Assent June 2011 News Letter by Assent Building Control

Solutions

June 2011

Inside this issue News

Midnight Walk

Assent Planning Consultancy

New Projects

New Starters and Recruitment

Social Scene

And Finally

News

Feature Welcome

Midnight Walk

This is our latest newsletter and reflects just how busy we have been over the last few months. Work has been increasing so much so that we have been looking for new staff. Although we can announce the arrival of two new members on page 4. Assent Planning Consultancy We have launched a new service available to all that is a planning consultancy. There are more details about this over the page. This service has been introduced in response to demand from a lot of our clients. We would welcome any comments that you may have about this new service Code for Sustainable Homes Our service is going from strength to strength with a number of very interesting projects on the go particularly the development at Hinchliffe Mill Near Huddersfield. For further details contact Della Miller on 01924 229180.

The finance and administration departments from the Wakefield office are doing a charity walk on the 16th July at midnight to help raise money for the Wakefield Hospice. The walk is over a distance of between 6 and 10 miles with much needed refreshments along the way. Assent have put up a team of five committed people to brave the night time weather in Wakefield in July for the benefit of the hospice. Watch out in our next newsletter for pictures of the team. If you want to sponsor any of the team then please e-mail Kay Rowley at kay@assentbc.co.uk

RICS Director Martin Conlon from the Wakefield office has been appointed to the Yorkshire & Humberside regional board of the RICS. This represents the commitment that we at Assent have in relation to developing the profile of the Building Control profession. © Assent Building Control Assent Building Control Ltd, Assent House, 4 Navigation Court, Calder Park, Wakefield. WF2 7BJ t: 01924 229180 • f: 01924 250387 • Registered in England: No. 5311596

New Business Andy Rushby, formerly Assistant Head of Planning at Kirklees Council, has recently left the authority to establish his own planning company in the private sector, Assent Planning Consultancy Ltd. “A great time to start a new business!” That’s the view of Andy Rushby, formerly Assistant Head of Planning at Kirklees Council, as he establishes Assent Planning Consultancy Ltd, a business aimed at guiding clients through the often difficult and complex world of the planning system. “Whilst the construction and development industry are still battling the effects of the recession, I can see that there are some green shoots of recovery emerging”, says Andy. “Some sites that were mothballed months ago are now going again, which is good news for all concerned. As the recovery continues, I hope that I can assist clients by working with them at all stages of the planning process, from their initial concepts to the realization of their ideas, in order to minimize delays and costs in achieving success”. After over twenty five years working in local authority planning, Andy felt that the time was right to make a move into the private sector. He says “I had become increasingly frustrated with planning in the public sector as it struggles with increasing bureaucracy to a point where the process has become more important than the outcome”. His view is that good planning should be about ensuring high-quality, sustainable development in the right place at the right time in a way that balances and protects the needs of people and places alike. “I hope that I can persuade and convince the decision-makers of these good planning ideals”, Andy says. Assent Planning Consultancy Ltd is based in Wakefield and is part of the Assent Group, which also includes Assent Building Control Ltd, a well-established national Approved Inspector offering building control, fire safety and energy consultancy services to the development industry. Together, Assent is able to offer integrated development solutions that make it as easy as possible for clients to secure the necessary consents they need to get their plans off the drawing board and into real life. Richard Batte, Director of Assent Building Control Ltd, says “Assent is all about solving problems and getting development consent. We’re delighted to have someone of Andy’s skill and experience on board to help clients old and new achieve their objectives.”

FOR FURTHER DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT Andy Rushby BA(Hons) BTP MBA MRTPI Principal - Assent Planning Consultancy Ltd Assent House, 4 Navigation Court, Calder Park, Wakefield WF2 7BJ Mobile: 07432 614664 Office: 01924 229180

andy@assentplg.co.uk

www.assentplg.co.uk

New Projects

New Stadium for Rotherham United FC Assent have been appointed to carry out the Building Regulation and control services for the new stadium for Rotherham United, as well as providing a consultancy role for the stadium safety team. The new stadium will have a capacity of 12,000 seats and will include hospitality and community facilities so that it can be used all year round The stadium bowl has been designed to maximize spectator comfort and atmosphere, with sightlines of the pitch that are well above average. Work starts on site in May/June this year and will be complete for the 2012/2013 season..

