Building News is an information portal for all professional building specifiers. Here you can find all of the latest construction news from around the UK and the rest of the world.

Construction output rises despite Brexit uncertainty

The Government must not be complacent about the damage a ‘no deal’ Brexit would cause amid positive signs of growth in the UK construction industry, says the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Commenting on the construction output figures for November 2018, published by the Office for National Statistics, Sarah McMonagle, Director of External Affairs at the FMB, said “The UK construction sector grew by 2.1 per cent during September to November 2018 compared with the previous three months. This is despite unparalleled levels of political uncertainty around the very real prospect of a ‘no deal’ scenario. However, we are urging the Government not to allow these results to create a false sense of security. Since November, political uncertainty has cranked up and is increasing every day. A growing and prosperous construction sector will be a distant memory if the Government allows the UK to crash out of the EU without a deal in place.”

“The construction industry is also extremely concerned about the Government’s proposed post-Brexit immigration system. In the Immigration White Paper, published at the end of last year, the Government revealed that they will make few allowances for low skilled workers to enter the UK post-Brexit. Most tradespeople will be defined as low skilled and therefore will not be permitted to enter the UK, regardless of whether they are from the EU or further afield. It is crucial that the Government introduces a post-Brexit immigration system that continues to allow us to draw on essential migrant workers or else their house building and infrastructure targets will be totally unachievable.”

/0 Comments/by

Intelligent systems will help UK transition to clean and affordable energy

New small-scale renewable electricity providers to be guaranteed payment for excess electricity supplied to the grid under government proposals unveiled this week – protecting consumers from unfair costs associated with current scheme.

Plans for Smart Export Guarantee could build a bridge to the smarter energy system of the future, which can help unlock technological innovations like home energy storage and more efficient electric vehicle charging.

Households and businesses installing new solar panels will be guaranteed payment for power provided back to the grid under government proposals set out this week to unlock the smart energy systems of the future- an important upgrade to the current Feed-in Tariffs scheme.

The proposed ‘Smart Export Guarantee’ (SEG) would replace the existing ‘Feed-in Tariff’ scheme (FIT), with electricity suppliers paying new small-scale energy producers for excess electricity from homes and businesses being put back into the energy grid. The new scheme could create a whole new market, encouraging suppliers to competitively bid for this electricity, giving exporters the best market price while providing the local grid with more clean, green energy, unlocking greater choice and control for solar households over buying and selling their electricity.

With the cost of solar falling by 80% since 2008, it’s the right time to review the way these payments are made- with the scheme currently costing consumers approximately £1.2 billion a year. The SEG would mean households and businesses installing new renewable energy generators would be paid transparently for the energy they produce- protecting consumers from cost burdens, by using established smart technology.

Currently under the FIT scheme, accredited households and businesses who install small scale electricity generation are assumed to export 50% of the electricity they produce and are paid for it-even when the electricity is not needed by the grid or they export less than 50%.

Energy and Clean Growth Minister Claire Perry said “This new scheme could help us to build a bridge to the smart energy system of the future, with consumers firmly at its heart – not only buying electricity but being guaranteed payments for excess electricity they can supply to the grid.

“It could also reduce strain on energy networks with a more decentralised and smarter local network delivering resilience much more cost effectively, unlocking innovative products for electric vehicles and home energy storage; a win-win for consumers and the environment and a key part of our modern Industrial Strategy.”

The proposals, combined with existing technologies like smart meters and battery storage could also help build a bridge to smarter more efficient energy systems of the future, with the potential to work together with electric vehicle and standalone batteries to store and sell electricity to the grid when demand is high; in turn cutting consumer bills, reducing strain on energy networks, and giving consumers more control of their energy use.

Government investment in clean energy is at the heart of its world-leading modern industrial strategy, with the Clean Growth Strategy pledging more than £2.5 billion investment in low carbon innovation by 2021. The FIT scheme, which closes to new applicants on 31 March 2019, has overachieved on its original objectives, outstripping installation predictions by nearly 100,000 with over 830,000 solar installations producing enough power for two million homes.

Some 560,000 households and business are currently generating electricity under the FIT scheme through a range of measures including anaerobic digestion (generating energy from waste products), wind power, biomass and hydro-electricity- but with the majority (99%) using solar panels fitted to rooftops.

/0 Comments/by

Bringing beauty into the built environment

A commission to champion beautiful buildings as an integral part of the drive to build the homes communities need has been recently announced by the Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP.

