Osborne has been appointed for pre-construction services to design and construct new buildings at the West Down Campus of the University of Winchester.

This is Osborne’s seventh deal with the University and they will build a new lecture theatre and create learning spaces for the use the staff and students of the University and the local community.

The project, valued at over £20 million is due to start in August 2016 and be completed in January 2018.

All work will be carefully planned to avoid unnecessary disruption to students and the local community.

Osborne Bid Manager Robert Baxter said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for Osborne to demonstrate its skill and experience in enabling academic bodies to realise their ambition to improve facilities for students and the local community.

“Following success with the St Alphege Building and the new student accommodation buildings, we will work closely with our partners to deliver on time and within budget and hopefully, surpassing expectation.”

The third and final phase of Birmingham’s Snowhill development – Three Snowhill – is set to start in September after developer Ballymore Properties appointed BAM Construction as its preferred contractor.

The final phase of the Snowhill estate, which has already attracted world class, blue chip occupiers to its first two phases which are fully occupied, is expected to cost approximately £90 million.

It forms part of Birmingham’s 20 year master plan for redeveloping Snowhill known as “Vision 2030”.

BAM will be remodelling the existing five levels of basement and cores which serve all three phases, creating office, leisure and conference space and car parking.

Above ground it will be a steel framed office tower with curtain walling to all elevations with 17 levels of high quality office space and two levels of plant room.

The fully curtain walled 32,000 square metre development is targeting BREEAM Excellent under the 2014 regulations and has an EPC rating of at least B.

Richard Probert, Ballymore Project Director, said: “Three Snowhill has now been awarded detailed planning consent and we look forward to starting on site shortly.

“It is the final component in what has become a land mark gateway development for our City – changing the skyline and setting new standards for regional office development.”

Kier Living has confirmed the expansion of its northern region, following the novation of 17 contracts with a combined value of £55 million that will boost the building trades.

The contracts, which range in size from developments of 15 units up to schemes of over 100 units, are in various stages of completion, and are located across the north west and Yorkshire.

Kier will be looking to replicate this DPP2 success in the north-east across the north west and Yorkshire over the next 12 to 18 months, in the next stage of its expansion, which all forms part of company’s ambitious plans for growth.

As part of the expansion and reorganisation of the Kier Living Northern business, the Halifax team will be moving across to Kier’s regional hub in Thorpe Park in Leeds over the coming months, while retaining a presence in Warrington and North Tyneside.

John Anderson, executive director, Kier Living said: “This is proving to be an exciting first year for the business. Having successfully formed our national residential division, Kier Living, in 2014, we have been independently rated by the Home Builders Federation as 5* by our customers, and we have accelerated our plans for growth this year, moving the business closer to our 4,000 unit a year ambition.

“Combined with the northern talent through the Southdale acquisition, we are now in a very strong position to work with clients to help solve the national housing crisis, with a capability to manage projects of all scales across the UK, leveraging our almost unique end-to-end offering from funding, planning, development, housing maintenance, FM and private market sales expertise.”

Willmott Dixon has landed its fourth project for the Low Carbon Workplace (LCW), a consortium that includes Stanhope, Threadneedle and The Carbon Trust.

The company has secured a £20 million contract to completely refit the 1980s built Summit House on Wilson Street to deliver 9,500 square metres of low carbon cat-A office space.

It follows the recent successful delivery of Mansel House in Wimbledon, which modernised a 1960s building to make it 50% more energy efficient than equivalent buildings.

At Summit House, close to Shoreditch, key alterations by Willmott Dixon include removing an existing storey and replacing with two new storeys to create a modern office over six levels featuring a new copper glass façade.

When complete in August 2016, it’s expected to attract a host of tech companies given its proximity Old Street’s Silicon Roundabout, home to many of the world’s leading start-up companies for developing new technology.

This is the latest project for LCW, which buys old property to modernise and increase its Energy Performance Certificate to at least a B rating. This future-proofs the property against rising energy bills and new environmental regulations such as the minimum energy performance standard – set to restrict the letting of buildings rated F or G from 2018.

