Yesterdays shops could become tomorrows homes

Could empty retail units provide a solution to housing shortages? Craig Middleton, mortgage sales & distribution manager at Harpenden Building Society, believes it is possible

During recent months we’ve all needed to adapt to a life changed by Covid-19. There’s not been a more disruptive incident in a generation with its fallout impacting our futures in ways we never thought possible. The human impact has undoubtedly been immense and may never totally heal but there is hope that the financial shock experienced will recover in time as we adapt to a new way of living.

As everyday life and some semblance of normality resumes more regular concerns will be front of mind once again. Social issues such as the acute shortage of housing, for example, are likely to reappear – but how has the pandemic affected this problem? The availability of property has changed for one but before we consider this, let’s firstly take a look back at the extent of Britain’s housing crisis.

The level of housing shortages

Household growth is one factor affecting overall housing need. The number of new households in England, for example, is projected to grow by 159,000 per year, based on current trends.

  • The backlog of existing demand for suitable, affordable accommodation is often cited as a pressure on housing supply, as is desire for more space by households that can afford it.
  • There has been a range of research into the amount of new housing needed, with estimates as high as 340,000 new homes per year.
  • The Government’s target is to supply 300,000 new homes per year by the mid-2020s.
  • There is geographic variation in household growth and housing need, with greater demand in London and the south of England.

Getting back on track

As recent as March this year the government announced relaxed new measures to accelerate the building and modifying of homes, welcome news to potential property owners and those of us in the mortgage industry.

These new directives were announced before Covid-19 took its negative grip but will no doubt be considered helpful by most in the current climate to speed up house building. Planning departments have become fully functional again to approve new projects. This will lead to builders’ merchants reopening and construction sites coming back to life ensuring that house building will accelerate. The question is, what other new residential opportunities will be available post Covid-19?

New housing options

Adapting redundant retail units is one answer. Vacant shop units could be increasingly reclaimed and converted into housing but why have so many sites recently become available?

There are a number of economic reasons but, in short, I believe the main reason is that over the last few years, due to the increasing popularity of online shopping, our high streets and town centres have become a shadow of their former selves. There’s been a huge change in consumer shopping behaviour.

Even prior to Covid-19 many retailers dependent on a high street presence gave profit warnings or have since gone to the wall. In recent ‘pandemic months’ we’ve fallen even further out of love with the physical in-store experience with internet shopping taking centre stage. After all, why would we risk our health or shy away from the convenience of online browsing and door-to-door delivery?

The demise of the town centre retailer was already in view but massively accelerated by the coronavirus. As a result we’re seeing a change of usage for some of these underutilised units with many examples of premises becoming or destined to become split retail / residential dwellings or a complete change of use to flats and apartments.

The examples are endless and seen in virtually every town and city – I can reel off a string of examples in Hertfordshire where Harpenden Building Society is head quartered. The former Debenhams store in Welwyn Garden City is one such case and has gone through planning for part conversion to 27 flats. Could a similar outcome be seen at former British Home Stores vacant around the UK or some of the department store giants now facing closure post Covid-19?

With permitted development rights relaxed in recent years allowing offices, pubs and other redundant buildings to become housing, surely we will see more flexibility when it comes to change of use for unviable retail units.  Advancing building techniques such as ‘modular’ construction is also making it easier for retail space to be quickly converted into residential dwellings.

 

The mortgage industry’s response

So change is afoot. Housebuilders once dependent on clearing brownfield sites or negotiating the complexity and controversy of a green belt planning application may see alternative options arising. The availability of redundant retail units coupled with the shake-up of planning laws to trigger a homebuilding surge is one such opportunity and could kick start housing development in ways previously unimagined in our town centres.

As lenders, mortgage intermediaries or those involved in servicing the wider property market we need to prepare, ensuring we can service and help drive new opportunities. The demise of town centre retail could be a valuable accelerant to a much needed housebuilding drive.

Future mortgage applications may look different as a new breed of property comes onto the market but the team at Harpenden Building Society will arpedenHbe looking at all requests in the same individual way. Every application, however complex, will be reviewed by a personal underwriter with a solution-driven approach.

This and other opportunities will create a bright future for the mortgage industry beyond Covid-19 – we’re ready……. Source: Mortgage Finance Gazette

 

Speaking to Radio 4’s ‘You and Yours’ the Communities Minister Brandon Lewis suggests:

 

Ministers want to turn boarded-up High Street shops into new flats and houses.

The UK government is due to launch a consultation into possible changes to planning regulations, making it easier to convert a commercial property into a residential one.

Communities Minister Brandon Lewis outlined the scheme to BBC Radio 4’s You & Yours programme.

“If we change some areas to allow them to be residential, we increase the footfall for the town centre,” he said.

Ministers in the Department of Communities and Local Government say creative thinking is needed because the way we shop has changed, with the rise in internet shopping and changes in lifestyle and working patterns.

