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Report shows public backing for infrastructure and housing investment

 

More than half of people in the UK rank housing as the most important investment priority for the country, closely followed by renewable energy and major roads, according to a new report published today.

The report, published by Copper Consultancy in partnership with TLF Research, and launched at the Institution of Civil Engineers, found that the majority of people in the UK support infrastructure investment, but do not feel that they have enough information available on the future of infrastructure and housing.

Almost 60% of people stated they would be more interested in infrastructure and development projects if the benefits were clearly explained.

The research showed that almost everyone has a view on the condition of housing, roads and rail, but there is less understanding of infrastructure where the benefits are not explained.

Linda Taylor, managing director of Copper Consultancy, said “What’s clear from the research is that the public wants the opportunity to support infrastructure investment, but unless they understand the benefits, people do not feel equipped to get involved.

“The public wants support in linking projects to day to day life and experiences. We’re left with an investment-benefit disconnect.

“The government and industry have an opportunity to tell a coherent story about the real life benefits that investment in infrastructure and housing delivers. Our research shows that when the benefits are made clear, the public is supportive. If we achieve this, public support for infrastructure could lead to fewer delays to projects and the benefits of infrastructure will be realised sooner.”

President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, Professor Lord Robert Mair CBE FREng FICE FRS, said “The report makes a major contribution to our understanding of the public’s aspirations for UK infrastructure. At a time when infrastructure is key to the future of the UK’s economy, the report’s findings are not only timely but also encouraging.

“The report shows the public can link positive change to infrastructure investment if they understand the benefits as outcomes and impacts to them. Engaging and educating the public – who are ultimately the customers and end users in infrastructure – is therefore crucial. To achieve this, we need to change the language around the subject and make the profession of civil engineering more accessible. It is up to us to take the findings of this report forward and to proactively tell our stories to the public.”

Nigel Hill, chairman, The Leadership Factor said “There is public support for investment in housing and infrastructure but also significant concern that the two are often not sufficiently linked. There is a strongly held view that planning permission should be more influenced by the adequacy of the surrounding infrastructure especially roads, other transport links and schools.”

Click here to view the full report.

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Campaign launched to encourage more women into construction

Considerate Constructors Scheme’s industry survey reveals more needs to be done to change perceptions and encourage more women into construction

Whilst 79% of respondents said the construction industry has improved its approach in encouraging women into construction, 52% have witnessed or experienced sexism within the industry.

The survey also reveals the main reasons women do not choose to work in construction cited as being:

  • working conditions – 22%
  • lack of female role models – 22%
  • negative image of the industry – 20%

The UK and Ireland campaign ‘Spotlight on…women in construction’ has been launched by the Considerate Constructors Scheme to boost the much-needed industry effort to attract more women into the construction industry.

The Scheme, which makes around 15,000 monitoring visits to construction sites, companies and suppliers every year, surveyed over 1000 people to find out why women still only represent a meagre 11% of the construction industry workforce. The Campaign provides a variety of practical steps that can be taken to address this issue in the short, medium and long term.

The survey findings also revealed that:

  • 94% of respondents agreed that the industry would benefit from employing more women.
  • 76% said there are no construction jobs which only men can do.
  • 74% said there should not be quotas for hiring women into construction.

It is clear from the survey, that although some results appear encouraging, there is still a huge amount to be done, particularly in addressing sexism and changing misguided perceptions of what a career in construction offers to women.

‘Spotlight on…women in construction’ pulls together the latest and greatest examples of best practice, case studies from women working across the construction industry, legal requirements and links to useful organisations encouraging women to work in construction.

The Campaign extends the Scheme’s influence in this important area; by complementing the Scheme’s monitoring Checklist which asks several questions about equality and diversity to raise standards across the thousands of Scheme-registered sites, companies and suppliers; and the role of the industry mascot, Honor Goodsite in visiting hundreds of schools across the UK and Ireland every year.

The importance of having role models is absolutely critical. As such, ‘Spotlight on…women in construction’ has interviewed a number of women within the industry to examine what opportunities and challenges they have faced and why construction offers a great career for women of all ages, backgrounds and skills.

