Public Sector Building News - January/February 2019

www.psbnews.co.uk January/February 2019

CURO, SWAN AND HOMES ENGLAND

ESTABLISH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER 1,000 AFFORDABLE HOMES

BOHLIN CYWINSKI JACKSON COMPLETES COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES, COORSTEK CENTRE FOR APPLIED SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING

WILLMOTT DIXON

LANDS £23M HOUSING SCHEME IN SALFORD

500 AFFORDABLE HOMES BUILT BY

NOTTINGHAM CITY HOMES EDUCATION

HEALTHCARE

HOUSING

Winning schools show George Clark the future of homebuilding is in good hands

Howe Green provides innovative access solution for NHS hospital

London’s £38million community housing fund is welcomed by housing charity

Creating

local identity and new landmarks for public spaces

Contact us today for more information

Call Gary on 07719529520 or email gary@drostle.com

art for landscape & architecture visit: www.drostle.com/psbn

Contents

PSBN

PUBLIC SECTOR BUILDING NEWS

Editor’s Note Editor Maria Lapthorn editor@psbnews.co.uk Editorial Assistant Francesca Amato editorial@psbnews.co.uk Production/Design Laura Whitehead design@psbnews.co.uk Sales Manager Naomi Saywood naomi@psbnews.co.uk Sales Executive Lucy Robinson lucy@psbnews.co.uk Accounts Richard Lapthorn accounts@psbnews.co.uk Circulation Manager Leo Phillips subs@psbnews.co.uk Website Management Rob Turner rob@psbnews.co.uk Phone: 01843 808 117 Lapthorn Media 5-7 Ozengell Place Eurokent Business Park Ramsgate Kent CT12 6PB

Welcome to the newest issue of Public Sector Building News.

In this edition we take a look at the 500 affordable homes built by Nottingham City Homes. They have continued to develop housing and as well as this, have created new local jobs and introduced new and innovative build techniques. We also take a look at the brand new CoorsTek Centre at the Colorado School of Mines which provides an education and research facility, the main inspiration for the centre was to design a place that would connect students, faculty, researchers and industry professionals, please take a further look at this on page 18.

On the cover Our cover image comes from a community regeneration project in Maidstone, featuring Optima Windows.

Further information can be found on page 10.

As always if you have a recent project or news story that you would like to see published within our pages, please contact the editorial team.

Features 04

05

Housing - London’s £38million housing fund is welcomed by charity

Infrastructure - Severn Crossing toll removal to bring jobs home to Wales

08

12

Housing - 500 affordable homes built

by Nottingham City Homes

Cladding - ARMA respond to Housing Secretary’s cladding directive

18

22

Project - Bohlin Cywinski Jackson completes Colorado School of Mines

Housing - Curo, Swan & Homes England establish partnership

22

24

Education - Construction kicks off at new £2.8m England Lane Academy

Housing - Woodhead Group secures place on Pagabo framework

32

35

Awards News - Structural Awards showcase engineering excellence

Healthcare - Howe Green provides access solution for NHS hospital

Find us online - www.psbnews.co.uk Latest news, features, articles and products

Follow us on Twitter: @psbn_social

03

OFFSITE WOULD HELP WITH SHELTER’S THREE MILLION SOCIAL HOMES VISION, SAYS ACTIS A report published this week by housing charity Shelter stating that three million new social homes are required in England over the next 20 years to solve the housing crisis will require practical as well as economic and political assistance, says insulation specialist Actis.

Shelter’s 220 report “Building for our future” was compiled with input from former Labour leader Ed Miliband, Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, TV architect George Clarke and Grenfell survivor Ed Daffarn.

The charity, which presented its recommendations to the government this week, says £11 billion a year could come from housing benefit savings which would be made when tenants move from high cost private rental properties to lower rent social housing.

The move – as well as requiring the political will and financial management outlined in the report - will require a radical approach to building the homes, explains regional sales director Jemma Harris from Actis, a long-term advocate of offsite construction.

Offsite, factory-built homes are around 30% quicker to construct than their traditional counterparts.

with an added benefit that, with today’s shrinking skilled workforce, many of the elements don’t require such a high level of expertise.

“The combination of a quicker build which frees up more skilled man hours and the fact that a smaller percentage of the overall construction process needs the talents of the most highly trained craftsman means the high volumes are more feasible,” explained Jemma.

“And while they are quicker to build they are excellent quality and thermally efficient. They are not like the prefabs of the post war era, another occasion when we needed to build a lot of homes in a very short time. The London Assembly is already looking into building tens of thousands of homes in the capital via this method in order to make inroads into addressing the housing crisis there.”

And Mark Farmer in his 2016 review of the construction industry includes large scale offsite construction in a ten-point plan of actions vital to prevent the industry’s ‘inexorable decline.’

Shelter estimates 277,000 people are now homeless in England, most commonly because they have lost

their privately rented homes. The charity says 1.3 million homes are needed to house those in greatest need - including homeless people and those living with a disability.

An extra 1.2 million homes would be made available for younger families who cannot afford to buy and face a lifetime in expensive and insecure private renting.

A lack of readily available social housing has led to a “drop in the numbers of young families moving into ownership, the rise of pensioners in insecure unaffordable private rentals, and the homelessness that scars our society”, the report found.

LONDON’S £38MILLION COMMUNITY HOUSING FUND IS WELCOMED BY HOUSING CHARITY The new fund will help to build much-needed social-rent and other genuinely affordable homes according to the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

The news has been welcomed by the National CLT Network, which has led the campaign for investment in the sector together with its members and partners for a number of years.

04

Tom Chance, Director at the National CLT Network, said: “The National CLT Network is delighted to see the long-awaited announcement of this fund, which will no doubt be transformative for

new and existing community led housing projects across the capital.

Community led housing puts communities firmly in the driver’s seat. It’s communities that are best placed to understand and deliver the affordable housing that is so desperately needed.

This is a fantastic opportunity for Londoners to shape their city.

Community led housing is a grassroots movement that is gaining popularity in the capital. In the past

year, the Mayor of London has earmarked land for community land trusts through the Small Sites, Small Builders initiative and awarded more than £1m in a Lewisham-based community led housing project which includes some self-build elements.

This fund is one part of the national Community Housing Fund programme. While the London fund will run until March 2023, communities outside of London will only have access to funding up until March 2020. This disparity is concerning to many across the sector.

Latest News

CONSUMERS TWICE AS LIKELY TO BE SATISFIED WITH HOMES BUILT

BY SMALL HOUSE BUILDERS, NEW FMB RESEARCH REVEALS Consumers are twice as likely to be ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of their new home if it was built by a small and medium-sized (SME) house builder, according to new research by the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Key results from the FMB’s research into satisfaction rates among people who have bought a home in the past five years show that twice as many people (36%) say they are ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of their new build home if purchased from an SME house builder, compared with those whose home was built by one of the top 20 large builders (17%).

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said: “There is a popular misconception that new build homes are poor quality compared to period properties that were built to last.

“Small local house builders, who hang their hat on delivering high-

quality new build homes, find this view immensely frustrating.

Our research shows that you are twice as likely to be ‘very satisfied’ with the quality of your new home if it was built by an SME house builder as opposed to one of the large top 20 firms.

This research draws a clear distinction between what is being delivered by SMEs and what is being delivered by larger firms.

Berry continued: “For a small, local builder, reputation is everything.

They will typically reside in the same community that they’re building in and are therefore doubly motivated to deliver a high quality product that the home buyer will love.

“Furthermore, SME building firms are more likely to work with a small team of broadly skilled tradespeople. For

example, if an SME house builder only employs three bricklayers, they all need to have a wide range of skills and experience.

“Large house builders tend to use gangs of semi-skilled bricklayers who can lay row upon row of bricks in a line but only a handful of broadly skilled brickies who can turn corners, build chimneys and arches.”

Berry concluded: “If we are to improve the image of the house building sector, all house builders, large and small, need to put quality at the heart of every project.

“Not only will this make our industry more attractive to new entrants, including children and young people, it will soften planning committees to the prospect of new developments.“

We are in the midst of a serious housing crisis and in order to win people over and make them more pro-development, we need to deliver fantastic new homes that local people would be proud to have built in their community.

SEVERN CROSSING TOLL REMOVAL TO BRING JOBS HOME TO WALES JLL’s lead director in Cardiff says logistics sector will grow from strength to strength.

With just one more week until toll charges on the Severn Crossing are abolished (Mon 17 Dec 2018) Chris Sutton, lead director at property consultancy JLL in Cardiff, said: “The M4 is the route to market for two thirds of the Welsh economy.

The removal of the tolls opens up a major opportunity for the nation’s businesses - and none more so than the logistics sector. Major players in retail distribution have laid roots over the water on the Avonmouth stretch of the M5/M49 at Bristol but

are reportedly struggling to attract labour. Growing the industrial sector here, once charging is no longer a barrier to business, will bring those employment opportunities home.

“The distribution sector is leading across all markets in terms of property take-up and demand, primarily due to the growth of online retailing. And admittedly Wales has its challenges here, including the quality of the M4 and the uncertainty around the relief road that has so far created anything but relief, and the limited pipeline of industrial sites and buildings. But at last, a charge on every lorry as it

makes its return journey to the depot will no longer be one of them. And given that decision time on a relief road may slip yet again, we may well find the reality of toll removal actually strengthens the case for it.

“We cannot underestimate the positive impact going toll-free will have. The logistics sector is already a star performer in the Welsh economy, driving demand for construction and development.

“Along with a plentiful supply of labour and attractive residential property prices, distribution is set to go from strength to strength.”

05

Latest News

OVER 3,500 COMMUNITY LED HOMES AT RISK IF GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT A government grant which has funded the design of thousands of high quality, affordable community led homes is set to close before the majority can be built.

The £163m Community Housing Fund, created to support the growth of the community led housing sector, is due to close in December 2019 - just 17 months after opening.

An FOI response from Homes England has revealed that 56 community led housing projects have plans to build 3,546 homes.

These homes are likely to stall if the Government doesn’t extend the Community Housing Fund. The response also details a further 153 community groups are developing applications. Many, if not most, of these planned homes, will also be forms of affordable housing.

On 16 January 2019 the Greater London Authority launched its own £38m Community Housing Fund - this fund will be open for bids until March 2023, giving community led housing groups ample time to complete their housing developments.