“We need to think creatively about how to help town centres thrive in this new era,” Planning Minister Nick Boles has said.

“We want to encourage… retail activity into the prime shopping streets in the heart of their town centres and adopt a more relaxed approach to underused retail frontages.’

If a place does not operate economically people won’t want to live thereMatthew Hopkinson, Local Data Company

Mr Lewis told the BBC programmes that changing planning regulations could remove the blight of empty shops while providing much needed new housing.

‘Dovetail’

The government has backed the Portas Pilot project which has seen towns awarded a share of a £1.2m pot to find innovative ways to regenerate the High Street.

Mr Lewis denied the new idea was an admission of defeat for that scheme, saying instead that the separate plans “dovetailed quite nicely to play another part in making sure we’ve got healthy and sustainable town centres and market places”.

He added: “Some shops have struggled and in some places they will be in residential areas already.”

But he emphasised that it will be up to each council to decide what happens in their area.

“It’s really important that this is controlled by the local authority who know what their town centre needs are,” he added.

However, Matthew Hopkinson from the Local Data Company, which monitors High Street occupancy and vacancy rates, warned any changes must be made in conjunction with other economic developments.

“There’s no point converting [shops] to residential if you don’t have the jobs and infrastructure that make people want to go and live there.” he said.

“The reality is, if a place does not operate economically people won’t have the money to spend in shops.”

A recent report by London councils estimated empty shops cost London £350m each year in lost business.

It also called for local authorities to be offered powers to curb the expansion of payday lenders and betting shops.

The study’s authors wrote: “Empty shops are not only a symptom of a struggling High Street, they are also a cause.

“High Streets are social places that give a sense of belonging; – their loss could lead to social problems.”

 

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Construction to lead recovery

As the Covid news barometer seems to sweep endlessly back and forth leaving a question mark regarding what the actual situation is in the minds of the World’s populations, Governments are turning their attention to the financial fall out.

Hopefully, the major impact will be felt post pandemic, but the invasive erosion of our life styles as a result of covid 19 has already taken a significant fiscal toll. Economic recovery is urgent on the agenda of all developed countries.

The UK’s decision to build our way out of what some say will be the deepest recession in 300 years is a welcome one.

The need for affordable housing is both paramount and well documented but these factors are of little use if we don’t see action.  Our educational infrastructure was deemed unfit long before austerity became byword for recovery from the banking fuelled recession. Yet for the last decade, it has suffered from further neglect: lack of funding for maintenance or development has resulted in greater infrastructure degradation and a surplice of buildings deemed unfit for use. The financial consequences of this is that school building repair costs are dramatic swelling at a time when budgets are meagre.

Whilst a £1 billion cash injection is proposed for projects in the ‘future pipeline’ (due to commence September 2021), the Government have promised £560m this year for the most needed repairs. But, according to the National Audit Office, the bill for adequate repairs, over 3 years ago, in February 2017 was already running to an estimated cost of £6.7b billion.

 

The proposals are met with varying views:

 

“This major new investment will make sure our schools and colleges are fit for the future, with better facilities and brand new buildings so that every child gets a world-class education.” Investment will be targeted at school buildings in the worst condition across England – including “substantial investment” in the north and the midlands.

The Government is aiming for the projects to utilise modern and green construction methods both to help meet the UK’s net zero emissions target by 2050 and also create highly skilled jobs in the construction sector.

Boris Johnson, Prime Minister

 

“Replacing and upgrading poor condition school and college buildings with modern, energy efficient designs will give our students and teachers the environment they deserve, and support them to maximise their potential.”

Gavin Williamson, Education Secretary

 

“Spin over substance”.  The funding is nowhere near the £7 billion the National Audit Office has said is needed to repair our schools,”

MP Layla Moran, Liberal Democrat Education Spokeswoman

 

“Our recovery from the coronavirus crisis needs to match the scale of the challenge.

“It must be built on solid foundations. It has to work for the whole country and end the deep injustices across the country.

“We are on the cusp of one of the biggest economic crises we have ever seen.

“The Government must immediately prioritise protecting people’s lives and livelihoods.

“That’s why Labour has called for a ‘back to work’ Budget that has a laser-like focus on one thing – jobs, jobs, jobs.”

Sir Keir Starmer, Labour Leader.

 

What is certain is that the need is real, the time is now,  there are some things we cannot change but let’s get on with the things we can and build our way back to a better future.

 

 

 

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Highland Spaceport on the launchpad

Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) has been given the green light to build a vertical launch spaceport in Sutherland.

The approval by the Highland Council’s north planning applications committee means that small commercial satellites and launch vehicles designed and manufactured in Scotland could be heading into orbit from a Scottish spaceport within the next few years.

The committee’s decision will now be referred to Scottish Government ministers for review.