Case study contributions include: Roma Agrawal, (Structural Engineer at AECOM and a Director of the CCS); Stephanie Bennett, (trainee Quantity Surveyor, Morgan Sindall); Victoria Betts, (Senior Site Manager, Higgins Construction), Sally Cave, (first qualified female Gas Membrane Installer in the UK); Margaret Conway, (Project Manager for McAleer & Rushe and winner of CIOB Construction Manager of the Year 2017 Award); Michèle Dix (Managing Director, Crossrail 2); Katie Kelleher (Crane Operator, Laing O’Rourke); Eillish Kwai (Employment and Skills Manager, Ardmore); Kath Moore, (Carpenter and Chief Executive, Women into Construction); and Megan Robinson (Technical Coordinator at Barratt Developments plc).

Managing Director for Crossrail 2, Michèle Dix said “Women are still underrepresented at present but I think we are starting to move in the right direction. We need to recognise the need for more flexible working arrangements, especially if we are to encourage women back after taking time off for children.

“I think there are lots of opportunities out there and one message I would give to my fellow women colleagues is “go for them!”. Be confident in your own abilities. The industry has so much to offer.”

Site Manager for Higgins Construction, Victoria Betts said “In the time I have been working in the industry there has definitely been an increase in the amount of females working in it. The Considerate Constructors Scheme has been a big driving force in this as it insists on facilities for females that previously would not have been in place.”

Considerate Constructors Scheme Chief Executive, Edward Hardy said “Thank you to everyone who has contributed to ‘Spotlight on…women in construction’. The Campaign provides a must-read set of resources for organisations and individuals who would like to improve their standards of considerate construction – with the aim of driving greater equality, diversity and inclusion throughout our industry.

“Not only is it imperative that standards must be raised in this area, in order to help encourage more women into the industry, but a more equal and diverse workforce also brings greater collaboration, creative thinking and more inclusive workplaces. This can only be a positive step in helping to improve the image of the UK and Irish construction industries.”

Click here to read ‘Spotlight on…women in construction’.

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Autumn Budget – industry overview

At 12:30 today Chancellor Philip Hammond delivered his ‘make or break’ autumn budget to the chamber. Touching on key issues such as the housing crisis, skills shortages and planning reform, the latest budget included much for the construction sector to get excited about. But with the Chancellor’s promise of 300,000 new homes a year by mid-2020s, will the range of measures signalled in today’s Budget be enough to achieve that ambitious target? Buildingspecifier.com takes a look at what the industry is saying in response:

Housebuilding increase

A lot has been made in the run-up to the budget of the Government’s expected target to build 300,000 new homes next year. Speaking about this afternoon’s announcement, Bjorn Howard, CEO of Aster Group, said “We welcome the clear-cut push to increase housing stock, but would have liked Mr Hammond to have acknowledged that variety is as much a problem as volume for the sector.
“Housing is increasingly a point of division in society. Remedying this depends on tackling affordability and choice in the market, including greater availability of alternatives to traditional rent and homeownership options, such as shared ownership. This is where housing associations, alongside local councils empowered by greater borrowing freedom, can play an important role in increasing the number of affordable homes across the UK.”

SME builders

The Chancellor Philip Hammond has clearly delivered a ‘budget for builders’ that should allow small builders to deliver more of the new homes Britain so badly needs.

Commenting on the Budget 2017, Brian Berry Chief Executive of the FMB said “The Government has set itself a new target of building 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s. And today the Chancellor has put small and medium-sized builders at the heart of ambitious plans to tackle the growing housing crisis. The Chancellor appears to be putting his money where his mouth is with the announcement of £44 billion of capital funding, loans and guarantees. In particular, a further £1.5 billion for the Home Building Fund to be targeted specifically at SME housebuilders can play a significant role in channelling crucial funding to this sector. A £630 million fund to prepare small sites for development and proposals to require councils to deliver more new housing supply from faster-to-build smaller sites will provide opportunities to boost small scale development.”

David Gray, Bid Development Director at AM Bid, added “The Chancellor’s announcement of £1.5bn of new money for the Home Builders Fund will be welcome news for SME housebuilders looking to bid for construction contracts across the UK.

“Moreover, the commitment to provide at least £44bn capital funding, loans and guarantees to support the housing market over the next five years, should result in a marked increase in construction contract opportunities. These contracts will be necessary to help support the delivery of the 300,000 new homes per year the Government is aiming to deliver by the mid-2020s, which would represent the highest level of new housebuilding seen in the UK since the 1970s.”