The National Community Land Trust Network is calling on the

Government to extend the Fund outside London in the Spending Review and has received cross-party support from Conservative, Labour, Lib Dem and Green MPs, including Oliver Letwin.

Tom Chance, Director of the National CLT Network, said: “Through the Community Housing Fund the Government is helping communities to create plans for thousands of affordable homes. It would be a terrible waste to scupper them by closing the fund after only 17 months. The uncertainty around Brexit is having a knock-on effect on domestic issues. The Government says it is committed to fixing the broken housing market but this will only happen if the programmes put in place to provide solutions are given time to make their mark.

“To make sure these homes don’t remain on the drawing board and for community led housing to

become a self-sustaining sector with a lasting legacy, the Government must extend the Fund past 2020 and ideally for the duration of the next spending review.”

Alan McInnes, Chairman of Herstmonceux CLT, said: “Herstmonceux CLT is building 19 homes for local need to retain young and older residents in our rural parish. It has taken time to get to this point and we are now in a race against time to resolve technical, environmental and planning matters with our site in order to commence construction before the Community Housing Fund closes. We are relying on this grant funding. Surely, as the desperate need for economic housing has been acknowledged by government and grant aid identified, there should be a means to extend the deadline. Otherwise, the effort and initial grants raised may be wasted.”

NFB SUPPORTS ABRAHAM’S BILL ON PROJECT BANK ACCOUNTS IN PUBLIC SECTOR PROJECTS The supply chain needs to be a fairer place for SME subcontractors.

06

Debbie Abrahams MP has pledged to introduce a ten minute rule bill in Parliament ensuring that public sector projects over £500,000 use project bank accounts.Abrahams thinks that her bill would stop small and medium-sized (SME) businesses being paid late by large companies, whilst protecting them from losing any money they are owed.

Project bank accounts (PBAs) are ring-fenced bank accounts within a trust arrangement so that, if a tier 1 contractor collapses, as Carillion did in January 2018, subcontractors will still receive money they are owed.

The National Federation of Builders (NFB) admires Abrahams’s hard work towards ensuring that SME subcontractors are treated with respect throughout the supply chain and the public sector needs to take a leading role in stamping out late payment.

Richard Beresford, chief executive of the NFB, said:

The NFB applauds Abrahams’s efforts to make the supply chain a fairer place for SME subcontractors.

This bill could be the nudge needed to push contractors away from the business model that has payment delays built in.

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Cllr Pratt, Cherwell’s lead member for Estates and the Economy, said: “Cherwell is fully committed to investing in new projects that have a strong social, economic and environmental impact.

The Perch Eco Business Centre Bicester, developed by Cherwell District Council and supported by European Regional Development Funding, is a vibrant new workplace in Elmsbrook, North West Bicester.

Designed by Architype, it is the first non-domestic building in the UK to achieve the new Passivhaus Plus, a rigourous standard for energy efficiency in a building, developed by the Passivhaus Institute in Germany.

It has also been constructed to achieve a BREAAM Excellent rating, the world’s leading sustainability assessment method for buildings.

Part of a true zero carbon

development at NW Bicester, the Eco Business Centre contributes to the delivery of the sustainable community being developed by A2Dominion providing opportunities for employment alongside the new housing and adding energy to the local centre.

This innovative building, comprising of co-working space and serviced offices over three floors, has been sensitively designed to be distinctive, eco-friendly and sustainable and will accommodate up to 125 people.

These high-quality workspaces have been created to attract individuals, start-ups and small businesses, generating new jobs for the local community.

“This building has been carefully designed to maximise natural resources, provide a healthy environment and be as energy efficient as possible, presenting new opportunities for small businesses.”

Jan Ponsford, Project Manager Virtus Consult, said:

I am delighted to be delivering such an exciting and ground breaking scheme with a great team.

I have a personal passion for energy efficiency, design quality and innovation and this project has all three in spades.

07

Landmark 500 affordable homes built by Nottingham City Homes Nottingham City Homes (NCH) has reached a significant milestone - having now built over 500 affordable homes for local people across the city.

As well as being UK Landlord of the Year, NCH works closely with Nottingham City Council to build high quality, decent homes for Nottingham people and has delivered over 500 new affordbale homes to rent across 28 sites in Nottingham since 2014. NCH has taken on challenging sites, introduced new and innovative build techniques, and is building more homes with its own staff - delivering new local jobs as well as new homes for Nottingham households.

531 properties have now been completed over the past four years, with 44 l currently under construction and a further 660 potential new builds on proposed sites. This is twice as many homes as any other ArmsLength Management Organisation prompting Inside Housing magazine to name NCH the number one ALMO builder in the UK. The homes have been built in neighbours across the city, including Sneinton, Bestwood, Aspley, Broxtowe, Clifton, Top Valley and Radford. The homes range from houses, and bungalows to independent living schemes and flats.

08

Over the last few years there have been some major developments, with over 270 homes being built on five sites alone. One of the biggest, the Lenton Green development, saw 142 homes created in Lenton, including 88 family homes, two commercial units and 54 Independent Living apartments.

Housing Project

Strelley Court in Strelley is the latest new development to open, with 37 new one-bed independent living apartments. Residents have been moving in to the new apartments over the last month.

Susan Walters-Peace is NCH’s official 500th resident in one of our newbuild homes and at the opening of Strelley Court she was presented with flowers

by City Council Deputy Leader Cllr Graham Chapman and officially cut the ribbon to open the flats.

She said:

I feel honoured to be the 500th resident of an NCH-built home. The flowers were so unexpected and being able to cut the ribbon was a really nice touch to mark the occasion.

“Strelley Court is a really great place, my home is lovely and modern and the whole complex is a really high standard. All the residents love living her, plus we now know it’s a really special building for NCH being the 500th – that’s a badge we can wear with pride.”

Also completed in the middle of 2018 were 49 houses and six bungalows in The Meadows. The Meadows properties also have innovative sun tubes that bring up to 70% more natural light into the properties and help to combat fuel poverty.

One of NCH’s biggest builds is well underway. Construction teams have been at Winwood Heights in Sherwood since 2017. The Winwood Heights project consists of the renovations of the existing Winchester Court and Woodthorpe Court high rise flats and the creation of 44 homes in an Extra Care Scheme named Winwood Court.

There are a number of sites already being looked at for potential new homes, including NCH’s first-ever properties wholly for private market rent. Plans to create 21 apartments on the site of the former Meadows Police Station have just been give the go ahead by planning and will act as a gateway to the Meadows and NG2 Business Park.

Plans for nearly 70 homes have also

been submitted, or they have been granted permission by Nottingham City Council’s planning committee.

Plans for homes on Marlestones in Bulwell and homes on Tunstall Drive in Basford have just recently been given the green light.

NCH is awaiting a decision on plans for homes on the former Clifton Miners Welfare site in The Meadows.

Eighteen family homes will be built on Knights Close in Bulwell, with work due to start once a developer has been appointed. There are also plans in the pipeline for 287 homes at Poplar Heights in Bestwood and 65 eco homes at Eastglade in Bestwood.

Nick Murphy, Chief Executive of Nottingham City Homes, said:

The City Council has ambitious targets to deliver new homes for Nottingham people. We are keen that Nottingham City Homes makes the biggest contribution possible to building decent homes which will transform peoples’ lives. Our 500th new home is a milestone, but we need to build more to help the Nottingham families on our waiting list.

“But it’s not just about the numbers though. We are building good

quality homes – which some have called “the best new social housing in the country” - with high levels of energy efficiency, solar panels on all new homes and space standards which mean these are going to be good homes to live in for years to come.

“And of course, we place a premium on training and employing local labour – including setting up our own in-house new build team.

“We are offering more apprenticeships and more job opportunities for Nottingham people. Our new build programme is helping us to deliver our vision of creating homes and places where people want to live.”

Cllr Jon Collins, Leader of Nottingham City Council, said: “We have been working in partnership with Nottingham City Homes to transform our neighbourhoods and build energy-efficient, safe, quality new homes for Nottingham people.

“We’re developing a mix of properties across the whole city, from much-needed family accommodation to bungalows and independent living schemes which meet the needs of local people.

“Despite some difficult challenges the city faces in new house building, I’m proud of the city’s achievements and welcome the 500th resident as they move into their new home.”

09

Optima helps housing association deliver community regeneration project Optima windows were chosen for the construction of 18 houses, 38 flats and two retail units as part of a regeneration scheme in Maidstone, Kent.

Housing association Golding Homes has invested £50m in a three phase regeneration project to transform and improve the former Park Wood estate in Maidstone. The scheme involved providing over 200 new

homes, mainly family houses, as well as new community facilities including new shops, and a much wider package of investment to improve the local area.

Education, housing and healthcare contractor Rydon secured the £9.3m contract to deliver the third and final phase of the project, which involved building 18 houses, 38 flats and two retail units.

When it came to the windows and doors on the project, Rydon turned to longstanding supplier Feature Architectural Fabrications, based in Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Optima windows deliver the complete package

10

Feature Architectural Fabrications has only been a Profile 22 installer for around two years and Procurement Manager Paul Delaney attributes his company’s success in winning the Wallis Fields contract to the

Housing Case Study

SECTOR: Social and commercial

system. “Rydon specified PVCU windows and doors. Optima from Profile 22 delivered the technical and aesthetic requirements at a competitive price. It made the difference in this case.”

Optima from Profile 22 is rapidly becoming the most widely specified commercial system thanks to its compelling list of benefits that help specifiers meet even the most demanding of requirements.

The system delivers optimal thermal performance, achieving a 1.2 W/m2K U-value as standard, with U-values as low as 0.8 W/m2K possible. It is PAS24 compliant as standard with Secured

by Design options available as well.

In its aesthetics and versatility, it sits comfortably in any architectural style.

A team pulling together Feature worked closely with fabricator Framexpress and Profile 22 at every stage of the project.

Profile 22’s specification team supported Feature with the technical information Rydon required, including U value calculations. The Framexpress team liaised closely

with Feature and Profile 22 to deliver products on schedule and ensure deadlines were met.

On site, Feature worked closely with all other trades to ensure installation went as smoothly as possible. Paul said:

We’ve been in business for over 20 years and are proud to have built up an enviable reputation for maintaining close working relationships with our clients and fellow contractors.

The result The project involved the demolition of an outdated shopping parade to create a more pedestrian orientated environment, landscaped areas and improved public realm spaces.