The ‘Building Better, Building Beautiful’ Commission will develop a vision and practical measures to help ensure new developments meet the needs and expectations of communities, making them more likely to be welcomed rather than resisted.

This move follows the government recently rewriting the planning rulebook to strengthen expectations for design quality and community engagement when planning for development. The new rules also ensure more consideration can be given to the character of the local area.

This commission will take that work further by expanding on the ways in which the planning system can encourage and incentivise a greater emphasis on design, style and community consent. It will raise the level of debate regarding the importance of beauty in the built environment.

The commission has 3 aims:

  • To promote better design and style of homes, villages, towns and high streets, to reflect what communities want, building on the knowledge and tradition of what they know works for their area.
  • To explore how new settlements can be developed with greater community consent.
  • To make the planning system work in support of better design and style, not against it.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said “Most people agree we need to build more for future generations, but too many still feel that new homes in their local area just aren’t up to scratch.

“Part of making the housing market work for everyone is helping to ensure that what we build, is built to last. That it respects the integrity of our existing towns, villages and cities.

“This will become increasingly important as we look to create a number of new settlements across the country and invest in the infrastructure and technology they will need to be thriving and successful places.

“This commission will kick start a debate about the importance of design and style, helping develop practical ways of ensuring new developments gain the consent of communities, helping grow a sense of place, not undermine it. This will help deliver desperately needed homes – ultimately building better and beautiful will help us build more.”

/0 Comments/by

£38m injection to increase accommodation for homeless in the capital

Thousands of extra homes will be made available for vulnerable Londoners at risk of becoming homeless, Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP has announced.

Through a new scheme, London boroughs join forces to provide safe accommodation for families on the edge of homelessness, backed by almost £38 million of funding from the government’s £1.2 billion overall investment in tackling homelessness.

The additional homes will help provide a long-term, stable solution for vulnerable families struggling to find secure accommodation, providing a safety net for those who may otherwise feel they have nowhere else to go.

Currently, all London boroughs are responsible for providing accommodation for those at risk of homelessness both inside and outside their area. However, this can often lead to areas competing for the best accommodation – driving up prices and slowing down the provision of quality housing for the most vulnerable.

The new scheme purportedly aims to stop this from happening by encouraging London boroughs to work together in boosting accommodation to tackle homelessness across the capital.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon James Brokenshire MP said “Everyone deserves a safe and secure home. I’ve seen for myself how hard each of the London boroughs works to provide those that are homeless with the support they need and a roof over their heads.

“This radical new way of working and unprecedented collaboration between the boroughs and government will make a real difference – providing more accommodation for the vulnerable and helping them to get back on their feet and away from homelessness for good.”

Councillor Darren Rodwell, London Councils’ Executive Member for Housing & Planning, added “With so many homeless households and so little accommodation available, London faces the country’s most serious homelessness challenge.

“Capital Letters is a crucial opportunity to do things differently – and we are extremely pleased to have the government’s support for this innovative work.

“Through collaboration, boroughs will collectively strengthen our market position and secure much better housing options for homeless Londoners.”

To date, 11 London boroughs have signed up to the scheme, with more expected to come on board in the future. Over the next 3 years, the scheme is expected to help over 35,000 households within Greater London out of homelessness.

 

/0 Comments/by

Construction bosses fear EU workers won’t return to UK after Christmas

The UK construction industry is asking its highly valued EU workers, who might be travelling home for Christmas, to please come back after the Christmas break, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Research focusing on how the bosses of small and medium-sized (SME) construction firms view their EU workers concluded that:

  • 85% of construction SME employers that employ EU workers say that these workers are important in allowing their business to maintain and expand its workforce
  • 76% of these firms say it would have a negative impact on the health of their business if any of the EU workers they employ returned to their country of origin, now or post-Brexit
  • 94% of firms describe the quality of EU workers they employ as ‘good’ or ‘very good’

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB, said “Our research shows that EU workers are vital to the success of the UK construction industry and our message to these individuals is clear – you are highly valued and we need you. Christmas is now upon us and there’s a risk that those EU migrant workers who go home to their home countries for the festive period might not come back. With Brexit looming large on the horizon, EU workers in the UK are facing high levels of uncertainty over their future. Furthermore, since the depreciation of sterling, their wages aren’t worth as much as they were previously. Construction employers are genuinely concerned that this mixture of uncertainty about the future and less money in their pockets will make the UK a much less attractive proposition that it was pre-referendum.”

