Record WiFi connections prove pubs’ popularity on the rise

2023 Six Nations, the data found that customer numbers had surpassed numbers recorded in 2022 and even pre-pandemic levels in 2019. It also shows how sporting events, including the rugby World Cup due to start in September 2023, could see a rosier year for landlords than previously expected.

New data published by managed network solutions provider EvolveODM and Robinsons Brewery & Pubs, shows a resurgence of customers choosing to celebrate the recent Six Nations rugby tournament in public houses. A second, separate set of data unveiled how different age groups are using pub Wi-Fi, how that compares to previous years, and which days of the week are the most popular when it comes to visiting the pub and getting online.

Having measured how many individuals connected to the guest WiFi at Robinsons pubs during the

Watching the Six Nations in pubs has never been more popular: the data shows a whopping 40% more people connected to pub Wi-Fi on their devices for the first Six Nations fixture of 2023 than they did in 2022.

The weekend is starting earlierSunday was the busiest day for pubs in 2019, but Fridays are now neck and neck with Sundays as each day accounted for 19% of the connections in 2022.

Thursdays are now the new Friday, with connectivity on Thursdays in 2022 the same as Fridays in 2019 (by connectivity %).

UK Infrastructure Bank Bill receives Royal Assent and becomes law

• The UK Infrastructure Bank bill has received Royal Assent, confirming the UK Infrastructure Bank’s independence.

• A vital part of the Government’s plan to invest in infrastructure, the Bank has already announced £1.2 billion of deals that unlock over £5 billion of private and public investment, driving growth in every region of the UK.

Appetite for commercial and residential property investment in NW, but funding barriers ahead, warns RSM UK

Research by audit, tax and consulting firm RSM UK shows that nearly one fifth of landlords (19%) surveyed predict that the North West will attract the most commercial property investment outside of London over the next five years.

Findings from the survey also revealed that 18% of landlords believe the North West will attract the most residential property investment in the same period after London (38%) and the South East (26%). In addition, 45% of respondents think that the residential/ private rental sector will see the most growth over the next 12 months, a slight (3%) uptick on the previous year. However, 47% of landlords surveyed felt that access to funding had been more difficult in the last 12 months than the previous 12 months. Similarly, 46% expect access to funding to be more difficult in 12 months’ time, and

61% consider economic recession and volatility to be the biggest barrier to investment. Other pinch points to investment Further barriers included deteriorating market conditions (38%), political instability (33%), lack of supply (27%), and lack of workforce (18%). More than a third (43%) of landlords believed that the government’s attitude towards making progress on environmental goals would encourage them to act on investing in environmental, social and governance (ESG) friendly solutions, with 58% also completely or somewhat understanding the ESG agenda. Conversely, landlords perceived the biggest barrier to de-carbonising the real estate sector to be lack of landlord willpower to invest in environmentally solutions (33%), the impact of the energy crisis (32%), and the lack of cost-effective tech solutions (30%).

Budget boost to tackle construction skills shortages, says FMB

Measures to address the chronic skills shortages in the construction industry by relaxing immigration rules are a welcome boost, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) in response to the recent Budget.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “It’s good to see the Government listening to the FMB and other industry stakeholders about the current skills shortages. Adding trades such as bricklayers and carpenters to the Shortage of Occupation List delivers on calls from the construction industry. Recent data from the FMB State of Trade survey reveals that 60% of jobs are stalled due to labour shortages. The construction sector needs at least 225,000 additional workers by 2027 to meet demand, and many more if we are to tackle energy efficiency improvements to homes.”

Brian continued “It was disappointing that measures to improve the energy efficiency of our homes didn’t feature in this Budget. It is one of the most pressing issues and could result in a huge boost in jobs and economic activity at the local level. We had seen small measures rolled out in the last Budget and had hoped the Government would embrace retrofit as a major long-term infrastructure project but this opportunity has been lost. Keeping the energy price guarantee is a big win for homeowners’ pockets for now, but ultimately money will keep leaking out of our draughty, inefficient homes until a sustained retrofit programme gets political backing.”

• Headquartered in Leeds, the Bank is bringing hundreds of jobs to the city and has already created and supported 4,500 jobs across the country. The Bank provides funding to private companies and local authorities for projects to boost clean energy, improve transport links, expand digital infrastructure, and improve water and waste processing.

The bill will enshrine the Bank’s operational independence, put its objectives to level up the UK and help tackle climate change in statute and set out clear accountability structures.

Having already announced £1.2 billion of deals that unlock over £5 billion of private and public investment, the Bank is tasked with unlocking £40 billion of infrastructure investment by working closely with the private sector and local Government to drive growth and our green industrial revolution.

Andrew Griffith MP, Economic Secretary to the Treasury said: “The UK Infrastructure Bank has already announced billions of pounds of vital investment as well as creating and supporting over 4,500 jobs UK wide.

“We have a laser focus on growing the economy and delivering high skilled, well paid jobs, as we drive forward this country’s clean energy revolution, creating opportunity in every region of the UK.”

The budget is set to help support effective competition in the CfD auction with the aim of delivering low carbon electricity deployment at low-cost to the consumer and supporting investment in emerging technologies. The budget decision reflects the anticipated firm pipeline of eligible projects at that time. After the application window has closed, National Grid ESO will assess applications and give the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero the total value of eligible applications. This is when the Secretary of State can consider whether to increase the budget.

