» Social Value Policy
CREATING OPPORTUNITY | SUPPORTING CULTURE | BUILDING COMMUNITY | DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY
SOCIAL VALUE POLICY
Our Guiding Principles Milburngate is being delivered by the Arlington Richardson Development Partnership which has created a successful reputation for delivering social value through their development of strategically important regeneration projects across the North East of England; all of which have attracted significant inward investment, created extensive employment and established new communities. Not only this, their proactive support of the arts and culture is demonstrated through their long-term commitment to the Lumiere Festival, as well as their continued contribution to local charities.
Now, working closely with main contractor Tolent, the partnership is focused on continuing to drive social value at Milburngate, where a wide range of delivered and planned initiatives are helping make a significant difference to the community in which they operate. All of this activity is driven by four guiding principles, which help inform the strategy, outcomes, and measures of success to ensure we maximise the positive socio-economic impact and value Milburngate has on the communities it serves.
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Delivering Sustainability We are committed to ensuring Milburngate is designed and delivered with sustainability in mind. By responding to the needs of the people it serves and the environment in which it sits, we can ensure Milburngate becomes a place where the success of the local community is driven by a wide range of environmental, socio-economic and wellbeing benefits.
Creating Opportunity Milburngate will set a new benchmark of social opportunity for the city. From the physical spaces and connections on-site, to the wider economic and job creation benefits we are helping deliver, our ambition is for Milburngate to be recognised as an inclusive place where the necessary opportunities for people to succeed and flourish are engrained in its very fabric. 02
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GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Building Community People sit at the heart of any successful place and Milburngate is no different. This is why we have taken an integrated approach to engaging with the local and wider community from the outset. In doing so, we are building positive and lasting relationships that will underpin a place where people have the networks and support to truly thrive
Supporting Culture We understand the socio-economic value of culture is vital to the identity of place and the positive impact it has on those who experience it. By supporting world-class cultural activity within the city, Milburngate is dedicated to playing a major role in enriching local people’s lives, as well as driving economic growth and community cohesion.
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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Delivering Sustainability
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DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY
Regeneration Led by the joint venture partnership, the Durham Riverside Renewal project comprises the redevelopment and regeneration of both Freemans Reach and Milburngate House, which are on adjacent banks of the River Wear at a key gateway into Durham City. Our commitment to this regeneration is now evident at Freemans Reach, a 130,000 sq ft office development which completed in 2016. A Legal & General funded project, Freemans Reach provided new offices for Her Majesty’s Passport Office and National Savings and Investments, helping to retain in excess of 1,200 jobs in the city centre.
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Ultimately, Freemans Reach is now part of a thriving commercial and leisure address that not only encourages footfall to and from the city’s retail and leisure heart, but also serves as new arrival point for visitors to Durham. Crucially, successful completion of this project helps unlock the prime regeneration opportunity that Milburngate now presents.
Renewable Energy Freemans Reach has become a landmark development for its use of renewable energy. It is the first hydro-powered city centre development in the UK. Harnessing the power of the River Wear, a hydro-turbine, powered by an Archimedean screw, generates power that is fed into the National Grid, which is the equivalent to 75 percent of the electricity requirements of the Freeman’s Reach development. Combining cutting edge technology with engineering concepts developed thousands of years ago, the turbine continues a tradition of generating power from the River Wear at Freeman’s Reach, which dates back to the 11th Century and contributed to the development being awarded an ‘A’ Rated Energy Performance Certificate and BREEAM Excellent status.
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DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY
Protecting Wildlife & Ecology
Reducing Our Carbon Footprint
Delivering the turbine as part of Freemans Reach also demonstrates our commitment to the local ecology. It features an improved fish pass, created in consultation with the Environment Agency, to improve life for salmon and other species as they move up and down past the weir. Other measures include an otter shelf and a ‘bat hotel’, a large 3m x 2.7m structure buried beneath phase one of the development to support the conservation of the local bat population. To protect the neighbouring wildlife at Milburngate, hedgehog hides, insect hides, bird boxes and bat boxes have been erected to provide new suitable roosting and nesting sites. We are also liaising with a neighbouring beekeeper to ensure the local bee population is not affected by works.