Chris Tredget, managing director for Willmott Dixon in North London said: ”I’m really excited to be working again with LCW to deliver the next stage of its vision for low carbon offices that are efficient and comfortable for tenants and an attractive investment for the landlord. It certainly plays to our strengths of working on constrained, high-rise commercial sites in central London.”

Weston Homes, in joint venture with Cathedral Group, are transforming a historic 1.2 acre Telegraph Works site in Greenwich, into a new £120 million residential development.

The scheme will provide 272 new homes, including apartments and houses, paving then way for construction work and helping economic growth in the local area.

Located off Blackwall Lane, the Telegraph Works site has a fascinating history. The site dates back to the Tudor period when it served as Queen Elizabeth I’s gunpowder store, supplying the English ships that in 1588 fought the Spanish Armanda.

Now Weston Homes and Cathedral Group are working together to add a new chapter to the history of the site. Cable shops and warehouses are being replaced by a landmark development providing some 198,347 sqft of residential accommodation.

Bob Weston, Chairman & Managing Director of Weston Homes said: “Weston Homes and Cathedral Group are transforming this first class Greenwich peninsula site into a landmark residential address which will deliver desperately needed homes to the local community and Londoners from further afield.

“This project is a flagship London development for the joint venture partners and has a luxurious specification with a range of option choices for the designer fixtures and fittings.”

Martin Wood, Managing Director of Cathedral Group said: “The Telegraph Works is a historic site, dating back to Tudor England, which was subsequently used to manufacture the first transatlantic telecommunications cables and later a cross-channel petrol pipeline to support the D-Day invasion.

“This joint venture with Weston Homes will allow us to build on Cathedral Group’s reputation for delivering excellent residential-led schemes in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

“We are delighted to have also been able to support Alcatel Lucent bring forward the refurbishment of their factory on the site as part of the development which will help safeguard their future and ensure their continued presence in the borough.”

Stockport Council has announced the appointment of Wates Construction as the main contractor for the development of Redrock Stockport that will boost economic growth.

Built on the site of the current Bridgefield Street Car Park, Redrock Stockport will comprise a ten screen cinema, a new 340 space multi storey car park, restaurants, café bars and retail units totalling over 41,500 sq. ft. with an estimated investment of £45 million.

Wates has been appointed on a two-stage design and build contract following a competitive tender process through the North West Construction Hub.

Cllr Patrick McAuley, Executive Member for Thriving Economy at Stockport Council said: “I’m delighted to announce after a highly competitive procurement process the appointment of Wates Construction as the main contractor for Redrock Stockport.

“The quality of all the bids was high which demonstrates the esteem developers see Stockport in these days and we are now looking forward to working with Wates and delivering the project.”

Redrock Stockport is a key part of investing in Stockport the Council’s investment and growth programme that will see multi million pounds invested in the borough over the next 10 years.

Designed by world-class architects BDP with project manager Gardiner & Theobald, preparatory work for the Redrock Stockport has already started in the area, with the main construction likely to start in the autumn 2015. The development is planned to open in Spring 2017.

The cinema will be run by The Light Cinemas Ltd, which has recently opened cinemas in New Brighton, Wisbech Cambridge.

Tony Shenton from Wates Construction North West said: “Our appointment to deliver Redrock is a significant step forward in Stockport Council’s ambitious investment plan, which is set to bring substantial benefit to the city.”

Government’s aspiration for building affordable homes has exceeded its target by over 11,000, the latest HCA’s set of six-monthly housing statistics revealed this month.

A total of 179,170 homes of all tenures were completed through programmes run by the Homes and Communities Agency during the 2011 to 2015 Spending Review period.

51,187 of those were delivered in the final year (2014 to 2015).

HCA Chief Executive, Andy Rose, said: “2014 to 2015 was a strong year of delivery for the agency. It was the final year of the 2011 to 2015 spending period, and I am pleased that we exceeded our completion forecasts across the range of our programmes which all help to support the housing ambitions of local places and communities.

“In doing so, we have exceeded our anticipated contribution to government’s aspiration of up to 170,000 new affordable homes.

“We look forward to working with the new government to help maintain the momentum in delivering new homes across all tenures, and ultimately, create successful places with homes and jobs.”

According to the HCA’s latest set of six-monthly housing statistics published this month, of the 51,187 homes completed in 2014 to 2015, 41,312 or 81% were affordable, an increase of 50% on the previous year.

