GRAHAM Construction has started works to build a new multi-million pound Blackburn Partnership Centre.

The new £8.2 million centre, which will create a hub for council, health and community services in the village, will be located next to the Mill Centre.

Blackburn Partnership Centre is a partnership between West Lothian Council and NHS Lothian. Hub South East Scotland is delivering the project.

GRAHAM Construction regional development director, Craig Bridges, said: “This state-of-the- art facility will be a real attribute to people in the West Lothian region and an excellent addition to local health services.

“The Blackburn Partnership project will create an accessible centre for the community, the second of three we will be completing in partnership with Hub South East Scotland and NHS Lothian.

“We have significant experience of delivering modern health-care projects across Scotland and are pleased to be reaching this important milestone.”

Brian Houston, chairman of NHS Lothian, said: “I’m delighted that work is now progressing on The Blackburn Partnership Centre. It is one of three new health and social care centres in Edinburgh and West Lothian, which are designed to provide a one-stop shop for health and council services in the heart of the communities.”

Richard Park, operations director for Hub South East Scotland, the council and NHS Lothian’s development partner, said: “As a Hub project, once complete, not only will it provide modern, high quality facilities for the people of Blackburn, it will also have also delivered a number of community benefits for the local area.”

Willmott Dixon has been selected by Arun District Council to build a £15 million Littlehampton Leisure Centre that will boost economic growth and create new jobs.

The company will now deliver Littlehampton’s new leisure centre, which will feature an eight-lane, 25 metre swimming pool, learner pool, gym, dance and cycling studios, sports hall and café.

Construction is set to start in 2017, with the centre built on the site of the current sports dome and overflow car park and the existing building will then be demolished. The public will use the current leisure centre while the new one takes shape.

Willmott Dixon has delivered more than £100 million of leisure facilities in the past six month and the company’s recent involvement in flagship schemes includes new centres in Tewkesbury, Dartford, Scarborough, St Albans, Oldham, Hebburn, High Wycombe and Romford.

Councillor Paul Dendle, Arun District Council’s Cabinet Member for Leisure and Amenities said: “We are delighted to announce Willmott Dixon as the successful company. They have a proven track record in delivering similar projects and we are excited about seeing this major project get underway.

“We believe that when open, the leisure centre and swimming pool will be a facility that the town can be really proud of and that residents can enjoy for years to come.”

Roger Forsdyke, managing director of Willmott Dixon construction in Cobham, said: “We are proud to have secured Littlehampton’s flagship leisure centre. We’ll be working closely with Arun District Council to provide the local community with much needed new facilities.”

Creating a legacy is also important and Willmott Dixon will deploy its Community Investment Plan which includes local work placements, trainee and graduate placements and apprenticeships, along with creating new jobs.

A new extra care development will be built in Saffron Walden as part of a larger scheme to increase the number of new homes in the Essex area.

The contract, which has been awarded to Keepmoat will see 73 new apartments built on Radwinter Road in Saffron Walden for Housing Association, East Thames.

The development will include on-site care staff, visiting management staff, non-resident management staff and community alarm service as well as community facilities such as a lounge, a restaurant, and a communal garden.

The apartments will be available for rent from East Thames or available to part buy under a shared ownership scheme.

With people living longer and Britain ageing population growing rapidly, Keepmoat is acutely aware of the pressures that local authorities and housing associations face to provide modern accessible housing for people who want to downsize, but are adamant about not wanting to go into care homes.

Since 2002 Keepmoat has constructed more than 4,000 extra care and retirement units in Britain with the purpose of embedding and integrating extra care services into the heart of communities, providing older people with a place to call home in the community they have always lived in.

Dan Germann, Regional Managing Director of Keepmoat’s London and South Developments division said: “Throughout the duration of this project, we will ensure the project works for the whole community with a focus on longevity of good quality housing, which gives residents access to supporting services and opportunities for lifelong learning, training, employment and care when needed. We look forward to getting started on the project.”

ISG has been awarded a £13 million contract by Queensberry Real Estate to transform Manchester’s historic Grade II listed Corn Exchange into a four star boutique hotel.