Tolent has a strong commitment to reducing carbon and one mitigation measure which has the most impact was the use of an on-site batching plant. This not only ensured works were kept in accordance with the programme, but also provided a sustainable solution which eliminated the requirement for up to 34 concrete deliveries per day, around one wagon load every 15 minutes, significantly reducing our carbon footprint by 419 tonnes.
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Minimising Waste & Recycling Tolent has a created a site-specific environmental plan and we collaborate with our supply chain to minimise plastics and packaging, segregate waste and keep waste to a minimum. For example, crushed masonry from the former demolitions is being reused, with 45,000 tonnes recycled on-site to date. Social Value Policy
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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Creating Opportunity
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CREATING OPPORTUNITY
Apprenticeships & Training Tolent has boosted its workforce thanks to PlanBEE, a unique higher apprenticeship programme developed by Gateshead College and Ryder Architecture to inspire young people to pursue a career in the built environment sector. We recruited three PlanBEE apprentices to its team following their successful completion of the programme. Additionally, career presentations have been given at local junior schools.
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In addition to PlanBEE, Tolent have been working hard to create sustainable opportunity for young people across the region with a number of other initiatives which are all set to expand dramatically as the development gathers pace. Already, 5 work placements from local schools and colleges have been secured, as well as 7 brand new employment opportunities. Tolent has also successfully enabled three university training plans for one quantity surveyor and two site managers.
Supply Chain Tolent are committed to enriching the communities we work in, and one way we support local communities is by engaging with local subcontractors and suppliers, except in circumstances which require specialists which are not available locally. 70% of subcontractors on Milburngate project are based locally, with 72% subcontractor spend allocated to local subcontractors. Social Value Policy
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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Building Community
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Milburngate Charity Walk for MediCinema The cinema employees formed several teams to collectively walk and cycle an 800-mile route linking up the Group’s entire network of venues, from Bristol in the south to Glasgow in the north. Members of the Milburngate team walked from the future site of Durham’s first boutique cinema, situated on the Milburngate development, to the Everyman cinema in the heart of Newcastle. The nationwide trek aims to raise more than £20,000 in aid of MediCinema, which is dedicated to improving the welfare of hospital patients and their families through the shared experience of cinema.
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Waddington Street Centre In June 2020 Milburngate forged a charity partnership with Waddington Street Centre, a local mental health charity based less than 1 mile away from the site. The Waddington Street Centre is a small independent mental health resource with almost 40 years’ experience offering a wide range of informal educational activities and support services based on individual needs and aspirations. It plans to reopen during August and the lockdown provided the opportunity to update the interior of the centre. What is planned to be a long-term relationship with Milburngate and the Waddington Street Centre, our commitment began with helping them prepare their centre in for reopening following the coronavirus lockdown. With the help of Tolent, the project involved redecorating the main communal areas of the centre, helping to provide a refreshed environment that promotes positive mental health for members when they begin to return at the end of the summer.
Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) As part of the Considerate Constructors Scheme, regular engagement with the local community is a key part of Milburngate’s operating procedures. We understand that keeping them informed of progress on-site, as well as activity that may benefit or temporarily affect their day to day life, helps demonstrate transparency and build trust, as well as providing them with the opportunity to contribute to how the site currently operates and will function in the future. This has been achieved in the following ways: Monthly Newsletters: Distributed to all identified stakeholders, which may include (but are not limited to): local residents and businesses providing an update regarding the progress of works and upcoming events/ milestones and any potential activities that may cause disruption (e.g. road or footpath closures, etc.). Project Website: A dedicated webpage provides readers with a wealth of information regarding the site which includes time lapse images.
