Modern Methods for £55m housing boost

Some £55 million grant funding has been agreed with Homes England to deliver 4,000 new homes with the first developments getting underway later this year, it has been announced.

The deal will support 12 local authorities to accelerate housing across England on sites in their ownership and the programme prioritises the use of modern methods of construction will contribute to an increase the build time by an average of 40%.

The funding totalling £55million has been awarded through the Government’s £450 million Local Authority Accelerated Construction (LAAC) Programme and will support local authorities with a range of work required to prepare their sites for the development of new homes such as infrastructure enabling works, planning and technical expertise and site remediation.

The funding will be used to kick start the development of 4,000 new homes across England, including 1,400 at a 400 acre site at Horton Heath, Eastleigh. Eastleigh Borough Council purchased the site in 2018 and the development will benefit from £20.8million of LAAC funding to accelerate the delivery of a mix of one, two, three and four bedroom homes, including a minimum of 30 percent affordable housing.

Today’s announcement includes deals with local authorities from across England. They are the City of York Council, Gateshead Council, Newcastle City Council, Pendle Borough Council, Eastleigh Borough Council, Medway Council, Dorset Council, Leicestershire County Council, High Peak Borough Council, City of Lincoln Council, Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, and South Norfolk Council.

‘We haven’t built enough homes in this country for far too long and our accelerated construction programme is here to change that, and fast,’ said Housing Minister Kit Malthouse.

‘This £55 million funding boost will help councils get 4,000 new homes built across the country using the latest modern methods that cut down on construction time. We must keep building more, better, faster to meet our ambition to building 300,000 homes a year by the mid-2020s,’ he added.

According to Stephen Kinsella, executive director for Land at Homes England, the funding will enable local authorities to accelerate housing delivery by enabling them to prepare sites for development and bring forward the construction of new homes incorporating modern methods of construction.

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3D-printed bathroom unit in just 12 hours

It’s amazing what you can do with 3D printing. From food and furniture to prosthetics and artificial organs, the technology is very versatile and will undoubtedly change the way industries work in future. Now, researchers …

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Brexit: construction industry inside view

Business leaders from within the industry met at Spencer House in London for a stategic discussion around the state of the industry and how the sector was reacting to market and political conditions, in particular the fact that BREXIT had been hanging over us for nearly 3 years and was creating an unstable platform for growth.

Discussions around the economy were led by Charles Grant, Director; Centre for European Reform and Rupert Robinson, Managing Director; RSBGi who both spoke about their career development and factors that had led them to their current positions. Under ‘chatham house rule’ Charles shared his views on the current European market conditions and the effect that the decision to leave or remain would have on our economy relating it specifically to the property sector.

The consensus seemed to be that all economists agree that any Brexit scenario is negative, confidence is down, growth has slowed, investment has been reduced and the lack of optimism is a big issue.

When the discussions were concluded Charles staged a ‘Brexit referendum’ to gauge industry opinion based upon 2 key questions;

Leave or remain?

The vote was

  • Leave 13%
  • Remain 87%

And If leave was the option; May’s deal or a hard BREXIT?

The vote was

  • Take Mays deal 0%
  • Hard Brexit 100%

The results were quite clear; and from a group that was representing all the disciplines within the industry it is clear that the property sector wants to remain in the EU, but above all wants action to be taken swiftly so that the current ‘speed bump’ in the road can be navigated accordingly.

SOURCE: www.built-environment-networking.com

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Successful first season at Antarctic Wharf

Today marks the end of a successful first construction phase of the new wharf at Rothera, the largest British Antarctic Survey (BAS) research centre, ahead of the Antarctic winter. The final construction team members have boarded the RRS James Clark Ross to make their way home following six-months of construction work, which was supported by Technical Advisors, Ramboll.

During the season the team dismantled the existing wharf to make way for the new skeleton structure, with six of the twenty steel frames successfully installed. Towards the end of the season the teams installed steel piles and backfilled with rock to protect the new sections of the wharf from icebergs during the harsh Antarctic winter. All the plant and equipment have now been ‘winterised’ ready for phase two of the construction later this year.

