambition to be an outstanding police force. We must invest for the future.”

Anthony Dillon, Managing Director of Willmott Dixon in the north said: “It’s critical that those who work around the clock to keep us all safe have the right facilities and a suitable working environment for 21st century policing. These new modern facilities for Humberside Police are designed to create a state-of-the-art environment, giving control room teams and officers in specialist units the very best support they need to serve the people of Humberside.

“We’re proud to be working in partnership once again with Humberside Police to support the modernisation of its estate, having also delivered the Birchin Way custody facility in Grimsby, the first to be delivered using our CODE pre-designed concept, which we believe is the next generation for custodial facilities.”

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New Home Demand Rockets Post Lockdown

Interest in buying a new build home has increased since lockdown restrictions have been lifted. After spending months in their house, more and more people are re-evaluating their circumstances and are considering moving.

High quality, environmentally friendly, modern new build homes are being seen as a viable option of many. A new survey, which was released today by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) shows:

• 55% of people polled stated that they now value their home space more than ever
• 2 in 5 (40%) people say that they would now prioritise space for a home office if they were searching for a new home
• 1 in 5 (18%) people want to change the style of their home, with 1 in 6 (16%) stating whilst being in lockdown their interest in updating their home has increased
• Almost a quarter of people (22%) aged 25-34 revealed that whilst being in lockdown their interest in interior design has increased, compared to just one in eight (12%) of those aged 45-54

As a result of this newfound desire to change, housebuilders throughout the UK are reporting a massive increase in the amount of new home enquiries and reservations since the sales process started last month.

New figures from property website, Zoopla, show:

• Buyer demand for new build homes resurged 66% in the six weeks that followed the property market reopening, and is now in line with demand levels recorded in February
• Demand has recovered nationwide, with the North East recording a 139% rebound, the West Midlands 121%, and East Midlands 108%
• First-time buyer demand is now outpacing pre-lockdown levels, with an 87% revival after an initial fall of 68% in the first two weeks of lockdown.

Stewart Baseley, Executive Chairman at the HBF said: “Lockdown has been an extremely testing time, during which people have spent much more time than usual in their homes. This has led to a re-evaluation in how people see their homes and what they want from them. As a result, high quality, environmentally friendly new build homes specifically designed for modern living are increasingly in demand. With homes available to suit all needs, budgets, and ages there are options to suit everybody’s fresh new start. New Homes Week Unlocked will give those who have developed itchy feet an opportunity to update their space according to their new priorities.”

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Big Business Drive EV Infrastructure Demand

Demand for electric vehicles, and the infrastructure to support them has been quiet in recent times, which can often be the case with new technology. This is often due to few early adopters being able to afford the steep price points that accompanies new technology.

However, this is something that we could see a change in due to big business committing to migrate their fleet vehicles to become fully electric by 2030.

UK based, building material company, Tarmac, have joined the ever-growing list of companies who are committing to change. The organisation released a statement early last month (June) saying: “Tarmac has committed to upgrading its 2,000-strong fleet of corporate cars and vans to EVs by 2030, as well as installing EV charging points and infrastructure in key business locations across the country.”

BT Openreach have also committed to transforming their fleet of over 27,000 commercial vehicles to EV’s by the mid-2020’s. Retokil Initial along with energy supplier OVO have also committed to transform their fleet into EV’s. These changes show that the electric vehicle revolution is taking off in big business.

The public are also coming around to electric vehicles too. The search term ‘Electric Vehicle’ has reached the category of ‘Rising’ on Google since the start of 2020. However, the cost issue is something that that seems to be a barrier.

But this cost issue is also something that could be quickly overcome, thanks to the highly anticipated ‘Battery Day’ which is expected to be revealed by Tesla’s Elon Musk in September 2020. Here, Mr Musk is set to reveal massive advances in the reduction of battery size, huge improvements to battery capacity and a landmark reduction in battery pricing, which will hopefully remove the three main barrier to EV adoption.

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Housing Development Conditionally Approved

Stirling Council have given provisional approval to plans to build 800 new homes near Bannockburn. The planning permission was put in by Tulloch Homes and Persimmon Homes, with the two house-builders intending to turn vacant land next to Pirnhall and Bannockburn into a major new development.

The proposals see 800 new homes, with 25% set to be affordable. Along with this, there would also be local retail/commercial units, a new primary school, a park and ride and golf facilities. Last week, Stirling Council’s planning and regulation panel approved the plans, subject to a full application and a Section 75 Agreement.