Space Hub Sutherland is proposed to be built on an area of peatland next to the A838 on the Melness Crofters Estate on the A’ Mhòine peninsula, around six miles from Tongue.

Launch-related infrastructure will include a control centre, 2.5km of road and a launch pad, occupying a total of just over 10 acres of the 740-acre site.

As part of its planning application, HIE commissioned specialists to carry out extensive environmental impact assessments over a two-year period.

Their recommendations are reflected in conditions set out by the planning authority to ensure that construction works and site operations will minimise any potential impact on wildlife and the natural environment.

In 2018, the board of HIE approved in principle a budget of £17.3 million for the project, including contributions of £2.5m from the UK Space Agency, and £5m from the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.

The board’s decision reflected the potential of the spaceport to drive the national growth of the space sector, including manufacturing and supply chain jobs and training opportunities.

An economic impact assessment commissioned by the agency concluded that developing the spaceport could support around 250 high quality jobs in the Highlands and Islands, including 61 in Sutherland and Caithness – 44 of them on-site at Space Hub Sutherland itself.

HIE’s launch partner Orbex has already established a design and manufacturing facility in Forres, Moray, as a base to make the innovative Prime vehicle that it plans to assemble and put into orbit from Sutherland.

Satellites launched from the Highland site will be used for Earth observation, including gathering data to monitor and address the effects of climate change around the world.

The first launch could be as early as 2022. Once the spaceport is fully operational, it could host up to 12 launches a year.

David Oxley, director of business growth with HIE, welcomed the committee’s decision.

“Gaining planning approval from the council is a huge step forward for Space Hub Sutherland,” he said.

“The UK’s space ambitions present a wonderful opportunity for the Highlands and Islands. A vertical launch spaceport is a key piece of the national jigsaw, along with the design and manufacture of satellites and launch vehicles, that will ensure Scotland can derive maximum economic benefits from this growing and exciting sector.

“We are very aware of the environmental challenges presented by a project of this kind, particularly in such wild and unspoilt area as A’ Mhòine.

“We have been diligent in carrying out survey work to understand and mitigate all potential impacts, including a restoration plan that will see all of the peat that is dug out during construction retained on site and used to repair areas that were degraded by past digging.

“Part of our ambition is to create the world’s most low-carbon space centre and the conditions applied to the planning approval will help us make that a reality.

“Another important aspect is the role that satellites we launch from Sutherland will play in gathering data that helps understand and address the impact of global climate change.

“When all these factors are put together, that makes today’s decision a good result not just for the economy, but for the environment as well.”

A UK government spokesperson said: “This is a significant milestone for Space Hub Sutherland and another step towards putting the UK on the map as Europe’s leading small satellite launch destination.

“Scotland is already a global hub for satellite manufacturing and the addition of commercial launch from the Highlands will bring new jobs and economic growth to local communities, while supporting businesses and supply chains across the whole of the UK.

“The UK government is committed to minimising the environmental impact of spaceflight activities and developing a new National Space Strategy which recognises the unique contribution of satellite technology to our understanding of global issues like climate change and providing essential environmental monitoring and data services.”

 

Source: Scottish Construction Now

 

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£2.5 billion Prison Plan

  • Four new jails at heart of Government’s commitment to 10,000 additional prison places.
  • Two in the north, two in the south – supporting local economies and the construction industry with thousands of jobs.
  • Buildings will use new technology and modern methods of construction.

Four new prisons are to be built across England over the next six years – boosting efforts to cut crime and kickstart the economy.

The first new jail will be built next to HMP Full Sutton, in East Yorkshire, and work is underway to identify locations for a further prison in the North-West of England and two in the South-East.

Thousands of jobs will be created overall in the areas surrounding the prisons during construction and once they have opened. This will provide a major spur to local economies and support the construction industry to invest and innovate following the Coronavirus pandemic.

These prisons are another major step in the Government’s £2.5 billion programme to create 10,000 additional prison places. This will deliver modern jails that boost rehabilitation and cut reoffending – providing improved security and additional training facilities to help offenders find employment on release.

Prisons and Probation Minister, Lucy Frazer QC MP, said:

These new jails form a major part of our plans to transform the prison estate, and create environments where offenders can be more effectively rehabilitated and turned away from crime for good.

As well as a boost to our justice system, these prisons will create thousands of new jobs and send a clear signal that the Government can and will continue to invest in the vital infrastructure this country needs.

Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Stephen Barclay MP, said:

We are not only delivering on our commitment to provide 10,000 more prison places, but also signalling a shift in how we build public buildings through a major increase in factory built, modern methods of construction.

Building on lessons from recent school construction, this will be part of a much wider change, to be embedded at the next comprehensive spending review, ensuring public buildings benefit from the quicker assembly times, lower energy use, and stronger green footprint offered by new construction technology.