Forming part of a comprehensive programme of works known as the Antarctic Infrastructure Modernisation (AIM), commissioned by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) aims to keep the UK at the forefront of climate, biodiversity and ocean research.

The wharf construction team consisted of 50 BAM construction workers led by Construction Leader Martha McGowan. Upon departing Rothera, Martha said “It’s been a remarkable season in many respects- working in a unique and special environment, with an exceptional team, as well as playing a part in helping support the future sustainability of our planet. The entire team that worked here in Rothera and back in the UK can feel proud of what has been achieved, I am truly grateful for all of their support and commitment”.

Once complete, the new 74-metre long wharf will be larger and deeper than the previous one, to accommodate the new polar research vessel, the RRS Sir David Attenborough that will come into operation in 2020. The new wharf will also improve experiences for research and operational personnel working at Rothera. A new crane and enhanced cargo handling facilities will make it easier and quicker to load and unload cargo, whilst enhancing facilities for deploying small boats and gliders used for scientific purposes more efficiently.

 

David Seaton British Antarctic Survey, Senior Infrastructure Programme Manager, commented, “This last six months has seen some exceptional results and innovative engineering. The teams from BAS, BAM, SWECO and Ramboll completed all that they set out to do. They delivered their work on time and with an excellent safety performance. When construction resumes, we will be starting from a very good point.”

Graham Hopper, BAM’s Project Director said, “The first season of construction works at Rothera Wharf has been a tremendous success. The works have been delivered on programme and to budget, with an excellent safety and environmental performance. This success has been facilitated by the innovative method of delivery that has enabled the early engagement of all partners, the building of relationships and collaborative behaviours, that have mobilised benefits in budget, programme and risk to all partners. Our Employer UKRI/BAS should be given great credit for the selection of the procurement model and mentoring of partners.

“Thanks to these relationships and the early contractor engagement, our teams in Antarctica have worked seamlessly, sharing skills, equipment and delivering solutions to maximise benefit to all. All personnel involved in the project from the construction, scientific and operational communities, deserve to feel very proud of their achievements and I would like to pass on my thanks and admiration to all.”

The next stage

When teams return to work, they’ll work together reviewing results and capturing lessons learnt from season one, to integrate into plans for 2020 and future Antarctic projects. They’ll share learning with industry in the UK and globally, across science and engineering communities and forums. This will include, for example the innovations used to develop materials and components designed to withstand some of the coldest, windiest, remotest parts of our planet, and create sustainable infrastructure.

 

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Will Huaewi create a UK Silicon Valley

 

In the face of security fears swirling around the Chinese tech giant, will the company confirm its plans to develop a research facility near to the village of Sawson in Cambridgeshire.

If it goes ahead 45,000 sq m of floorspace will be built on an area bought by Huawei for £37.5m. The land was originally the site of a now derelict paper mill.

The new facility, which will include a small-scale manufacturing centre to build prototype chips, is expected to create up to 400 jobs.

But the firm will first have to win consent from local planning officials and councillors and consult residents at a time of heightened controversy over possible links to the Chinese government. Its own timetable shows it is due to formally apply for permission to build the site in “late May” 2019.

The company itself appears to be committed to the UK, where it has 1,400 staff, recently promised £3bn of investment and procurement by 2022 and has partnerships with 10 universities including Cambridge.

The proposed facility also shows its attraction to Cambridge, which has been dubbed “Silicon Fen” because of the boom in technology firms clustered around the city in the Fens region.

Huawei would be looking to benefit from proximity to more than 5,000 ‘knowledge-intensive’ firms based within 20 miles of Cambridge, including IT, telecoms, high-tech manufacturing, life sciences and healthcare companies.

The company expects construction to take up to 18 months. It can only begin when South Cambridgeshire’s district council makes its final decision, which the company expects by the summer.

But Huawei will only get the green light if its construction and design get through the many rules, checks and hurdles involved in the British planning system.

 

 

SOURCE: Yahoo Finance

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