More than 8,000 households have now received support to own their own home through the Help to Buy (Scotland) scheme, Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil has announced.

Since 2013 the Scottish Government has invested £500 million to help first time buyers and existing home owners purchase a new build home through the original Help to Buy scheme and the successor Help to Buy Affordable Home Ownership.

Over the six-year period this major investment is expected to help up to 15,000 households across Scotland and support jobs in the construction sector.

Social Justice Secretary Alex Neil said: “With 8,000 households now helped to buy their own home and with the new scheme expected to support up to 7,500 more individuals and families to own a new home over the next three years, Help to Buy is making a real difference to people in Scotland.

“By targeting our resources at affordable homes our new scheme is tackling inequalities and widening access to home ownership, plus providing the private sector and construction industry with a huge boost.

“We are also supporting people on low to moderate incomes with £80 million allocated to our popular Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) to help up to 2,000 first time buyers.”

A number of sales are still expected to complete from the 2015/16 scheme year – but due to annual budget restrictions home builders have been informed that the funds must be drawn down by March 31.

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets has chosen its architect for a £77 million scheme to redevelop the Old Royal London Hospital into a new civic centre.

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) will be the lead consultant and designer for the £77 million scheme of the grade II listed building in Whitechapel.

The scheme also includes the major refurbishment of John Onslow House in Roman Road which AHMM will also manage as lead design consultants.

The council’s Civic Centre is a major part of the wider regeneration of Whitechapel which includes the opening of Crossrail in 2018, alongside 3500 new homes, 5000 jobs, new retail opportunities and new public spaces to be delivered over the next 10 years.

Will Tuckley, Chief Executive at Tower Hamlets Council said: “I am pleased to announce that the experienced AHMM team have been appointed to lead the architectural design and consultation stage of our ambitious plans to create a new Civic Centre in the heart of Whitechapel.

“Whitechapel as a whole is undergoing massive changes and the Civic Centre will be a key building contributing to the regeneration of the area and securing the future of a building of heritage importance for the borough.”

Paul Monaghan, Director of Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) said: “This is an amazing opportunity to create a civic beacon for Tower Hamlets, and we look forward to the challenge of working with new and old to make a new type of town hall at the heart of the community.

“One of the most exciting aspects of the project will involve bringing the 18^th century Royal London Hospital back to life as a public building open to the borough.”

The contract will cover all the key consultant, design and planning management milestones including the appointment of contractors and the work taking place on site. The building is earmarked for completion by the end of 2021.

Nearly 2,000 jobs have been attracted to England’s 24 Enterprise Zones in the 3 months to September last year alone – boosting employment to record levels.

Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton said that with 3 new Enterprise Zones and a Zone extension announced at the Budget, the scheme was destined to go “from strength to strength”.

New figures show that in the 3 months to September last year, Enterprise Zones reported 1,918 jobs – a 9% increase on the previous quarter.

It means that in 4 short years, Enterprise Zones have been responsible for attracting nearly 24,000 new jobs.

Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton said: “Once again, we are seeing proof that Enterprise Zones are delivering real, tangible benefits, with jobs and companies showing significant growth.

“In just four years, nearly 24,000 new jobs have been attracted to Enterprise Zones across the country – with jobs growth in the Northern Powerhouse even higher than the national average.

“But we want to go even further, and the announcement of 3 new Enterprise Zones and a Zone extension in the recent Budget means this programme will go from strength to strength.”

New Enterprise Zones

Enterprise zones were launched in April 2012 and are central to the government’s plans to rebalance the economy, offering world-class infrastructure and top-class growth incentives.

They cover a range of key sectors including aviation, manufacturing, renewable energy and life sciences.

The Chancellor announced the further expansion of the programme with the creation of 3 new zones in Cornwall, the Black Country and Leicestershire, and an extension to the existing Sheffield zone as part of the Budget.

This will see:

• creation of a new marine renewable energy cluster at the MarineHub in Cornwall

• creation of a new science and innovation focused cluster in Loughborough and Leicester

• creation of a new waterfront development for business services growth in Brierley Hill in the Black Country

• extending the advanced manufacturing offer of the Sheffield Enterprise Zone

Enterprise Zones have now attracted £2.4 billion of private investment and more than 600 new businesses across a range of key industries including the automotive, aerospace, pharmaceutical and renewable energy industry sectors.

VINCI Construction UK has been awarded a £30 million contract to build five additional student accommodation blocks at Swansea University Bay Campus.

The development will comprise of 543 rooms, which are being developed by St. Modwen in partnership with the University.

This latest phase of accommodation is scheduled to complete and open to new students in autumn 2017 while boosting the local economy and the building trades.

The accommodation follows the same traditional design concept as the previous phases delivered by VINCI Construction UK in September 2015.

The blocks range in scale from 69 beds over four storeys to 159 beds over eight storeys.

This latest phase of accommodation will bring the number of students at the new Campus to 2,000.

It includes some academic and student service spaces on the ground floor of one of the blocks and supplements the newly completed phases 1 and 2 which already provide student services that include a bar, gym, restaurants, Tesco, bank, crèche, student support and facilities management space.

West Lothian Council is building 1,000 new council homes and all sites have already been identified, paving the way for economic growth and new jobs.

Over 400 properties are currently under way with more new starts planned over the next few months.

The project is also delivering community benefits for local businesses, who are working on the construction of the new homes.

The site at Almond Link Road lies near the Almond River where eight one bedroom cottage flats and twelve two bed room cottage flats are being constructed.

The new homes should be completed by March 2017 and are being constructed by housing developer Lovell on behalf of West Lothian Council.

Executive councillor for Service to the Community George Paul says: “West Lothian Council is building 1,000 new council properties which will help alleviate some of the pressure on local people who find it difficult to find good-quality affordable housing.

“The council is delighted that work at this site has now started. This site in Livingston is close to local amenities and also the landscape improvement works at Almondvale Park, including a new cycle path.

“It is a fantastic location which will help provide much-needed affordable housing in Livingston.”

Lovell regional director Alan Taylor adds: “High-quality affordable housing is essential to enable local communities to continue to thrive.

“We are proud to be working with West Lothian Council on this development which will create modern, energy-efficient new homes for local people in Livingston.”

Fusion21 has announced the contractors successfully appointed to its Servicing, Maintenance and Installation of Heating Systems framework.

A total of 49 contractors – including small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) – have successfully secured places on the framework worth up to £200 million over a four year period.

The national framework covers a variety of planned and reactive work on both domestic and commercial heating installations, and offers five lots including: Domestic Servicing and Maintenance; Domestic Installations; Commercial Servicing and Maintenance; Commercial Installations and Gas Consultancy.

Keith Rodgers, Gas Framework Manager at Fusion21, said: “Following demand from our members, we have created a flexible framework which covers specific UK regions – and can be tailored for domestic or commercial use.

“For the first time, the framework offered installation elements split over two value bands – this has resulted in several SMEs being eligible to win work, and also expands the pool of contractors available to deliver services for Fusion21 members.”