The homes and commercial blocks have a modern design inspired by the local Kent architecture, drawing inspiration from the traditional housing of the region including cladding, weatherboarding and render with a mix of flat and pitched roofs. The Optima windows sit perfectly in the design and Paul is delighted with the results.

PROJECT: Community regeneration CLIENT: Golding Homes FABRICATOR: Framexpress INSTALLER: Feature Architectural Fabrications PRODUCT: • Profile 22’s Optima Chamfered Side Hung Casements • Profile 22’s Optima Chamfered Fully reversible • Profile 22’s Optima Doors & Sidelights • Composite Doors & Sidelights LOCATION: Wallis Fields, Maidstone

11

AMEY HOLDS FIRST EVER ENGINEERING BADGE DAY FOR GIRLGUIDING AS REQUESTS REACH OVER 120,000

Hundreds of young girls in England and Scotland have come together to learn about engineering and science at Amey’s first ever badge day. The company, which designed the badge, were prompted to do more when they received over 120,000 requests covering Girlguiding across the UK. For the first time, two events were held simultaneously in Basingstoke and Edinburgh. Engineers from Amey attended to support the girls receiving their Guiding Girls into Engineering Badge. It serves as an introduction into practical STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) learning, stimulating interest in subjects that girls are usually known for avoiding.

Activities included designing and building a bridge out of straws then testing how much weight it could carry, constructing robots using motors and recyclable materials,

COVERS ALRESFORD DONATES MATERIALS TO SUN HILL JUNIOR SCHOOL Covers Alresford has donated materials to Sun Hill Junior School to help convert a previously unusable area of space into a picnic terrace.

The timber and builders’ merchant, which is based on Prospect Road, delivered items to the school, including artificial grass, helping it to create a new all-year-round useable space complete with picnic tables.

Emma Polglaze, who is the chair of the PTA at Sun Hill Junior School, said: “With school budgets more and more stretched, it is extremely difficult to make much needed improvements to our facilities. It’s only from the generous donations of others, including Covers, that we are able to make the differences that will benefit our teachers and children. Thank you Covers for your support!”

ARMA RESPOND TO HOUSING SECRETARY’S CLADDING DIRECTIVE The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has taken a strong stance on the issue of cladding and forcing the removal and reinstatement of a safer product.

12

For months James Brokenshire has been warning landlords of at-risk

properties to get on and remove dangerous cladding.

Yesterday Brokenshire announced a change to the housing health and safety regulations to force the landlords to make good these works with no apparent financial risk to the leaseholders.

Michael Sheath, Depot Manager at Covers Alresford, said:

It’s a pleasure to help Sun Hill Junior School with this project. We hope the teachers and pupils enjoy their new picnic area for many years to come.

The Association for Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) welcomes the move as it has been lobbying for Government intervention ever since the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

Immediately after the tragic fire, ARMA flagged to Government the problem under leasehold as to who would likely pay for the cost of fire safety remedial works and that this could seriously delay remedial works. ARMA has publicly asked for Government loans to be make

Company News

and creating vehicles using cakes and sweets.

Isla Buchanan, Senior Project Manager at Amey Consulting, said: “Not only did we have almost 200 girls attend the Edinburgh event, there were another 300 on the waiting list. I think events like this show if you make the activities fun and relatable, you can encourage young people, especially girls to take an interest in STEM. This, alongside our programmes that support teachers and encourage accessibility in the industry, can really make a difference now, and in the future.”

Not only is the UK falling behind with one of the lowest stats for women in engineering (circa 9 per cent), the London School of Economics also reports one in six UK jobs now require STEM knowledge and the government has said industry needs to do more.

As well as the engineering badge, Amey has several programmes helping to engage young people in STEM; this led them to win the prestigious Large Companies STEM Inspiration Awards in early November.

FAMILY-RUN BUSINESS EXPANDS TO OFFER CONSTRUCTION SERVICES IN WEST MIDLANDS A family-run business with over 140 years of history has branched out to offer construction services in the West Midlands.

Drewitt Construction is headed up

by Alex Drewitt, the sixth generation of the Drewitt family, who founded the Drewitt Group in 1877, which has its headquarters in Bournemouth, Dorset.

The team at Drewitt Construction are based in Worcester, and are working across the West Midlands, including

available and for remediation to be taken into a national programme to avoid such delays as the safety of residents must always be the uppermost concern.

Dr Nigel Glen, Chief Executive Office of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA), comments: “We congratulate the Government for taking this strong approach to ensure remedial works on affected buildings can get under way

Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Gloucestershire and Shropshire for private and public sector clients. In the past the team has worked on projects including industrial and retail units, sports facilities and shopping centres.

Alex said: “I am incredibly proud to be launching Drewitt Construction in the West Midlands. It is a fantastic opportunity for us to branch out into new territory and I hope we get the opportunity to show what we can do in the region. I hope to

immediately. People need to know they are safe and able to live their lives. We have always said time is of essence here and work should be completed first and then worry about who pays later.

“The costs to cladding removal has given many residents grave anxieties and now some headway should start to be made more quickly.

“The Secretary of State has said that ‘leaseholders must not pay’. We keenly await details of how that will

continue the success of The Drewitt Group, which has developed many long-term working relationships with clients, based upon a personal, professional and efficient service, and I appreciate all of the support that I have already had from the local business community.”

work in practice given the structure of leasehold. For example, in the case of Citiscape in Croydon, the First tier Tribunal Property determined that the leaseholders were liable for the costs under the terms of their lease. That may well be the case across all the buildings under discussion, depending upon their leases. And where Landlords are not the guilty party re installing the cladding is it fair that they will be expected to pay? Clearly there is more work to be done but this is a welcome and significant step.”

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Company News

GRAHAM AND HIGHWAYS ENGLAND LAUNCH WORKSHOPS TO HELP LIFE-SAVING BLOOD BIKERS Highways and civil engineering contractor GRAHAM has collaborated with Highways England, regional Blood Bike groups and traffic management contractors to launch a pioneering initiative to help Blood Bike groups reach their destinations during road closures and diversions in the East of England.

Blood Bike Groups are rapid response charities that provide medical transportation services to the National Health Service (NHS). They are represented by the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB), an umbrella organisation for over 25 individual blood bike charities which cover most of the UK. Despite playing a crucial role in the transportation and delivery of blood, plasma and breast milk to the NHS, the Blood Bike groups as registered charities had not been receiving the direct communications sent out to emergency services during road closures and diversions.

As part of a major highways improvement scheme underway in the East of England, GRAHAM’s site team organised a workshop and invited Blood Bike groups serving Norfolk, Suffolk, Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire and Northamptonshire to attend alongside representatives from Highways England and traffic management contractors.

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attendees and a future meeting is scheduled to take place to ensure all of the agreements are adhered to.

Discussing the initiative, GRAHAM’s Community & Stakeholder Officer, Jonathan Wright, said: “Following conversations with the Blood Bike Groups that serve the Eastern region, we were informed that they were not always made aware of the diversions and closures in place during our works on the highways.

“We also learnt that the role of these life-saving volunteers was not always clear to some of the contractors working with us. To address this, we held a workshop with Highways England, our traffic management contractors and site staff to educate our stakeholders and discuss how we can help these groups provide their vital services for the emergency services.

“At GRAHAM we strive to make positive contributions to the communities we work within and engage these communities effectively through proactive communication.”

GRAHAM worked with Highways England and other stakeholders on the OD East of England Highways scheme to develop a strategy that enables the blood bikes to be identified and escorted through work sites when required. The team also established a communications rollout so that the groups are informed of any upcoming closures or diversions.

We’re proud to support the fantastic work of these volunteers who provide an amazing service to the NHS and look forward to working with them during future schemes.

Concluding the workshop, a Memorandum of Understanding was developed and agreed with all the

Following the success of the first workshop, future meetings have now been scheduled, with GRAHAM and

Highways England reviewing plans to roll the initiative out nationally.

A spokesperson from Highways England commented: “This initiative came to light when planning a raft of schemes in the Eastern region. It was brought to our attention that the Blood Bikes do not receive our standard communications that are sent to NHS warning of road closures.

“Given on rare occasions the Blood Bike service can ride under blue lights, we decided it would be a prudent step to initiate some sort of MOU to ensure the Service is notified of works and also our workers and contractors are aware that this important organisation is seen as another blue light service and afforded the necessary access through or around our works.”

Jon Doran, Fleet Manager of Norfolk Blood Bikes, commented: “We are proud to be associated with GRAHAM and deeply value their understanding of the blood bike world, especially the difficulties we face in the more rural areas of the Eastern region where diversions can often mean the difference between meeting deadlines and patients receiving timely treatment or having to return and repeat the process because items reach their destination out of time. GRAHAM’s fantastic ‘can do’ approach has proved invaluable and the initial MOU allowing Blood Bikes and cars through diversions is a groundbreaking move. The company should be applauded for taking ownership of this and we look forward to an exciting future and rollout nationwide.”

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Infrastructure Impetus Increasingly major pubic sector building projects are being constructed on brownfield land in a move to regenerate inner city areas and improve infrastructure alongside transport routes.

Jon Clements, Commercial Director of Ensafe Consultants, who have extensive experience collaborating regularly on projects and meeting compliant criteria for the Highways Agency and Network Rail, provides industry insight into potential pitfalls facing developers and authorities when utilising previously developed brownfield land.

As infrastructure projects including HS2 and Crossrail continue to gather pace, Clements offers advice on what steps can be taken across the sector to tackle industry infrastructure issues while safeguarding workforces operating on such sites.

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Clements highlighted how critical it is designated land proposed for development, alongside surrounding areas allocated for important infrastructure implementation, is inspected thoroughly by sector specialists to initially identify and eradicate any potential risks rising from contaminated land. The need

to inspect potentially contaminated land is rapidly rising within the industry.

Clements revealed a spike in requests for specialised contaminated land surveys and remediation strategies to assist with major infrastructure projects and brownfield developments.

We are seeing a massive rise in requirements for contaminated land specialised survey services because greenfield is very difficult to develop due to planning laws.

Therefore brownfield development is increasing because of recession and the death of our inner cities because of the moving out to the suburbs of retail and people.

“Increasingly inner cities are being redeveloped because they are dead spaces that councils and authorities are trying to encourage people back to use those centres of urban conurbations.

“However they’re potentially contaminated because of heavy industry and previous usage. There’s all sorts of buildings and structures designated for development but issues arise around the fact the ground is contaminated and needs cleaning before it can be utilised for construction and infrastructure implementation.