On recommending the planning application for approval, Council planners said: “This proposal generally conforms to the details of the masterplan but there are some significant changes.

“Not only are new junction arrangements proposed at A872 Glasgow Road and A91, but this proposal does not include the upgrading of the existing Pirnhall Road. Instead it seeks to only utilise sections of Pirnhall Road, leaving the majority of it as a pedestrian and cycle way.

“A new road is proposed to the north of Pirnhall Road to serve the residential development within the site.”

Persimmon Homes’ Iain Innes added: “South Stirling Gateway is a key strategic development for both Persimmon Homes and Stirling Council. The development will boost the local economy, providing much-needed housing, both private sale and affordable.

“The development of a purpose-built new primary school and the creation of thousands of jobs can only be a positive for Stirling.”

At the meeting, the panel also gave conditional approvement for a new, significant office development next to the River Forth at Kildean. The plans include a three story office building, parking for up to 280 car, coaches and cycles. As well as extensive landscaping and planting to create green infrastructure and encourage biodiversity.

This application was also approved subject to a number of conditions, the conclusion of a Section 75 Agreement or an alternative agreement to secure financial contribution to the City Area Transport Plan, and, delivery of the pedestrian/cycle paths.

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Construction must deliver “tangible social impact”

“There is not a common, comprehensive definition of what counts as social value, to frame understanding, benchmarking or reporting, and aid comparison of tenders and to determine best practice. This has given rise to significant disparities in what counts as social value activities, and no requirement to focus on improving the wellbeing of those who are most disadvantaged”.

This is the headline finding of a major construction industry research report, From the Ground Up – Improving the Delivery of Social Value in Construction, published by the Institute of Economic Development (IED) released yesterday (June 30^th 2020). The report finds that there is a “high risk of social value becoming too diffuse and lacking focus” and calls for an immediate step change in procurement, delivery and monitoring impact.

Respondents from construction multi-nationals and SMEs to local authority, public sector and specialist third sector organisations reported that projects spanning geographies have “multiple project stakeholders often competing for social value outputs, different frameworks with differing social value requirements, and a real lack of alignment around desired benefits and outcomes”. There was clear consensus on one of the biggest barriers – “the lack of understanding of what social value is” – and that “substantial improvements need to be made in the monitoring and evaluation of social value”.

This report launch marks the culmination of 12 months’ work which has seen the IED and co-authors Arup and Atkins, together with partners Commonplace and the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, explore all aspects of social value in the construction sector: procurement, definitions, activities, monitoring and evaluation. The aim of the research was to support understanding of what ‘good practice’ social value looks like, and to find and share examples where innovative, replicable and impactful social value has been delivered at all levels of place-based interventions as a result.

IED Chair Bev Hurley said: “Construction is central to placemaking, economic development and UK employment, and the sector spend is estimated to be £500 billion by the end of this decade. Social value is playing an increasing part in the procurement process, but we found that there are significant challenges across all aspects. There are huge opportunities and requirements for the public sector, industry and government to step up to the plate, to make sure that every one of those construction pounds delivers additional tangible social impact, and makes a major contribution to our most disadvantaged citizens and left-behind communities as we plan our post Covid-19 strategy.”

The study itself involved a combination of surveys, interviews, roundtables and case studies, involving over 80 contributors, and a literature review – leading to five key recommendations:

1. Establish a Construction Social Value Centre of Excellence – to work collaboratively with industry and public sector bodies to help define social value and provide thought leadership, support and guidance, including delivering a repository of good practice and performance benchmarking.
2. Agree a definition of social value, and what activities are within scope, for the construction sector – to allow robust comparisons of value, and help ensure that social value requirements are proportionate and appropriate, and provide measurable additionality.
3. Update the Treasury Green Book, the Social Value Act and initiate mandatory reporting – to improve Treasury guidance on the monetisation of social value metrics and enable the assignment of different financial values to social value activities according to different areas.
4. Upskill the public and private sector – to work collaboratively to offer continuing professional development on all aspects of social value. A greater understanding of what social value is, how to procure it more effectively, and how to achieve better outcomes, will improve capacity, capability and impact.
5. Upskill those not in the Supply Chain: SMEs and Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) organisations – to improve local SMEs and VCS organisations’ ability to compete, to deliver and to grow, and by doing so, leaving a more enduring local legacy.

