Winners imminent for £7bn schools framework
The Department for Education is set to confirm contractors who have won places on its £7bn school building programme over the next four years.
The Enquirer understands a number of new names will be on the roster for the schools and further education colleges mega framework.
The tender race started back in January to become part of the latest panel of preferred contractors to refresh the current list of 33 incumbents.
Firms have been bidding for 22 lots. For high-value projects over £12m, England is being split again into north and south regional panels of building contractors.
Medium value projects between around £5m and £12m will be divided into eight regional lots and lower value schemes a dozen regional lots.
Winners are being given the good news now with an official announcement by the the government due within the days.
One bidder said: “It’s been a long drawn-out bidding process and a lot of work but it will be worth it because there’s a decent chunk of work in the pipeline.”
Mace names new industrial and nuclear sector chiefs
Mace has made two key senior appointments to lead business growth in nuclear and industrial markets.
Bryony Martin, previously with Aecom, joins Mace as the director for the UK’s central region and sector lead for industrial and manufacturing while Dave Weatherburn joins from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority as business director for nuclear.
Martin has a strong track record in both the property and infrastructure sectors which will support Mace’s 2026 business strategy, growing the regional business across Consult sectors.
She will be responsible for leading Mace’s regional growth agenda, working alongside the businesses’ sectors and practice groups, along with being the sector lead for industrial and manufacturing.
Industrial and manufacturing has been identified as a growth sector for the business in the UK and Europe. Martin will build upon Mace’s manufacturing track record, with clients including Siemens, JLR and BMW, with a focus on electrification and the facilities needed to support growth.
With over 30 years of defence and nuclear experience and a background in mechanical engineering, Dave has delivered a number of major projects and programmes across the private and public sector, including within senior roles with the UK government and the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In his role, Weatherburn will work closely with existing Mace clients to build on the businesses’ current nuclear service offering.
With the nuclear team already successfully embedded within Sizewell C, Hinkley Point C, small modular reactor and wider decommissioning programmes, he will play an integral role in driving forward a more sustainable, resilient and connected world, helping further develop the businesses’ position within this important energy arena.
Jason Millett, CEO for Consultancy at Mace, said:“Together, both Bryony and Dave bring a wealth of experience to two fast-growing sectors within the business: industrial and manufacturing and nuclear.
“Their hires represent an exciting time for Mace’s Consult business as we work towards meeting the ambitious targets set out in the 2026 business strategy.”
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Enabling works start for £65m Carlisle Southern Link Road
Morgan Sindall is due to start enabling works next week on its £65m Carlisle Southern Link Road project.
The 8km road project, which is being delivered as a two-stage design and build contract, moves forward with construction of two site compounds at Newby West and near to M6 Junction 42.
In early Spring, construction of essential site access will commence, including access roads to the west of the River Caldew and borehole installation for long-term groundwater monitoring.
Cumbria County Councillor Keith Little, Cabinet Member for Highways and Transport said, “This is an exciting step for the scheme as the link road will vastly improve east to west connectivity as well as unlocking the delivery of St Cuthbert’s Garden Village, a Carlisle City Council scheme, which aims to deliver 10,000 new homes, infrastructure and employment to Carlisle and the wider county.”
Morgan Sindall’s team includes Capita as designer who had undertaken the preliminary design and development of the scheme for Cumbria County prior to joining the Morgan Sindall team. Local contractor Story Construction is also part of the Morgan Sindall team.
The CSLR will connect Junction 42 of the M6 with the A595 and will connect with Carlisle Northern Development route from the A595 to Junction 44 of the M6.
The project is key to the successful delivery of growth projects and initiatives such as the St.Cuthberts Garden Village, a council-led scheme that will deliver 10,000 new homes and employment opportunities within Carlisle.
Works include four new roundabouts, five cycle bridges and four road bridges and a cycle path along the northern side along its full length.
