ISG has been awarded the fit out contract for the Fenchurch Street offices of QBE Business Insurance, a leading insurer and risk management partner for the Construction sector.

The multi-phased scheme sees ISG upgrade and enhance QBE’s existing first and second floor office space, approximately 100,000 sq ft of accommodation, at the 16-storey Plantation Place building at 30 Fenchurch Street.

By reconfiguring the space, ISG will increase capacity without extending the original floorplates, enabling QBE to relocate staff from other offices in the capital to its UK headquarters.

QBE will remain in occupation of the building throughout the duration of the project, with careful phasing minimising the impact of work on day-to-day operations.

The first phases involve the strip out and fit out of the second floor space and comprehensive upgrade of mechanical and electrical services infrastructure.

ISG will create a new high specification reception area and deliver a mix of open plan office space, meeting rooms and collaborative areas.

Matt Blowers, managing director of ISG’s UK Fit Out business, said: “Maintaining business continuity is critical in live environment office projects, especially when complex services infrastructure is being upgraded.

“Every project is unique and customers have a distinct set of requirements when remaining in occupation. We work extremely hard to understand these key business drivers and develop a robust programme that delivers for each and every circumstance.”

Liverpool has become the latest city region to sign up to George’s Osborne’s devolution revolution, with local authority leaders set to sign a historic new deal today.

The agreement is another massive boost to the Northern Powerhouse with Liverpool City Region becoming the fifth major northern city region to sign up to a deal which will give its local leaders sweeping new powers.

This follows recent deals signed with local leaders in Greater Manchester; Sheffield City Region, the North East and Tees Valley.

A deal is also set to be signed today with the West Midlands – the first region outside of the Northern Powerhouse to do so.

Communities Minister Greg Clark and Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Jim O’Neill are set to sign the agreement alongside local leaders today in Liverpool.

This deal also includes control over investment worth £30 million a year for the next 30 years. A total of £900 million will help unlock the huge economic potential of the iconic River Mersey and the new Superport as well as maximising the opportunities from HS2.

Chancellor George Osborne said: “Today is a historic day for the Liverpool City Region and a historic day for the Northern Powerhouse. This revolutionary deal cements the area’s position as a gateway to the north, from North Wales all the way to Newcastle, and gives local people control over their own affairs for the first time.

Communities Minister Greg Clark said: “This One Nation government is determined to ensure power is devolved from Whitehall to local people, to put an end to the old north-south divide and rebalance our economy.

“This Liverpool City Region deal demonstrates how local leaders are embracing this opportunity to have a direct hand in shaping the future of their area, whether in skills, transport or housing.”

Kier has been awarded £89.5 million in regional construction and housing contracts.

The company has been appointed to three contracts across the UK to build two student accommodation schemes and mixed tenure housing.

In Plymouth, Kier has been awarded the £29.5 million contract to design & build Beckley Court, a 22-storey student accommodation scheme for new client Threesixty Developments.

At 78m high, the project will become the city’s tallest building, dwarfing the current claimant, the 14-storey Civic Centre. Beckley Court will provide 507 beds across 164,935sq ft of accommodation and will feature a mix of cluster flats, studios and two-bedroom flats with commercial space provided on the lower ground and ground floors.

In Durham, Kier has been selected for a £20 million project to deliver 418 student rooms at Sheraton Park for specialist student housing developer Alumno.

The new facilities will cater for a mixture of undergraduates, post-graduates, returning students and some fellows, and will comprise a mix of en suite bedrooms, studios and accessible bedrooms.

In the West Midlands, Kier’s residential division, Kier Living, has been appointed development partner for a major £40 million mixed tenure housing scheme by Birmingham City Council’s Birmingham Municipal Housing Trust.

Primrose Estate in Kings Norton will feature around 300 houses – including 148 affordable homes – as well as a hectare of public amenity space and a new superstore.

