The City of London has signed Osborne as main contractor for the challenging £21m refurbishment for the 1903 Grade II listed building at 84 Moorgate.

Formerly home to part of the London Metropolitan University, Electra House project will see the 54,000 sq ft building upgraded to offices to suit a fintech tenant.

The project will demand the very careful and sensitive refurbishment to the basement and across the building’s seven floors.

There will be alterations to partitions, secondary glazing, new lifts, and roof top enclosures. The reconfiguration and updating of electrical and plant systems will provide modern efficient and reliable facilities and provide improved accessibility.

The project will start in the new year and will be completed at the end February 2023.

Osborne Built Environment Managing Director Gordon Kew said: “This is a very special building with great heritage and including many significant decorative features.

“We will undertake the work with the care and respect that this great building deserves. I am looking forward to seeing the completed scheme which will create many intelligently designed spaces with modern services and facilities that will improve the working environment for the users whilst protecting the fantastic heritage of the building.”

Full planning permission has been granted to build-to-rent developer Placefirst for 366 new homes and commercial space in the heart of Wolverhampton’s historic Canalside Quarter.

Site preparation work is now expected to start next summer on the £65m scheme.

The development will provide a mix of townhouses, new build apartments and commercial space across five acres of brownfield land.

Sensitive restoration of heritage canalside properties including several listed buildings, and major environmental improvements will be implemented in the scheme which is designed by architecture practice jmarchitects, with WSP as planning and heritage consultants.

Darran Lawless, development director for Placefirst said: “We are proud of all the hard work undertaken by the whole team and our partners, that will enable a brownfield site situated in such a historic location to reach its true potential, creating an exciting, sustainable new neighbourhood.

“The focus on placemaking and development of public realm at this ­waterside development, is another example of Placefirst’s commitment to delivering schemes that will rejuvenate communities, and adds to our track record of creating neighbourhoods with a real sense of place.”

Councillor Stephen Simkins, City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “They will deliver a nationally significant development that not only brings back into use a large parcel of brownfield land but also enables the city to take advantage of our fantastic waterways, and the heritage that comes with it, to provide a sustainable community where people want to live and work, now and in the future.

“The Placefirst scheme will also generate around 150 jobs and boost our economic recovery from Covid-19.

“Urban living forms a critical part of how we are re-imagining our city centre and will help us meet the increasing demand for housing.”

Breedon Trading Ltd has been fined £300,000 after blasting work at a Welsh quarry sent rocks flying into site buildings and beyond the danger zone.

Llandudno Magistrates’ Court heard that, on 15 January 2020, a blast at Cwt-y-Bugail Quarry in Llan Ffestiniog, Gwynedd, North Wales saw flyrock from the operation land 270m away, puncture the roof of an occupied work shed and put a hole in the outside pane of the occupied manager’s office skylight window.

An HSE investigation found that there were poor stemming practices, the written specification was prepared after the firing of the blast, and an inadequate danger zone was in place.

As a result there was a projection of flyrock outside of the danger zone that caused a quarry operative to run for cover and put other employees at risk when the roof of the shed they were working in was punctured.

Breedon Trading Ltd of Derby pleaded guilty to safety breaches and was fined £300,000 and ordered to pay £2,534.80 in costs.

After the hearing, HSE’s Adrian Jurg, HM Specialist Inspector of Quarries, said: “Blasting operations at quarries are inherently high risk, and these risks must be rigorously controlled by good explosives engineering practice and in accordance with legal requirements.

“It is unacceptable that employees, and potentially members of the public, be put at serious risk of being hit by rocks that could easily lead to death or serious injury.”

HS2 joint venture contractor Balfour Beatty Vinci has started preparations for the first UK box slide for a rail bridge over a motorway.

The Midlands project was originally planned as a traditional structure, which would have meant significant traffic disruption for motorway users, with around two years of reduced lane widths, 50mph speed limits and weekend and night closures.

Now the team will build the whole structure on land next to the motorway in readiness to jack the 10,000t box into place in one movement.

The ‘Marston Box’ bridge slide near Junction 9 of the M42 in North Warwickshire will be achieved in only two one-week closures of the motorway over a 12-month construction period.

The M42 will be closed for one week for the first stage of preparation work between Christmas and New Year 2021, with plans to move the structure into place during a week’s closure in winter 2022.

This method also dramatically improves the health and safety of the workforce, who won’t need to work in close proximity to a live carriageway.

David Speight, HS2 Client Project Director, said:“At HS2 we’re always looking for innovative ways to reduce our impact on local communities, and this UK-first ‘box slide’ provides a quicker and safer solution.

“We’re working very closely with National Highways to ensure traffic management plans are in place, with a clearly signed diversion route to minimise any impacts during the motorway closure.”

Closure plan

During the one-week Christmas motorway closure this year, the team will remove the motorway surface, excavate 3m deep across the footprint of the structure, remove a redundant fuel pipeline and existing drainage system. Ground improvements will also be made in preparation for the box slide.

Two tower cranes will be erected on land next to the motorway to service the construction of the guide raft and box structure in early 2022.