Borrowing caps

On Housing Revenue Account borrowing caps being lifted for councils in high-demand areas, Gavin Smart, deputy chief executive at the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH), said “We have long argued that if we are going to build the homes we need councils will have to play a major part and we welcome measures to support this. The government has made a series of announcements in recent months which lay the foundation for housing associations to commit to developing many more new homes and we must do the same for councils. Relaxing borrowing caps for councils in high demand areas is very positive – we hope to see the government build on this move so that we see a return to the levels of council house building we need.”

Modern methods of construction

As part of his budget speech, Chancellor Philip Hammonds indicated that the government would release more funding to the education sector to alleviate overall financial pressures on schools. However, the Chancellor failed to mention the potential of both offsite construction and energy efficient retrofitting practices as potential areas where savings can be made.

Commenting, Neil Smith, Chief Executive Officer at Net Zero Buildings, said “While we welcome the extra funding, the evidence shows that the government could also ease the funding pressures that schools are facing in different ways. We cannot afford to waste this new funding on inefficient new buildings that are not fit for purpose for teachers or pupils.

“As 60% of school buildings were built before 1976, many head teachers are having to consider how to fund new buildings against a tight budgetary backdrop. A new report we have commissioned with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) has found that modern building technologies could meet the growing demand for new school buildings while saving the Department for Education (DfE) billions of pounds. It also concluded that if all schools in England were as efficient and economical to maintain as the UK’s most energy efficient school buildings it would save the DfE £2.6bn a year.

“Across the country, millions of pounds can be saved every year on school lifecycle and maintenance costs if head teachers are prepared to think differently in how we create new buildings.”

Build to Rent

The Government’s push for longer-term tenancies is very welcome news for the build to rent sector and for UK renters.

Dominic Martin, Head of Operations at Atlas Residential said “Providing the customer with greater flexibility and security through long-term tenancies is a positive step forward for the rental market and an acknowledgement that the customer should remain firmly at the heart of everything we do – these are people’s homes.”

Materials

The Brick Development Association, representing brick manufacturers in the UK, welcomed the Chancellor’s target for new homes, announced in the budget today, stating with confidence that the brick industry is ready.

The number of new homes delivered in the last financial year – at 217,350 – is 12% up on the previous year, with brick deliveries also rising at 12% over the same period, suggesting that supply and demand are in balance.

Today’s speech presented an ambition to deliver an annual total of 300,000 new homes each year by the mid-2020s – approximately eight years from now. This represents a 38% increase. Brick manufacturing output is increasing year on year with growing investment in plant and equipment. The brick industry is unusually adaptable and in the last eight years production output has risen 38.5%.

Supplying a very volatile housing market is never easy for manufacturing suppliers, but the brick industry has proved itself particularly able to scale up demand as required and is currently well able to meet demand from new house building.

“We are delighted at the focus on housebuilding in the budget” commented Tom Farmer of the BDA. “It is time for the country to face up to the economic and practical challenges and actually build enough homes for the people that live and work in the UK. I am delighted to be working in an industry that is keeping pace with this fast-moving sector and which is ready to gear up to meet increased demand.”

Skills shortage

Although the budget contained many impressive statements related to getting Britain building, it didn’t say much in the way of alleviating the skills shortage to ensure that we have the right people working within the industry to make it happen.

Brian Berry, FMB said “A major challenge to getting new homes built is the skills crisis we face. In the long run, the only real solution to chronic skills shortages will be a major increase in the training of new entrants into our industry. We are therefore pleased to hear the Chancellor has today committed extra resourcing to training for construction skills. With Brexit round the corner the next few years will bring unprecedented challenges to the construction sector. The Government will need to make sure that the sector continues to have access to skilled EU workers, but we are pleased that the Chancellor has today listened to the needs of SME builders.”

In summary

It was dubbed as Hammond’s ‘make-or-break’ budget; there were three key challenges facing the Chancellor today in a budget which was delivered against a background of Brexit and a substantial decline in growth forecasts which threatened his tenure. Housing, infrastructure and productivity announcements were the Holy Trinity designed to save his job.

Whilst the industry appears to welcome the government’s ambitious new target to deliver 300,000 new homes a year overall, concerns still remain about how we will build the right homes in the right places. And how will we ensure that they are affordable?