Neighbourhood Questionnaire: The questionnaire asks neighbours to assess whether we have been "good neighbours”. The questionnaire is shared on project website / social media / site signage / newsletters / etc., responses are collated by our dedicated customer care team who analyse and respond to all instances of dissatisfaction. Community & Local Stakeholder Meetings: Throughout pre-construction and delivery we provide local stakeholders with the chance to discuss the scheme through open evenings and community meetings. The project manager Michael meets the hotel manager and the managers on the neighbouring construction sites each month. Community Engagement Plan: Our plan involves local schools, colleges and universities including site visits for Northumbria University students. This activity means that in the first CCS visit, Tolent scored 42/50 and on the second visit scored 43/50, demonstrating our commitment to continuous improvement.
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KEY ACHIEVEMENTS
Supporting Culture
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Lumiere Sponsorship Lumiere is the UK’s largest light festival and has been transforming cities across the country since 2009. Each Lumiere festival invites local and international artists to create works that reimagine familiar buildings and public spaces, changing the way we experience our urban surroundings. Milburngate has been a major sponsor of the Durham festival for 10 years, during which time we have invested more than £500,000 into our partnership with them. As well as this significant financial commitment, 3 senior members of the Milburngate delivery team sit on Lumiere Durham's Development Board, which help shapes the event for the benefit of all involved. Since its inception, Milburngate’s key commitment to Lumiere Durham has helped contribute to the success of the festival which has included 270 installations, 10,000 community participants attracted more than 1 million visitors. Collectively this has had an economic impact of over £10m for the city. 20
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SUPPORTING CULTURE
Public Art As part of the regeneration of Durham’s Riverside the Arlington Richardson Development Partnership commissioned a unique public art installation at Freemans Reach. Unveiled on the eve of the Lumiere Durham Light Festival in 2017, the installation celebrates the history of waterpower in the city. The illuminated glass sculpture entitled Confluence uses local imagery to chart Durham’s history and the use of waterpower on the riverside from the 11th century up to the present day and the Archimedean screw at Freemans Reach. Designed and created by American artist Jeffrey Sarmiento, who is Reader in Glass at the University of Sunderland, and supported by local resident and history enthusiast Rosemary Zakrewski, Confluence consists of two features mounted to the south and east facades of the Freemans Reach kiosk opposite the entrance to the new HM Passport Office.
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FUTURE AIMS
Delivering Sustainability
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DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY
Carbon Reduction The upfront embodied carbon impacts associated with construction are an increasingly significant proportion of the whole life carbon of a development. Intuitive whole lifecycle embodied carbon design considerations have been integrated in the concept design to identify reduction measures which include lean design, material choice and the construction strategies at Milburngate, for example:
HYDRO POWER AT FREEMANS REACH
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• 1 00% of the team providing the carbon assessment have CIBSE CEng status •E PC rating A (25% energy reduction increased PV, chillers and design modifications) •D igital design tools for greater assessment of design and 4D construction sequencing •R educing material needed through lean and lightweight structural design •U tilising standard building elements to minimise material waste •U sing secondary, recycled and reused materials •S ourcing local materials to reduce transport emissions •U sing materials with lower embodied impacts •A dopting MMC DfMA methods •R epeatable design patterns •P ost-construction optimisation
Biodiversity & Wellness The landscape design within the masterplan aims to create a series of characterful, functional places which both complement the new architecture and are well integrated into the existing city and ecological fabric of the site. The woodland provides a green backdrop to the site, a mature matrix which softens the skyline when viewed from the city. Roof terraces will offer multiple amenity and fresh air settings, with enhanced landscape and community beehives, grow-zones and wildflower beds. These habitats are designed to give user comfort, variation and instant access for the workplace community from within whilst also creating a net-gain in biodiversity. The aim for the project is to adhere to the principles of the WELL Building to Silver standard. WELL Building standards help to create a built environment that improves nutrition, fitness and mood. The lighting installation for the building will be designed to achieve task-appropriate illumination levels to improve energy, mood and productivity.
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DELIVERING SUSTAINABILITY
Minimising Waste Tolent is an ISO:14001 and ISO:50001 accredited organisation that operates a number of targets relating to waste/energy management that will reduce the project’s carbon footprint, including a commitment to halving waste to landfill (WRAP Scheme) as well as a 20% reduction in CO2 consumption over the next five years. Currently, 100% of waste from our construction activity is diverted from landfill, with 96% being recycled and 4% used by an off-site ‘Energy from Waste’ facility and we will continue to maintain or better these levels.