Alison Ball, Associate Director, Sustainability at Arup, said: “The recommendations in this report provide clear steps for the construction sector to help fulfil its key role in generating social value. The global pandemic the world faces has triggered an increased awareness of the importance of social value and resilience in our communities and highlighted existing inequalities. It is vital that the industry and policymakers take this into account as they develop recovery plans at the national and local level, and use this moment to drive change in how social value is delivered through construction, providing real, substantial benefit for citizens.”

Vicky Hutchinson, Environment Practice Director at Atkins, explained: “Atkins is delighted to have co-authored this report. It is an excellent opportunity for the built environment sector to reflect on its progress with social value and to work together to formalise the sharing of best practice. Atkins is committed to embedding social value in all project delivery, ensuring that our projects maximise their positive impact on communities and the environment.”

Mike Saunders, CEO of Commonplace, said: “We are delighted to have supported this report, which highlights the huge importance of social value in construction. In particular we welcome the recommendation to upskill the public and private sectors in community engagement in order to enhance their understanding of social value to the community. This chimes strongly with our belief at Commonplace that digital tools help organisations in the construction sector to understand community needs through open, honest and trusted engagement.”

Mike Hawking, Policy and Partnerships Manager at the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, added: “Construction is likely to have a crucial role to play in stimulating the recovery of our economy. As we grapple with the scale of the current economic shock, we must do all we can to prioritise support for those hardest hit by the pandemic. It is vital that investment in infrastructure creates new jobs which are accessible to people who have been swept into poverty. If government is serious about their levelling up agenda, they should take note of the practical examples this report offers on how to maximise the social value of any new projects.”

The full report, From the Ground Up – Improving the Delivery of Social Value in Construction, can be downloaded at www.ied.co.uk/insights, where the Executive Summary and case studies are also available.

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April 2020 Construction output in the UK

Michael Wynn is the managing director of Yorkshire Brickwork Contractors, a specialist brickwork, stonework and blockwork contractor that works for local and national contractors throughout the UK within the industrial, commercial and residential sectors. In this feature, he speaks about the latest Office for National Statistics construction output figures.

Yorkshire Brickwork Contractors predict a bounce back in output and comment on the importance of health and safety when returning to construction sites.

The latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the UK construction industry fell by 40.1% in April. This is the most significant month-on-month fall in growth since the reports began back in January 2010.

This is the third consecutive month of decline with January seeing a 0.2% growth, February saw a decrease in monthly growth of 2.1%, followed by March, which fell by 5.9%. The Covid-19 pandemic has affected all sectors and industries; therefore, it was sure to affect construction.

Michael Wynn, managing director at Yorkshire Brickwork Contractors, said: “With many industries closed following government guidelines and social distancing, we were bound to see a drop in the output of construction. These measures that were put in place to contain the coronavirus were put in place across the UK; thus, construction sites closed and builders lost their jobs. This then meant UK construction activity declined at the fastest pace since the financial crisis in March/April as many builders had to stop all work and cut jobs as COVID-19 hit the economy. Some sites did stay open, but it was important that as business owners that we put both our employees and clients health first.”

After analysing further data from ONS, Yorkshire Brickwork Contractors found that construction has a higher rate of deaths related to COVID-19 when compared to other sectors. Specifically, among low-skilled construction workers, the death rate was 25.9 per 100,000 males with an additional 87 deaths of workers in the skilled construction workers occupation category.

“The government allowed construction work to continue during the coronavirus crisis, but with a high rate of deaths related to COVID-19 when compared to other sectors, our employee’s health had to become a priority. Many tasks are carried out with a hands-on approach which can become problematic when several people are required to lift or carry heavy goods. This has meant that construction workers have had to take government guidelines exceptionally seriously, with businesses trying to keep construction workers away from sites for as long as possible.”

All construction sectors saw significant monthly declines in output in April 2020. Michael commented: “As a company, we work in the private industrial, commercial and new housing sectors of construction. As you can see in the figure provided by ONS, these have been the sectors with a higher decline in April. Thankfully with industries returning to work, slowly, we have been able to get back on track and currently have multiple projects in construction including housing, apartment blocks, warehouse refurb sites. This will hopefully reflect across the construction industry with businesses returning to construction sites.

“With many industries now returning back to work following Boris Johnson full roadmap to ease the UK out of lockdown, I predict we will see a peak in construction output. There has been many government support schemes providing businesses with a lifeline to bounce back after lockdown, allowing construction companies to get back to work. We have seen a 50% increase in work since March’s lockdown measures were introduced and look forward to getting on-site and helping our clients bring their ideas to back to life.”