The project involves the refurbishment of levels 2-5 of the iconic building, creating a 114-bedroom ‘aparthotel’ for operator Roomzzz.

The scheme is the second phase of a wider £30 million investment to develop the building as a major leisure destination, and follows the refurbishment of ground and first floor levels as restaurant and bar accommodation, all of which will remain operational throughout the project’s duration.

Commencing in mid-August, the scheme sees ISG carrying out remedial works to the roof structure, as well as the installation of a cantilevered scaffold system at first floor level.

ISG will then make significant structural alterations to the building’s floor slabs to introduce new service risers to accommodate the hotel’s modern mechanical and electrical infrastructure.

Andy McLinden, ISG’s Northern managing director, said: “The former Corn Exchange in Manchester is a very special and much-loved building and its latest evolution builds on the growing trend for hybrid guest accommodation in the city.

“It’s a great challenge and an environment where we positively thrive as a business and there is a great deal of anticipation to get underway with the transformation of this iconic Manchester landmark.”

A £13.3 million road improvement scheme in North Lincolnshire has been given the go-ahead, paving the way for thousands of jobs and homes to be created.

The M181 Lincolnshire Lakes project will allow more than 6,000 new homes to be built and up to 4,000 jobs to be created by 2028, with up to 1,500 homes and 1,500 jobs predicted to be delivered by 2021.

The scheme has been made possible by Government investment to improve the nearby M181 to serve the development.

Highways England’s Growth and Housing Fund is providing £8.6 million for the project, with North Lincolnshire Council topping up the remaining using developer contributions.

The Growth and Housing Fund is a pot of £100 million which provides financial contributions towards the cost of road improvements that are needed for new developments.

This is the second time an award has been made since the fund was set up earlier this year as part of the Government’s 2015 Road Investment Strategy.

Transport Minister John Hayes said: “This exciting project is an important part of our £15bn road investment strategy to deliver better journeys and help people get about and get on.

“The new junction on the M181 in North Lincolnshire will help the local economy to grow – delivering 4,000 jobs, 6,000 homes and opportunity for people in the area.”

Highways England’s Chief Executive Jim O’Sullivan said: “The Lincolnshire Lakes project will unlock the development of two strategic sites, directly enabling the delivery of thousands of jobs and homes over the next 12 years.

“This is a good example of Highways England working with local partners and developers to provide road improvements, value for money and economic growth.”

The employment rate in the UK is now at a record high of 74.4% and the unemployment rate is at its lowest in over 10 years at 4.9%, according to the latest set of figures.

The Office for National Statistics confirmed that there are a record 31.7 million people now in work – up by 624,000 in the past year and over 2.6 million since 2010.

The rise in employment continues to be driven by full-time work. Average wages before bonuses grew by 2.2% over the last year.

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Damian Green said: “This remarkable set of figures shows that there are more people in work than at any other point in our history, which is fantastic news as we build a Britain that works for everybody, not just the privileged few.

“We’ve entered a period of significant change, but when it comes to our jobs market we’re in a position of strength, with over 2.6 million more people in work than there were in 2010, the number of workless households cut to an all-time low, 750,000 vacancies in the economy and wages rising too.

“Our job now is to build on this success story so that everybody can benefit from the opportunities that are being created regardless of who they are or where they come from. Encouragingly, employment has risen in all regions and nations of the UK over the last year.”

The current labour market statistics also show:

• the female employment rate is at 69.6%, the highest since records began in 1971

• at 5.6%, the proportion of 16 to 24 year olds who have left full-time education and are unemployed has never been lower

Wates has been awarded the contract to build the new £30 million Campus Whitehaven project by Cumbria County Council.

The multi-million investment in the campus will come from a range of partners including The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, Sellafield Ltd, Copeland Borough Council, Copeland Community Fund, and Cumbria County Council.

Wates will now be working to develop designs for the new campus with submission of a planning application anticipated in mid-December.

The campus proposal will include new facilities for St Benedict’s Catholic High School and Mayfield Special School and bring them together on the current St Benedict’s site.