The new jails will be built more quickly, sustainably and cost effectively than ever before. This is thanks to modern construction methods and new technology that have already been incorporated into the new prison being built at Wellingborough. Components, such as concrete walls, and pipework for water and electricity are built by companies around the country using modern, standardised processes and assembled on site. This in turn will ensure the economic benefits of the investment will reach firms across the country.

The new prisons are designed with enhanced security in mind. Bar-less windows will stop waste being thrown out and prevent prisoners accessing drugs and mobile phones flown in by drones. High speed network cabling will also be incorporated to enable modern security measures such as airport-style security scanning, to prevent the smuggling of the illicit items that fuel violence.

While the operators of the prisons will be announced in due course, the Government is committed to using the innovation, knowledge and expertise of the private and public sectors to deliver the best rehabilitation. It is the Government’s intention that at least one prison will be operated by the public sector.

In addition to the four new prisons, construction is well underway at Wellingborough, in Northamptonshire, and early works have started at Glen Parva, Leicestershire, to create two new 1,680-place category C resettlement prisons.

 

Source: GOV.UK

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/four-new-prisons-boost-rehabilitation-and-support-economy

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THE HUNT FOR CARBON NEUTRAL ENERGY

Engineers are setting lofty goals by finding ways to make green jet fuel, building taller wind turbines with old-school construction material, and harvesting energy from atmospheric humidity.

Carbon-Neutral Jet Fuel

Transportation, including air travel, is responsible for more than one-fourth of all human-generated greenhouse gases. While ground-based electric vehicles are poised to make a dent in those emissions, electrified airplanes are limited to small and medium-sized craft, due to the fact that fuel has a much higher power-to-weight ratio than batteries. (That’s less of an issue on the ground, but a huge problem when the vehicle is also fighting against gravity.) Jetliners, at least for the foreseeable future, will continue to rely on hydrocarbon-based fuels, so a group of innovators in Europe is working to make jet fuel that’s both renewable and carbon neutral.

Norsk e-Fuel, a consortium of European companies centered in Oslo, Norway, is building a plant that will generate renewable fuels, including jet fuel, using a combination of water, green energy and carbon-capture technology. The group is partnering with Climeworks, whose direct-air capture technology absorbs CO2 from the atmosphere.

The life cycle of carbon-neutral jet fuel. (Image courtesy of Climeworks.)

Although burning jet fuel creates carbon dioxide, the entire process is carbon neutral, since it uses carbon that’s been removed from the atmosphere, as opposed to carbon that’s been buried underground for eons. Norsk says that the plant, which is expected to be operational by 2023, will prevent 250,000 tons of CO2 from entering the atmosphere every year.

If John Lennon were alive today, he might say, “Isn’t it cool Norwegian fuel?”

Wind Turbine Towers Made of Wood

As wind turbines get taller in order to reach high-altitude (and high-energy) winds, steel towers become more difficult to assemble, transport and erect. Moreover, steel manufacturing has a high carbon footprint. Modvion, a Swedish manufacturer, is building taller turbine towers with an old-school construction material: wood. Why wood? According to Modvion CEO Otto Lundman, towers made of laminated wood are stronger, less expensive, easier to transport and more recyclable than their steel counterparts, and their manufacturing process is much greener.

Modular sections of laminated wood.                                                                                                               Tower assembly. (Images courtesy of Modvion.)

The towers are modular, making the sections easy to stack and transport to the site using standard trucking equipment. This, coupled with their increased strength, allows engineers to cost-effectively build taller turbines that generate more power in the same sized area. Modvion says that when the towers reach the end of their useful lives—which the company claims exceed that of steel towers—the wood can be repurposed as lower-grade construction material or it can simply be recycled.

Modvion received a €6.5 million ($7.2 million) grant from the EU’s European Innovation Council Accelerator Program to build the first modern commercial wood turbine tower, which will stand 100m (330ft) tall. The company also has agreements to build another 10 towers, each over 150m (500ft) in height.

Harvesting Energy from Humidity

Researchers at Tel Aviv University (TAU) are working to develop a “battery” that’s charged by atmospheric humidity. The underlying principle, which was discovered in 1840 and became known as the “Armstrong Effect,” is that the friction from a fluid can cause a buildup of static electricity between two dissimilar materials.

To bring this phenomenon from theory to practice, TAU scientists experimented with various combinations of metals and different levels of humidity. They found that when the relative humidity exceeds 60 percent, as it does daily in most tropical locations, a combination of zinc and stainless steel acquires a charge of 1V.

The experimental setup used by researchers. (Image courtesy of Lax, Price and Saaroni.)

That’s all well and good in a lab setting, but how about real-world conditions? To determine the practical efficacy of the concept, the researchers conducted experiments in various outdoor locations and obtained results that were similar, and sometimes even better, than the results under the experimental setup. While it’s unlikely that we’ll be able to run our modern homes and cities with these self-charging batteries, they could provide small amounts of clean, renewable energy to portable devices, thereby reducing the need for expensive chemical batteries.