Abolishing stamp duty for first time buyers is welcomed, as is some form of planning reform but there was a meagre sum mentioned for training and throwing money at the housing crisis will not solve the labour shortage or skills crisis. Infrastructure investment is also welcome but we need concrete timelines rather than further hollow promises. Productivity is a complex issue and his comments on the role of digital enablement underlined that, as an industry, we need to help ourselves but again, short term improvement is linked to a guaranteed labour pool and Brexit has caused a stampede of trades out of the UK, something this government has exacerbated through their dithering. So the overall impression from the sector seems to be that it was a stalwart attempt but not enough to instil confidence as we crash out of Europe.

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Pre-Budget briefing from industry experts

Housing is set to dominate tomorrow’s Autumn Budget, but it is not yet clear what type of Budget the Chancellor will deliver. Industry experts The Housing & Finance Institute have today published their pre-Budget briefing. The Housing & Finance Institute has laid down a marker for the government in identifying six potential budget themes – and some of the key policies we should look out for in the Chancellor’s statement.

What type of budget will it be?

1. The Big Build Budget: this budget would focus on the largest peacetime building programme since Bevan/Macmillan. Key policy changes would need to open up large land holdings and financial measures would need to substantially increase direct government funding as well as unlock manufacturing at scale, boost skills and boost all tenures from social rent to home purchase.

2. Next Generation Budget: this budget would focus on quality of life, quality of renting and cost of living issues for the ‘generation rent’. It could include wealth distribution support from older to younger generations.

3. Industrial Strategy & Growth Budget: while a ‘big build’ budget would be primarily about housing and be widespread across cities and county areas alike, an industrial strategy & growth budget would be about focusing resources on specific growth areas, such as the Oxford-Cambridge corridor, the Northern Powerhouse, London and the Midlands Engine.

4. Brexit Budget: housing within the Brexit context would be a greater focus on accelerating the application of large scale manufacturing and the build up of skills to meet the needs of housebuilding. It would also need to look at materials within a post Brexit customs and trade context, as well as energy and utilities innovation.

5. ‘Steady as she goes’ Budget: this is not the budget that is expected but it is possible. There is a something to be said for carrying on with an even tiller while everything else is being decided.

6. ‘Care & Repair’ Budget: against the backdrop of the Grenfell tragedy and challenges around elderly care and supported housing for vulnerable groups together with new homelessness duties coming into force and concerns about poor quality landlords, it can be expected that there will be packages of ‘care & repair’ around affordable and social housing, supported housing and remediation, alongside big build and growth commitments.

Industry & Sectors: Winners and Winners?

There are four broad areas that the Budget and supporting documents should cover from an industry and sector perspective: National Government, Councils, Housing Associations and Housebuilders.

To help you navigate the policy announcements we’ve set out what to look out for in relation to housing and housing related infrastructure.

National Government

The main theme of national government is expected to be a strong return to government direct intervention. This has been a dominant theme since Mrs May became Prime Minister, yet it hasn’t translated to large scale intervention. This could be the fiscal event to define what that looks like.

What to look out for:

  • Direct Central Government delivery of housing on public sector land. To be delivered through a powered up Homes & Communities Agency/ Homes England.
  • Immediately before the Budget government action has seen the Communities Secretary start to intervene directly in local plans. A more muscular state has been in the making since the Housing White Paper. This latest move is the first serious flexing of those state muscles, and more of this is expected.
  • One area where the state and local communities could find themselves in direct conflict is the role of a beefed-up Homes England using its dormant new towns powers for land assembly and to grant itself planning for large settlements.
  • In addition, we can expect announcements on measures to speed up the planning process and reduce post approval conditions. This could include a review on substantial changes within the current planning system, for example around assumed development rights and revised guidance on height, tenure mix, affordable housing definitions or density.

All of this will need a lot more money. The adjustment of housing associations out of the public accounts again gives a one-shot multi-billion pound room for manoeuvre for housing. The big question: will it see large central borrowing for a national housing & infrastructure fund to underpin the new muscular state or a huge extension of existing programmes delivered by housebuilders, councils and housing associations.

The runes say that this will be a ‘something for everyone’ budget – that could either be a crowd pleaser or fail to meet expectations that have seen the stakes raised around the £50 billion mark. Certainly, significant new funding in housing and related infrastructure is expected.