Tony Shenton, Business Unit Director, Wates Construction North West, said: “The partners leading the development of Campus Whitehaven share a vision to create a state-of-the-art centre for learning and sport, and Wates’ extensive experience in education positions us as the ideal contracting partner to take this forward.

“Wates’ growing presence in Cumbria has seen us launch a significant local economic benefits strategy to ensure that our work is a catalyst for the region’s economy.

“As such, we will now be working with local supply chain partners and training providers to generate training and employment opportunities throughout the build programme.”

Balfour Beatty has been selected by Gatwick Airport to deliver a range of projects under its new £1.2 billion capital investment programme, which will deliver expansion in scale and passenger capacity.

The company has been appointed to two frameworks, the Low Complexity Build and Low Complexity Civils Framework, as well as the Medium Complexity Build Framework.

It is expected that projects delivered through these frameworks will be procured over the next five years, paving the way for new employment opportunities in the building trades.

Balfour Beatty has a long standing relationship with Gatwick, for which it has delivered in excess of 500 projects, including upgrades to the security lanes, the Pier 11 build, and the £50 million refurbishment of the North Terminal.

Plans to redevelop the Sheerwater Estate scheme near Woking with 922 homes and community facilities have been given the go-ahead by the local council.

The regeneration scheme is a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Pinnacle housing association for Woking Borough Council, paving the way for new jobs in the construction trades.

Phase one of the four phase scheme is expected to get underway later next year and consists of nearly 100 new homes and a leisure centre.

Cllr David Bittleston, Woking Borough Councils Portfolio Holder for Strategic Housing Development, said: “The decision to grant planning consent is crucial to the regeneration of Sheerwater.

“The scale and nature of the overall development, as well as detailed plans of the first phase of residential development and community leisure facilities, have been established and rigorously tested against local and national planning policy.

“It is my belief that the regeneration of Sheerwater will make a significant improvement to the quality of life for existing and new residents of Sheerwater.

“The new housing stock, roads, community and leisure facilities will all ensure the area is a sustainable and desirable place to live for years to come.”

Ambitious plans to build a Northern Powerhouse remain a key government priority, two of the key ministers tasked with driving forward the work confirmed this week.

Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Jim O’Neill and Northern Powerhouse Minister Andrew Percy, both proud Northerners, will lead the work across the whole of government to help make the north a powerhouse for the UK economy once again and build on the strong progress of the last two years.

The ministers’ comments come ahead of the first official tour by Mr Percy to the North since his appointment and today he will visit Hull, Manchester and Liverpool to hear for himself how devolving greater power from Whitehall to Town Halls and greater investment is already leading to the creation of jobs and stronger economic growth.

Key achievements for the Northern Powerhouse to date include:

• five historic devolution deals have been agreed across the Northern Powerhouse – in Sheffield, Greater Manchester, North-East, Tees Valley and Liverpool
• 55% of the population of the Northern Powerhouse will vote in an elected Mayor next year, giving each area a powerful new voice in national life
• major investment in transport has been committed including a new rail franchise on the Northern network delivering 2,000 extra services each week, £200 million for Transport for the North and a £60 million package for exploring work on HS3
• attracting foreign investment – there has been 127% growth in the number of foreign direct investment projects in the Northern Powerhouse over the last two years with the North-West outperforming every other region in the UK
• the employment rate in the Northern Powerhouse is close to its record high, and since June 2014 unemployment has fallen faster in the North than in the South

Commercial Secretary to the Treasury Jim O’Neill said: “Making our great northern towns and cities a powerhouse for the economy once again is the reason I joined government, and there is evidence everywhere you look that our plans have already made a real impact.

It is fantastic to be able to continue to champion the Northern Powerhouse within the very heart of government and there will be no let-up in our commitment to fuel the local economy through encouraging foreign investment, improving transport and creating new jobs.”

Northern Powerhouse Minister Andrew Percy said: “Building the Northern Powerhouse is a long-term government priority and central to our plans to rebalance the economy.

As a proud Northerner, I am determined to ensure that people in every part of the North – from large cities to small rural communities – enjoy greater control over their lives and stronger, more sustainable economic growth.

That’s why this government will continue to support major investments to unlock the potential of the North and ensure that every area benefits from a growing economy.”