The remainder, 9,875, were for sale on the open market, an increase of 45% on the year before.

During the year, there were a further 27,414 homes completed with the assistance of the Help to Buy equity loan programme, designed to help people, particularly first time buyers, into home ownership.

All of these programmes and homes help to drive overall housing supply, meeting a range of housing needs in local communities and contributing to local growth.

Download the complete set of housing statistics.

High Speed Two Ltd and representatives from the Welsh Government will be in Cardiff this week to kick-start £10 billion worth of contracts to build Britain’s largest infrastructure project.

The event, hosted by the Welsh Government, presents companies with an excellent opportunity to find out more about HS2’s procurement process and will ensure that they have all the information required to bid for contracts.

Work on the first phase of the project is scheduled to start in 2017 and, at the peak of construction more than 40,000 people are expected to be working on the scheme.

Edwina Hart, Minister for Economy, Science and Transport said: “HS2 is an extremely significant investment in rail infrastructure that offers excellent supply chain prospects for companies in Wales.

“Our manufacturing, construction and civil engineering companies have considerable expertise and a track record of delivering excellent service and products that can add value to this project and create economic benefits for Wales.”

Beth West, HS2 Ltd Commercial Director, said: “Building HS2 is a massive long-term project, one that offers a huge opportunity for Welsh businesses to bid for £10bn worth of contracts, boosting jobs and skills across the country.

“To deliver a project of HS2’s scale and complexity we are committed to working with Welsh companies. I am extremely pleased that so many Welsh firms have already shown an interest in helping to deliver HS2 and I would encourage all businesses large or small to get involved.”

Tickets can be applied for through the Business Wales Events website.

Local residents will have the final say over whether onshore wind farm applications get the go-ahead in their area, Communities Secretary Greg Clark announced this week.

While onshore wind now makes a meaningful contribution to our energy mix, they are often imposed upon communities without consultation or public support.

Following the new planning rules, wind turbines should only get the go-ahead if they have been clearly backed by local people in a Local or Neighbourhood Plan.

Any application to build wind turbines will then need to have the clear backing of the community – with any planning concerns clearly addressed.

Power in the hands of local people

Radical reforms to the planning system have put power in the hands of local people, enabling them to have a greater say in the future development of their local area through Local and Neighbourhood Plans.

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Greg Clark said: “Our One Nation approach is about backing people on the issues that really matter to them and we are today delivering on our manifesto commitment to give local people the final say over onshore wind farm applications.”

If a planning application has already been made for wind turbines in an area where the local plan does not identify suitable sites, the council will only be able to approve the application where it addresses the planning concerns of the affected community and therefore has local backing.

Morgan Sindall and Lovell have seen their position on the multi-contractor Constructing West Midlands framework extended by Birmingham City Council.

The consortium, known as Community Solutions, has had its role on Lot 7 of the framework, which covers major capital projects with a value in excess of £500,000, extended by a further two years from September 2015.

Originally appointed in September 2011 for a four-year period, Community Solutions has delivered around 50 projects through the framework which have a combined estimated value of over £120 million.

These include the £5.5 million Old Square Shopping Centre in Walsall, which completed in 2014, and the £5.6 million Perry Beeches IV free school which was awarded in 2013. Current work in progress amounts to approximately £80 million.

These include: enhanced project delivery efficiencies driven by lean processing, coupled with social charter targets for elements such as community engagement, training and local employment and an improved reporting structure.

Community Solutions’ work, along with three other framework contractors within Lot 7, is tested against seven key performance indicator categories where it continues to perform strongly.

Morgan Sindall’s Area Director for the Midlands region, Richard Fielding, said: “This extension represents a significant achievement for the consortium which is built on a record of delivery, partnership working and honest communication.

“The people of the West Midlands region demand and deserve the very best accommodation for their public services and it is our job to ensure this is delivered in an efficient and safe manner which also has a positive social impact.”

Constructing West Midlands is open to any public body including local authorities, healthcare, education and blue light services.

It covers the entire West Midlands region including the shires of Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Shropshire and Staffordshire along with the Black Country and the key satellite locations including Coventry, Stoke-on-Trent and Telford & Wrekin.