Councils

The Councils have made their strongest play for serious investment and a loosening of controls than for many years. In recent days, one reading of Lord Gary Porter’s media rounds suggests that the battle has been in full cry right up to the final clang of the Budget Red Box. Will councils be the victors – with off balance sheet treatment of council funding, billions of pounds of extra investment and extended borrowing and other powers?

What to look out for:

  • More help for those councils who can and are delivering homes and growth with individual deals and extended powers and money for the councils that have housing growth opportunities and that can deliver homes. Perhaps an extended role for Local Enterprise Partnerships too. However, with the tragedy of Grenfell looming large, social care and welfare changes, supported housing, housing market based deprivation and new homelessness laws coming into force, councils may see a more dominant focus on financial support for those areas within their ‘Care & Repair’ responsibilities.
  • The one area where councils may well see a greater housing delivery focus is around new obligations to meet local housing demand. It remains to be seen whether that will be matched by new housing and infrastructure investment and additional powers to allow councils, regions and others to plan, finance and delivery their own local homes and local infrastructure.

Housebuilders

For the housebuilders, this may be a budget of sticks as well as carrots. The Communities Secretary has land banking firmly in his sights.

What to look out for:

  • First and foremost we should expect to see the Government more fully utilising public sector body land. The Land Value capture approach has been tempting Government for many months, but these are not easy ideas to put into practice without causing other market distortions. Even so, it should be expected that a preferred option for capturing more value from the development of public sector land will be announced soon. The thrust of policy is likely to be one of collaborative working across public, private and third sectors together with community engagement for planning, local building trusts and regeneration.
  • In the private sector there are a range of possible policy measures. Some of these include build out directions, planning powers and forms of compulsory acquisition.
  • One effective way to encourage land into use is incentivising the market to use the land more quickly and gain earlier profits from it. This could include tax breaks for purchasers (such as stamp duty holidays), tax breaks for business (such as REITS or large landlords/ investors), short dated additional funding support for infrastructure and off take guarantees for sales or rent.
  • With an industrial strategy focus there is a sharp need to increase skills, Small and Medium Sized (SME) builders, so something around skills, innovation hubs, innovation funds and a step-change in support for manufactured housing are all areas to look out for.

Housing Associations

Housing Associations have had so much praise in recent days from the Government that either there is a great big deal about to be announced or the warmth of the words reflects a view that Housing Associations have what they need to deliver more homes.

Recent days have seen a change in emphasis in the role of the Housing Association not simply as a good manager of homes but as a substantial builder and developer of new homes for rent and for sale. This does indeed go back to the very re-birth of the Housing Associations under Sir Keith Joseph where Housing Associations built housing for low cost ownership as well as houses for rent.

What to look out for:

    • A number of the settlements for Housing Associations have already been announced: rent certainty, extra freedoms and flexibilities, extra affordable housing programme funding. Is there more to come? Probably around supported housing, perhaps on low cost home ownership, shared ownership and rent to buy, perhaps on social rent.
    • But from a Treasury perspective the advantage that the Housing Associations have is that they can leverage their balance sheets using private finance. With the new freedoms and rent certainty, perhaps together with changes of treatment for historic grants, the Housing Associations have a tremendous opportunity to unlock billions extra from their own balance sheets. Perhaps that will be some of the £50 Billion that the Communities Secretary is looking for.

Commenting in advance of the Budget, HFI chief executive Natalie Elphicke said “Housing is a political hot topic. There is an opportunity to capture the public mood and deliver the housing that the public want and need. We can therefore expect housing to dominate the budget, but the tone is vitally important. This budget needs to address ‘care & repair’ issues for housing, such as tower block safety and homelessness, as well as simply building more homes.

“The Chancellor can choose one of six options, or a mix of them. What is clear is that this is an opportunity for the Chancellor to be radical.

“The expectation is that this will be a ‘something for everyone’ housing budget – that could either be a crowd pleaser or fail to meet expectations. The stakes have been raised for housing commitments to be at an all-time high at around the £50 billion mark. With more than £20 billion already committed to housing over this Parliament, it is certain that we should see significant funding commitments for housing and related infrastructure.”

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Skills shortages biting construction sector once more

Workloads in UK Construction and Infrastructure continued to rise in Q3 2017, according to the latest RICS UK Construction and Infrastructure Market Survey, with 22% more respondents seeing a rise in workloads of the quarter, with a steady pace of growth.

