Housing giants face council fury over delays to promised school
A council is considering legal action against three of the country’s biggest house builders to take control of a delayed school building project forming part of a major mixed-use scheme in Barry.
The Vale of Glamorgan Council said it will consider legal action to take charge of building Barry Waterfront School if developer the Waterfront Consortium refuses to hand over control voluntarily.
The council said the Waterfront Consortium – of Persimmon, Taylor Wimpey and Barratt Homes – has repeatedly delayed work on the school and has still not given assurances over a construction start date.
Cllr Lis Burnett, Vale of Glamorgan Council Cabinet Member for Education and Regeneration, said: “Enough is enough. It is regrettable that we have reached this point, but the consortium has proven it has no interest in building the primary school it promised as part of the Waterfront Development.
“I, along with other Council representatives, have held numerous meetings with them in an effort to address this matter but have been unable to make any real progress.
“At every turn we have been met with excuses, yet the developers’ house building operation does not seem to be suffering from the same problems, which is frankly astonishing.
“I can only conclude that while happy to build houses for commercial gain, the Waterfront Consortium has no interest in fulfilling its obligation to build a community.
“It is not only in breach of its legal commitments, but also local and national government polices around placemaking.
“The consortium has broken promises to residents of the Vale of Glamorgan and that is something we are not prepared to accept.
“This situation has been tolerated for long enough. We have formally written to the Waterfront Consortium asking that it sign over the school site to us. If the developers do not agree, we will explore what legal action is available to allow us to take control.”
The Council has previously taken enforcement action against developers at Barry Waterfront after they began building residential properties without appropriate planning permission.
A Temporary Stop Notice was also previously issued preventing the building and selling of new homes on the waterfront until significant progress had been made on delivering a complex of commercial space, including bars and restaurants, known as the District Centre.
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Government pumps cash into £93m Aston Expressway repairs
The Government has agreed to fund the £93m strengthening and repair programme to a key viaduct on the northern section of the Aston Expressway between Birmingham city centre and the M6 motorway.
The Tame Valley Viaduct, which carries about 80,000 vehicles a day, was starting to show signs of deterioration.
Without government funding, the viaduct would need weight and width restrictions within a few years and, over time, the link could potentially face full closure.
The Government is putting £72m into the project which is expected to cost £93.5m with the remaining funding coming from Birmingham City Council and the Local Growth Fund.
Work is due to start on an extensive strengthening programme next year with structure remaining open to traffic throughout. The vast project is expected to take nearly five years to complete.
Proposals involve major strengthening and refurbishment works on the viaduct, ensuring it can continue to carry heavy vehicles. It will remain open to traffic throughout the duration of works.
There are also plans to apply a protective anti-corrosion paint system to the structure alongside other general refurbishments, preserving the longevity of the viaduct and minimising the need for future work.
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Balfour in race for £1bn Teesside carbon capture scheme
Energy giant BP has awarded two front end engineering and design contracts for its planned £1bn-plus power station and carbon capture and storage scheme on Teesside.
Net Zero Teesside Power’s carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS) project is a world first for a new gas-fired power station with a built-in process to capture and pump waste CO2 into a North Sea abandoned gas field cluster.
The first contracts for a design and development competition have been awarded to two engineering consortiums.
Front End Engineering Design dual contract awards
Technip Energies and General Electric consortium – led by Technip Energies and including Shell and Balfour BeattyAker Solutions Doosan Babcock and Siemens Energy consortium – led by Aker Solutions and including Aker Carbon Capture
The design contracts involve both the flexible gas-fired power station with CCUS capabilities and the Northern Endurance Partnership’s facilities to gather and compress CO2 and export it offshore for storage.
The scheme aims to be up and running within the next five years and could create 5,500 direct jobs during its construction.
Over the next 12 months the bid teams will draw up comprehensive FEED package, led from their UK offices.
They will then submit proposals for the execution phase. As part of the final investment decision expected in 2023, a single consortium will be selected to take the project forward into construction.
The scheme is the Government’s preferred project to lead the UK’s net zero ambitions and will see up to 10million tonnes of CO2 emissions captured each year – equivalent to the emissions associated with the annual energy use of three million homes – and store it under the North Sea via a series of pipes.
Tees Valley Mayor Ben Houchen said: “Just days after local firm Thompsons carried out a large-scale explosive demolition project, and we lodged plans to clear the site on Teesworks where Net Zero Teesside Power will sit, we now have this incredibly welcome news.
“This announcement shows how fast our plans are accelerating to deliver this game-changing facility on Teesside. Net Zero Teesside Power is a flagship project to put our region front-and-centre in delivering the cleaner, safer and healthier industries of the future.
“It has been recognised by Government as a key project needed to drive the UK’s net zero ambitions and it will also put us on the map for other businesses looking for locations for their own low-carbon projects. What’s more, it’ll do all this while creating the thousands of well-paid, good-quality jobs people from across Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool people deserve.”
Louise Kingham, bp’s UK head of country and senior vice president of Europe said “Moving to Front End Engineering Design is a major step forward for Net Zero Teesside Power and the development of the Northern Endurance Partnership.
“This first-of-a-kind project has the potential to deliver enough low carbon, flexible electricity to power around 1.3 million homes, and can help secure Teesside’s position at the green heart of the country’s energy transition.”
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