Source: Engineering.com

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NEW MEASURES TO BOOST CONSTRUCTION

The government has announced new measures to help boost the construction industry that will be introduced this week, including flexible working hours, deadline extensions and speedy planning

Sites with consent that have an expiry date between the start of lockdown and the end of this year will now see their deadlines extended to 1 April 2021.

These new measures will prevent work that has been temporarily disrupted by the pandemic from stopping altogether.

The government estimates that by the end of this month alone, more than 400 residential permissions providing more than 24,000 new homes would have expired. The new measures will help these developments and more resume as the economy recovers.

New measures will also permanently grant the Planning Inspectorate (PINS) the ability to use more than one procedure – written representations, hearings and inquiries at the same time when dealing with a planning appeal, enabling appeals to happen much faster.

Flexible working hours

Builders will have the ability to agree on flexible construction site working hours with their local council for a temporary period.

This will make it easier to follow public health guidance onsite and by staggering builders’ arrival times, public transport will be less busy, and the risk of infection will be reduced.

The announcement includes:

Introducing more than £330bn of loans and guarantees to help firms continue operating

Deferring self-assessment payments until 2021 – crucial for a sector in which many are self-employed

Providing households across the country with reassurance such as 3-month mortgage holidays, including for landlords, alongside a ban on tenant evictions which has been extended to 5 months

Safely reopening the housing market, helping estate agents, conveyancers, removals firms and the wider construction and property industry to return to work while following social distancing guidelines

Launching a Charter with the Home Builders Federation, helping construction sites reopen in line with health and safety guidance

Keeping workers safe and the economy moving

Housing secretary, Robert Jenrick, said: “Building the homes the country needs is central to the mission of this government and is an important part of our plans to recover from the impact of the coronavirus.

“New laws will enable us to speed up the pace of planning appeals and save hundreds of construction sites from being cancelled before they have a chance to get spades in the ground, helping to protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and create many others.

“Taken together, these measures will help to keep workers safe and our economy moving as we work together to bounce back from the pandemic.”

A sustainable recovery

Commenting on the announcement, Victoria Hills, CEO of the RTPI, said: “The RTPI has been calling on this Government to extend planning permissions granted since the beginning of lockdown so we are delighted that the Minister has agreed with us and has taken these measures.

“Planners have been at the forefront of flexible approaches and innovative thinking in responding quickly to the pandemic and now how we need to shape a fairer and more sustainable recovery.”

Ian Fletcher, director of real estate policy at the British Property Federation, commented: “An extension to planning permissions is a welcome boost for development sites across the country and something we have been working with Government throughout lockdown to progress.

“It is vital to economic recovery that new investment continues to flow into our towns and cities, homes and high streets, and for those projects on rapidly expiring planning permissions over the coming months, this extension allows them to proceed with a little more leeway.”

Innovate or face ‘ever-deepening housing crisis’

Dave Sheridan, executive chairman at ilke Homes, said: “The government’s new measures to help the construction industry boost housebuilding are welcome. Speed will be of paramount importance as the industry tries to get back on track.

“Pre-Covid-19 we were already missing the target of building 250,000 new homes a year by some margin, and if we are to recover fast and effectively, then increasing the uptake of modern methods of construction must be a priority.

“Manufacturing homes offsite means they can be delivered twice as quickly as those built using traditional methods and with much less disruption to local communities, enabling flexible working hours on construction sites.

“This is a crucial time, and unless we innovate now, we will be facing an ever-deepening housing crisis.”

 

Source: PBC Today

 

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WORLD CUP 22’ VENUE RECEIVED 5 STAR RATING

Education City Stadium is the third FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 tournament venue to be completed, following the successful redevelopment of Khalifa International Stadium in 2017 and the inauguration of Al Janoub Stadium in 2019.

To-date, Education City Stadium is the first Qatar 2022 venue to receive a five-star rating under the Global Sustainability Assessment System (GSAS), which is managed and administered by the Gulf Organization for Research and Development (GORD).

GORD compiled the following sustainability features about the stadium – all of which helped it to achieve an outstanding rating.

Passive design: A passive design is one that takes advantage of the climate to maintain a comfortable temperature inside the structure. It reduces or eliminates the need for auxiliary heating or cooling, which generally accounts for a large percentage of energy use. Education City Stadium incorporates passive design through a number of techniques. Its façade makes use of highly efficient building fabric for shading purposes. This provides better insulation and protects the interior from extreme external conditions. Similarly, the structure of the stadium has been built at a lower level than the natural grade, which adds to the project’s overall insulation and temperature control mechanism. This will reduce the overall energy consumption in relation to the venue’s cooling needs.

