The first phase of a riverside and dockside development which will ultimately create 1,500 homes has reached a major landmark with a topping out ceremony.

The development of Royal Albert Wharf forms part of the Royal Docks regeneration and will provide one, two, three and four-bedroom homes, as well as commercial space along both the dock and riverside.

The landmark ceremony marked the topping out of the first phase of 350 new homes offering great views overlooking the docks, 44 per cent of which will be available for shared ownership or affordable rent with more than a third of those being either three or four-bed family homes.

The site is being built by Galliford Try Partnerships and work is due to be completed in 2017.

Bradleigh Coker, project director for Galliford Try, added: “Great Eastern Quays is an exceptional mixed use regeneration scheme. Planning permission was granted in December 2013, demolition started eight months later and construction started in December 2014.

“Just a year later we are celebrating the topping out of the last block in phase one, with the first handover of flats in May this year. It’s a huge achievement.”

Royal Albert Wharf is made up of Great Eastern Quays and Gallions Quarter, both in Newham and developed by Notting Hill Housing. In total, it will provide 1,500 homes and 8,700 sq m of commercial, retail, community and leisure space.

Ardmore has been awarded an £80 million contract to become the main contractor at the first phase of Project Light, Canada Water, by Notting Hill Housing and Sellar Developments.

Project Light is a major mixed-use development at Canada Water in Southwark, which will deliver a new town centre with 1,030 new homes and a range of commercial and community uses across a seven acre site.

The site is adjacent to Canada Water underground station and the dock, between London Bridge and Canary Wharf.

It will also include 150,000sqft of retail and commercial space, including a cinema, bars, restaurants, office space and a 100,000sqft Decathlon store.

Alongside this, a community sports facility and health centre will complement new public areas featuring open spaces, landscaped gardens, walkways and cycle paths with a new waterside town square.

The private rent homes will be available through Folio London, Notting Hill Housing’s private rented sector business. Project Light will be Folio London’s biggest development to date.

Chris Langdon, Ardmore Development Director, said: “We are thrilled to have been selected for the first phase of Project Light, which promises to be a landmark development for Canada Water.

“I am delighted to build on our excellent relationship with Notting Hill Housing, and I am looking forward to working with Sellar Developments to help transform another part of London.”

John Hughes, Group Development Director at

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson has officially opened the Lee Tunnel, the first of two super sewers which will dramatically improve the health and cleanliness of the Rivers Lee and Thames in the capital.

The Lee Tunnel is the largest single project in the history of the privatised water industry in England and Wales and is the deepest ever bored under the capital at around 75 metres deep.

It is the width of three double decker buses and is the most significant development of London’s Victorian sewers since Sir Joseph Bazalgette originally built the network in the 1860s.

The five associated shafts are the deepest constructed in the London Basin. The project also includes 6 mega pumps of 3MW each. At its peak, MVB employed 750 people at the same time on this project.

The Mayor Boris Johnson, in partnership with Thames Water, the Environment Agency and London Councils recently launched the first London Sustainable Drainage Action Plan, identifying potential flooding hotspots across the city and proposing innovative ways of diverting rain back from the sewers into the soil with rain gardens or green roofs.

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson MP said: “This amazing new super sewer is providing the bold infrastructure needed to support the movements of our rapidly growing city. For years our historic Victorian systems have heaved at the seams, muddling along, battling to cope with the increasing rainfall and waste of a modern population.

“Now the River Thames will benefit from vast improvements to its water quality with less pollution and overflow. Alongside my sustainable drainage work to reduce flooding, the investment in the Lee and the forthcoming Thames Tideway Tunnel are set to benefit Londoners for generations to come.”

Lagan Construction Group have started construction of a £160 million biomass plant at Port Clarence in Teesside.

The development at Port Clarence will create about 30 direct jobs and support a further 300 jobs at the peak of the build.

The Port Clarence Renewable Energy Plant will have capacity to treat an estimated 325,000 tonnes of waste wood per year.

Danish energy-from-waste specialist Babcock and Wilcox Vølund will operate the plant, with building work being carried out by Lagan Construction Group in partnership with Eco2.

The development was ceremonially started by Councillor Bob Cook, leader of Stockton Borough Council, who broke first ground on the site. Councillor Bob Cook, welcomed the investment in the region.

He said: “Glennmont’s investment in our borough is certainly welcomed as through the introduction of technologies such as biomass they can help grow our economy and create jobs for local people.

“I am delighted to see the Port Clarence Energy project begin to come to fruition and I’m looking forward to residents and businesses benefitting from the energy it will produce.”

Student accommodation provider, Uliving, has achieved financial close on its new scheme, in partnership with the University of Gloucestershire.