The reinforced concrete raft will be constructed first and then the box constructed on top. It will be a reinforced concrete box structure with base, three walls and top slab, with part of the jacking mechanism cast carefully into the base of the box.

The box slide itself involves a jacking system designed by specialist civil and structural engineering company Freyssinet, which will push the box across on the guiding raft.

Once in motion, the box can reach speeds of over 2m per hour, so the whole operation of the box slide should only take 4 days, with a week closure required for the preparation, box slide and re-opening of the M42.

A Robertson Construction-led consortium has submitted a hybrid planning application for the regeneration of Atlantic Wharf in Cardiff.

A detailed application has gone in for phase one of the Butetown regeneration plan being promoted by the city council.  This sees the delivery of a new 17,000-capacity arena, hotel and associated parking.

The new arena has been designed to host the biggest names in the music industry, family shows, comedy, and sporting events.

It is anticipated, if planning is granted, that the construction of the new arena could commence in Autumn 2022.

Outline planning for the wider mixed-use masterplan would also see up to 1,150 new homes built, as well as office spaces, and leisure facilities built over seven years.

Nick Harris, group executive property director, Robertson, said: “Earlier this year we undertook public consultation events on the proposed plans and have been greatly encouraged by the positive feedback received from the local community. ”

tlantic Wharf plan

Phase 1: Construction starts on the arena and hotel in spring 2022, with completion in time for doors opening in 2025. This phase also includes building a multi-storey car park to replace the lost surface parking.

Phase 2: Businesses in the Red Dragon Centre will be relocated so works can start on a purpose-built facility to accommodate leisure, food and drink amenities. Plans include a new cultural centre incorporating the Wales Millennium Centre production space, potentially a National Art Gallery, and a ‘This is Wales’ fly-through visitor attraction.

Phase 3: A new 150,000 m2 office space delivered along with a 150-bed, four-star hotel.

Phase 4: A new neighbourhood delivering new homes and potential for retail and office space – this phase is dependent on relocation of the County Hall to a new, purpose-built building.

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Housing associations could be paying over four times more in average annual housing maintenance after skrimping on building budgets.

That is the conclusion of an in-depth study by a leading cost consultant mapping average maintenance cost data supplied by 20 registered housing providers in London over an eight-year period.

Developer/ builder Mount Anvil commissioned Arcadis to attempt to quantify the true cost of lower quality new build against later operational costs.

Killian Hurley, founder and CEO of Mount Anvil, said: “Not considering what impacts Opex at the outset is like one part of the business taking out a payday loan and then asking another part of the business to pay it back, interest and all. Good idea at the time, terrible in the long run.”

He said: “Cost and time, the other two parts of the famous “triangle”, make themselves known early on in a project.

“Quality, however, is judged by resident happiness and long-run maintenance cost. That spend can end up 5 or 10x the upfront capital investment.

“But it’s only the latter that we scrutinise. So, we asked Arcadis to delve into this and quantify the true cost of poor quality — what does a pound or an hour misspent upfront cost RPs, the long-term holders of the homes we partner to deliver, in the future?”

Against a backdrop of scarce quantitive industry data, Arcadis focused on the leading housing association’s operational maintenance and repair costs.

Researchers uncovered wildly varying spends on maintenance, although original capex spend is not included in the published data.

From these results, it infers cutting corners on capex could be costing social landlords dearly in operational maintenance costs down the line.

Researchers found that average annual maintenance costs per unit differed significantly between housing associations within a single year, often by as much as 350%.

The range has been decreasing over time, but the costs at each end of the spread still differed by 250% in 2020.

Over the eight-year reference period, the average cost of a notional 1,000-home estate managed by registered providers associated with low maintenance cost was around £12m, whereas those with higher costs would typically pay £23m.

Another issue presenting challenges for housing associations is that maintenance cost inflation has outstripped rental income.

The gap between rental growth and the growth in maintenance costs was revealed to be between 2.0% and 3.1% per annum

Hurley said that the findings highlighted the benefits of thinking about operational issues early, minimising the future risk of excess maintenance costs through the design and construction of new homes.

He added that faced with multiple challenges regarding customer experience and decarbonisation, it was even more critical that the industry had a clear understanding of the interdependencies between Capex and Opex costs.

“With Capex investment likely to increase, it is essential to be able to evidence the advantage of investing in quality from day one.”

Other study conclusions

There is not a consistent methodology for recording cost-related assets performance

Industry silos between delivery, handover and operation still remain

Not all procurement routes are equal

Delivering quality is a team effort – collaboration between client, consultants and contractor is critical to success.

The future looks costly

RPs supplying data: A2Dominion, Catalyst Housing Group, The Hyde Group, L&Q Group, Metropolitan Thames Valley, Newlon Housing Trust, One Housing, Peabody.

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Developer Capital & Centric has lodged plans to build a £60m urban quarter next to Stoke-on-Trent’s train station.

Plans for the Goods Yard, involve creating a mixed-use community for new homes, works spaces, shops, bars, cafes and a new public square at the Swift House site.