Sustainable materials: About 85 percent of the building materials have been regionally sourced, while 55 percent of materials have been procured locally and 29 percent generated from recycled content. In addition, 35.5 percent of the building elements can be disassembled and reused, including the seats in the modular upper tier, which are due to be removed and donated after the tournament.

Post FIFA World Cup legacy: After the World Cup, the stadium’s seating capacity will be reduced from 40,000 to 20,000. The modular upper tier will be removed in order to provide a sporting facility which is suitable for local requirements, notably the needs of the Qatar Foundation (QF) community. The seats which are removed will be donated to countries which lack sporting infrastructure in order to help spread the legacy of Qatar 2022 far and wide. In addition to providing sporting facilities for the QF community, parts of the structure will be turned into lecture halls and event spaces for the various universities which are based at Education City.

Urban connectivity: The stadium takes advantage of urban connectivity through a number of public transport options, notably the Doha Metro. Education City Station, on the Doha Metro Green Line, is located just 500 metres from the stadium and will make it easy for thousands of fans to get to and from the venue during the FIFA World Cup. The stadium is also close to Education City’s People Mover System, while for private vehicles there are multilevel car parks and a number of taxi drop-off locations.

Water conservation: The installation of low-flow water fixtures means domestic water usage at the stadium is designed to be 55 percent more efficient than conventional stadiums. In addition, landscaping around the facility contains native and drought-tolerant flora to reduce water consumption. The use of water-hungry turf is minimal. About 75 percent of the landscaping is enhanced by an efficient irrigation system which features inline drippers, pressure-compensated bubblers and an automated irrigation control unit. To reduce water loss, organic mulching and gravel have been used to cover the soil without impacting on the health of the flora.

Indoor air quality: The stadium has low VOC (volatile organic compounds) indoor materials which reduce indoor airborne contaminants. All indoor spaces with high occupancy are equipped with carbon dioxide sensors that ensure efficient ventilation and enhanced air quality. Similarly, the indoor spaces receive sufficient daylight throughout the day which improves the indoor environment and contributes towards energy consumption.

Energy efficiency: A host of measures help to conserve energy within the stadium, including LED lighting systems with automatic controls, demand-controlled ventilation systems, e-glazing windows and high resistance insulating materials. The cooling for the stadium is provided from a highly efficient district cooling system.

Construction management: The project underwent comprehensive sustainability procedures for its design, operations and construction management practices – premised on the fact the construction has a direct impact on the natural environment, economy and people’s health. In addition, noise and dust levels were constantly monitored and controlled during the construction.

Sustainable operations: The stadium features an efficient waste management system which promotes waste segregation and recycling. The stadium features automated controls, leak detection and efficient metering systems. By logging and analysing data, the operators can alert for any unusual peak consumption thereby preventing prolonged leakages or energy wastage.

5* GSAS rating: For its outstanding sustainability features, the stadium has earned three GSAS certifications from GORD, making it one of the most sustainable venues for Qatar 2022. The stadium has received the following certificates: GSAS Design & Build (5*), GSAS Construction Management (Class A*) and GSAS Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio.

Source: Al-Bawaba

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African development will benefit UK construction suppliers

The government’s export credit agency, UK Export Finance, provides over £100 million in direct lending for project to redevelop a 114 mile road in Benin.

Exports Minister Graham Stuart MP has announced that UK Export Finance (UKEF), the government’s export credit agency, has provided over £100 million of financing to support the refurbishment of a 114 mile interstate road in Benin. This is a major deal for the UK construction industry in West Africa and is the first transaction supported by UKEF in the country.

UKEF will provide a £100 million loan to the Government of Benin in support of a UK contract for construction firm Sogea-Satom, to redevelop the major interstate road, securing business for the UK supply chain. The agreement follows six months on from the Africa Investment Summit that took place in January of this year where the UK committed to being the ‘partner of choice’ for African nations.

Total UK exports to Benin were worth £29 million in 2019 and this deal is set to significantly increase that figure during the two years of the road’s development.

Graham Stuart MP, Minister for Exports, said:

This deal will bring significant benefits to UK construction exporters and suppliers at a time when we need to keep trade flowing. It shows that UK businesses, with the right support from government, can continue to export anywhere in the world.

That’s why UKEF’s support has been, and will continue to be, vital in helping UK exporters win deals, fulfil orders and get paid during the Coronavirus pandemic and beyond.

More trade will be essential if the UK is to overcome the unprecedented economic challenge posed by Coronavirus.

Construction company Sogea-Satom UK, part of one of the world’s largest construction group VINCI, will undertake the works on the road between Bohicon and Parakou to better connect Benin to neighbouring Niger.

The rehabilitated road provides essential infrastructure for businesses in Benin. It will improve access to landlocked African countries to the north, helping to transform the country’s trading potential and allow the free flow of commercial traffic in the region.

The refurbishment of the road has been named Project Spine because the new straight road that runs through the middle of Benin will be the backbone of the country’s economy.