“So the growth is massive. We’ve got these very large infrastructure projects, like the High Speed Two (HS2) rail network, Crossrail and all

of the new rail links that are routed through the country are running out through cities. HS2 starts in London, runs out from Euston and they’re trying to build a two lane railway line running over pretty much brownfield for the first 10 – 12 miles of that area.

“So all of the buildings in the way are coming down, all the ground needs to be tested, all of that material, if it is contaminated, will need to be remediated – it’s a huge project.

Any projects where anything is replaced, or where building is carried out on existing land/ building sites, there’s the potential to encounter contamination issues.

Clements revealed such sites can contain contaminates which pose major health risks and it’s essential an accredited organisation undertake a suite of environmental testing to look for heavy metals and carbons, arsenic, asbestos, oils and other harmful contaminates.

“We would conduct a full study of the house building development area and advice on any contamination there. It suits the developer, the house builder, the infrastructure company, the road builder, the civils company, anybody involved in the construction of anything new including: business parks, housing estates, factories, schools, inner city development, refurbishment.

“When working on large projects alongside major railway routes,

Infrastructure Feature

alongside inner city areas and if there are buildings within the designated construction site, it’s essential to undertake surveys to identify deleterious materials, specifically asbestos, within buildings.

The process would be to put a methodology together to remove any asbestos and manage the safe demolition of those structures, then to clean the surrounding grounds to allow new buildings to be erected or new roads and infrastructure to be laid.

The process is: • To find what’s in the ground • To identify it • To strategise what needs to be done to remediate it

“The entire process, from identifying a problem to having the solution to be able to put space in the ground can take several weeks, depending on the contaminates discovered.

“It’s quite a fast process once work gets underway. On a project we worked on recently we were able to successfully screen circa 250 tonnes of spoil a day. It’s key however to get all necessary safety measures in place including a demarcation area of exclusion and ensure all works undertaken are done safely and legally so everybody is safeguarded when the necessary work is carried out.”

Clements’ team recently worked on a major development involving the building of new homes and associated infrastructure, including roads and roundabouts to access the site.

Before pre-existing buildings on site could be demolished it had to be established if asbestos was present so a specialist survey was conducted and a specification put together to remove all the asbestos and manage the demolition of the structures safely.

With providers of such specialised survey services increasingly in demand Clements stressed it’s essential to enlist an accredited organisation for such operations.

“Ultimately if you want to put space in the ground you need specialists to tell you if you are good to go or give you a strategy to make sure you don’t disturb any contaminates, you don’t break the legislation and everyone is safe.”

Contact Ensafe Consultants on 01604 878190, www.ensafe.co.uk

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BOHLIN CYWINSKI JACKSON COMPLETES COLORADO SCHOOL OF MINES, COORSTEK CENTRE FOR APPLIED SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING The new CoorsTek Center at the Colorado School of Mines – an education and research facility dedicated to connecting students, faculty, researchers, and industry professionals – designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson in association with Anderson Mason Dale Architects is now complete.

Located in Golden, Colorado, in the heart of campus, the four-story building is a significant milestone in a multigenerational partnership between Mines, the Coors family, and CoorsTek, a leader in technical ceramics manufacturing.

The new Center supports a broad range of academic and research activities and is home to the College of Applied Science and Engineering (CASE) and Department of Physics.

The design facilitates collaborative partnerships among the college’s

three other departments and two interdisciplinary programs: the Department of Chemistry and Geochemistry, the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, the Department of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, the Materials Science Program, and the Nuclear Science and Engineering Program.

The building’s design employs massing and materiality to connect to the site’s historic context and the omnipresent Front Range landscape. Its metal and glass facade is vertically punctuated by service cores clad in dark masonry, which help to anchor the building’s entrances. Floating horizontal masonry panels made of the signature pale brick used extensively throughout campus add visual interest and introduce a forward-looking aesthetic utilizing the historical palette.

The northwest exterior, which fronts the popular campus green, Kafadar Commons, consists of full-height glazing at Level 1, and vertical glass panels and metal fins at Levels 2 and 3 that float above and modulate as influenced by the building’s interior program.

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While the Center is designed to accommodate CASE, the larger campus need for general classroom space provided an opportunity to

School Project

draw students and faculty of all disciplines through the building.

Media-intensive ‘Active Learning’ rooms are flexible and can be rearranged for group work and discussions as curriculum dictates.

Outside the classrooms on Level 1, a lively promenade with panoramic visual connections to the campus green incorporates seating and collaborative work areas of varied types and scales, offering opportunities for both planned and chance encounters. These spaces emulate tech workplaces to create an open, dynamic environment that will prepare students for post-college work life.

The Center’s complex programmatic requirements, contrasted by the general classroom spaces on the main level, define the building’s organizational logic. While Level 1 is made available to the entire campus, Levels 2 and 3 contain dedicated teaching and research laboratories, and faculty and graduate student offices. Additional lab spaces with specific lighting, sound, or vibration requirements are tucked below grade.

Made possible with a $27 million gift from CoorsTek and the Coors family, the CoorsTek Center is a world-class facility that celebrates Mines’ institutional needs and vibrant campus setting and will serve as a focal point for the CoorsTek-Mines research partnership for years to come.

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Crown Square, Edinburgh Castle

V-Flex Valve

Providing low carbon, energy efficient heating to homes, businesses & public buildings Approximately 60 million people across Europe currently receive hot water and heat via district heating schemes.

This equates to around 12% of the total population, but Flexenergy, one of the UK’s leading partners for district heating network installations, estimates that with the collective efforts of policy makers, designers, suppliers, installers, operators and users, there is a potential for this to increase to 250 million (50%) by 2050.

Glenrothes-based Flexenergy has a 30-year heritage of working alongside consulting engineers, energy managers and contractors to optimise the performance of DHS networks through the use of eco-friendly and thermally- efficient pre-insulated plastic pipe in place of conventional steel materials. The company is a valued partner for designers and specifiers focused on system performance, environmental impact and return on investment.

The company is the sole distributor in the UK of Flexalen pre-insulated pipe technology, which has polybutene at its core, a material proven to enhance DHS system performance through its thermal properties, minimise environmental impact through its sustainable credentials and deliver a better return on investment based on whole-life analysis.

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Flexenergy has also developed its pre-insulated V-Flex valve system, which allows operators to shut down entire networks or to isolate individual streets/properties for network maintenance and future network expansion.

The valve innovation includes a key-operated steel ball valve inside a polyethylene casing, insulated by PUR foam, and incorporates PB tails for a fully welded connection to a polybutene pipe network.

Both Flexalen and the V-Flex valve system have become increasingly popular with specifiers and contractors as they look to optimise the energy efficiency, performance and return on investment of community heating schemes and commercial projects.

Crown Square, Edinburgh Castle The cast iron hot water pipes in Crown Square were showing signs of corrosion and the surveyors who were called in to investigate a leak, found a defective section of iron pipework in the heating network serving the Queen Anne building.

Attempts were made to repair the pipework but, during this process, other sections of the pipe were found to be corroding and so the decision was taken to replace the entire section of flow and return pipes.

The flexibility of the Flexalen product enabled much of the pipework to be pre-fabricated before being brought to the site, which was important because of the constrained nature of the location. The pipe was then fusion-welded together to take account of the numerous bends in the heating network.

Flexenergy provided a total of 80 metres of its Flexalen 600 pipe technology for this project, which offers a thermally efficient, recyclable and more enduring solution than equivalent iron or

steel pipe network in this type of environment.

NHS Orkney Hospital Flexenergy’s Flexalen pipe technology was specified for the new £64m hospital and healthcare facility that is currently being built on Orkney because of its sustainability and energy efficiency.

200 metres of the pre-insulated pipe was provided to carry heating and boosted cold water between the hospital’s newly-built energy centre and the main building. The contractors specified the Flexalen pipe for its high thermal-efficiency, the fact that it is fully recyclable and, being an all plastic system, will not corrode, unlike traditional pipe materials.

The hospital is due to open in 2019 and has been designed to put people first and make a positive contribution to the environment, local community and economy; once complete, island residents will no longer have to travel outside of Orkney for routine care.

The Higgs Centre for Innovation The Higgs Centre for Innovation opened in May 2018 and is a ground-breaking new facility, run in partnership with the University of Edinburgh. It applies business incubation best practice to big data and space technology, enabling start-ups to translate fundamental research into wider commercial impact.

During the planning for the project, consulting engineers recognised the capability of the fusion welded Flexalen pipes to allow offsite

prefabrication, resulting in significant logistical advantages.

In total 100 metres of 125mm pipe and 200 metres of 90mm pipe were installed to convey LPHW Heating Water and Chilled Water from a remote plantroom and combined Water Chiller/Heat Pump to the Higgs Mechanical Services Plantroom.

Halliday Court sheltered housing accommodation Leeds City Council completed a project to upgrade the heating plant and infrastructure at Halliday Court sheltered housing development in Leeds, which made full use of the V-Flex valve system.

Halliday Court comprises 90 flats in total with 55 in a main block and 35 spread across five satellite blocks.

Pairs of V-Flex valves were installed at building entry points to allow areas of the network to be isolated for remedial or regular service work, or for future growth should further homes be needed.

The Higgs Centre for Innovation

Flexenergy also supplied around 520m of its pre-insulated Flexalen pipe sized to meet the diverse requirements of the heating and hot water network at Halliday Court and the individual apartments.

In recent years, Flexenergy has seen an increasing demand for its products as plastic pipework has become the preferred option for contractors, specifiers and design engineers.

Flexenergy’s Sales Director, Sandy Fairley, commented:

Flexenergy’s products are environmentally-friendly and energy-saving and perfectly in tune with 21st century requirements for secure, low maintenance, low carbon, sustainable and energy efficient district heating and community heating networks.

Our V-Flex valve system has also transformed the ability of operators to control and service polybutene networks by delivering zonal control via pre-insulated valve technology that can be fusion welded directly to the main network. www.flexenergy.co.uk

NHS Orkney Hospital

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CURO, SWAN AND HOMES ENGLAND ESTABLISH STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP TO DELIVER 1,000 AFFORDABLE HOMES It was announced today that Curo and Swan Housing Association (“Swan”) have successfully secured a Strategic Partnership with Homes England and a grant allocation of £51.1m to build 1,067 new affordable homes by March 2024, in addition to their existing development plans.

The programme will comprise a mix of homes available for social rent, affordable rent and shared ownership.