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Sustainable Travel
Circular Design
Milburngate will provide a range of facilities and connections that promote sustainable travel into, from and within the development, with priority for those on foot and bicycle. Key to this will be the provision of bicycle storage and cycle facilities. Not only will this help promote and enable sustainable transport use, but also help support the health and wellbeing of users. Improved access to Durham railway station, which is less than 5 minutes’ walk from Milburngate will be provided from the development through a pedestrian avenue that leads from the heart of the scheme directly on to Framwelgate and onwards to the station. Pedestrian across the River Wear will also be dramatically improved through the installation of a brand-new foot bridge, linking directly from Milburngate to the Freemans Reach side of the river. Being delivered in partnership with Durham County Council, this key piece of infrastructure will provide visitors, occupiers and the local community with enhanced and traffic free connectivity within the city centre.
To reduce lifecycle impacts and enable materials to be retained at their highest value, circular design principles are incorporated into the architectural concepts based on the following principles: • Using durable materials to increase longevity and reduce maintenance •M odular components that allow for flexibility and future use •E nabling buildings to be adapted for varied arrangement with minimal intervention •U sing components that can be removed and reused at the end of the building’s life
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FUTURE AIMS
Creating Opportunity
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CREATING OPPORTUNITY
Apprenticeships & Training Tolent are working closely with Northumbria University (Dept of the Built Environment), New College Durham, East Durham College and Durham Johnson Secondary School to help create a number of opportunities for young people from across the county. One-week block placements and one day placements have been agreed for New College Durham students and attendance at a career speed dating event is planned. The application to be a National Training and Skills Centre with another of the company’s sites in the region is still being considered. Specifically for Milburngate, target goals for Tolent include creating the following opportunities:
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• 31 work placements from local schools and colleges • 32 new employment opportunities • 16 construction careers information, advice and guidance events • 4 educational visits from Durham University • 2 educational visits from New College • 9 university training plans • 75 apprenticeships
Supply Chain
Employment
Currently, 70% of subcontractors on the Milburngate project are based locally, with 72% subcontractor spend allocated to local subcontractors. We are committed to maintaining these levels by reinvesting in the North East and Durham with a target of 70% of subcontractors on the project are based locally, with 72% subcontractor spend allocated to local subcontractors.
Once complete, Milburngate will be a thriving mixed-use development that opens up opportunity for a wide range of businesses to enjoy some of the highest quality retail, leisure, residential and office space in the region. In doing so, the subsequent job that will be created will offer local people from both the city and wider region a diversity of employment opportunities to suit a broad spectrum of skills and experience. From catering and hospitality, to property management and professional services, this will be a place where people can succeed and grow.
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FUTURE AIMS
Building Community
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BUILDING COMMUNITY
Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) On the first CCS visit, Tolent scored 42/50 and on the second visit we scored 43/50, demonstrating our commitment to continuous improvement. Going forward, the site team will strive to meet or better our CCS score, focusing on the Appearance and Community sections which both scored 8/9.
Waddington Street Centre Continuing on and building our relationship with Durham mental health charity the Waddington Street Centre, it is our ambition to deliver a charitable contribution of over £10,000 on their behalf. This will be achieved through a variety of means, from direct donation and fundraising events. This activity will be complemented by value in kind volunteering support in those areas where the joint venture partnership and Tolent’s specific skills can be harnessed for the benefit of the charity and their users. It is also our intention to include the charity within our plans for Lumiere, where we aim to provide a range of opportunities and benefits to their users, specifically ones they would ordinarily not have access to.