In addition to this road project, Sogea Sotum UK is also responsible for managing other large-scale projects in Benin. These include civil works, construction of buildings, refurbishment and development of roads and construction of marine infrastructure. Sogea Sotum UK is strengthening its relationships with UK suppliers to contribute to its project pipeline in the region.

Jean-Michel Guelaud, CEO Africa at Sogea Satom UK, said:

We are excited about this project which help us expand our overseas footprint and will have a profound impact on trade in West Africa. UKEF’s support was fundamental to the securing of this contact and shows the UK government belief in the importance of trade with dynamic, emerging economies.

The Benin Ministry of Finance said:

The government of Benin is proud to become the first country in the West African Economic and Monetary Union area to benefit from UKEF’s direct lending arrangement, which has enabled us to finance the rehabilitation of a critical infrastructure for the country at attractive conditions.’

 

Source: Gov.uk

 

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Why Australia is ‘Piggy in the Middle’ of the US – China Tussle

On 14 May 2017, China’s president Xi Jinping hosted some 30 world leaders in Beijing at the first Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum. He outlined plans to boost investment and trade in the Belt and Road economic corridors. More than 100 countries on five continents have signed up, showing the demand for global economic cooperation.

There were certainly questions asked when Victoria first signed a memorandum of understanding to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in 2018, but it wasn’t until the past week that the criticism reached a fever pitch.

The depth of the animosity over the deal shows the extent to which the BRI has become a faultline in the China-US competition.

And Australia, economically interdependent with China but a committed ally of the US, finds itself caught in the middle.

What is the BRI and what does China want?

There is a diverse array of projects encompassed under the BRI umbrella, focused on six main “economic corridors”.

These corridors link China to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe by land (the “Silk Road Economic Belt”), and to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Pacific and east Africa by sea (the “Maritime Silk Road”).

To date, China has pledged an estimated US$1 trillion in investments in “hard” and “soft” infrastructure (from ports and high-speed rail to telecommunications and cyberspace) and signed memorandums of understanding with 138 countries.

The BRI is designed to help export China’s excess capacity by creating new markets for Chinese construction firms and capital goods makers. This should enhance domestic investment returns and stabilise GDP growth, in addition to spurring growth in underdeveloped regions. The project involves building roads, railways, pipelines and industrial corridors across some 67 countries, requiring significant tonnages of steel and cement, large numbers of workers, cranes and diggers, new dams, power stations and power grids. With over USD 3 trillion in international reserves (25%+ of the world’s total), China has enormous resources to support the success of the BRI.

 

What is the BRI and what does China want?

 

There is a diverse array of projects encompassed under the BRI umbrella, focused on six main “economic corridors”.

These corridors link China to Central Asia, the Middle East and Europe by land (the “Silk Road Economic Belt”), and to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Pacific and east Africa by sea (the “Maritime Silk Road”).

To date, China has pledged an estimated US$1 trillion in investments in “hard” and “soft” infrastructure (from ports and high-speed rail to telecommunications and cyberspace) and signed memorandums of understanding with 138 countries.

 

What are the benefits and pitfalls of BRI?

 

In thinking about BRI’s global and regional reception, we need to recognise there is demand for what Beijing is offering.

Its commitment of US$1 trillion is a drop in the bucket of the estimated US$26 trillion needed by Asia’s economies for infrastructure investment, but it still surpasses anything put up by other major regional players.

The “blue-dot network” announced by the US, Australia and Japan in November as a response to the BRI, for instance, was trumpeted as promoting infrastructure investment that is “open and inclusive, transparent, economically viable”.

But the initiative is not an infrastructure funding mechanism itself. Rather, it merely certifies projects that “demonstrate and uphold global infrastructure principles”.

While this might be an admirable goal, there is a problem, as former Asian Development Bank executive director Peter McCawley points out:

A road is a road, whether it is built with US or Chinese money. At present, it seems that the Chinese are prepared to fund the construction of infrastructure in Asia, while the US is not.

Concerns about the nature of Chinese investments under BRI are valid. Many BRI projects are financed through Chinese public financial institutions such as the Export-Import Bank of China that enjoy low borrowing costs and interest rates.

This enables them to lend on favourable terms to Chinese companies, who can then significantly undercut foreign companies for infrastructure bids.

Another concern is that Beijing is engaging in “debt trap diplomacy” by extending excessive credit to countries that will struggle to pay it back.

The aim is then to extract political and economic concessions or physical assets, such as ports or land deals, from those countries.

Several studies have suggested the “debt trap” narrative has been exaggerated. But while a Lowy Institute report last year noted that China has not “deliberately” engaged in debt-trap diplomacy, it added

the sheer scale of China’s lending and its lack of strong institutional mechanisms to protect the debt sustainability of borrowing countries poses clear risks.