North Yorkshire Police Headquarters Assent has also been appointed to provide the Building regulation and control function for the new £12m Police Headquarters for North Yorkshire Police in Harrogate Development proposals include a three-storey police station which will provide a base for around 200 police officers and staff as well as specialist units including scenes of crime, roads policing, CID and a 16-cell custody suite. Chief Constable Grahame Maxwell said: “This is a major project for North Yorkshire Police which will benefit the people of Harrogate and the surrounding area for many years to come. I am very grateful to Harrogate Borough Council for approving the plans, it is great to see the many months of planning and preparation start to take shape.” The building is designed to achieve a BREEAM rating of ‘excellent’ and will incorporate a number of sustainable features. The building adopts the principles of passive design to provide carbon savings for the lifetime of the building and includes improved fabric U-Values and air permeability, reduced solar gains, low energy lighting, efficient lighting controls and reduced air loss through managed ventilation. To reduce the use of non-renewable resources, solar panels will be installed on the roof to pre-heat water which will be used to meet thermal loads within the building, while air source heat pumps will be used to extract heat from the outside air to provide either heating or cooling as required. Work started on site 21 February 2011 and completion is scheduled for spring 2012.

New University Campus Assent have been appointed to carry out the Building Regulation and control services for the Birley Fields University Campus for Manchester Metropolitan University at Hulme in Manchester. The new £120m campus will house in excess of 5,000 students and a number of teaching faculties for the University which currently operates from a number of sites across the City. Work will start on site in early 2012 with extensive plan assessment work now being undertaken. © Assent Building Control Assent Building Control Ltd, Assent House, 4 Navigation Court, Calder Park, Wakefield. WF2 7BJ t: 01924 229180 • f: 01924 250387 • Registered in England: No. 5311596

Social Scene Assent Liverpool office held their Corporate Golf day on the 3rd June attended by 40 guests at the Portal Golf Club set in the heart of the Cheshire countryside. The course offered stunning scenery and is also home to the Lee Westwood Golf School, which was very convenient as many of us needed some additional golf tips during the day.

New Starters Assent is continuing to grow!! We have a number of new people joining our organisation which is now making us one of the strongest Approved Inspectors in the country.

Following morning coffee and bacon rolls as a warm up to the marathon 7037 yards Par 73 Championship Course we set out to tackle the 9 hole Arderne course which certainly helped to single out one or two people who had provided us with conservative handicap figures. Several handicaps were accordingly adjusted by our panel of experts on the day to ensure fair competition. Portal Golf Club also provided three golf professionals on hand to provide some useful tips during the morning which certainly helped to shake out some nerves before the afternoon session. Following lunch we set out for the Championship course which is a beautiful course with expansive water hazards and cascading waterfalls among the tests for both the novice and experienced golfer. After several hours enjoying the challenges of the Championship Course and the scenery the evening dinner was a most welcome respite for many a weary, and sunburnt, golfer. The wining trophies were awarded to the overall winner, Simon Fullard, and also second, third, longest drive and nearest the pin. It was only fitting that one of the hosts was awarded the “Hackers” trophy to avoid any embarrassment to any of our guests receiving this accolade.

Name

Location

David Riley

Staffordshire

Sandra Riley

Staffordshire

David was formally of Kirklees Council based in Huddersfield West Yorkshire and represents expansion of our services. David was a senior member of the Building Control department and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to ASSENT. Sandra is a Chartered Building Control Surveyor of great experience and will be working alongside David to develop the business in the region

And Finally Caption Competition

Recruitment

Due to ever increasing workloads and expansion the Wakefield Office is looking for an experienced Building Control professional to join their highly qualified and motivated team. If you feel you may fit the bill or want to know more about the exciting opportunity this creates then call Director Richard Batte on 01924 229180 or e-mail Richard on richard@assentbc.co.uk

Send us your caption for the above photograph and the best one will win a bottle of Champagne. E-mail your entry to martin@assentbc.co.uk before 25th July in order to enter.