However, while activity remains steady, comments left by respondents continue to highlight Brexit-related uncertainties as weighing on investment decisions and the lack of sufficiently skilled workers also remains an obstacle for many businesses.

Shortage of skilled workers

Having eased throughout 2016, the intensification of labour shortages is biting once more in the quarter with 62% of contributors citing this as an impediment to growth. This contrasts with an average of 40% when data collection first began in 2012. Within this, respondents to our survey are still seeing a lack of quantity surveyors (64%) as well as other professionals (52%). 44% are also seeing a shortage of workers within specific trades.

Despite government efforts to bolster the workforce and the prominence of apprentices, through an apprenticeship levy introduced earlier this spring, only 42% of respondents feel that government-funded programmes are moderately effective, with one-third unsure. The quality of the talent pipeline is insufficient as well – less than half (45%) of employers who currently hire apprentices view them as a long-term solution to their hiring needs.

Sector workloads

Breaking the rise in workloads and activity down to a sector level, growth is strongest in the private housing sector, while remaining broadly stable elsewhere. Meanwhile, the public non-housing sector continues to underperform all others. In infrastructure, 21% more contributors reported a rise rather than a fall in workloads. Nationally, respondents expect the rail and energy sub-sectors to post the most significant increases in construction output over the coming 12 months.

Despite uncertainties, a net balance of 45% of respondents expect headline activity to continue to rise rather than fall over the year ahead. Nevertheless, this is down from the four quarters immediately preceding the EU referendum, which averaged 62%, reflecting a somewhat less optimistic outlook. Meanwhile, 30% more contributors expect employment to rise rather than fall (broadly unchanged from Q2).

Other impediments on construction growth

While a shortage of workers is hampering activity and profit margins, financial constraints are still reported to pose the most significant challenge, although the share of contributors expressing this view has come down to 69% (from 79% in Q2). Access to bank finance and credit remains by far the most frequently cited issue, followed by cash flow and liquidity. This likely reflects a more cautious stance by banks given cyclical market conditions and Brexit considerations.

Higher input costs and a shortage of labour continue to restrict growth in profit margins, with a net balance of only +12% of respondents expecting a rise in margins over the coming year. This is likely to have impacted tender pricing as well, with 62% and 56% more respondents in the building and civil engineering areas, respectively, envisaging greater price pressures.

Jeffrey Matsu, RICS Senior Economist said “While activity in the sector has moderated, growth and growth expectations remain in positive territory. Uncertainties due to Brexit continue to weigh on companies’ investment and hiring decisions, and banks appear to be adopting a more cautious stance to providing finance. Meanwhile, challenges related to an inadequate supply of skilled labour are as pronounced as ever.”

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Chancellor must improve access to finance for small builders

The Chancellor must take bold action in the forthcoming Budget to improve access to finance for SME builders if he wants to tackle the housing crisis, according to the Federation of Master Builders (FMB).

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of the FMB said “If the Government wants to solve the housing crisis, it must address the access to finance issue that local housebuilders continue to face. The Chancellor needs to commit to underwriting loans from banks to small house builders to get finance flowing into our sector once more. Nearly a decade after the financial crisis, difficulty in accessing finance remains a major barrier to small house builders increasing their delivery of new homes. Indeed, the FMB’s 2017 House Builders’ Survey showed little signs of improvement in this picture and if anything suggested slight deterioration in lending conditions. Assessments of lending conditions to SME developers were down slightly from 2016, the first fall in this measure since 2013. These difficulties make it much harder for existing SME house builders to flourish and grow and deter new firms from entering the market. This has resulted in a less dynamic house building sector that is less able to expand to build the homes we need.”

“If local housebuilders are to build Britain out of the housing crisis, the Chancellor must use the Budget to pull as many levers as possible in order to enable more finance to reach SMEs. One thing the Government can do is act to reduce the capital costs of lending to this sector for smaller specialist lenders. The initiative announced last week by the British Business Bank to extend its ENABLE Guarantee to house building by striking a deal with United Trust Bank is welcome. This type of Government action, because it pushes down the capital costs of lending to SME builders, will allow lenders to do much more of this. The Chancellor needs to back this initiative, encourage its expansion and explore all other options to reduce the risk and costs to banks of lending into this sector. If the Government wants to meet the ambitious housing targets it has set itself, it will need to ensure the long-constrained SME housing sector can once again access the finance it needs to meet the challenge of tackling Britain’s housing crisis.”