However, one of the main concerns still around returning to work is how workers can maintain safety through social distancing on construction sites. With social distancing being a core concept in keeping construction workers safe, it’s essential that technology can be incorporated so the government advice can be followed.

Yorkshire Brickwork Contractors recently spoke to experts in technology regarding safe working practices post-COVID-19. Tim Fitch, director of Invennt, business consultants specialising in construction, suggests investing in technology such as Reactec: “We have seen businesses create programs for training commissioners who are there to manage, maintain and ensure that this two-metre rule is adopted correctly. However, we have also seen companies that have developed technologies, the one I am thinking about in particular is a company called Reactec.

“They have developed wearable technology, initially for monitoring Hand Arm Vibration (HAVs) risks. The device looks like a rugged Fitbit, designed to measure the amount of vibration that goes into your arm from power tools. The great thing about their technology is that you wear it, and it automatically uploads the data into the cloud, getting continuous measurements from a particular device that’s associated with a worker.

“Now they have taken this technology, upgraded it to include and measure social distancing. It advises how close you are to fellow workers who are also wearing one, tracking throughout the day, even a week or a month, however long the lockdown lasts. You get a live update on how well social distancing has been implemented on your site.

“As anyone who’s trying to social distance knows, you’re bound to get close to people as you pass by them in the street, but with this technology, you’ll know who it was and how long the exposure was. This is a quickly adopted technology that’s very helpful for the current environment.”

To ensure employees are working in safe conditions, Yorkshire Brickwork Contractors, have followed government guidance throughout the pandemic. With clients returning to work, it has helped enforce health and safety guidance further with many developments adapting to social distancing rules with extensive signage across sites and uniforms to remind workers to work safely.

Managing Director, Michael Wynn said: “We have always taken pride in our approach to health and safety, making sure all of our operatives and supervisors carry the relevant training qualifications for every job. With the recent pandemic, we must adapt our way of working to follow government guidance while incorporating our current standards and getting back to work.”

“It has been a tough few months for the construction industry, but now it’s our time to fight back, increasing the construction output and continue to build on our economy as well as our developments.”

More information on Yorkshire Brickwork can be found here: www.yorksbc.co.uk

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Investment to Cut Emissions from Homes

Almost £80 million is to be invested to help cut carbon emissions from homes and energy intensive business, UK Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng announced yesterday (Jun 29^th).

The funding is to be invested into a wide range of programmes including pioneering heat networks and innovative new programmes which will hope to bring down the costs of retrofitting residential properties with the latest most energy efficient technologies.

The funds announced yesterday include:

• £30 million towards the first phase of the Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (IETF), which supports energy intensive manufacturers, like car factories and steel plants, to cut their carbon footprint
• £25 million for heat networks, which reduce carbon and cut heating bills for customers, including one which will harness geothermal water sitting in disused mines to heat 1,250 homes
• £24 million for innovative projects to help develop energy efficient homes by installing green tech and insulation in houses

Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said:

“We want to invest now to ensure we continue to propel the UK towards a stronger, greener future.

This new £80 million investment will help to reduce emissions across our economy, which will save people money on energy bills and protect jobs in heavy industry.”

The first phase of the IETF is worth an initial £30 million to support the manufacturing sector. This funding allows companies and businesses that have high energy use to apply for grant to install technology which reduces their energy bills and cuts their carbon emissions.

Worth an eventual £289 million in England, Wales and Northern Ireland up until 2024, the IETF will also seek to help bring down costs of technology that helps to reduce energy consumption and emissions in heavy industrial premises.

£25 million of the funding will go toward heat networks including one in Gateshead, which will harness geothermal water sitting in disused mines to hear 1,250 homes.

With thousands of redundant mine shafts criss-crossing the country, experts have said that if this new mine shaft technology proved to be successful and economically viable, it could be scaled up to power around 6 million homes around the UK.

The final £24 million green homes investment will comprise of:

• £7.7 million to install green technology and insulation in over 300 council houses, to bring down the cost of retrofitting homes – with pilot projects in Cornwall, Nottingham, and Sutton
• £14.6 million to pilot the roll-out of innovative heat pumps to 750 homes in the South East of Scotland, the South East of England and Newcastle
• £1.8 million to support the development of innovative green home finance products by lenders

The announcements made yesterday will form part of the wider efforts to ensure the UK meets its legally binding target to reach net zero emissions my 2050.

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