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FUTURE AIMS
Supporting Culture
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SUPPORTING CULTURE
Lumiere Sponsorship Alongside our investment into the Arclight public art installation, our commitment to Lumiere Durham is set to continue in 2021 and beyond. As with previous festivals, Milburngate will support Lumiere through sponsorship, as well as undertaking a range of activation and events in the run up to and during the festival, including our ‘Milburngate Munch’ pop up food market. Held on-site at Milburngate for the duration of the festival, ‘Milburngate Munch’ is designed to offer Lumiere visitors the chance to enjoy a wide range of street food and entertainment. First trailed in 2019, this initiative proved a huge success for the festival, giving people a chance to find visit and interact with Milburngate in a fun and creative way. As well as this significant financial commitment, the 3 senior members of the Milburngate delivery team will continue sit on Lumiere Durham's Development Board, to help shape the future of event for the benefit of all involved.
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Public Art Building on the legacy of the city’s successful Lumiere Festival, we have unveiled plans for a new permanent public art light installation for Durham City. Known as Arclight, this colour-changing light installation by artist Vicky Hay, was one of a series of dramatic pieces of artwork that attracted 240,000 people to the city during the 2017 festival. Following its success, Artichoke will now be engaging with artists to design a new, permanent light installation at the arches adjacent to the roundabout alongside the Railway Station. Working closely with Lumiere producers Artichoke and Lumiere commissioner Durham County Council, this significant piece of new public art, is set be installed in the city’s railway arches in November 2020.
Tenant Mix As well as a boutique cinema operator, it is our intention to attract at least one further letting to a complementary arts, cultural or charitable occupier. Doing so will add further diversity into the tenant mix to help provide an even broader range of leisure facilities for the local and wider community to enjoy. Moreover, by focussing on this sector we will be providing an inclusive amenity that will further enhance the social fabric of the city. In addition to the national occupiers already secured, including Bar + Block and Premier Inn, we are committed to attracting at least two local independent occupiers. This will provide a unique opportunity for member of Durham’s community to grow their business alongside high street brands, in a high-quality environment where access to footfall is guaranteed.
By taking this approach to curating a blend of tenants on-site, we can create a community of like-minded occupiers who, collectively, have the ability to contribute to the socio-economic success of Milburngate and the city through job creation, investment and business growth. In doing so, it is anticipated that Milburngate will become a destination that attracts increased footfall to the city from the region and beyond. The added boost this will provide for tourism will help contribute to significant economic growth for the area.
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Measures of Success
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MEASURES OF SUCCESS
A range of Key Performance Indicators will allow activity to be evaluated throughout the delivery phase and to ensure the ambitious targets set for Milburngate are realised, and activity remains tightly focused on delivering tangible, impactful socioeconomic benefits. Upon successful completion of phase one of the development, it is our ambition to achieve the following targets and key milestones where at all possible, all of which are designed to drive social value around our four key principles:
Delivering Sustainability • BREEAM Excellent certification achieved • EPC Rating A certification achieved • 7-year maximum payback period of renewables • 25% reduction in on-site installation times on-site through use of DfMA service modules • 18% increase in productivity from better daylighting • 10% reduction in production time using automated BIM design • 80% recycled aggregates used in reconstituted elements of the building • Delivery of secure on-site bicycle storage for visitors and residents • Delivery of secure on-site bicycle storage and shower facilities for staff • Creation of improved access to Durham railway station • Construction of new pedestrian bridge across the River Wear to have commenced
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Creating Opportunity • £200m total investment • 3,750+ jobs created on-site • 1 53 brand new homes delivered • WiredScore Platinum achieved • 70% of subcontractors on the project based locally • 72% subcontractor spend allocated to local subcontractors • 31 x work placements from local schools and colleges • 32 x new employment opportunities • 16 x construction careers information, advice and events • 4 x educational visits from Durham University • 2 x educational visits from New College • 9 x university training plans • 75 x apprenticeships
Building Community • 42/50 minimum score for Considerate Constructors Scheme (CCS) • £10,000 raised on behalf the Waddington Street Centre
Supporting Culture • Continued support of Lumiere Durham 2021 • 250,000 visitors attracted to Durham during Lumiere 2021 • 2 x local / regional independent leisure tenants secured • 1 x additional arts or culturally focussed tenant secured • Successful installation of ArcLight public art legacy piece Social Value Policy
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