The Allocation Round 5 (AR5) application window will run from 30 March – 24 April 2023, and is the first CfD round to be held annually, instead of every two years. The move to annual auctions was in response to industry demands for more frequent auctions and greater visibility of the pipeline and investment horizon. The budget available in the AR5 auction for Pot 1 (established technologies) will be £170m and for Pot 2 (emerging technologies) the budget available will be £35m.

The Pot 2 budget is inclusive of a minimum ringfence of £10m for Tidal Stream projects. This results in a total budget for the auction of £205m.

HS2 delivers £1.7bn boost to West Midlands businesses

McAlpine due to work on £500m University of Bristol new campus

Opening in 2026, the campus at Cattle Market Road, next to Temple Meads Station, will enhance the University of Bristol’s reputation as a global destination for world-leading research, education and innovation.

The site will be home to 4,600 students and 650 university staff who will come together with business and community partners. Residential accommodation on Temple Island will provide living space for around 900 students.

the campus have been shaped in consultation with civic and community partners as dedicated spaces for groups to work together to address local, national and global challenges. At the evenings, weekends and during university holidays, local people are invited to take part in lifelong learning programmes, events, festivals and research activities.

New figures released by HS2 show that over the last six years, 422 West Midlands companies have received a share of over £1.7bn in contract awards. The figures demonstrate how HS2’s construction is playing a vital role in the survival and growth of businesses across the region.

The ripple effect from investing in Britain’s new high speed railway is clear, with small and medium sized businesses based in the areas emerging as the biggest winners, with a 78% share of local contract awards.

In 2022 alone, the value of HS2 contracts awarded to local firms (£816million) totalled almost twice the value of economic uplift delivered in the West Midlands by the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games (£453.7million).

Mark Thurston CEO at HS2 Ltd said: “As soon as work started on Britain’s flagship infrastructure project, businesses in the West Midlands realised the enormity of HS2’s potential.

“Contracts worth millions helped to keep factories in production and thousands of jobs safe as the country fought the pandemic, and right now we’re supporting those feeling the cost-of-living pinch.

“As the recent report shows, HS2’s transformational journey is already making an impact and the West Midlands is onboard and reaping the benefits.”

The positive effect of HS2’s construction is also being felt by local people working on the project, developing their careers, and accessing free training to upskill for new opportunities.

Over 8,800 people are supporting HS2’s construction in the area. 729 local residents who were previously out of work are now in jobs, while 399 people have completed or are currently studying for an apprenticeship.

Balfour Beatty VINCI, HS2’s construction partner for the region, has already delivered over 81,000 hours of training to create the 7,000-strong highly skilled workforce it needs to fulfil a wide variety of on-site and office-based roles.

Construction is well underway on over 350 sites between London and the West Midlands. In this region, work is progressing to prepare for two stateof-the-art stations - Birmingham Curzon Street and Interchange, and Washwood Heath Depot - the maintenance facility and control centre for the whole HS2 network. HS2, its partners and suppliers are also boring tunnels, and building bridges and viaducts at key locations across the region.

Andy Street, Mayor of the West Midlands, said: “Whether it’s thousands of jobs for local people, improved prospects for our local businesses right the way through the supply chain or indeed enhanced connectivity for decades to come, HS2 is a game changer.”

Mark Pickard, Managing Director of Altrad RMD Kwikform, an Aldridgebased firm that has secured work with HS2, said: “Our team is on site at Curzon Street, helping to build the network of viaducts that will bring high speed trains into Birmingham City centre. Over the years we’ve worked on major projects all over the world, but to be involved in a project of this scale, so local to us, is really special.

“Like most businesses, we’ve been impacted by the pandemic, and there’s still a great deal of uncertainty in the construction industry generally. HS2 has allowed us to bounce back to the levels of revenue, stability and success we experienced before COVID-19 hit.”

At the heart of the campus, on the site of the former Royal Mail sorting office, a 38,000 sqm academic building will be home to the University’s Business School, digital engineering research groups, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, the Quantum Technologies Innovation Centre and provide dedicated facilities for enterprise and community partners. In addition, the campus will also be a hub for local communities who will be welcomed on site to use the facilities and open spaces. Parts of

Marvin Rees, Mayor of Bristol, said: “Temple Quarter will help deliver even more of the sustainable homes, innovation, jobs, and infrastructure that Bristol needs, including for the communities in and around the regeneration area. Delivering the University of Bristol’s new Enterprise Campus will help our city continue to strengthen its position at the centre of our regional economy. This is another milestone for Temple Quarter, after we secured £95 million last year to help transform Temple Meads. Our landmark investment will help to unlock 22,000 new jobs and 10,000 new homes in this part of our city – bringing a £1.6 billion annual boost to Bristol.”

Levy Introduced For Developers To Pay Fair Share For Affordable Housing And Local Infrastructure

A new levy introduced by the government will see developers pay a fairer share for affordable housing and local infrastructure such as roads, schools and GP surgeries. The infrastructure levy, which will replace section 106 contributions for most developments, will prevent developers from negotiating down the amount they contribute to the community when they bring forward new projects.

Under the proposals, the amount developers will have to pay will be calculated once a project is complete, instead of at the stage the site is given planning permission. This will make sure that councils benefit from increases in land value, which can be significant for large developments that take years to complete.

Councils will also be given powers to set rates themselves, putting power in the hands of local leaders. A portion of the money will be passed directly to communities as a ‘neighbourhood share’ to fund their infrastructure priorities, while councils will be required to engage with communities and create a infrastructure delivery strategy.