Nigel Brook, Kier executive director for construction and infrastructure services, said: “The quality and breadth of work we are winning, in terms of geography, sector and scale, demonstrates that there are strong ongoing opportunities across the UK.

“We’ve been able to harness these opportunities thanks to an almost unrivalled regional network, which gives expertise and investment at local level, backed by the scale and surety of a major contractor.”

The opening of Rubbertech’s new offices in Wales by Economy Minister Edwina Hart last week marked a key stage in the company’s expansion plans to create new jobs.

The Rubbertech Group specialises in the manufacturing and distribution of an extensive range of recycled rubber products for various sectors in the construction, transport, sports & leisure and agricultural markets.

The business has ambitious growth plans and forecasts an increase in turnover from £2.2 million to £9 million within the next few years with staff numbers set to double.

Speaking at the opening ceremony Economy Minister Edwina Hart said: “It’s always good news to hear of local companies like Rubbertech expanding and creating new jobs and using innovative methods to grow their businesses and market share.”

Mr Williams said: “The opening of our new offices today marks the next stage of development for the group and will accommodate the planned increase in staff numbers as we expand.

“We are essentially changing our business model and expanding each of our divisions through joint ventures. This is already underway in our acoustic division where we have partnered with Isolgomma, an Italian manufacturer of acoustic insulation products for the residential and commercial.

“We are planning similar ventures with other companies to enable us to enter new markets, increase our market share and drive growth in each division.”

Blackpool is to become the latest place to benefit from an Enterprise Zone and will become a centre of excellence for the energy sector, boosting the local economy, James Wharton has announced.

The Northern Powerhouse Minister said that the move would attract greater inward investment and help deliver hundreds of new jobs.

It will also provide an opportunity to secure the long term future of Blackpool Airport.

Northern Powerhouse Minister James Wharton said: “From Sheffield to the Solent, we’ve seen how having an Enterprise Zone can completely transform a local economy, creating jobs and attracting significant investment.

“Blackpool is the latest town set to benefit from having these additional business freedoms, which is a real boost for the town’s ambitions to become a centre of excellence for the UK energy sector, as well as being the home of the world famous illuminations.

“On top of this, by closing the economic gap between the North and South and attracting new businesses to the Enterprise Zone, it could secure the future of Blackpool Airport for years to come.”

An energy centre of excellence

Blackpool to benefit from new Enterprise Zone, which could attract up to 140 new businesses and 3,000 high-tech jobs.

An opportunity to secure the long-term future of Blackpool Airport.

Will provide vital jobs and skills training for the energy industry.

The number of new homes in England has risen by 25% over the past year – the highest annual percentage increase in 28 years, new figures released this week show.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said it was further proof of the government’s commitment to get more homes built with 170,690 new homes last year and more than 700,000 additional homes delivered since 2010.

There has been a significant increase in the number of new homes delivered by converting buildings into residential properties.

More than 20,600 of these homes were built in 2014 to 2015 – a rise of 65% on the year before.

It comes just weeks after the government announced it would extend permitted development rights that enable offices to be converted into new homes without having to submit a planning application.

Communities Secretary Greg Clark said: “As a one nation government we’re determined to make sure everyone has the opportunity and security of owning a home of their own.

“Today’s figures show a 25% increase in the number of new homes over the past year – showing our reforms are building new homes across Britain.

“We are going further and will do everything we can to help families buy a place of their own. Government support like Help to Buy and our plans to build 200,000 new Starter Homes will help anyone who aspires to own their own home the chance of making their dream a reality.”

Housing Minister Brandon Lewis said: “We’ve brought the housebuilding industry back from the brink, giving them the tools they need to get on with the job and build the homes hard-working people need.

“That includes making it easier for developers to turn underused buildings into new homes with today’s figures showing a 65% increase in these kinds of developments over the past year.”

VINCI Construction has been awarded a £22.5 million contract to build a sports and teaching facility at the highly regarded Eastbourne College.

