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NEWS INDUSTRY UPDATES

Each month PSBJ rounds up the latest public sector construction updates, from new contracts to industry awards.

Green light for significant Rushey Mead social housing development

The first phase of a new development designed to alleviate some of the pressure on Leicester’s social housing system has been granted approval by the city’s planning department. The Lanesborough Road scheme in Rushey Mead will feature a total of 37 dwellings designed by award-winning architecture practice CPMG Architects, with a range of two- to four-bedroom family homes and one- to two-bedroom apartments. A further 24 dwellings are planned for a second phase of the development. With Leicester City Council experiencing a near 6000-person waiting list for social housing, this latest development is set to regenerate a 1.4-hectare area of the city suburb with a mix of housing types in keeping with the council’s Core Strategic Policy. All dwellings are also designed for enhanced accessibility, with one bungalow featuring a design specifically tailored for residents who are wheelchair users. The designs for the homes have been drawn up with the city’s ambitious sustainability goals in mind, featuring air-source heat pumps, solar panels and a fabric-first approach, which help the development significantly exceed the requirements of standard Building Regulations by more than 80%.

Beesley & Fildes invests £1.2m in timber mill upgrade

North-West-based Beesley & Fildes, the family-owned independent builder’s merchant, has invested £1.2m in its timber milling facility in Widnes in response to increased demand for both timber stock items across the company’s branch network and bespoke orders. The timber mill, acquired by Beesley & Fildes in 2004, produces the skirting, architraves, flooring, planed timber, door casings and certified fire-door casing kits sold across the company’s 11-branch network and online. The investment includes two new Weinig planing and profiling lines, which will replace the mill’s existing planing equipment, enabling increased throughput, fast set-up and a consistently-excellent finish at the Beesley & Fildes timber mill. Also included in the new investment programme is a new, British-made, fully-automated Stenner re-saw that will convert timber for the production of skirting boards, fence panels and feather-edged boarding. From cross-cutting machine manufacturer, Stromab, Beelsey & Fildes has bought an automated cross-cutting machine that will enhance the range of door casing and certified fire-door casing sets the company can offer across its branch network. Investment in all machines has been coordinated with an upgrade to the mill’s extraction system and tool room, ensuring the facility provides a safe, comfortable and digital-enabled work environment that will future-proof Beesley & Fildes’ timber milling capabilities.

Planning approved for new primary school in Irvine

A milestone has been reached on the new primary school at Montgomerie Park, Irvine, which will be built to Passivhaus standards after receiving planning approval through North Ayrshire Council. The new primary school will comprise 12 classrooms, early learning facilities, a gymnasium incorporating flexible performance areas, dining facilities and outdoor learning spaces including a seven-a-side all-weather pitch. hub South West Scotland appointed Robertson Construction Central West as its Tier 1 delivery partner for this project on behalf of North Ayrshire Council. Partly funded as part of the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP), which focuses on delivering high-quality, low-carbon and digitally-enabled learning environments, the new school will support sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Designed by JM Architects, the facility will benefit from extensive landscaping and will support the recent housing development at Montgomerie Park Irvine. The new school has been designed with end-user requirements and sustainability as key priorities and will be the first Passivhaus school in the council’s education portfolio.

Morton Fraser, one of the largest independent law firms in Scotland, has been named as a supplier on Crown Commercial Service’s Public Sector Legal Services framework, following a competitive tender process. While Morton Fraser was appointed to the previous CCS Framework in 2018, this new framework puts a stronger emphasis on social value, aligning strongly with the firm’s own culture. Through the framework, the firm will collaborate with clients on objectives, such as tackling inequality and improving diversity, making gender balance improvements, and supporting improvements for under-represented groups. Jenny Dickson, Chair and Head of the Public Sector Team at Morton Fraser, said: “From continued pandemic recovery to rising inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, the pressure being faced by the public sector has potentially never been greater. In this current climate, making progress towards improving diversity, inclusion and equality is particularly important, and our team is proud to have the opportunity to work with the public sector organisations on the framework at such a pivotal time.” Morton Fraser has been appointed to the following lots on the Framework: Lot 1b – Full Service Provision – Scotland and Lot 2b – General Service Provision – Scotland.