Two of the bridges will cross Network Rail’s West Coast Main Line and Cumbrian Coast Line.
Construction materials cost increases hit 40-year high
The latest Building Cost Information Service Materials Cost Index shows price rises hitting a 40-year high.
Industry analysts at the RICS owned organisation said that between January and September 2021 the greatest increases were seen for steel and timber with increases set to continue well into next year.
James Fiske, Director of BCIS, said: “The cost of materials in constructing a 3-bedroom semi-detached hous has increased by 14% or approximately £7,300 between January and September 2021. It is expected to grow by further 1% or £600 by the end of this year.”
Joe Martin, BCIS Lead Consultant added: “The pressure on materials prices and availability is expected to continue at least until the end of 2022. Labour shortages are expected to evolve as the significant driver for overall construction cost increases next year and the construction sector would need to compete for it with other sectors”.
For full details of the BCIS analysis click here.
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Boris scraps HS2 “grindingly slow to build” Leeds leg
Boris Johnson has appeared to confirm reports that the eastern leg of HS2 has been scrapped.
The Prime Minister returned to his former role as a journalist today penning a column in the Yorkshire Post trumpeting rail improvement plans for the region.
The £96bn Integrated Rail Plan will help transform services across the Midlands and north of England cutting journey times ten years earlier than planned.
Full details of the plan will finally be revealed by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps later today.
Johnson said: “HS2 will come to Sheffield, meaning a trip to or from London will take just 1 hour 27 minutes – precisely the same as under the old HS2 plans, and fully half an hour faster than now. And we’ll look at how to get HS2 to Leeds too, with a new study on the best way to make it happen.
“But high-speed rail is grindingly slow to build. Under the original blueprint, first drawn up more than a decade ago, Yorkshire would have not have seen the benefits of our investment until at least the 2040s.
“Levelling up can’t wait that long. And towns like Wakefield, Doncaster, Dewsbury and Huddersfield would have suffered as trains were taken off the existing main lines.
“So rather than just waiting for another two decades for a scheme that snubs much of Yorkshire, we will do more, and sooner.”
HS2 was originally meant to connect London with the city centres of Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds.
It now appears a shorter high-speed route will be created from Birmingham to East Midlands Parkway, with the HS2 trains then running as far as Sheffield on mainline tracks.
First trio of major build deals signed for London Canada Water
Developer British Land has signed the first major building contracts for the vast Canada Water regeneration scheme in London.
Wates, Mace and McAleer and Rushe have secured the first three jobs which are together work up to £300m.
Enabling works are underway at British Land’s 53 acre, mixed-use scheme in Southwark, which will deliver up to 3,000 homes.
The first three buildings will be net zero embodied carbon calling for innovative new approaches. Operational carbon will be reduced by using electricity rather than gas for heating.
On the largest contract, the A1 tower secured by Wates, heat will be recycled from offices into the building, which British Land said was an industry first.
First Phase 1 buildings at Canada Water
Wates contract – Plot A1 – a 270,000 sq ft tower for 186 build to sell homes
Adjacent to Canada Water station, plot A will consist of a 5-storey podium and 35 storeys of housing above
Mace contract – Plot A2 – a 250,000 sq ft office-led project including a 56,000 sq ft leisure centre
Offices and leisure situated next to the new residential tower
McAleer contract – Plot K1 – a building solely for 79 affordable homes.
K1 plot plan for affordable housing designed by architect Morris + Company
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Willmott Dixon wins £21m West Sussex fire station
Willmott Dixon has been selected by West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service to deliver a £21m fire service training centre and fire station.
It’s the latest in a series of ‘blue-light’ projects for Willmott Dixon and follows the handover last month of a new HQ for Merseyside Police in the centre of Liverpool.
The scheme in Horsham at a site off the A24 at Highwood Mill was procured using the SCF framework for on behalf of West Sussex County Council.