“Ministers haven’t done enough to reassure EU workers that they have a future in the UK. In our ‘Construction Industry Brexit Manifesto’, seven of the major trade bodies have called on the Government to embark upon a communications campaign that makes clear to our EU workers that they’ll have no serious impediments to gaining settled status. Indeed, both the Government and the industry need to do all that they can to put a positive message across. In the medium term, the construction industry can and should do more to attract and train a greater proportion of domestic workers. However, such is the extent of the current construction skills shortages, we’ll continue to need to draw upon a high number of EU migrant workers post-Brexit if the Government wants to meet its target for new homes and infrastructure projects.”

/0 Comments/by

London to spend £30 million to develop deprived areas

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has awarded nearly £30 million to projects which will boost local economies, improve the environment and bring people together in some of London’s most deprived communities.

The money has been awarded through the second round of the Mayor’s Good Growth Fund to 33 projects across the city – and will be delivered through the London Economic Action Partnership (LEAP), the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the capital.

The projects focus on supporting Londoners in areas with high levels of unemployment, youth violence and poor mental health, by supporting the creation of new jobs, investing in community assets and driving sustainable economic growth.

Nearly two-thirds of the funding will be invested in areas of London which rank in the top 20 per cent of the country’s most deprived wards, according to the well-established Indices of Multiple Deprivation.

The Good Growth Fund supports regeneration schemes which help Londoners influence how their local areas are shaped. Successful projects in this funding round include:

  • delivering up to 20,000 sq m of much-needed new industrial space in Barking to support local jobs;
  • creating new and refurbished performance, rehearsal, learning and play spaces at the Polka Children’s Theatre in Wimbledon, to support community outreach and creative learning opportunities for disadvantaged children and hard-to-reach families; and
  • investing in Centre 404 to provide much-needed support and services for people with learning disabilities and carers from the LGBTQ+ communities in Islington, Camden, Haringey, Enfield and Hammersmith & Fulham.

In the first funding round earlier this year, the Mayor awarded £24 million to deliver 27 projects. In addition, a further 27 projects were awarded a share of £1.6 million to develop their proposals with a view to submitting a full funding bid in due course. This support helps us to build a balanced programme by addressing any gaps resulting from the open call process.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said “These projects aim to give Londoners of all backgrounds the opportunity to be actively involved in shaping how their city grows and delivering more places to live, learn, work and play.

“I’m so impressed by the range of bids we received – this is testament to the creativity and ingenuity in London’s diverse communities.

“I’m committed to supporting ‘good growth’ by building a city where all Londoners have access to the same opportunities and I look forward to seeing all the positive impacts these projects will have in the future.”

LEAP Board Member, Alexandra Depledge MBE, added “I have always believed that Londoners know what’s best for their communities and this is evidenced in the wide variety and depth of innovation on display in the projects backed by Round 2 of the Good Growth Fund. These investments are good growth in action.”

Sarah Preece, Executive Director, Mountview – which received £843,000 in round one of the Good Growth Fund – concluded “The support from the Mayor’s Good Growth Fund means Mountview is able to open fantastic new performance and training facilities to Londoners, including artist hub spaces, studios and a welcoming box office space – as well as an enhanced public realm with new planting and seating and opening up access to Peckham Square, the Surrey Canal greenway and the green route to Burgess Park.

“These spaces help us to achieve our mission of providing affordable performance training for people of all ages as well as opening community spaces for hire and providing two brand new theatres. Generations to come will benefit from the access to culture, recreation and learning that this enables.”

/0 Comments/by

UK housing market faces challenging 2019, warn experts

The UK housing market is unlikely to see much change in 2019 with a continuation of weakening sales activity, according to the RICS UK Residential Housing Forecast 2019.

The UK housing market has lacked impetus in 2018, having continued to struggle with a lack of homes on estate agents books; affordability issues; uncertainty caused by Brexit; and prospective interest rate rises.

Looking ahead, it is unlikely that sales will grow in 2019. In the past two years, sales activity has declined, and annual completed transactions remain significantly below the 1.7million high reached in 2006. Given the obstacles in the current market it is anticipated that activity will weaken further.

As sales activity continues to falter, house price growth will continue to fade in the first half of the year and is expected to come to a standstill by mid-2019. As such, the RICS Housing Forecast 2019 suggests prices will neither grow nor fall in the near future (0%).

The stagnation of house prices is underpinned by the lack of new properties being listed for sale. In the second-hand market, not enough properties have been listed to replenish those sold. This has been evident in the RICS data throughout 2018, as average stock levels remain near all-time record lows. The number of new properties being listed for sale has fallen consistently, and in November, almost half of survey participants reported the number of market appraisals undertaken over the month was down on the year before. All these indicators suggest it is unlikely that the coming months will see a marked increase in supply across the second-hand market.