The allocation was announced as part of Homes England’s second wave of Strategic Partnerships and is one of only 21 announced to date.

Curo, based in Bath, and Swan, based in Essex, operate in regions where high property values mean that homes for private rent and market sale are often unaffordable.

By working in partnership the two housing associations will share resources and expertise to maximise the number of new homes that can be delivered in areas with high affordability pressures.

Victor da Cunha, Curo’s Chief Executive, says “Securing Strategic Partner status with Homes England is great news; we exist to provide affordable housing for local people and this additional funding will

enable us to deliver hundreds of new homes over and above what’s already in our business plan.

Specifically, it accelerates our total building programme to 2,520 homes over the next five years. This will increase our housing stock by more than 20% and means that we’ll continue to play a full and active role in addressing the regional housing crisis across the West of England.”

John Synnuck, Swan’s Chief Executive says

As a Housing Association working in Essex and East London, becoming a Strategic Partner of Homes England ensures that we can continue to build much needed affordable homes in Essex.

This year we celebrate our 25th Anniversary as an organisation and we continue to be as dedicated as ever to providing affordable homes for those who need them.

We currently own and manage over 11,000 homes and this funding will enable us to deliver 505 much needed additional affordable homes over and above what’s already in our business plan representing a 5% increase in our housing stock - helping us towards our ambitious target of building an additional 10,000 homes by 2027. ”

CONSTRUCTION KICKS OFF AT NEW £2.8M ENGLAND LANE ACADEMY A ground-breaking ceremony has celebrated the start of construction at a new primary school in Wakefield.

Spatial Initiative – the joint venture of Styles&Wood and Extraspace Solutions – is beginning construction of England Lane Academy in Knottingley, part of Delta Academies Trust.

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The £2.8m project will see Initiative completely rebuild the primary academy including new classrooms, hall, support areas and external play spaces. The new school buildings will

accommodate 210 pupils, and will also incorporate a 26-place nursery within the single-storey building.

The new academy is part of the Department for Education’s £4.4billion Priority School Building Programme, which is rebuilding and refurbishing school buildings across the UK deemed to be most in need of renovation.

Completion is expected in summer 2019, in time to welcome staff and pupils for the new academic year.

Speaking at the ceremony, David

Irving, associate executive principal for England Lane, said: “It’s very exciting for everyone here to see the new academy becoming a reality. The ground-breaking event celebrates the start of the building process, and pupils and staff are looking forward to seeing it take shape over the coming weeks and months.

We’re grateful to everybody involved and look forward to teaching our children in a new, state-ofthe-art school.

Sarah Morton, framework director at Initiative, said: “We’re very excited to put the first spade in the ground at England Lane. This development

Project News

COLAS WINS TOP SPOTS IN MULTI MILLION POUND HIGHWAYS ENGLAND FRAMEWORK Colas has won two major bids to carry out multi-million pound programmes for Highways England in the Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and Lancashire area – coming first in the face of stiff competition.

key Lots on the Area 10 Construction Works Framework, Colas is well positioned to deliver the lion’s share of activity in the region, worth more than £16 million annually, for temporary traffic management and for road restraints.

Colas CEO Carl Fergusson said: ‘We are proud to be have been selected as the leading contractor on both the Highways England Lots for which we competed. Colas’s commitment to quality, our track record of effective delivery and our cost-effectiveness, all contributed to this success. It shows confidence in Colas’s strength, quality and skills.’

Commitment to quality delivery was critical to Colas’s success, seeing the firm beat off rivals, especially for the hotly-contested traffic management Lot.

Colas was able to point to the highquality work it is already carrying out for Highways England in Areas 13/14 CWF and nationally through other frameworks.

As part of the bid process, Highways England emphasised the importance of collaborative behaviour, early contractor involvement, quality management, innovation and sustainability.

Additionally the firm, owned by French global infrastructure giant, Colas SA, committed to training apprentices for Area 10 as well as providing the customer with effective response times.

services to Homes England over the next four years, thereby helping to deliver thousands of new homes and vital infrastructure and facilities that will support the development of new communities across the country.

much-needed homes across England.”

As highest-ranked provider on two

HOMES ENGLAND SUCCESS FOR RSK Integrated environmental engineering and technical services business RSK is delighted to have been appointed to the new Homes England multidisciplinary framework, which will enable the procurement of £100 million worth of services, as part of a team led by multidisciplinary specialist Pell Frischmann.

The team will provide a comprehensive range of design

“RSK is delighted to be growing its relationship with Pell Frischmann and Homes England,” said RSK chief executive officer Alan Ryder.

“As one of the country’s leading environmental and engineering consultancies, we are excited to bring our experience of property development to bear by providing capacity, insight and innovation to support Homes England in delivering

Iain Bisset, Managing Director of Pell Frischmann, added, “The Pell Frischmann approach brings together teams of unique and specialist partner firms, along with experts from within our business, to generate the very highest standard of work on every project.

“We are delighted that the success of this partnership approach has been recognised by Homes England, and we look forward to delivering much needed development across the country.”

forms part of an important series of projects which will provide primary schools across the country with the best possible learning facilities.”

“We know how important it is to minimise disruption and delivery time on school builds to help keep academic timetables running smoothly. Our work at England Lane has been carefully planned to allow pupils to access their new facilities as quickly as possible.”

The existing school will be demolished on the opening of the new building.

Spatial Initiative was formed to bring together Styles&Wood’s skills in preconstruction, fit-out and project delivery with Extraspace Solutions’ innovation in modern methods of construction.

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Project News

UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM’S GREEN HEART PROVIDES GLIMPSE OF A HIGH-TECH FUTURE FOR PARKLAND Willmott Dixon has transformed 12 acres of parkland at the University of Birmingham’s Edgbaston campus to provide high-tech recreational space that will benefit students, staff and the local community.

Dubbed the Green Heart, the reclaimed space includes a Pavegen walkway, the first at a UK university, which generates data and off-grid electricity for USB charging point benches. In a pointer to the future, the Green Heart also has comprehensive Wi-Fi coverage and digital information totems.

Alongside the new technology is recreational space featuring native flowers and wild plants, 160 new trees and nesting sites, plus spaces for performances and events, markets, a café and bar, and dedicated areas for art and sculptures. The project has also restored historic walkways as envisaged in the University’s original design from the early 1900s.

It also greatly enhances step-free access across the campus while paving has been specifically designed with tapping points for white stick users.

Nick Gibb, director of Willmott Dixon in the Midlands, said: “The University of Birmingham is exceedingly forward-thinking in terms of deliverable and sustainable technology and the implementation of the Pavegen system in particular is a real step forward. I’m excited for the Green Heart Festival later in the year, where we’ll celebrate our joint vision for the space coming to life, with students, staff and communities enjoying the space to its full potential.”

WOODHEAD GROUP SECURES PLACE ON PAGABO FRAMEWORK Woodhead Group has been awarded a place on the national Pagabo framework for medium works.

Pagabo helps public sector organisations across the UK by providing EU compliant framework agreements, a Dynamic Procurement System (DPS), and bespoke consultancy - delivered

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and backed up by a team of MCIPS qualified procurement professionals with a huge range of experience.

The four-year framework will give Pagabo’s customers the confidence to select a contractor, that has already been taken through a robust procurement process, speeding up appointment and enabling projects to mobilise efficiently.

Pavegen CEO and founder Laurence Kemball-Cook said: “We are proud to play our part in this fantastic development, embracing design and the latest technology to provide a unique environment for the University of Birmingham community.

“The Pavegen walkway provides a versatile platform that converts users’ footfall into off-grid energy to power local applications – we are monitoring it via a cloud-based platform.”

The Green Heart was designed by Churchman Landscape Architects, with support from Associated Architects. The lighting was designed

by Speers and Major, with other key roles in the development undertaken by Couch Perry Wilkes, Arup and Currie and Brown.

The Green Heart will be celebrated in June 2019 with a weekend-long launch event, bringing together all parts of the University. There will then follow 12 months of activities in the space, as it matures through the four seasons.

Woodhead Group Director, Tom Woodhead, said: “Partnership working is something we are so passionate about, it delivers better value, more positive social impact and enables collaboration.

What makes the Pagabo framework special is their absolute commitment to social value. Pagabo has enabled £782,905,110 of social value to date and we are looking forward to working with our customers to support this excellent work.

Woodhead Group is one of 46 national and regional contractors covering three different value bands, offering a wide choice of relevant companies to those organisations looking to appoint.

Contracts can either be directly awarded to one contractor, or a number of contractors will be invited to submit proposals through a further competition process.

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NCH APPOINTS CONTRACTOR TO BUILD 33 NEW HOMES IN NOTTINGHAM Nottingham City Homes has appointed Woodhead Group as construction partner in two of the latest Building a Better Nottingham developments in the north of the city.

Woodhead, based in Nottinghamshire, has worked on a number of schemes for Nottingham City Homes and Nottingham City Council in recent years, has been awarded the contract, which includes 20 family homes and a retail unit on Knights Close in Top Valley. The second development of 13 family homes on Aldgate Close

in Bulwell, will be built on the derelict site of a former care home.

The two, three and four bedroom family homes will be built to the national space standards and offer warm, secure and efficient modern homes, and will go to Nottingham families on the Council’s waiting list. Planning permission for both schemes was approved last year.

Work on the Knights Close site is expected to begin in April 2019.

As well as new council homes, this development will also include the creation of a retail unit, as well as

a Parsonage, commissioned and paid for by the local church, but delivered by Woodhead as part of the overall scheme.

Demolition work in Bulwell is also expected to begin in February 2019, with work on the new building planned for the Spring.

Nick Murphy, Chief Executive for Nottingham City Homes, said: “It is a big year for NCH as we mark 100 years of social housing and the first Aldgate Close new build property will be completed during this celebration year. 2019 marks the centenary of the Housing and Planning Act (1919). The Act made housing a national responsibility, and councils were given the task

WILLMOTT DIXON LANDS £23M HOUSING SCHEME IN SALFORD Willmott Dixon has landed another large residential scheme in Greater Manchester following recent work to build nearly 250 homes in Wythenshawe and Old Trafford.

In the latest deal, the company has been appointed by Salix Homes to deliver a £22.5 million scheme to create 100+ affordable homes at the Salford Canon Green Campus development on Canon Green Drive in Trinity.