 

Victoria’s BRI agreement: storm in a teacup?

 

Beyond the economics, the Belt and Road Initiative carries clear political risks for Australia.

Australia’s attempt to balance its alliance with the US and economic interdependence with China has become even more difficult, as both have become “rude and nasty” in pursuit of their interests under Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.

Some analysts claim Victoria’s BRI agreement means Chinese firms will be

building chunks of national infrastructure, perhaps with tie-ups to Chinese state banks and other entities.

But the reality may be more prosaic. The memorandum of understanding and subsequent “framework agreement” speak of mutual commitments to “promote practical cooperation” of Chinese firms in Victorian infrastructure and Victorian firms in “China and third-party markets”.

They are also not legally binding and may be terminated by mutual agreement.

Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews said this week Victoria would not agree to telecommunications projects under the BRI, a key security concern.

 

BRI and the great power competition

 

The furore over Victoria’s agreement is due to the fact there is no Australian consensus on BRI or the broader issue of our relationship with Beijing. Debate on these issues is necessary if Australia is to chart a course between two great powers gearing up for confrontation.

Unfortunately, the debate on China has become toxic.

Those who recognise the risks of engaging with China, but still advocate for closer relations, are often lambasted as “craven” or worse. Those sounding the alarm bells about Beijing’s malign intentions are accused of sowing a “China panic”.

To say this is unhelpful is an understatement.

Some talk of a new Cold War between the US and China.

Yet, as the Cold War historian Odd Arne Westad, has noted, today’s China-US competition is not a replay of the past. The conflict between the two biggest powers will not lead to bipolarity, but rather

will make it easier for others to catch up, since there are no ideological compulsions, and economic advantage counts for so much more.

Tying ourselves ever more tightly to either protagonist is imprudent, as Westad says,

The more the US and China beat each other up, the more room for manoeuvre other powers will have.

 

Source: The  Conversation

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WE NEED CLARITY

Industry leaders are urging the government to make a strong and clear decision on closing construction sites to protect public health as the Covid-19 crisis gathers pace.

A growing number of firms are already voting with their feet by closing construction sites, ignoring government advice to keep sites open despite the UK being placed on three-week lockdown.

There is clearly a huge concern that the virus will spread easily on busy construction sites, but the government has said work can continue so long as people are two metres apart. But critics say this is impossible to enforce, and that public health should come first.

Unite, the construction union, says the policy of social distancing has collapsed on many construction sites with workers displaying pictures of overcrowded buses, queues to enter sites, packed canteens and workers working in close proximity. There are also major public health concerns about the large number of construction workers travelling on the tube in London.

It is clear this week that many workers and companies are voting with their feet and suspending work on site or by not turning up for work. A growing list of companies including Multiplex, ISG, Taylor Wimpey, Mace, Galliard, Barratt and Persimmon have all suspended work on their sites and TfL and Crossrail will be bringing all project sites to a temporary safe stop unless they need to continue for operational safety reasons.

Around 1,700 workers building a new energy plant on Teesside were also sent home on Tuesday after a picture of workers gathered together became viral on social media and led to a huge backlash. The GMB union has since warned the manufacturing and construction industries to stop ignoring government advice to keep its employees at home due to COVID-19.

 

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Infrastructure Intelligence is also aware of a number of firms who have decided to no longer work on site, including one leading supplier to house builders in the north east that closed down its operations yesterday due to difficulties with other suppliers not showing up and fears over staff continuing to stay well.

Multiplex became the first major contractor to shut down sites voluntarily after the prime minister put the UK on a three-week lockdown, with the firm claiming it couldn’t justify keeping schemes open. In an email seen by Building magazine, the firm’s chief operating officer Callum Tuckett said: “In response to the prime minister’s public address, we have no reasonable option but to close down all construction sites immediately and until further notice.

“Whilst the construction industry has undoubtedly a significant role to play as a key driver to the UK economy, we acknowledge that it is not so essential that we can expose our stakeholders and the wider community to the risk of physical harm. We also recognise the paramount obligation that all businesses now share to avoid placing any further strain on the NHS, which is going to heroic lengths to stem the spread of the virus and which needs our full support.”

Mace Group CEO, Mark Reynolds, said: “The health, safety and wellbeing of our people and the communities they work in is our top priority and unless we are certain sites can operate safely and in accordance with guidance we will not re-open them. All of our office-based staff are working from home to ensure business continuity as far as possible, and our business resilience teams are working to manage disruption and prepare our construction projects to return to full operation as soon as it is safe to do so.”

Paul Cossell, ISG CEO, said: “Looking at the global picture, I’ve decided that it is time for ISG to act ahead of government advice. We must act now and do so decisively to protect the welfare of people across the industry. I believe that by taking this decisive action we will keep our people, customers, supply chain and the general public safe. Nothing is more important.”

 

Source: Infrastructure Intelligence

 

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