Construction is set to commence this month and all work will be completed in autumn 2017, when the College celebrates being at the heart of the town for 150 years delivering outstanding education.
The four-storey sports block will include a 25 metre pool, sports hall, dining facilities and link to the new three-storey, 32-classroom block.

A new sports pavilion will command a view over the landmark cricket and rugby field, with the development landscaping complementing the listed flint boundary walls and quality facades.

Use of Silka large format blocks to the classroom block has provided cost and programme benefits, which will enable the building to be handed over in November 2016, a key requirement of the College.

Work is now underway on the new £65 million European Adhesive Resin Facility for Cytec Industries Inc that is proposed to create around 50 new highly skilled jobs in Wrexham.

At a ground breaking and tree planting event this week to mark the start of work, Economy Minister Edwina Hart thanked all parties, including Cytec and the local authority, for working in partnership to make this project happen in Wales.

The Minister said: “This is a major investment by Cytec and great news for Wrexham and for Wales and a good example of how innovative solutions can be found to encourage inward investment into Wales, to develop and sustain manufacturing and technical jobs.”

Aerospace Materials President Bill Wood from Cytec said: “Our investments in adhesive resin materials are a clear demonstration of our commitment to the industry’s growth and its need for optimized production and supply capacity.

“The support of the Welsh Government has been instrumental in enabling this expansion to go ahead in Wales and very much appreciated.”

Wrexham is the main location for Cytec Aerospace Materials European technical service and development team and their European customer service. The new facility will supply advanced adhesive materials to the largest OEMs in the aerospace industry.

The team drew up plans to fit the facility on the site, carried out all the preparatory work and obtained planning permission for the 7000 sq mt facility, car parking and service park.

British Land has appointed Roger Madelin to lead the development of its 46 acre Canada Water site that will boost economic growth and create new construction jobs.

Canada Water has excellent existing infrastructure and will also benefit from the opening of Crossrail at Canary Wharf in 2018.

It is a major, long term project, which will be delivered in a number of phases and presents a unique opportunity to create an attractive, mixed use town centre which fully reflects the needs of local communities.

British Land is currently working with the London Borough of Southwark and local communities to deliver the Canada Water Masterplan and expects to submit a planning application by the end of next year.

Roger has been at Argent since 1987 and was Chief Executive/Joint Chief Executive from 1997 – 2012. He was directly responsible for leading a number of Argent’s developments and from 2000 led the Argent team bringing forward the 67 acre King’s Cross development.

The acquisition of Surrey Quays Leisure Park in March this year completed British Land’s assembly of the Canada Water site, which also includes Surrey Quays Shopping Centre and Harmsworth Quays, the former Daily Mail General Trust printing works.

The combined sites, which have potential for around 5.5 million sq ft (net internal area) of office, retail, residential, leisure, educational and community space, have been assembled over the last five years and create a significant mixed use development opportunity in the heart of one of London’s major regeneration zones.

Construction of the £40 million Drake Circus Leisure scheme in Plymouth has moved closer with British Land involvement this week, paving the way for work to go-ahead.

The leisure development is expected to create 350 permanent jobs along with a number of temporary construction jobs.

As part of its development agreement with the Plymouth City Council, British Land will commit £2m to the construction of the city’s new coach station on Mayflower Street.

Plans consent was granted earlier this year for a 100,000 sq ft mixed scheme located on the site, next to Drake Circus Shopping Centre.

Last month, British Land exchanged contracts with Cineworld to anchor the development with the new 12-screen cinema featuring a 450-seat IMAX auditoria.

Construction work is expected to start in summer 2016 and the scheme is due to open mid-2018.

David Pollock, retail development director for British Land, said: “Once complete, Drake Circus Leisure will be the most significant leisure scheme in the South West and we are delighted to be one step closer to delivering the project.

“The recent letting to Cineworld and interest from restaurant operators has allowed us to accelerate our plans, and we are excited to be working with the Council to enhance the city centre.”