The development will transform the university’s Pittville Campus in Cheltenham which, until 2011, was a site for teaching and learning, into a new student village.

The project also includes the construction of 577 new student rooms, as well as the refurbishment of 214 existing rooms, supporting the increased demand for places at the university.

A full design, build, finance and operation scheme, the new village will be operated by Uliving for around 50 years.

The project is set to be completed ready in time for the start of the 2017/18 academic year. Bouygues UK, the main contractor on the project, has already commenced on site.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “Better infrastructure is about improving people’s lives, and that’s why we are determined to get Britain building again.

“Our initial deal will deliver a modern, new student village to give the next generation of students the first-class facilities they deserve.

“In my Spending Review we announced that we’re extending our UK guarantees scheme to March 2021 to help kickstart other exciting infrastructure projects like this one right across the country.”

Lendlease has signed a new contract with Liverpool John Moores University for building works as principal contractor at the former Royal Mail sorting office at Copperas Hill.

Lendlease is the University’s preferred bidder for the whole project and already has staff on site surveying the existing structure, in order to strip it back to its frame ahead of developing it into a university building.

The Copperas Hill development is expected to create a significant focal point for LJMU, and for the area of Liverpool City Centre where it is located, opposite Lime Street Station.

It will create a gateway to Liverpool’s Knowledge Quarter, and bring together the university’s Mount Pleasant and Byrom Street campuses.

Simon Gorski, Executive General Manager of UK Regions for Lendlease, said: “We’re really pleased to be getting underway with our work at Copperas Hill, which has been described as a “transformational” investment for LJMU.

“The challenge of retaining the existing and very prominent structure and utilising it to create an iconic and inspirational multi-purpose facility is really exciting. We are delighted to be back in Liverpool”.

The new building will house the University’s three libraries, a central teaching unit with lecture theatres and seminar rooms, and study zones and IT suites.

Sports facilities on the site will include an eight-court sports hall, a gym and dance studios, while the building will also house offices for the Liverpool Students’ Union and spaces for other services including a careers centre and cafes.

The University of Cambridge has been given the go-ahead for ‘Project Capella’ – a new £79 million research facility that will be delivered by Kier and designed by The Fairhursts Design Group.

The six-storey 18,000sq m centre will be located adjacent to the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute within the Cambridge Biomedical Campus, and will provide state-of-the-art research laboratories in a collaborative environment to stimulate the exchange of ideas.

The facility, which aims to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating, incorporates a variety of laboratory spaces alongside office and meeting suites, all set within a collaborative working environment.

Externally the building features a two-storey glazed box with gold metal detailing and double height entrance foyer, while the spine is to be clad in a flat-faced graphite panel.

Kier project lead, Shak Chowdhury, said: “This open and transparent approach has enabled an £79m complex research facility to progress from having no design to being on site in just 12 months.”

A variety of materials have been selected to define specific elements of the structure and to avoid the blank façades that a building of this scale can create.

Mark Adey, director at The Fairhursts Design Group, said: “The proposed building will provide a cutting edge facility appropriate for the complex research currently being carried out in isolated, outdated facilities across Cambridge.

“Our design uses forms and materials that respect the existing built environment, and will further enhance the Cambridge Biomedical Campus through associated realm and landscaping in accordance with the ethos of development including the 2020 vision.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has unveil a £20 million investment for the expansion of Aberdeen International Airport.

The development will result in a 50% increase in the size of the terminal building and with it, a comprehensive transformation of current passenger facilities.

The first phase of what will be a three year project will get underway in May 2016. This will involve the construction of a two-storey extension to the south of the existing terminal building.

At ground level, the extension will accommodate all facilities for international arriving passengers as well as domestic baggage reclaim. Two business lounges will be located on the upper level.

Carol Benzie, Managing Director of Aberdeen International Airport, said: “We have long recognised the need to expand the terminal and we are doing so with the long term future of the airport in mind. It is one of the most important pieces of transport infrastructure in the North East of Scotland and it plays a crucial role in supporting the wider economy.”

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: “This investment by Aberdeen International Airport and its owners shows great ambition and confidence in the Airport’s future in preparing for projected growth. By increasing capacity and improving the passenger experience, the Airport is making a clear statement of intent and the North East and Scotland will see the benefit.

“Aberdeen is a fantastic city with lots to offer and the airport is a crucial gateway to the North East. This expansion opens up the city to even more tourists and businesses, which will result in an economic boost for the city and the country as a whole.”

Mark McDonald, MSP for Aberdeen Donside said: “This investment in Aberdeen Airport is another welcome boost to the local economy, following closely on the back of the City Region Deal.

“I am delighted to see this investment and believe that it gives further reason to be optimistic for the future of the airport and the local economy.”

for the Preston Western Distributor and associated Link Roads.