NEWS
INDUSTRY UPDATES Each month PSBJ rounds up the latest public sector construction updates, from new contracts to industry awards.
Completed works on Coventry Timely progress on secondary school celebrated latest specialist academy at ribbon-cutting ceremony project in Middlesbrough Midlands-based contractor G F Tomlinson has completed the expansion and refurbishment of Cardinal Newman Catholic School in Coventry, for Coventry City Council. The completion of the project was marked with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony, with G F Tomlinson’s Managing Director, Chris Flint, and the school’s Headteacher, Emma O’Connor, in attendance, alongside representatives from Seymour Harris Architects and Coventry City Council. The occasion was celebrated with a number of short speeches from stakeholders, a vote of thanks and a blessing of the newly-refurbished school by school Chaplain Fr Pat Brennan and Canon Tom Farrell. The project, led by G F Tomlinson, consisted of the construction of a new dining hall and the refurbishment and remodelling of existing classroom and dining spaces to create optimised teaching facilities which will allow for an additional 200 places at the school – in line with the Government’s drive to provide extra student spaces in Coventry. Procured through Pagabo’s National Framework for Medium Works, this was the first scheme G F Tomlinson had been awarded through the framework in its allocated region, which covers projects between the value of £1m and £5m in the West Midlands.
Award-winning Durham-based architectural practice, Howarth Litchfield, has announced timely progress is being made on its latest multidisciplinary commission in the specialist education sector – the new £7.7m Discovery Special Academy project for the Department for Education (DfE) on behalf of Tees Valley Education Multi Academy Trust (TVEd) in Middlesbrough. Following Tilbury Douglas’ appointment by the DfE Construction Framework as main contractor to design and build the new academy, Howarth Litchfield was appointed by Tilbury Douglas as part of its team, to act as lead designer with responsibility for providing a broad range of additional services which include BIM, interior design and principal design duties. The planning application for the new school building, which has capacity for 84 pupils and is located on the former Nature’s World site, was approved in March 2021. Work started on site in August and completion is anticipated in March 2022, ready for the start of the academic year in September 2022/23. TVEd manages five academies – four of which are mainstream primary academies, catering for four- to 11-year-olds, including two with specialist learning units.
Regulation of social Cushman & Wakefield appoints housing in England inquiry Head of Public Sector Project & launched by HCLG Committee Development Services The Housing, Communities and Local Government (HCLG) Committee has launched an inquiry examining the quality and regulation of social housing in England. The HCLG Committee will examine concerns about the quality of social housing, with a focus on the ability of the Regulator of Social Housing and the Housing Ombudsman to identify and address problems. The inquiry will also focus on the proposals in the Government’s social housing whitepaper aimed at improving the regulatory regime. Clive Betts, Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, said: “Stories of dilapidated social housing and tales of housing associations failing to respond to residents’ complaints call into question the effectiveness of the existing regulatory regime and how far the Government’s whitepaper proposals go to help ensure tenants are treated properly and fairly. In our inquiry, we want to explore concerns around the quality of social housing and whether the current regime for the regulation of social housing is fit for purpose.” The committee’s inquiry will also explore the financial pressures on social housing providers, amid concerns from some that the costs of building safety work and retrofitting properties to make them more energy efficient are affecting their ability to improve the quality of their social housing stock.
06
Cushman & Wakefield has appointed former AECOM Director Trevor Stone to lead its UK Project & Development Services (PDS) team’s activity with public sector clients. Trevor spent more than 14 years at global infrastructure consulting firm AECOM where he was a Director and Scotland Regional Lead for its Buildings and Places team. Prior to that he spent 18 years at asset management and construction consultancy Currie & Brown, where he led the Public Private Partnerships and Banking Advisory team. Joining Cushman & Wakefield with a nationwide remit, Trevor will be responsible for driving growth in public sector engagement within the PDS team, which provides services including building consultancy, building engineering, cost consultancy, project management and design and build to property owners, developers and occupiers. He will be based at the firm’s Scottish regional hub office in Edinburgh. Trevor said: “I’m excited to be joining a firm with real momentum. The team is already delivering some outstanding work within the public sector and I look forward to bringing my extensive experience and knowledge of the sector to build on this success and deliver even greater value to our clients.”