Working with the architect Corstorphine & Wright, the project will see Willmott Dixon transform a 1960s-era tower block, Canon Green Court, with modern new kitchens, bathrooms, heating systems, sprinkler systems and exterior re-facing and insulation. The company will also provide an external facelift on the neighbouring Westminster House apartment block.

The redevelopment further involves Willmott Dixon building a new 11-storey apartment block within the grounds of the site, providing 108 one and two-bedroom affordable apartments, which will be available under the Rent-to-Buy scheme.

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Both the refurbishment and newbuild projects will run concurrently over the next two years. Lee Sugden, chief executive at Salix Homes, said: “The start of work on our Canon Green Campus development marks a pivotal moment for Salix Homes

and for Salford, and we look forward to seeing work progress on site over the next two years. This is the largest affordable housing development in the area and we are confident that this ambitious scheme will make a valuable contribution to delivering the high quality, affordable homes that Salford desperately needs.”

Willmott Dixon recently built 80 extra-care apartments as part of a mixed-use development for Trafford Housing Trust at Old Trafford, in the shadow of Manchester United’s ground.

It recently won national acclaim after being declared Inside Housing’s Best Older People’s housing development and Best Affordable housing development (over 71 homes).

The company is currently on site building 147 houses and apartments on a nine acre site in Simonsway, Wythenshawe, as part of Wythenshawe Community Housing Group’s largest development to date.

Willmott Dixon was recently awarded The Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the category of Promoting Opportunity, recognising its work in leaving long-lasting communities, promoting social wellbeing and helping those from disadvantaged backgrounds into sustainable employment.

The multi-million pound development, partially funded thanks to a £3.8million grant from Homes England, is expected to be completed in spring 2021.

Project News

of developing new housing where it was needed by working people.

Lloyd George, the Prime Minister at the time, promised ‘homes fit for heroes’. His vision is one that NCH has kept true to with the quality of the council housing it is building today and these new builds will be no exception.

Cllr Linda Woodings, Portfolio Holder for Planning and Housing at Nottingham City Council, said: “Working with Nottingham City Homes and partners, we’re transforming Nottingham’s neighbourhoods and Building a Better Nottingham by regenerating sites which are no longer fit for purpose and replacing them with new, warm, safe and quality homes.

Together we’re developing a mix of properties across the whole city, from much-needed family housing to bungalows and independent living schemes, which meet the needs of local people in Nottingham.

So far the Building a Better Nottingham scheme has built more than 500 new council homes for Nottingham people, and is expected to work on nearly 100 more this year.

Tom Woodhead, Director of the Woodhead Group, said: “We’re

delighted to have been selected to again work with Nottingham City Homes and Nottingham City Council, to deliver a selection of new homes for the city.

“We see the wider benefits a programme like this has to offer.

It’s about the community, working with local residents to improve the surrounding environment; it’s about the local jobs and training, and the local supply-chain businesses who will also benefit.

“We’re very pleased to continue our journey working on the Building a Better Nottingham programme, having already delivered over 100 new homes for Nottingham City Homes.”

MICK GEORGE LAND £1.7M UNIVERSITY PACKAGE Having recently secured a £250 million contract for the new University of Cambridge ‘Cavendish III Physics Laboratory’, Bouygues UK have appointed local construction specialist Mick George Ltd to begin enabling works, imminently.

Located on the West Cambridge campus, Cavendish III will be a purpose-built laboratory for worldleading research for the university’s Department of Physics, bringing the large number of research groups in the department together under one roof to encourage collaboration.

The project has received a funding contribution of £75 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.

Professor Andy Parker, Head of the Cavendish Laboratory at The University of Cambridge, said: “This is an exciting step forward for the new Cavendish Laboratory, which will serve as a home for physics research at Cambridge as well as a first-rate facility for the UK as a whole. This world-class facility will meet the educational needs of future generations of students much better than is possible at our existing site and its design also facilitates public events, enabling us to continue our extensive programme of work with schools and the wider public.”

With a GIA of around 354,000 sq. ft (33,000 sq. m), Cavendish III will

house a range of laboratories, offices, clean rooms, workshops and multiple lecture theatres, while the independent Shared Facilities Hub, with a net area of approximately 50,000 sq. ft (4,700 sq. m), will provide catering, collaborative teaching, meeting, study and library spaces to the West Cambridge campus.

The original Cavendish Laboratory was established in the centre of Cambridge in 1874 and was named in honour of the Chancellor of the University, William Cavendish.

Practitioners from the institution have been contributing to the development of science over the past 140 years, including understanding electromagnetic phenomena, the discovery of the electron, of the neutron, the unravelling of the structure of DNA,

and the discovery of pulsars. The physics department moved to the new Cavendish Laboratory buildings in West Cambridge in the early 1970s.

Michael George, Managing Director at Mick George Ltd commented: ‘’While this development has many economic benefits for Cambridgeshire and local communities, these benefits will also be felt much wider afield. Having completed Earthworks on a number of the University’s recent new developments, we are well versed in the complexities that are likely to be involved with this project. As ever, we look forward to applying our technical expertise in delivering another first-class service that will ensure more top-quality research facilities.’’

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Project News

NEXT PHASE OF MAJOR HOUSING PROJECT GETS UNDERWAY PREPARATORY work for the future phases of one of Sunderland’s most significant housing schemes has commenced, with the appointment of a North East contractor.

Siglion, which is responsible for the regeneration of a number of the city’s key development sites, has signed a contract with North East based, Esh Construction to deliver infrastructure works ahead of further work on the Potters Hill development, a village of sustainable family homes in the south area of Sunderland.

Esh will be undertaking an eightmonth programme of work, that will include installation of two drainage ponds, an acoustic bund to protect homes from traffic noise, landscaping works and highway works to aid traffic calming and pedestrian comfort.

The appointment follows an announcement less than two months ago that Miller Homes will be the first housebuilder on the site, which spans land behind Chapelgarth and Moorside. Work is already underway on Miller Homes’ plot, with the first of the 160 homes – ranging from two up to five-bedroom houses.

John Seager, chief executive at Siglion, said: “We are delighted to be working with a regional company, Esh Construction, to

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prepare the ground for a village that will offer some exceptional homes to people from Sunderland, as well as a great many people who will be attracted to relocate to the city.

“Potters Hill will be a unique place to live, with homes of all shapes and sizes provided by a range of housebuilders. This essential work will ensure that we are in a position to move forward with future phases quickly, delivering a fantastic new place for people to make their home.”

Currently parts of the site are fenced off, to allow work by Esh to be completed safely.

John Saunders, contracts manager at Esh Construction, said:

It’s great to be working alongside Siglion and Sunderland City Council on yet another great scheme which will allow for much needed housing and regeneration to the area.

We are looking forward to engaging with the community and local schools across the area delivering a range of Added Value initiatives whilst delivering this project.

Potters Hill will deliver more than 700 homes in total. It covers a 112acre area, and will be delivered in phases, with individually designed

developments being completed one by one. The work being carried out by Esh is in preparation for future schemes, ensuring that – when further agreements are reached with housebuilders – work can commence quickly.

It is expected that a range of different companies will build on the site, all working to a design code that will ensure it is a green, leafy development that will provide plenty of green open spaces, soft landscaping and pathways to open up new walking routes for local people to enjoy.

Sunderland City Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration, Councillor Stuart Porthouse, said: “Building more new homes and improving our housing stock is one of the most important issues for our city. We need to not only keep people in our city, but also need to attract more people to live and work here.

“The works here by Esh and Siglion are very welcome news. I and others look forward to more development in the future and more housing choices for everyone.”

The Potters Hill scheme protects the woodland areas that surround the development and has been influenced by the existing landscape and natural features of the site.

Across the whole Potters Hill site, when it is fully developed, there will be 13.5 hectares of natural green space – the equivalent in area to over 18.2 full size football pitches.

Bauder showcases sustainability solutions at Futurebuild Leading flat roof manufacturer, Bauder, will once again be returning to Futurebuild at the ExCEL in March.

After the success of last years’ exhibition, Bauder is thrilled to be returning to one of the industry’s most prominent exhibitions with an exciting new flat roofing system.

Bauder provides a range of flat roof waterproofing solutions to make buildings watertight, insulation for thermal efficiency, solar PV arrays for renewable energy generation and green roofs to support the environment and create better living and working spaces for people.

Bauder’s most recent addition to its solution offerings is BauderBLUE. This blue roof system has been developed to alleviate flooding in flood sensitive areas in accordance with SuDS legislation. Nigel Blacklock, Bauder’s technical director, spoke at the launch last year.

“With the introduction of the SuDS legislation and the subsequent requirements for developments in built up and flood sensitive areas, the evolution of our ever-popular green

roof system was a natural process.

Using rooftop and podium solutions will address the excess water issue at source by providing the necessary drainage to ensure structural integrity along with regulation compliance and optimal waterproofing” At this year’s Futurebuild, Bauder will be showcasing its full range of waterproofing solutions including bituminous, single ply, cold liquid applied and hot melt systems along with the full insulation offering.

The main feature will be the Bauder BioSOLAR system which is a revolutionary solar PV mounting system for biodiverse or extensive green roofs. The system build up will also incorporate BauderBLUE, essentially bringing 3 sustainable solutions together in one system. A key element of the BioSOLAR system is that the front edge of the PV panel is set at around 300mm above the level of the substrate, which allows liberal growing room for the extensive vegetation without blocking light to the polycrystalline solar cells that would otherwise reduce the efficiency of the panels. This height

setting also enables light and moisture to reach beneath the panel to support the plants below. The BauderBLUE element is a sustainable drainage method designed to attenuate and manage stormwater on a flat roof over a 24-hour period via a restrictive flow outlet.

Bauder will be exhibiting on stand D100 from 5th-7th March 2019.

Our product managers and flat roof technicians for waterproofing, insulation, green, blue and solar PV solutions will be on hand to discuss current and upcoming projects. We look forward to seeing you there.

PSBN119007 Bauder Half Page.indd 1

24/01/2019 10:31:29

CONSORT CLAUDGEN LAUNCH HEATERS WITH SAFETY MONITORING FEATURE

Consort Claudgen have introduced a safety monitoring feature which will identify overheating, fan failure and certain electronic faults, in their PLSTiE electronic timer heater range. This feature helps diagnose a problem occurring in the heater and prevents high surface temperatures that could lead to risks of burn injuries.

When the safety monitoring identifies a fault, the heat is switched off and the heater will beep at different intervals depending on the problem. Users can then follow clear instructions in dealing with the fault from the manual provided with the heater.