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Hundreds of UK construction professionals flock to New Zealand

More than 800 construction professionals have registered to apply to work in New Zealand in the past few days following news coverage of the unprecedented recruitment push to fill thousands of jobs needed for the biggest infrastructure and housing build in the Pacific nation’s history.

The flood of applications to the LookSee Build NZ website represents a 98.6% increase in registrations, while the number of visitors to the site has risen 111.4% compared to the two-week period following the campaign launch.

LookSee Build NZ is a consortium of government organisations, local body entities and private companies. The aim of the campaign is to attract some of the more than 56,000 staff, including 2,200 high-end specialist construction positions, it is estimated New Zealand needs for the more than NZ$125 billion programme of infrastructure works over the next decade.

Recruitment spokesman and construction consultant Aaron Muir says his team is delighted at the level of professional interest in the recruitment offer, which includes a range of quintessential Kiwi ‘experiences’ such as fishing, surfing and canoeing, cultural events and the chance to see stunning sites of natural beauty.

“New Zealand is open for business because we need and want the best the UK construction sector can offer,” says Muir. “We’ve got the support of the New Zealand Government, which is introducing a special KiwiBuild fast track visa scheme, and we’re partnering with Immigration NZ to make the whole process as smooth and as seamless as possible.”

In addition to the pre-existing $125 billion of infrastructure works, new Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has announced a NZ$2 billion KiwiBuild housing programme for the construction of 10,000 homes a year for 10 years and a range of new infrastructure projects.

It is the first time New Zealand’s public and private construction sector have combined in a single cause and global engineering and infrastructure advisory company Aurecon Regional Director, Carl Devereux, says the need for top talent is so acute it required an innovative approach to talent procurement.

“The opportunity to be able to recruit in such a creative way by giving candidates the opportunity to come and experience the country for themselves is what attracted us to LookSee Build NZ,” says Devereux.

“Aurecon has a strong pipeline of work, including some of New Zealand’s largest infrastructure projects and hiring global talent ensures we have diversity of thought sitting around the table to solve the complex challenges the engineering industry faces today and into the future,” he says. “Diversity means not only gender but also culture, qualifications and even age – we believe diversity of thought helps us to develop innovative solutions to the problems our communities face today.”

Auckland Transport chief infrastructure officer Greg Edmonds says the recent downturn in British construction activity created an ideal employment environment in which to make a pitch to potential migrants to New Zealand.

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Could a quarter of a million homes be built above rail lines?

Is it possible to develop around a quarter of a million new homes in London by building apartments above rail lines? The answer is yes, according to a new report published today.

The report, entitled ‘Out of Thin Air’, says there is the potential to provide all the new homes London needs if existing engineering techniques were used to construct apartment blocks directly above rail, Overground and Underground lines.

Research from the report identified all rail tracks in Transport for London’s (TfL) fare zones 1-6 where there were no breaks in the track made by tunnels, roads or bridges and where there was ten metres of available land on both sides. This would allow for the development of 100m² apartments in buildings rising to 12 storeys. If a conservative 10% of this total was delivered it would provide 250,969 new homes.

The London boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Croydon and TfL Zones 2, 3 and 4 provided the most ‘overbuild’ development potential.

Rail lines with development potential:

Available rail lines for development

Number of hectares available by borough:

Available land by borough

Bill Price, WSP director, said “We have to be more creative in using existing space in what remains a relatively low-rise city. The air rights above rail tracks present an unrealised but significant opportunity to build more new homes on brownfield land. It’s important to emphasise the engineering is absolutely possible and not new. We have been working on projects of this nature in New York for decades. Right now in London we are working on a variety of projects that rise above rail lines including a 50-storey residential tower, homes above a new Crossrail station and even a Premier League stadium.”

“There is a wider point about how we can better connect communities and unlock new homes not just above rail lines but adjacent to them as well. In some parts of London rail lines act as accidental segregators. By ‘decking’ over these lines, such as the proposed regeneration west of Earls Court underground station, we can join together sites to unlock an even higher number of new homes and create new vibrant communities.”

The thinking behind the report emerged after Network Rail appointed WSP in 2012 to study the feasibility of building above rail lines. The study’s conclusions, which focused on the type of decking and noise and vibration issues are detailed in the new report. CGI designs are also provided of what rail overbuild might look like if implemented near a major rail terminal in Central London, above a rail line in West London, and above a station in North London.