Furthermore, despite new policy announcements from Government, overall growth in new builds has slowed, falling short of targets and therefore failing to help replenish estate agents’ stock levels.

A consequence of these lower levels of stock is the impact this will have on those contemplating moving home. Respondents to the UK Residential Market Survey have pointed to a sustained decline in the number of new enquiries they are receiving from would-be buyers throughout 2018, resulting in a fall in the number of agreed sales being made. In the near term, it is doubtful that activity levels will improve.

Uncertainty created by the Brexit process is causing buyers and sellers to sit tight in increasing numbers, according to the November 2018 RICS UK Residential Market Survey.

In the lettings market, the sustained demand vs supply challenge prevails, which is likely to squeeze rents higher, albeit modestly, over the coming four quarters.

Tarrant Parsons, RICS Economist comments “Demand has tailed off over recent months, with Brexit uncertainty causing greater hesitancy as the withdrawal deadline draws closer. That said, the current political environment is far from the only obstacle hindering activity with a shortage of stock continuing to present buyers with limited choice, while stretched affordability is pricing many people out.

“For the year ahead, this mixture of headwinds is unlikely to dissipate, meaning sales volumes may edge a little lower. On the back of this, house price growth at a UK level seems set to lose momentum further, although the lack of supply and a still solid labour market backdrop will likely prevent negative trends.

“It’s not all bad news for the outlook however, as sentiment could be lifted if a deal were to be reached on the withdrawal agreement before too long. Furthermore, mortgage rates are set to remain favourable, with any changes in monetary policy expected to be minimal over the next twelve months.”

Hew Edgar, RICS Head of Policy, adds “We would hope that uncertainty around Brexit will be resolved toward the beginning of 2019, allowing for fluidity to start to return to the housing market. However, there are a number of domestic hurdles to overcome, such as a lack of supply, labour shortages, and the infrastructure deficit, amid increasing material costs.

“Throughout 2018 as the supply pipeline remained weak, a number of policy proposals were made to address the market issues, most notably land value capture across the UK, and vacant land tax in Wales; but discussions around innovative policy measures need to continue through into implementation. It will be interesting to see if the divergence of policy in the constituent parts of the UK will bear results and we will continue to monitor the effects of housing policy through our market surveys.

“Looking at transaction levels, residential property taxation is in urgent need of review; and this goes for both SDLT and the current council tax system. Both affect buying behaviours and therefore market activity, with council tax being particularly outdated.

“If the Government wish to alleviate market concerns, that will persist Brexit or otherwise, then all possibly approaches and outcomes should be considered, including looking at tackling the rising number of long term empty homes – which number 250,000 across the UK; a figure that borders on the Government’s new homes target.”

/0 Comments/by

London trialling indoor air pollution filtration systems in nurseries

The Mayor has launched a programme of air quality audits to help clean up toxic air and protect the health of young children at nurseries in some of the most polluted parts of London.

The audits will target sources of indoor and outdoor pollution, with five of the 20 nurseries trialling new air filtration systems to test their effectiveness at reducing indoor pollution. They will focus on reducing NO2, PM10 and PM 2.5 as research shows children exposed to these smaller pollution particles and gases are more likely to grow up with lung problems and to develop asthma.

The new scheme follows 50 successful audits the Mayor delivered to primary schools earlier this year, which have already led to some schools taking action to close roads, upgrade their boilers, tackle engine idling and promote car-sharing schemes.

A recent study by University College London and the University of Cambridge,funded by the Mayor, found that indoor air pollution was significantly higher inside classrooms, due to a range of factors including the age of buildings, ventilation, positioning of windows, and wall-to-wall carpeting.

The findings suggested that the protection offered by the building increased the further away it was from the busiest roads and that airtight buildings may offer greater protection against pollution. The report also found that, in most classrooms, annual exposure to small particles was higher than recommended World Health Organization guidelines, and that this was caused by a combination of indoor and outdoor sources.

The impact of outdoor air pollution on indoor air quality underlines the importance of the hard-hitting measures Sadiq is already taking to tackle London’s toxic air, including introducing the 24-hour Ultra Low Emission Zone in Central London and cleaning up the bus fleet.

The audits will also review a range of methods to reduce pollution outside nurseries,including restricting road access outside entrances at drop off and collection times, moving playgrounds away from congested roads, installing green ‘pollution barrier’ hedges, tackling engine idling and promoting cycling and walking.