Morton Fraser wins CCS Public Sector Legal Services framework appointment

Penoyre & Prasad designs innovative new primary school

London-based architecture practice Penoyre & Prasad, a studio of Perkins&Will, has designed a new 420-pupil primary school in Sugar House Island, East London. The new school will support the unique curriculum of the education provider, the Big Education Trust, and is sister to the Ofsted-rated ‘Outstanding’ School 21, in nearby Stratford. The building has been designed specifically to support the school’s unique curriculum based on the three pillars of head, heart and hand: developing the head to provide rich knowledge and deep understanding; the heart to focus on wellbeing and relationships; and the hand to encourage every child to learn about creativity, problem-solving and the arts. The school offers students a variety of learning experiences and includes a range of spaces, such as a ‘Makerspace’ dedicated to arts, crafts and technology; ‘Oracy Stairs’ on each floor, which offer informal seating and teaching space; and a flexible studio that has been designed for dance, sport and performances. The school also boasts a dedicated room to cater to students with special educational needs (SEN). With floor space of 2413m2 , and spanning over three storeys, the building sits on a highlycomplex, restricted urban site. The scheme is designed within a rectangular footprint as efficiently as possible, remaining respectful to its sensitive setting.

Anticipation is building for Nottingham City Council’s new Central Library, which sits at the heart of the Broad Marsh regeneration area, as work is now underway on the interior fitout and refurbishment with specialist Overbury. A new Central Library is one of the key elements of the regeneration of the city’s Southside area and will be surrounded by transformed streets, with pedestrianisation, planting, seating and plans for a new plaza to link through the demolished section of the former shopping centre to Lister Gate and the city centre beyond. The library, which is part of the new Broad Marsh Car Park and Bus Station complex, will be Overbury’s first major project to be procured through SCAPE – one of the UK’s leading public sector procurement authorities – which has been made possible via its sister company Morgan Sindall Construction. The new library will feature a high-quality children’s library with an immersive storytelling room, extensive book collection and comfortable areas to sit and read. Other amenities will include a cafe and ground-floor reception area, which can be converted into a performance space, a learning lab for special activities and school class visits, meeting rooms, exhibition space and creative design areas.

Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary School completed on the DfE’s Offsite Schools Framework

Work has completed on Abbey Farm Educate Together Primary School in north Swindon. The school was delivered by vertically-integrated offsite construction specialist Reds10. Reds10 was appointed by the Department for Education (DfE) as principal contractor to design and build the school, which is part of the DfE’s four-year £3bn ‘Offsite Schools Framework’ and will be run by the Educate Together Academy Trust. The school is set on a 4.6-acre site and is part of a wider residential-led, mixed-use development by Redrow. One of the standout achievements of the project is that the building was designed as net-zero carbon in operation ahead of the DfE’s sustainability Output Specification (S21) official launch. S21 was introduced under the new construction framework in November 2021, calling for all new school buildings in England to reach net-zero operational carbon. The building, which is net-zero carbon in design, includes enhanced sustainability features such as air-source heat pumps and photovoltaics, both mechanical and natural ventilation to maintain excellent internal air quality, aluminium door and window frames made from recycled materials, GIFA floorboards with 50% recycled content and timber cladding, which is inherently lower in embodied carbon.

Overbury to transform Nottingham’s new Central Library United Living Group announces the completion of fire safety and improvement project in Lewisham

United Living Group, the provider of infrastructure, housing and property services, is pleased to announce it has completed a dual project on the Hatfield Close and Gerrard House tower blocks in Lewisham. The project has seen its pre-existing combustible cladding, replaced it with non-combustible A1 fire-rated material, and carried out in-depth fire safety and improvement works. The project represented over £22m of investment in the 151 homes and the surrounding area across the three 13-storey tower blocks, with circa £16m in funding from the Government building safety budget – ‘Remediation of non-ACM buildings’. United Living Group was commissioned by Lewisham Homes to deliver the Hatfield Close and Gerrard House fire safety transformation project, undertaking emergency works starting in October 2017. The new cladding is designed to be highly fire resistant with the tiles made from terracotta and have an A1 safety rating, the highest achievable. The supports and insulation behind the cladding have also been given an A1 rating. Additional works included the installation of smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, automatic opening vents, upgraded windows, new doors, balconies and structural works.