Out of Thin Air follows a previous WSP report, ‘Building Our Way Out of a Crisis’, which argued that up to 630,000 new homes in London could be found by building apartments above public buildings such as hospitals and schools.

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Is your timber legally harvested?

Designer furniture retailer Lombok has become the first business to be fined for breaching regulations introduced in 2013 to prohibit the importing and sale of illegally harvested timber.

Lombok was convicted and fined £5,000 plus costs after pleading guilty at the first hearing.

The company failed to exercise the required due diligence when placing an artisan sideboard on the market, imported on 1st June 2016 from India.

A previous breach of the relevant regulations had earlier been identified and led to a Notice of Remedial Action being served on Lombok on 28 April 2015; this was followed by a warning letter dated 7 October 2015 when the company failed to comply with the notice.

On 20 October 2016, officers visited Lombok’s central London showroom and found the required due diligence checks had not been made for an artisan sideboard for sale that had been imported from India.

When convicting the company District Judge stated these offences are “important”, addressing environmental concerns, biodiversity concerns, and public confidence that companies do not endanger those. Companies are required to mitigate the risk of illegal logging. Lombok had failed to exercise due diligence when importing the artisan sideboard, with their previous failures an aggravating feature, though in mitigation they had reacted proactively.

Taking into account their mitigation and credit for an early guilty plea, Lombok was fined £5,000, plus a victim surcharge of £170 and prosecution costs of £2,951. The total of £8,121 was ordered to be paid within 28 days.

Mike Kearney, Head of Regulatory Delivery Enforcement, said “The Government’s Regulatory Delivery team will take action against businesses that persistently, deliberately or recklessly fail to meet their legal obligations.

“Lombok failed to change their practises in response to our advice and so, given the impact of illegal logging, a criminal prosecution was appropriate. I am pleased that Lombok is now improving its supply chain monitoring.”

This prosecution was brought by the Insolvency Service Criminal Enforcement Team on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Regulatory Delivery team.

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RIBA calls for progressive UK immigration policy post-Brexit

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has published a new policy paper recommending the creation of a post-Brexit immigration system that ensures the UK job market remains open to skilled professionals from around the world.

RIBA’s Global by Design report (February 2017) highlighted that of their members identified access of skilled talent from across the world as vital to the future success of UK architecture. 40% of non-UK EU respondents said that they had ‘considered leaving the UK with earnest intent’ following the EU referendum result.

The RIBA Building a post-Brexit immigration system that works for UK architecture paper includes eight key post-Brexit recommendations to Government:

  1. Come to an agreement with the EU over the rights of EU citizens currently living in the UK, and UK citizens living in Europe, that includes continued recognition of professional qualifications, at the earliest opportunity
  2. Review the minimum appropriate salary requirements for Tier 2 visas and reduce these requirements for recent graduates or those working for small businesses
  3. Reduce the cost and administration burden on businesses seeking to become a visa sponsor for employees
  4. Re-introduce post-study work visas to allow international architecture students to develop their professional experience between Part 1 and Part 2 study
  5. Secure a transitional relationship with the EU that extends the freedom to study and work in the UK beyond the UK’s exit from the EU in 2019
  6. Include work visa quotas in new trade agreements
  7. Extend mutual recognition of professional qualifications via new trade agreements with priority countries including the USA, Australia and Canada
  8. Implement a system of priority access for business travellers to support architectural practices to do business in overseas markets

RIBA President Ben Derbyshire said “Our members are clear that Britain’s exit from the EU must not imperil our pre-eminent position as a magnet for the very finest talent from around the world. UK architecture has benefitted enormously from the contribution of European and non-European colleagues, who have enriched architectural practice in this country.

“The RIBA’s proposed immigration system aims to ensure that the UK can continue to embrace and attract people to live and work in the country. We are pressing the Government particularly on the urgent need for certainty for our European colleagues currently living in country. Many of our valued colleagues are drifting away, and there will be an exodus, no doubt, if we impose unreasonable burdens on those who are fully aware of the positive contribution they have been making to our pre-eminent position.

“The RIBA will continue to make the case for a Brexit that works for our profession and our built environment, from securing access to the talent and investment we need to survive to opening up the new trade opportunities that will support architects to thrive.”

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