Russell Miller, director at Willmott Dixon’s Crawley office, said key features of the project included a combined training tower and breathing apparatus facility, and a realistic live-fire training area.
The high-tech premises will also include accommodation for new recruit training, an incident command training facility, realistic road traffic collision training area and rooms for digital simulations.
New facility will use renewable energy sources such as solar panels and air source heat pumps to provide heating, as well as electric vehicle charging points
Chief Fire Officer, Sabrina Cohen-Hatton, said: “This is a fantastic commitment from the county council to the training and development of all of our staff, and one which is going to have an incredible impact upon our service. I cannot wait for work to begin to turn these plans into a fully functional fire station and training centre.”
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B&K revealed as mystery buyer for failed Robinson Structures
Bowmer & Kirkland is understood to be the mystery buyer for the assets of stricken Derby steelwork contractor Robinson Structures sold in a pre-pack administration last week.
The main contractor’s steelwork and timber business, B&K Structures, which also based in Derby is understood to have bought the business although there still has been no official confirmation of the deal.
The acquisition, which saved 68 Robinson jobs, represents the largest single investment in the firm’s 47-year history, which started out as a steelwork contractor and branched out in 2007, moving into the engineered timber industry.
A new business B&K Hybrid Solutions will operate from the recently-built former Robinson HQ and production plant, giving the new business capacity to manufacture 10,000t of structural steelwork per annum.
The new well-equipped facilities form part of a larger, long-term plan to deliver on the increased demand for steel and timber-steel hybrid schemes within the UK.
Major steelwork firm warns project delays will hit profits
Structural steelwork specialist Billington has warned forecast profit for this year will fall below expectations due to the impact of materials and labour supply constraints on project completions.
The firm had previously warned several months ago that theprecise outturn for the current financial year depended on the timing of certain key contracts, combined with any potential impact from continuing material price inflation and supply chain constraints.
Mark Smith, CEO of Billington, said that it had now become evident that the completion of certain key projects would not take place by year-end, impacting the profitability, and to a lesser extent revenue.
“2021 has been dominated by the continued challenges arising from the pandemic for both Billington and its clients alike,” he said
“The construction sector is suffering material and labour supply constraints that have affected the delivery of projects and delayed anticipated completion dates.
“As a result, this has adversely impacted this year’s profitability.”
He added that the delayed profit recognition combined with a strong project pipeline had provided greater confidence Billington would meet expectations for next year.
Smith said: “Tendering opportunities remain buoyant and of a good quality, together with a good orderbook provides an increased degree of confidence for 2022 and beyond.”
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Vistry poised to start 439-homes site near Northampton
Vistry Group is getting ready to start construction on the first phase of more than 400 homes near Northampton next year.
The Western Gate project in Harpole just needs reserved matters planning consent before work can start on new homes and a new school which the house building is contributing £6m towards,
The planning decision is expected at the end of the year with the section 106 agreement including community contributions towards the primary school, local centre, play facilities, a library and highway work.
Western Gate’s design incorporates the retention of existing trees and retains green infrastructure that will be enhanced through tree planting. Public footpaths will extend through the development linking the existing and proposed network to ensure public, pedestrian access to properties and the surrounding area.
The two, three and four-bedroom homes will be five miles from Northampton town centre, with easy access to the M1, plenty of local amenities and a selection of ‘Good’ Ofsted-rated schools nearby.
Andrew Harvey, Vistry regional land director, said: “We are very excited about our Western Gate development and the building of much-needed affordable homes in Harpole. These high-quality homes will suit all types of home buyers and our contribution to the community, including tree planting and footpaths, will make sure Western Gate is a thriving place to live.
“A total of 15 per cent of our homes will be affordable housing and our house types will meet Harpole’s needs while ensuring we create a long-lasting community that complements the local environment.
“Our popular properties will consist of Bovis Homes’ and Linden Homes’ latest housing ranges to offer the highest degree of specification and choice tailored to meet the desires of Vistry’s customers.”
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