The project is advancing after receiving £16m from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund – one of three regeneration projects to benefit in Stoke-on-Trent up to the value of £56m.

Plans for the Goods Yard

The Goods Yard Living: Over 170 design-led flats for rent, with a mix of 1,2 and 3-bed homes. The new building is planned to feature private resident gardens, as well as resident facilities such as a café or bike repair shop, alongside other uses such as a gym or convenience store.

Signal Box: A café-bar in what is currently a derelict Network Rail signal box.Vaults Warehouse: Restoration of the stunning, locally-listed, brick vaulted, below ground warehouse to create a combined work space and leisure venue.Canalside Jetty: Opening up the water’s edge to the public and creating a potential mooring point for visiting canal boats or a water taxi.The Pavilion: A contemporary building with an industrial feel that will provide 5,000sq.ft. of floor area for workspace and/or leisure uses.

The Goods Yard Square: A bustling public square at the heart of the siteHotel: A 150-bed hotel (to be delivered as part of Phase 2)

Tim Heatley, co-founder of Capital & Centric, said:“We’ve been floored with the reaction from Stoke-on-Trent and the positivity shown for the Goods Yard. We’ve designed every inch of the site to create a genuine community, with design-led new homes surrounded by new public spaces, shops, work spaces, bars and cafes.”

Capital & Centric are working in partnership with Stoke-on-Trent City Council to bring forward the landmark project.

Cllr Abi Brown, leader of the city council, said:“Being successful with not one, not two but three bids to the Levelling Up Fund was a fantastic result for our city, and a real vote of confidence in the direction we are moving. The funding will turbo charge our regeneration plans and provide new jobs, homes and investment into our local economy.

“Obviously the Goods Yard was the focus of one of our successful Levelling Up Fund bids and it’s exciting that Capital & Centric have kept the momentum going by submitting their planning application.

“This is a HS2 connected site with a massive amount of potential, and one we have been pushing forward as a fantastic development opportunity to the market for the last four years.”

Project data

Landowner Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Development Partner Capital & Centric
Architect Glenn Howells Architects
Main contractor Bowmer + Kirkland
Landscape architect Re-form Landscape Architecture
Structural engineer Civic Engineers
M&E consultant JHP

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Enerveo, previously known as SSE Contracting, has hired former Amey director Zak Houlahan as its new chief executive officer, following the death of former CEO Stuart Chaston in August from Covid.

Houlaham brings 15 years of senior management experience in a range of industries, including waste management, aviation infrastructure and most latterly in local Government contracts as national business director for Environmental Services at Amey.

Neil Kirkby, Enerveo Executive Chair, said “Zak’s track record in business transformation, customer engagement and value generation will be a great fit with the Enerveo team.”

Manchester City Council has submitted fresh plans for enabling works and infrastructure to create a 5,500 home neighbourhood on old railway sidings in the Red Bank area of the city.

The Government has granted nearly £52m from the Housing Infrastructure Fund to overcome infrastructure constraints needed to bring about delivery of new homes and green spaces, including the first phase of a new City River Park within the Red Bank neighbourhood – part of the wider Victoria North programme of development.

Red Bank is one of seven neighbourhoods that make up the Victoria North regeneration area – one of the biggest renewal projects the city has ever undertaken.

The planed Red Bank neighborhood plan will transform the disused 25-acre former Red Bank carriage sidings which has been been blighted by fly-tipping and anti-social behaviour.

Preparing the site for development will kick-start a wider programme of investment to create a new green neighbourhood.

Further planning applications will be submitted next year seeking permission for the main infrastructure works, improvements to St Catherine’s Wood and the first elements of the City River Park.

These will be followed by applications for residential development.

Victoria North is a joint venture programme between Manchester City Council and developer Far East Consortium (FEC).

Over the next 15 to 20 years, the Victoria North project will deliver more than 15,000 new homes (at least 20% of which will be affordable housing), with each neighbourhood connected by high quality green spaces and 46-hectare City River Park, which will open up and celebrate the Irk River Valley for the first time in decades.

Private investor HLD Group has bought Wakefield-based modular building specialist the Thurston Group.

The established £37m revenue business specialises in modular construction for the education, commercial and healthcare sectors and delivered a £2.7m profit in 2020.

Founded in 1970, Thurston employs over 250 people across three sites in the east of England.

The acquisition is the largest deal in HLD Group’s 10-year history and follows recent acquisitions of the Clugston distribution services arm and steel fabrication company SP Fabrication.

Demis Ohandjanian, CEO, HLD Group said: “This is a very exciting opportunity that will benefit both entities and result in new growth opportunities for the already profitable Thurston Group. 

“We’re also delighted to have the opportunity to work with existing company management, who will remain within the business.  

“Our intention is to ensure the continuation of Thurston Group’s strong organic growth, while introducing new revenue opportunities that will result in a substantial upsizing of the business over the next 3-5 years. ”

The acquisition was facilitated by Independent Growth Finance, through a £16m asset-based lending facility that formed part of the total acquisition cost. 

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