The £250,000 programme is funded as part of the Mayor’s Air Quality Fund and audits will be conducted by global engineering consultancy WSP, who will spend the next few weeks in the nurseries, assessing indoor and outdoor air pollution sources, looking at how children travel to the nurseries, and reviewing local walking routes including traffic crossings. These will be the first City Hall trials of indoor filtration, beginning in spring 2019, with results expected later in the year, alongside a toolkit that can be given to all non-participating nurseries so they can conduct their own audits.

Built into the programme is a ring-fenced starter grant of £4,500 for the 20 nurseries to help kick-start recommendations on completion of the audits.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said “It remains a shameful fact that London’s toxic air health crisis is harming the lung growth and respiratory health of our young children, and City Hall is determined to everything in our power to protect them. These nursery audits focus on indoor pollution as well as outdoor sources, and will help us understand ways we can stop toxic air from our congested roads raising pollution limits inside nurseries.

“The 50 school audits we delivered are already resulting in positive changes that are helping reduce pollution and clean the air for thousands of pupils. We will continue to prioritise the health of all Londoners with a range of strong measures including the introduction next April of the 24-hour Central London Ultra Low Emission Zone, cleaning up our bus fleet and working with boroughs on local interventions.

“Now it is high time the Government stepped up and matched my ambition by delivering a new Clean Air and Environment Act and introducing the scrappage scheme we need to remove the dirtiest vehicles off our streets once and for all.”

Dr Simon Lenton, representative of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health added “The adverse impact on health of air pollution is now well established in adults. Infants and children are more vulnerable as their lungs and brains are still developing. Children and infants spend many hours in nursery or at school and it is imperative we know what air pollutants they are exposed to and then take action to ensure the air they breathe is as pure as possible. This is particularly important in proximity to high traffic density and close to industrial areas.”

Louise Beanland, Governor of Melcombe Primary School who received an audit, concluded “I welcome the commitment that the Mayor is showing to doing everything he can to improve the health and wellbeing of our children. The announcement of the 20 nurseries selected to receive an air quality audit and, other interventions, is yet another sign of such a commitment’.

/0 Comments/by

Art meets architecture pt.1 – Music

Architecture is a very tangible example of creativity. You can see it with your eyes, touch its exterior, feel its fabric and walk its hallways. Music however is much more visceral art form. The notes and harmonies paint vivid pictures in your mind rather than in front of you. These landscapes are unique to you because music by its very nature is subjective. Imagine then, if you could hear architecture. The way a structure is perceived would immediately change and the landscape you perceive would be a perfect combination of the visceral and the tangible. This has been achieved with a restoration project in Croatia.

Following utter devastation to Zadar in Croatia during WWII, hasty reconstruction work was carried out soon after in an earnest attempt to rebuild the area. The result (as so often following WWII around the world) was a bland and uninspiring expanse of concrete. In this case, an unbroken, monotonous concrete wall along the seafront.

Architect Nikola Bašić decided to try something different and breathe life into the area as part of a project to redesign the new city coast, Nova Riva. On 15th April 2005 he opened a wind and wave powered organ to the public – the first of its kind. As waves break against the altered shoreline, the organ creates somewhat random but harmonic sounds.

wave-organ_11212015

As wind and waves pass through the organ, notes are sounded at random. Pipes within the organ have been carefully tuned so as to only produce notes that harmonise well together, meaning that despite the unpredictability and spontaneous nature of this instrument/structure, the overall sound is always pleasing on the ear.

The sculpture is 230 feet long and comprises 35 organ pipes embedded within the concrete, which sound different notes as you walk along the promenade. The pipes are an intricate system of polyethylene tubes and resonating cavities which turn the site into a large musical instrument, played by the wind and the sea.

The Sea Organ (known locally as Morske Orgulje) has become somewhat of a tourist attraction, as well as drawing regulars from the surrounding areas to enjoy its song. Since its original opening, white marble steps leading down to the water have now been added, giving people somewhere to sit and gather their thoughts.

In 2006, the Sea Organ was awarded with the prize ex-aequo of the fourth edition of the European Prize for Urban Public Space.

Listen to the organ’s beautiful music below:

Whilst this is obviously a very special and unique concept, it perhaps raises the interesting idea that architecture can actually be multi-functional and appease more senses than just sight. We all live, work and play within the built environment. Wouldn’t it be interesting if as well as us interacting with our surroundings, our surroundings could also interact with us?

/by