The PLSTiE range also includes two new compact heaters with 500W and 750W ratings. All heaters offer a 7-day programme with 6 heating periods per day and are enhanced with one of the latest low energy consumption EC motors. This allows the heater to operate quietly, whilst still providing the best possible levels of comfort.

For more details, visit www.consortepl.com or contact Sales at 01646 692172.

PSBN119022 Consort QP.indd 1

www.bauder.co.uk

CONSORT CLAUDGEN LAUNCHES BIM LIBRARY

Consort Claudgen has launched their first BIM (Building Information Modelling) objects which include panel heaters, fan heaters, recessed ceiling heaters and air curtains. Architects and specifiers can now access the BIM models for their BIM projects from Consort Claudgen’s website or the NBS National BIM Library.

The objects are authored and developed to the trusted NBS BIM Objects Standard and are free to download in both Revit and IFC format. The BIM objects featured in the NBS National BIM Library also includes technical details such as dimensions, ratings, insulation standard classes and electrical specifications to aid architects and specifiers in their design process.

For details, visit www.consortepl.com/bim-modelling

RRN319077 Consort QP - New Font.indd 1 26/02/2019 09:58:34

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26/02/2019 12:19:35

Daimler Fleet Management’s top 10 tips for a cleaner, greener fleet

There are many factors that affect the environmental impact of a fleet of vehicles. From heavy loads to heavy right feet. Daimler Fleet Management share their top ten tips for a cleaner, greener more efficient business.

The right vehicle for the job – your fleet is a toolbox With WLTP still grabbing headlines, we are all more conscious of the C02 emissions created by our vehicles. But in addition to environmental concerns, C02 levels also affect vehicle pricing and taxation. DFM recommend undertaking a Whole Life Cost Analysis of your fleet. This analysis takes into account not just the cost to fund a vehicle, but also the running costs, tax and future values. What may look like a cheaper vehicle on day one, may prove to be not so economical over time.

Also consider where your vehicles travel? With more inner city congestion charges and emissionfree zones planned across the UK consider the savings that a Low Emission Vehicle (LEV) could create if you travel into these zones regularly.

Digital Processes

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Digital isn’t a new buzzword but an alarming amount of ‘paperwork’ is still involved in the day to day running of a fleet.

Digitisation could be the catalyst for more eco-processes. Paperless billing, ePayslips and timesheets are a start. Using an integrated telematics system to manage your driver’s route planning and job lists could also cut down on waste paper.

Plastic reduction Aim to reduce single-use plastic in your business. DFM are working with leading suppliers to limit the amount of single-use plastic used in items like number plates, car mats and warning signs. Wave goodbye to large plastic bottles of washer fluid. These are being replaced by tablets like those used in washing machines. This not only eliminates the plastic bottle but reduces the item weight and therefore the carbon footprint associated with transporting them.

Consider your supply chain - how far does your office stationery travel? Buying local could even reduce the carbon footprint of the office stapler.

Telematics and route planning Route planning is essential for

a greener fleet. An efficient telematics system means less idling, traffic and accident avoidance, as well as faster deliveries. It also means you can keep a closer eye on the activities of your drivers gaining greater visibility of training needs and monitor repair and maintenance requirements.

Breaking habits and changing mindsets From the drivers who need to lighten their right foot to those who have a favourite off-route lunch spot - data from telematics can give you vast amounts of insight, indicating where training could be valuable. Whilst this may seem a bit ‘big brother’ the benefits of driver training and monitoring can lead to significant savings in fuel costs and unnecessary vehicle repairs. Conversely there are also telematics options available to identify and reward good driver behaviour.

Review your grey fleet policy Changes to your grey fleet policy could help improve your company average C02. Employee’s own vehicles are unlikely to be as

green as you would like. Ageing vehicles are less economical than newer models. Consider your requirements, an extended range of LEV pool cars could be utilised instead, depending on your circumstances.

Regular repairs and maintenance A happy car is an economical car, adding a repair and maintenance package to your leasing policy ensures your vehicles optimum performance. Combined with telematics, vehicles can be monitored so downtime is kept to a minimum and issues can be resolved before they become a problem.

Tyres lose air naturally over time.

Ensuring tyres are properly inflated can extend the life of the tread as well as improve fuel efficiency. Tyre quality and inflation can affect fuel consumption by up to 20% so it’s important to check tyres regularly.

Electricity supplier ‘from wind to wheels’ The emissions associated with running your fleet could be further reduced by reviewing your choice of electricity supplier. Choose an eco-supplier and incentivise your employees who ‘home-charge’ their EV to switch to one of the many ‘green energy’ suppliers whose electricity is exclusively fuelled by solar, wind and tidal.

The Leasing life-cycle There are many practical and financial benefits to leasing over an outright purchase, but in the context of running a greener fleet, the main benefit is the continuous cycle of new vehicles. By replacing your vehicles every 2-3 years (for example) you benefit from the latest technology and newest efficiencies. Many cars and vans come loaded with safety and eco

functions keeping your drivers safe, your vehicles on the road and your emissions low.

Boiling the ocean – metaphorically You may not be able to implement everything at once, but make a plan and make a start. You will be surprised how quickly your marginal gains add up. Be practical and realistic. Whether you change 1 thing by 100% or make 100 changes by 1% be realistic in your aspirations and use that momentum to further your efforts.

Small steps in the right direction are better than no steps at all.

Talk to DFM about your green aspirations or complete the sixty second challenge at www.daimlersixty.co.uk E: dfm-uk@daimler.com T: 01908 697442

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STRUCTURAL AWARDS 2018 SHOWCASE UNRIVALLED GLOBAL ENGINEERING EXCELLENCE Last night, The Institution of Structural Engineers announced the winners of The Structural Awards 2018 during a glittering awards ceremony at The Brewery, London.

The winners were chosen from a shortlist of 53 pioneering global projects, celebrating the ingenuity and expertise of the engineers behind them.

A diverse range of structures, from beautifully crafted sports stadia to sparkling glass staircases, were recognised across 14 categories.

© Simon Kennedy

This year’s entries perfectly underlined the creativity of structural engineers, with the winning projects showcasing cutting edge examples of innovative engineering solutions.

Tamina Canyon Crossing in Bad Ragaz, Canton St. Gallen, Switzerland received the Supreme Award for Structural Engineering Excellence. This hotly-contested © Saul Osborne Photography

accolade is presented to the year’s finest example of structural engineering design.

The judging panel, made up of a distinguished group of industry experts, were unanimous in their view that this bridge, which crosses the Tamina Canyon 200m above a deep gorge, was an ‘outstanding engineering solution’ and a worthy recipient.

The Judges were impressed by the elegance, clarity and economy of the design, noting the efficiency of the structural system, as well as the beautiful way that the design integrates with its spectacular surroundings.

They said:

This is a concrete arch design in the best traditions of Christian Menn and Robert Maillart, and the engineers have produced a world class and graceful design.

© Morley von Sternberg

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Chair of the judges, Professor Tim Ibell, comments: “Congratulations to our award winners and thanks to all those that entered. As always the quality was high and the competition fierce, I’m sure I speak on behalf of all the judges when I say that it was hard to choose an overall winner as there were many deserving candidates. Tamina Canyon Crossing’s Supreme Award win recognises the very best in bridge design and engineering, setting an example of best practice to the global construction industry.”

Awards News

© Hufton+Crow

© tba stgallen

© Bastian Kratzke

He continues, “In this, The Year of Engineering, The Structural Awards perfectly encapsulate the skill and creativity of structural engineers as problemsolving design professionals, making a positive impact to society on a global scale.”

Now in its 51st year, these prestigious awards celebrate the world’s most outstanding achievements and demonstrate the diversity of structural engineering, recognising excellence, creativity and innovation, as well as sustainability, economic viability and value for money.

RISING STAR SCOOPS MECALAC ACCOLADE Mecalac Construction Equipment UK Ltd (MCEUK), has awarded its 2018 Construction Equipment Shield to a star student from Harper Adams University.

The award recognises academic excellence for students enrolled on the BSc (Hons) Off-Road Vehicle Design course at the university. Nick Finlay (23) from Tranent, East Lothian, received the shield following his final year project, which saw the student design and install a safety system for an all-electric quad bike.

The award reflects the long-standing relationship between the two

parties. This also includes a 12-month placement scheme for secondyear students at the Mecalac manufacturing facility in Coventry, UK. From new product development and factory operations management to equipment testing and industry research, each successful scheme applicant gets hands-on training experience across a range of roles within the business, developing practical skills to support their academic studies.

The award was presented by Steve Price, Engineering Manager (site dumpers) at Mecalac. Price commented: “Congratulations to Nick, whose impressive performance, both in grades and in his final year project, made him the very worthy recipient of this year’s award. We are very proud of this academic partnership and of the opportunity it presents to build relationships with the rising engineering stars of tomorrow.

“Since partnering with Harper Adams in 2013, we have helped numerous students gain valuable experience in equipment production as part of our internship programme, with the aim of encouraging and fostering new engineering talent in this area. Indeed, we have even recruited one of the programme’s very first students as a full-time team member. We look forward to continuing to inspire the next generation in this way for many years to come.”

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Awards News

WINNING SCHOOLS SHOW GEORGE CLARKE THE FUTURE OF HOME BUILDING IS IN GOOD HANDS Renowned and respected TV architect George Clarke was one of the judges for this year’s ‘MOBIE Campus Design Challenge’ to inspire the next generation of home designers, engineers and innovators.

The presenter of Channel 4 programmes Restoration Man, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and Old House New Home, was at Teesside University, Middlesbrough to hear presentations from the winners of a nationwide challenge, created by leading Built Environment education consultancy Class Of Your Own, and supported by MOBIE (Ministry of Building Innovation and Education) and modular design engineering specialists, Carbon Dynamic.

Children in three age groups from across the country were challenged to design innovative and modular student accommodation using sustainable timber. Almost 60 entries were received for the competition and the three national winners were: • Age 11 - 14 – Weston Favell Academy from Northampton • Age 14 - 16 – Heathcote School from Chingford, Essex • Age 16 - 18 – King Ecgbert School from Sheffield The national winning teams visited Teesside University to meet George and present their designs and to work on their ideas further. Weston Favell Academy were judged overall winners.

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George Clarke is the founder of MOBIE, an educational charity which is spearheading a fundamental change to the building industry. MOBIE is focused on raising the design standards, build quality and innovation around home building. Its mission is to inspire new generations into the building profession and to fundamentally transform the way we think, design and construct homes both in the UK and abroad. Essentially, it is about new ways of making homes for new ways of living.

George said: “MOBIE is all about the future of home design in Britain and across the world. There has been a lack of investment in the home construction industry over the last 30 to 40 years and we need to raise the design and build standards.

Fundamentally, we are still building

homes the way we did hundreds of years ago. Technology corporations, telecommunication companies, and the automotive and aerospace industries are advancing at incredible rates, but the house building industry is stagnant, and it is genuinely time for systematic change.

Clarke added: “We all need a shelter and our home is the most important piece of architecture in our lives. It needs to be more than just a shelter, it needs to be a place that enhances the quality and experience of our everyday lives and our health and well-being.

By harnessing the talents, ideas and energy of the young people of today we can change the way we build homes. Today’s amazing student designs show we have a future generation with the talent and the imagination to make a difference. With amazing winners like these our future homes are in great hands” The MOBIE Campus challenge is the fifth exciting annual competition run by COYO. From James Bond themed hotels to schools in Africa, inclusive homes to Jamie Oliver’s restaurants, COYO advocates giving children and young people access to ‘real life’ projects. COYO Chief Executive, Alison Watson has worked with schools for almost a decade, and these challenges are the tip of the iceberg.

Howe Green provides innovative access solution for NHS’s newest hospital Howe Green Ltd, the UK’s leading manufacturer of floor access covers, has supplied nearly 70 covers to Chase Farm Hospital in Enfield. The £200 million redeveloped hospital became fully operational last autumn. It is the newest and most digitally advanced hospital in the NHS estate.

from Galldris installed the Howe Green access covers throughout the 20,000 square metres of internal flooring, including the plant room and endoscopy unit. The Visedge covers were infilled with vinyl flooring. The floor finish for the 7500 Series varied depending upon the location of the cover.

Chase Farm offers patients a range of services including an out-patient department, an urgent care centre, an older person’s assessment unit, an endoscopy unit, a chemotherapy day unit, eight operating theatres, a dedicated day surgery area and 50 surgical in-patient beds.

The Howe Green access covers enable safe and easy access to building services concealed under the flooring of the hospital. The covers can be removed, safely and easily, for maintenance purposes with the use of lifting keys.

Howe Green’s Visedge Series Flexible Floor Access Covers and 7500 Series Medium-Duty Aluminium Floor Access Covers were specified for the project by international architects IBI Group.

The covers were supplied to established, Enfield based contractor, Galldris. Technicians

The Visedge Series provide a durable, lightweight, non-rusting access solution for flexible sheet flooring systems in environments with pedestrian footfall, wheeled trolleys and sack trucks. Double sealed, the Visedge covers are ideal for a busy hospital where the highest standards of hygiene and security are required.

7500 Series Medium-Duty Aluminium Floor Access Covers are used for all

types of hard floor finish, including ceramic tiles, terrazzo and wood.

They offer a heavier loading than the Visedge, with a 5 tonne pneumatic tyre wheel load suitable for cars and light delivery vehicles.

The Visedge and 7500 Series are available as a single cover, a duct run or as a multipart unit. Standard sizes are available from stock and bespoke sizes can be manufactured to order with no time or cost constraint.

Howe Green has supplied many hospitals over the last 35 years including Southmead Hospital in Bristol and Queen’s Hospital in Romford.

If you would like to find out how Howe Green can assist with your requirement for an innovative, practical and cost effective solution for accessing concealed services located under flooring please call 01920 463230 or visit www.bilcouk.co.uk.

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150 JOBS CREATED FOR WELSH CONSTRUCTION FIRM R&M WILLIAMS, THANKS TO BRISTOL AIRPORT A partnership between R&M Williams and Bristol Airport has this year created 150 new job opportunities for the construction sector in Wales.

Cardiff and Swansea-based R&M Williams has won three building contracts with the Airport, the latest awarded this month with news that a new £5million Airline Crew Building project will be built by the firm.

The projects, worth a combined total of £18 million to R&M Williams, are part of ongoing development which will enable to the Airport to handle up to 10 million passengers by the early 2020s.

In the past 12 months, the company has started work on a new fire station - due for completion in January - and is currently providing the framework for a state-of-theart administration building on site, which will be in development until September 2019.

The latest Airline Crew Building will provide a new security

CME BUILDS ON GROWTH WITH NEW ACCOUNT MANAGER Specialist marketing company, Construction Marketing Experts (CME), has appointed Eleanor Cessford to the role of account manager, signalling the business’s growth just weeks after its move into Liverpool.

The new hire follows a busy year for CME after a number of new

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search area for staff entering the building, and will provide premium accommodation for airlines, ground handlers and partners who need to be close to the terminal and aircraft operating areas.

Darryn Parry, Managing Director of R&M Williams, said:

We are thrilled that Bristol Airport has chosen to partner with us on a number of its expansion projects this year. With the announcement of each new building, R&M Williams has had the opportunity to create yet more jobs for local construction workers, as well as for Wales and South West Supply Chain Partners. We hope that this will pave the way for a great deal more collaborations in the future.

account wins and an extended remit for some of the company’s existing clients, all of which are companies operating within the built environment sector.

Eleanor joins an existing six-strong team, which services clients across the UK from its Old Hall Street offices, providing strategic direction and branding along with delivery of all elements of marketing activity including design, websites, PR, e-marketing and social media.

An experienced marketing professional and University of Liverpool graduate, Eleanor brings a broad range of expertise to CME, including strategic planning, client journey mapping and campaign management.

She also has a proven track record in digital marketing; including data and analytics, social media, payper-click and website projects. She will be responsible for managing

“The construction sector in Wales is second-to-none, and it’s great that the project team at Bristol Airport has recognised that a strong relationship across the border carries with it some amazing opportunities for high quality and unique developments.”

Andrew Goodenough, Development Director at Bristol Airport, said: “We are delighted to be working with R&M Williams on a third project this year. The building projects are the first that staff, airline partners and business partners will see and so it was vital that we work with a contractor that would prioritise quality and high standards, as much as energy efficiency – a key focus of our development plans.

“We’re really pleased with the work that R&M Williams has carried out in 2018 and we are looking forward to working with them again.

“It’s a testament to the professionalism and skills available in the construction sector in the region enabling us to use local companies for all of our construction projects.”

day-to-day client relationships and activity across a broad range of accounts, including fire and security specialist, WLS, contract kitchen company, Commodore kitchens, and groundworks contractor, Shanco.

Eleanor comments: “I’m delighted to have found a role with an agency that has a clear focus on a defined sector. CME approaches marketing with proven processes and accountability for delivering against established KPIs and I’m excited to play a key role in the next stage of the agency’s growth.”

Sarah Reay, founder and managing director of CME adds: “It was important for us to find the right person in terms of both skill set and a dynamic, enthusiastic and commercially-aware approach.

Eleanor is an ideal fit for the business and she’s already proved that she can hit the ground running as we plan for a busy year ahead in 2019.”

People on the move

CHEERS AS BEERS MOVES CAREER TO DELTA-SIMONS EXPERIENCED geo-environmental consultant Elizabeth Beers has been appointed by environmental consultancy Delta-Simons as associate at its Birmingham office – and will be one of a busy team managing a number of high profile projects all over the UK. Elizabeth has a proven track record, having worked in consultancy in Birmingham for 11 years – delivering large scale projects across the West Midlands and across the country. At Delta-Simons, Lizzie will be responsible for management, financial and technical input to proposals and project management.

She will also manage, coach and mentor staff in the delivery of projects.

would be a great fit for our business because of her extensive working knowledge of services which DeltaSimons is delivering.

“As we’re looking to expand our geo-environmental services into the West Midlands area and continuing to support our existing client base, Lizzie’s appointment and experience will help us to ensure this happens.”

Lizzie will also be also supporting Paul in business development. She is on the committee of Birmingham Best Practice Club for property and construction professionals, supports the Remediation Society and the Colmore Business Improvement District in Birmingham.

Delta-Simons, which has nine offices all over the UK, opened its Birmingham operation earlier this year – under Paul Bennett as geoenvironmental unit director in the Midlands. Lizzie is joining a growing team, which is already looking to move office due to expansion.

Lizzie said: “Delta-Simons is a leader in its field which is why I jumped at the chance to work with them. They deliver some of the biggest projects for the world’s leading organisations – and the team has incredible expertise. I like the company’s vision and culture and really wanted to be part of its huge growth.

Paul said: “We’re really happy to welcome Lizzie on board. She is not only experienced, but well known in the industry and will be a great asset to our team. We knew Lizzie

“I am currently working on a number of Delta-Simons projects in London and Milton Keynes, but am also looking at projects closer to home in the West Midlands.”

ACTAVO APPOINTS MANAGING DIRECTOR OF UK BUILDING SOLUTIONS ARM Actavo, a leading international engineering solutions company headquartered in Dublin and operating in 100+ locations worldwide, has appointed Adrian Williams who joined Actavo in November 2018 as Managing Director for the company’s Building Solutions division in the UK. Adrian is taking up his position with immediate effect and will be based in Hull.

Adrian Williams has extensive operational, manufacturing and plant management experience gained within fast moving manufacturing environments.

He is fully experienced in lean manufacturing methodologies and continuous improvement which will be of significant benefit within Buildings Solutions UK.

Lizzie has previously worked with large engineering and construction consultancies in the past – including BWB Consulting Ltd and WSP. Delta-Simon’s offerings centre around providing geoenvironmental, EHS, environmental planning, ecology, sustainability and wellbeing advice and support in the property development, asset management, corporate and industrial markets.

Founded in 1992, Delta-Simons is a national firm and operates in nine locations across the UK, including offices in Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Durham, Nottingham, Norwich, London, Dublin and the head office is in Lincoln.

He has worked extensively within manufacturing and construction industries across a broad spectrum of products. He has previous experience of the modular sector having worked for Adroit, Elements Europe and Gateway Bathroom & Kitchen pods.

Adrian holds a Masters’ Degree (MBA) from Hull University and is a qualified Electrical Engineer.

Part of the structural division of Actavo, Building Solutions focuses on designing and manufacturing quality buildings. Using innovative construction techniques to reduce overall construction programmes and time onsite without compromising on design or quality. Managing projects from initial planning design, manufacture through to completion with particular expertise in the healthcare, education, corporate, rail and defence sectors.

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